Does Congress have the authority to pass a PATRIOT ACT without consent of the people ?

Firstly, let's get a few things straight. At my height--five foot four inches--chances are that I am *not* taller than you. I am used to looking up to people, so yes, we don't see eye to eye, I'm sure.

As to whether I or anyone in my family have had an opportunity to examine and ratify the Constitution, in my case, the answer is yes. I have an ancestor who in fact served on the Constitutional Convention in South Carolina. Now, of course, one is not obligated to agree with every decision made by one's ancestors, but in this case, I trust John Duncan. He had spent two long years in captivity with the British in Quebec, and I am sure that the precepts of the document he was asked to examine must have appeared a lot more like freedom to him than life under the British--which broke him so severely he did not even choose to go back to his own farmland, nor accept land or even a pension that the newly formed U.S. government were prepared to offer him for his service.

Now...on to your other points. You also assume that the Constitution is a contract, but you forget the equation assumed by the concept of a contract...put in the simplest fashion, a contract is nothing more than "offer and acceptance." When you say that you haven't had an opportunity to examine it and ratify it for yourself, this is "acceptance." The government isn't actively offering the Constitution to each generation for its ratification...indeed, even from the beginning, this is not at all the intention of the ones who drafted this document. The Constitution outlines the enumerated powers (as you point out, in Article I, section 8) and the limitations of the newly formed government. It is not a contract; there is no implied right for an aggrieved individual to sue the government if any part of it is violated.

Now with regard to your "opt-out clause"...this is an interesting concept, and I would like to hear further explanation about this. Are you opting out of taxation? Would this also imply opting out of any governmental intervention--for example, police protection, use of infrastructure such as roads, etc.--and also protections given by the Constitution such as the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to be secure in your person, home, and effects? BTW I am not trying to inflame you here...I am seeking your honest opinion about this. Perhaps you envision the ones who "opt out" of coercion to be islands onto themselves, not needing the protections or services of the government...and that's fine if that's in fact what you believe.

Another question, this time with regard to what I believe about all of this. I would like to see our government run in accordance with a strict interpretation of the Constitution. I agree that the government and the courts are in effect mostly run by an oligarchy--"ruling families" such as the Kennedys, and smaller versions of "aristocracy" in the various states--and that there is a lot of legislation that is passed that is not at all in accordance with Constitutional principles. I would like to see this problem cleaned up as much as you do, I suspect. I honestly believe that if we can somehow open representative democracy up to a wider variety of people (as elected officials, I mean) and force Congress to only pass bills which have Constitutional justification, this would go a long way to shrinking government and reducing the strain on taxpayers. Would this alternative be even somewhat acceptable to you? I submit that the changes I envision would in fact be a radical change in how Washington does business...and probably far beyond the ken of the mindset of many politicians in Congress today.

Last comment...I can't disagree with you about the ultimate goal of American public education. As pointed out by John Taylor Gatto, its roots lie in the example set by the militaristic Prussians of the American Revolution. The goal of public education is brainwashing, pure and simple, a most effective way of perpetuating herdlike behavior and thought.

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.
Thomas Jefferson