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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

COACH SCHATZ: FROM THE SIDELINE

    It snowed on June 5th, and now it has snowed again on Oct. 5th. That is a good three months without snow. You would think that we lived near the Arctic Circle and yet, we are part of the 48 contiguous states. Some days it is warmer in Tuktoyaktuk. I love North Dakota, but if this keeps up, I’m thinking about heading south for the winter. Global Warming, (a.k.a. climate change), where are you?

  Our continuing look at the US Constitution takes us to the 8th amendment (punishment for crimes): “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.” This is a very short amendment, in fact, it is the shortest of them all, but it carries a big punch.

    Bail is the sum of money that a person accused of crime may be required to post (deposit with the court) as a guarantee that she or he will appear in court. This has given rise to a private enterprise known as bail bondsman who will give you the money for a fee, and if you flee, will make sure that you are in court at the time posted. The amount of bail must bear a relationship with the seriousness of the crime.

    Cruel and unusual punishment forbids a judge from being too harsh for the crime committed. This amendment brings up the topic of capital punishment (which the Supreme Court of the US declared unconstitutional for a time) and should we put to death people who commit certain crimes. North Dakota’s constitution expressly forbids capital punishment, and so the most a murderer can get in North Dakota is life imprisonment.

    Our next amendment in the Bill of Rights is the 9th amendment: “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” This is the second shortest amendment. I read this and then I thought I had better look some words up in the Funk & Wagnall. Enumeration: a list of items; construed: interpreted; disparage: to treat with disrespect, belittle.

    The 9th amendment says that we, the people, have many civil rights that protect us against government infringement, but it does not mean, the listed ones (religion, speech, press, assembly, petition, etc.) are the only ones. We can have more. The genius of the framers of the Constitution allowed for the internet and all of its pluses and minuses. I wonder if we would be as visionary for freedom in writing a constitution today?

    As a teacher for 27 years, I always wanted my students to pay attention, especially when I was lecturing or having class discussions. You read your audience, and if their eyes are straying toward the clock to see when class will be dismissed, they probably aren’t learning too much. I also love maps. Maps of geography and history are wonderful things, and I used them often to illustrate my points. Sometimes I liked to torture my students by covering up the clock with a map I would pull down towards the end to the hour. One day, I could see the eyes straying from me while talking about Napoleon, and how smart a general he was. I moved over and pulled down a map of Shakespearian England, and there was a Playboy Centerfold staring me in the face. At this point, you have to think quickly. I smoothly rolled the map back up, without hesitation, as I continued to explain how much better life was under Napoleon than under the reign of terror.  I’m still curious about who the prankster was. Have a good one!

Yours in the Spirit of the Republic,

Mike Schatz

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