I am not immune to lists about silly things, but today I want to make a list of Constitutional Amendments. Not only will I rank them from least important (No. 27) to most important (No. 1), but I'll also group them together. Absolutely no help was taken from here.
Not A Thing Anymore Group
27) 18th Amendment (Prohibition)
Last place goes to the only Amendment that is no longer actually in place. Americans learned a few lessons: Teetotalers are no fun and also that Americans love our liquor too much to ban it.
26) 3rd Amendment (Quartering of Soldiers)
Our first of the Bill of Rights amendments, there just isn't much of a need or desire to quarter soldiers anymore. There haven't been any significant judicial rulings involving it for decades. In 1787, this was a BIG DEAL. This is the Third Amendment! This is before all the judicial stuff and slavery stuff! Nowadays, I can't imagine the government even wanting to use private homes for bunkhouses.
25) 21st Amendment (Ending Prohibition)
The only real "Oops, never mind" amendment there is. Beyond its application to the 18th Amendment, this one doesn't have any real modern relevancy.
Minor Procedural Issues We Should Have Seen Coming Group
24) 20th Amendment (Start Date of Terms)
This changed when Presidential and Congressional terms start. It moved them up, because travel and vote counting was no longer a reason for delay. It also put in writing that if a President-Elect were shot or died before inauguration, the Vice President-Elect becomes President. This is an amendment you never think about and only ever learn in school.
23) 27th Amendment (Congressional Pay Hike Delay)
This was actually one of the first 12 amendments proposed, but it wasn't adopted by enough states and was forgotten about until Gregory Watson, a University of Texas grad student, found it and pushed it nationwide. States jumped on board, and soon it was passed. Only four states have never affirmed it, but who cares...it's law. In short, Congressional pay changes don't take effect until after the next election. Interestingly, Watson got a C on his original paper because the professor didn't think it was realistic that it'd become an amendment.
22) Seventh Amendment (Civil Trial By Jury)
The second of the Bill of Rights! I had to take a look at this a second time. At first I read it as "you can have a trial by jury." That's important! But no. The Seventh says you can have a trial by jury for a civil suit over as little as $20. Even with inflation, $20 is still the rule. Who invokes a jury trial for a $25 disagreement? That seems like a job for the People's Court, not a court of the people.
21) 12th Amendment (Presidential Election Fix)
This is the "Oops, political parties messed things up" Amendment. Originally, the electoral college voted for president, with Vote-Getter 1 becoming President and Vote-Getter 2 becoming Vice President. Obviously, this doesn't work out great if they're of opposite political parties. This amendment came after President Adams and Jefferson were elected with less-than-helpful vice presidents.
20) 22nd Amendment (Presidential Term Limits)
You know that whole "We have a President, not a king" thing? Well, it took us until after FDR had been elected four times to really mean that. This was touted by Thomas Dewey... of "Dewey Defeats Truman" fame... during the "Dewey Defeats Truman" time period, too.
Major Procedural Issues That Had To Be Addressed Group
19) 11th Amendment (Sovereign Immunity)
In short, states can't be sued by people who don't live in that state. Nor can they be sued by a foreigner who doesn't live in that state. Long story short, six years after the Constitution was signed, Georgia got sued by a dude from South Carolina on behalf of a guy that gave supplies to Georgia during the Revolutionary War. Georgia said "We don't answer to you, Guy Who Doesn't Live in Georgia." In court, Georgia lost. Within 2 years, this amendment was passed to say that states are immune from lawsuits from outsiders. It was the first "That's a Problem; Let's Fix It" issue after the Bill of Rights.
18) 16th Amendment (Income Tax Distribution)
This is another reaction to a court case, called the Pollock case. The Constitution pretty clearly said that taxes on property have to be distributed by population. The Pollock case ruled that portions of a graduated income tax were unconstitutional because it wasn't distributed by population. Congress decided to fix it by saying that income tax can be distributed however Congress wants.
Important Yet So Broad They Aren't As Important Group
17) Ninth Amendment (Other Powers)
"Just because we didn't list other rights doesn't mean those other rights can be denied/disparaged." In theory, this means a lot. In practice, it doesn't. The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and those in his judicial vein have found, in short, that "Just because other rights exist doesn't mean the Constitution protects them." These folks are called Originalists, and basically believe that if the Constitution doesn't list a right, it doesn't get protection. Many conservative court-watchers are originalists. But originalists are kind of contradicted by this amendment, right?
16) Tenth Amendment (Federalism)
If the Constitution doesn't explicitly list a right for the federal government, then that right belongs to the states. This rarely gets much application anymore, and the Supreme Court in 1941 said it's mostly just a harmless truism. However, the Tenth Amendment has been a part of some significant recent cases, most notably the 2012 Obamacare ruling that said states can't be forced to expand Medicaid.
Why Didn't We Think Of This Before? Group
15) 25th Amendment (Presidential Succession)
What happens if a President dies? OK, that's in the Constitution, but nothing after that. No way to fill the role of Vice President, no idea what happens if the Vice President dies, no way to determine if a President is incapacitated (even temporarily, like during a colonoscopy). This cleans that up. It's important, but it's also mostly just legalese.
14) 26th Amendment (Voting Age Lowered to 18)
This may seem like it should go lower on the list, but it was mostly a response to the Vietnam War. If 18-21 year olds can fight and die for the country, they should be able to vote. It's significant, but it's not like this was a political earthquake or anything.
13) 23rd Amendment -- (D.C. Electors)
Washington, D.C., gets electors in the electoral college based on population. But they are limited to no more than the smallest state. In this case, Wyoming is the smallest state with only three electors. As of the most recent Census, there are more people living in D.C. than in Wyoming. If they gain another 300,000-400,000 people in the future, the size cap on electors could become an issue -- then, they'd be somewhere around the 43rd largest state and be pressing harder for statehood.
12) 17th Amendment (Senate By Popular Vote)
You get to vote for Senators now! Before this, it was decided by state legislatures. This probably should have been the case the entire time, but it took us until just before World War I to figure it out.
I'm Not Sure Where This Goes, But Here Seems OK
11) Second Amendment (Gun Rights)
It's interesting how the "well-regulated militia" part gets left off by gun rights advocates. There are lots of recent court cases about this, and it will probably always be in the courts. I don't have a lot to say about it; this moves up or down the list depending on your affinity for guns.
Civil Rights Group
10) 24th Amendment (No Poll Taxes)
Also known as the "Knock it off, Southern States" Amendment. It was used as a go-round to stop African Americans from voting. This one was only passed during the Civil Rights era.
9) 15th Amendment (Voting Rights for Black People)
An extension of the whole reason we fought the Civil War. Voting rights can't be based on race. This was a key part of Reconstruction.
8) 19th Amendment (Women Can Vote)
There's not a lot to say about this, other than it took too damn long. Roughly 50 percent of the country getting the right to vote is SUPER IMPORTANT.
7) 13th Amendment (Banning Slavery)
Yet another issue that took too damn long. It's the reason for the country's only (yet!) Civil War. I just read the text, and ... involuntary servitude is still legal as sentencing for a crime. That's an interesting loophole, but I think it also gets covered by another amendment further down the list.
Pillars of Modern Justice
6) Eighth Amendment (Cruel and Unusual Punishment)
Hey! It's that other amendment I just mentioned! Legally speaking, there are other, more basic rights. This one is further down the list because many believe the death penalty is cruel and unusual, but it's legal. Also, it's only for those already convicted of crime, and there's just a slight bit less empathy for convicts than those merely accused of a crime.
5) 4th Amendment (Unreasonable Search and Seizure)
These next three are incredibly hard to rank. I have no argument if you place them in another order. They're all the most basic of our laws for the Judicial Branch. Nearly half of the Bill of Rights is about putting more of a spine in the Judicial Branch. Search and seizure is kind of the start of an experience with the law. Any one of these three without the others would leave the court open to corruption. This one is about police needing a warrant before searching and seizing your property*.
* Some exclusions may apply, but it's complicated and I don't want to get into it.
4) Fifth Amendment (LOTS OF THINGS)
There's a lot in this one amendment: No one will face trials for major crimes unless a grand jury indicts them first; No double jeopardy; "I plead the Fifth" -- no self-incriminating testimony can be compelled; The "due process" clause that you can't lose life, liberty or property without due process; and eminent domain (the odd man out here) that the government can't take private property without proper compensation. It's a pretty dense amendment. That's why it's so important.
3) Sixth Amendment (ALSO LOTS OF THINGS)
You've got a lot here, too: Right to a speedy and public trial; Right to a jury trial in the district in which the crime was committed; Right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; Right to have witnesses face you in person in trial; Right to have legal counsel; and Right to subpoena witnesses on a defendant's behalf. Can you imagine a world in which these don't exist? It sounds like a dystopia or North Korea or something.
Super Important Ones
2) 14th Amendment (Citizenship and Equal Protection)
This one gets really high up on the list not just because of its immediate impact -- Reconstruction -- but because of its impact on history. This one granted Native Americans and former slaves citizenship. It also said the federal government trumps state laws, part of the due process clause. But most important was the "Equal Protection" clause. It doesn't look like much in context, but it was first extended beyond African Americans to Asian Americans, then to women. It's the basis of the arguments for gay rights advocates right now. The rest of the amendment mostly dealt with post-Civil War issues, but the three biggest issues were biggies: citizenship, equal protection and due process.
1) First Amendment (Five Freedoms)
It's 45 words, but these 45 words made America what it is. It included five freedoms that remain the basis for constitutional democracy worldwide. Here are the Five Freedoms: 1a) No law respecting an establishment of religion 1b) nor the free exercise thereof 2) No law abridging the freedom of speech 3) Nor of the freedom of press 4) Nor of the right to peaceably assemble 5) We also have the freedom to petition our government for redress of grievances. That's probably the most succinct yet powerful 45 words ever. Without the First Amendment, we don't have much of a democracy.
Mixed Signs in New Poll
A new poll by Quinnipiac focused on who the public trusts more, President Trump or the news media. The answers were both a relief and a concern.
First, the good news: 52 percent of the respondents said the news media is more trustworthy than President Trump, as compared to 37 percent who say it's the other way around. (Note: I still think that's too high.) Those numbers are fairly consistent with men overall (50-40), women overall (55-35), college-educated white voters (55-37), independents (50-38), and respondents across every age category. The age groups were also telling: the younger a respondent, the more likely they were to trust the news media over President Trump. That gives me hope that the younger generation trusts the work of journalists.
Where I found concern was that the poll also showed a few groups that trust President Trump more than the news media, and it's almost exactly what one might expect. Self-described Republicans trust President Trump more than the news media by a whopping 78-13 margin (!). White people without a college degree are the opposite of the national trend, trusting President Trump 55-37 over the news media. Further, the disparity between white people and those of color could not be more clear. White men trust President Trump more, 46-45. White women trust the news media slightly more at 48-45. White people in general trust the news media more 46-45. People of color trust the news media 68-18 more than President Trump.
Olathe Shooting
We're exactly the opposite side of metropolitan Kansas City from Olathe, but what I thought would fizzle out as a regional story has been picked up by national outlets. I'm glad it's gaining national attention, because the story behind the shooting of three men at a bar in Olathe is horrifying.
Two Garmin engineers of Indian descent, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani — both my age, roughly — were regulars at a bar called Austin's. A 51-year-old white man, Adam Purinton, began yelling racial slurs at the two and told them to "Get out of my country," according to witnesses. He then opened fire. Madasani survived. Kuchibhotla died on Wednesday. Another man, Ian Grillot, tried to chase down Purinton in the parking lot, but counted the number of gunshots and was nearly killed (hit in hand and chest by bullet, but will survive) for his trouble. Purinton fled the scene to Clinton, Mo., where he told a bartender at Applebee's that he needed a place to hide for a while, since he just shot two Middle Eastern men. He was soon arrested and is in jail on $2 million bail.
Kuchibhotla and Madasani were not Middle Eastern. They were not dangerous. They were engineers contributing to the country. There are GoFundMe accounts set up for Kuchibhotla and Grillot (who's still in the hospital). This is a hate crime. Where did Purinton get these ideas? Demonization without empathy produces hate. This is the power of rhetoric: that anyone who looks vaguely Middle Eastern is considered a threat by those predisposed to hatred. This incident is a pitch-perfect example of why some of us are so incensed by hateful rhetoric.
Summary Judgments
It's concerning to me when members of the Administration have different talking points. The messages given by Vice President Pence and Steve Bannon to EU representatives show there is a sharp divide in the Trump Administration. • • • In case you were wondering who I prefer for the chair of the DNC, the short answer is I don't care. The long answer is: If they want to win and not just be an opposition party, they'll have to have a 50-state strategy. They'll have to work to take back state legislatures and governorships and seats in "red states." It doesn't matter the name on the chair so long as they're committed to being more than an obstacle — to being an alternative — for Republicans. So far I've not been impressed by Democratic messaging. • • • I have been running a lot this week with the great weather. I ran 3.1 miles on Monday in 34:30. I then ran 3.25 miles on Wednesday in 34 minutes. I'm on track for my first 4-miler on March 11. I've been looking at my running calendar, and I'm seriously considering a 10K in September. I might be crazy. • • • The kids have been adorable lately, especially when Roland eats something with protein in it. When he doesn't have enough protein, he's a 2-year-old Terror. When he gets a cheese stick or peanut butter? He's the most adorable kid ever. One night this week after he ate dinner, he got real close to Alyson's face and said, "You're pretty, Mommy." And that's how our heart melted in three words.
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