Founders' intent irrelevant?

In his book The Constitution in Exile, Judge Andrew Napolitano lists all the ways the Constitution and our civil liberties have been assaulted by the growth of big government. He discusses an important 1934 case, Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell, where the Supreme Court "flatly subordinated the Contracts Clause to whatever the Court and the legislature would deem a 'valid police pupose.' It also dismissed the Founders' intent for the Contracts Clause as being irrelevant in 1934. The code words "emergency legislation" and "valid police purpose" seem to be just what George Orwell warned us to watch out for in 1984. Any time the government claims to be helping by way of an "emergency," it usually just means it is taking power from individuals."

All Americans should read this important book. You'll be especially disturbed by the chapter on the Patriot Act.