New blog and about me

Hello and welcome.

This is my first real attempt at a blog, so you will forgive me if it isn't exactly what you would expect, but I will try my best to make this work.

First, some about me.  I am an average, middle-aged guy that has watched what has happened to our country over the last several years.  I have worked most of my life, but am currently facing a career change.  I am currently in school, as of this writing, in an effort to learn some new skills and acquire employment.

I am a veteran of the US Navy, just one tour of duty, and during peacetime.  I respect any and all individuals who have chosen to serve our country by joining the military in any branch of service.  Military service, whether during peacetime, time of war, or time of conflict, is one of the actions that deserves the highest honer in our country.

Though I am not highly educated, those around me generally consider me a smart person.  At times, I know that I can be stubborn and bullheaded about my point of view, but when someone can prove their point to me, then I will gladly accept a new viewpoint.

I have come to realize that it doesn't matter what party a politician supposedly represents, the only person that they really represent anymore is themselves.  Very few of the politicians in Washington DC truly appear to care or listen to their constituents.  Often this applies to local politicians as well, but I will let you review the performance of your local politicians and make up your own mind.  A local politician is more likely to be open to the people, as he lives among the people he/she is looking to govern, so has to face them daily and be able to justify their actions to the people.  Politicians in Washington DC can avoid this for the most part, and with the disconnect between where they live and where they work, often the message gets lost in the filters of the staff or just the volume of how many messages they may get bombarded with (from their party leadership or other members of Congress attempting to sway them, from citizens directly, or citizen action organizations.)

I created this blog to try to open the discussion amongst as many people as possible regarding how to best make changes that will have a positive impact on our country and to help initiate those processes.

US CONSTITUTION

The US Constitution, regardless of what any politician or judge might say, is the highest law of the land.  It was created to ensure that there would be a separation of the Federal government and the State governments.  The framers of the Constitution intended for the Federal government to be a limited government providing security for the states on a collective basis, and to help provide guidance and direction for the country as a whole.  They did not envision the federal government as a full time, or life long pursuit, nor did they intend for the federal government to be in control of everything.

Yet, today, it seems as certain politicians think that they are above the Constitution and that they are the law of the land.  That they can do whatever they want without constraint.  Well, I hate to be one of the ones to tell you this, but that is not so.  The federal government is beholden to the States.  The federal governments power comes from the will of the People of the States and if the People or the States do not like what the federal government is doing, we have the right and the ability to tell them to stop or to change course.

So, what mechanisms are available?  Well, we will discuss those in several upcoming posts.  Please feel free to comment or to share this blog with whomever you like.

Thanks for reading.

Amendment Guy