A true hero decides not to leave Congress

John Shadegg, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, has decided not to seek another term. He has been serving Arizona's 3rd district since being elected in 1994.

*** Update *** Mr. Shadegg changed his mind on 2/22/2008!!! He is going to run in November.

One of Mr. Shadegg's highest priorities has been the Enumerated Powers Act. Verbiage from John Shadegg's website explains it very well: "The Enumerated Powers Act, H.R. 1359, requires that all bills introduced in the U.S. Congress include a statement setting forth the specific constitutional authority under which the law is being enacted. This measure will force a continual re-examination of the role of the national government, and will fundamentally alter the ever-expanding reach of the federal government."

This bill has been introduced to every Congress starting in 1995. Why wasn't it ever passed? Could it be because the powers that be in Washington don't want their power limited to what the Constitution allows?

I challenge the reader to apply this principle to the "promises" made by the candidates during this Presidential campaign season. If you do not have a pocket copy of the Constitution to which to refer, you may get one free by browsing to http://www.heritage.org/ and clicking on the "We the People" icon.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Maybe it is time to stop creating "Gun-Free Zones". What sense does it make to have places where crazy homicidal maniacs know that no law-abiding citizen will be armed so they have the ability to do their killing without the possibility of being stopped by one of their victims?

Of course, this will give some politicians the incentive to create even more restrictive gun control laws as they still don't realize the unintended consequence of their previous actions.

Economist John Lott discusses this issue in his book "More Guns Less Crime"