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  • Article V of the Constitution & a Constitutional Convention

    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...ws-site-402097

    The website is currently crashed, I think reddit gave it the hug of death, but here's a snapshot from last week from thewayback machine: http://web.archive.org/web/201802020...epublican.com/

    At the very bottom of the website, you can find this: "
    [COLOR=rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4)]Paid for by the Devin Nunes Campaign Committee · FEC ID #C00370056"

    [/COLOR]
    Fake news indeed. I think we need to dust off Article V of the Constitution and call a Convention so we can write some new Amendments. What would you like to see as amended and therefore, not up for major debate anymore?

    Here are some thoughts...I'm not sure of all of them, just some ideas I've been thinking about.

    1. No donations to campaigns by anyone but individuals, period. And then, limited to $1,000 per family, with some kind of adjustment for inflation through the years.
    2. No member of Congress shall be eligible to serve as a lobbyist for a period of ten years after leaving office.
    3. No member of Congress may run for any other elected office without first resigning their office in Congress.
    4. The procedural rules of the Senate or of the House may not be changed until after the next Congress shall be seated. Once opened, the rules of the floor shall remain the rules until the closure of that Congress. No one may change them at will.
    5. If a vacancy appears on the Supreme Court, the POTUS shall propose a suitable candidate. Confirmation hearings of any proposed candidate must begin with 45 days of the proposal or the candidate shall be deemed suitable by the Senate and proceed directly to the Court as confirmed.


    Now, some what ifs......

    What if the Attorney General were nationally elected? All attorneys general at state and local levels are, just about. Why not the federal one? That way, s/he can't be fired, except by the people. It would seem to solve some of our problems right now.

    What if we passed a law requiring anyone running for President to lay bare their finances for the preceding 20 years? It'd be pretty hard to hide nonsense going back that far, especially if SCOTUS had an independent investigative office empowered to look into anything.

    What if we forbade all tv, radio, and internet advertising of political campaigns? What if you wanted to reach people you made them read books or magazines, come to rallies, or assemblies, or made them engage, rather than be preached at? Devin Fucking Nunes is not going to inspire the masses. He got elected because of the party apparatus and kissing the right assus (pun intended). If we changed the kind of politician required to get elected, we could get real leaders...or we could get sociopaths. Big what if.

    Anyway, something's got to give. I see us in the parking lot at the Grand Canyon here. We're not teetering, we're not close, but in the back of my mind, I'm sensing danger all around where I previously thought it couldn't happen. I've got students talking glowingly of fascism, without even knowing what it is.....and if I try and draw any kind of parallel at all, even in an abstract, they shut down.

    When the kids think fascism is cool, you've got some serious fucking problems.
    "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

  • #2
    Originally posted by wuapinmon View Post
    https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...ws-site-402097

    The website is currently crashed, I think reddit gave it the hug of death, but here's a snapshot from last week from thewayback machine: http://web.archive.org/web/201802020...epublican.com/

    At the very bottom of the website, you can find this: "
    [COLOR=rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4)]Paid for by the Devin Nunes Campaign Committee · FEC ID #C00370056"

    [/COLOR]
    Fake news indeed. I think we need to dust off Article V of the Constitution and call a Convention so we can write some new Amendments. What would you like to see as amended and therefore, not up for major debate anymore?

    Here are some thoughts...I'm not sure of all of them, just some ideas I've been thinking about.

    1. No donations to campaigns by anyone but individuals, period. And then, limited to $1,000 per family, with some kind of adjustment for inflation through the years.
    2. No member of Congress shall be eligible to serve as a lobbyist for a period of ten years after leaving office.
    3. No member of Congress may run for any other elected office without first resigning their office in Congress.
    4. The procedural rules of the Senate or of the House may not be changed until after the next Congress shall be seated. Once opened, the rules of the floor shall remain the rules until the closure of that Congress. No one may change them at will.
    5. If a vacancy appears on the Supreme Court, the POTUS shall propose a suitable candidate. Confirmation hearings of any proposed candidate must begin with 45 days of the proposal or the candidate shall be deemed suitable by the Senate and proceed directly to the Court as confirmed.


    Now, some what ifs......

    What if the Attorney General were nationally elected? All attorneys general at state and local levels are, just about. Why not the federal one? That way, s/he can't be fired, except by the people. It would seem to solve some of our problems right now.

    What if we passed a law requiring anyone running for President to lay bare their finances for the preceding 20 years? It'd be pretty hard to hide nonsense going back that far, especially if SCOTUS had an independent investigative office empowered to look into anything.

    What if we forbade all tv, radio, and internet advertising of political campaigns? What if you wanted to reach people you made them read books or magazines, come to rallies, or assemblies, or made them engage, rather than be preached at? Devin Fucking Nunes is not going to inspire the masses. He got elected because of the party apparatus and kissing the right assus (pun intended). If we changed the kind of politician required to get elected, we could get real leaders...or we could get sociopaths. Big what if.

    Anyway, something's got to give. I see us in the parking lot at the Grand Canyon here. We're not teetering, we're not close, but in the back of my mind, I'm sensing danger all around where I previously thought it couldn't happen. I've got students talking glowingly of fascism, without even knowing what it is.....and if I try and draw any kind of parallel at all, even in an abstract, they shut down.

    When the kids think fascism is cool, you've got some serious fucking problems.
    I would never want a modern Constitutional Convention, it would be too politically correct and the concepts of constitutional principles would be above many of the participants. It would be a disaster.
    "Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr Epstein."

    Upon rejecting the Beatles, Dick Rowe told Brian Epstein of the January 1, 1962 audition for Decca, which signed Brian Poole and the Tremeloes instead.

    Comment


    • #3
      I'm in pretty much total agreement right up to the TV/radio part, which is probably going a bit too far. Even though I read a lot of books, I don't get political information from them. And I read newspapers and magazine online for the most part.

      I do happen to think that both of the major parties are a long way from representing me and have way too much control over who I'm allowed to vote for. And I've tried getting involved in political parties way back, but it's extremely tough for a regular non-politician to have much influence at all with them. I gave up in frustration and changed my party affiliation to none of the above.

      Comment


      • #4
        Included in your diatribe about a new constitutional convention are ways to narrow the scope of the 1st Amendment.

        Then you finish off your diatribe claiming everyone who doesn't agree with you is fascist.

        Hillary Clinton didn't lose due to lack of money, especially compared to what Trump spent. She was an unlikable candidate with no discernable leadership or management skill. There have been nine elections since 1952 where the incumbent party was trying to win a third or more consecutive term and the incumbent party has won exactly once.

        In other words, settle down. The Democrats can try to win back Congress in the fall and the White House in 2020 by running against unpopular aspects re Trump, just like non-incumbent parties have done throughout our history.
        Part of it is based on academic grounds. Among major conferences, the Pac-10 is the best academically, largely because of Stanford, Cal and UCLA. “Colorado is on a par with Oregon,” he said. “Utah isn’t even in the picture.”

        Comment


        • #5
          It is estimated that about $5 billion was spent on the 2016 elections. A staggering sum, right? But it's not quite as big as the $5.8 billion spent on advertising for restaurants in 2015.

          That's right-- we spend less money trying to persuade our fellow citizens how they should exercise their sovereignty than on what they should eat for dinner on Tuesday.

          Color me unconcerned about campaign finance.

          I am also completely unconcerned about fascists taking over. People hate nazis as much now as ever. (The bigger issue is how quickly we label someone as a fascist. Keep that up and it may be tough to notice when the genuine article comes around.)
          τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατέλλοντα πλείονες ἢ δυόμενον προσκυνοῦσιν

          Comment


          • #6
            I would repeal the 17th, though.
            τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατέλλοντα πλείονες ἢ δυόμενον προσκυνοῦσιν

            Comment


            • #7
              I would limit campaigning to two months before prior to election day.
              I would get rid of corporate campaign contributions and limit individual contributions.
              I would limit terms in the senate to two and limit the terms of the house to four.

              Comment


              • #8
                still not sold on the 19th
                Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est.

                Comment


                • #9
                  At first glance I think the AG should be elected.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Article V of the Constitution & a Constitutional Convention

                    Originally posted by OceanBlue View Post
                    At first glance I think the AG should be elected.
                    Given our last few nationally elected officials I'm not so sure.

                    Let me put it another way. Do you really want the person who ultimately decides who does and does not get charged with federal crimes to be subject to the whims of the masses and to take his cues from the thronging mobs? Thank you, no.
                    Last edited by All-American; 02-11-2018, 07:59 PM.
                    τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατέλλοντα πλείονες ἢ δυόμενον προσκυνοῦσιν

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by old_gregg View Post
                      still not sold on the 19th
                      I've also given some thought to the 18th and determined that it is probably just as well if that one is repealed.
                      τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατέλλοντα πλείονες ἢ δυόμενον προσκυνοῦσιν

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by All-American View Post
                        I would repeal the 17th, though.
                        Amen.

                        Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
                        "I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
                        - Goatnapper'96

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by All-American View Post
                          It is estimated that about $5 billion was spent on the 2016 elections. A staggering sum, right? But it's not quite as big as the $5.8 billion spent on advertising for restaurants in 2015.

                          That's right-- we spend less money trying to persuade our fellow citizens how they should exercise their sovereignty than on what they should eat for dinner on Tuesday.

                          Color me unconcerned about campaign finance.

                          I am also completely unconcerned about fascists taking over. People hate nazis as much now as ever. (The bigger issue is how quickly we label someone as a fascist. Keep that up and it may be tough to notice when the genuine article comes around.)
                          Why can't both numbers be too high?
                          Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                          "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                          GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by falafel View Post
                            Why can't both numbers be too high?
                            Because I don't like the idea of someone out there telling us how much of either is too much.
                            τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατέλλοντα πλείονες ἢ δυόμενον προσκυνοῦσιν

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by All-American View Post
                              It is estimated that about $5 billion was spent on the 2016 elections. A staggering sum, right? But it's not quite as big as the $5.8 billion spent on advertising for restaurants in 2015.

                              That's right-- we spend less money trying to persuade our fellow citizens how they should exercise their sovereignty than on what they should eat for dinner on Tuesday.

                              Color me unconcerned about campaign finance.

                              I am also completely unconcerned about fascists taking over. People hate nazis as much now as ever. (The bigger issue is how quickly we label someone as a fascist. Keep that up and it may be tough to notice when the genuine article comes around.)
                              It is not the advertising, per se, that bothers me, it's the influence that it buys. In order to purchase that advertising, you need a source for the money, and those sources can threaten to cut off that money, causing you to bend to their will. THAT is the problem.
                              "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

                              Comment

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