Limits on Congress

Article V

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

Our Founding Fathers seem brilliant to me. They put several clauses into the document that controls our government that amount to checks and balances that no one had seen before, and are seldom used.

This one clause, highlighted above, is one that is long over due in its application. Thirty for state legislatures are need to call a constitutional convention with regard to proposing an amendment to the Constitution, and thiry eight states need to radify this document to change our govening document.

The federal government is in need of taking down a peg, and just changing the party in power every 2 to 4 years is not getting it done.

The Founders originally set out term limits in the Articles of Confederation but removed them in the Constitution feeling they had no place on a shortened document.

http://www.usconstitution.net/articles.html#Article5

Article V. For the most convenient management of the general interests of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislatures of each State shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each State to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead for the remainder of the year.

No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor more than seven members; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the United States, for which he, or another for his benefit, receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind.

We talk and whine that no one hears us in DC. If we started an Constitutional convention outside of the DC arena, with the aim of Amending the Constitution and add term limits to the members of Congress..............................can you hear me now?

This is a subject that rings true with the voting public. Consistent polling show that 60% + of all
voters support term limits on the Congress, just ask the representatives in the California State Legislature.

This is a idea who's time has come.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Some of us, who haven't suffered through the last 15 or so years of public education, will recognize those words as coming from our Declaration of Independence.

Our founders recognized that the rights of men were not granted by kings or land holders or such. These rights come from a place where no one man or group of men hold sway. These rights we are born with and are granted to us by a power no one can challenge or change. They believed that the rights we have, all men have, and that they come from our Creator.

Over the years religion is slowly being driven from our society., and this just didn't start in the US. Some references are made to the decline of Christianity starting back in the late 1800's. Why? Some might believe we are more "enlightened", some that we are more "evolved", some are just to lazy to get up on Sunday and do the work or are embarrassed to voice their beliefs.

Look closely though, if God is removed from our society, then where will we say our rights come from?

Our current group in Washington would love to have you believe that your rights come from them. That their intellectual prowess is all that is necessary to make all thing clear, and nothing will work better than the way they lay it out.

There are many rich elitists who put their financial muscle behind what they feel are the causes that need to be addressed to give the world "proper direction". This is not something new, it has been going on since at least the industrial revolution began and allowed great accumulations of wealth. This desire on the part of our perceived "betters", at least in their minds, to care for and nurture us, reverts us back to a day when kings and their barons dictated the rules of how they rest of the "rabble" would be governed.

The creation of America broke that chain and allowed each of us to have a voice in how he or she was governed. Which causes we find important, and to what degree we will support with our pocket books those causes.

The idea that unelected elitists control our policies should be unacceptable to any liberty loving individual anywhere.


WP

For all of our nation's history, there have been tactical battles between opposing political ideologies -- liberals (leftists) who want to liberate us from constitutional rule of law, and conservatives who strive to conserve rule of law. Great political capital has been, and continues to be, expended by the Left in order to offend our Constitution, and by the Right in order to defend it.

Mark Alexander, Patriot Post.

Some people just don't want to play by the rules. Could you imagine a sporting event that did not have a predetermined set of rules to play by.

That is what our Constitution is, the agreed to list of rules that we run our society with. It was written in plain language and set up the way our Founding Fathers viewed how a government of the people should be run. They drew on the experiences they had lived thru all their lives, the ruling Monarchies of Europe, the Parliament of England, the excesses, abuses, and disappointments of all.

They saw only one goal of this new experiment they started, FREEDOM. They strove to assure that the power of government lay with the people, not with any one person or group. That there would be a way for the people to change those in power when needed, and to change the Rules when needed, by having the MAJORITY of the people agree that a change was needed and was written in a way that they could agree to and live with.

The 10th Amendment was written to specifically define the powers of the Federal Government and state that those powers not given to the Fed belonged to the States, something that our national leaders seemed to have forgotten in recent years.

Our Federal government was never meant to be the ruling body it has become. Read the Articles of Confederation and you will see that our founders believed in, and were passionate about, the rights of each individual state. And, as it should be, because the state is closer to the people than Washington, even in this time of instant global communication. The national government was meant to help in the interaction between the states and between this new country and other countries, not to create the rules and hold the reins. The people are to hold the reins, we hold the power, not the other way around.

We see now that our government wants to control the banks, the oil companies, the auto industry and to what end? They want to control us, but yet we control the means to remove them if we so desire. So the next logical step is to assume that they are not finished, that there are more of our liberties that will vanish. They must move the pieces around so that they have the power to retain their power.

H.B 45 is one step in that direction. The Second Amendment is a big stumbling block on that path to power. Yamamoto was asked why he did not invade the US after Pearl Harbor and his reply was "there would be a gun behind every blade of grass". This remains true today. With 90 million gunowners in the US we have them out gunned, the question is, can we out will them.
Will enough Americans stand and be counted when the status of liberty, real liberty, is on the line?

The current fight that is brewing between the states and the fed over the 10th Amendment is one that needs the support of every American, both Republican and Democrat. We need to push back on the erosion of our rights from both the Congress and the Courts and convey to those inside the beltway that they serve at our connivance not we obey at theirs.

Look on the internet and find those groups that are close to you that are beginning to rise up and petition for the return of the 10th Amendment, write your state representatives and make your voice heard.

It is not to late.

WP

Moving Towards Europe

Last week the POTUS gave the UAW 55% ownership of Chrysler. Bypassing the creditors and as many observed repaying his debt to more of those who got him elected.

The unions provided somewhere in the neighborhood of 67 million to the Obama war chest during the run up to the election. Since only about 10-13% of the United States work force are unionized that is quite a debt to repay.

Union membership has dropped significantly over the decades since the '70's, mainly because the younger members of the work force do not see the benefits of union membership. The leadership of many unions probably see their paycheck slipping away and felt they needed someone in Washington so they went to the wall to contribute to the "One's" election.

I feel this is something other than pay back for all that support. For years now the elite members of our society and government have had an almost morbid fascination with the structure of European governments, societal makeup and socialism in general.

Unions in Europe have major representation on the boards of many corporations and businesses. Now a union in the US has been handed that same privilege.

This is nothing more than a move on the part of elite members of our society to move us in the direction of socialism, a form of government that many European nations are beginning to try and move away from.

Europe is beginning to see the same thing that has happened in the US, manufacturing jobs are moving away. Moving to the newer members of the EU or further east to Asia. Manufacturing in Europe is shrinking because the higher value of the euro vs the dollar. Importing good from the EU just cost more than even making them stateside.

Socialism, some are beginning to realize just causes a stagnation. There is no telling how much further many economies could go if the restrictions were removed and the owners were allowed to take risks. With labor unions strangling many industries in the EU ownership is looking for relief. Relief in the form of less taxes, lower wages, cheaper interest etc.

America seems bent on trying socialism on for size, with total disregard to the past efforts in this country that never panned out. If this is such a great system, everyone would use it.

Now it seems we are going to use it whether we want to of not.

It Belongs to You Now

So congress went ahead and passed the 3.5 trillion dollar Obama budget. Ok anybody feel stimulated? Gm doesn't, Crysler doesn't, many banks are looking for more, I'm having a ball on my 13.00 extra a week. How much are we going to have to give in taxes to support these coming budget deficits?

Last week it was revealed that Bill Gates is once again the king, owning $40,000,000,000.00 of wealth making him the richest man in the world. Now, they are projecting 9 trillion dollars in deficit. So if you took all of Gates' money ( face it the left dosen't think we need to have that much in one mans hands) to help pay off what we owe, he would cover .44 % of the total. Where oh where shall we get the rest?

In 2006 corporate taxes accounted for 24.3 %, taxes on production and imports 6.4 %, taxes from the rest of the world .8 %..........that leaves you and me holding the bag for 68.5% of the monies needed.

http://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-much-does-us-rely-on-personal.html

Get your check books out folks that means we owe $6,165,000,000,000.00 of the coming deficit.
According to the Tax Foundation in 2006 41% of Americans are out side the federal tax system, meaning they either pay no taxes or get extra money back.

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/1410.html


Well that means that the rest of you, cause I don't make any money, owe about $37,282.00 each, that is every man, woman and child. If you would all just forward a check or credit card number we can take care of this and we will all move on.

Of course after the passing of this budget, that no one read, this economy now belong to the Big O. There is no denying it now, Bush has left the building and what Obama does and asks for makes this economy his and his presidency rises or falls on what he and the Congress does.

Did he inherit a bad economy? Every president inherits the economy of his predecessor and the Congress that helps form the policies. For the last 2 years the Congress was held by the Democrats and Obama was a part of that Congress. They controlled the purse strings and the ability to say no to any spending the administration proposed. I think there is plenty of blame to go around for the past. The future?....... where to place the blame is becoming clearer all the time.

We are the "New Jews"

Own a Bible, gun, American flag, marry a member of the opposite sex , seek your Congress Critter to reduce taxes and look out................your one of them. Wait till they find that you live next door or sit in the next cubicle, your life may change forever.
I have a coffee cup at work that says "Infidel" on the side in big bold letters, several people have said I need to throw it out. In the words of Ron White "I don't think so scooter."

Last time I looked this was A-M-E-R-I-C-A, not your watered down, pasty Hollyweird, President apologizing for version, but the land of the free home of the brave version.

The Constitution, remember that document, says we have the right to "freedom of speech" " lawful assembly" etc. Currently many are beginning to believe that only certain groups have the right to assemble and make their views known. Those that feel this way of course are the ones that won the election and now they intend to ram their power and vision of America down our throats.

Common decency, respect, give and take debate are out the window as the elites plow headlong into their "new version" of America.

As in the 1930's they are trying to label us as fast as they can and trying to pass laws that when they manage to slap a label on you, it will affect your right to free speech, possibly to gain employment, or hold specific types of jobs. You wouldn't want a "racist" or "bigot" teaching your kids would you?

We are the "New Jews". They feel we are responsible for a multitude of sins, from alleged global warming, terrorist attacks on our soil, to the way the rest of the world views us.

In the 1930's one of the ways that the German people were controlled was that the opposition view point was silenced. In Castro's Cuba the only media outlets that are allowed to relay the news is are the ones "approved" by the government, and guess what.......they are owned by the Communist Party.

Our country has progressed further faster than any other given our short history. We did not do it by allowing the government to control us the way many seem to want to hand over control to them today.

Face it, the left is worried about any grassroots movement from those of us on the right. Why else would all the Lame Stream ridicule and deride those that participated on April 15th. The Secrete Service broke up the protest in front of the White House and the Washington Post came out with some limp wristed survey saying that 41% want bigger government in their lives.

We have worked ourselves into a great nation, why do we want to surrender our greatness? Why not embrace it and improve upon it? Make those that lag behind come up to where we are the world will be better for it.

WP

People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals...

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."

That quote from Men in Black about sums up today's society. Americans today get their news and information from a variety of sources, the problem is that we either cannot or will not take the time to think about or check the information or source we are digesting. We see or hear the data and based on our perception of the world, make a judgement as to believe or dismiss the content of the data. Sometimes we make that call based on if the news is good or bad to our position in the political realm.

Today, for my political position, I find little favorable news. The man in the White House, the leadership of the Senate and the House all seemed hell bent on reshaping America into something that most of us never intended or expected America to become.

Our forefathers took up arms against, not just a tax on tea but against their perception that their "Rights as British Citizens" were being violated. No representation in Parliament for anything. Taxes, choice of appointees of government positions, providing housing for British soldiers etc. was forced upon them with no means for a redress of grievances anywhere.

We now fast forward to today. We have representation, we also have a growing sense that this representation is not only working for their own political and monetary gains and gains of their contributors, but they are moving this country away for our own identity and sovereignty and pulling us down from being a leader in the world, to be just another group equal to the lowest common denominator of the rest.

Their approach is both subtle and in your face. Obama stated he was for "wealth redistribution because it is fair", on the other hand they play up one crisis and slip things by while we're not looking, i.e. pork spending in the "stimulus" package.

"The consequences of a prolonged economic downturn — including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability to obtain credit — could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities,”

That was the quote from the now infamous DHS "secretly leaked" memo. Interestingly it leaked days before the planned "Tea Parties".

This should appear to anyone thinking that these statements are an attempt to paint opposition voices as the "New Jews". People to be feared and marginalized and roadblocks to the government's ability to deal with crisis and ease the suffering of the population.

An attempt by one group of people to scapegoat another group is a an long standing practice to divert attention for what you are really doing. It locks the blame for part of societies ills on one group and allows you to tamper in other areas while everyone is distracted. It also leads to dehumanizing those individuals, indicating that they are inferior or dangerous. This step can lead to the justification of stereotyping and allows those doing the scapegoating to have a feeling of innocence and unity and prevent them from looking at a rational explanation for the cause of whatever the conflict is.

Liberals, let's not even say liberals, some people do not want the facts of some issues. They either cannot follow the thought process that leads from A to B to C or they have a more sinister agenda in mind that usually involves you losing or subjugating some if not all of your freedoms.

Cuba

The current administration is talking of relaxing the sanctions against the Cuba government, or more specifically Fidel and Raul Castro.

We originally posted these sanctions due to the confiscation of US capital, property and defining shift towards communism.

The Times produced a handy list of ten reasons to hate Castro:

1. Sending homosexuals to forced labour camps.
2. Executing people attempting to leave Cuba (as recently as 2003).
3. Urging the USSR to launch a nuclear first strike against the USA.
4. Holding 316 known political prisoners in 2006.
   
5. Banning independent trade unions.
6. Single candidates for all seats in the National Assembly.
7. Computer and internet access is severely restricted.
8. In 2003, 22 libraries raided with 14 librarians arrested with jail terms of up to 26 years, for having banned literature.
9. Opposed even modest economic reforms, including the opening up by Gorbachev.
10. Cuba's imperialist adventures in Africa, including supporting the Mengistu regime that was behind the 1980s Ethiopian famines that Bob Geldof relaunched his career off of.

Not a glowing set of recommendations to say the least.

What else has Castro "given" to Cuba:

He stated that he believed in private property, but confiscated the property and wealth of Batista's followers claiming it was gained "illegally".

He confiscated all "inherited property" and instituted state farms with all the workers becoming state employees.

Cuba has one legal political party, The Communist Party" all newspapers though not government owned are published by "different" political organizations. Castro silenced all newspapers critical of his new regime.

In the late '50's there were various "purges" and hasty executions, many administered by Raul Castro himself.

Religion was subdued and clergymen expelled from the country.

One of Castro's main exports has always been Revolution, ask Angola or Ethiopia.

Obama seems to think that opening up our hugs to Cuba will change the way we look at that country today and that their past is nothing to be concerned with.

From where I sit the Castro brothers past is not to be forgiven.

WP

Do We Want a King?

America was founded on the principal that everyone had the same rights, and that we all have the right to vote to have an equal say in how our lives are run.
We elect Representatives on a revolving basis to insure that the will of the people is what is adhered to.
We have a set of rules by which we are governed, the US Constitution, and if necessary those rules can be changed by following the procedure outlined in Article 5, and again we all get to vote on it.

Over the past several decades we have see a growing desire for the Federal Government to be given more and more authority over our everyday lives, to a point where we seemed hell bound for many socialistic policies and solutions.

Now socialism has been tried in America before. Various groups tried Utopian Socialism, The Harmony Society, The Shakers, Oneida Community to name a few. All to no real accomplishments or lasting very long. Mostly because, when you do not have an established set of governance that all agree to, you are doomed to the wishes and egos of everyone, and as has been said before "a house divided cannot stand".

Now the American plan was set up so that everyone knew the rules, could live their life and when they got out of bounds there is an way for you to be kicked back into play. No single figurehead was deemed necessary or wanted. We have lived that way for over 200 years and now suddenly we up and want to change.

Many desire the Federal Government take the lead in our lives. Do these people believe that because it's the government that the decision will be better? That, for example, a small committee of say 5 people will have more insight into building cars that dozens of individuals who have been doing it all their adult lives will? Or maybe many do not feel qualified to take on such weighty matters. That is interferes with their visits to the mall or time at the spa or takes time from their golf game.

I am amused that so many of our Hollyweird brethren support such government interference when no so long ago they gave us the fight against being blacklisted for communism, or stared in movies such as "The Manchurian Candidate", "Three Days of the Condor", "RollerBall", "Network", "Conspiracy Theory", "Capricorn One" etc, and other works that railed against the establishment and an over bearing, interfering government entities.

Many of our forefathers who rebelled against "no Representation", moved to the hills to make moonshine and not pay taxes, they ran away from the city to the mountains just to avoid the government for having too much say in their lives.

Today we cannot seem to get to a place fast enough where we will let the government tell us, what to eat, what to drive, how and when we can worship, how we define various institutions in our lives, how much of our own money we get to keep, how big our bonus will be, which doctor to see and whether we deserve a particular medical procedure and on and on. The list grows by the minute and we cannot find it within ourselves to say no.

Maybe this is just the nature of man. When the Israelites found themselves in the desert they panicked without out a leader and they built a golden idol to hold them together. The showed no confidence in their faith or their own abilities to carry on. Most civilizations throughout history had leadership that was gained and retained by might or passed from father to son etc. leaving the will of the people out of the equation.

Americans are different, at least up to this point. We love our independence, the rights we are guaranteed to speak our mind, to protect our own, to live where we want, to make our own choices about most everything in our lives. These rights have been paid for over and over again in the words of Crosby Stills and Nash, "buried in the ground."

The governments of Europe, their people have had a ruling class for 100's of years, so it remains as no shock that they have and enjoy a more heavy national ruling government.

The thought of this situation for an American should be revolting and go against all we believe and desire, but maybe we're too lazy to carry on the fight...................or are we.

Fascism

Maybe this is where we're headed?



fas·cism:
a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

Fascism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Common aim of all fascist movements was elimination of the autonomy or, in some cases, the existence of large-scale capitalism.

The Labour Charter of 1927, promulgated by the Grand Council of Fascism, stated in article 7:
"The corporative State considers private initiative, in the field of production, as the most efficient and useful instrument of the Nation", then goes on to say in article 9: "State intervention in economic production may take place only where private initiative is lacking or is insufficient, or when are at stakes the political interest of the State. This intervention may take the form of control, encouragement or direct management."


Fascism: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics | Library of Economics and Liberty

Where socialism sought totalitarian control of a society’s economic processes through direct state operation of the means of production, fascism sought that control indirectly, through domination of nominally private owners. Where socialism abolished money and prices, fascism controlled the monetary system and set all prices and wages politically.

Levels of consumption were dictated by the state, and “excess” incomes had to be surrendered as taxes or “loans.”


To maintain high employment and minimize popular discontent, fascist governments also undertook massive public-works projects financed by steep taxes, borrowing, and fiat money creation. While many of these projects were domestic—roads, buildings, stadiums—the largest project of all was militarism, with huge armies and arms production.

The Big Takeover

A great summery of the financial meltdown.


http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover/print

It's over — we're officially, royally fucked. No empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock, which is what happened as of a few weeks ago, when the buffoons who have been running things in this country finally went one step too far. It happened when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was forced to admit that he was once again going to have to stuff billions of taxpayer dollars into a dying insurance giant called AIG, itself a profound symbol of our national decline — a corporation that got rich insuring the concrete and steel of American industry in the country's heyday, only to destroy itself chasing phantom fortunes at the Wall Street card tables, like a dissolute nobleman gambling away the family estate in the waning days of the British Empire..............................

The Prometheus Effect

Prometheus was one of the Greek gods responsible for giving the gift of fire to man. In one version of the story man beset vultures on Prometheus so he took back the fire until man took back the vultures.

We see this dynamic again being played out against the backdrop of today's economy.

Man (government) has beset on Prometheus (investors/businessmen) vultures (proposed taxation additional regulations, bad economic policy) so Prometheus has withdrawn his gift. A gift of that provides work, the gift of being able to provide for one's self, take care of your obligations, to provide life.
Do they do it to punish the rest of us, no they do it for their own self preservation. People with money to invest are under no obligation to make investments, they are not required to take risk for the benefit of everyone else. They have their own rights and obligations and we are not their responsibility.

Those that whine and moan about "we don't have a chance" "they have so much they should give us a part" live in fear. They fear that if they take a chance on their own capabilities that they will come up short, that they will find out that the person next to they is better or more capable and that they cannot get as many of the shinning things that we are told that are the measure of one's success and worth as a human being.