Article V Convention of States - SC Status

___The United States Constitution provides two ways to amend itself. Elected members of Congress may propose amendment(s) and 2/3 of the House and Senate must approve the amendment(s) before being sent to the states. Then ¾ of the states must ratify the amendment(s) before being added to the Constitution. The second method is for 2/3 of the state legislatures to propose specific amendments at a convention of states. Again ¾ of the states must ratify the amendment(s) before being added to the Constitution.

___The United States Constitution has been amended only 17 times – once to undo a previous amendment (prohibition). Ten amendments, the bill of rights, were necessary for states to approve the original Constitution.

___The usual argument against the convention of states is a fear that the Constitution will be substantially rewritten. The same unfounded argument can be used when members of Congress propose an amendment. The same 2/3 and ¾ requirements apply in either case, and only amendments are discussed. A Balanced Budget Amendment or term limits for members of Congress and the federal courts would change the original Constitution – just like the 2-term limit for President, but our basic balance of power and constitutional republic structure will be unchanged.

___Americans need to consider why America works. France has had 2 empires and 5 republics since our Constitution was written. Our founders knew what they were doing. They were not just a bunch of “dead white guys!” But when the federal government becomes too corrupt, the people have a constitutional solution built in to our founding legal base.

___About 37 states – including SC – are well into passing the CoS legislation. SC has stalled in the Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Greg Delleney. His constituents need to call, email and write to him encouraging him to finish the job.

___Our national debt is $19.3 Trillion, but we also have student loan debt of $1.3 Trillion with a default rate of about 20% and unfunded promises for Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security of over $100 Trillion. Not only must we balance our budget, but we must run a surplus. That happened in FY2000 when welfare reform finally showed savings. All of those reforms have been gutted. The status quo leads to bankruptcy (or revolution) in less than 20 years unless we find our Margaret Thatcher.

http://HeisRisen2009.blogspot.com/

http://RightWingConspiracyPolitics.blogspot.com/

Medical Treatment for All

___The Democrats controlled the Congress from 1955 to 1995 and during the last two years of George W. Bush's Presidency (when the "debt crisis" occurred). In 1986 they passed COBRA which included EMTALA: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), an act of the United States Congress, passed as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). It requires hospital Emergency Departments that accept payments from Medicare/Federal Medicaid to provide an appropriate medical screening examination to individuals seeking treatment for a medical condition, regardless of citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay. Hospitals may not transfer or discharge patients needing emergency treatment except with the informed consent or stabilization of the patient or when their condition requires transfer to a hospital better equipped to administer the treatment.

___The above was not newsworthy when the Affordable Care And Patient Protection Act was passed by Democrats in 2010. Hospitals and insurance companies benefited because EMTALA was an "unfunded mandate." Uncompensated care represents 6% of total hospital costs.

___Clinton did not want medical care for illegal aliens to be covered by taxpayers under Hilliarycare. Now she wants "rich" taxpayers to cover illegals. When progressives got the 16th Amendment ratified, Americans were promised that only the richest 3% would pay any income tax. Surprise! They Lie!

Delegate Count as of 18 March 2016

___Trump 621

Non-Trump 717

Needed for nomination on 1st ballot: 1237 The media is hyping fear of a "contested convention." We live in a country with a Constitution full of checks and balances! The delegates are "won" in "contested primaries" and the nominees of the parties will run in "contested elections."

___On the Democrat side, Clinton leads by a wide margin proving that Democrats approve of sloppy security (58,000+ of my generation died in Vietnam thanks to politicians' hands-on management and poor security) and government favors for sale.

___Clinton says "no one died on my watch" as Secretary of State. Really?! We need a President who will tell us the truth (and can count past 0)!

Productivity Decreases; Unit Labor Costs Increase

___Productivity decreased 2.2 percent in the non-farm business sector in the fourth quarter of 2015; unit labor costs increased 3.3 percent (seasonally adjusted annual rates). In manufacturing, productivity decreased 0.7 percent and unit labor costs increased 3.2 percent.