What's Good for Congress Ain't Good for the People

"What's good for the goose is good for the gander" is a well understood saying. There is a growing number of people out there that feel like Congress is abusing its power, making rules that apply to us but not the them, and generally being unresponsive to the people that elected them. And it seems like it doesn't matter whether you have a "D" an "R" or an "I" by your name. It seems that as soon as our somebody gets to Washington DC they succumb to corruption regardless of what they claimed they would do in during their campaign.

They are really just a reflection of those who elect them. Generally speaking, their morals are our morals. How can we expect them to behave ethically if we don't ourselves? It's a bit hypocritical, if you ask me. We expect Congress to behave ethically and decently while we cheat on our taxes, run around on our wives, and do deals under the table. It seems we all have some introspection to do if we are to achieve the ideal of selfless statesman. For example, we have to live within our means if we expect to provide for ourselves. Likewise, without strong character man is likely to behave selfishly and abuse authority.

I propose a few Constitutional Amendments to keep us safe from Congress and force them to make laws that apply to them as much as they do to us... at least until we learn how to defy human nature.


28th Amendment – Deficit Spending:

“Congress shall not approve any Federal budget resulting in a budget deficit, except in time of Congressionally declared War and for the express purpose of the defense of this Nation, or as approved by ¾ popular vote of the people. The Executive shall not approve any Federal budget resulting in a budget deficit, nor shall the Executive approve any practice that results in deficit spending, except as approved by ¾ popular vote of the people. The existence of a ‘budget deficit’ shall be determined by the Congressional Budget Office, independent of assumptions set by Congress, as well as two private accounting entities, serving in this role for more no longer than two consecutive years; and a determination of the presence of ‘deficit spending’ shall be decided by a majority of these three entities. ”


29th Amendment – Service, Compensation, and Authority Provisions:

“In keeping with the role of the Statesman as members of Congress and the Executive; recognizing that all members of the Judiciary, Legislative and Executive branches are themselves Citizens, serving at the pleasure of the People; and recognizing the tendency of Citizens elected to office to abuse positions of public service:

- Congress shall make no law that does not apply equally to all members of Congress as to the People; neither shall Congress exempt any Congressional body, entity or individual from any law that is placed on the People, except as necessary for the National Defense, as expediently determined by the Judiciary; neither shall any Congressman or Executive be exempt from any federal, state, or local law, as they apply to the General Public, except for the benefit of National Security as determined by the Judiciary; nor shall the Judiciary, including members of the Highest Court, interpret the Constitution or Law so as to exempt members of the Judiciary, under penalty of removal from a Judiciary Position by 2/3 popular vote of the people and a consecutive 2/3 vote of the Congress.

- Self-regulated remuneration of the Congress and Executive, being an incentive for perverse judgment contrary to the Public Good, shall be limited and approved by the People. Any benefits, compensation, pensions, salaries, and other remunerations resulting in monetary outlays from Federal sources, shall conform to the following precepts, and shall supersede any existing contracts, customary practices, or benefits that offset personal expenses of the members of Congress and Executive. All compensation, salary, benefits, healthcare, and any other monetary support for members of Congress and the Executive, including increases in compensation and rate of those increases, shall be approved by 2/3 popular vote of the people. Members of the Judiciary, Congress and the Executive shall not be compensated by any means other than salary and benefits as are lawful and customary for the People; neither shall any citizen, political party, private entity, or public entity independently compensate members of the Congress for their Constitutionally prescribed duties and public service. No Member of the Judiciary, Congress or Executive shall receive any pension, retirement, or any other benefit that would postdate the respective tenure of service, not withstanding self-funded retirement plans as permitted to the People, traditional funeral honors, approved protection of individual members of the Judiciary, Congressman or Executive and immediate family as a direct result of their service, or any benefit as approved by ¾ popular vote of the people. All compensation to the sitting Congress or Executive for public and private services, including for Constitutionally prescribed duties, private business, private investments, or any other compensation or benefit, shall be disclosed to the public and provided on an annual basis for the duration of the tenure of the Congressman or Executive.

- The members of Congress, Judiciary and Executive, themselves being Citizens, not shall provide for the retirement, healthcare, financial wellbeing, or physical wellbeing of their members by means not equally available to the People; neither shall they cause special benefits to accrue to their members that are not available to the People; nor shall they infringe upon the rights of the People to provide for and enjoy their individual retirement, healthcare, financial or physical wellbeing by lawful means; neither shall the same rights of the members of the Congress, Judiciary or Executive be impeded. The rules and policies of any public program designed for the Social Welfare, including any active social insurance or benefit program passed by Congress shall apply equally to every member of the Judiciary, Congress and Executive as they apply to the People. Accordingly, all prescribed contributions, distributions, elections, payments, withholdings, garnishments and benefits shall immediately apply to the sitting Congress, Judiciary and Executive, as they apply equally to the People.

- A thoughtful citizenry will seek to deter the corruption of the Public Servant, the appropriation of undesignated powers, and the perpetration of a non-representative government. To these ends, members of Congress shall serve no more than a total of twelve years in each House, either consecutively or inconsecutively. All appointed positions overseen by the Executive or Legislature, shall be approved with a specific job description by a 2/3 popular vote of the People, and all such unelected officers, agents, and appointees are limited to powers expressly granted by the Constitution to the respective branch under which they serve. Likewise, the Judiciary shall not possess, approve, oversee or otherwise create any such position or entity that is not approved by the Congress, nor shall any Branch of the Government possess, approve, oversee or create any position not known to the People. No appointee, Cabinet Member, Secretary, or other position in the Executive, not being elected by the People, shall serve past the term of the sitting President without the approval of the Congress, not to include salaried Federal employees or members of the Military. The Executive shall not create or utilize a Cabinet Position, Secretary position, or other appointed position, except as approved by 2/3 popular vote of the people and approved by a 2/3 vote in the Congress, except in a time of War as declared by Congress. The Congress shall have authority to challenge the existence of any Cabinet Position, ‘Tzar,’ Secretary, or other appointed position under the authority of the Executive, except in time of War, only in succession and once per presidential term, by calling a Public Vote of the People; and ratification of the challenged positions shall require 2/3 popular vote of the People. Furthermore, any powers granted to the Congress or Executive by the Constitution and not reserved to the States and the People, shall not be exercised by a Cabinet Position, Secretary, or other appointed position of the Executive; neither shall any previously ascribed duties or powers be usurped by these positions by any means, either directly or indirectly and to include semantic devices.”

Virtues of Growing Up Rural

Excerpts from a “the way things were” email:

“My parents never drove me to school. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow). “
“We didn't have a television in our house until I was 19. It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. and there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people..."
“I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.”
“Pizzas were not delivered to our home... But milk was.”
“All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. He had to get up at 6 AM every morning.”
“Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive."


There are plenty of stories that get passed around the internet on how things used to be. How going to the movies cost a nickel and how children played in the neighborhood until the streetlights came on. I didn’t go to the movies as a kid, nor did I often play in streets. About half of my childhood was in a rural setting with the balance in more urban neighborhoods. The the stories about how life in town sixty years ago are quite novel to me, while stories of rural life in the same era aren’t quite so foreign.

I’m glad Paw Paw Vann was born in 1899 (98?) because Dad was born when Paw Paw was about 50. That means the way Dad was raised “skipped a generation” so to speak, as if he had been born 30 years prior. So I think part of how I was raised came from a parent with a Depression Era childhood, even though he didn’t actually live through it. The house he grew up in looked to be about 1,000 square feet, wood and stone, with animal pens and barns around it. And every face in every picture I see of Dad’s family in front of that stone wall or on that porch had a smile on them (for the most part). Possibly as a result of this generational anomaly, I find I relate better to those who are 30 years my senior than the ipod/Facebook generation. Whatever contributed to my parents style of child-rearing their values, in turn instilled by their parents, helped mold me into who I am and how I view the world. 

I am 30.  I saw my first Nintendo consol around age 8, which appeared to be magic to me. How was this child who owned it able to manipulate that screen? I remember getting up early on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons with my brother and we had to wait until 6 AM for programming to resume. The first thing that played was the national anthem. Granted, the background scene was F-15 jets soaring through the air – in color, no less. Apparently NBC still liked America back then. My worldview is partially shaped by a family who did without and didn’t seem to have a need for modern accoutrements. A family whose values included frugality, making-do, improvising, common sense and virtue. My mother’s family and my father’s family share much the same values. While most of my childhood memories are of Dad’s family, Mother’s family is comprised of intelligent and resourceful people, as well as the make-do, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps individualists.

Even if we were pretty well “poor” when I was little, I never knew it then. My parents never complained about financial status and never made us feel like we went without. It was just the way things were and I knew no different way of life existed. The games my brother and I played were made more of imagination than plastic. The clothes I wore had “previous experience” and patches (parents, don’t ever try to make “cool” patches for your kids jeans). I never knew what Wranglers were until we got some hand-me-downs from my cousins. Rustlers were synonymous with blue jeans and when they wore out, they went into a pile to be disassembled and made into rugs, backpacks, blankets and other useful items.

I’m glad Mom is a good cook but I wouldn’t have known what fast food I was missing out on anyway since we really didn’t eat out. Even if Dad had a bad day we were still going to have supper around the table. I still had to ask to be excused. I had to eat what I put on my plate and complaining about my options was not an option. Even if the conversation was the obligatory check on how school was going, we still had it. And we prayed before every meal. Man, what a rough childhood. But I expect that way of life was no different between rural and urban households across America, just maybe in different proportions.

I remember an old green pickup without child seats, where I could stand on the bench seat if we were driving through the pasture. I remember beat up trucks that still kept running because calloused hands made sure they did and the stuff they were made from lasted. I remember a swing set that was really a horse walker. I remember a trusty rifle cut out of a 1x4. I remember solid metal toys. I remember plaid shirts, pliers in back pockets, equipment and fences held together with bailing wire, and chewing tobacco in sandwich bags. Sneaking black jelly beans with Paw Paw was a real treat because we didn’t get candy very often. I remember bicycles that were cobbled together from several donors. I remember cars that started with screwdrivers and taping flashlights to the car so we would have head lights. I remember my mother putting on makeup in a broken mirror because she wouldn’t spend the money on a new one. I remember Mom sewing for fun and necessity and showing me how to mend a ripped seam. I remember watermelons on the front porch that we picked up out of the field because they were “too big” to be sold in stores. I remember cur dogs, muddy pigs and egg carton ships in mud puddles. I remember rock walls, wood floors, storm cellars and vegetable gardens. I remember the smell of hay barns and auction barns, the smell of sweat, the smell of corn cribs and molasses, the smell of ripe figs and ripe peaches, the smell of axle grease, and cattle cubes. I remember falling asleep in church services because I was worn out from the week. I remember houses built by the hands of the people that lived in them and houses passed down in families. I remember Grandad’s workshop and Granny having sliced tomatoes with her eggs. I remember shelves loaded with canned vegetables and fruits. I remember people dealing in cash.

I loved the smell of a feed store and the squeak of the boards under foot. The men you met there were tough on the outside and yet kind. Their overalls were torn but their morals were intact. Some had new trucks, some had old trucks, but most were paid for.

I can see how my family and extended family have changed over the years. We get together in nicer houses these days because people have worked hard to get there. The younger generations seem to be just as caught up in their electronic devices as much as their peers. I have received gifts from family members but they don’t last as long or are as treasured as much as the values and the lessons those family members taught me. Many of those lessons were not enjoyable at the time, nor were they evident in the moment. The value of hard work. Decency above profit. Courtesy and respect. Satisfaction in overcoming obstacles. Laughing around the supper table after a work day. I recall few situations when family talked about how difficult life was or how they were underprivileged. I do remember family continually plugging away and enduring through the years.

Sometimes I walked to school, sometimes I rode the bus and sometimes Mom drove me there. We did have a TV, but not cable. I didn’t have a room full of toys but I did have an imagination. We did go out to eat but only on special occasions and it wasn’t to McDonalds. I didn’t learn how to play golf but I did learn how to kick the can. I didn’t have video games (until much older) but I did have a lot of books. I didn’t know the names of music and movie stars, but I did know the difference between a pipe wrench and a crescent wrench.

I suppose the moral of the story is you can have it too good. Life can be too easy. You don’t appreciate what you have if you get everything you want and you don’t appreciate leisure without work. Like Dad says, “without a little rain you get a desert.” And I suppose you don’t appreciate morals without experiencing how they guide the lives of great people around you. Along the same lines, the greatness of some people is only visible through hindsight.

I am blessed to have the family I do – from my dad’s side and my mother’s. Incidentally, they are still married and I that's just a foregone conclusion. From them I understand that happiness is truly not found in the sum of one’s possessions but in the quality of one’s relationships and satisfaction in one’s endeavors. Have you ever noticed that a child tends to be happy in a house that has few possessions as long as there is a smile on his parents’ face? We have all seen children who are unhappy in a family that showers them with toys because the emphasis is placed on the toys.

I suppose the stories I see floating around the internet about how things used to be and what people had 50 years ago or more don’t really teach me as much about how tough life was in the past as they teach me the value of satisfaction. How much human capital has been squandered over the pursuit of stuff? How many children’s’ lives have been spoiled rotten because they weren’t taught to be happy with what they have? Those same stories also teach me that morals, values, and ethics are hard earned, yet their deficit leaves a person empty, bitter, and selfish. Isn’t that amazing? Self restraint and determination are not easily employed by the heart of man. Yet if that effort is not made the heart of man cannot be satisfied. Giving a child everything he wants results in an adult that always wants more. Letting a child engage in whatever activities he wants results in a stunted and unfulfilled adult. Telling yourself and your children “No” today has the seemingly paradoxical result of achieving perspective in the future. Disciplining yourself and your children is hard in the near term but makes life easier in the long run. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

I look back on what I have written and I realize I may have idolized my childhood. I have lived in rural and urban settings. I can't help but ask myself, is there greater virtue in being raised in the country or is there simply a different set of obstacles to overcome to reach the same virtue? Has our country changed to the point where the mindset “on the farm” is no more different than that of the city? Is the rural life the same as city life but with trucks, cell phones and cow-hide purses? Was there ever any virtue, or have I romanticized it? Is the public psyche today really any different in its fundamental makeup than in the 1950’s or even 1750’s? Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. Man has always been selfish and prideful. Murder and theft is nothing new – we just find new ways of perpetrating them. War and conflict has always been part of the human existence. I believe past generations idolize their childhood as morally superior. Are greater proportions of the populace really more prone to avarice and pleasure than the past? Does the density of the city versus the isolation of the country really accelerate decay? And is that decay fundamentally different?  Tangentially, is there virtue in a modest existence that is lacking in affluence?  I ask you genuinely.

"Agriculture... is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness." --Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1787. ME 6:277

“A city life offers you indeed more means of dissipating time, but more frequent, also, and more painful objects of vice and wretchedness." --Thomas Jefferson to William Short, 1823. ME 15:469

Aggie Mailbox Makeover: Video Blog

When I was 10 or 12 years old, Dad taught my brother and I about coping saws.  We made a few southwestern-themed projects and entered them in county 4H competitions for several years.  I still remember the hours slaving over a length of one-by lumber wondering if I was EVER going to be finished cutting those shapes out.  Now I look back on those times with a certain fondness and I'm thankful my dad took the time to show me how to work with tools.  After I came home from work today, I decided to apply my coping skills to our haggard mailbox.

Lately I've been watching a lot of videos on Youtube of peoples' projects.  Most of them pertain to woodworking and homemade tools.  I'm a big fan of human ingenuity and creativity, especially on a budget.  So I thought I would join the mob of video-happy homeowners who are just a little too proud of their projects too.

Instead of the standard blog about my humble project, I decided to use my limited video and audio skills and make a video about the mailbox makeover.  I neglected to take any before pictures but trust me, it wasn't a pretty sight.  The question is:  is the makeover really an improvement from the original?  You be the judge.