To every citizen of the United States of America, ignore this warning at your own peril and ensure the life, liberty, and happiness you have treasured for nearly eleven score and eleven years, will cease to exist before the end of our Republic’s second century of life.

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Our Republic is at a precipice, ready to fall with the slightest nudge, for the same reasons the Roman Republic fell so many thousands of years ago.    As the philosopher George Santayana opined, “those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

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Like the ancient Roman Republic, some, if not most of our politicians are dishonest too.  They pine for power that will bring them riches and more power.  The cycle is repetitive and the results cumulative.  The longer they maintain the office, the more their power and riches grow – as does the power and riches of their billionaire benefactors.  If unchecked, the only logical consequence of this action will be a financial divide amongst the wealthy (Patricians) and the lower-middle class (Plebeians); a financial divide that will eventually become unbearable.  Like the ancient Roman Republic, a moderate revolution followed by a violent civil war will ensue.

However, the politicians do not bear all the blame.  Equal blame must be attributed to the courts; judges acting pursuant to political considerations or acting to bestow greater authority to themselves and the judicial branch of the governments.  In 1803, Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court decided to create new law.  The Court gave itself the authority to make new law – an authority not authorized by the Constitution, Statutory Law, and conflicts with the founding father’s principle for the foundation of our government – the separation of powers.  Judges making law is known as judicial activism and must too be stopped.  Judges have given themselves absolute immunity from civil suits for their intentional, corrupt and malicious “official” acts, which is arrogant and reeks of royal authority, the likes of which we declared our independence from in 1776.  Furthermore, this court-made law violates the plain language of the 7th amendment of the United States Constitution, carving out a special exemption for judges, and the 14th amendment, “equal protection of the laws.” Judges have conspired to place minor children in juvenile detention jail, have conspired to have individuals illegally arrested and incarcerated, and have, in open court, stepped down from the bench and bit the nose off the face of a defense attorney.  These malicious acts are all criminal and civil violations of the law; however, the courts ruled a judge cannot be sued civilly for financial redress.  Judges protecting Judges.  These are just a few examples of their complicity in destroying the foundation of our government and bestowing upon themselves king-like powers where the King can do no wrong.  The foundation of our Republic is in part, all men are created equal, and equal justice under the law. 

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So, what are our options?  Although the problem is mostly the politicians and judges, the bigger problem is the system itself.  In today’s Federal Government, all three branches are fraught with corruption.  Our Legislative Branch, like the ancient Roman Senate, is divided, each side pining for absolute controlling power.  They have failed to keep the Judicial Branch in check.  Our Judicial Branch is divided, judges making new laws rather than enforcing existing laws as written.  They are issuing rulings pursuant to a political agenda, and like kings, rulings that only they themselves can change.  Members of the Executive Branch may have conspired to remove a duly elected President from office.  They are lying to the Legislative and Judicial Branches of the government and ignoring lawfully issued orders, yet have suffered no legal consequences.  Changing personnel is not the solution as the system itself, the foundation of our government remains.  A foundation that has been diluted with poorly created laws, politically motivated and self-serving court decisions, and the selective prosecution of laws and individuals.  Our criminal justice system is operated on a for-profit basis with at least two tiers of justice.  Justice for the wealthy (probation or failure to prosecute) and justice for the poor (fines and imprisonment).  The only logical solution is to start new, through an agreed-upon transition, or suffer a modest revolution that morphs into a violent civil war.

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Our Declaration of Independence supports this thinking and declares it a right of the people when our founding fathers wrote, “…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…”

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Although our Constitution is not perfect, when combined with the knowledge obtained from 231 years of litigation, it serves as the best available blueprint we have to start new.  A new Constitution need not be massive in text and pages, but must be clear on its intent, contain a definition section if appropriate, and be unambiguous in all its content.  It shall delineate what each branch of the government can do, their enumerated powers; however, more importantly, it must delineate what each branch of the government cannot do, what is expressly forbidden.  It must delineate all unalienable rights (incapable of being repudiated), and privileges (a right capable of being repudiated) and to whom they apply.  Finally, it must delineate what is applicable to the States.  The time is ripe for a second Constitutional Convention.

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Once a new Constitution is ratified, some existing laws need to be purged.  Existing laws in violation of this new constitution must be abolished.  Furthermore, existing laws must be revamped so they are unambiguous and do not conflict with one another.

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There must be term limits on members of Congress and the Judiciary of no more than eight years to prevent the accumulation of power, influence, and corruption.  There must be prohibitions from using their office for financial gain for themselves, or for any other person or entity on their behalf.  As much as possible, money must be removed from our elections and the political system.  Judges must be prohibited from making “new law,” and mandated to rule in accordance with the written law, word for word, meaning for meaning, free from their personal political beliefs, biases, or prejudices.  They too must be held accountable for their actions, their job performance, their negligence, their corruption, the same as every other individual in the United States.

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Because the President of the United States is elected based upon his declared agenda, Congress should work as one to make laws that allow for that declared agenda to become implemented.  To do otherwise only makes the United States look divided, weak, and vulnerable in the eyes of our adversaries.  The Supreme Court should review those laws to ensure constitutional compliance as well as compliance with existing laws, before the Bill is presented to the President for approval, not after in the course of litigation.  The political parties must stop the divide and begin to work as one for the sake of our Republic.  We must stand as a united nation before all other nations of the world; or suffer the consequences of someday being destroyed.

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The Electoral College needs to be abolished.  One option is the simple majority of the votes, but this slants the election to be determined by the majority of the people in a few relatively small geographic areas, the large cities and ignores all other concerns.  Another option, perhaps more preferable is the States and Territories should determine the election of the President of the United States by the majority of votes within each State or Territory.  The elections may continue as is; however, the candidate who obtains the majority of votes in a particular State or Territory, wins that State or Territory’s singular vote.  This ensures the interest of each State and Territory, but more importantly, the interest of that State or Territory’s population is considered and their vote is equal to all other States or Territories' vote with the simple majority electing the President.

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We need to stop this division here and now.  If you were drowning and a hand reached out to save you, would it matter if that hand were of a different political ideology?  A different race?  A different religion?  A different sexual orientation?  I would venture to say the answer to all is no; however, if you responded in the affirmative, respectfully understand you too are part of the problem.  We need to unite and become one party, the American Party, and place the needs of the masses before the needs of a few; the needs of America before the needs of our foreign brothers and sisters.  We can prosper more through peace and unity than through war and divide.  This will allow us to achieve a full and productive life, free from the fear of governmental or foreign intrusions upon our liberty, and freedom to pursue the happiness our Founding Fathers declared was our inalienable right, endowed by our creator.

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Take it or leave it, the choice is yours.  I’ll be dead before this century is over.  I hope, if nothing else, this op-ed serves to initiate a serious debate as to the fate of our Republic.  Alone I have no right to initiate the required change but united I become part of “the people,” with the right to alter or abolish any form of government that becomes destructive to our chance for equality in life and the liberty to pursue happiness.  To that end, I am willing to pledge my allegiance, my honor, and my life to all with like beliefs.  Allow me the opportunity to lobby my ideas to Congress and the President.  Vote for MSK, Michael S. Knezevich on or before election day.