Flip the Script: Profound and immediate reform

The 28^th Amendment: We the people are faced with a government that is gridlocked and incapable of governing. No matter who we elect, no matter how inspirational the ideas, no laws will be passed, no problems will be resolved, nothing will get done. No one believes any longer in the possibility of compromise and good governance. Our political system has deteriorated into a system of legalized bribery and extortion. Lincoln famously observed that Republics do not last, often they break apart under the stress of factionalism. Our Republic is in the process of breaking apart due to factionalism, political dis-function, and economic inequality. We have published a list of common sense reforms and laws to rally around the greatest number of supporters to fix this sad state of affairs. Our mass movement will force the political system to amend the Constitution and permanently and forever change how our government functions.

We are not going to fiddle with the knobs and make adjustments, we are going to flip the script. Profound and immediate reform. Who is going to make it happen, who is powerful enough? Women’s rights organizations, Black Lives Matter, Tea Party, NRA, Gay rights, Occupy Wall Street, these groups and others are going to band together and force these laws into existence, force the hand of the political class to action. Why would all these groups work together?

The Platform consists of a proposed constitutional amendments and over a dozen laws. The 28^th Amendment includes the public funding of elections, gun ownership rights, gay rights, and revoking birthright citizenship. With the 28^th Amendment the political class will eat out of the public trough and not the corporate trough, and from that seismic change many more reforms will evolve. Gun rights will be permanently guaranteed, gay rights will be enshrined, and immigration reform will take place without delay.

The other elements of the platform are laws centered upon Tea Party inspired tax reform, Black Lives Matter civil rights reforms, Occupy Wall Street reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, a $15/hr. Minimum Wage, a women’s rights and women’s health initiative, internet users bill of rights, fair and just immigration reform, a national energy plan, and a national industrial policy to put America back to work.

These reforms and laws are the basis of public demonstration and civil disobedience against our government. Voting by itself will not fix the problems that confront us. We intend to bring this government to its knees by our refusal to participate or cooperate. We publically reject all violence against persons and property. We declare our movement as peaceful, but do not mistake our intent, we will bring this system to the very brink if necessary in order to reform and preserve our Democratic Republic.

This movement will march in protest, it will engage in work stoppages, in sick outs, and boycotts. It will obstruct the wheels of the machinery including a boycott, a tax revolt, to force our government to conform to our will, our just cause. All of these domestic political reforms are designed in hope of stopping the collapse of faith in our public institutions, and breathing new life into our dying Democracy. We feel that a divide and conquer strategy has been used against all Americans and with that in mind we have crafted reforms that bring together both liberal and conservative voters to enshrine an amendment to the Constitution that forever ends our current system of legalized bribery and extortion that is killing our Democracy. The 28^th Amendment will mandate public funding for all federal and state elections, and in doing so will permanently remove money as a negative influence on lawmakers.

The current state of political parties and the legislative process finds a deadlock that ensures little or nothing will get done. The term banana republic comes to mind with their examples of ossification, corruption and dis-function. This cannot be the future our founders had in mind. Our institutions are in a crisis that no one seems to be able to answer. It is time again for the Constitution to evolve.

There is nothing new under the sun. The historian tells us how great nations and empires rise and fall, it is no great mystery. Simplified and condensed, the elite take the opportunity to garner the lions’ share of resources within their society for themselves. The term used is rent seeking behavior. The Ottoman Empire decayed because the administrators of the realm changed the rules to allow their children to inherit their power and wealth. The French kings sold off the rights to tax the citizenry to an aristocracy that made themselves immune from taxation, and slowly bled the populace dry. To put the problem in modern terms, no one can resist the power to print money. Political power confers the right of financial entities to violate the basic tenants of fairness and common sense in order to make vast sums of money in schemes that are eventually bound to fail. The term “Casino Capitalism” is appropriate. Political power purchased with the wealth earned in this manner allows them to ignore the laws and rules we all play by. These institutions become much wealthier; they then use that wealth to purchase more political power that in turn leads to increased wealth. It is a feedback loop that seems to have no end; however everything must end, witness the Ottoman Empire and the French Aristocracy.

“Mankind is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” The rise of transnational corporations, international financial institutions, and other supranational entities dwarf our public institutions in their wealth, political power, and unchecked influence upon our lives. It has been repeatedly stated by many social scientists for over a generation that transnational institutions would increasingly control our lives, and that eventually governments would become no more than a fig leaf for lending legitimacy to their larger designs. In an age of repeated epic financial fraud and collapse, and wars without end, we increasingly realize we are no longer in control of our own destiny. African American and Hispanic working class people have seen all the economic gains of the last generation wiped out in 2008 in the wake of the largest financial fraud in history. Economic social justice has been set back twenty years. The destruction of the working class in America has led to at least half a million deaths by middle aged white Americans, most of these deaths by suicide. This mass die off is without precedent in the entire world and is similar to the demographic catastrophe of HIV. It is clear that this economic violence is just the beginning. The standard American model of a robust middle class has largely given way or is in the process of giving way to a South American model of a few fabulously wealthy families and a population mostly composed of low wage “slaves”. It is clear under these new circumstances that a Republic cannot prevail and that authoritarian government is the default setting for the future. A system of such inequality and basic unfairness can only be sustained by violence, the kind practiced by a police state upon its own people, similar to regimes in the south. This probably includes the widespread use of torture and death squads to intimidate the masses. If the exact form of the South American model is not used here, it can be sure that some approximation of it will come to pass.

Democracy was enshrined on the plains of Marathon in a desperate battle between the independent city states of Greece and the super power empire that marched to deliver their destruction and submission. The shared sacrifice of the wealthy land owners and the poorer citizenry sealed a bargain, and without that social compact of shared sacrifice this is not a system of government that can long endure. The social compact has been broken and it must be renewed.

In summation, these four Amendments are short and to the point. There are no radical revisions. The 28th Amendment will lead to future reforms in the interests of the people and not those of the oligarchy. The other reform proposals are online for all who wish to read them in more detail. Our labor has value, our lives have value. We refuse to be low wage slaves, we demand social and economic justice. We demand that this country and its leaders live out the words and promises of its founding principles. We are coming together to take back control over our lives and our destiny.

Marshall Gregory Thomas

01/29/2016

Movie script: “Flip the Script” or “28A”

Movie script: “Flip the Script” or “28A”

Mr. Smith goes to Washington, It’s a Wonderful Life, Meet John Doe

Act 1: Video announcement goes viral

Attn: BLM, Tea Party, Occupy, NRA, HRC (LGBT), NOW (women’s rights)

3/5/16 National Rally on D.C. Mall (major cities)

28th Amendment platform, “flip the script”

Concert and rally to raise funds and awareness for collective action

100K people go to the mall Saturday (once a month until election)

Famous musicians, actors, comedians, activist all throw their weight behind “28A”

The sign language is victory sign (2), hold up 8 fingers (8), then both hands make steeple or A shape (A).

Trot me out as “original organizer, originator of 28A” to speak, sing, joke…national TV coverage. 2 songs, 3-4 jokes, 10 minute speech.

The music sells well and online sales include, concerts featuring famous bands, standup comedy special, speaking on podcasts and interviewing famous people.  Any and all attempts to target and stop the main character are thwarted by fans.

Stop the Smear: online army of volunteers:

Smear by online and media trolls is debunked, thwarted by army of media watchdogs and student volunteers who systematically refute erroneous claims and overwhelm negative messages with positive feedback and positive stories.

Gate keepers shut out the noise: The social media accounts of hostile forces are systematically closed and content deleted. The major search engines and ISP companies use automated programs and bots to scrub the online environment of hostile and negative materials and media messaging. 

Legal eagles attack: Any legal actions are met with volunteer legal talent that countersues and defends on all fronts. Judges throw out hostile actions or sit on them and delay.

Clear the Airwaves: The national media refuses to give air time to hostile stories, personalities, and accusations. All accusations and rumors that do get through are met with likewise with rumors, counter charges, and investigations against the sources.

Government pressure: Government employees and agencies apply pressure to those attacking using IRS, law enforcement, administrative action to silence and delay accusers and their supporters.

Employers and Owners:Business leaders and owners use their connections and associations to isolate and pressure hostile forces.

Mass rally, continue to sing, joke, speak and the crowd responds enthusiastically. Successful TV interviews and public personhood. Runs as Independent candidate for president, wall to wall coverage, dynamic debates, concert/rallies with famous people, and comeback victory.

Muckraking whistleblower reporter breaks the news that the fix was in, there was a set up and subject was the target of an organized smear campaign political hit.

Petition to the white house, appoint citizen X as secretary of state, Petitions online, get X in the debate. Go fund me candidate petition and fund drive to put X on the ballot and in WH

Damage control: ALL university students go online and control the message by Petition to WH about 28th Amendment movement and spokesman. Wiki message control, likes on videos, positive feedback pushback. Troll suppression online forums, chats, comments. Get him back on the airwaves petition and campaign. Grass roots campaign, social media drives the subject into mass media spotlight. Protest movement begins to expand and grow and subject is at the heart of the action, press is forced to cover the protests and sit ins.

28th Amendment platform to renew the American Dream: Flip The Script

The 28^th Amendment features the following laws: Public funding of all federal and state elections, Gun Ownership Rights Amendment, Gay Rights Amendment, End Birthright Citizenship Amendment. The other laws in the platform are sunset laws for all federal programs and agencies, $15/hr. Minimum Wage, Tea Party tax reform VAT tax, civil rights Black Lives Matter, education reform free junior college, one year government service at 18, women’s health initiative, Occupy Wall Street financial reform, civil liberties internet users bill of rights, immigration reform, population stabilization goals, child protection Act, employment on demand, national energy plan, national industrial and trade policy, drug treatment on demand and decriminalization pilot program, end nonlethal weapons human experimentation

28th Amendment platform to renew the American Dream: The following laws are promises to action that shall apply to all candidates who wish to ride the coattails of the 28^th Amendment. These issues are designed to maximize voter participation and alter the political landscape over the course of several election cycles. These proposals are also a call to arms for civil disobedience.

28th Amendment will publically fund all state and federal elections, not to exceed a reasonable number of candidates per office. Elections will utilize the public airwaves, internet, (other) to reach the largest number of citizens. Elections will take place during a finite period of time, not to exceed one year. The current system of legalized bribery and extortion is ended. All public officials who solicit or accept bribes shall be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Current legislative and other favors for the understanding or accomplishment of future employment shall be adjudicated as bribery. All public business shall be transacted transparently on publically funded property using means paid for by the tax payer. These same communications and transactions of public business shall be made part of the public record within 12 years. Willful evasion of transparency constitutes a violation of law.

Gun Ownership Rights: The Second Amendment is open to interpretation and is thus tenuous in its provisions. The Amendment to the Constitution shall codify for all time that all adult citizens shall enjoy the right of firearm ownership. A gun safety test and written test shall be given, not to exceed the rigors of the standard automobile license written and driving test. A state ID will be issued. Persons who wish to own present day legal military rifles may do so, but must pay a standard yearly fee, not to exceed the standard cost of the weapon. All persons who have completed US military training and service are exempt from paying said fee. All gun sales and thefts shall be reported. Citizens who have been declared mentally incompetent by a judge must surrender all weapons until the state determines otherwise. Persons during divorce or separation may have their weapons temporarily taken. Persons convicted of serious felonies such as assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, illegal possession of a firearm, or other high crimes SHALL permanently forfeit their gun ownership rights. Cities with a population over 100,000 persons shall prohibit the carrying of firearms of any kind, and may prohibit all firearm ownership, subject to a felony not to exceed five years for the first offense. Noninvasive methods of search and detection may be used to enforce the firearm laws of the city, excepting those methods that pose a significant health risk. The city government, in coordination with the state, may issue individual carry permits as they see fit, subject to revocation at will. The federal government will assist said cities using gun buyback programs and relevant technologies for passive firearm detection. All ammunition MAY be fingerprinted or tagged in a manner to allow law enforcement to trace criminal evidence back to the person who purchased to ammunition.

Gay Rights: all citizens are due equal protection under the law, including all persons of differing sexual orientations. This shall include freedom from employment discrimination, as well as housing, education, and all aspects of public and private life. Sexual relations between consenting adults shall not be criminalized.

Birthright Citizenship: Birthright Citizenship is revoked: All persons born to American citizens are naturalized citizens. All persons born in the US to persons who are not American citizens are not automatically naturalized citizens. Citizenship is a right and a precious commodity that shall not be conferred without cause and due process.

Sunset law provisions for all state and federally funded agencies and programs. Every 12 years each agency must perform for a designated special commission a self-review of its roles and responsibilities, including areas where its duties may overlap those of other agencies and the effect of the agency's loss of funding. The commission may recommend that an agency be continued in its present form, make recommendations to the legislature for improvement, consolidate it with another agency, or abolish it, with its duties either eliminated or transferred to other agencies. This applies to all government agencies except universities, courts, agencies established by the Constitution.

One year government service at 18, individual choices for military home guard, international humanitarian, civilian conservation corps, medical corps, domestic community service, other. Trade 2yrs of service for 4yrs of college.

Education reform, free junior college to job site program partnership industry and government pipeline to work. The government will coordinate with industry the number and type of workers needed for a four year plan. Government will use the junior college and university system in tandem with high schools to recruit, educate, train, and supply the number and type of workers requested by industry. The program will be paid for by the government and upon completion the employers and employees together will split 25% of the cost of the program. Top 15% of all students go to college, early graduation at 16 (must pass the GED), free junior college and four year state school. (Standard IQ tests and academic scores). Junior college tuition is free for all in state students, paid for 80% by government.

$15/hr. minimum wage, increase $2 per year until $15 is reached for employers with 80 or more employees. Employment upon demand, right to work for homeless and unemployed adults and youths. Scale up a program to employ all people in the community seeking work, from both private and public employers. Wages will be less than minimum wage so as not to compete with the private sector. 90 day probationary period applies, three strikes and you’re out. Every two years the bottom 10%, least effective and productive programs shall be terminated and funding reallocated to other employers and programs. Once this program is in place elements of the current welfare state shall be phased out where possible without widespread hunger and deprivation resulting.

Industrial policy will encourage and subsidize the return of domestic manufacturing of strategic technology goods, computers, electronics, aviation, communications, others, using tax policy, energy policy, and employee training programs. All reasonable efforts shall be made to reindustrialize a significant portion of the economy and workforce to enhance national security and economic wellbeing. Where applicable, in the future a carbon tax MAY be applied to foreign goods produced using fossil fuels such as coal and oil, or producing widespread deforestation or other similar environmental impacts. Trade agreements MAY be unilaterally modified using the 50% rule. Domestic industries deemed too important to lose, after careful consideration, will be given a protected 50% share of estimated historical/future domestic demand. The estimated dollar value will be offset by allowing the affected trade partners the same prerogative, shielding up to 50% of a protected good, be it agriculture, textiles, electronics, or other. Existing trade authorities will arbitrate the offsets and estimated values. Infrastructure projects will be funded to replace and rebuild our neglected bridges, water treatment facilities, and inner city mass transit projects such as subways and next generation mass transit.

Occupy Wall Street, Glass Stiegel law reinstated, offshore corporate untaxed profits repatriation, end flash trading/computerized trading. Corporations are not people under law. Prosecute 2008 illegal market activity, financial crimes shall be punished with jail, not just fines. Corporate death penalty for worst felony repeat offenders. Greater federal subsidies for universities, 0% loans for university students. Institute more progressive taxation on billionaires. Employ a small transaction tax for trades on the stock market. Exclude for profit schools from government funds, including government student loans.

Black Lives Matter: Top 10% of all inner city minority and disadvantaged students go to magnet schools, then college, free junior college and four year state school. (IQ and academic performance). Police body cameras mandatory, citizen review board MAY fire bottom 1% of police (complaints and reviews) each year with no return to policing allowed, nonlethal tetanizer technology use instead of tasers, dedicated mental illness squads, martial arts proficiency mandatory, retraining on use of force, investigations on all use of force/deadly force by outside prosecutor similar to an external internal affairs division. All police officers must complete at least two years of college education to be considered for employment in a major metropolitan area. All relevant public records made public within one year. Legalize small amounts of controlled substances and fully fund drug treatment programs. Establish a pilot program similar to that of Portugal where illegal drugs are made legal within a certain jurisdiction and people have access to illegal drugs derived from plants. Making drugs a public health issue, delivering treatment upon demand, including free 40 day detox and treatment for all persons under 21 years of age as a cost effective means of approaching the drug epidemic. Since resources are finite, any adult who has completed three attempts at treatment is no longer eligible for free treatment.

Tea Party tax reform, IRS reforms, 4 tier system, personal income: 0, 15%, 25%, 35%, above $1 Billion 50%, only one home deduction, medical/child 100%, casualty loss, period. Estate taxes remain, above $100 million 90%. Enforcement and collection of corporate tax provisions. A VAT tax will be implemented on consumption (food and medicine are exempt) to replace payroll tax.

Voting Rights: The tradition of one man one vote shall be affirmed. Laws that exclude and discriminate shall be null and void. A national holiday shall be created to allow maximum participation. All voting systems shall be designed to be verifiable and foolproof, one example would be a skew number that is detachable to be retained by the voter, and can be checked against a paper ballot and can be checked online. Gerrymandering is illegal, representative districts must be created using the fewest number of sides or lines possible, specifically a rectangle is the preferred shape. The purposeful or systematic disenfranchisement of voters using gerrymandering or other means of voter suppression shall be proscribed by law. Public officials who actively suppress voter participation shall be held liable to criminal and civil penalty.

Women’s Health Initiative, women shall receive access to subsidized child care, neonatal program, extended paid family leave for both parents, health care programs designed to promote optimal health outcomes for women. Teenage pregnancy shall be discouraged by early education and birth control options. Two parent families are preferable for economic reasons and for child development, and shall be actively encouraged through incentives. Stated plainly, the state should normalize marriage in the interests of greater social harmony, and in the face of unacceptable levels of childhood poverty.

Immigration Reform Act, Citizenship in a Democratic Republic is a priceless right that shall not be given heedlessly to anyone without careful consideration. Northern Command shall deploy such forces as needed to secure the southern and or northern border and when certified that the border control is 99% effective then further reforms shall commence. All persons in the United States illegally shall register within a 6 month time frame to be considered for naturalization. Any person who fails to register in time shall be deported. All persons who entered and are here illegally within the last ten years 2005 (10yrs) shall be deported without exception. All persons here illegally with a history of criminal activity or criminal enterprises and organizations shall be deported. All persons who were born outside the US and who engage in a systematic pattern of criminal behavior or who associate with known criminals or criminal enterprises and organizations shall be deported. All persons here illegally for more than ten years who have learned English, established a credible work history, and have shown a willingness to assimilate into American life shall be naturalized within two years. A national registry shall be created to establish legal citizenship and all employers shall determine legality in good faith. Failure to do so incurs a fine and jail time for repeat offenses. All minors here illegally who have completed five or more years in the school system shall receive citizenship pending relevant issues related to criminal activity. All said minors who have completed five years of school who have since reached legal age shall be granted citizenship pending relevant issues related to criminal activity. No said minors shall remain if their parents are judged illegal (10 years) excepting those who procure legal guardians who are citizens or eligible and expectant for naturalization. Special immigration courts will be established to expedite these determinations. Judges will be granted reasonable leeway to decide the merits of individual cases. These determinations may also be made in other courts. Laws may be enacted restricting the use of public and private facilities to persons who are here illegally, not to include schools or hospitals. All foreign born criminals (felons) and those criminal persons in the US illegally who are inhabiting US jails and prisons, including those subject to removal, shall become the responsibility of the US government, and shall be held at federal expense in dedicated federal facilities until such time as their sentences are served, whereupon they shall be deported. It is vitally important to the security of the state and its citizens that a large racial underclass of poor disenfranchised and alienated people shall not be created. This process is known as Balkanization and is a danger to a free society. Assimilation, intermarriage, education, and upward social mobility are the key to avoiding the creation of separate societies that may at some point conflict. These four aspects shall be encouraged wherever possible in US policy pertaining to immigration.

Population, immigration, and child friendly government laws: The people of United States wishing to be responsible and preserve their quality of life have determined to reduce population expansion and to stabilize the domestic population near the current level.  It is not in the best interests of the people of the US to become a country of one billion people. The value of human life, like any precious commodity, goes down as the supply rises. All family and child related policies will reflect the goal of a birth rate that is at or near replacement. Immigration policies will become more selective, identifying skills, knowledge, and abilities that are advantageous to society that may be sought and easily incorporated. Less emphasis will be given to those immigrants without the educational and professional attainments judged to be desired. Educational opportunities for foreign students need not be impeded and should instead be encouraged as a means of accomplishment and assimilation. Tax policies, child care opportunities and employment practices shall reflect an emphasis upon enabling families to more easily shoulder the economic and other burdens of child birth and child rearing. Two parent families will be encouraged through positive inducements, and the same positive incentives will be used to encourage the ideal number of children per couple to realize population stabilization. Social harmony and standard of living increases are the goals and outcomes of wise social policy. Assimilation of immigrant populations and upward social mobility of minority groups will also increase social harmony. Creation of a vast minority underclass is divisive and dangerous. Twenty years of stable social structure and policy are designed to optimize the wellbeing of American society and can only be evaluated over the course of a generation.

Internet user’s bill of rights, personal privacy statute, personal information and electronic data are the property of the individual period. Any and all contracts that do not state clearly in as few words as possible what the individual receives in return for their personal information are void. All searches and seizures must be by a warrant. All government security agency and corporate stored data must otherwise remain private, be kept for 10 years, and then be destroyed at the conclusion of the 10 year government census. Exceptions being, after ten years a sealed “time capsule” may be created to be opened in 100 years. Other exceptions, individual names and personal identification can be removed and data retained for medical study, demographic and historical needs that show great societal benefit.

Child Protection Act: All convicted adult persons who engaged in sexual intercourse with a child of ten years or younger (or a prepubescent child) shall automatically be remanded to a dedicated secure facility for life, excepting the eventual acquiescence of a certified panel of experts, the chief law enforcement officer, and governor of the state in question. A federal DNA database shall be created of all arrested individuals and these profiles will be stored offline, separately from the names, in two distinct locations to avoid theft. It will be compulsory to check the database for all robberies, rapes, and murders. All existing DNA evidence will be processed using federal funds. All murders and rapes in the US shall be subject to a federal reward system leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator. This reward will be void in the case of the reward itself being the motive or a motive for the crime in question. The final determination of said reward shall be the Attorney General of the United States.

End nonlethal weapons crimes: Cease crimes by the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade and the assault on civil society by government. Nonconsensual human experimentation is being used to test, develop, and perfect anti-personnel weapons using political activists and whistleblowers. These crimes are a continuation of human experimentation used to develop nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons by the DOD going back to the WWII era. Enforce laws that are true to the Nuremberg Code pertaining to human experimentation. Create a Congressional commission to hold public hearings. The 704th MIB SHALL revert to civilian control under the ultimate control and direction of the President of the United States. A truth and reconciliation commission shall be formed, hold hearings, receive testimony, and issue a final report.

Next generation energy initiative, All life comes down to energy systems. It is necessary that the United States possess and operate the most modern, efficient, and productive form of energy generation that current technology can supply. The reasons are economic, technological, geopolitical, and environmental. To wit the federal government will form a government consortium, a 51/49% public private company to design build and operate 6^th generation nuclear power reactors along the lines of the MSR molten salt reactors first used experimentally in the US in the 1950’s and 60’s. A single standardized design of said type of reactors will be built, one that is certified by the US Dept. of Energy.  The government will mine, refine, and control the fuel supply, sufficient to supply at least 50-70% of the nation’s electrical energy. The remaining energy will be created using renewable sources such as hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal. The MSR design does not produce weapons grade material, is impossible to “melt down”, and can use existing nuclear waste as fuel that is thereby rendered comparatively harmless. Electricity costs will be heavily subsidized for a number of years. These same plant designs shall be exported to other nations to replace the use of coal and similar fossil fuels. Their construction and operation will be subsidized by the international community and all user costs will be negligible for the initial period. Imported energy will be subject to a carbon tax. Energy export infrastructure for oil and natural gas will be subsidized to supply allied nations and maintain low prices for fossil carbon energy internationally.

Marshall Gregory Thomas 11/13/15

The 28th Amendment:

The 28^th Amendment: We the people are faced with a government that is gridlocked and incapable of governing. No matter who we elect, no matter how inspirational the ideas, no laws will be passed, no problems will be resolved, nothing will get done. No one believes any longer in the possibility of compromise and good governance. Our political system has deteriorated into a system of legalized bribery and extortion. Lincoln famously observed that Republics do not last, often they break apart under the stress of factionalism. Our Republic is in the process of breaking apart due to factionalism, political dis-function, and economic inequality. We are declaring by our presence here today that it is our intent to publish a list of common sense reforms and laws to rally around the greatest number of supporters to fix this sad state of affairs. These reforms and laws are the basis of a political movement of civil disobedience and public action against our government. Voting by itself will not fix the problems that confront us. We do not intend to destroy this system, but to achieve reform and break three decades of gridlock we intend to bring this government to its knees by our refusal to participate or cooperate. We publically reject all violence against persons and property. We declare our movement as peaceful, but do not mistake our intent, we will bring this system to its knees, to the very brink if necessary, in order to reform and preserve our Democratic Republic. This movement will march in protest, it will engage in work stoppages, in sick outs, it will obstruct the wheels of the machinery of government in order to save that government from itself. We will support and vote for like-minded politicians who formally agree to support our platform of reforms. Finally, we will engage in a boycott, a tax revolt, to force our government to conform to our will, our just cause. All domestic political reforms herein are designed in hope of stopping a collapse of faith in our public institutions, and breathing new life into our dying Democracy. We feel that a divide and conquer strategy has been used against all Americans and with that in mind we have crafted reforms that bring together both liberal and conservative voters to solve some of the problems that confront us, and to enshrine an amendment to the Constitution that forever ends our current system of legalized bribery and extortion that is killing our Democracy. The 28^th Amendment will mandate public funding for all federal and state elections, and in doing so will permanently remove money as a negative influence on lawmakers.

The Platform consists of a constitutional amendments and over a dozen laws. The Constitutional Amendment provides for the public funding of elections, gun ownership rights, gay rights, and revoking birthright citizenship. The platform of reforms are centered upon Tea Party inspired VAT tax, Black Lives Matter civil rights reforms, free junior college, Occupy Wall Street reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, a $15/hr. Minimum Wage, one year government service at 18, a women’s health initiative, internet users bill of rights, fair and just immigration reform, employment upon demand, a national energy plan, and a national industrial and trade policy to put America back to work.

The amendment and platform function as the basis for our mass protests. We will vote for these reforms, but we will also engage in civil disobedience. The US constitution that is purposefully vague designated a state that evolves and is self-correcting. The Constitution is referred to as a living document because it evolves and is reinterpreted by each new generation. In the beginning there were no political parties as we know them, nor any mention of them in the founding document. Running for office was a no holds barred anything goes endeavor that featured the Founding Fathers engaged in negative campaign tactics that might make even modern practitioners of the art blush. The current state of political parties and the legislative process finds a deadlock that ensures little or nothing will get done. The term banana republic comes to mind with their examples of ossification, corruption and dis-function. This cannot be the future our founders had in mind. Our institutions are in a crisis that no one seems to be able to answer. It is time again for the Constitution to evolve.

“Mankind is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” The rise of transnational corporations, international financial institutions, and other supranational entities dwarf our public institutions in their wealth, political power, and unchecked influence upon our lives. It has been repeatedly stated by many social scientists for over a generation that transnational institutions would increasingly control our lives, and that eventually governments would become no more than a fig leaf for lending legitimacy to their larger designs. In an age of repeated epic financial fraud and collapse, and wars without end, we increasingly realize we are no longer in control of our own destiny. African American and Hispanic working class people have seen all the economic gains of the last generation wiped out in 2008 in the wake of the largest financial fraud in history. Economic social justice has been set back twenty years. The destruction of the working class in America has led to at least half a million deaths by middle aged white Americans, most of these deaths by suicide. This mass die off is without precedent in the entire world and is similar to the demographic catastrophe of HIV. It is clear that this economic violence is just the beginning. The standard American model of a robust middle class has largely given way or is in the process of giving way to a South American model of a few fabulously wealthy families and a population mostly composed of low wage “slaves”. It is clear under these new circumstances that a Republic cannot prevail and that authoritarian government is the default setting for the future. A system of such inequality and basic unfairness can only be sustained by violence, the kind practiced by a police state upon its own people, similar to regimes in the south. This probably includes the widespread use of torture and death squads to intimidate the masses. If the exact form of the South American model is not used here, it can be sure that some approximation of it will come to pass. This awful model is very widespread across the face of the earth, and has been for a very long time. The US has historically been seen by the rest of the world as a bulwark against the triumph of this onerous model that moves humanity towards a perpetual state of despair without hope of deliverance. Even those who condemn US foreign policy in strident terms, often inquire with their next breath about the possibility of obtaining a visa to live and work here. As Lincoln observed, we truly are the last best hope of the human race. We did not conceive, nor originate this system that brings hope; we have inherited it from those who came before us. It did not come cheap, for often they purchased it at the cost of their lives.

I have come here not to castigate the current generation, nor to praise it, but merely to map out a manner of keeping what we have been given. It is difficult to know where to turn or how to answer questions that seem to have no easy answers. In the words of the poet, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity. Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.”

Our institutions and leaders do not seem up to the task for reasons that are not entirely their fault. The fault is not in our stars dear friends, but within ourselves. We have participated in the divisions and mistakes that are leading us down a path to decay and collapse. Happily since we are largely the cause of our own problems in life, then by definition we are also the answer to the problems seemingly without solutions. Democracy was enshrined on the plains of Marathon in a desperate battle between the independent city states of Greece and the super power empire that marched to deliver their destruction and submission. The shared sacrifice of the wealthy land owners and the poorer citizenry sealed a bargain, and without that social compact of shared sacrifice this is not a system of government that can long endure. The social compact has been broken and it must be renewed.

The corrupting influence of money upon the political process was acknowledged and dealt with 100 years ago. The Progressive Movement curtailed the worst abuses of the Gilded Age, and set in motion the zenith of American power and influence on the world stage in what came to be known as the American Century. No person or nation is completely selfless and without fault, but the defeat of Fascism and Communism cannot be argued away. We have saved the world on more than one occasion, so let us on this hopeful new day go to the trouble of saving ourselves. There is nothing new under the sun. The historian tells us how great nations and empires rise and fall, it is no great mystery. Simplified and condensed, the elite take the opportunity to garner the lions’ share of resources within their society for themselves. The term used is rent seeking behavior. The Ottoman Empire decayed because the administrators of the realm changed the rules to allow their children to inherit their power and wealth. The French kings sold off the rights to tax the citizenry to an aristocracy that made themselves immune from taxation, and slowly bled the populace dry. To put the problem in modern terms, no one can resist the power to print money. Political power confers the right of financial entities to violate the basic tenants of fairness and common sense in order to make vast sums of money in schemes that are eventually bound to fail. The term “Casino Capitalism” is appropriate. Political power purchased with the wealth earned in this manner allows them to ignore the laws and rules we all play by. These institutions become much wealthier; they then use that wealth to purchase more political power that in turn leads to increased wealth. It is a feedback loop that seems to have no end; however everything must end, witness the Ottoman Empire and the French Aristocracy.

Blame your representatives all you want for this deplorable state of affairs, it is mostly our fault. The first step towards solving a problem is to admit it exists. Next one must accept responsibility for the problem. Finally, we the people must take the necessary steps to solve the problem. Our political system has evolved into a system of legalized bribery and extortion. The fault is our own, as is the responsibility to correct the error. We are now going to do more than vote. Voting in the election will not reform the system. We are going to create a platform of various reforms that will unite us together in sufficient numbers to change our entire political culture. To succeed we must do more than vote, we must engage in protest, civil disobedience, and economic boycott.

The 28th Amendment will publically fund all state and federal elections, not to exceed a reasonable number of candidates per office. Elections will not exceed one year. All public officials who solicit or accept bribes shall be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Current legislative and other favors for the understanding or accomplishment of future employment shall be adjudicated as bribery. All public business shall be transacted transparently on publically funded property using means paid for by the tax payer. These same communications and transactions of public business shall be made part of the public record within 12 years. Willful evasion of transparency and comprehensive record keeping will constitute a violation of law.

Gun Ownership Rights Amendment: The Second Amendment is open to interpretation and is thus tenuous in its provisions. The original language refers to a militia since there was no standing army. It is only a matter of time before the current legal interpretation is changed and current gun ownership rights are curtailed. This Amendment to the Constitution shall codify for all time that adult citizens shall enjoy the right of firearm ownership. A gun safety test and written test shall be given, not to exceed the rigors of the standard automobile license written and driving test. A state ID will be issued. Persons who wish to own present day legal military rifles may do so, but must pay a standard yearly fee, not to exceed the standard cost of the weapon. All persons who have completed US military training and service are exempt from paying said fee. All gun sales and thefts shall be reported. Cities with a population over 100,000 persons shall prohibit the carrying of firearms of any kind, and may prohibit all firearm ownership, subject to a felony not to exceed five years for the first offense.

Approximately one out of every 25 people are not born heterosexual. They are born with a different sexual orientation. Throughout history these people have been forced into the shadows and persecuted. The United States of America at the behest of our citizens wishes to recognize these individuals as human beings created in the image of God, deserving of mercy, compassion, and above all, freedom. Gay Americans are our family members, our neighbors and co-workers, and our friends.

Gay Rights: All citizens are due equal protection under the law, including all persons of differing sexual orientations. This shall include freedom from employment discrimination, as well as housing, education, and all aspects of public and private life. Sexual relations between consenting adults shall not be criminalized. (This shall not be construed to include acts of violence that involve serious injury or death).

The primary responsibility of any government is to the safety and wellbeing of its citizens. It is in the interest of the United States and its citizens to control our borders and to confer citizenship as a privilege and a precious commodity that shall not be conferred lightly. If US citizenship is a thing that is given out for free, then eventually it will have no value. To this end we declare ourselves intent upon putting a premium on US citizenship. Under English Common Law native born children of parents, either invading the country or who were enemies of the country, were not natural born subjects because the birth lacked allegiance and obedience to the sovereign.

Birthright Citizenship Amendment: Birthright Citizenship is revoked: All persons born to American citizens are naturalized citizens. All persons born in the US to persons who are not American citizens are not automatically naturalized citizens. Citizenship is a right and a precious commodity that shall not be conferred without cause and due process.

Many people in the US wish to deport all of the nearly 12 million persons here illegally. This mass expulsion is not going to happen. The Alhambra Decree in 1492, by the king Ferdinand of Spain, ordering the expulsion of Jews from Spain was a cruel act and a detriment to Spanish culture and society. In 1972, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of his country's Asian minority, in effect the wholesale ethnic cleansing of Indians, giving them 90 days to leave Uganda. The loss of 1% of the population that represented 20% of the economy was an economic disaster. The United States of America will not follow in the footsteps of European kings and African dictators. We declare a determination to maintain the dynamic contributions from immigration while maintaining our quality of life and cultural identity to avoid Balkanization into separate societies.

The Southern border and other points of entry shall be secured against illegal entry. All persons here illegally shall register online within six months to be considered for naturalization. All persons here illegally for more than ten years who have learned English, established a credible work history, and have shown a willingness to assimilate into American life shall be naturalized within two years. A national registry shall be created to establish legal citizenship and all employers shall determine legality in good faith. Failure to do so incurs a heavy fine and jail time for repeat offenses. All minors here illegally who have completed five or more years in the school system shall receive citizenship pending relevant issues related to criminal activity. All said minors who have since reached legal age shall be granted citizenship under the same caveat, that they are not involved in a criminal organization, are not a habitual criminal, and are not a ward of the state, meaning they have a work history, are financially self-supporting and are not dependent upon the welfare state for subsistence.

It is vitally important to the security of the state and its citizens that a large racial underclass of poor disenfranchised and alienated people shall not be created. This process is known as Balkanization and is a danger to a free society. Cultural assimilation, intermarriage, education, and upward social mobility are the keys to avoiding the creation of separate societies that may at some point conflict. These four aspects shall be encouraged and observed wherever possible in US policy pertaining to immigration. Future immigration policy shall be predicated upon entry of people with a necessary cross section of educational attainment and job skills. In order to create a tight job market and raise wages it will be necessary to discourage and preclude entry of unskilled and semi-skilled workers.

In summation, The 28th Amendment is the shortest route to regaining balance within the political system, and thereby changing the emphasis to the public good. The Amendment secures the rights of gun ownership for all time while protecting the lives of city dwellers and police forces from being under constant threat due to widespread firearm possession and use. Gay citizens are forever afforded equal rights and protect under law within the Constitution. Birthright citizenship law is reformed and brought into line with the laws of the other major developed nations as part of a just and fair immigration initiative. There are no radical revisions. The 28^th Amendment will lead to future reforms in the interests of the people and not those of the oligarchy. The other reform proposals are online for all who wish to read them in more detail. Our labor has value, our lives have value. We refuse to be low wage slaves, we demand social and economic justice. We demand that this country and its leaders live out the words and promises of its founding principles, live out these high ideals in concrete deeds and laws. We are here together to take back control over our lives and our destiny.

Marshall Gregory Thomas

01/29/2016