A Convention of the States…. say whaaaaaat……SIGN ME UP!!!

~ Conservative Momma ~ 5 Comments

I had a really interesting conversation with a woman last night. She would definitely be classified as the “tea party-grassroots Conservative.” We started talking about Term Limits and she argued against it. I said “Why……!?? Oh my gosh-it was never meant to be a career!” I was initially shocked that she wasn’t for it! I haven’t met a true Conservative that doesn’t back Term Limits! I asked her to explain, and it was her reasoning, that got me thinking…..

“We have Term Limits, they are called elections.” Ughhh ya….ya…ya, I hadn’t heard that one before. I wasn’t thrilled to hear this uttered from her mouth. She then told me about her advocacy for a Convention of the States. She said it is here we can actually CHANGE how Congress is operating. We the people have the power, if we have the organization skills, we could make history.

What is a Convention of the States? We all (hopefully) learned about this in US History, but I -like probably many of you….kinda forgot specifics. This Convention of the States, which is found in Article 5 of the United States Constitution, is simply this:

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

Ok what? This means, that State Legislators can bypass Federal Legislators. This means that citizens can call upon the state legislators to call for a Convention of the States!

In other words, it’s not just Congress that can amend the Constitution. We the people can!!!!! It takes 34 states to agree and unite, and it’s a go!

My conversation continued in the “why” no term limits, because, I am a strong advocate FOR term limits!

“If you Term Limit, they’ll still get caught up in the dirty side of politics, they’ll still take money from big corps, lobbyists, and pacs, they’ll just have a shorter time to do it,” She explained.

Huh….I thought. “Well, what do you suggest,” I asked?

“One way we can limit their power, and corruption, is an amendment for only a ‘single issue’ bill,” she suggested.

Currently most- if not all -bills that are written contain a whole heap of issues and back-end deals! On top of that, the bills are like a zillion pages long and I am finding- our congress most of the time doesn’t even read them! So a single issue bill would literally be ONE issue-no strings attached. I really love this idea! The more I learn about how our bills become laws, and how they are written and all the strings attached, I have come to the conclusion it’s a freakin mess! A single issue bill would eliminate the secrecy and corruption!

I left the conversation thinking…..what a great idea!

I am now really going to dive deeper into a Convention of the States, if you are interested, let me know!

Being a Delegate would be AWESOME……..if I were one, I’d still push for term limits though! 😉

What are your thought? Let me know!!!

This 3 min clip totally explains a Convention of the Sates-in a VERY EASY format! WATCH!!!

Net Neutrality…..not a good idea…

~ Conservative Momma ~ Leave a comment

Obama is set to talk about Net Neutrality in next weeks State Of the Union address. Just be prepared because he is going to really sell it, and if you didn’t have an understanding on what it was….you’d think “huh, ya that makes sense.”  He wants to push this through and he’s going to pitch it perfectly!

“It’ll give everyone an equal opportunity to succeed, when it comes to the internet.”

I saw an ad FOR net neutrality and it made me laugh, it read: “Net Neutrality bad for business, good for you!” Huh….that doesn’t even make sense-businesses are made up of individuals-that’s right-people like you and me, so……… then it would actually be bad for you…….But I am assuming those who created this ad, didn’t think those who would see it, had a brain or individual thought of any kind.

You would think being a blogger I would be FOR this, it would give me more recognition and I would have equal speed when it comes to a “search” as much as a major news source. Wow, sounds great right! WRONG.

Plain and simple.

Handing over the internet to the federal government is a BAD idea. For starters, it gives MORE power to the Government, if you are for limited government-that alone should be enough to convince you. Also, the last time I checked the government has a helluva time running ANYTHING efficiently…..ummmm remember Healthcare.gov?? Plus, they take FOREVER to do anything! Have you been to the DMV lately?! To think by the time “they” (really we, through our tax dollars) have spent a ridiculous amount of money, and time in understanding how the internet works, and then passing a bill, technology would have changed ten times over!

Ok, soooooo I am so not a “techy,” but I have combed through several articles and I think the one attached explains it all great! Let me know your thoughts on NET NEUTRALITY!  Yes, or no? Forbes Article on Net Neutrality.

Keystone Pipeline…..a NO vote from ME….what?? Just READ!

~ Conservative Momma ~ 3 Comments

So I guess a new requirement we should have for our Congressmen and women, would be READING. Yes, I know….it sounds so simple, so arbitrary, but apparently most of our elected officials, lack this basic skill.

Now before everyone starts flipping out, I am for the Keystone Pipeline being built. I am for America being energy independent. I am totally for the US not giving money for oil to countries that harbor terrorist, but I am NOT for the bill proposed by the House last week to build the pipeline-why? Simply put- it can be considered unconstitutional.

It all starts with a privately owned, for profit company known as TranCanada, a company that wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline. They have actually been in the news over the past couple years, because they think they are above the law.

Many Texas landowners have claimed that they are being “bullied” into selling their property by declaring “eminent domain” authority. This is basically the power to seize land for highways and other public infrastructure projects. Over 89 land condemnation lawsuits involving TransCanada in 17 counties from the Red River to the Gulf Coast were reported in 2012. Now it’s totally fine if TransCanada, a privately owned entity, rightfully pays for land and builds on it, but operating under “eminent force”…..ummmm not so much!

The 5th Amendment of the Constitution clearly states:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Now I get under eminent domain, a third party is given the right to operate like the federal government. Lots of Republicans have gotten on the bandwagon to build-build-build!!! But, apparently they haven’t READ the Bill. The Bill exempts TransCanada, from having to abide by the rules, such as laws that require pipeline owners and operators to obtain certain government permits and approvals. Huh…..which makes me think…..just what congressmen and women are doing backdoor deals with TransCanada???

The House passed this bill, few voted against it. One congressman who voted “present,” or otherwise not voting for the bill was Justin Amash, a rep from Michigan. On his face book page he sites why:

“I support construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and holding it up for over four years (with no end in sight) for political reasons is wrong. It’s improper, however, for Congress to write a bill that names and benefits one private project, while doing nothing to address the underlying problems that allowed such delays to occur. The Constitution gives Congress the power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations,” but the Rule of Law requires that legislation be of general, not specific, applicability. A proper bill would address the circumstances that allow *any* such project to be held up for political reasons, not just Keystone XL.”

**In other words, the Bill is wrong to exempt certain entities.

It is insane that a FOREIGN third party operating under “eminent” domain and seizing property, not be held accountable under the bill!

I propose that our elected officials start taking reading classes! I also think it’s ridiculous to jump on board a parties agenda-Republican or Democrat, if it in any way, goes against people’s individuals rights and hits a gray line of the constitution. If property rights are taken from the people, than this is a slippery slope, resulting in individual rights being taken into question. I do not support the building of the Keystone Pipeline, until the Bill is written in accordance with the Constitution in respect to the individual’s right to property and does not exempt any third party from playing by the rules!