Declaration of Independence

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for “We the People”, citizens of this great nation the United States, to petition our elected officials, for redress of grievances, which include the persistent infringement by those officials upon our individual, God given, natural, unalienable rights, including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” - codified by the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights - and where many among our civil servants, whom have taken the oath of office, “freely and without mental reservation” to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic” and to fairly represent the business of the people, but have instead violated that pledge, it is incumbent upon that aggrieved citizenry to declare their grievances and to withhold their consent to be thus unfairly represented and capriciously governed until such grievances have been heard and properly redressed.

1. Grievance; America was constitutionally constituted as a representative republic, not the Oligarchy we are spoon fed by the elitist, pompous idiots that have matriculated their way into power. We see the term in print and hear it on the air. But what exactly does the term “Citizen Politician” mean? To me it defines a person who is a citizen first and then a politician. It is someone with a family, a job and ties to a community who decides he would like to serve for a time in the political arena for the betterment of that community. To do so he takes a temporary leave from his position, knowing he will serve for a limited time and then return to his regular duties when his term is over. Yet; now we abide career politicians. Slackers who, “more often than not” have never held a job outside of government and much like young Oliver Twist stand before the American people asking for more. When in fact these barnacles upon liberty have more perks than Folgers. Today, Members of the United States Congress enjoy a vast web of perquisites that benefit them personally as well as professionally, including:
•Comfortable salaries that, “are often” determined through legislative sleight-of-hand. Contrary to the arguments of many Washington "insiders," the cost of living has rarely eroded the historical value of lawmakers' pay, which on a constant-dollar basis is hovering near the postwar high.
•Pension benefits that are two to three times more generous than those offered in the private sector for similarly-salaried executives. Taxpayers directly cover at least 80 percent of this costly plan. Congressional pensions are also inflation-protected, a feature that fewer than 1 in 10 private plans offer.
•Health and life insurance, approximately 3/4 and 1/3 of whose costs, respectively, are subsidized by taxpayers.
•Wheeled perks, including limousines for senior Members, prized parking spaces on Capitol Hill, and choice spots at Washington's two major airports.
•Travel to far-flung destinations as well as to home states and districts. Despite recent attempts to toughen gift and travel rules, "junkets" are still readily available prerogatives for many Members.
•A wide range of smaller perks that have defied reform efforts, from cut-rate health clubs to fine furnishings.
But the very nature of public office itself demands a more comprehensive definition of a "perk" than that normally applied to corporate America. Members of Congress can also wield official powers that allow them to continue to enjoy the personal benefits outlined above, such as:
•The franking privilege, which gives lawmakers millions in tax dollars to create a favorable public image. Experts across the political spectrum have labeled the frank as an unfair electioneering tool. In past election cycles, Congressional incumbents have spent as much on franking alone as challengers have spent on their entire campaigns.
•An office staff that performs "constituent services" and doles out pork-barrel spending, providing more opportunities for "favors" that can be returned only at election time.
•Exemptions and immunities from tax, pension, and other laws that burden private citizens -- all crafted by lawmakers themselves. "[T]he arrogance of officialdom should be tempered
and controlled."
Cicero, 63 B.C.
2.Grievance; our founders envisioned a republic wherein individual freedoms were paramount and federal influence in the lives of the citizenry was very limited. And; by limited they meant practically non-existent. Yet; we are encumbered by an oppressive bureaucracy that nannies we the people, for our own good. Ronald Reagan said; “I don’t believe in a government that protects us from ourselves”. Still; from the right and left we are so oft tied to a plethora of governmental regulations much like Gulliver’s entanglements… compliments of the Lilliputians. We are told where we can smoke, what foods we can eat, how much carbon we can dispense, how much of our earned income we can recompense for our families, the storage capacity of our toilets, OSHA, the EPA, the NIE, the NIH, limits on agricultural production and a myriad of federal regulations that, “by design” adulterate our constitution and the freedoms guaranteed within its text.
Grievance; "To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions [is] a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy. Our judges are as honest as other men and not more so. They have with others the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps. Their maxim is boni judicis est ampliare jurisdictionem [good justice is broad jurisdiction], and their power the more dangerous as they are in office for life and not responsible, as the other functionaries are, to the elective control. The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing that to whatever hands confided, with the corruptions of time and party, its members would become despots. It has more wisely made all the departments co-equal and co-sovereign within themselves." --Thomas Jefferson to William C. Jarvis, 1820. ME 15:277. In a representative republic we have allowed five Elmer Fudds in black robes to subjugate the will of the people. Think about it; five, unelected, unrepresentative, appointed legal beagles have within their purview the fate of 330 million people. And… encapsulated within the realm of a semi-democracy, or so they say.
3.Grievance; this conundrum is A-political. The American electorate has too often been bifurcated by the two propionate political parties. They have stirred the pot of political discourse and advanced the uncivil war between demographic right and left. Whilst they anchor the hatred between liberal V. conservative, with slight of hand populace America fails to see what is up their corrupt sleeve. And; were their actions truly rated, by a discerning eye, America as a whole would vomit at the corruption on both sides. This is not a government of the people. Congress looks out across the fruited plain and see’s sheep to be sheared.
4.Grievance; In Washington what we have here is a failure to communicate. Elected aristocracy see not themselves as servants of the people; instead they have assumed royalty and expect their crown. Whilst America pays the piper for these moguls of hedonism.
5.Our constitution requires congress to abide a petition of grievance. So…here it is. Take heed you fat and sassy Oligarchs. Be on notice. For we are coming. From the right and left we begin this march. And…the constitution is our bulwark, our just cause. Today we declare our independence.
Conservative Springfield Staff Writer