From Maury and Dog

By Rich Kozlovich

Maury Siskel was a retired scientist in Texas who read P&D daily and thought I did a pretty good job. Every day he'd send me all kinds of material, some funny, some serious, and some of which I used.  To those on his e-mail list he signed off as Maury and Dog.   Dog was a chocolate lab he loved. 

Maury passed a few years ago, and I occasionally come across some of his stuff, including articles he contributed to P&D. Maury was a smart and classy gentleman, and I miss his input, his humor, his intellect and his encouragement.  

He sent me a copy of this letter which he sent to the Governor of his state, but I also think he sent out to a lot of people to be used as a template for everyone to send to their state's governor, and given events as they're playing out now, it maybe more profound than it was then.

Enjoy it, use it!

Rich

Dear Governor

There seem many ways in which actions by the Nation’s leadership are in gross conflict with the Constitution of the United States, which is supposed to be the supreme law of the nation. These gross violations of the Constitution are not only violations of the letter of the law, but violations of the spirit of the law as well.

Various attempts are underway in the Congress, and through the courts, to change behavior of the President of the United States, who is imposing laws on the nation via actions that are clearly unconstitutional. As a result I submit to you the time has come for a few significant amendments to the Constitution. Without these changes the United States will continue to become increasingly a socialist democracy replacing the constitutional republic we once were.

The supreme law of the United States can changed by;

1. Armed insurrection 
2. Precedents imposed gradually by the three branches of government 
3. Congressional amendment
4. By two thirds of the state legislatures convening a meeting to consider amendments to the Constitution.

Thus far, the United States has employed in its history the first three methods; it is now time to make use of the fourth method as it is spelled out in Article V of the Constitution of the United States.

I ask that you consider taking the lead in starting a serious dialog with your fellow governors and their legislators to start the process needed to implement these fundamentally necessary changes. Since the Article V process involves only the state legislatures, these changes are completely independent of any involvement by the Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court.

The issues that might be repaired best by this process might include the following:

1. A balanced budget amendment requiring that federal expenditures remain reasonably close to federal revenues.
2. A term limit amendment imposing limits on the number of terms in office that are permitted all members of Congress.
3.  In order to restore the intricate checks and balances among the three Branches, the Seventeenth Amendment should be repealed in order to enhance States rights by returning the selection of Senators to the legislatures of the respective States. Thus, Article I, Section 3 of the original Constitution of the United States would be restored.

I believe that you and others in your respective State governments should discuss these options, which if implemented, will strengthen the nation as a constitutional republic with a capitalistic system of competitive free trade. Of prime importance to this end, I believe that the size, expenditures, and regulations of and by the federal government must be greatly reduced from current levels. The nation needs a serious return to greater individual liberty.

The 17th Amendment was passed in 1913, and since then neither the Members of Congress nor the Presidents who have served over the last one hundred years have been able to achieve these goals. Maybe you and your fellow Governors can make some headway. I hope sincerely you will at least try.

Sincerely, 

Maury Siskel