Congress

Good day, good people.

For devotees of the English language: Emeute is a noun. It means an insurrection or popular uprising. We in the U.S. call this our lawful right to protest.

There cometh a warrior tried and true. His goal is to listen to his moral sense, his inner muse and not be distracted by the society around him or the detractors in it.

There is an inaccurate statement about Congress which is being circulated. “It is the best Congress money can buy.” From the American taxpayers’, its employer’s, point of view, It is the worst Congress money has bought.

Nebraska Democrat Bob Kerry, the former senator is campaigning again for election to the U.S. Senate. He believes the corrupticians in Congress have sold their integrity and souls cheaply to special interests and lobbyists. He believes the corruption is caused by the first phrase of the second clause of the fifth section of Article One of the U.S. Constitution. “Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings.” Kerry does not believe Congress can be trusted to write its own rules.

Kerry believes the violence of faction is not being controlled but is being rewarded presently by the rules of Congress. The major contributor to the Constitution, James Madison, wrote, “. . . among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction.”

He is campaigning on an Amendment to Article One of the Constitution. If he is elected he will propose and try to pass the following:

• Eliminate the Conference Committee.

• Eliminate the partisan caucuses and the four-partisan campaign committees that make compromise between the political parties nearly impossible.

• Prohibit the organization of Congress by political parties and establish a mechanism to reduce the number of committees, improve the quality of executive branch oversight, and increase the quality of congressional budgeting.

• Establish a limitation of twelve years of consecutive service.

• Allow Congress to impose limitations on campaign spending and ban the unlimited independent expenditures by corporations and unions permitted by the Supreme Court decision in the 2010 Citizens United case.

• Change the rules of the Senate and House to limit the use of the filibuster, open up the budget process, require that amendments to legislation actually relate to the subject of the bill, and increase transparency so citizens may see how their money is spent.

Do we need to have an emeute with five or ten million men, women and children marching to Washington, D.C., starting in California, across the Great Plains and then surround the U.S. Capitol Building and not let the members of Congress leave or anyone enter until they return to a democracy by passing the amendment Bob Kerry wants whether he is elected or not? And they also need to pass legislation for the public financing of elections. The 2012 presidential election including primary races will have spent, when all is said and done, about an obscene and embarrassing one billion dollars. Why squander? Too dumb and/or do not care to figure out how to do it correctly without wasting money which could be used for all the necessities urgently needed by our infrastructure — including for the defenseless poor and the vulnerable?

What is your thought on the contribution Bob Kerry is trying to make for the benefit of every American? Are Bob Kerry and I dreaming members of Congress will change for the benefit of the American taxpayer and not themselves, special interests and lobbyists — for a change? Is he trying to walk up Mount Everest backward? Definitely!

What I am going to do reminds me of the effectiveness of standing on the wet sand at the beach and throwing a grain of dry sand into the Pacific Ocean in order to start building a breakwater. I am going to send the information Bob Kerry wants to propose to my two senators and the member of the House who represents my district. I am sure it will cause a political earthquake of a magnitude seven on the Richter Scale in the Capitol Building chambers of the Senate and the House. Due to the collapse of the chambers’ ceilings, death and injury among the members of Congress will produce widespread crocodile tears by the American taxpayer. There will be faux mourning for the intractables among them. And, the special interest groups and the lobbyists will have to replace their handmaidens and obedient servants with others. But as the old saying goes, “You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.” I have always enjoyed omelets with basil and parmesan cheese on the inside and salsa on the top. How do you like yours prepared?

I know I am shoveling sand against the tide of corruption with a sandbox shovel, but when you care you must try.

I hope this post will give you something to consider. To be successful you must understand other people’s opinions and care about them.

I care about your opinion. Contacting me with comments and constructive criticisms at Daniel McNeet with honesty and pleasantness their constant companions will always be welcomed.

Corruption