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Update the Constitution

Article 5 of the Constitution provides the States the ability to call a Convention of States in order to propose Amendments to the Constitution. The only thing that may not be changed is the equal suffrage of the Senate. Equal suffrage of the senate means that each state gets the same number of Senators; the number isn’t based on the population of the State. This is my list of proposed amendments to the Constitution:

  1. Federal Employees. ANY federal employee may be fired with no benefits by agreement of 2/3 of the States.
  2. Income Tax. Amendment of the 16th amendment – the income tax amendment. The States shall collect a 15% income tax of earned income. 5% of this tax shall be conveyed to the Federal Government. No refunds, no loopholes. 2020 personal income across the US was approximately $20T. So the Fed would receive approximately $1 Trillion per year. The States would retain the rest of the collected income tax. In my vision, the States would use this to maintain its infrastructure, schools, national guard, medicare/medicade and all the other stuff usurped by the Fed. In other words, the Fed would only do the work as specified in the Constitution which is to 1) Provide for the common defense and 2) regulate interstate commerce. From the government’s own budget data, in 2019 the Fed raked in approximately 3.5T and spent approximately 4.5T (https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/historical-tables/). This single amendment has been the method used to keep We The People under the thumb of the Fed and to strip power from the States. This would serve to eliminate the hundreds of thousands of unelected bureaucrats waiting to enjoy their cushy Fed retirements.
  3. Lying by the Press. The Bill of Rights, Amendments 1 ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…’. Let us talk about freedom of the press. Laws have been made – for example, the press is not exempt from defamation lawsuits based on their reporting. So, as laws have been made and upheld, let us have a law forbidding lies by the press.
  4. Judicial System. Article III of the Constitution states “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” Let us have an amendment stating the number of judges on the Supreme Court shall be set at 9. There should be NO lifetime appointments. Let us amend this by providing a term limit for all Federal Judges to go along with the ‘Good Behavior’ clause. In my vision, 20 years would be a good term limit for Federal Judges. That, along with #1 above, would ensure We The People are well served and not just paying for a political hack to die on the bench. The number and jurisdiction size of the lower courts needs to be adjusted.  As I am no expert on this topic, I will leave this to further research.
  5. Congress may not amend the Constitution. A Convention of States will be the only method of amending the Constitution.

This is my first list. Of the items in the above list, fixing the Income Tax is the most important. The current system is fueling tyranny.     

https://www.ConventionOfStates.com

Congress Gives Bankers Wet Dreams

Banking

Have you ever tried to read our tax law? Wow. I am an educated person, an IT systems engineer. It felt like it took me five minutes per paragraph to make any sense of the content.

I decided to read the law after filing my taxes this past year. The amount the government stole from me and the reading just hurt. I’m now on a payment plan with the IRS raiding my bank account every month and charging me interest. Is the IRS a bank? How have we allowed ourselves to be so abused?

The tax law https://bit.ly/30BC4K9 ( is actually a directive to write words into the tax code. The tax code is Title 26 of the US code (https://bit.ly/2AxHdIB).

There are eleven sections in the tax code. They are all written in the language called ‘legalese’. Let’s focus on one section today: Paycheck withholding. Following the breadcrumbs, I found the part that requires employers to take your money and hand it over to the IRS. It is titled ‘26 USC 3402: Income tax collected at source’ and is found at https://bit.ly/37pxXSO. Talk about someone having their hands in your pants!

First, I’m struck by the words giving the ‘Secretary’ superpowers nearly everywhere in this document. For example: blah blah …. shall be made in such form and manner as the Secretary may by regulations provide. Congress has handed over their power of the purse to an unelected bureaucrat and has given him power to create regulations to better control us.

This means the Secretary (and his gang) can raid our accounts anytime and anyway they can envision. And as these gang members are (probably) all bankers and lawyers – woo hoo! Game on! With all the amendments and revisions, it is easy to see they add stuff to stop us peasants from getting anything for ‘free’ when they see money slipping beyond their reach.

Give the employee a vehicle to use for work! Oh no, that must be taxed! Paragraph (s) – Exemption from withholding for any vehicle fringe benefit. The wording in this paragraph (s1) is full of double negatives. Apparently, the benefit must be taxed but the employer can decide not to withhold taxes on the benefit for some reason if there was a memo involved. What?

But wait – the gang can use their superpowers to aid lobbyists. For example:

Paragraph (o)(5) – Special rule for sick pay paid pursuant to certain collective-bargaining agreements. This provision hands the taxation of sick pay for union members over to the contractual agreement made between the workers, the union and their employer. In other words, the IRS is allowing the taxation/non-taxation to be used as a bargaining chip. This is so obviously a concession to lobbyists for (probably) a union. Why do I say that? Because the Secretary and gang (probably) feel it is their sacred duty to wring out every dime from every person where possible (as bankers normally do) and this may allow workers to keep a quarter instead of just a dime.

If we paid these taxes by writing a check to the IRS instead of allowing the government to automatically raid our paychecks, would we pay more attention to the ridiculous regulations generated by this thieving gang?

Good Hearts

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The other day, I tweeted a story I saw about a smuggled baby orangutan. This, along with all the upheaval over the Mueller report, led me to realize the news has been completely hijacked by greedy, grasping politicians seeking power to use citizens as their piggy bank. This sad story about the orangutan made me wonder where all the good hearts have gone.

 

It is easy to see where the old guard congressional Democrats get their jealousy and therefore, hatred of Donald Trump and as a side effect, our country; They worked their entire life to amass their fortunes and power only to have this billionaire upstart come in and take control. Let us quit believing their only concern is the welfare of the people - for decades they've done nothing to lift people out of poverty. They dribble out handouts - just enough to keep people in their place. Inner city schools and housing are a tax $$ gobbling mess.

 

Note I said 'old guard congressional Democrats'. We now have the 'new guard'. At least the oldsters paid lip service to love of country. These new ones are only in it for the scam on the citizens. AOC actually laid out the scenario on camera (here's the link) - not even hiding the scam. I will discount this group in my quest for good hearts.

Years ago, youth staged a movement against the Viet Nam war - they didn't care which party was in charge - they wanted it to stop because of all the young men being killed in an overseas war. Over simplifying but you get my point. It took a while but it did stop. These young people had good hearts. They drove the news reports unlike today's non-stop political rally by partisan media outlets. As they drove the narrative, our congressional employees listened as they wanted our votes.

 

More recently, the Tea Party movement attempted to rein in an out of control US Government. They drove the news reports unlike today's non-stop political rally by partisan media outlets. Unfortunately they weren't strong enough to overcome the swamp. However, they did make some congressional employees listen.

 

My question is: Why are we allowing these politicians and their media pals to drive us? What is so terrible in our country today that is making people practice violence against their fellow citizens? Knocking people's hats off - come on. Our country is actually in an upswing - except for the ridiculous federal deficit and the many pot holes in our roads. These are problems we expect our congressional employees to work on - instead they campaign and fight with each other and hurt us.

 

Where are the goodhearted people who care more about orangutans than what Joe Blow Politico says today? Lets get back to expecting our congressional employees to listen to us and actually work for us instead of against us.

 

[previously posted on my old website liberalwhy.com]

Infanticide – New York Law

Being an engineer and after listening, reading and talking to many people about this new law in NY, I felt the need to make a list on the points I've found.

  • There are no restrictions on when an abortion can be performed.
  • Any licensed health care practitioner (nurse, doctor, etc) can perform an abortion.
  • These practitioners can decide to perform a late-term abortion for any health-related concern for the mother - physical or emotional.
  • If an aborted infant is delivered alive, it must receive medical care as any newborn infant would receive.

Engineers tend to try to boil things down to their simplest forms in order to better understand the question. So, it appears to be a free for all on abortions - any of these people can perform an abortion at any time for any mother-related, health-related reason.

Engineers also think of possible scenarios in which variables could change outcomes - a precursor to actual experiments. In that vein and in light of the above points, consider the scenarios below assuming fetus is healthy, mother is physically healthy and given birth always has some risk:

  1. Age 17, decides at 8.5 months to terminate her pregnancy because she is terrified of the birthing process.
  2. Age 13, unplanned pregnancy and doesn't tell anyone until 8.5 months. Her parents don't want to support the girl and her child. The girl is confused.
  3. Age 22, can't decided until 8.5 months. Decides to terminate her pregnancy because being a mother would impact her financial future.
  4. Age 18, college freshman, decides to terminate her pregnancy at 8.5 months because being a mother would force her to give up college and career.

 

 

The next part of the scenario process is to dissect the statement and determine possible outcomes.

  1. Age 17, decides at 8.5 months to terminate her pregnancy because she is terrified of the birthing process.
    • Most women are afraid of the birthing process
    • Would her health suffer after normal birth? This is where the practitioners would make the determination. How do they make this determination? Which health - physical or emotional?
    • Assuming physical is OK, would her emotional health suffer after giving birth? Do they know her current mental health status? Are they qualified to diagnose psychiatric issues?
  2. Age 13, unplanned pregnancy and doesn't tell anyone until 8.5 months. Her parents don't want to support the girl and her child. The girl is confused.
    • In NY, a minor doesn't need parental consent for an abortion; They only need to give informed consent. Informed consent means the procedure and risks/benefits have been explained, the patient understands them and gives permissions for the procedure to be performed.
    • In this scenario, the minor has informed her parents. At age 13, would the patient truly understand enough to give informed consent?
    • Is the patient requesting the abortion or are the Parents requesting the abortion? Legally, only the patient can demand an abortion. Many times, however, a patient is pushed in this direction by Parents and others. As our scenario states the patient is confused, I would assume the abortion practitioner would retreat until and unless the patient makes a more clear declaration of intent.
  3. Age 22, can't decide until 8.5 months. Works at a low-income job. Decides to terminate her pregnancy because she cannot afford a child at this time.
    • Does fear of financial hardship come up to the standard of causing emotional health issues for the mother?
    • This appears to be the same question for the abortion practitioners as written for scenario #1 - would her emotional health suffer after giving birth? Do they know her current mental health status? Are they qualified to diagnose psychiatric issues?

 

4.  Age 18, college freshman, decides to terminate her pregnancy at 8.5 months because being a mother would force her to give up college and career.

    • Does fear of loss of education and potential loss of career come up to the standard of causing emotional health issues for the mother?
    • This appears to be the same question for the abortion practitioners as written for scenario #1 - would her emotional health suffer after giving birth? Do they know her current mental health status? Are they qualified to diagnose psychiatric issues?

I don't have the answers - do these practitioners?

[previously published on my old website liberalwhy.com]

Herds, Gangs and Guns

Do you recall the elephant relocation program described in this article?

 

In short, it tells the story of young male elephants left to their own devices in a park. They formed a gang and started bullying and killing other park animals. When large, adult males were introduced into the park, they put the youngsters in their place. Peace resumed.

 

We all know young male humans form gangs. Let's assume we're talking about inner city gangs.  Apparently these gangs exist to exert control over a territory - in most cases for business purposes such as selling drugs and prostitution. As humans do not have built-in weapons (like tusks), they acquire weapons to protect their territory - guns. Guns themselves are just a tool - in honorable and trained hands, they are a valuable asset. In dishonorable and untrained hands, guns are a disaster.

 

Why, in the USA, do young males have to form gangs to conduct business? Are they 'left to their own devices' by the absence of honorable adult males in the home? In looking at statistics, we find that over half of black children are in solo parent homes (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/27/about-one-third-of-u-s-children-are-living-with-an-unmarried-parent/) with 30% of these solo mother homes poverty stricken. A CNN article of 2013 stated that 73% of black children are born out of wedlock (https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2013/jul/29/don-lemon/cnns-don-lemon-says-more-72-percent-african-americ/). In fairness, I don't have statistics breaking down these numbers in various inner city locales.

 

In short, there are plenty of statistics highlighting the plight of poverty stricken children with potentially absent fathers. So, let us assume that many of these children have absent fathers and half of these children are male. With the easy availability of birth control, why are so many women bringing so many children into these terrible circumstances?

Given we have many young males with no adult male to guide them, is it any wonder gangs form? They go about their drug and prostitution business, staking out their inner city territories and patrol them using guns as their weapon of choice. A vicious cycle as honorable adult males do not seem to be interested in taking control of their communities. This leaves it to our police officers to try to maintain some type of order.

 

Ladies, stop populating these territories - stop the cycle. Get out and go up - leave these loser males behind.

Violence in Society

For the fourth time today I've seen reports on people in public pummeling their fellow citizens. Was the aggression due to self-defense or in a fight over food as you would see in wild animals? No, it was because a person had a symbol on their hat, some words on a sign and free speech uttered.

 

Here is the latest: https://www.foxnews.com/us/make-america-great-again-maga-hat-immigrant-maryland-police.

At least two were arrested in this case.

 

Then, the 85 year old protester clobbered:

This one was posted in August 2018

 

Then the one where a black female was punching a young white guy on a subway. I couldn't find footage of that one.

 

To be fair, some Trump supporters have been fighting back.  When we the people forget the politicians work FOR us, we work for them. It is time for we the people to put aside these ridiculous political differences and quit letting them control us.

 

Don't be like the perpetrators in these videos - don't be an animal - be a civilized US citizen.

Calm Down – Can’t Do It

The budget bill signed and a national emergency declared. We need a rest. Sorry, can’t rest – we must stop the abuse of our treasury by our employees (aka Congress).

 

My question today is: Why are we allowing our public servants (aka Congress, SCOTUS and POTUS) to act like royalty? Wasn’t this country founded to ensure the citizens were the ‘royalty’? Most of these servants are padding their pockets at our expense, enjoying luxury travel and accommodations (‘Air Pelosi’) and lording their positions over us. A recent example of ‘royal’ behavior was Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y threatening a teenager with the power of Congress.

 

With a massive 22 trillion (and growing) deficit, how can these people continue to abuse the citizens’ treasury without consequence? In addition to abusing their positions by royal spending on themselves (‘Air Pelosi’) – the budget bill gave away at least $11 Billion to foreigners. Note: I didn’t read the entirety of the 20 lb. pile of paper. How can we give any $$ away when we have such a huge deficit?

 

I am calling for a precise, public accounting of every cent these employees spend abusing and enriching themselves. Every day – I want to see their expenditures and any they cause (‘Air Pelosi’). New $10,000 curtains for their office – show me the receipt – I want to know how much they spent per yard of fabric. Overseas junket – show me the cost of the security detail(s), the liquor and extra charges for ferrying loved ones.

 

I also want an accounting of their hours on the job per week. For example, number of hours actually in their office on the Hill, at parties schmoozing and on ‘official’ travel. I’d like a precise definition of official travel. I believe their place of performance is on the Hill. If they want to run back home every weekend, they can pay for it themselves.

 

Let’s also see an accounting of the non-monetary perks they receive from us such as ‘comped’ meals and hotels. This would include having $$ shaved off their rents and etc. Free coffee? Let’s see it.

 

Never forget they are our employees.

 

Calm down? Not while my country is in danger.

 

[Previously posted at my old website libertywhy.com]

Use Bad History

Why will history forgotten be repeated? Maybe because humans aren’t really very evolved yet? How can we be more evolved today?

 

I think about all the fallen civilizations of the past – Ottoman Empire, Greece and Rome for examples. What happened after they fell? Medieval type times – that is what happened. Most humans then had to struggle to eat. Fast forward time, humans clawed their way back to a decent standard of living. Is that when humans are so comfortable that they forget the past lessons? Is that the tipping point back into decline? Over time, the lessons of the past are not taught to the young. The cycle begins to repeat. Are we there now? How can we stop the repeat cycle?

A current sign of this repeat cycle happening is the tearing down of bad historical figure imagery. One example is the disfigurement, destruction and removal of several Robert E. Lee statues around the country. Don’t misunderstand me – I agree these represent a terrible injustice.

 

But if we have no record or teachings about these types of injustice, how will humans of the future know not to repeat them? Even if the imagery remains standing, will people pass by saying ‘That is a nice statue of a guy on a horse’? Or going back to Greece, we admire the ruins of the buildings without thinking (or knowing) of how female babies were sometimes thrown away – literally (Demand, Nancy. Birth, Death, and Motherhood in Classical Greece. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1994.)

 

Update: 6/12/2020

How about anarchists tearing down all statues?

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-1rLZhXSKE

Have you heard of town criers? Although mostly faded from the current scene, they have spread the news throughout towns for centuries. You can now find them performing at historical sites and festivals. Can we use this idea now? Can we proclaim the injustices at the feet of these horrible statues? Can we use bad history to inform current society instead of hiding the wrongs by removing the scars?

 

[previously posted on my other site liberalwhy.com]