WELCOME to the debut of “The Truth Is!”, a blog of reporting and commentary that aims to be informative, thoughtful and provocative. At least initially, the blog will have a strong heartland flavor by virtue of the connection of a number of us to Cowles family journalism. I am former editor of the Des Moines Register’s opinion pages. Another contributor, Michael Gartner, is former editor of the paper; he later served as president of NBC News. Another former Register editor who has agreed to contribute, Geneva Overholser, is director of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg school of journalism. Followers of the blog will have access also to the work of Herbert Strentz of Des Moines, a close Register and other newspaper watcher who once headed Drake University’s journalism school. Bill Leonard, a longtime Register editorial writer, will add insights.

“The Truth Is!” will be supervised by my daughter, Marcia Wolff, a communications lawyer for 20 years with Arnold and Porter (Washington, D.C.). Invaluable technical assistance in assembling and maintaining the blog is provided by my grandsons Julian Cranberg, a college first-year, and Daniel Wolff, a high school senior.

If you detect a whiff of nepotism in this operation, so be it. All of it is strictly a labor of love. —Gil Cranberg

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Gilbert Cranberg: TIME TO DUST OFF THE THIRD AMENDMENT

Americans know that if they are in a crowded theater and smell smoke and see flames they have a right under the First Amendment to shout “Fire!” They also know that if an obnoxious neighbor steps into their yard they have a Second Amendment right to shoot him. Less well known is that the Third Amendment gives them the right to be free of unwanted houseguests.   

That’s right, the seldom-mentioned Third Amendment says, “No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” 

And you wonder why the country struggles under a mountain of debt? Millions of half-empty private residences dot the land while the government pays a fortune to put traveling troops in motels. 

The folks who scream to high heaven about government spending and the deficit don’t utter a peep about this wasteful extravagance. It’s time they did and raise their voices in behalf of a movement to urge Americans to waive their Third Amendment rights. 

Despite the Third Amendment, troops were quartered in private homes during the civil war. All those who moan and groan about taxes and government spending should favor bringing the Third Amendment back into the conversation.

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