Welcome

To GlenDarby55, I hope you enjoy your visits here and please feel free to commnet on anything..I love a good discussion!

Immigration Follow-up

A recent news article stated that ICE had conducted raids in the Midwest and arrested 348 people who were (a) in the United States illegally and (b) had outstanding warrants or had been convicted of, and not yet picked up for, crimes committed in the United States. Note the double qualification..were in the US illegally, AND had committed crimes. GOOD! This is the type of law enforcement that needs to be taking place, and in my opinion, a proper use of the ICE officers. Now, I think they should take it one step, a major step, forward, and fine the daylights, and profits, out of those companies who had hired the undocumented workers. I believe if we make it highly unprofitable for employers to higher undocumented individuals who are here, we may in fact start to turn the tide, and allow those who are here legally to obtain a higher standard of living. The American Dream is still very worth pursuing, (even as I sit here underemployed, I still believe in it); as has been pointed out here by several before, any one of us who is not Native American has immigrant blood in them. Given that the immigration standards have changed many times over the years, and are likely to change again, still that is the law of the land at this time, and it should be followed. But this costs money, and our country is strapped financially; which I why I believe in very heavy fines on those employers who hire undocumented workers. I have heard that this will cause hikes in food prices; I agree, but feel these hikes will be only temporary, for this reason: Americans are a very inventive people, and if the cost of picking tomatoes, for example, goes high, then some bright individual will invent a better, mechanized method of harvesting that crop. It has happened before; look at cotton, potatoes, and corn; all were harvested by hand for years, until it became profitable to create machinery that does the same job, at lower cost. There is the “free market” and “American ingenuity” at work. It has worked in the past, and I believe it will work in this example.
Comments on my posts are greatly valued!

Education, and the Big Red Elephant

Shame on Governor Gary Herbert and his handlers for taking a legitimate discussion on education and spinning it into a discussion on religion (Salt Lake Tribune, August 27). The program put forth by gubernatorial candidate Carroon, to raise the requirements for graduation from high school in Utah makes sense, if we desire Utah’s graduating classes to successfully apply for higher education and well-paying jobs. I hope the citizens of Utah can see past this and vote for a new governor who will work to improve the education of Utah’s high school students. I will have more to say on this issue, trust me!

The Painful Season

Utah State Senator Daniel Liljenquist (R-Bountiful), another stuffed white shirt male, has stated that he would like to see epidurals and “some” C-sections eliminated from eligibility in the jointly-funded (State and Federal) Medicaid programs in Utah. How typical of our male, middle-to-upper class State legislature! How would he feel if it was his wife or daughter being denied pain relief during childbirth? Would he then change his mind? One can hope that he overcomes his myopic view of the people receiving Medicaid benefits before any further damage is done to this program, particularly in view of the current recession and high unemployment numbers. Given his website and Facebook pages, where he has posted being a strict conservative, one might presume he is among those who don’t want Utah to receive additional monies from the federal government provided by H.R. 1586, passed o n August 11, 2010 which would allow the state to receive more federal money to help pay for rising Medicaid costs within the state programs. Please, if you live in Utah, call your state senators and ask for their assistance in bringing the monies to Utah and keep unnecessary pain out of the delivery room!

Welcome, Lee

Lee, Sandy, glad to see you took me up on this invitation. Please comment..I love the discussions, as you know!

$26 Billion Stimulus Bill (HR 1586) for Education

An article in the Salt Lake Tribune (August 5, 2010) stated clearly that the bill HR1586, passed August 12, 2009 by the house and signed by President Obama, would stop the layoff of 1,800 teachers in Utah. Governor Gary Herbert said, through his spokesperson Angie Welling, that he would welcome the additional money for teachers. The bill also would provide money for public safety workers (police, fire, etc) whose jobs are considered on the line due to state revenue shortfalls, as well as provide more federal monies for Medicaid programs in the state; which the Governor states Utah does not need at this time. (Although Utah, in the past two sessions of the legislature, has cut Medicaid programs, such as dental work for seniors.)Two of our representatives (Bishop and Chaffetz), following party lines, voted against this aid to education. Jim Matheson, our third representative, said in support of this bill, that it would pay for an average of two additional teachers per public school in Utah, and additionally would help the state meet it’s obligations to provide health care to the poor.

Consider this fact: Utah has the highest birth rate in the nation, 83.2 per every 1000 women in the 15-50 age group gave birth in 2006, the latest available data. The national average is 54.9 per 1000 women. (Source: Deseret News, August 19, 2008) We have the largest class size, and the highest teacher/student ratio, in the nation. Couple these facts with a high state income tax break for each dependant, and you have a (realized) potential for serious underfunding for education.

Our students are our future; we need a well-educated population base to grow as a state. We need students to complete high school, to be able to compete in the world economy, in order for Utah to attract and keep good paying jobs in the state. If our education dollars do not keep up with the student growth, we will soon (if we have not already) fall behind, and other states will be able to attract the businesses we currently have here, as well as the ones we are pursuing to relocate here.

So why all the fuss and anger over this bill? Certainly, it could add to the deficit, if the savings projected are not real; and can any of us really tell if Washington math is close to correct? It does close some of the loopholes in the tax laws, insane loopholes that allow US-based companies to deduct payroll and property taxes they pay overseas from their US corporate income taxes. Companies like Levi Strauss, that close all their US plants to move the jobs overseas for cheaper labor, lower taxes. But..the price of Levi products in the US has not decreased. Companies like Wal-Mart, who dictate to their suppliers they will move the plant to China and deliver a 10% “improvement” in the cost structure each year, or they will no longer be a supplier to Wal-Mart. Yes, Wal-Mart does create “jobs” in the US; part time, low wage jobs. It is not the higher-paying manufacturing jobs that are being created, instead it is clerk and stock-boy and freight handler jobs. These are the types of companies being targeted by the tax code changes enacted by this law.

The next comment that was stated by the opposition is that this is pandering to the unions. In the United States, 22 of the 50 states are “right to work” states, with a 23rd (Pennsylvania) considering legislation this upcoming session to join the “right to work” states. That is 46% (including Pennsylvania) of the states that are “right to work” states. Therefore, in my opinion, this law is not “pandering” to the unions, but is truly in favor of the teachers, public safety officers, and others who we need to help our country grow.

The last argument presented stated that this law cut food stamp programs. It does, in 2014, reduce the amount of money allocated to food stamp programs, however, and this is the point the opposition did not press, the bill also allows the food stamp program to be re-instated to the (2014) level as further changes are enacted that bolster the economic well-being of our country.

In fine, this bill is the best we could rationally expect in the current political environment, and it is a bill that will help our students, our future, and our country.

Welcome!

To Old Army, Sandy, and Sylvia, and Ric! Glad to have you here, I hope you will read and comment! Enjoy!
Bob

On the “Right to be in the United States Legally”

This commentary is based upon Federal and Utah State law; I can reasonably believe the respective laws do not differ substantially from state to state with in the United States.

Utah State Representative Carl Sandstrom, (R-Orem) is currently proposing legislation for the upcoming Utah legislative session in 2011 that would enable/require public safety officers to, upon reasonable suspicion, ask drivers and passengers in a vehicle during a traffic stop to verify they are in the country legally, and if no such proof can be provided, then to hold them for INS officers.

To me, this is very discomforting. Although I was born in the United States (Colorado, to be exact) I have not document that “proves” I am a citizen or am legally in the state of Utah. There is no federal document that “proves” U.S. citizenship.

A Utah driver’s license, the “usual” proof of identity, can be obtained with a variety of documents. The most common for the majority of us is a birth certificate, however, a driver’s license can be obtained using a wide variety of documents. These include:
A birth certificate from any state in the United States, or any country which the United States recognizes: an unexpired visa or non-immigrant visa, or a Mexican voter registration card; all accompanied by proof of residency in Utah. Proof of residency in Utah can be two of a wide variety of documents, including but not limited to: utility bills, mortgage or rent contract, court documents, or a bank statement or “major” credit card statement (both dated within 60 days of application), or other documents deemed valid by the Department of Public Safety.

A birth certificate issued in the United States is, in fact, not proof of citizenship. Any person can renounce their U.S. citizenship at any time, for any reason; and there is no public document that confirms or denies this event. In times of turmoil in our country, some citizens move abroad and renounce their U.S. citizenship, but as long as they still have a copy of their birth certificate, they can legally obtain a drivers license. The government can disenfranchise a citizen at any time for a variety of reasons, and again, there is no document issued, and a license can be obtained. Although these are not common occurrences, they are legal and valid, and given this information it is very possible that a person no longer a citizen of the United States can obtain a valid drivers license, while not legally entitled to be in this country.

Let’s look for a moment at the visa conditions. There are, currently, at least 79 different forms of visas, some considered permanent, others that are temporary in nature. For example, a foreign student with valid forms of proof of residency in Utah can obtain a Utah drivers license. While the student’s visa may expire, he or she can continue to renew the license in the standard manner without having to again prove the validity of the right to be in the United States. The same right to automatic renewal granted to citizens of Utah applies to most of the visa types currently accepted; the major exception being diplomatic visas. How, then, can we reasonably expect public safety officers to determine if the holder of a Utah drivers license is here legally? My conclusion, given my study of the facts, is that the officers will not be able make that determination.

A visa, issued by a country with which the United States has reciprocal agreements, is proof of the right to be in this country. But, and this is a very big “but”, there are 30 countries, part of United States treaty agreements, whose citizens can be in the United States indeterminately, without a visa. These countries include: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Is it probable that the attending officer will delay and embarrass visiting citizens from these countries, and ask for their proof of the right to be in the United States? I fear that this is not only a probability, but a possibility, particularly if the occupants of the vehicle are speaking Spanish or a derivative thereof. Is this the America, or the Utah, we want to present to visitors?

A passport, incidentally, is not proof of your right to be in this country. It is a form of identification and the right to travel from the country that issues it. It does NOT guarantee your right to be in this, or any, particular country.

It is my conclusion, given my research into the subject, that this piece of legislation is perhaps well intended, but the implications have not been completely considered. Therefore, I will be active in working to prevent it from being enacted into law.
Will you join me?

On my recent Camping trip

Musings From a WDR (west desert rat)
Why does the GP (general population) have to be so trashy? I have bags of trash, old shotgun shells, clay pidgeons, empty water bottles and beer cans from my favorite campsite. Why do I do this? So I can come back here to a clean site. But every time I return, it is the same; trash and garbage everywhere. Ok, so you had sex, carry your condoms out yourselves! Really, people! Diapers? Hello? Trash impacts animals, birds. The stuff you leave contaminants not only the scenery but also the animals. And you weren’t here long ago. I put out one of your campfires when I arrived. You left it smoking, logs overhanging the edge of your fire pit.
Don’t mistake me, I also use the desert. I enjoy coming here for peace and solitude, which the desert provides in ample abundance, particularly on the weekdays. But I don’t think my main job is to clean up after you. You who are so vocal when the government limits access to the land, why are you not so careful to take care of the land? My Goshute friend says you can always tell when “white folks" have been here. Look at the trash. It’s disgusting. Plastic plates, beer cans, etc. litter the landscape. Beer cans don’t burn, folks. They stay in the pit where you tossed them; Bud Light seems to be the flavor for this year. Oh, and don’t forget Pepsi. Why? You had enough room to bring it out with you, cannot you take it back? Your home trash removal will not cost you a dime more to empty out your crap.

Part of my reason for creating this blog is to open myself and my emotions up, to allow myself some freedom of creativity, of expression. This is a very personal poem; I wrote it on what would have been Adams 30th birthday, last May. When you are finished reading it, please comment, if you desire, but more importantly, learn the lessons it contains. Thank you for listening.

At Adam’s Funeral

I was being the strong
Husband, supporting my wife;
Father, comforting our two other children
(Adam was the middle child)
A gentleman approached me.

“May I talk with you a minute, please?”
He politely inquired.
“I know this is not a good time,
But I need to apologize to you and your son.”

I guess my questioning eyes
Permitted him to proceed.
“About a month ago, my daughter
Who was a friend of your sons’
Called him from a party.

She had gotten drunk,
Too drunk to drive
She was, I am ashamed to admit
Too frightened to call me.

She asked Adam to pick
Her up and drive her home.
She handed him her house-key,
He gently lifted her up
And proceeded to the door.

I was watching through the curtains,
Unable to control my anger,
I watched as she vomited over him.
Serves him right, I said to myself out loud.

He opened the door,
I offered no assistance
As he brought her in
Gently laying her on the couch.

Angered beyond belief,
I lashed out at him.
“How dare you!
What have you done to my daughter?

“Did you get her drunk
And violate her as well?”
I continued
To berate him.

To him, it must have been hell.
But he stood there tall,
And kept looking me in the eye.
Never saying a word.

“I stopped”, he continued.
"Adam finally spoke,
His words slow and clear.
I will never forget his courage.”

“Sir, in the morning,
After your daughter is awake and better,
I am sure she will set your fears about me to rest.
Good night, sir.”

He left, morning came,
And my daughter tearfully
Told me about the night.
Church friends invited her to the party.

She had no fear,
Sixteen, innocent, virginal
No idea of what waited for her
Alcohol was served
And she got drunk.
“I was afraid to call you, Dad;
I didn’t want the fight.
Adam I called because I knew
I could rely on him.”

I thought about calling him
Offering my apologies
For I had put him through hell
I got too busy, and it was not important.

Please know your son
Was a good man, not a boy.”
I remember that night, myself.
He had finished his first week of chemo.

Home for a rest, his mother and I went to dinner.
He told me he had taken the truck
To help a friend in trouble.
I asked if everything was ok.

“Sure, dad. I just wanted you to know
Why there were miles on the truck.”
Three weeks later, he died.
A good man, not a boy.

I went to his grave today,
Sitting, eyes closed, meditating;
When a voice whispered in my ear,
Dad, they are coming closer! Look!
Eyes slowly open; a doe and a fawn
Were 10 feet away.

And I understood.
He was here, in his chosen
Environment, a place with birds,
Trees, and deer.

I asked him then,
Would it be ok if I write this?
Show the world who you are?
Yeah, Buddy!
His voice rang loudly in my ear.
So here it is.

Do You Want Change?

TIRED

People are going
Hungry
The world can produce enough
Food.
People are sick,
Dying
We can provide
Medicine.
Wars destroy and ravage
Landscapes
Plant trees instead of
Shell casings.
Rulers, Presidents, Kings,
Clergymen
Strip our souls and values for
Themselves.
You know these things and do
Nothing
I know these things and do
Nothing.
I’m Tired of it.
I must be the change
I
Want to see.

A Child's Commentary on Adults

I am your child, yours no matter how I got here; if you adopted me, bore me, or just accepted me because someone else could not, I am yours. I cannot speak yet, not quite, but I am learning, and one day will be able to tell you how much you mean to me. For now, you have to go on my actions, on my expressions.

We are learning together, you and I. First I focus on the sound of your voice: if it is warm and loving I know I am ok. When your voice goes harsh and angry I know something is wrong, and as I only know my world I can only believe I am the “something” that is wrong. I am told that I will learn that “little pitchers have big ears.” I do have those “big ears”, for right now that is the largest input into my mind, my physic. I may not yet understand what you are saying, but I can certainly tell how you are saying it. Please be kind, speak kind of me, about me, and around me. Don’t think it does not matter, it does. What you say and how you say it, parental figures, will always matter to me. Even when I am a rebellious teenager (what is that, anyway) it will matter to me.

I watch you prepare food for me; I have learned that the presence of the bib means I am going to get fed! YES! My three favorite food groups are food, food and more food. You watch my face as you feed me, and you learn through my expressions and my actions what I like and don’t like; but don’t worry, my tastes will change. Keep trying those vegetables on me; someday I may like green peas.

When you come over to pick me up, I am watching you, studying how you move, your legs, your arms, your face. I am watching because I want that freedom, that ability to move around and not just be in this little crib you have set up for my safety. Speaking of my safety, thank you for the crib, for the gate that will keep me from falling down the stairs; for the locks you put on the cabinets to keep my curious fingers and face out of trouble. Because I am curious, that is how I learn, curiosity, and I need you to keep me safe. Safe from harm from others, safe from harming myself. When I grow up, I will have learned from all the subtle things you have done that I need to keep myself safe, but now I am relying on you to teach me, to help me, to keep me safe.

Hold my hand. It is so tiny compared to yours. Consider how my whole hand grips just one of your fingers, how tightly I hold on to your finger, your hand, your presence. For you are my safety and security, my own private TSA so to speak. I have very good senses, and when I don’t want to go to a new person, please consider that I am yours, you are what and who I know; help me to learn how to tell if a person is good or bad company. Help me to learn how to be ok in company, how to behave. But do it with words and care, please. Remember your big hand? It does not take much for you, with your strong arms and mighty hand, to hurt me, really hurt me. Remember that I am not trying to make you angry, remember that when I sense your anger I feel that it is totally my fault. I don’t know any better. Teach me, with love and kindness; I don’t want anger to be part of our relationship.
Oh, and that car seat? It’s ok; really, the main thing I am not happy about is being out of your arms. I really am not protesting the car seat manufacturing companies. I will learn, if I don’t already sense it, that the car seat is really for my own good. I will even learn to buckle my seat belt, if you take the time to teach me.

Well, there is much more I have to say, but I am tired now, so if you don’t mind, would you put me down for a nap?

An Intellegent Commentary on the Subject of Marriage

Marriage is a contractual relationship between two (or more) persons, typically sanctioned by the state and providing certain benefits, duties and responsibilities to both parties; although the benefits, duties and responsibilities have changed greatly over time. Some of these benefits (in the United States), include but are not limited to:
• Sharing with a spouse control over property, labor and sexual services.
• Giving a spouse responsibility for a spouse's debts.
• Providing a spouse visitation rights when his/her spouse is incarcerated or hospitalized.
• The ability to transfer control over the spouse's affairs when the spouse is incapacitated.
• Establishing the second legal guardian of a parent's child.
• Establishing a joint fund of property for the benefit of children.
• Establishing a relationship between the families of the spouses.

As this is a contractual relationship, it is controlled by the state in which it is initatied, and not by federal law. This is evident in the differences of requirements from state to state, as the following information details.

A Marriage License, or intention of marriage, is required in all states except Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico

The common age of consent in the United States is 16 however; it can be as young as 13 for females and 14 for males in some states

So-called “Common Law” marriage (no documents or religious ceremony required) is legal in 10 states. There is no age of consent for Common Law marriages.

A Medical exam (STD, and in some cases rubella and sickle cell anemia for females) is required in 24 states

If these points are controlled by the state, then it can logically be represented that marriage is a legal condition, although marriage in some cases is accompanied by religious conditions or acceptance. The validity of marriage in one state is transferred to another; that is, if the parties are married in New York, they are considered married in Oklahoma as well, notwithstanding that certain states still have statutes forbidding certain types of marriage.

Religion did not formally enter marriage until the Council of Trent in 1563, which stated in part…that a Roman Catholic marriage would only be recognized if officiated by a priest with two witnesses. "The conjugal union of man and woman, contracted between two qualified persons, which obliges them to live together throughout life”…

After the break between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, Lord Hardawicke’s Act, 1753 (Anglican Church) was the first to require performance of a religious ceremony, with witnesses. This act, however, did not affect the marriages within the Jewish or Quaker religious sects.

From my review, briefly stated above, of marriage as both a civil and religious action, it is my contention that marriage is a civil contract, and the choice of including or excluding the religious component is left to the participants. It is also my conclusion that, as marriage is a civil contract, there is no valid arguement for refusing to allow gays and lesbians (same sex marriage) the same rights, privilages, benfits and responsibilites currently provided to hetrosexual couples under current laws and conditions.

Notes:
Source: Cornell University Law School
ibid
ibid
ibid
ibid
Witte Jr., John (1997). From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 39–40

Are you for or against Term Limits?

A Discussion on the Value of Term Limits

“Public Service is just that, a period when you serve your fellow man. I have served enough, and I am going home.”
This is attributed to George Washington when he was asked to serve again as President. I can not vouch for its accuracy, but it is a good starting point for a discussion. Currently, there is not a federal limitation to the number of terms a member of congress can serve, or a limit to his ability to serve in both houses and/or consider a run at the Oval Office. Is this really in our country’s best interest?

Certainly it can be argued that as individuals learn more about their counterparts, as well as their own roles in any given profession, they can acquire greater abilities to search out resources and fellow-thinkers, even take sage advice and counsel from those with whom they have diametrically opposed positions. It can be intuited that this advice and counsel could give a person reason and time to pause and reflect upon a point of view not previously considered within his/her own circle of advisors. Logically, in a private-sector enterprise, you are believed to have a greater knowledge of the inner workings and the most effective, productive way to receive help and support for a given project if you have a reasonable length of time in service to your enterprises. These are all arguments in favor of allowing our elected officials to remain in office as long as possible.

In the private sector, there are certainly good reasons for retaining and promoting long-term employees. They may have shown, for example, a great ability to understand the customer’s needs beyond that of a new employee; ability learned through time to rationally remove a doubt in the customer’s mind of a products ability to fulfill the current requirements. It’s often said, “call X, he is the only one who may have seen this before and he can provide you the best answer.” Certainly, as individuals, we feel more at ease when we speak to the same individual at a given company, who can remember us, can empathize with our concern, and connect us to the person or office that most easily can solve our need.

The private sector, however, is not elected. The private sector exists, at its core, for one reason, and one only: to survive and become the company of choice for customers, to drive to the bottom line ever greater profits, to hand the shareholders/owners a good return on their investment. In the main, those companies who achieve those goals become distinguished, the employees who assist the company to reach its goals are well rewarded, and the CEO’s are properly compensated. Conversely, employees at any level who fail to share in this core behavior are eliminated, from the dismissal of an employee who fails to show up on time to the removal of a CEO who does not meet shareholders expectations, or the takeover of a business by creditors when the directors and management fail to meet financial obligations. This is the “free market” at its’ most basic level.

Our federal, state, and local governments, and the elected officials who guide them, however, operate on entirely different models. Our government is required by the public to provide basic services: military protection; trade agreements; schools; public safety services; and code-enforcement, to broadly cover the spectrum. These elected officials are reasonably expected to take the very wide view, that is: to provide the greatest good to the greatest number of citizens, at the best possible price. Unlike the private sector, however, no great accolades or honors are given to officials and governments who do the best; no financial or public honors are forthcoming. In the main, sadly, most elected officials serve well and with honor and distinction, and deserve accolades for achieving the results required by the citizens, honors they rarely publicly receive.

With power, however, comes the ability of corruption; the ability to appear benign and to simultaneously destroy the public trust. Allegations of malfeasance in office are as old as our country, even before our time, and beyond our shores, these charges are not new to public service. As elected officials remain in office, the temptations to accept personal gain for this favor or that contract become more pronounced; even innocent charities can be caught up in scandals. Old and recent reports of elected officials receiving favors to push legislation that favors one business or another, or allow a developer to build a subdivision without proper safety review, fall upon elected officials without regard to party affiliation.

Is the acceptance of bribes, gifts, and contributions a just reward for “bringing home the bacon?” Is it our Pollyanna belief that “good people will not do this or that evil thing?” Or is it a symptom of the changed personality of public service? If we set term limits, if we do not allow seniority or longevity in office to become a trading post for bribes and corruption, will we be able to reduce the amount of malfeasance in office? For example, should a person running for office know in advance this was not a career assignment, but only a temporary duty post, would they be more willing to look after the common good rather than their own? It seems to be a discussion worth having, on local, state, and national levels. I for one believe term limits should be set, on and across all levels of government, Perhaps in doing so, we can rebuild the public trust, restore confidence that those we elect are actually performing public service, and are not turning responsibility and honorable discharge of their duties into personal gain and fortune. If a person is elevated to public office by their peers, with the knowledge that they shall soon return to civilian life, would they be more able to look past the possibility of large donations for the next election, for the next bill passed? Would it be possible then for our elected officials to work for the common good of the population, to have a greater understanding and compassion of the laws they pass, knowing full well that in a set time they also would be subject to those same laws and regulations?

I postulate that it would, that the knowledge of their equal footing after this term was completed, might be a stepping-stone to dismantling the continued corruption and holier-than-thou attitude currently so vividly displayed in our elected officials. Should or could we dismantle the “immunity from prosecution” that now surrounds our public officials, so they could understand that civil penalties can be annexed to crimes of malfeasance committed in office; that prosecution for acts of unfair bias will be forthcoming? I again postulate this would a major step forward in removing the temptation to self-gain from public office.

With the knowledge that this is not a new position, I would urge all citizens to seriously consider the effect this type of legislation would have; the positive effect it could produce in restoring our faith in our governments, and the larger effect it may have on our standing worldwide.