Search found 221 matches

by JEQuidam
Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:56 am
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Transitioning to a larger House
Replies: 18
Views: 19831

Re: Transitioning to a larger House

Does any of this make sense or am I rambling? It makes sense. From my point of view, you are trying to begin the process of framing a discussion over how we should transition to a larger House, and how that larger House should be implemented operationally. Hopefully, in time, you and others will be...
by JEQuidam
Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:11 am
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Apportionment.us: three judge panel to be convened!
Replies: 21
Views: 19793

Re: Apportionment.us: three judge panel to be convened!

I agree it seems perfectly sensible that congressional districts be equipopulous, but I don't see how it is a constitutional imperative. Maybe I miss your point, but it was made a "constitutional imperative" by the Supreme Court with its rulings on one person, one vote . Like it or not, t...
by JEQuidam
Thu Jul 22, 2010 9:02 pm
Forum: Public Opinion and Polls
Topic: Gallup: Congress Ranks Last in Confidence in Institutions
Replies: 1
Views: 14039

Gallup: Congress Ranks Last in Confidence in Institutions

American confidence in Congress ranks dead last out of the 16 institutions rated this year. Only 11% say they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress. The military continues its long-standing run as the highest-rated U.S. institution. Small business and the...
by JEQuidam
Tue Jul 20, 2010 10:15 pm
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Transitioning to a larger House
Replies: 18
Views: 19831

Re: Transitioning to a larger House

I appreciate your optimism and may even be persuaded to agree with you on everything, but at the same time our critics will claim they can't be expected to believe on blind faith alone that such a large body can be effective. You are correct that some people will require more tangible arguments in ...
by JEQuidam
Mon Jul 19, 2010 10:57 pm
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Transitioning to a larger House
Replies: 18
Views: 19831

Re: Transitioning to a larger House

So you're basically saying that if a Representative doesn't have legislative pull or clout or likability outside of the debate room, then his/her ideas will never be brought to the table since open public debate will become a thing of the past. I hope you realize that is not what I’m saying. What I...
by JEQuidam
Sun Jul 18, 2010 9:57 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Taiwan: one delegate per 500,000
Replies: 4
Views: 5922

Re: Taiwan: one delegate per 500,000

Pseudolus wrote: I did read it. It doesn't persuade me to increase membership as high as 6000, at least not without several steps between.
Please see my reply here: http://forum.thirty-thousand.org/viewto ... ?f=16&t=64
by JEQuidam
Sun Jul 18, 2010 9:53 pm
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Transitioning to a larger House
Replies: 18
Views: 19831

Transitioning to a larger House

Pseudolus, I was trying to move that last thread but I accidently deleted it. I'm sorry! It just so happens that I didn't lose my reply to your last posting that I was working on (below). Of course, feel free to re-post any of your points. Again, my apologies. (I'm still on a learning curve with th...
by JEQuidam
Sun Jul 18, 2010 2:24 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Taiwan: one delegate per 500,000
Replies: 4
Views: 5922

Re: Taiwan: one delegate per 500,000

Pseudolus wrote:I've been trying to work out the math all morning, but it may be over my head.
Pseudolus, I would be grateful if you would carefully read "Taking Back Our Republic" which can be downloaded from this page.
by JEQuidam
Sat Jul 17, 2010 5:34 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Taiwan: one delegate per 500,000
Replies: 4
Views: 5922

Taiwan: one delegate per 500,000

Michael Warnken ( CaliforniaCommonwealth.com ) recently pointed this out to me. Taiwan (a.k.a. the "Republic of China") establishes a maximum ratio of representation of one delegate per 500,000 for their National Assembly according to their constitution . This language can be found in Arti...
by JEQuidam
Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:23 pm
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Article V Amendment Convention
Replies: 19
Views: 18522

Re: Amendment Convention

...the current amendments I'd like to debate for inclusion in the Liberty List are.. Pseudolus, that’s quite a list! Speaking for myself, I don’t have the time to engage in discussion of other amendment proposals and, more importantly, I am not knowledgeable enough to take a firm position on most o...
by JEQuidam
Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:14 am
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Article V Amendment Convention
Replies: 19
Views: 18522

Re: Amendment Convention

Isn't the whole concern over a new Constitution being created from an Amendment Convention somewhat moot? I understand your point, but here is why it's not moot: many people labor under the misconception that Article V of the Constitution authorizes some sort of "constitutional convention"...
by JEQuidam
Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:56 pm
Forum: Section 2: “Article the first” of the Bill of Rights
Topic: The Mystery of the Bill of Rights' First Amendment
Replies: 5
Views: 16861

Re: The Mystery of the Bill of Rights' First Amendment

Questions: 1. What was the original language? 2. What was the ostensibly minor modification? 3. How did the modification subvert the amendment's purpose? 4. What is the mathematical defect that would have later rendered it inexecutable? For the sake of expediency, allow me to direct you to other ma...
by JEQuidam
Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:38 pm
Forum: Repealing the 17th Amendment: Pros and Cons
Topic: Repealing the 17th amendment
Replies: 31
Views: 59934

Re: Repealing the 17th amendment

But, with regards to how Senators are appointed, I think it would have to be by the state legislatures as originally intended by the Constitution. I believe that any attempt to impose a method of selection (other than the default method provided by the Constitution) would doom any 17th amendment re...
by JEQuidam
Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:31 pm
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Tea Party + 2
Replies: 1
Views: 6228

Re: Tea Party + 2

So my observation and suggestion for further public dialogue on this is to take our message to Tea Party forums, to engage with that group and the audiences they've captured, and to include that group of patriotic Americans into this movement. Before I respond directly to your suggestion (which I a...
by JEQuidam
Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:44 pm
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Apportionment.us has posted a series of educational videos
Replies: 0
Views: 8422

Apportionment.us has posted a series of educational videos

Scott Scharpen from Apportionment.us has posted a series of educational videos that provide some background on the basis of their lawsuit against the government ( Clemons et al. v. U.S. Department of Commerce ) as well as some general information regarding the benefits of representational enlargemen...
by JEQuidam
Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:12 pm
Forum: Public Opinion and Polls
Topic: Rasmussen: 48% see U.S. government as a threat to rights
Replies: 0
Views: 15241

Rasmussen: 48% see U.S. government as a threat to rights

Nearly half of American Adults see the government today as a threat to individual rights rather than a protector of those rights. Only 37% hold the opposite view.

Rasmussen poll: 48% See Government Today As A Threat to Individual Rights (June 24, 2010)
by JEQuidam
Sat May 15, 2010 8:29 am
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Proportional Representation: a cure worse than the disease
Replies: 4
Views: 10479

Proportional Representation Is Like a Box of Chocolates...

Proportional Representation Is Like a Box of Chocolates: You Never Know What You’re Going to Get by Azeem Ibrahim – Research Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School’s International Security Program From the Huffington Post May 14, 2010 Now that Britain has a coalition, electoral reform is more likely than e...
by JEQuidam
Sat May 15, 2010 8:22 am
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Proportional Representation: a cure worse than the disease
Replies: 4
Views: 10479

Proportional Representation: a cure worse than the disease

People sometimes ask me about proportional representation as an alternative to representational enlargement . There are two aspects of proportional representation which are important to understand. First, because the U.S. Constitution specifies single-member districts , implementing proportional rep...
by JEQuidam
Tue May 04, 2010 9:22 am
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: WSJ: Congress Members Bet on Fall in Stocks
Replies: 0
Views: 7370

WSJ: Congress Members Bet on Fall in Stocks

From the article in the Wall Street Journal, " Congress Members Bet on Fall in Stocks ": "Some members of Congress made risky bets with their own money that U.S. stocks or bonds would fall during the financial crisis, a Wall Street Journal analysis of congressional disclosures shows.&...
by JEQuidam
Fri Apr 23, 2010 11:28 am
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Ten Thousand Commandments - 2010 edition
Replies: 2
Views: 4793

Re: Ten Thousand Commandments - 2010 edition

Do you happen to know where I could get the total number of pages in the CFR each year? I've always wanted to graph out the increases in the number of pages each year. I just read this quote from George Washington: The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in...
by JEQuidam
Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:03 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Ten Thousand Commandments - 2010 edition
Replies: 2
Views: 4793

Ten Thousand Commandments - 2010 edition

According to the just-released 2010 edition of "Ten Thousand Commandments" , an annual study published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute , businesses and individuals incurred $1.187 trillion in expenses last year simply in order to comply with federal rules. Factor in the $54.3 billi...
by JEQuidam
Tue Apr 20, 2010 2:42 pm
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Apportionment.us: three judge panel to be convened!
Replies: 21
Views: 19793

Re: Apportionment.us: three judge panel to be convened!

My understanding is that it wasn't until the 1960's that the Supreme Court began using the 14th amendment to enforce all provisions of the Constitution on the states. This is a digression, but the spectacularly expansive use of the 14th amendment and the Commerce Clause provide another whole set of...
by JEQuidam
Tue Apr 20, 2010 2:28 pm
Forum: Repealing the 17th Amendment: Pros and Cons
Topic: Repealing the 17th amendment
Replies: 31
Views: 59934

Re: Repealing the 17th amendment

Well, I disagree on this one. The problem with the state argument on Federal positions is that they do affect the citizens of other states. So many things that a neighboring state may do can affect other states (e.g., income tax rates, restrictions on alcohol sales, etc.). That obviously can't be a...
by JEQuidam
Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:31 am
Forum: Public Opinion and Polls
Topic: CNN: Majority says government a threat to citizens' rights
Replies: 2
Views: 12834

Re: CNN: Majority says government a threat to citizens' rights

In that same poll: According to CNN poll numbers released Sunday, Americans overwhelmingly think that the U.S. government is broken - though the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what's broken can be fixed. The polls have shown for a long time that people recognize that we cannot rely upon ...
by JEQuidam
Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:19 am
Forum: Repealing the 17th Amendment: Pros and Cons
Topic: Repealing the 17th amendment
Replies: 31
Views: 59934

Re: Repealing the 17th amendment

I would simply redefine the 17th amendment as a proposition of states rights. The states decide what they want to do about the situation. If they want the governor to appoint the senator then that is what they will get. It is _THEIR_ state. If they want elections as they are now then they do that a...