To: US Citizen Voters
cc: US President, Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries, presidential and all appointed
executive branch advisors, councils, and commissions, Federal and State
Judiciary elected and appointed judges, US House of Representatives and its
members and committee chairmen, US Senate and its members and committee
chairmen, Judicial appointees and elected judges, Governors, State Legislatures,
elected officials and attorneys’ generals, Mayors, City Councilmen, Law
Enforcement Officials, School Board members, and other appointed or elected
persons in positions of power, major corporation leaders, social media
companies, news media companies, and polling organizations
The rhetoric, targeted actions, targeted individuals, communications and the flow of information to the US Citizens (facts & data) has become so bias and toxic, as a government, you are no longer able to govern for the people who elected you to office and allowed the appointments of key persons.
A presumption of the US Citizen Voter is that once an individual is elected or appointed, he or she no longer has an interest in their constituents, they now focus on their own enhancements in power, wealth, and job security with little or no thought for the citizens’ needs.
Here are a few points to consider to bring down the temperature of the toxic rhetoric to allow you to begin to govern and meet the needs of the people:
1. Create or enforce Code of Conduct when doing the people’s business – must not be less than that used in corporate America’s
2. Eliminate the nuclear option and reconciliation processes – these do not foster healthy dialog, debate, compromise or comradery resulting in the best possible outcome
3. Limit televising of government to C-SPAN – takes away media commentary and bias
4. Eliminate social media and pollsters from publishing 14 days prior to federal elections – this eliminates misleading the citizen voter.
5. Candidates for public office use only positive advertising and stay on the issues and policies they intend to pursue – you cannot make yourself look better by making others look bad
6. Set up federal standards to ensure integrity in federal elections
7. Voters to ask their elected officials for those actions that benefited their zip code, state, or the country while in office (transparency on their voting record
8. Ensure any election always has two or more candidates running – all parties owe their members a candidate – running unopposed contributes to the “swamp” and eliminates new and fresh ideas in government
9. Do not use allegations, innuendos, libel, slander, or deliberate mis-information when addressing congress, the senate, or the people during campaigns and in elected office to attack members of the opposite party or mislead the public
10. Never show disrespect to anyone during campaigns or in elected office
11. Always remember you represent the people who elected you and everything you do must be focused on their needs or the needs of the country
12. Network TV to tone down the rhetoric of political satire on late night talk shows
13. No longer allow elected officials and those who address the congress and the country to use the words associated with race, color, ethnicity, bias, division as well as put any adjective in front of the words American or citizen that is descriptive
14. Never use the words racist, white supremacy, black lives matter, systemic racism and similar phrases that do not further a positive unifying message
15. Disrespect or desecration of the US Flag, National Anthem, and the Pledge of Allegiance will be removed as targets of free speech. Their desecration is not free speech. These represent America as a nation.
16. Avoid actions to rename buildings, military bases, schools, and streets that are historical. History is the best teacher. The present cannot rewrite it. The world already knows our history
17. Avoid changing official government dialog and document wording that diminishes the nuclear family and relationship associated with it (descriptive pronouns)
18. Do not pass laws that give privileges to groups that all groups cannot share equally. Only exception, which should be recognized, are the laws of nature that apply to all, i.e., men and women.
19. It is not the job of the federal government to change the language of the USA by striking or eliminating words. Society has this task via evolution, not by federal lawmakers.
20. Financial aid guaranteed by the Federal Government should be for STEM and those areas of study that fill H1B1 visas jobs. The duty of the government is to support its people. This is direct support. Public institutions would have priority. Degrees not on the approved list, would not receive financial aid (tax dollars). No federal support guarantees for private universities, schools, and colleges financial aid. There is plenty of support in the private sector
Here is a proposal by line item for your consideration
1. Provide loan guarantees for degrees in STEM and for those categories under which reduce H1B1 visas are issued for public universities and colleges only. Going forward, use STEM and a published H1B1 visa application listing (government to publish the list and maintain) - matching (where degrees are required) as the guide for financial aid in public universities, schools and colleges only. Of course, time limits and minimum grade point averages need to be included.
2. No guaranteed financial aid for private universities, schools, and colleges. The rationale is these institutions generally have hefty endowments and many non-job filling degrees that do not help support jobs and the economy.
3. Any student loan forgiveness for private universities, schools, and colleges should be absorbed by those institutions. Taxpayers should not foot these costs.
4. The government’s responsibility is to the citizens and the country (jobs & the economy). The privileged institutions do not need government support for education.
Moving on to the elections
There is a significant percentage of the population that have a distrust in the integrity of our elections. Here are some points to consider in rebuilding that trust.
1. The political chairs of each state work together and select a list of election workers to verify counts and maintain chain of custody of all cast ballots -24x7
2. The duties of these workers are:
a. Jointly (on worker from each political party) guard each ballot box
b. Operate the vehicles that transports ballots from ballot box locations to the vote counting facilities including maintaining vehicle trip logs
c. Transport and validate the ballot box locations
d. Manually count ballots before machine counts and validate machine counts and manual counts agree. Maintain appropriate associated count logs
3. The duties of the state political chairs:
a. Agree on locations of all ballot boxes
b. Agree on schedule for transferring ballots from boxes to vote counting facilities
c. Agree on official vote counting machines (should be USA manufactured & software)
d. Establish and agree on “flow” (should be one-way only) of votes through vote counting facilities (see diagram below)
e. Maintain custody of manual/machine count verification logs
f. Move all counted ballots to separate area to avoid multiple counting of votes – separating physically by top-of-ticket political party
g. Place ballot boxes at practical locations to facility voter access
h. Staff the vote counting facility 24x7
i. Purge voting registries of
i. Dead persons
ii. Persons no longer resident in the state
iii. Voter ID (unique ID, State ID for non-drivers, or State drivers license
4. State and federal government duties
a. Separate local and state ballots from federal ballots – two physical ballots, possibly color code
b. Program counting machines to separate machine ballots counted into three groups (based on top of ticket party selection
i. Democrat
ii. Republican
iii. Void
c. Deploy state or federal national guard to protect election ballot boxes, counting centers, and election workers 24x7
d. Maintain a national death registry
5. Steps associated with remote voting
a. Establishing requirements for remote voting
b. Only send out remote voting ballots based on a legal request (age, residence, etc.) that were requested
c. Retain on file signatures of those requesting a ballot
It is recommended that action be implemented by 31 Dec 2021 to give election officials time to gain the publics trust in the election process prior to the 2022 elections
The Constitution and particularly the Bill of Rights
1. The 1st amendment –
a. Freedom of speech (liberal, conservative, progressive) should be available to be heard by all citizens to make an informed decision. Hearing only one point of view is not healthy for individual human development or for a nation. Censorship in any form should not be supported by the government at any level. Social Media and News Media should not be allowed to censor any citizen who is not in violation of the law by expressing freedom of speech
b. In the work place – Expressions of freedom of speech that is negative to the nation. This includes not honoring the US Flag, National Anthem, and Pledge of Allegiance. These are the symbols of the nation and identify us as a unique nation – all nations have these. Corporate America was a sanctuary – a place where all employees were not subjected to politics. Once you accept violations of this, such as for major sports corporations, no one is safe from political intimidation.
c. Right to assembly – peacefully assembly is a constitutional right. Today there are disrupters infiltrating most assemblies, marches, and protests that lead to violence.
d. Freedom of Religion – this is self-explanatory, no infringement tolerated at any level of government
2. The 2nd Amendment
a. The second amendment is the one that truly keeps America free. What is the difference between America and totalitarian dictatorships?
b. a real answer is that in those countries, no citizens bear arms. That is why their populations are not feared. There is no balance between the citizens and the government. If the US Executive branch wanted to seize absolute power with the backing of the military, where would the resistance come? It can be that real if a group of individuals band together.
Politically motivated activities
1. Impeachment for political reasons only is not constitutional. House and Senate members should act accordingly or be held accountable upon reelection
2. Black Lives Matter should be considered in at least 2 contexts
a. Black Lives Matter as 3 words in the English language should be considered in the same context as white, yellow, red, brown and all lives matter. Not to be misconstrued with a political organization BLM.
b. Black Lives Matter, a political organization that means something else very different from 3 words in the English language. You can research it on your own.
3. COVID-19 depending upon your political affiliation, means different things to different people. Here are some reasonable man observations:
a. Distribution is at the STATE level. Federal government beyond DPA (Defense Production Act) and providing funds is not physically involved unless asked by the state governor
b. Not everyone needs or wants the vaccine
c. The first plan for distribution could have piggy-backed on the flu vaccine distribution process with some tweaks where special refrigeration is needed
d. Masks do not prevent getting COVID-19, only spreading it if you have it
e. Lockdowns, Teacher’s Unions, and state government should be questioned by impacted citizens.
Corruption/Greed – it’s not going away
Corruption and greed are human nature, more or less prevalent in each of us. A minor level could be sneaking an extra piece of candy before you share with others, or stealing from your employer by coming in late, long lunches, and leaving early. Severe levels border on criminal activity such as selling your vote, taking payoffs to not resist or go along with the pressuring body, extortion, kick-backs, etc.
With this assumption, you can expect all politicians to have their hands in the cookie jar. I think most of us expect that, within reason, but we the voters expect something for the good of the people and the country, not just political gain for those elected.
The often used by political figures is the term “no one is above the law”. In reality, this is not the case. There is the published laws we all grew up believing help those violating the law would be held accountable. There are two groups of persons, citizens who follow the laws and expect protection associated with them, then there is the elite, those who have a seat at the table of power. They are above the law; but they are not above the vote! The 2 ways to limit this are: 1) term limits – slight chance of that happening, 2) vote them out of office at each election cycle if they did little or nothing for you community, district, city, county, or state.
Collapse of the United States
History is a great teacher. We can learn from what worked well and what didn’t to avoid making the same mistakes again.
The collapse of the Roman Empire can be used as an example. Of the top ten reasons for its collapse, two (2) were from within (8 Reasons Why Rome Fell - HISTORY):
1. Government corruption and political instability
2. Christianity and the loss of traditional values
The Roman Empire collapsed in about 1,000 years. We are about 275 years in existence. One could argue, with social media, we are in excess of 900 years on an equivalency. If this is possible, we have less than 100 years to right the ship.
Climate change and United States’ impact
The US represents about 4.2% of the world’s population and about 1.8% of the land area of earth – land 30%, oceans 70% of total. The US is a very small percentage of the size of the problem we are trying to save at the federal government level. The private sector is progressing just fine with their movements to cleaner energy, less carbon emissions and wind and solar power. It appears the US is well below the limits set by international groups. The world, as a whole, has more urgent problems to solve than that which takes the whole of the world to solve in unison. Resources diverted to climate change takes away from current and near-term problems like feeding its people. There will be little support at the international level – lots of talk, good for politics, but no real action,
Comment
I love this nation and the values it was created in. I am saddened by what I hear and see in the news media. I do not have a social media account. I struggle with filtering out the chatter to understand the facts. I have given up on asking for the truth because, no matter who states it, it is always in a hidden context not known to the listener, and can be considered as a sound bite only. My advice is to take it with a grain of salt; however, if it matters to you, research and come to your own conclusions.
Doing what’s right, fair, and just are self-imposed restrictions
Good and well-intentioned persons and organizations are restricted. They play by the rules. These are the law-abiding citizens and good corporate citizens and elected officials. When unfair, evil, criminal activity and threat of harm, death, or destruction is threatened, what’s right and just do not apply to the attackers. Attackers have no restrictions. It is not the duty of government to bind the citizens against self-preservation, but to curb the non-law-abiding. My proposal is let us be prepared to defend ourselves in time of need. Remember, those outside the law have no restrictions. Gun control means nothing to them. Citizens do not need legislation for every low percent statistic involving guns.
Candidates and Campaigns
My advice is not to listen to candidates and their promises and take lightly any advertising. To get a true sense of your trust in the candidate, ask questions that are important to you, preferably in town halls or directly to his office. You cannot trust what they are telling you at rallies, in advertising, and in debates. These are all driven by the campaign managers direction to tell you what you want to hear and get your vote. Voting by party lines is a default that you take when you are not involved. Make your vote count. Democrat, Republican, or Independent is not important. Your vote is!
The Shame of our elected Officials
This section is aimed at our US House of Representative elected officials and the US Senate elected officials, even though the principles are relevant at all levels of government.
1. Leadership – the actions and rhetoric of our officials when they are doing TV & News interviews, and speaking to the people demonstrate a lower level of character, respect, and rhetoric allowed by employees in any company, large or small. Demonstrations of libel (written personal attacks), slander (verbal attacks), and innuendos aimed at others, would get you fired in any US company!
2. Statements that include incendiary unfounded attacks on others, with no basis in fact, told with a very convincing tone and expression, that deliberating mislead voters, should have consequences equal to the harm done, at same amplitude, for the same duration, in the same medium, at the same time, in the same venue.
3. Remember, you represent the voter’s ideals, character, and judgment. You don’t get permission to say, incite, or commit inappropriate acts in our behalf in public or private, in interviews, on TV, or in person in chambers. None of these are the American values of the voters that put you there.
4. Washington is running wild with those who see their time in Washington as the opportunity to enrich themselves, family, and major donors and lobbyists. This short-sightedness will destroy the country. As you each pass through taking your bite of the apple, the country falls further behind at the favor of a few. Some elected politician’s family wealth exceeds $200 million. One major’s net worth jumps from under $1 million to over $10 million, the first year in office. What is the answer?
a. Get better candidates
b. Term limits
c. Vote representatives out every 8 years
d. Vote senators out every 12 years
5. You no longer demonstrate that you are responsible and can be trusted with the budget, our tax credit card. You charge what you like and we must pay the bill. You must be held accountable.
HR133 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021< with Senate Amendments (5593 pages passed Dec 21,2020)
Pork-barrel politics is the legislator's practice of slipping funding for a local project into a budget. The project may have nothing to do with the bill and may benefit only the legislator's home district. Before a bill gets to a vote, pork-barreling has often greatly inflated its costs through the addition of various legislators' pet projects.
This bill has 29 Sections (A through FF), consisting of 120 plus “Titles”. The titles detail the monies appropriated. Just Section A – Agriculture, has 9 titles. The 1st title is 25 pages with all kinds of appropriations. Only the legislators, their staff, and the lobbyists read those sections. Each year the House sends the government funding bill to the Senate where there is no time to review or negotiate. It just gets rammed through.
I am closing for now. Enough said for this chapter.