In 1887, historian Lord Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Slowly, the federal government is seizing more of our liberties and violating the Constitution. Section 8 of the Constitution lists the powers granted to the government, yet, in my opinion, the federal government has gone way beyond these powers and has usurped the states’ power. There are many social programs run by the federal government that I don’t think are among the powers given to the federal government.
There has been an increase in the use of the state secrets privilege to withhold evidence in cases that seek to hold a governmental department accountable for its action, such as Operation Fast and Furious, a controversial anti-gunrunning program. According to a story on www.cbsnews.com, the Department of Justice redacted information on documents it turned over to Congressional investigators.
The case of voter intimidation by the New Black Panthers in 2008 was dropped by the Department of Justice. Was it because President Barack Obama reportedly appeared with members of the New Black Panther Party as he campaigned for president in Selma, Ala., in 2007?
It’s a crime to sell weapons to criminals and transport them illegally to another country. Yet, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives did exactly that. According to narcosphere.narconews.com, whistleblowers allege that 1,800 illegally purchased firearms were carried across the border from the United States to Mexico in an effort to target the people behind gunrunning enterprises.Yet, no indictments have been handed down.
The constitution clearly states that the government cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion, yet our courts have ruled such exercise unlawful by forbidding local courts from displaying the Ten Commandments and forbidding prayer in schools. The phrase “separation of church and state” does not appear anywhere in the Constitution.
Since unions contribute heavily to Democrat campaigns, the National Labor Relations Board filed a lawsuit against Boeing earlier this year, charging the aerospace company with illegally retaliating against union workers in Washington by moving a factory to South Carolina, which is a right-to-work state, according to tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com.    
Now the Securities and Exchange Commission is on a witch hunt because Standard and Poor’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating. This is another way that the government uses its power against those who do not accept its practices.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 ruled that people who refuse to give their names to police can be arrested, even if they have done nothing wrong, stripping citizens of their constitutional protection under the Bill of Rights.
Watch what you post on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Big brother is watching. According to the Washington Times, the White House is collecting and storing comments that are not in step with the administration.
Have you flown recently and had a body scan? Talk about invasion of privacy. You might as well have your nude photo published in Playboy.
The administration’s use of policy advisers (czars) who hold positions of power and authority in the administration is unprecedented.
Could the Constitution be overthrown a little at a time over a period of decades?
Maybe.
“The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” — Frederick Douglass, Aug. 4, 1857

Calderone is a conservative who lives in Midway. He is a professional salesperson and for 30 years has written articles for trade publications in various fields.