Constitutional Amendment: Congress S.T. Same Law As Citizens

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Ted Gurney
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Constitutional Amendment: Congress S.T. Same Law As Citizens

Post by Ted Gurney »

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---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Re: Suggested Answers to Short Quiz
From: Tucker Gurney (Mrs. Ted Gurney)
Date: Sat, July 3, 2010 6:11 am
To: John Karls
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To Ted's reading friends
From Ted's wife, Tucker Gurney

Ted will not be able to attend your July 14 meeting. Unfortunately, he had a bad fall on Thursday off our tall garden wall. He is recovering at the U of U Hospital but is still not fully conscious.

On his behalf, I offer two ideas.

1. For your next book, you might consider James Michener's "Caravans". I heard an NPR correspondent to Afghanistan suggest it as a great summer read. It apparently describes Kabul and Afghanistan vividly and accurately. He said that it forecast the US and Russian struggles in Afghanistan although it was published in the early 1960's. Our city library has 3 copies.

2. Pertinent to your current book, "The Broken Branch", I just received the following message calling for a 28th amendment to the US Constitution.

*****
This will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on.

An idea whose time has come

For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Health Care Reform that has passed...in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come.

Have each person contact a minimum of Twenty people on their Address list, in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution -- "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States "

*****
You are one of my 20


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Subject: Re: Re: Suggested Answers to Short Quiz
From: John Karls
Date: Sat, July 3, 2010 8:51 am
To: Tucker Gurney (Mrs. Ted Gurney)
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Dear Tucker,

I am very sorry to learn of Ted's mishap!!! Not fully conscious after 48 hours sounds very serious!!! As soon as he is able to comprehend, please tell him that all of his Reading Liberally friends wish him well!!!

And please let me know as soon as he is able to receive visitors and, probably more importantly, interested in having them. I, for one, would be interested in dropping in for a chat!!!

Thank you for the book suggestion and for the "heads up" about a possible 28th Amendment to the Constitution providing Senators and Congresspersons will be subject to the same laws as ordinary citizens.

With regard to "Caravans" I thought that I had read all of Michener's books but "Caravans" doesn't sound familiar. It would be a real treat!!!

Incidentally, Winston Churchill’s first of many books (“The Malakind Field Force”) described his first military escapades after graduation from Sandhurst, Britain’s West Point. They occurred in the Mahmoud Valley of what are now the tribal regions of Pakistan which, of course, were still part of India at that time. This was before he joined Lord Kitchener in fighting the Mahdi in Sudan which preceded Churchill’s participation in the Boer War featuring his great escape in 1899 which made him a national hero in England, a mere 5 years after graduating from Sandhurst. However, “The Malakind Field Force” offers little insight into the tribal regions of Pakistan other than general observations about how unbelievable the terrain and the local population were.

With regard to the "heads up" there doesn't seem to be a "call to action" but merely a mechanism to embarrass Congress. The reason for mentioning this is that if anyone decides to take the further step of a "call to action," Article V of the US Constitution provides that there are only two methods for proposing (vs. later ratifying) an amendment = (1) a two/thirds vote in both houses of Congress, or (2) two-thirds of the state legislatures ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments. Of the 33 amendments that have been proposed, of which 27 (including the 10 comprising the Bill of Rights) were ratified, none were proposed using the second method. This is probably because the first method is a vote on a specific proposal, whereas the second is a vote on setting up a convention that can make as many proposals on as many subjects as it pleases. Nevertheless, the first method probably won't work since Congress itself is the target.

I hope Ted gets well soon!!! If there is anything I can do, particularly with respect to your children while you are busy visiting Ted, please let me know.

Your friend,

John K.

PS - I know your greeting was formal to address the entire Reading Liberally group, many of whom you don't know. Though I'm sure you remember that you and I have met several times at Utah Opera opening nights.

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