A Constitutional Amendment - My Proposal

 I propose the following for a new amendment to our Constitution. 

An Amendment regarding Terms and Limits

1.       Any previous laws or amendments contradictory to this amendment are superseded by this amendment.

2.       The president of the United States shall serve one (1) term for 8 years.

3.       Senate members shall serve one (six) year term.

4.       Congress members shall serve one (1) two-year term.

5.       The number of seats on the Supreme Court shall be nine (9). No Supreme Court member shall serve more than 20 terms of the court. However, they may continue to serve in the lower courts upon the end of their Supreme Court service.

A.     To prevent campaigning while in office; no member of the above positions of government, or the vice-presidency, may run for another political position until two (2) years have elapsed from their leaving office.

B.      Once a member has been sworn-in to one of the above listed positions, or vice-presidency, they may not run, be appointed, or be elected for that position again.

C.     A Supreme Court term may not exceed one calendar year and is set by the Chief Justice.

D.     Current Supreme Court members with more than twenty terms are not required to retire. Those with less than twenty terms are not exempt.

E.      A partial-term counts as one term.

Narrative: Can we all agree that politicians who over-stay their keep are bad for our country? Even a good politician ought to return to the public sector and not linger in the halls of government. 

The House of Representatives is supposed to represent the people. The people ought to have a fresh choice every two years. The Senate was supposed to represent the states, and were originally meant to be indirectly elected by state legislatures. Only for a little over 100 years has that been changed. 

The President is supposed to execute the laws of the land. Almost everyone in America agrees that the president is the most powerful person on Earth. How can they be doing their important job while running for a second term? Also, we want stability at the top. Therefore, I have proposed giving each president a full 8 year term. Let them be removed by impeachment if they turn out to be rotten. 

My amendment fixes the number of Supreme Court justices at 9 and allows them to serve 20 terms. I don't say years because their term may start during the middle of a court term, which would require them to leave in the middle of one too. 

This amendment also pre-supposes trickery where someone may try to game the system to get more than one term or more than the normal proposed years allotted to each position by serving 'partial' terms. 

A story that liberal Facebook doesn't like & is blocking.....

Facebook is blocking conservative slanted stories while freely allowing democratic leaning narratives. Seven people were killed in Texas this weekend from an act of gun violence, yet more people were killed in Chicago, a city declared a gun-free zone and perpetually ran by democrats. 

Go ahead, see if you can link the following story to Facebook. You'll see that they have it blocked. You can follow the link here and read what Facebook doesn't want you to read. 

https://conservativemedia.com/news/25-shot-7-killed-first-half-labor-day-weekend-chicago/

Racism in America

If you criticize anything a person of color does in America and you are white, you are automatically labeled a racist.

What is racism? Racism is the act of determining how you treat someone based upon the color of their skin, or the origin of their being. Racism doesn’t always mean that you treat someone poorly because of the color of their skin. You can give preferential treatment to a person because of the color of their skin and still be a racist. 

Being racist means always looking at the world through the prism of a person’s color. 

Martin Luther King Jr. described what a colorblind society would look like. He said that people would be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. 

So, is it not racist to give preferential treatment to someone because of the color of their skin, regardless of color? I say it is.

In the case of President Trump, would it not be racist of him to withhold criticism of someone because of the color of their skin? I say yes. 

Trump criticizes regardless of skin color. It is the real racists who cry foul and claim racism, for they are the ones with an expectation that people ought to receive special treatment due to the skin color of the people in question. Anyone who says that a white person cannot criticize a black person based upon the content of their character is indeed themselves a racist. 

The fact that Trump criticizes everyone with the same sort of fury shows that he is not racist, for he doesn’t look at the color of their skin and change his message because of it. He sees the content of their character as flawed, and he attacks them the same as any other person he disagrees with. You can disagree with his style, but he is not racist. However, his actions are exposing racists for what they are. The ones crowing the loudest are the ones who see everything through the prism of race and wish for special treatment because of a person’s color.

This Generation

I have prayed on these passages and the following has been revealed to me regarding “this generation.”

Matthew 11:16-17

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates,

‘We piped to you, and you did not dance;

We wailed, and you did not mourn.’

Then Jesus went on to speak about all of the troubles that will be seen on the Earth during the end times and then added;

Luke 21:32

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place.

So, what is to be made about these two passages? Are they related to one another? I say they are. These passages have been debated over and over by many different religious factions. My training with the Jehovah’s Witnesses brought them to my attention as the Jehovah’s Witnesses once upon a time said that “this generation” was that generation who were around in 1914. I say “this generation” has not yet passed.

Is “this generation” a literal generation? A literal familial generation is about 25 years, but a generation is generally thought of as the life of an individual and their contemporaries. However, in this case, Jesus describes the generation not in terms of years, but in terms of who they are. He tells us how to identify a broader generation of mankind!

First, he describes them as children. Children are those who act up and must be taught right from wrong. Children play games. He goes on to describe their games. They pipe and others don’t dance. They wail and others do not mourn. In other words, the games of the present generation have to do with manipulating others with “games” and emotional pressure. Notice that piping and dancing is happy feeling while wailing and mourning are sad. In both cases, the person who is piping and wailing expects a reaction from someone else and is upset because they don’t get a reaction.

Sit and think about this, even in present day. Think about this sort of mentality since the time of Jesus here on Earth. How many arguments are had because we try to convince another person to think our way? Many times this leads to war! These actions are totally opposite of minding one’s own business and the ethos of “Live and let live.” No, I played the flute and you didn’t dance. I wailed and you didn’t cry. There is a built in assumption in this statement that the person feels snubbed and offended. What do humans do when they feel snubbed or offended? You know the answer. They cop an attitude at best, and punish by any means necessary at worst.

Then Jesus goes onto describe the end times and says that “this generation” shall not pass until the end times that he describes takes place. In other words, it’s not going to get better. We will be a generation of people playing the victim. We will be a generation of people trying to manipulate our fellow brothers and sisters. We will be a generation of those who will feel offended, snubbed, and generally, upset and angry because we’re not Gods ourselves!!! Only God has the right to expect people to react in such a manner! This is why it is important to heed’s God’s word and to try to be humble! 

Possible Solution to Gun Violence

I know how to truly curb gun violence in America without infringing upon the second amendment, and do it in a way that hardly anyone could complain about. I hate doing this as I am a gun supporter, but the solution is so obvious that I cannot ignore it.

The answer is to force insurance upon gun owners. If you want to own a gun in America, you must insure it. The insurance companies will do the rest. They will make it financially unsound to own certain weapons unless strict requirements are made.

Are you under 18 and want a high-powered rifle? Your insurance would be very expensive. Do you own a locking gun-cabinet? You get a discount. Have you had weapons stolen before? Higher premiums for you! Have your weapons been used in a murder? Insurance would compensate the victims.

You see, you wouldn’t be curbing anyone’s right to own a firearm. True, it would make it harder for a poor person to own a firearm, but I’m sure the insurance on a regular shotgun would be cheaper than the insurance on a high-powered rifle. Actuarial “scientists” will determine who pays what.

How do you force someone to insure their weapons? Would you need to register them? Good luck with requiring a registration, but all weapons are supposed to have serial numbers. I’ve been told that any weapon with serial numbers ground off are illegal and subject to seizure.

Any weapon in the open or being transported without insurance ought to be subject to seizure. If you want to have a shotgun in your home and don’t want to insure it, that’s fine, but you’re still liable for it should someone steal it and rob a bank. Is it worth losing your home over an uninsured weapon? That will be the reality of those owning firearms if a system is put in place that forces firearms owners to take financial liability for their weapons.

Firearms owners won’t register their weapons with the government, which is a concern with 2^nd amendment proponents. However, they will register their weapons with private insurance companies who will then regulate how firearms are to be stored and the insurance premiums will dictate that firearms owners be responsible or else pay for it.

Requiring financial liability for something in our capitalistic society is not something that is normally frowned upon. It’s in socialist countries where the society bears the brunt of liability. For instance, in socialist countries, if you fall sick, the government pays for you to get better. Risk is spread across the entire population. In America, we have generally shunned the government getting involved and we seem to prefer having people have no health coverage rather than having government take care of the problem. It’s as if it’s okay to have an insurance company dictate our coverage limitations and costs rather than our elected leaders. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but that’s America. Therefore, by asking gun owners to accept liability for their firearms, and to cover them with insurance, who could complain? It won’t be the government knocking on your doors to see your gun safe, it will be your insurance agent.

This is an entirely new way of thinking and would take time to set up the system to regulate firearm insurance, but the insurance companies would have financial incentive to set up an efficient system. In the same manner that insurance companies have crowed about their improvement of automobile safety over the years, they can help improve gun safety. Insurance companies are some of the largest lobbyists in government. They ask lawmakers for laws all the time, especially those that limit their liability. They love lower speed limits and seat belts. This is what insurance companies do and can do to the gun community.

Spring 2018 Update

I haven’t written in awhile. I’ve been fairly ill. I have not had a good winter. I am suffering from (amongst other things) Chronic Heart Failure. I had several episodes over the winter where I needed seen by a doctor. I took one ambulance ride in January and spent four days in the hospital in February.

I’m not fully out of the woods yet, but God-willing, I’m turning the corner. My second-oldest daughter will be graduating high school soon and hopefully heading off to Mt. Mercy for nursing school. KinDee’s second oldest child is now in San Diego at Marine Corps boot camp. KinDee became a grandmother in January. Now it’s April and winter just won’t let go.

I have a lot of garden plants sitting in the house under lights that need to start spending time outdoors. I want to plant another peach tree this year. I’m dreaming of garden produce coming out of the garden and onto my plate and into my pantry. I am dreaming of spending time outdoors. I am looking forward to firing off bottle-rockets with the kids again.

KinDee got her fishing license and Jenna will turn 16 this July and will need one herself. I see the two of them running off to drown a worm on a regular basis. I don’t fish anymore, but if my health were to improve, I would enjoy drowning a worm myself.

On days that are too hot, or stormy, I hope to find the time to sit down, put on some relaxing music, and just type away. I also need to catch up on genealogy work that has been sitting here since 2012. We also have other projects that have been stewing away for years, including making new curtains.

I know I keep saying it, but I’ll try to write more. Think Spring!

15 Years Together......

My Grandparent's 50th, me in the background. 

This is when I knew what I wanted in life, and that

was to be like my grandparents.

When I was 11 years old, I attended my paternal grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary and family reunion. At that celebration, I realized what I wanted in life. I wanted a large family and to be married 50 years too.

I got married for the first time when I was 21. I had two daughters with my first wife and that marriage did not last.

I was devastated and heart-broken as I saw my dream of a large family and 50 years go down the drain.

I dated for awhile, and in time, I met KinDee. She had two boys and our children got along great. I treated her boys well and she treated my girls well, and in time, we decided to make a go of it.

I met KinDee through my cousin Sarah, who introduced me to my first wife as well. This was probably August of 2001. It was before September 11th. I was still driving semi and I didn’t get to see KinDee much, but in time, I eventually took her on a few trips with me. One of the first big trips we took was to Braselton, Georgia. It was the first and only time that KinDee has ever been to Georgia.

It sounds so cliché to say that we’ve had our good times and bad, but that is the truth. Our story was not a fairy tale. There were times that KinDee and I got together and split up. In fact, when Jenna was born, I had no clue as KinDee had left me. I was eating barbecue at Cousin Jeremy Durnan’s home. I didn’t get to see Jenna until she was a week or two old.

My mother asked me to reconcile with KinDee and over time, we worked out our differences and got married 15 years ago today. It has been a hard 15 years, which again sounds cliché as I have yet to see many marriages that are easy. Life is hard if you really think about it.

On the morning that we got married, it was frosty and cold. We drove up to the courthouse and got married by Judge Larry Woods who married me the first time. It was quite informal. I got married the first time in striped bib-overalls. With KinDee, I wore solid blue ones.

Present were our mothers who were witnesses, and my sister Joni and KinDee’s sister Vicky. Afterwards, we came home and had some cake and that was that. We were married the same as those who spent thousands getting married (no disrespect towards those who go that route, but we didn’t have the money to).

Here we are, 15 years later, two more kids later, and our kids now range from 20 to 10. KinDee will be a grandmother in a few months. We won’t do much today. Jenna already bought us some treats and wrote us a touching letter. They want us to leave this afternoon so they can do something nice for us. God bless them.

Back in 1987, I remember my grandfather speaking to someone who commented on looking at all his family 50 years on and Grandpa replied, “If you ain’t got family, you ain’t got shit.” That just about summed it up.

I look at my family, especially now as they grow older, and while I will never have that “large” family that I wanted, nor have I reached that 50 year milestone, I feel the same sense of purpose that Grandpa felt all those years ago. This marriage is really about family and what you leave behind. These 15 years haven’t been for my wife and I as much as it has been for our children.

I pray that my wife and I both live to see 50 years together. Even if we don’t, I cherish the 15 years we’ve spent together and pray for more.

Taken at Jeremy's wedding in 2003 or 2004.

Our family - 2015