Turn the Tables on Congress

A while back it was Scooter Libby then, recently, it was some baseball player getting hit with charges of lying to Congress. Real people who make the real world work are regularly hauled before Congress to suffer verbal abuse and criminal prosecution for problems actually caused, many times, by their inquisitors. The Congress is running a kangaroo court and it is a mockery of justice. Many of them lie every day about almost everything and do so with impunity (think Bawney Fwank). We can accurately call these people in Congress the neo-Pharisees. They put heavy burdens on others but exempt themselves. Since Obama is on a crusade to change Washington why don’t we make the following changes with respect to Congress:

First, every elected or appointed official must be questioned by an independent prosecuter once every year, under oath, about what they know and when they knew it, whether they have taken drugs, etc. Anyone caught in a lie, or even misspeaking due to a bad memory should be charged with lying to the American people and sentenced to stiff prison terms (the same as they do to their victims). They should be banned from ever holding public office again. This would virtually guarantee that there would be a quick turnover to bring in fresh blood - and the new team couldn't be any worse.

Second, Congress should be given two random drug tests per year, no exceptions. Those found to be on drugs or steroids will immediately lose their office.

Third, Congressional pay raises and fringe benefits should be voted on by the people, not just put on automatic pilot to always go up, up, up. A significant part of Congressional pay should be a bonus that is tied to a GDP index. Their retirement pay would also be tied to and very sensitive to the same index. In good economic times, this would produce extravagant bonuses (which, of course, would be capped at $500,000). In bad years, though, the index could produce a negative bonus and the Congress would have the opportunity to make a patriotic investment in America by paying money back into the Treasury. They would experience the satisfaction, like the rest of, of going into the red because of their bad decisions and over-regulation. They might even go broke and have the pleasure of experiencing first hand the bankruptcy laws they created. I believe this would do miracles in bringing our servants in Washington back to fiscal sanity.

Fourth, members of Congress should be fully audited by the IRS every year and made to pay any taxes due immediately or forfeit their offices. Any penalties and interest should be mandatory and three times the rate for an extraordinary citizen. Audit findings should be open to the public and be published in the local newspapers of record for the Congressman's state or district.

Fifth, every member of Congress should have a non-removable GPI device attached to them so their movements can be tracked and recorded. Of course, this is for their own safety.

Sixth, since they are doing the people's business and are on the clock for us, recording devices should be recording all conversations in their offices, on their phones, cell phones, home phones, in their cars, and just about everywhere . This, of course, would be to record their wisdom for posterity and provide a historical record of their great words and deeds.

Seventh, no member of Congress may publicly refer to another member of Congress as "my esteemed colleague," or the "honorable blah blah blah." We will no longer tolerate the cruel gagging effect this produces in small, defenseless maggots.

I don't know about you, but I am tired of being ruled over by a bunch of puffed up, elitist, incompetent buffoons. These people are supposed to be our servants, they work for us, not the other way around. Time to turn the tables and set things aright.

Hope . . . . . . . .

Change . . . . . . Hmmm, they seem different now!

Go Back to the Constitution and State Sovereignty

There are about 20 states that now have some form of sovereignty resolutions going in their legislatures to assert their rights against the federal government. What could be clearer than the 10th amendment to the Constitution, in the original Bill of Rights: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." For a long, long time the federal government has pretty much steamrollered the states in plain and direct violation of the Constitution. So how were the feds able to exceed the very limited powers given to it by that document?

Well there’s the Supreme Court with its hallucinogenic “emanations of prenumbras” and all that, but I believe it began with the income tax that, in itself, is probably unconstitutional since the ratification of the 16th amendment is questionionable. Illegal confiscation of our property (money) gives the federal government its illegitimate power. The Democrats just pulled one of the biggest power grabs in the history of our republic by taking a few trillion dollars of our money to buy power – not for our country, but for themselves, their cronies, and the Democrat party. This is the exercise of raw, absolute power. It is also pretty much akin to theft. There was no discussion, no debate, Republicans were not allowed to participate, and there was no time for anyone to even read the bill before they were forced to vote on it. As Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This is not the American Constitutional process; this is what is done in dictatorships and banana republics.

The federal government, and especially the Congress and President, are really not in touch with the people across America. They are too far removed to govern effectively. Our voices are not heard; in their eyes we are irrelevant. Their contempt for us is reflected in the latest approval ratings of them by us. They are the lowest since the inception of the poll, and are probably going to go even lower as the so-called Stimulus Bill starts be revealed.

This is why we need the states to reassert our Constitutional rights to govern ourselves on a more local basis. The federal government is important to fulfill its limited role under the Constitution, but it is time to strip these arrogant Washington legislators of their air of royalty and illegitimate power. It may take a few generations to accomplish, but we need to get started now. One of my ancestors, George Read, signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution needs to be dusted off, read and revived. If not, then, as a last resort, the other document must come into play.