Day: June 13, 2024

North Dakota Has The Right Idea

But it does not go far enough.

I have along with others have been saying that there needs to be age limits on our elected official as well as the Supreme Court….it is time to get the old farts with old ideas into a nursing home and find some fresh blood for our leadership.

Tuesday’s GOP primary in North Dakota is now over, and the victors are celebrating. Nestled in with those announcements is one regarding a “high-profile initiative” that voters also passed: Candidates out of the Peace Garden State can’t run for US Congress (so neither the Senate nor the House) if they would turn 81 years old at any point during their term, per the AP. Axios reports that this appears to be the first state to impose a measure like this, with both that outlet and the New York Times noting the vote comes against the backdrop of the conversation on how old President Biden (81) and former President Trump (turning 78 on Friday) are as they run for the Oval Office again.

The ballot measure would effectively amend the state’s constitution. Still, lawmakers concede that the move will likely be challenged in court, as a 1995 Supreme Court ruling determined that states “cannot impose additional restrictions, such as term limits, on its representatives in the federal government beyond those provided by the Constitution.” Although there are age minimums laid out in the US Constitution—25 for the House, 30 for the Senate—there’s no cap on the max end.

Jared Hendrix, a GOP politician from Fargo who helped spearhead the North Dakota initiative, thinks his state is only the first to move in this direction, especially since US opinion polls over the past few years show that a majority of Americans would be all for maximum age limits. “I think it’s very possible that if we pull this off here, other states will follow,” Hendrix said before Tuesday’s election, per the Times.

This should turn into a movement nationwide….I feel it would be best for the country.

Term limits also means number to times they can run for office…making so they cannot skip to another election to avoid the limits as well.

Then we need to work on making candidates resign from their present job to run for another office….that could open up some room for fresh blood.

The country needs help and the system as it is now is absolutely no help….time to take a hard look at change….real change not some vague BS they call change.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Where O Where Can A Leader Be Found?

For decades now the American people have been looking for a real leader….instead we get mouth pieces for the monied few and the people have been pushed aside in the name of ‘progress’…..but sadly there is no ‘progress’ just continuing inequality and injustice.

America is divided. Partisanship is on the rise, and compromise is on the decline. Problems are getting worse instead of solved. The parties are fighting for power and rewarding loyalists. One presidential candidate is out for revenge, one struggles to read a teleprompter and a third has a brain worm.  

Americans are begging for real leadership.  

Too often, power is a chess game played by the political parties in charge, and too often, citizens are treated like pawns. Politicians point the finger at the other side to get a win for themselves, and voters are tired of that. 

Average voters have checked out because they don’t believe anything can change. They have watched the debt rise and the border be invaded — all because it’s more politically lucrative for those in power. It’s easier to fundraise off saving democracy than to actually do it. If America is serious about solving these and other problems, then Americans need to have a serious conversation about reform. 

Political power functions more efficiently through a small sphere; thus, political parties concentrate power to advance their agenda. However, our founders designed the American republic with an “extended sphere” to “take in a greater variety of parties and interests.” This makes it “less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens.” However, the concentration of power makes it easier for wealthy and corrupt factions to manipulate the spheres of government.  

We live in an age of Spoiled Power, which has cast aside our system of checks and balances, designed to protect individual liberty and national sovereignty. Years of power politics have left our chessboard without the proper pieces to defend the people from anarchy or authoritarianism. The executive and judicial branches are bloated, and the legislative branch weakened. In Congress, power has become concentrated in the party leaders, the House Speaker, and the Senate majority leader. The states’ power is limited by the 17th Amendment, and the people’s power is limited to the few by the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929. 

A spoiled patronage system is the fatal disease of a republic, but America has been infected before and survived. 

Historically, problems fester under the surface for years until they rise to infect the political mainstream. It starts with a small group of people educating one generation and then multiplies in the next generation, much like today. The modern spoiled system has been written about in books like “Act of Congress” and “Filthy Rich Politicians.” A generation of people including Phillip Wallach and Kevin Kosar have written about reform. If Americans are serious about self-government, now is the time to show it.

The beauty of our republic is that it runs on a multiplicity of small spheres. Staffed effectively with virtuous Americans, it’s the strongest form of government. Americans are thoughtful, hardworking intelligent people. The system of spoiled power, however, does not encourage America’s best to be politically active. This means we are not sending our best and brightest to Washington.  

Serious politicians should discuss reforming our republic. Citizens should demand it. As fictitious Madman Don Draper said, “If you don’t like what is being said, then change the conversation.” 

(thehill.com)

I am sorry to say but I think the days of strong leadership is long gone….today it is weak leaders that are the beck and call of wealthy donors….the peasants are no long calling the shots.

I agree we need strong leadership….but where will we find such a person….in Biden?  Or in Trump?

There are your choices and sad choices they are.

More to come!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”