The United States of America Needs To Have A Constitutional Convention!

The present Constitution of the United States of America has served its purpose. However, it is now time for the United States to adopt a new constitution. Therefore, a constitutional convention should be called in order to write an entirely new constitution for the United States of America.

In the past, I have asserted that it is time to repeal the Second Amendment. The purpose of the Second Amendment as envisioned by The Founders has been served and is no longer needed in the USA.

And now, the failure of the United States Senate to convict Donald John Trump on the charge of inciting insurrection strongly indicates the United States Senate is an outmoded archaic institution.

The United States of America is a republic; it is a representative democracy, a democratic republic. The national legislature in the United States is bicameral, consisting of two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. These two legislative chambers are jointly referred to as Congress. Throughout the history of the United States of America, the size of Congress has increased as the number of states have increased and as the population has increased. Today, Congress consists of 100 senators (two from each state) and 435 voting members of the House of Representatives.

To balance the interests of states having small populations with states having large populations back in the 18th Century, the Framers of the Constitution divided the power of Congress between the two chambers, a.k.a. houses. Each state, regardless of the size of its population, has 2 representatives (known as Senators) in the Senate, while representation for each state in the House of Representatives is based on the size of each state's population, i.e. proportionate representation. There can be no fewer than one Representative per state, and no more than one for every 30,000 persons. The Apportionment Act of 1941, in addition to specifying the apportionment method, sets the House size at 435, requires an apportionment every 10 years, and mandates administrative procedures for apportionment.

Over time, the House of Representatives and the Senate have evolved into very different bodies. They have entirely separate rules and ways of conducting business. 

The United States Constitution gives Congress the authority to impeach and remove the President, Vice President, and all federal civil officers for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The practice of impeachment makes clear, however, that Members of Congress are not civil officers subject to impeachment and removal. 

The two houses of Congress have two very different roles in the impeachment process. In impeachment proceedings, the House of Representatives acts much in the same way as would a grand jury that evaluates whether there is enough reasonable evidence to indict, i.e. bring charges against, a person, and if there is, then the grand jury decides if there is probable cause and recommends charges. In the impeachment process, the House of Representatives charges an official of the federal government by approving, by majority vote, articles of impeachment. A committee of representatives, called “managers,” acts as prosecutors before the Senate. The Senate acting as would a trial jury sits as a High Court of Impeachment in which Senators consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. The U.S. Constitution requires more than a simple majority to convict; indeed, the Constitution requires a supermajority of a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office. In some cases, the Senate has also disqualified such officials from holding public offices in the future. 

In the historical second impeachment trial of Donald John Trump, there were 57 Senators who voted Trump guilty on the charge of inciting insurrection for his role in the January 6, 2021 United States Capitol riot that left 5 people dead, including a police officer. The guilty vote included 7 Republican Senators in the most bipartisan majority to support an impeachment conviction in the history of the United States of America. Only 43 Senators, all of them Trump Loyalist Republicans, voted not guilty.

The indisputable fact is that Trump was found guilty on the charge of inciting insurrection by a majority bipartisan vote of 57 Senators in the United States Senate, but was aquitted by a minority vote consisting of 43 deplorable Trumplicans in the United States Senate.

The 57 senators who voted to convict Trump represent 76.7 million more Americans than 43 Trumplican Senators who voted to let him off scot-free!

Underscoring today's unrepresentative of population and thus undemocratic United States Senate:

• Each of the 50 States, regardless of its population, is allotted and elects two (2) Senators.
• Presently, the United States Senate is evenly split with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. However, the Democrat Senators represent 41 million more people than do the Republican Senators.
• Fifteen (15) states with a total population of 38 million people are allotted 30 Senators and have elected a total of 30 Republicans. Meanwhile, California with a total population of 40 million people (2 million more people than the total population of those 15 states combined), is allotted 2 Senators (28 less Senators than the combined total for those15 states) and has elected 2 Democrats.

With this latest faux pas, the U.S. Senate has yet again demonstrated that it continues to act against the best interests of modern day United States of America. The Senate has proven again that it does not represent the wishes of the majority of Americans. 

The United States Senate is the antithesis of representative democracy. The United States of America needs to change the structure of its government with the elimination of the Senate, in order to do so, The United States of America Needs To Have A Constitutional Convention!

Fascist Trump Insurrection Supporters

Yesterday, 9 February 2021, in regards to the Second Impeachment of Treasonous Megalomaniac Fascist Donald J. Trump, I posted the following on my Facebook wall:

As stated by Representative Marcy Kaptur, "As the Trump Impeachment trial begins, I ask that every American watch this video. It retells the events of January 6th as they unfolded – a story of a mob incited by their leader to stage an insurrection against democracy and overturn a lawful election. It was a tragic day for our republic, resulting in the death of 7 Americans and injuries to dozens of law enforcement officers."

Attached to that posting was a link to the Washington Post video "Impeachment managers display first video evidence at Trump trial" that was part of the proceedings.

To that post, one person in paeticular made the following comments:

What about when the democrats incited the major looting and destruction of our country over the summer, thats ok.

The 6th was staged , most were blm and antifa. 

Democrats are on video everywhere telling them not to stop.

How many people were killed during your so called protest(riots). I mean even officers were killed.

And NO arrests,  imagine that.

Its called double standards. 

So sick of hearing about this and nothing been done about the shit that happen over the summer, and its STILL happening in places,  but do we hear about that, NO.

Just my opinion

OMG! That typical realty-denying Fascist commentary reads to me like something right out of the QAnon playbook! 

Read: 

• Why QAnon Survives After Trump 
• Tracking QAnon: how Trump turned conspiracy-theory research upside down

Fascist Trump Insurrection Supporters are mindless automatons who lack the ability to think logically, and only believe that which reinforces their own biased, illogical preconceived notions. Objective, verifiable facts mean nothing to them!

Three Symbols of Hatred and Bigotry.

A picture is worth a thousand words. 

Coronavirus Pandemic and My Thoughts

The following is a posting on Facebook that has gone viral.

I have been wearing a mask every time I leave home since 27th March. I’m not sure why being considerate to others for the common good is now being mocked by some who are calling it “living in fear”, but it needs to stop!!!... When I wear a mask over my nose and mouth in public and in the stores/Supermarkets/Pharmacies/Offices - I want you to know the following:

📷 I'm educated enough to know that I could be asymptomatic and still give you the virus.

📷 No, I don't "live in fear" of the virus; I just want to be part of the solution, not the problem.

📷 I don't feel like the "government controls me". I feel like I'm an adult contributing to the security in our society and I want to teach others the same.

📷 If we could all live with the consideration of others in mind, the whole world would be a much better place.

📷 Wearing a mask doesn't make me weak, scared, stupid or even "controlled". It makes me caring and responsible.

📷 When you think about your appearance, discomfort, or other people's opinion of you, imagine a loved one - a child, father, mother, grandparent, aunt, uncle or even a stranger - placed on a ventilator, alone without you or any family member allowed at their bedside.....Ask yourself if you could have helped them a little by wearing a mask.

I am inviting you all to copy this and post it on your wall as your post if you agree with me.

Here is a copy and paste of something I wrote on Facebook back on July 7, 2020:

I fail to understand why some people just don't get it. Neither do I understand why the face mask naysayers would rather be inconsiderate of and jeopardize my health and the health of others with an attitude of others be damned. 

If, in fact, face masks and social distancing do nothing to help spread the coronavirus, I prefer to err on the side of caution by wearing a mask and social distance in order to do my part in fighting the dreaded Covid 19 disease. To me, it's a matter of consideration and respect for others and not of selfish disregard for the safety of other people. My principles are not so ingrained that I would carelessly and callously put the health of others in danger.

And here is a copy and paste of a Facebook posting that I made on July 16, 2020:

If I am wrong in my strong belief that everyone should wear a face mask and social distance in public, and I practice that policy, I have harmed no one.

If the people who poo-poo my perspective maintain a staunch refusal to wear a face mask and social distance in public and act according to their beliefs are wrong, many people may be harmed and even die.

I would rather err on the side of caution, be considerate of other people, and wear a face mask as well as maintain an adequate social distance than to throw caution to the wind and be like the inconsiderate, ill mannered naysayers who disrespect people, placing other people's lives at risk, and who in the practice of their policy of mask refusal and of social distance refusal are demonstrating their contempt of pro-life.

In my humble opinion, whatever the reason that any person may give for refusing to wear a face mask in public and/or to practice social distancing in public during the coronavirus pandemic, that person is just plain inconsiderate of other people. All such persons can give any excuse they want, but the bottom line is they do not give two hoots about the well-being of other people. They do not believe in the sanctity of life. They are not pro-life. That's it in a nutshell. Period.

My Opinion On Opinions.

The following is my opinion on opinions of which I have copied and pasted from something that I wrote on Facebook back on December 3, 2013:

I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion and that each person should be able to feel free to express his/her own opinion without fear of retaliation, reprisal, or retribution. Disagreements happen; that is part of life. In my humble opinion, friends do not have to share the same opinion in order to remain friends. The key to me is expressing differences in opinions and perspectives in a polite, courteous, intelligent, and respectful manner, and to allow true communication to take place. Communication is a two-way process. It takes all parties involved to be willing receive the message being sent as well as sending one's own message in order to be effective. I love to learn whether it be from sitting in a lecture hall, from reading, from watching a documentary, or from a good honest debate such as can be had from a respectful, intelligent verbal or written exchange of differing opinions and perspectives.

Trump and RICO

 The entire Trump organization should come under the scrutiny of RICO.

Political Conservatives may kiss my grits.

 I am a Proud Liberal.

Jim Jordan, American Politician

James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 4th congressional district since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he is a former collegiate wrestler and collegiate wrestling coach.

Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach with the Ohio State University's (OSU) wrestling program from 1987 to 1995. Ohio State University began an independent investigation in April 2018 into allegations of sexual misconduct by former wrestling team physician Richard Strauss; Strauss was the team physician during Jordan's tenure as assistant coach.

In early June 2018, at least eight former wrestlers said that Jordan had been aware of, but did not respond to, allegations of sexual misconduct by Strauss.

ref: Jim Jordan (American politician), From Wikipedia

New Beginnings: Treat Others as they Treat you

A good read from the December 28, 2008 blog entry of "shaz" of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (click on its title to read the entire entry):

New Beginnings: Treat Others as they Treat you: And never forget the lesson. Life is confusing enough. I no longer believe that it is about being good to everyone, being kind to everyone...

Divisive Discourse Must End.

Through the past decade, I have used social media to proselytize my thoughts on discourse among people with differing viewpoints and proffering my perspective of bringing people together in peace and harmony. In doing so, I also maintained an electronic file containing some of my comments as quotations (some with dates, some without dates) which I place below as a compilation serving as my commentary for this entry of Roland Hansen Commentary.

"I find it somewhat disconcerting that some people totally lack civility in their political discourse with others when there is a difference of political opinion. Sad. Why cannot people be respectful of one another in expressing opposing views? Why do some folks find it necessary to personally attack the messenger (the individual person with whom they have a difference of opinion) becoming verbally abusive in a bullying manner rather than providing an intelligent point-counterpoint dialog based on facts as opposed to hearsay." ~ Roland Louis Hansen, November 1, 2012.

"I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion and that each person should be able to feel free to express his/her own opinion without fear of retaliation, reprisal, or retribution. Disagreements happen; that is part of life. In my humble opinion, friends do not have to share the same opinion in order to remain friends. The key to me is expressing differences in opinions and perspectives in a polite, courteous, intelligent, and respectful manner, and to allow true communication to take place. Communication is a two-way process. It takes all parties involved to be willing receive the message being sent as well as sending one's own message in order to be effective. I love to learn whether it be from sitting in a lecture hall, from reading, from watching a documentary, or from a good honest debate such as can be had from a respectful, intelligent verbal or written exchange of differing opinions and perspectives." ~ Roland Louis Hansen, December 3, 2013.

"The name-calling needs to stop. The personal attacks and belittling of individuals based solely on different political perspective needs to stop. All Americans need to pull together. Divisiveness will not accomplish anything positive. It is time for what I call some real D.I.R.T., i.e. Democrats, Independents, (and) Republicans (working) Together. If we, the American people, set aside the distrust, if we set aside the hostility, if we set aside the verbal tirades, if we set aside the casting of stones, if we set aside pointing out blame, if we set aside pettiness, we just might be able to work together for the mutual benefit of all Americans." ~ Roland Louis Hansen

"I am constantly amazed at the amount of negativism spewed by so many people!!! You know to whom I refer; I refer to the folks who bash others, who promote prejudice and hatred and xenophobia, who accentuate what they dislike but never propose an alternative, who dispute opinions put forth by others that are based on facts and doing that soley based on their own biased opinions rather than citing factual information that support their position, etc., etc, etc." ~ Roland Louis Hansen, June 18, 2015. (The following meme was attached with original comment.)

"Keep your thoughts on a positive path. Negative thoughts create negative energy which creates negative results. Positive thoughts create positive energy which creates positive results." ~ Roland Louis Hansen

"May the future bring everyone everywhere together as one people united in love, understanding, mutual respect, harmony, and honesty of purpose." ~ Roland Louis Hansen