stop whining and DO something...

I received several emails relating to a blog post that I made several months ago. The emails were really good and made some very strong statements that I think that every American needs to hear. For this reason, I am reposting the following blog entry:

One of the most frustrating things for me, as an American Citizen, is the disconnect between our government elitists and the patriots that they are elected to represent. Our founding fathers formed this country on a platform of anti-establishmentarianism. The framers of our constitution had just seen, first-hand, the ugly truths of monarchies and lack of true representation. They framed the constitution on the idea of citizen-governments representing the common man. Citizens would be elected, serve, and then return to their lives. Reading any of the documents written by our founding fathers will easily show us that they were fighting against the idea of political elitists…perhaps what we would call ‘career politicians.’ They spoke out against the idea of a strong federal government. They recognized that the stronger the federal government, the weaker the people.
So now we sit, some 220 years later, and what do we see in our government? We see decisions made against the will of the people. We see political elitists sit in congress for decades. We see politicians make laws for themselves: They vote themselves raises; they vote themselves pensions; they vote themselves their own cost-free healthcare system; they make laws that exempt them from minor traffic violations if they are on their way to work. They pass the cost of this on to taxpayer without any citizen representation. We have embraced the Government that the colonists fought and died to free us from. Make no mistake, I love my country, and I love the constitution. I just don’t believe that we are the country that we used to be because we fail to abide by the constitution that once governed us.

I believe that it is time for a Constitutional Convention. These can only be called under two circumstances: called by Congress or called by Governors. Obviously, Congress is not going to limit their own powers, so I call on the Governors…and I call on citizens to contact their Governors to call a Constitutional Convention.

Once called, there needs to be several items on the agenda. Once these items become Amendments to the Constitution, I believe that a huge number of problems in this country would solve themselves.

Amendment # 28. Congress shall pass no laws that pertain solely to themselves and Congress shall pass no laws that exclude themselves. Congress shall not have its own pension plan (they can contribute to their own retirement, like the rest of us. Make them retire on Social Security, and we’ll see how quickly SS issues get fixed). Congress shall not have its own Healthcare plan (they can have the same healthcare program that they have forced on the rest of the country. Again, we’ll be surprised how quickly Healthcare reform and Medicare get fixed if they have to depend on them.)

Amendment #29. There shall be a term limit for all federally elected officials. The term shall be limited to two back-to-back terms and shall apply to any and all elected positions. After one fallow term, any official is eligible to run for any office.

Amendment #30. There shall be a balanced budget. In the event that a balanced budget can not be reached by the appointed (and non-extendable) due date, the government shuts down all non-military services, including salaries. Seven days later, each district will hold a “no-confidence” vote pertaining to their congressional representatives and the President. A negative vote of 50% will cause the representative’s opponent (to be determined by the number of votes cast in the last election) to assume the seat. A positive vote of 50.01% allows another seven days for a budget to be reached. If a budget is still not reached, the representative’s opponent in the last election automatically assumes the seat. The new officials shall receive no pay until a budget agreement is reached.

Amendment #31. Maintaining a balanced budget. The Federal budget must remain balanced throughout each year. Any newly proposed bill/law must be budget-neutral or it can not take effect until it is completely funded by a new year’s budget. Any bill/law that is passed, but unexpectedly becomes budget-negative is immediately withdrawn. Any department that operates outside of their budget closes down as soon as their allotted budget is expended.
The only exceptions to maintaining a balanced budget are in times of unforeseen catastrophe. In these cases, the budget can be over-ridden by a 66% Congressional vote. This vote is only valid until the end of the current budget. At the next budget, the catastrophe monies must be repaid as part of the new budget. Any on-going monies must be included in the budget. The only exception is war-time. Wartime expenses require a 66% vote of Congress, and must be reimbursed by the next year’s budget.

Amendment #32. There shall be no National Debt. Until the time that the debt has been paid down, all interest plus two percent of the debt’s principle shall be a mandatory part of each year’s annual balanced budget until such time that the debt is eliminated.


How’s this for a start? I really…REALLY encourage every person that reads this (and agrees with it) to forward it to as many people as you can…but more so, I encourage you to pressure your governmental officials by making sure that your senators, representatives, and governor are on your list of forwards…. Most constitutional amendments came to reality because of public outcry, NOT because of political lipservice. There is no such thing as an armchair-citizen. You are either part of the problem or part of the solution!