Some great leaders of the past; notably World War II military chiefs General George Marshall and Admiral Ernest King, required information to be reported to them on one piece of paper. This was for clarity and understanding. I wonder what the wartime Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army and the Chief of Naval Operations for the U.S. Navy would have said about all the words coming out of Washington, D.C. these days. Winston Churchill also shared their desire for succinct reports and dissemination of information so interested parties would understand the situation at hand. This philosophy of well researched but succinct information put out with a minimum of words so as to be more easily understood, reminds me of the philosophy highlighted above. That is, the fewer assumptions an explanation of a phenomenon depends on, the better it is. What this country should probably have is simple straight forward Constitutional limits on the Powers of the Federal Legislature. Like the great leaders of the past, preferably on one piece of paper so "We The People" can explain to those on Capital Hill the way we want them to conduct their business!

There is a modern day slang term, “keep it simple, stupid!” This applies to those on Capital Hill. It is ironic that there had been a Non-sequitar Cartoon, by Wiley Miller about a mythical Government Agency called “The Department of Justifying Our Existence.” The tag line on the cartoon is “The Most Active Branch of Government.” I would laugh, if it wasn’t so true and part of the cancer inflicted on the American Public. We have an ever growing Government with States, Cities and other Local Governments following the same game plan. Spending taxpayer money without justifying the expense, and if that doesn't work, legislate mandates to require public or private entities to spend money to conform to the bigger governments demands. Washington taxes on a manner that is confusing, even calling hidden taxes fees or other such deceptive titles to further baffle the public. Now legislation even forces other government entities, businesses or even individuals to spend money to expand Washington's power. We have fallen victim to the Beltways great myth that they are taking care of the "Common American!" President John F. Kennedy once talked about the myths like these; "The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

Two of the Amendments included in the original Bill of Rights are under attack from the Elitist Leftists who want to take away the right to bear arms by the citizenry. Currently they also want to limit the rights of free speech. Daily attacks by left wing radicals, whose only claim to fame have nothing to do with wisdom or knowledge, but have more to with making huge fortunes tweaking new technology; has been a direct assault on the freedom of speech. Ironically it was this particular constitutionally guaranteed freedom that led to the passionate defense of that very freedom by the leftists during the turbulent sixties. With the mainstream media turned into a leftist liberal propaganda machine from the sixties to date, talk radio as a voice for conservative and traditional values was born. Now that those shows are so popular, they are threatening to the book burning wannabes from the leftist elite web sites, they are trying to censure them even from the floor of the Senate. It isn't enough that the Liberal Elitists control most of the media, they want it ALL. They are using something called the fairness doctrine with the intent to keep control of the entire propaganda media machine. This also, reminds me of a scene from some movie about totalitarian repression!

The Edmund Burke quote, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," haunts me. It bothers me when I hear someone say, "There is nothing you can do," "Don't rock the boat," or "Let the younger generation worry about it." That last one really gets me upset, because if over the years our ancestors had felt that way, the lives of almost all Americans would not be what it is today. All right then, if Congress will not stop taking "We the People" for granted and usurping our personal liberties more each passing years, then we have to do something!

There is a solution!

Let's reduce the essential requirements for the future of personal freedom and liberty in this country to a forthright essential series of Constitutional Amendments for the Twenty-first Century. These Amendments would be coupled with a rigorous adherence to ALL of the original Amendments known as the Bill of Rights. No hedging on any Amendment as not being relevant in our modern age. Since there are only two ways to amend the Constitution, the next part becomes more difficult. For all 27 Amendments passed since the beginning of our Constitution, the method used has been as prescribed in Article V of the Constitution by a proposed amendment passing both halves of the legislature, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives by a two-thirds majority. This has been the only method used to date.

There is little chance of Congress passing any legislation to reform itself or limit its powers, much less supply the two-thirds vote necessary to reform Congress itself as part of the U.S. Constitution. Constitutional limits will not permit them to play with it like the Internal Revenue Code. Congress had no problem limiting the powers of the Presidency by imposing term limits; they just don't see applying the same logic when it comes to the power hungry Senate and House of Representatives. It is interesting to note that at no point does the President have a role in the formal amendment process. He could make his opinion known and use the power of the proverbial "Bully Pulpit." The President cannot veto an amendment proposal, nor ratification. For years members of Congress and the Mainstream Media have complained about "The Imperial Presidency;" but in truth, it is the Imperial Congress that has chosen to make their power unlimited. They don't even have to vote themselves pay raises. A Commission, appointed by them, recommends the raise and they have to vote not to take one! Again, the words from the Army's Counsel at the McCarthy Army hearings ring in my ears; "Have you no shame, Senator?"

To be continued…