Shake, rattle and roll — it isn’t there!

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Shake, Rattle and Bankroll?

Earthquakes continue to plague many parts of the world, but another danger may lurk beneath America’s soil.  As our legislators plod along to avoid following the U.S. Constitution, the risk of our Founding Fathers stirring in their graves rises precipitously.

One of my favorite classes was Constitutional Law.  It was taught by an astute professor whose parents had fled Mainland China days before the Cultural Revolution.  He grew up in Taiwan and rose to be one of its top legal officials.  He knew the value of the Constitution and pounded that thought into our heads every day we were privileged to sit in his classroom.

The delicate balance of power may be the greatest asset of the instrument.  No one branch can overpower either one of both of the others.  Legislative, Executive and Judicial work in an odd dance to perfect the system we know as a Republic.  Now, to the chagrin of those who revere the Constitution, there are those within the Beltway who seek to do an end run around its protections and push ahead with legislation in a manner that mocks the beauty of those words written by Madison, Jefferson, teal.

Heed Section 7: (Three of its four paragraphs are pertinent here.)

“All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

“Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal and proceed to reconsider it.  If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law.  But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively.”

Wouldn’t it be nice to have representatives stand and face the camera to vote on this?  The audience might even top the numbers for the Super Bowl.

Note that the words “shall have passed” are paramount in the first sentence.  The tactic to end run around the Constitution to move to reconcile a bill that will not have passed in its final form is not only troubling, it is illegal.  Telling us that they will take a bill that has gone through both houses and “tweak” it before using it is not encouraging.  If it’s not in proper form, defeat it.

I weary of the childish tantrums and petty tactics of those who deem cheating the preferable way to achieve success.  And what of the vote count?  It is the most important tally imaginable, yet the mindset of the leadership that continues to twist arms and bribe for votes flies in the face of its social reflection that urges youth sports teams not to keep score.

Oh, so they only keep score when it suits them?  Give me oxygen.  When will we finally, as voters, come to the sad realization that the majority of those serving in Congress serve themselves?  There are exceptions, and Mike Pence comes to mind immediately.  I chuckle when he responds to a reporter’s question that attempts to force him to say something unkind about the opposing party.  In characteristic fashion, he smiles and takes the high road and disagrees with policy not personality.

When the majority of Americans do not want the pending health care bill and over three-fourths of them are satisfied with their own health care, we see a system hell bent on spiraling our children and grandchildren into debt to cover the portion of society without insurance, I say, “Stop!”

Nowhere in the Constitution does it allow Congress to mandate that we purchase anything!  The government has no such authority.

Consider the Tenth Amendment:  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.

Bluntly, they have no right to do this at all.  They are putting us on the road to a nanny state with control over us from cradle to grave — that is, if we make it to the cradle.  If you kill your neighbor, you face the death penalty, but if a mother kills her child in utero, she exercises “choice”.  Some logic, eh?  Put the onus where it belongs.  Keep the government out of your health care.  Everything it touches loses money or crawls toward bankruptcy.

I heard a commentator say that the term “The American Dream” will disappear if the legislation goes forward.  Are we ready to accept that our children and grandchildren live as equals with those who have no ambition or work ethic?  I hope not.

Another favorite Reaganism says that every taxpayer works for the government but never has to take a civil service exam.  Amen.

Call your legislators now!  Call any legislator who totters on the cusp of caving in to bully tactics.  In the end, it is your call.  Your legislators should be voting as you wish, not as their leadership urges.

Ronald Reagan is well-known for the phrase, “Trust, but verify.”  Speaker Pelosi urges us to trust them to do the right thing.  Yeah, sure.  She’s the same person that says, paraphrasing, “Pass the bill and then find out what’s in it.”  She must be the ultimate dream for a scam artist.  She would sign a contract and then read it.  Think about it.

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