The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests. – Patrick Henry – I have totally cleaned this e-mail from all other names, sending it to you in hopes you will keep it going and keep it clean. This is something I will fight for and I hope you all read it all the way through. You will be glad you did. The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-old’s) took only 3 months and 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971…before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land…all because of public pressure. I’m asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. No Tenure / No Pension.  A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

2. Congress (past, present and future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans 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.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/2012. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it’s time. THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!!

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This I Believe

I believe there is no god. I don’t care what you choose to call him: God, Allah, Yahweh, A Higher Power, etc. I believe in mathematics, science and physics. I believe all the fundamental characteristics of our Universe are readily expressed in the language of math, not mysticism. Thousands of years ago our ancestors looked at the night sky and saw mythical beasts, gods and warriors. Today we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that these are nothing more than patterns in the stars, galaxies and planets that our brains impose on the night sky. I believe that it is past time for us as a species to move beyond our beliefs in mythic creatures and imaginary, all-powerful, all-knowing beings in the sky. I believe our world has seen enough atrocities committed in the fervent belief in one god or another. I believe that the “Dark Ages” will never be truly over until we can throw off these belief structures that continually pollute our history. I am reasonably sure that some are praying for my mortal soul at this point and I am saddened. I believe that you should worry more about what is done in the name of your “god-man-deity-being” and the belief systems that you hold so dear and stop worrying about me and others like me. Delve into the science. Learn the Truth about evolution. Throw of the yoke of guilt over imagined “sins” and think. We have a massive frontal lobe in our brains and I believe it is time we start using them more and our beliefs in imaginary deities in the sky less. This I Believe.

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