Taxes, treason, and the birth of a Nation.

Taxes, treason, and the birth of a Nation.

Today, we celebrate the treasonous act of men assembled in Philadelphia. For on that day, it was announced to the World that 13 colonies had banded to together to secede from the British Empire. An Empire, in many respects, even greater than that of Rome and China.

But why? The commonly held belief was that it was about taxation. (“No Taxation without Representation!”) And that is a good one to hold. The major taxation acts that pissed people off started in the mid-1760 with the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act. Finally ending just before War with the infamous Tea Act. (Had a little Tea Party in Boston concerning that one.)

Yet there was more to this revolution then people like to talk about. A big one was the economics that our leaders wanted more control of. Raw material had to be sent to England to be manufactured into most consumer goods the mills, the forges, and the Factories in England had strong voices in Parliament. Most of the leaders of Parliament looked upon the colonies as hicks. And in some ways, we were.

Our Founding Fathers were also very rich men. They wanted these businesses to be domestic. Profits would be high, for no need of long and dangerous ship travel. Slave trade was going great in the south as was the cotton trade. The plantation owners want to keep and increase their profits. While the New Englanders liked the profits of whaling and want to be prime ship builders. So, once again, Money talked.

Finally, the other thing that was happening was expansion. The colonies were starting to look westward. In fact some had already started that move. The Ohio valley and the Mississippi River were calling to people. (Granted, the great westward migration would not really start until 30 years later.) They wanted to be in charge, not some far away King.

The Second Continental Congress got together in 1775 and start the talks about this great Treason. Much has been said and written about this. Heck, a pretty good musical was created about this. But why call this Treason? At the time, we were not a country. We were part of the British Empire. Benjamin Franklin was credited with the quote “Gentlemen, if we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.” He said this to remind the delegates that what was happening was Treason and that only unity would protect them.

Treason was a hanging offense. Even today, treason is a capital crime. It is a very specific crime. But why is what they did important?

On July 2, 1776, the Founding Fathers signed what would become the greatest Dear John/FU letter of all time. It had never been done before. Nobody knew what do next. They had some ideas, but the newness was overwhelming. The British Empire want to crush them and bring them back into the fold. Heck, even a third of the population was in favor of staying with the Empire. (A third were also neutral)

This was an act of war from a band of people with limited resources and organization. A real government did not even form until March of 1781 (Articles of Confederation). If they lost the war, then they would all hang.

Today, when you are having that cook out, watching the parade, or “ooh” and “aahing” over the fireworks. Remember those that that took the ultimate risk and gave us a strong and free country with a little bit of treason.

Note: the date July 4 is because that was when the Declaration of Independence got to the printer and he changed the date on the top of the document.

Congressional Math

Dear Mr. President,

It was not 48-4 in the Senate vote. It was 52-48. Please learn how your government works.

Signed,

An Informed Citizen

Law and Order

Dear President Trump,

When you ran for president, you promised that you would "bring back law and order." You stated that you and your AG would deal with the increase in crime and the Opioid epidemic. What have you done to keep that promise?

After 5 months in office, I have to say that it looks pretty bad. You have not appointed one U.S. Attorney. There are gaping holes in the Justice Department.

All criminologist agree that education (including job training) and jobs are a sure way to lower crime and drug use. Your Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services Secretaries are cutting programs. Your AG is promoting conviction over prevention. He is even scrapping deals with local LEOs concerning reforms and civil rights enforcement.

You promised jobs to heavy crime stricken areas. But, the latest job reports show a decline in jobs. Heck the companies that you made a "deal" with are reneging on those deals and sending more jobs overseas. Less jobs means more crime and drug use.

There are only two ways to combat the Opioid epidemic. Go after the users and go after the suppliers. Now I will grant you that this is a little tricky to handle. Drug use is a health crisis. I'm no expert in this field (and you really should be listening to those experts), be even I know that cutting access to good health insurance does not help these people. You also need to stop the people selling, supplying and promoting these drugs. Again, talk to the experts, they will tell you what is the best way to handle this.

You have had 5 months to at least start the process. Why haven't you? You are the President of all the people of the United States. You claimed to be a big businessman and manager. Managers know how to delegate, supervise and coordinate multiple jobs at once. In short, they can multi-task. So please, stop the tweeting and focus on the job.

Signed,
An Informed Citizen.

Presidental Tweets

Dear Kellyanne Conway,

This morning you scolded the mainstream media for covering President Trump's tweets. Let me remind you that President Trump stated at the beginning of his administration that he enjoyed using Twitter and believed that it was a great communication tool to get straight to the American people. And that he had no plans of giving it up.

President Trump does not give a lot of interviews. Yet he does tweet quite often. The president and his supporters (such as people like yourself), like the state that the president has changed the rules in just about everything related to the presidency. Well, if this is the case, then one of the main things that he has changed is the definition of the bully pulpit. It used to be the President standing in front of the members of the press answering questions and explaining his policies. Or you would write a policy paper and send it out.

Now, President Trump is using Twitter as part of the new bully pulpit. And this is perfectly fine, since more and more people get their information from social media and online resources. But, if the president wishes to continue to use these new and exciting tools, then he and his supporters such as yourself, need to realize that the press and the American public are going to pay attention to what is said.

So, here is some advice from a voter. Stop complaining that we're paying too much attention to the president's Twitter account. He set this up for himself and his deliberately gone around you, the communications department, and his press secretary. This is how he wishes to speak to the American public. If you are concerned that we're paying too much attention to it, then maybe you need to get the president off of his Twitter account.

Signed,
An Informed Citizen.

Paris Climate Accords

Dear President Trump,

Is this how you make America Great Again? To recap for those not aware, you pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords. Only Syria and Nigeria have not signed on. Syria, because they are in the middle of a civil war and Nicaragua, because the Accords were not tough enough.

Think on that for a moment, Mr. President. Every type of government, every type of economic system that you can think of, and every type of people you can think of, felt that this was important. For the first time in history, the entire world agreed on something.

So why did you do it Mr. President? Jobs? There are now more, high paying jobs being created in the renewable sector, then in fossil fuels? The American people wanted us out? Recent polls have shown that 70% of the American people were in favor of the Accords.

Businesses wanted us out? Every major corporation begged you to keep us in the Accords. Small business were hurt by them? Small businesses are embracing renewable energy. Not only are they keeping the cost of power down (a major expense for any business ), new businesses are being created that are involved in the renewable markets along with dealing with efficiencies of major greenhouse gas creators. (Meaning, making cars, trucks, and cargo ships run on less fuel.)

Was it political, Mr. President? Did you want to look good to the coal states? Sorry, but coal is dying due to market forces. (Automation and cheaper alternatives, natural gas and renewables.) Was this one of Mr. Bannon's crazy conspiracies about world government or the need to start a new world war? I have no response to this since the question really answers itself.

Finally, Mr. President, was this a reaction to the fact that Obama approved of this? You do realize that the negotiations for the Accords started under Bush the Younger? Even his administration knew that something had to be done.

So, Mr. President, here we are. The day after the next presidential election, we will not be leading. We will be going it alone. Is this the country that you want leave Barron and your grandchildren? Is this how we make America Great Again, by not leaving the world in a better condition than we found it? Is this how you make America Great Again, by only thinking about short term profits and gains but no long range strategic planning? Think on it awhile, Mr. President. You still have time to change your mind and do what is in the best interest of the country and the world.

Signed,
An Informed Citizen.

Appointments

Dear President Trump,

Just watched a number of your surrogates blame the large number of leaks on members of the Obama administration that are still in office. Interesting charge, sir.

And yet you have done nothing to fix this problem. All you have to do is nominate somebody of your choosing to replace them. Your party controls the Senate. They will fly through the confirmation process. You have had over 4 months since you took office.

Why is this, Mr. President? What do you fear? You complain that the government is not working, yet you have done nothing about correcting this situation. When Mr. President, are you going take control of your Administration and stop blaming others?

Signed,
An Informed Citizen.

Senator Corker

Dear Senator Corker (of Tennessee),

Stop trying to defend the Russians. Do your job. You are a part of an equal branch of government. You do not have to wait or meet the demands of the Executive Branch.
You have 3 months until your September break. And yet you have no plan to deal with the investigation, tax reform, and of course, healthcare. Be your own man and not the POTUS's mouth piece.

Signed,
An Informed Citizen.