Oh Sandy!

This post is part of a 2012 monthly series of MySheCave.com posts on the topic of the U.S. Constitution.

Similar to when Elton John changed his Candle in the Wind lyrics to honor the late Princess Diana (the revised tune was titled, “Goodbye England’s Rose”), if we were to ask Barry Manilow to revise his famous tune, “Mandy,” to honor the victims of this past week’s Hurricane Sandy, he could tweak one of the most famous lyrics of the Mandy song to be:

 “Oh Sandy well,
You came and you left our hearts breaking.”

The devastation from Sandy’s wake has left so many of us living in outlying areas wondering, “How can we help?”  Here is a list of charitable organizations to which you can denote to help victims of the storm.

One of the ways the U.S. federal government has been assisting Hurricane Sandy victims is through the deployment of the National Guard of the United States.

Do you know which Article of the U.S. Constitution authorizes the existence of the U.S. National Guard?

According to Wikipedia, Article One, Section 8; Clause 14 gives the United States Congress, “the power to pass laws ‘calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions.’ ”  The Wikipedia entry goes on to state that Title 10 of the United States Code defines National Guard members as a subset of the “Militia.”

What is your experience with the U.S. National Guard?  Are you aware that the National Guard is the oldest component of the U.S. armed forces?

Do you personally know any members of the Guard?  And, have you ever witnessed a live deployment?

Without doubt, many of the Hurricane Sandy victims likely viewed the National Guard vehicles and troops who were trudging through the floodwaters earlier this week like guardian angels.