Ginni Rometty Quotes
That the General Assembly doth particularly protest against the palpable and alarming infractions of the Constitution, in the two late cases of the "Alien and Sedition Acts" passed at the last session of Congress; the first of which exercises a power no where delegated to the federal government, and which by uniting legislative and judicial powers to those of executive, subverts the general principles of free government; as well as the particular organization, and positive provisions of the federal constitution; and the other of which acts, exercises in like manner, a power not delegated by the constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by one of the amendments thereto; a power, which more than any other, ought to produce universal alarm, because it is leveled against that right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever been justly deemed, the only effectual guardian of every other right
Virginia, Senate Resolution, December 24, 1798
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
President John Adams Alien and Sedition Acts were amongst the worst laws ever passed in America. It totally violated the First Amendment but at the time the Supreme Court had not ruled on the laws which prohibited criticizing the government. Ironically, it was Adams’s son, John Quincy Adams who finally led the repeal effort.
Three Chicago Aldermen had marched on an art school demanding that a painting they found offensive be removed from public display. The police seized the painting, prompting a lawsuit.
Bush, more so than any other president, claimed executive powers that had never been claimed by other presidents even in wartime. At the time the senator made this statement, the Supreme Court had ruled against the President on several of his claims and others were pending. The powers ranged from the right to hold even American Citizens incommunicado without filing any charges or going before a court or even allowing a court to review the action if the President Claims the person was an “enemy combatant” or “terrorist”; to the right to spy on American Citizens phone calls in America without any court review and even went so far as to claim the right to question Americans or other suspected enemies by methods that are classified as “torture” by most nations and is even illegal by the American Military Regulations for interrogating prisoners.
Commonly referred to as the Kentucky Resolution.
Actually it was Thomas Jefferson who had drafted most of the language. This attack was aimed at President John Adams, the big supporter of the unpopular Alien and Sedition laws, and the man Jefferson was intent on unseating at the end of his first term. He did and destroyed the Federalist Party in the process.
These laws promulgated during the Adams administration were hated by Jefferson. When he assumed the Presidency he pardoned all who had been convicted under that law.
Though not very dramatic or succinct, this is a very important quotation in American History. The original drafters of the Constitution concentrated on limiting the powers of the executive—the role of the King. But the Congress had no limits placed on them. In Britain, to this day, the Parliament can do whatever they wish as there is no restraint on them other than their prudence and reasonableness. Madison used the example of the Alien and Sedition Acts—huge infringements on the rights of Americans—to show why the legislative branch must also be more restrained and limited. And that was the logic behind adding the Bill of Rights to our Constitutions.
There was a well orchestrated Congressional effort to pass a Constitutional Amendment to prohibit flag burning. There had been no recent incident of flag burning and there had been little or no flag burning for decades since the Vietnam War. Yet a small group of Congressmen had managed to get the issue onto the American national political agenda by skillful manipulation of the media and excellent PR.
Most people agree as to what the powers are that are “enumerated” in the Constitution. But there is endless difference of opinion as to what the “implied necessary and proper” powers are. However, this quotation establishes the greater powers of the Government to act in foreign affairs.
In the early 1900's there were major labor disputes between Colorado miners and the mine owners (the Colorado Mining Wars). Colorado Governor James H. Peabody ordered in a thousand troops under the command of Bell. Replying to the charge that his treatment of the miners was unconstitutional:
Twenty year prison sentences were imposed for publishing left wing Bolshevik literature. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court:
Striking down a law making cross burning a crime:
Virginia Marie "Ginni" Rometty is an American business executive who served as executive chairman of IBM after stepping down as CEO on April 1, 2020. She previously served as chairman, president and CEO of IBM, becoming the first woman to head the company. She retired from IBM on December 31, 2020 after a near-40 year career at IBM. Prior to becoming president and CEO in January 2012, she first joined IBM as a systems engineer in 1981 and subsequently headed global sales, marketing, and strategy. While general manager of IBM's global services division, in 2002 she helped negotiate IBM's purchase of PricewaterhouseCoopers' IT consulting business, becoming known for her work integrating the two companies. As CEO, she focused IBM on analytics, cloud computing, and cognitive computing systems.
