Those few of you who were paying attention in high school may have learned that the United States is not in fact a "democracy" but instead a "federal republic." Now, those two words may have an alien, or even a frightening ring to many people today. In fact, the founders of the USA were as concerned about the excesses of pure democracy as they were about the excesses of the English monarchy that they rebelled against.

Randy Barnett, a professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University, offers in the Wall Street Journal a modest proposal of a Constitutional amendment to restore the "federal" part of our federal republic:

Section 1: Congress shall have power to regulate or prohibit any activity between one state and another, or with foreign nations, provided that no regulation or prohibition shall infringe any enumerated or unenumerated right, privilege or immunity recognized by this Constitution.

Section 2: Nothing in this article, or the eighth section of article I, shall be construed to authorize Congress to regulate or prohibit any activity that takes place wholly within a single state, regardless of its effects outside the state or whether it employs instrumentalities therefrom; but Congress may define and punish offenses constituting acts of war or violent insurrection against the United States.

Section 3: The power of Congress to appropriate any funds shall be limited to carrying into execution the powers enumerated by this Constitution and vested in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof; or to satisfy any current obligation of the United States to any person living at the time of the ratification of this article.

Section 4: The 16th article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed, effective five years from the date of the ratification of this article.

Section 5: The judicial power of the United States to enforce this article includes but is not limited to the power to nullify any prohibition or unreasonable regulation of a rightful exercise of liberty. The words of this article, and any other provision of this Constitution, shall be interpreted according to their public meaning at the time of their enactment.

Click on the WSJ link above for more explanation. It seems like a good place to start for me, especially the part about abolishing the income tax in Section 4, and the "no, really, we mean it" language in Section 5.

Rasmussen has the numbers:

Sixty percent (60%) of Americans say the federal government has too much power and too much money, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Just nine percent (9%) say the government has too little power and money. Twenty-four percent (24%) believe the government has about the right amount of both.

So why then are we throwing money at the government like it's going out of style? (money, that is, not government)

Hope! Change!

Dolphins.

China Radio International reported the Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China's fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the China's.

The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness before the vast number of dolphins. The spectacular scene continued for a while.

No. Seriously.

A short horror film, by Andrew Klavan.

It would be funnier if it wasn't the cold simple truth.

Via Little Green Footballs (a blog I'm rapidly developing a strong appreciation for) a YouTube video, about 9:40 long (probably 3 minutes too long, but oh, well):

I kept thinking about global warming and the Food Pyramid when watching this . . . not to mention the uncritical acclaim for Obama in certain circles.

Freelance journalist Michael Yon reports:

My suggestion, for folks heading to Thailand at this time, is to make other plans. Though it's extremely unlikely that Thai people would lash out at tourists, travelers could get stuck stuck in Thailand if the airport is closed again. If you do get stuck and cannot fly from Bangkok, there are myriad ways to get out -- such as flying from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Koh Samui, or going overland to Laos, Cambodia, or Malaysia. Or hop on a cruise ship and step off in some another country such as Singapore, from which you can fly to anywhere in the world. Singapore is probably about the safest country in the world so long as you remember two things: 1) Don't smuggle drugs (execution); 2) Look both ways before crossing a road.

The unrest in Thailand is an ongoing tragedy.

Watch. Learn. Understand.

I really should start laying off posting these little observations about the Dear Leader of our Glorious New Democratic Socialist Paradise. But it's just too damn easy.

Pew Research Center:

Partisan Gap in Obama Job Approval Widest in Modern Era

For all of his hopes about bipartisanship, Barack Obama has the most polarized early job approval ratings of any president in the past four decades. The 61-point partisan gap in opinions about Obama's job performance is the result of a combination of high Democratic ratings for the president -- 88% job approval among Democrats -- and relatively low approval ratings among Republicans (27%).

Yep. The age of partisanship is over. After all, Dear Leader announced it himself, a while ago, with this correct and complete explanation of why his policies were both intellectually superior and economically correct:

I won.

Heckofa job, Barry.

Via Belmont Club.

or, the Government. It really is hard to tell, sometimes . . . Arnold Kling

Think of government as a charity. From a libertarian perspective, it is a charity run by the Mafia, which will break your knuckles if you don't make your donations. It is also a badly mismanaged charity. It funnels lots of money into questionable causes, and even when the causes are good the programs that it funds tend to be very wasteful.

If you voted for Obama, you voted for a guy who thinks it's an appropriate gift to give the Queen of England an iPod that contains . . . wait for it . . . Obama's speeches.

I sh!+ you not. ABC News' Jake Tapper reports:

Uploaded onto the iPod:

* Photos from the Queen's 2007 White House State Visit
* Photos from the Queen's 2007 Jamestown, Va., Visit
* Photos from the Queen's 2007 Richmond, Va., Visit
* Video from the Queen's 1957 Jamestown Visit
* Video from the Queen's 2007 Jamestown Visit
* Video from the Queen's 2007 Richmond Visit
* Photos from President Obama's Inauguration
* Audio of then-state senator Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and
* Audio of President Obama 2009 Inauguration Address

On the other hand, Tapper has the skinny on the Queen's gift to His Ohness:

Britain's Press Association reports that the Royal couple gave the Obamas "a silver-framed, signed photograph of themselves."

I guess we'll call this one a draw, then.