As a candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 2010, I supported the addition of three and now four amendments to the Constitution:
1) A Balanced Budget Amendment
Congress is charged by the Constitution with the collection of taxes and payment of debts. We are currently $43,000 per American in debt for a total of $14,000,000,000,000 and growing. Congress delayed discussion of the 2011 budget until after November's elections. A Balanced Budget Amendment is needed to spur Congress to behave more responsibly.
2) The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
Its entire text is:
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
Some American Muslims are reportedly pushing their communities to let Muslim Sharia law take precedence over local and state laws. The laws supporting equal rights that have passed and are currently proposed are not enough protection for women from this threat. The Equal Rights Amendment should be added to the Constitution as soon as possible.
3) Term Limits for Congress
Three (decreased from my first proposal for six) consecutive terms of two years for the House of Representatives and two consecutive terms of six years for the Senate.
Limiting terms will prevent career politicians from dominating
Congress. Elections will be of more interest to constituents since they will not be able to rubberstamp their first choice indefinitely.
4) English is the official language
Living in Germany from 1975-7, I observed that persons in England, France, or Spain could not do business with each other or someone in Italy or Greece without an interpreter. Professional interpreters were usually proficient in 6 different languages. One of the greatest strengths of the United States is that someone in New York can phone someone in California, Hawaii, Alaska, or states in between and do business directly with them.
My best friend in high school in Niles, Ohio spoke just like me, but at home she spoke Italian (or "pig Latin" as she called it) with her parents who were immigrants from Naples. When I asked her how she did it she explained that she learned from her two older siblings (who were born in Italy) and in school. My friend went on to college and became a teacher of accounting.
We now have US citizens, born and educated in Atlanta, who cannot speak English. They will never achieve like my best friend did unless they learn English.
Stationed in Germany as an American soldier, I managed to work and live without speaking German. It was more time efficient to use the commissary for groceries and the base exchange for clothes. My friends and coworkers were American. Even though I lived "on the economy" away from the post, I, disappointingly, knew more German before I arrived in Germany than when I left.
Students' native languages should be used in our classrooms only to teach them English. Otherwise they will not have an equal opportunity to succeed.
I support the repeal of:
1) The 1st sentence in the 1st section of the Constitution's 14th Amendment, proposed on June 13, 1866 and ratified on July 9, 1868 to provide citizenship to former slaves and their children: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
Removing this statement will discontinue the birthright citizenship of children born in the United States to illegal immigrants.
2) The 16th Amendment proposed on July 12, 1909 and ratified on February 3, 1913 for income taxes: "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."
The purpose of this confiscatory income tax, like all of the strategies listed by Karl Marx in section 2 of The Communist Manifesto of 1848 ("revolutionizing . . . . the most advanced countries . . . . 2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax"), is the "Abolition of private property."
I support the adoption of the consumption tax known as the FairTax. For an explanation of the FairTax, please go to: www.fairtax.org
I prefer the FairTax to the flat tax, because the implementation of the flat tax would still require an Internal Revenue Service. However, either is far superior to what we have now.
3) The 17th Amendment (a progressive amendment like the 16th) proposed on May 13, 1912 and ratified on April 8, 1913 for senators to be elected directly by the people rather than by their state legislatures. Federal interference/mandates to the states are wildly inappropriate, and they should be checked and balanced by state representation in the senate as intended by our founders. If senators were elected by state legislatures again, they would not be afraid to reign in entitlement programs that are bankrupting their states.
To read and study our Declaration of Independence, www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/
To read and study our Constitution, www.usconstitution.net/const.html
The photographs of the Vietnam War Memorial, above and in the background, were taken May 27, 2004 following the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.
Copyright 2011 Diane Vann: Communist Threat. All Rights Reserved
