Save Our Society

The Inverted Flag - A Sign of Distress

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In 1905, maritime radio was still in its infancy. Upon being activated, or keyed, a radio transmitter would produce bursts of static noise virtually all over the radio frequency spectrum. In April of that year, the German government adopted a law that specified a common distress radio signal as consisting of three short bursts (S) followed by three long bursts (O) and another three short bursts (S again), with a silent interval equal to that of a short burst between each burst. This is commonly (but uncorrectly) referred to as "SOS in Morse code." It's not really "SOS," but only experienced telegraphers are likely to know the difference. Back then, just about anyone who had a radio and heard this unique code would know that somebody was in trouble. The Morse message following would usually tell who and where the sender was and why the message was being sent.

Among the first ships reported to have transmitted this distress call were the Cunard oceanliner RMS Slavonia on 10 June 1909 in the Azores, and the steamer SS Arapahoe on 11 August 1909 off the North Carolina coast. The official distress signal at the time was the Morse letters "CQD" (CQ - "To any station:" D - "We are in distress") The radio operators on the sinking RMS Titanic wisely used both. Since then, the current "SOS" international distress signal has become universally accepted as a request for assistance.

Actually, SOS is a pretty good apporoximation of the actual distress signal. It is unlikely to appear in common communication. In over 481,000 words in "The Lord of the Rings," for example, the sequence does not appear at all. It is easy to produce by anything that makes light or sounds. It can be spelled out by stones or brush, or stomped in snow, and looks the same right side up or upside down.

Today, finely tuned radio transmitters and receivers communicate on bandwidths narrow enough to enable reservation of certain center frequencies for distress calls. For ships at sea, 2.182 MHz is a radio frequency designated exclusively for distress calls and related calling operations. It used to be monitored by the United States Coast Guard, but they now monitor 156.8 MHz, channel 16 on the marine VHF band. CB channel 9, 27.065 MHZ, is intended for emergency use only, 121.5 MHz and 243.0 MHz are emergency frequencies for civil and military aircraft, respectively, and 406.0 MHz to 406.1 MHz is reserved for automatic, international satellite-based search and rescue (SAR) distress alert detection and information distribution systems that are continuously monitored by the Coast Guard and other agencies.

Other universal emergency distress are red aerial star shells, continuous fog horn blasts, flames or colored smoke coming from a vessel, a gun fired at intervals of one minute, red parachute flares, the code flags "NT," anything that looks like a square or rectangular flag above a ball, especially against an orange background, or any color dye marker in the water. An aircraft transponder set to code 7700 is a unspecified distress signal, and the word "Mayday" (that sounds like the French phrase for "Help me!") is the equivalent of the "SOS" signal in radiotelephony.

Actually, anything conspicuously out of the ordinary that would be expected to attract attention can be used as a distress signal. Devices that simply make noise are required on cars and boats because they do that. The two blade rotors on parked helicopters, as another example, are tied usually down parallel to the fuselage. If they are tied crossways, that indicates that someone is in trouble.

So does an upside down American flag!

An an extreme example of a situation requiring a distress signal, our Country was established as the result of a situation among the original Thirteen Colonies that was so dire that the colonists saw no other recourse than to challenge the most powerful military in the world to terminate their relationship with their abusive government and form a new one. Fortunately, they won at the Siege of Yorktown!

The Preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence sets forth their reasons for doing so:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

Today the United States of America is in the same kind of deep, serious, bad trouble! Our government, that was cleverly crafted and finely tuned over two and a half centuries, has been effectively wrecked and dismantled by irresponsible, indiscriminate, and often unlawful, apparent defiance of the "securing of our unalienable Rights" that the Declaration of Independence envisioned. The present administration has subjected, and is subjecting, us to "a long train of abuses and usurpations" that "evinces a design to reduce [us] under absolute Despotism," Just like "mad" King George III, our last king!"

This situation is the result of a deliberate attempt to reshape our government by Donald Trump, and by his core promises that constitute the platform of the Republican party that currently has a majority in both houses of Congress and the appointment of a majority of Justices on the Supreme Court.

On November 8, 2024, 3 days after the election, Ryan Bort wrote an article called "Fascism Forward" on Rolling Stone in which he made certain predictions about President Donald Trump. You can click the check boxes for those you feel have come to pass. (This information doesn't go anywhere, it is for your eyes only!)

Our government is based upon and organized by the Constitution of the United States, as amended so far by 27 Amendments. It establishes three coequal branches of government in the first three articles:

Article I grants all legislative (law making) powers to the Legislature. It specifies what these powers are, what legislation is required or prohibited, and the relationship between the Congress and the States. It establishes a Senate representing each of the States equally, and a House of Representatives (the "House") that represents the people of the states according to population. There are age, duration of citizenship and residence requirements for members, but within these few limits, legislative members are elected by popular majority vote of the people of the states they represent.

Section 8 gives Congress the power to: Declare war
Grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal (i.e., license private citizens to capture enemy vessels)
Raise and support Armies (for terms up to two years at a time)
Provide and maintain a Navy
Make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces
Provide for calling forth the Militia (the National Guard)
Make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water
Provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia; and
Govern such Part of [the militia] as may be employed in the Service of the United States.

Article II vests executive (law enforcement) power in the President, who holds the office for not more than two four-year terms. He or she must be at least 35 years old, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the United States for 14 years. The President and Vice President are elected each term by the States that choose electors to do that. Electors, in turn, are chosen by the people of their respective states according to state law. The President runs the federal government according to the laws set forth by Congress, and takes "...Care that the Laws be faithfully executed..." He is required to take an oath that he or she "...will to the best of [his or her] Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Legislators, executive and judicial officers, both federal and state, including each member of the military, are required to take similar oaths before serving in those capacities.

Article III provides for a single Supreme Court (that interprets the law) and whatever other federal courts, all the judges of which serve during "good behavior," are created by Congress. It specifies which cases are tried by these courts, and those over which the Supreme Court has original or only appellate jurisdiction, with any exceptions established by Congress. Trials for federal crimes in any State are required to be held there, but trial locations for crimes elsewhere are established by Congress. The Supreme Court has final jurisdiction over the legality of all federal actions, including its own. (That's why it's "supreme!")

Section 3 defines treason against the United States very specifically as: (a) "Levying war against them or any one of them," (b) "Adhering to their enemies," or (c) "Giving them aid and comfort." Absent a state of war, which establishes who are enemies, treason is impossible.

Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order or authority. Overt attempt to overthrow the government by force or violence is an example. Mutiny is a revolt to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders or rebellion against any force. It usually, but not necessarily, refers to a military force, but can describe a political, economic, or power structure in which subordinates defy superiors. Federal Statute 10 U.S.C. Section 894, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 94, define mutiny as an insurrection or uprising of soldiers or sailors against the authority of their commanders and/or legitimate civilian authority. Like treason, it is punishable by death. Neither mutiny or sedition, however, is defined by the Constitution.

Four more Articles provide for the establishment and evolution of Constitutional authority over existing and future new states and their citizens.

In addition, the Constitution provides for a system of "checks and balances" where each branch has ties to the other branches. This relationship is intended to make our government work as a team by specifying the following provisions:

The Legislature:

The House has the power of impeachment (propose removal and disqualification from federal office) of federal officials. The Senate tries and convicts or acquits such persons if the House does that.
The Vice President is president of the Senate, but has no vote except in cases of a tie among its members.
Congress organizes, equips and regulates the military, and has the sole power to declare war, but the President is Commander in Chief of all military forces, including the state militias (National Guard) when in federal service.
Congress appropriates all money drawn from the Treasury (the "power of the purse") and keeps records of receipts and expenditures.
Congressional approval is required by federal officers for any "Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State."
Congress chooses the dates and times of elections of federal officials throughout the States.
Congress specifies the line of succession upon vacancy of both the President and Vice President.
The Senate provides advice and consent for Presidental appointment of Supreme Court justices, ambassadors, treaties, and for some federal officers.

The President

Bills are passed by majority vote of Congress with expressed or implied approval by the President, or approval by 2/3 vote of both houses otherwise.
The President is Commander in Chief of the military.
He or She has absolute power to grant reprieves and pardons for federal crimes.
The President makes permanent federal appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate. He temporarily fills vacancies when the Senate is not in session.
The President makes legislative recommendations to Congress and convenes or adjourns either or both houses on "extraordinary occasions."

The Supreme Court

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over impeachment trials of the President, if any.
The Court has authority to strike down laws and statutes they find to violate the Constitution.
Justices cannot be removed from office except by voluntary retirement, death, or successful impeachment. (The only Justice ever to be impeached was Associate Justice Samuel Chase in 1805. He was acquitted.)

The current President appears to be trying to change, eliminate or evade the provisions of the Constitution that he doesn't like. He has challenged decisions of the courts, including the Supreme Court, as being "unlawful," even though, unlike the judges he criticizes, he has no formal law training at all. His Whitehouse Administration portrait photo does not include the US Flag, and he did not put his hand on the Holy Bible in news photos of him taking his second oath of office!

Mr Trump historically is a celebrity and businessman, selling things from real estate to trading cards and crypto currency, and promoting events like beauty pageants. He has won many awards and accolades (including four that were revoked), one British Foot in Mouth Award, one Ig Nobel Prize, two Golden Raspberry Awards, and two honorary doctorates from Liberty University, a private Baptist university founded by Jerry Falwell Sr. Like most diversified business executives, he's had some successes and failures. Here are some of them.

He was a millionaire (in inflation adjusted dollars) since the age of eight. He holds no actual advanced degree, including law. Prior to being elected President, he had never held public office, and has never served in the military. His formal education includes high school at New York Military Academy, two years at Fordham University, and two years at the the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a Bachelor of Science in economics. He was the oldest President, at age 78 years, 220 days, when he was inagurated for his second term, beating out Joe Biden, who has held a JD degree from Syracuse University since 1968, and was 78 years 61 days old at his Presidential inaguration. President Biden served 51 years and 15 days of public service, for which he received numerous awards, honors and eighteen honorary doctor's degrees.

Some people claim that his business experience makes Mr. Trump a good President, on the dubious theory that running a business should be something like leading a country, even without any prior relevant experience or legal training. Unfortunately, a lot of these people are eligible to vote. The fact is, a country is nothing like a business. You can bankrupt a business and people lose money. Bankrupting a country causes wars.

In defense of the President, the argument is often made that somewhere around 99% of all businesses fail. They are mismanaged, run out of resources or customers, economic conditions change, demand for their products or services declines, their owners die or retire, they are absorbed into other businesses, or unexpected catastrophe destroys them. Compared to this statistic, Mr. Trump's record is pretty good. But this includes all businesses, including risky ventures, mom and pop stores, and underfunded enterprises. Mr. Trump's record is probably no better or worse than most businessmen who have always had the capital to take risks, some of which just didn't pan out.

None of these possibilities are tolerable for a nation. Mr. Trump is reported to have run something like 4000 businesses, and made a lot of money. A modern country is doing well if it just breaks even! The U.S. federal budget, for example, was last balanced (broke even) (for the second time) in 2001, under President Bill Clinton. The first time was in 1969 under President Lyndon Johnson. The only time the national debt of the United States was actually zero was for a brief period on January 1, 1835 during the administration of President Andrew Jackson.

Click here to see how the United States is doing under President Trump compared to the rest of the world Currently, it is about $1050 since the beginning of time!

In addition, large businesses are subject to so many laws that its executives are sometimes tempted to bend or break one or more of them, or do so accidentally. Mr. Trump has not been immune to this danger, as indicatd by his own indictments. Indictments are not convictions. A suspect is considered guilty only after conviction. Mr. Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies, one less than seven times as many as Al Capone, who served seven years, six months and fifteen days in prison and paid all his fines and back taxes. Mr. Trump is still contesting his own convictions.

The role of the President, on the other hand, is to "take care that the Laws be faithfully executed." After the responsibility to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," it's his main function. Although the Constitution does not prohibit a convicted felon, even one serving sentence, from being elected (and serving as) President, there are certainly enough qualified candidates in the United States that nobody has to to vote for a convict, and no other convict has ever been elected to that office.

America was great before his inauguration in 2017, and is in chaos now. Mr. Trump's former and current administrations are mired in controversy! Some of his party's policies, such as attitude about climate change, and health related issues, appear to have the potential for disasterous consequences for generations to come.

Here is a list of some of Mr, Trump's party's controversies before or during his first administration.

The basic problem, as I see it, is that however good he may be at other things, Mr. Trump is just a very bad President, even though he has the allegiance (at the moment) of most members of Congress and a very large number of American voters. Prior to his first election, Canadian-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actress, and television hostess Samantha Bee called him a "race-baiting, tax cheating, investor swindling, worker shafting, dictator loving, pathologically lying, attorneys general bribing, philandering narcissistic serial con artist bully...," and claimed that he doesn't have the attention span to read a fortune cookie, let alone an intelligence briefing. He also obviously loves money, the root of all evils! He is a large, loud and intimidating hulk of a man who sometimes explodes in tantrums and fits of anger not unlike Adolf Hitler. He is very bad at distinguishing what he would like to believe at the moment and what is demonstrably true. His blatantly false statements have been described as "alternative facts," "bullshit" or "outright lies." Fact checkers at the Washington Post, for example, documented 30,573 false or misleading claims of his during his first presidential term, as referenced by Wikipedia. Here are the categories on that page.

So many of his supporters believed his assertion that he won the 2020 election that a major riot broke out to prevent certification of the election of President Joe Biden.

In June 2023, a criminal grand jury indicted Trump on one count of making "false statements and representations," specifically by hiding subpoenaed classified documents from his own attorney who was trying to find and return them to the government. In August 2023, 21 of Trump's falsehoods about the 2020 election were listed in his Washington, D.C. criminal indictment and 27 were listed in his Georgia criminal indictment.

In addition to these indications of unfitness for office, Mr. Trump is well known childishly to rant, sulk, belittle people with whom he does not agree, speak in superlatives with unsubstantiated grandiose claims, base his decisions on pure fantasy, propose the silliest ideas (like making Canada the 51st State and acquiring Greenland) and appoint to high office political hacks who have little qualification other than to share his political views. He often does not appear to be in control of himself or know what he is talking about. Too few people are willing to challenge him in this regard, and those who do face the full wrath of a convicted felon who controls nuclear weapons! Congress is infested with his supporters in both houses, which renders the system of checks and balances essentially inoperative! TV comedians like James Austin Johnson have become well known for making fun of this infantile behavior, but it is no laughing matter!

Mr. Trump's falsehoods have resulted in the proliferation of so many conspiracy theories based on them that federal excutive decisions are now being based on what the President believes, rather than what is true. The President has a Cabinet and Executive Office to provide advice and carry out his executive functions. Historically, the appointees to these offices, especially those that required Senate confirmation, have been carefully and thoroughtly vetted by that body, with the help of reliable, highly capable government investigators, to assure that they were top experts in their respective positions, the most qualified, the best and brightest that the Senate was able to find. Not anymore!

In addition to his advisors in the Cabinet and Executive Office, the President has several special assistants, popularly known as "Czars," who are supposed to advise him and carry out specific executive functions.

Most of his Cabinet and some Executive Office members require Senate approval, but he nominates them and can dismiss them at will. The Constitutional does not specify qualifications other than nomination by the President and advice and confirmation by the Senate except for appointments of acting heads of departments from employees of the relevant departments, which he can do all by himself. One of the intended checks and balances is the assumption that only people likely to be able to do the job are nominated or confirmed. But if the Senate operates simply as a toady to the President, a complete moron can become a member of the Cabinet and give the President nothing but bad advice! At present, the Cabinet is so invested with incompetent people that the President sometimes disagrees with them! It's definitely a "blind leading the blind" situation!

But it gets worse! Federal law (3 U.S.C. § 302) allows actions of heads of the executive departments and other offices created and specified by statute to exercise powers of the Executive Branch without specific authorization of the President, on the assumption that such actions are so authorized. Thus, an unelected, totally unqualified head of an Executive department can legally take virtually any action or exercise any authority authorized by Article II of the Constitution for good or ill, potentially creating a reign of terror until the President or a federal court stops him (or her)!

Something like this is happening during the current administration. In the President's first term, he had advisors with extensive experience related to their appointed positions, who were sufficiently loyal to the Constitution strenuously to object when it appeared that he was about to overstep his authority or make a bad decision. In the current term, the main criteria for appointment appears to be loyalty to what the President wants or believes, without regard to what is true, or even reasonable, without any other qualification!

In support of this assertion, I note that President Trump or his second administration has been the subject of, or involved in, even more unnecessary controversies. Here are some of them. Some titles are duplicated because they fall into more than one heading:

Mr Trump may have good intentions, but I believe that he hasn't the training, temperment or experience to be a good President. Besides he's just too danmed OLD! He may well be senile. The cognitive function tests that he brags about are not particularly discriminatory. Who would know?

As a result, instead of "taking care that the Laws be faithfully executed", He seems determined to take advantage of the fact that opposition to any fiat of his, however bizarre, has no real effect unless it is resolved by the Supreme Court after a very long appeals process (and maybe not then), if he disagrees with its ruling. After all, the President is commander in chief of almost 2.1 million military, whom he can deploy anywhere in the world, including Los Angeles and Little Rock, as well as North Korea! How many troops does the Supreme Court have? What could the Justices do if the President activates the National Guard, sends a sufficiently well equipped force to the Justices' homes, kidnaps them and their families in the dead of night, and secretly has them sent to El Salvadore?

During the appeals process, his contested acts, edicts and executive orders can do, are doing, and have done catastrophic damage that is unlikely ever fully to be repaired or undone! This worked for him when he personally or his companies were indicted for apparently breaking the law. Accusations and indictments just slide off of him, earning him the nickname "Teflon Don," along with American mobster John Gotti.

One could make a convincing argument that, since all legislative powers of government reside in Congress, Presidential authority extends only over the executive offices, not The People. Congress, that actually has all legislative powers, appears to have relinquished this check and balance on Presidential overreach by attempting to cede this authority to the President alone! Legally, The People should be able to ignore any "laws" made by fiat of the President. I personally subscribe to this view. However, if the President issues an order to withhold my Social Security or Medicare, destroy my reputation by superfluous government investigations, drive up the prices of everything I buy, inhibit my ability to get factual news, make it impossible for me to avail myself of the services of qualified government professionals, or have masked armed thugs kidnap me and send me off to some infamous prison in a foreign country without so much as a warrant, I am very definitely affected! And if I happen to kill one or more of these guys in armed defense of my Constitutional freedoms, the President certainly has the ability, if not the legal authority, to make me simply disappear and never be heard from again!

This situation could not exist if Congress were doing its job. Unfortunately, The People who elected Mr. Trump also elected a slight majority of both houses, the "MAGA Congress," the members of which appear to be concerned with loyalty to him at the price of their sworn dedication to the Constitution and the obvious welfare of the people whom they represent. Ultimately, this situation is our fault, but what is done is done and the election of the 120th Congress, if any, is too far in the future for reliable predicitons of its outcome or effect upon the Republic.

What to do?

Some time ago, I sent Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, two shipments of 144 ping-pong balls. With due respect to the lady Senators, who didn't need them, I figured that he would realize that I was making the point that there were enough balls for the male Senate side of the 118th and 119th, and possibly the 120th, Congress, who, I thought, did. Later on, I sent 1000 ping-pong balls to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, to be distributed to the male members of the House of Representatives who obviously needed some.

It didn't seem to do any good, Maybe I should have sent them some human spine models instead!

When I was in the Army, we learned about the formal military staff study, the steps of which have changed over the years. At present, they are:

There are two introductory steps: Admitting that there is a problem, and deciding how many resources one is willing to spend to develop a solution. If these are excessive or exceeded, The prudent thing is to live with the problem.

That option does not appear to be feasible. At the moment we appear to be on the brink of WWIII. Only Congress has the authority to declare war, but as Commander in Chief, the President has the authority and the ability, under the Constitution, as only partially limited by the War Powers Act, to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. in case of "a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces." He is required by law to notify Congress within 48 hours of such action. Such forces cannot legally remain for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without Congressional authorization or an actual declaration of war by Congress.

Unfortunately, the President has the ability simply to ignore those requirements until his action becomes known, and for as long thereafter as a lawsuit to do that makes its way through appeals all the way to the Supreme Court (and maybe not then)!

What this means is that the President could order the US Air Force to drop one any number of "bunker buster" (or nuclear!) bombs on Iran without even telling Congress until two days later, when they might well have learned about it from CNN! Iran has threatened in that event to target it's ballistic missiles at between 26,000 to 40,000 US personnel (and their families) stationed throughout the Middle East! He could then conceivably claim that they had launched a preemptive attack on the United States, as actually happened on December 7th, 1941! Do we really want this petulant old man leading our country into another, and possibly nuclear world war?

I believe that I have admitted that we have a serious problem, decided to commit my time and effort to defining it, identified what it is, and listed a suficient number of facts and assumptions. What are possible solutions?

Unfortunately, we are in the situation of being "disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable," milling around in protest mobs, obstructing traffic, and getting interviewed on television. I get several requests in the mail for contributions of money to be thrown at the problem daily, but I think things will have to get so bad that the present evils are no longer "sufferable." Will getting involved in an undeclared war with Iran, as we did in Vietnam where over 58,000 service people died, do it? Frankly, I don't know, But we definitely need a Congress that is less dedicated to enhancing the ego of the President and more responsible to The People!

Eventually, I think Congress will have to:

(1) Fulfill their main duty as a check and balance on the other branches of government by putting an end to wasteful and irresponsible spending, such as paying El Salvador to accept our political prisoners, funding the conversion of Arabian flying palaces for Presidential use, constructing an ostentatious ballroom at the White House, or decorating the Oval Office with completely unnecessary palace-like decorations. Every penny of the billions and billions spent by the United States is authorized by Congress, and very little of it, if any, consists of voluntary, unencumbered contributions into the United States Treasury.

(2) Impeach the President and convict him this time. Let him retire to his magnificent Florida oasis, play golf, eat his fill of Happy Meals, and enjoy the life of retired rich and famous old people. This option would install Vice President J. D. Vance, leaving a vacancy in the office of the Vice President that Congress would have to fill. A Congress that would successfully impeach the President might (hopefully) install a new, competent Vice President, as it did with Gerald Ford, who would be able to assume the Presidency, as Mr. Ford did, if Mr. Vance were to prove himself unsuitable. Unlike Mr. Trump's first administration, there doesn't seem to be anyone in the current line of succession who is up to the task.

(3) Establish a "round the clock" standing committee of members of Congress, on a rotating membership basis, during the time that Congress is not in actually in session, that has the control over the military during peacetime and authority to react to an emergency requiring immediate military response. This would include: federalizing the National Guard and releasing full military control to the President, including providing the President access to the use of nuclear weapons. This would be a concession to the fact that employing one or more nuclear weapons is de facto a declaration of war, which is reserved to Congress alone. Congress therefore should be the agency that releases control of the modern means of doing that to the President.

(4) Convene a bipartisan joint committee to examine the actual and potential abuses of power of the President, and definitively limit, among other things, his power unilaterally to determine who are "enemies" of the United States and what "invasion" and "attack" mean. In particular, there should be a legal definition of what constitutes impeachable "high crimes and misdemeanors." One of them should be making official statements to anyone, including The People, that are subsequently judged by a federal court to be false or deliberately misleading, or failing to carry out campaign promises which are demonstrated to the Senate, not reasonably to have been actionable.

(5) Establish a similar committee to examine what actually went wrong with the current Congress and Administration, and fix it. This would include repealing the executive orders that caused this mess and passing legislation that identifies and modifies or repeals previous legislation that needs to be changed in light of the changed contemporary national. technological and world political environment. Legislation should be enacted that limits or prohibits unilateral action by the President that affects The People or relations with other countries, and streamlines the operation of the government to take advantage of modern technological capability to gather, verify, store correlate, protect and share information, with due protection of The People's civil rights.

(6) Fund and encourage research to examine the potentially harmful effects of new technology and provide effective legislative controls. In particular, government control of artificial intelligence (AI), at least as strict as that imposed on fissile materials, should be imposed on any use of AI in the United States, and similar controls should be encouraged by world bodies such as the United Nations and NATO. Such controls would include, but not be limited to, licensing and regulation of anything that creates, uses or promotes AI, providing foolproof methods of instantly identifying products such as term papers and publications that use AI, and providing stiff criminal and civil penalties for violation of such controls or harms anyone because of such violation.

(7) Employ resources now dedicated to harassing and terrifying current peaceful residents instead to identify, locate, arrest and punish perpetrators of actual crimes, including those made possible by new technology such as cybercrime, exploitation of the poorly educated and elderly, currency manipulation, scamming, cyberbullying, harm caused by inappropriate access by children, and similar threats to the well-being of society.

(8) Provide positive incentives to achieve socially acceptable goals, such as housing and employment of the homeless, more effective and humane treatment of substance abuse and family disharmony, and care of distressed pregnant mothers and unwanted children, among others.

(9) Establish a more reasonable fiscal policy by balancing the national budget, establishing a declining national debt, and eliminating the current inequities of the income tax. I would be in favor of a federal "outgo" tax to help strengthen the middle class and discourage ostentatious, unnecessary wealth. Graduated tax categories such as small (or no) taxes on things like baby food and 100% or more on yachts, might be appropriate. These taxes could be collected at the point of expendture, as sales taxes are now, and Congress could provide vouchers for charitable contributions from the charities involved to the contributors, thus minimizing the potential for exploitation of and fraud against the gullible and vulnerable.

(10) Provide an easy, rapid and foolproof way to "fast track" naturalization of undocumented aliens who are statistically less of a threat to the Nation than the average citizen. This would include people who arrived here as children, are gainfully employed in beneficial occupations, pay taxes, are married to citizens, or have unique skills of value to society. In this regard it should be noted that the putative reason for deportaing them, that they are all dangerous criminals of one sort or another, "the worst of the worst," has been shown time and again not to be true One could make an excellent case that persons pardoned by Donald Trump are a more serious threat to society than an equal number of otherwise innocent undocumented aliens.

Voting responsibly would be a good step, but I don't think we can wait until the next general election, and it is not at all obvious that the current electorate is capable, as a group, of voting responsibly. That is why the Founding Fathers established a republic, rather than a strict democracy. The only effective means I see to implement the foregoing reforms NOW is to convince our representatives in Congress that we must have change before our current President destroys our Country! I urge you to write and write again! Here's how to find your representative in the House and your US Senators.

And you might consider using the "Stars and Stripes Forever" stamps on the envelopes of all your postal mail pasted upside down, as a reminder to your correspondents that we are in deep, serious, bad trouble!

John Lindorfer