Is it the right time for a Convention of States?

If we ever wish to get congressional term limits we'll have to do it ourselves under Article V

When the founders and framers of our constitution pondered this problem, they wanted to make sure we, the people, would have a way to go around congress if a clear majority of the people demonstrated that is what they wanted. The mechanism is called "Convention of States" and it is our tool to propose amendments to the Constitution or to add or change articles.

Under Article I, Congress has the authority to act on behalf of the people as it sees fit, to consider laws, proposals and funding for those ideas. However, on matters that Congress will not and would not act, individual States may petition Congress to call a Convention of States under Article V. Once 34 requests have been made to call a convention of States for the purpose of considering the same topic, the Convention of States is triggered and Congress must "Call" the Convention. At that time, the States will select and send delegates to attend the Convention. Once Congress "calls" the convention it has no part of the convention, the application, the selection of delegates, the topics to be discussed or the ratification process. All of that is left up to the States.

As it should be. Thank you George Mason.

There is a petition circulating social media now. Sign it. It gives links to resources. Find the groups in your state who are actively seeking the convention.

The United States government is in fact, of the people and for the people. The American people who believe in self governance know that corruption will continue with special interests inside our federal government. They'll have no traction if the maximum time allowed in Congress is only two to four years.

From the Congressional Record

From YouTube transcribed by katykarter from Congressional Testimony in October 2016

A few bits of the congressional investigation and James Comey's testimony within the Hillary Clinaton email scandal.
The FBI, who conducted the "investigation" of the Democratic candidate for President, and their director, Obama-appointee James Comey are grilled by Rep. Chaffetts and others regarding the "irregularities" of the FBI's investigation.

First is Rep. Darrell Issa, (R-CA) in his upbraiding of Comey over the legal immunity from prosecution given to Clinton's aides on destroying evidence and obstruction of justice.

These individuals destroyed documents persuant or took it out of Federal Custody, persuant to our subpoena, our discovery, and as a result they committed crimes...The DoJ does not grant immunity without checking with Federal law enforcement to see if it impacts ongoing investigations.

(Comey) "I don't think anyone was given transactional immunity..."

Oh, really? Well we are not allowed to make your immunities public, but I'm going to take the privelege of making one part of it public. I read them. You gave immunity from destruction to both those attorneys, not just turning them the documents over but specifically destruction. You did the same thing with these other two individuals Brian and Paul. You gave them immunity from destruction.


Rep. John Ratcliffe, (R-TX) reads from the FBI's own report on the probable cause to investigate Clinton:


The FBI didn't have the Clinton's personal Apple server used for Hillary Clinton work emails. That was never located so the FBI could never examine it.
An Apple Mac book lap top and thumb drive that contained Hillary Clinton's email archives  was lost so the FBI never examined that.
Two Blackberry devices provided to the FBI didn' t have sim cards or SD data cards.
13 Hillary Clinton personal mobile devices were lost, discarded or destroyed with a hammer so the FBI clearly didn't examine those
Various server backups were deleted over time so the FBI didn't examine that
After the State Department and my colleague Mr. Gowdy here notified Mrs. Clinton that her records would be sought by the Benghazi Committee, copies of her emails on the lap tops of both of her lawyers Cheryl Mills and Heather Samuelson were wiped clean with bleach bit so the FBI didn't review that
After those emails were subpoena'd Hillary Clinton's email archive was also permanantly deleted from the Platte River Network with bleach bit so the FBI didn' t  review that
And also after the subpoena backups of the Platte River Network were manually deleted.
...collectively they scream obstruction of justice. To ignore them really leads not only reasonable prosecutors but reasonable people to question whether the decision to prosecute was already decided.


Understatement of the Century

This summation by a member of the Committee

Director Comey in your opening comments you said this was an unusual case, I would say that's the understatement of the year:

Husband of the subject meets with the Attorney General three days before Secretary Clinton is interviewed by the FBI. 9 people get to sit in with Secretary Clinton during that interview, one of those was her chief of staff Cheryl Mills who was a subject of the investigation. 5 people get some kind of immunity yet no one is prosecuted. 3 of those people getting immunity take  the 5th in front of congress and one of them doesn't even bother to show up when he's subpoena'd, supposed to be at that very chair you're sitting at...

The Attorney General announces she's going to follow your recommendations even though she
doesn't know what those recommendations are- the only time she's ever done that.


Rep. Jason Chaffets drills FBI Director Comey for the truth regarding corruption, collusion and cover up.


Hillary Clinton did come to posess documents and materials containing classified information via email on these unsecured servers, correct?

"That is correct"

Did Hillary Clinton lie?

"To the FBI? We have no basis to conclude that she lied to the FBI"

Did she lie to the public?

"Thats a question I'm not qualified to answer. I can speak about what she said to the FBI"

Did Hillary Clinton lie under oath?

"Not to the FBI, not on a case we were working"

Did you review the documents where Jim Jordan asked her specifically, and she said quote ' there was nothing marked classified on my emails either sent or recieved' end quote?

"I don't remember reviewing that particular testimoney but I'm aware of that being said though"

Did the FBI investigate her statements under oath on this topic?

"Not to my knowledge. I don' t think there's been a referral from Congress"

Do you need a referral from Congress to investigate her statements under oath?

"Sure do"

You'll have one. You'll have one in the next few hours.

Did Hillary Clinton break the law?

"In connection with her use of the email server?..my judgement is she did not"

You're just not able to prosecute it, or did Hillary Clinton break the law?

"Well, I don' t want to give an overly lawyerly answer, but the question I always look at is is there evidence that would establish beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody engaged in conduct that violated a criminal statute. And my judgement here is there is not"


In the timeline of Congressional testimony and the Presidential elections of 2016, Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner is under fire for using a private email server during her tenure at State,  and conducting State Department business on it. 

Many politicians and federal employees such as State use private email servers, but they are forbidden to put official business on them and are strictly forbidden to posses, view, send or receive communications marked classified (and there are different levels of classification to be sure), over these unsecured email servers, potentially exposing sensitive materials to unsecure communications and unauthorized possession by foreign or enemy intelligence services.

 Under the espionage act, it is a crime to allow classified materials onto unsecured servers and other mediums through negligence, incompetence and can result in criminal charges and ultimately espionage charges.

It is extremely questionable and disturbing that the FBI, after all the "unusual" aspects of this case chose not to pursue criminal charges for and in fact granted immunity to those who were responsible for the crimes being committed and not charging Secretary of State Clinton with knowingly allowing subpoena'd evidence to be destroyed among other "crimes".

Russian Hackers, Russian Spies and The American Information Buffet

In the 2016 Election cycle, claims of Russian interference and  Russian meddling were outdone by Democratic and leftists' claims post-election that Russia actively participated in U.S. election rigging.

According to an indictment in a San Fransisco Federal Court Wednesday,  Yahoo email subscribers' personal information was compromised by a Russian national at the alleged direction of the top Russian Intelligence agency, the FSB.

In a New York Times article dated March 15, Reporters Goldstien and Schwirtz introduce us to the main players in a hacking scheme to access personal information of U.S. citizens within the Yahoo Email servers, Russian nationals and Russian politicians as well as a Canadian-hacker scheme to gain access to Gmail servers.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/us/politics/indictment-collusion-cyberthief-russian-spies-yahoo.html


According to court records, some of the accounts that were penetrated belonged to American government officials, “including cybersecurity, diplomatic, military and White House personnel,” according to the indictment.

Alexey Belan is a Russian citizen and a computer hacker and scam artist. Well known for identity theft and already wanted by US authorities, he could tweak Yahoo servers to send inquiries into erectile issues rerouted so he could get commissions from Russian pharmacies to fill orders. Apparently identity thieves work well for Intelligence services who would exploit them. 

Two weeks ago it was revealed the premier intelligence agency of the US Govt was caught using spyware and cyber-espionage tools to hack other intelligence services and leave a clever trail to lead suspicion to Russian hackers. In a Wikileaks data-dump it was revealed the CIA had learned how to imitate Russia's Federal Security Service or FSB. Their tools, programs, methods and modes were revealed to the public and opposing intelligence agencies. 

This is a disclosure of information so precious to clandestine operations and cyber-espionage contacts and tactics. This is a get even event: All intelligence agencies have just gotten even with the CIA. 

It's a whole new ballgame and everyone is starting from scratch,
including the US Intelligence services. 

Look for Donald Trump to keep the hammer down. 

Photo Explanations: (From top) Alexey Belan a Russian hacker and identity thief was recruited by the FSB ; Dmitry Alexandrovich, an FSB handler who recruited Alexey Belan. Igor Suschin, Senior FSB handler who sanctioned Alexandrovich to bring Belan along and up to speed as a Russian hacker aided by Russian Intelligence Services. Putin and the heads of his Intelligence apparatus. Trump's White House spokesman Sean Spicer. 



-katykarter

Trump: I'll drain the swamp, Build the wall and Bring back jobs

March 8, 2017 and President Trump is off to the races.

During his campaign Donald Trump solidly connected with the majority of Americans about the need to cut out political corruption in Washington D.C.
He has begun the intricate task of identifying and eliminating partisan people in positions of power who oppose his new mandate, and thereby the "people's" mandate. 

Intelligence Community

Over the past 8 years, Obama appointed to positions of leadership men and women who he was sure would back him up in his agenda of "rolling America back". This strategy called for a more recalcitrant America, a more humble, apologetic America noting publicly the flaws of the former administrations' approach to foreign policy. Outwardly, he broadcast the intentions of a globalist now firmly in power and able to make "deals" more amenable to our rivals which would draw our rivals into partnership instead of contesting and contempt. 

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is led by Lt. Gen Vincent R. Stewart

The National Security Agency (NSA) is led by Admiral Michael Rogers

The State Dept's Bureau of Intelligence and Research is led by Daniel B. Smith

The Director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency is Robert Cardillo

The Director of the National Reconnaissance Office is Betty Sapp

The Director of the FBI is James Comey

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence is led by Steven K. Black

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis is led by Gen. Francis X. Taylor

All of these heads are Obama leftovers. As informed readers you know all outgoing administration staff tender their resignations for the incoming team to consider. They are usually accepted. In the intelligence community it is imperative that all agencies work together. Sharing information, open door policies. Politics should stay at the street where they turned into their government parking spot each morning. For these heads and the team of staff behind them, it's critical to get them replaced early and their staff assembled as quickly as possible. Don't let months go by before real work can begin. 

There's a bad problem in the Trump administration right now. He is being opposed by people within the many branches and sub-branches. Information is being illegally leaked and recent wikileaks bombshell data disclosures put the US intelligence agencies in a bright light of suspicion and new calls for investigation. 

Building the Wall

Building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border was a theme central to Donald Trump's campaign. The inference being that the serious problem of thousands of undocumented immigrants crossing the porous southern border must be brought under control right away. Trump knows the history of this issue and knows the GOP have argued for this for decades, and even when legislation was passed Democrats have managed to limit the project to what we have today.

Current estimates have about 700 of the roughly 2,000 mile southern border fenced or walled by a variety of barriers. US Border patrol utilizes technology as a "digital wall" also. Some 8,000 cameras at ports of entry and along the borders, more than 11,000 underground sensors, 107 aircraft, eight drones, 175 mobile surveillance units and 84 boats.  

But opinions are mixed if even a wall will stop someone who wants to come here. This would be the same ideology that would argue you can't deport 11 million people. In search of a plan going forward from such an impasse and not finding one, I'll supply mine:

This won't stop the most determined, the most dedicated or even every single illegal alien. But it will stop many. The way here now is very easy. If you have money, it's even easier. Now I know walking through a desert isn't easy. However, there are water stations and support for those trekking to the US. There are sancturary cities and states (CA) where illegal aliens can get social services and even drivers licenses. They can even vote!

So no, it won't stop every one, but it will stop many. And the infrastructure we have now will last for future generations of legal American citizens. What is missing is the love and support of future generations of Americans and compassion for what they will have to deal with as a result of what we do now to combat this problem. 

A recent story in the L.A. Times documented a Los Angeles area family who lost their daughter to a drunk driver who was a five-time deportee who also had a DUI conviction in the State of California. But even though they grieve for their daughter, they are worried about the effect their daughter's death will have concerning so many still out there.

From the LA Times:

"I often wonder, Why us?” he said, pausing to look toward heaven. “But I can accept it, because the man up there knows we're all just passing through.”

He said he’s haunted by the thought that his daughter’s death was avoidable, knowing that Alvarado remained in the country given his criminal history. But he is also worried that his daughter's death could be used as a political weapon against huge swaths of immigrants in the country illegally.

"It's ruined our life. This person had DUIs and deportations,” he said. “But whatever I say now isn't going to bring my daughter back. I worry, I worry about the people that are here already and settled here already and have families already and have their kids in school. I worry for those people."

Proper enforcement of the present laws will prevent this from happening in many, many cases. Can I say in all? No. But I don't buy into the notion that anti-immigrant sentiment is at an all time high. That there are unfair targeting of hard working illegals or that crime against illegals has spiked.  I think people's sentiments are from a standpoint of fix the problem. We love our legal immigrants so fix the problem!

Jobs and the Economy, stupid

Job numbers came out today for the month of February, 298k in the private sector up from 277k in January. These are robust numbers at the same time the stock market moved over 20,000 in trading volume for the first time in it's history. These are indicators that the economy is swelling and more commerce is taking place and will continue to rise. 

It's been pretty clear in my line of work as a contractor and remodeling company: when the economy is down and there is fear and uncertainty, not only do prices go up for necessities (fuels, energy, etc), but people don't want to take on large projects and make large expenditures. Simply prudent behavior. Now with the economy growing and prospects for it's continued growth I expect that freedom in movement to "trickle down" to my level. Individual homeowners will feel free to improve their houses, buy new houses and remodel older houses. All of which cost money. All of which is an investment and a good return on the capital they have laid down to do it. All enabled because of confidence.

If I had no other problems with him, and I had there's plenty, Barack Obama never provided us with a sense of confidence. 

We'll have to wait and see if Trump can manage to deliver on all his campaign promises but he's off to a good start.

photo credits from top: Pablo Escobar and son standing outside White House and Ron and Nancy Reagan's War on Drugs. Jimi Hendrix in 1967 with an unnamed female companion. The Golden Gate bridge in 1934. An appealing tropical sunset. Alexander Kasperov, "The Man who Fell to Earth",  Soviet Cosmonaut who perished when his capsule failed during re-entry. He reportedly screamed accusations about his superiors and the safety of the craft before he died. A Facebook post on "Dr." Lawrence Britt who wasn't a doctor of any kind, and compiled this list of expected right wing fascism. He was a writer not taken seriously by academia.   

-Ian Carroll

 a.k.a. katykarter