Treason, it often is said, is the only crime defined by the Constitution.  Article III, Section 3 provides: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort...”

   There is more in Art. III, Sec. 3.  The standard for conviction on a charge of treason also is set:  “...No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in…

   The Framers of the Constitution tried, in 1787 at the Convention, to address many things in the document that became the Constitution. Of course they institutionalized and protected the most evil institution in our history—slavery—although the delegates were products of the Enlightenment.

    As to the selection of what they termed, early in the Convention, as the “Chief Magistrate,” and what we call the President, they were conscious of efforts foreign powers might to interfere in…

The podcast “Civil Discourse Now” will return to the local pod “scene” for all the pod people who are interested in events that seem to shape our lives. If you want to view The Show, watch for it on FaceBook, the most popular blog roll in Indiana, or at civildiscoursenow dot com.

   In the pasture, when I was a kid, a Sycamore tree—I will capitalize the name of this great type of tree—stood alone and apart from everything. The tree was old, the darkened bark long before fallen away on parts of the trunk and branches.  The white and gray were exposed.  The huge leaves covered the ground in the fall, but it was pasture land and eventually mulched.  The tree was older than I was (obviously), and I have no clue how old.  The tree was gigantic—as mature Sycamores tend to…