Reforming Congress - Drain The Swamp

[Although we are not a fan of Warren Buffett, we recognize that even scoundrels have good ideas.  We have added some additional comments below to support this concept.]

The BUFFETT Rule

Notable pressure points for our elected political representatives. 

Salary of retired US Presidents .. . . . .. . . . . .. . $180,000 FOR LIFE.

Salary of House/Senate members .. . . . .. . . .   $174,000 FOR LIFE.  [????]

Salary of Speaker of the House .. . . . .. . . . .     $223,500 FOR LIFE.  [????]

Salary of Majority / Minority Leaders . . .. . . . .  $193,400 FOR LIFE. [????]

Average Salary of a teacher . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. .  $40,065

Average Salary of a deployed Soldier . . .. . . ..  $38,000

[These are self-imposed salaries,

 voted BY Congress, FOR CONGRESS, 

and the American citizen has no say in the matter]

If you wish to end the deficit, you simply pass legislation that declares that if there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress [including the Senate] immediately become ineligible for re-election.

The 26th Amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only three months and eight days to be ratified! 

Why? Simple! 

The people demanded it. That was in 1971 - before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven took one year or less to become the law of the land - all because of public pressure.

Does your political representative have any value?

Proposed 

Congressional Reform Act of 2017

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressional Respresentative or Senator will collect a 

    salary while in office and will receive no pay after leaving office; i.e., no retirement!

2. Congress (past, present, & future) must now participate in Social Security.

    a) All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system

       immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and 

    b) Congress participates with the American people. Social Security funds may not 

         be used for any other purpose.

3. Congressional Representatives can purchase their own retirement plan, 

     just as all Americans can do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise 

     by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same

    health care system as the American people - another incentive to end ObamaCare.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they have imposed on the American 

    people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressional Representatives and Senators 

    become are void on the passage of this legislation and its signing into law by the 

    President.

    [There is no existing contract with Congress that such legislation would violate] 

    a)  Congress made all these contracts for themselves. 

    b)  Serving in Congress is an honor, not a lucrative career. 

    c)  The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their 

          term(s) then go home and go back to work.

This amendment eliminates The Establishment and Crony Politics.  Empowering politicians with lifetime careers and constant fund-raising [bribes] by Defense Contractors, Pharmaceuticals, and foreign powers is not acceptable, and has never been. 

Forcing Congress to restrain themselves and to be held accountable eliminates such egregious creatures as Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan, Harry Reid, John McConnell, Al Franken, 

Drawing on the words of Andrew P Napolitano, writing for the Washington Times, we have to wonder if there is a difference between Republicans and Democrats; probably not.

The laws they have written are too arcane for the average citizen to understand, and, as with ObamaCare, the law was written into 2,500 pages into which egregious violations of the Constitution were written -- unchallenged in Obama's eight year tenure.  We have to ask why no one in Congress challenged these measures, but we need only look to the Patriot Act or the National Defense Authorization Act, both of which were jammed through in record time to strip the American citizens of their Constitutional rights 

-- to "protect us from Terrorism", which we have created in the Middle East compliments of our "allies" there who created, funded, manned, armed, and are wreaking havoc in formerly peaceful lands -- and now, the Media condemns Trump for taking action against them.

It is clear that our Congress has become a self-perpetuating Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone, it serves itself, and not the voters; it gives the voters limited options for candidates, and if the candidate doesn't suit their tastes -- or dictates, both Parties join together to defeat that candidate, no matter how popular they are.

Cases in point include former Governor McDonnell of Virginia who was scandalized by the Washington Post, tried and convicted of "corruption" in a small kangaroo court in Virginia, and forced out of politics based on a bogus "felony conviction".  In a unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court overturned the conviction referring to as the greatest example of legal manipulation they had ever witnessed.  

                      
Why did this happen?

Governor McDonnell

McDonnell was a Conservative, retired Military officer, dynamic, good looking, brilliant, with a charming, attractive wife, and would have been a shoo-in for the GOP Presidential candidate.  

The problem was, McDonnell couldn't be dictated to, and was thus unacceptable to the GOP.  The Chosen One was Jeb Bush, a limp-wristed intellectually impaired stalwart of the Party who could be depended upon to follow in the path of his brother George W Bush and do precisely as he was told.  Thus, the GOP and the Democrats joined together to destroy McConnell to keep him out of the 2016 election process.  

The American people were so disgusted with the GOP candidates they jumped on the Trump bandwagon because it was clear he would not take orders from the political parties and would march to his own tune.  Trump has not disappointed in that promise although the RepubliCrat Press constantly attacks him.

But, let's take another case which you might have missed in which a highly popular GOP candidate in Nevada was the hands-down favorite among Nevada voters.  She had easily beaten all her Primary candidates and would easily have defeated Harry Reid, the incumbent Democrat Senate Majority Leader.  

But, the GOP had already cut their deal with the Democrats and vowed their support for Reid, even though they officially "condemned" Reid for his corruption and opposition to all proposals made by the GOP.

The GOP candidate, Sharron Angle, as a member of the Nevada Assembly, had challenged GOP Governor Kenny Guinn and filed suit [Angle v. Guinn] against the Legislature to nullify the State's Constitution provision allowing a simple majority to pass the Governor's $836 Million tax increase.  

She carried the suit to the US Supreme Court which ruled against the Nevada Governor's gambit.  The State Legislature then reversed its position and formalized a 2/3 vote to pass tax legislation -- and the Governor was defeated, and highly embarrassed.

Angle further upset the Nevada Legislature by attempting to reform the Nevada Prison System. In 2006, she lost her race for a Congressional seat by roughly 325 votes, and challenged the election since poll workers mysteriously were absent in Washoe County, her strongest supporter.

In 2010, once it appeared Angle was positioned to beat Reid, the GOP joined forces with the Democrats funding TV and Newspaper opposition to her candidacy -- to include was cited by Senator Robert Menendez as "racist and despicable" propaganda against Angle.  Her lead until then was 50% to 39%, clearly a victory; but, instead the GOP had turned against her since she was clearly and independent thinker, and most clearly would not be dictated to in the US Senate by the GOP.  Obviously, a trouble-maker.

Bottom Line on all this is that the US Congress consists of a single Party with two official designations: The Republicans -- who bear no resemblance to the original Republican Party, and The Democrats, who are clearly Socialists/Communists.  

Together, they are the RepubliCrats -- representing only their own self-interests, 
and certainly not Mainstream America.

Trump's biggest challenge will be to 
Drain The Capitol Hill Swamp.

His greatest enemies are Speaker of the House Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell, both of whom have made it clear they will undermine Trump at every opportunity.

  

Trump - Will Pols Kill Him?

A Guest Post reportedly by William J Bennett

However, we have been advised that Bennett now denies having written this piece.
Nonetheless, we endorse the content from the anonymous author, and note
that we could not have phrased the analysis better ourselves.

What I See Happening In a Trump Presidency

They will kill him before they let him be president.

It could be a Republican or a Democrat that instigates the
shutting up of Trump.  Don't be surprised if Trump has an accident.

Some people are getting very nervous: Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton and Jon Corzine, to name just a few.It's about the unholy dynamics between big government, big business, and big media. They all benefit by the billions of dollars from this partnership, and it's in all of their interests to protect one another.

It's one for all and all for one. It's a heck of a filthy relationship that makes everyone filthy rich, everyone except the American people. We get ripped off. We're the patsies.

But for once, the powerful socialist cabal and the corrupt crony capitalists are scared. The over-the-top reaction to Trump by politicians of both parties, the media, and the biggest corporations of America has been so swift and insanely angry that it suggests they are all threatened and frightened.

Donald Trump can self-fund. No matter how much they say to the contrary, the media, business, and political elite understand that Trump is no joke. He could actually win and upset their nice cozy apple cart. It's no coincidence that everyone has gotten together to destroy The Donald.

It's because most of the other politicians are part of the a good old boys club. They talk big, but they won't change a thing. They are all beholden to big-money donors. They are all owned by lobbyists, unions, lawyers, gigantic environmental organizations, and multinational corporations - like Big Pharmacy or Big Oil.

Or they are owned lock, stock, and barrel by foreigners like George Soros owns Obama, or foreign governments own Hillary and their Clinton Foundation donations. These run-of-the-mill establishment politicians are all puppets owned by big money. But there's one man who isn't beholden to anyone

There's one man who doesn't need foreigners, or foreign governments, or George Soros, or the United Auto Workers, or the teacher's union, or the Service Employees International Union, or the Bar Association to fund his campaign.

Billionaire tycoon and maverick Donald Trump doesn't need anyone's help. That means he doesn't care what the media says. He doesn't care what the corporate elites think. That makes him very dangerous to the entrenched interests. That makes Trump a huge threat to those people. Trump can ruin everything for the bribed politicians and their spoiled slave masters.

Don't you ever wonder why the GOP has never tried to impeach Obama? Don't you wonder why John Boehner and Mitch McConnell talk a big game, but never actually tried to stop Obama? Don't you wonder why Congress holds the purse strings, yet has never tried to defund Obamacare or Obama's clearly illegal executive action on amnesty for illegal aliens?

Bizarre, right? It defies logic, right?

First, I'd guess many key Republicans are being bribed.

Second, I believe many key Republicans are being blackmailed.
Whether they are having affairs, or secretly gay, or stealing taxpayer money, the National Security Agency knows everything. Ask former House Speaker Dennis Hastert about that. The government even knew he was withdrawing large sums of his own money from his own bank account.

The NSA, the SEC, the IRS, and all the other three-letter government agencies are watching every Republican political leader. They survey everything.

Third, many Republicans are petrified of being called racists, so they are scared to ever criticize Obama or call out his crimes, let alone demand his impeachment.

Fourth , why rock the boat?
After defeat or retirement, if you're a good old boy, you've got a $5 million-per-year lobbying job waiting. The big-money interests have the system gamed. Win or lose, they win.

But Trump doesn't play by any of these rules. Trump breaks up this nice, cozy relationship between big government, big media, and big business. All the rules are out the window if Trump wins the Presidency. The other politicians will protect Obama and his aides but not Trump.

Remember:
Trump is the guy who publicly questioned Obama's birth certificate. He questioned Obama's college records and how a mediocre student got into an Ivy League university.

Now, he's doing something no Republican has the chutzpah to do.

He's questioning our relationship with Mexico; he's questioning why the border is wide open; he's questioning why no wall has been built across the border; he's questioning if allowing millions of illegal aliens into America is in our best interests; he's questioning why so many illegal aliens commit violent crimes, yet are not deported; and he's questioning why our trade deals with Mexico, Russia and China are so bad.



Trump has the audacity to ask out loud why American workers always get the short end of the stick.

Good question! I'm certain Trump will question what happened to the almost billion dollars given in a rigged no-bid contract to college friends of Michelle Obama at foreign companies to build the defective Obamacare website. By the way, that tab is now up to $5 billion.

Trump will ask if Obamacare's architects can be charged with fraud for selling it by lying. Trump will investigate Obama's widespread IRS conspiracy, not to mention Obama's college records. Trump will prosecute Clinton and Obama for fraud committed to cover up Benghazi before the election. How about the fraud committed by employees of the Labor Department when they made up dramatic job numbers in the last jobs report before the 2012 election?

 Obama, the multinational corporations and the media need to stop Trump. They recognize this could get out of control. If left unchecked, telling the raw truth and asking questions everyone else is afraid to ask, Trump could wake a sleeping giant. Trump's election would be a nightmare.

Obama has committed many crimes. No one else but Trump would dare to prosecute. He will not hesitate. Once Trump gets in and gets a look at the cooked books and Obama's records, the game is over. The jig is up. The goose is cooked.

Holder could wind up in prison. Jarrett could wind up in prison.
Obama bundler Corzine could wind up in prison for losing $1.5 billion of customer money.
Clinton could wind up in jail for deleting 32,000 emails or for accepting bribes from foreign governments while Secretary of State, or for misplacing $6 billion as the head of the State Department, or for lying about Benghazi. The entire upper level management of the IRS could wind up in prison. Obamacare will be de-funded and dismantled. Obama himself could wind up ruined, his legacy in tatters.

Trump will investigate. Trump will prosecute. Trump will go after everyone involved. That's why the dogs of hell have been unleashed on Donald Trump.

[Editorial Note:  We are reminded of Reagan's election in spite of the GOP's desperate measures to prevent his nomination and then his election over the GOP's "Chosen One" [George HW Bush] - as unelectable as Jeb Bush is today.  Americans saw hope and recovery with Reagan, while the political Parties saw him as endangering the Good Ol Boy Network.  Within a few months of his election, there was a bewildering assassination attempt on Reagan, in which the Secret Service violated every security tenet of Presidential protection.  

In essence, they had him walk, in the open, from the entrance of the Hilton hotel to the street, where, inexplicably, a "mentally deranged" young man, armed with a .22 caliber pistol -- loaded with armor piercing rounds, just happened to be standing in wait - with no notice having been taken of him by Secret Service agents.  

Officially, he fired a series of shots at Reagan -- who was wearing a bullet-proof vest --with one round penetrating under Reagan's left arm -- reportedly a "ricochet" off the door of the Limo [reminiscent of the "magic bullet" that wounded Kennedy's companions in his limo.  Oddly, a pistol appeared near the head of the wounded James Brady.   

Some believe that a Secret Service agent fired the shot that wounded the President, and that Hinkley was merely a patsy, like Oswald in JFK's assassination.  

Even more oddly, the bullet purportedly recovered from Reagan was not an armor-piercing round, but a damaged lead slug [it made for great showmanship though].


-- But, that's another story to unravel.]

Train Crash - Cyber Attack?

Prelude to a national transportation hack?

UPDATE:

Several new reports add interesting elements to this catastrophe:

1)  Passengers on this train stated that, immediately before the train left the rails, they heard a large "Bang!", not further identified, although investigators found a large round break in the window of the locomotive [train engine].  In another train incident in New York, there was a similar report of a "bang" -- complete with broken window in the train engine.  
[Those windows are virtually unbreakable, and we understand the FBI is now investigating both incidents.]

Additional reports reveal that the conductor had slammed on the brakes attempting to stop the train after it inexplicably increased speed -- by computer.

The conductor was fully cooperative with investigators and voluntarily produced his cell phone and freely took a blood test.  He advised he could not explain how the train doubled its speed when he had attempted to slow the train as it approached the curve.

The Philadelphia mayor has condemned the conductor as the irresponsible cause of the crash. A Twitter campaign has been launched to destroy his reputation by calling him a "diversity" hire.

Looks like a set-up to press passage of the $2 Billion Congressional Bill for rail maintenance.  De Blasio has learned a new word "INFRASTRUCTURE" and came to DC to bolster his reputation as a knowledgeable idiot!

There are reportedly seven passengers dead, with hundreds more injured in this train wreck.

The train reportedly was going more than 100 mph in a sector limited to 50 mph because of the tight curve.

Interestingly, one of the passengers reported hearing a "large BANG!" just before the derailing, while two other Philadelphia trains suffered window damage at the same time as the Amtrak crash.  
[To answer the obvious question:  No! Kids throwing rocks at the train will not break the windows; they're shatterproof!  So, whatever struck the windows was likely significantly greater than a hand-thrown rock.  It's worth examining the windows to see if there are bullet holes -- but then, we must ask who fired those rounds (note the calls for "Congressional infrastructure funding" below.]

We suspect the cause will be attributed to driver error, although safeguards were put in  place to prevent a repeat of other, recent train crashes in which excessive speed was the cause -- attributed to operator error.

Oddly, a search of the Internet retrieves little information on recent train wrecks in the US, even all those oil train derailings of the Warran Buffett genre which have spilled millions of gallons of oil in rural, suburban, and urban areas throughout the US -- killing people, livestock, vegetation, and polluting water supplies and creating environmental hazards through the massive oil fires.

Gosh, is the Media censoring itself?

The Media says I'm a Nice Guy!

Or, is that genial old gent, Warren Buffett, exercising his control over the Media since he is so well connected in the Media world, and in the railroad world, and in the infrastructure world, and in the energy sector  -- well, by golly, what ISN'T he controlling these days.  

And we thought the Rockefellers were powerful.

But, we digress.

We note the difficulty in finding details of a recent train wreck [to which we can no longer find a reference on the Internet], in which the operator supposedly fell asleep at the controls, and the train derailed due to excessive speed, killing and maiming passengers.

Such are highly unusual accidents since the computer systems are structured to monitor and control speeds at risky spots which are programmed into the rail routing process.  Even if the operator dies of a heart attack, the computer will respond appropriately if disaster looms.

That is, unless the computer system is hacked.

We expect to hear from the feds that this derailment was caused by terrorists, but that would imply that the terrorists can easily derail a US train, passenger or cargo - and that could derail the entire rail industry, and lower Buffett's profits.  So, the feds will crucify the operator and accuse him of being a cardiac victim, a drunk, a drug-user, or, an incompetent.  We suspect, however, the operator[s] are/were completely competent, and expert enough to know better than to drive 100 mph in a 50 mph zone consisting of a tight curve.

So, we drop back to the explanation that the computer system managing rail traffic was hacked.
By whom, we're unsure, although we have our suspicions, and we'll advise you once we have more information.

Hacks are more powerful than bombs

But, keep in mind, that if the rail system computers can be hacked, so too can the air traffic control system, and local ground based vehicular traffic signaling as well.  


Don't forget, both Dulles and ORD were hacked this past year,  creating havoc for the airlines, Air Traffic Controllers -- and tens of thousands of passengers.  

And, for good measure, our Administration is demanding that all new automobiles and trucks carry computer programs which can be controlled by "security" personnel -- to protect us from "terrorists"; of course, if terrorists hacked into that "security system", think of the havoc that could be wreaked causing millions of cars to spin out of control -- without regard to the drivers trying desperately to steer or slow their vehicles.

We're facing a challenge left open by the incompetence of this Administration which squandered a trillion dollars in 2009 and 2010 [under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act] which should have upgraded our infrastructure grids, to include our air/water/ground traffic control systems.  

Oddly enough, Mayor De Blasio, the only Communist mayor in the US, has declared that the rail infrastructure is 100 years or more old and is badly in need of repair; and Congress is pressing forward with another $2 Billion for such graft, er, repair.

Instead, all that money went to bogus companies owned by friends of Mr 0bama; and the US infrastructure has been collapsing ever since.