Citizen patriots themselves can and are actively drain the swamp in a civil, peaceful, and legal manner. A major movement began in 2013 called the Convention of States. Click here to download the Articles of the Convention of States. By calling and convening the first-ever Convention of States, the states and the people can strip Washington D.C. of its power and return that power to those city councils and state legislatures, where voters can truly hold their elected officials accountable. Check out this video from Prager University, which gives you a great overview:
A Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government. Decentralizing power will make it much more difficult for lobbyists to exert as much influence and much easier for We the People to keep dirty money out of governance.
Almost everyone knows that our federal government is on a dangerous course. The unsustainable debt combined with crushing regulations on states and businesses is a recipe for disaster. What is less known is that the Founders gave state legislatures the power to act as a final check on abuses of power by Washington, DC. Article V of the U.S. Constitution authorizes the state legislatures to call a convention for proposing needed amendments to the Constitution. This process does not require the consent of the federal government in Washington, DC.
There are many states already pursuing state approval for their participation in the Convention of States. Research this in your own State here: https://conventionofstates.com/latest.
Our recent article on Citisun entitled "Trump Vows To Drain The Swamp In Washington D.C." sparked interest, and raised a question worth exploring further, regarding term limits. Trump vowed repeatedly during his campaign to see to it that a Constitutional amendment would be added to impose term limits to all members of Congress. In response to our article on draining the swamp, a comment / question by a Facebook poster asked:
Edited by John Coonen – In a lengthy Saturday address in Gettysburg, PA, Donald Trump laid out a seven point plan to “drain the swamp” in Washington, DC, and revitalize the American economy. Trump pledged that in his first 100 days in office, he will restore “honesty, accountability and change to Washington” through the following steps:
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a secretive, multinational trade agreement that threatens to extend restrictive intellectual property (IP) laws across the globe and rewrite international rules on its enforcement.
The main problems are two-fold:
(1) Digital Policies that Benefit Big Corporations at the Expense of the Public: The IP chapter would have extensive negative ramifications for users’ freedom of expression, right to privacy and due process, as well as hindering peoples' abilities to innovate. Other chapters of the agreement encourage your personal data to be sent borders with limited protection for your privacy, and allow foreign corporations to sue countries for laws or regulations that promote the public interest,
(2) Lack of Transparency: The entire process has shut out multi-stakeholder participation and is shrouded in secrecy.
Back in April of 2015, I disagreed with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and his "Unity Pledge," but clearly I was wrong. I thought it was disrespectful toward all of the primary candidates. I thought supporting the eventual winning candidate would go without saying (or pledging). I also thought it was an underhanded way to force one candidate (Donald Trump) to either leave the GOP in the spring of 2015, or promise not to run as independent in the case of his loss. Trump bowed to the RNC and other candidates' demand, famously signing the pledge in Sharpee marker.
Will Obama's Legacy Be The "Hateful Eight" Years of Change?
Now that more than eight years have passed since the days when Barack Obama made his meteoric rise in politics, it's fair to say that he's had his chance to deliver on his campaign promise of "change you can believe in." The effects of his Presidency will be felt for decades no doubt, and his legacy has yet to be written, but for this snapshot in time in September of 2016, what positive and meaningful change has Barack Obama delivered?
Rick Monday's Action In 1976 vs. Colin Kaepernick's Inaction In 2016 Illustrates How Much "Change" We've Made In Just 40 Years
In April of 1976, Gerald Ford was our President the day two protestors attempted to burn the U.S. flag in center field of Dodgers Stadium, before thousands of fans who had come to see the visiting Chicago Cubs play the L.A. Dodgers. Before the two were able to light the flag on fire, Cubs center fielder Rick Monday swooped in to save the flag, as you see in this historic video clip from that day at Dodgers Stadium.
The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events or mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them. The Rosary is a powerful prayer to say, to meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary.
The Rosary as we know it today was shared with the Church in 1214, brought to the Church by St. Dominic, who had received it from the Blessed Virgin as a means of converting the Albigensians and other sinners. Seeing that the gravity of people's sins was hindering the conversion of the Albigensians, Saint Dominic withdrew into a forest near Toulouse, where he prayed continuously for three days and three nights.
Our Lady appeared to him, accompanied by three angels, and she said, "Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?"
"Oh, my Lady," answered Saint Dominic, "you know far better than I do because next to your Son Jesus Christ you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation."
Our Lady replied, "I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the principal weapon has always been the Angelic Psalter, which is the foundation-stone of the New Testament. Therefore, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter."
You may also wish to pray the rosary online, with others or by yourself. As suggested by the Pope St. John Paul the Great, the Joyful mysteries are said on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous on Thursday, theSorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday (with this exception: Sundays of Christmas season - The Joyful; Sundays of Lent - Sorrowful).
HAIL, HOLY QUEEN, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray. O GOD, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
After each decade, say the following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy."
Sometimes, you need an innovator to show you what you didn't know you were missing.
Innovation and disruption of the big auto's outdated ways has been the Tesla trajectory since Elon Musk founded the company back in 2003. Yes, it's been almost 15 years, can you believe it? Last week, Elon Musk showed why he's the most feared car salesman on earth. On Thursday, Elon Musk conducted what will go down in history as the largest crowdfunding campaign ever, with servers at full capacity, taking in $1,000 at a time, with total sales commitments in excess of $12 Billion (and the tally board is still clicking).
I love games, but I'm one of those stick-in-the-muds that has to warm up to playing. Earlier this week, my daughter and son-in-law warmed me up to a game I had never heard of, called "Settlers of Catan." Apparently, I've been missing out, because this board game is beyond trending. Well, now, I'm hooked. We played till midnight last night (a work night!), and while I lost for the fourth time, and I'm not a very kind loser, I'm starting to get the hang of it.
It's Good Friday, and today my wife and I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3:00 PM. It's the first time I've prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet, so I thought I'd take some time to post an article on it, for some background, along with a reprint of the prayer itself to share with you. The background information on this comes from EWTN and The Divine Mercy website.
Devotion to Michael the Archangel is one of the oldest devotions of the Church; indeed, his roles in God's divine plan date back before the Incarnation. It was St. Michael who led God's army against Lucifer and the other rebellious fallen angels, St. Michael who guards the Catholic Church and her pope, and St. Michael who, at God's commands will reprise his role against the Antichrist in the End Times.
