Sent: Friday, September 21, 2018 2:22 PM

Subject: Turning California around can turnaround our nation

My Comments:  I wrote the article below, CALIFORNIA IS NO LONGER A REPUBLIC, and instead is effectively an oligarchy.  I have submitted this to my local newspaper as a letter to the editor and hopefully it will get printed.

I believe, that if we can turn California around, we can turn the nation around. 

Many of us have become sickened by what has and is transpiring in our State.  However, I see the State of Jefferson and New California movements as futile and counterproductive.  Also, I see the recent attempt to get a proposition on the ballot to split California into 3 states as a Leftist move to split California in such a way as to maintain large metropolitan centers in each of the three states such that the Leftists would control each State, and thus create further Leftist domination over our nation.

As a consequence of the above, I see the need to motivate action towards a movement to turn California around to support our founding values. To succeed this endeavor, it would have to focus on convincing populations in the cities and universities as to the efficacy.  As a student at Berkeley during the 60’s, I saw first hand so much of the movements that eventually took this nation on a wrong path.  I also saw that much of what motivated young people was the momentum and effects of peer pressure combined with the natural tendency of youth to rebel against the establishment.

As such, it is surprising that our youth in the cities and universities are so willing to submit to the Leftist propaganda and support the existing establishment—such current establishment being a combination of the Left and the swamp. 

The Leftist vision of Socialism/Communism is one that has been proven time and again to be an utter failure, lead to deprivation, tyranny, untold deaths of citizens—for which the Leftists sell this vision based on the premise that past (as well as existing attempts) were simply faulty attempts that could, if properly executed, succeed. This is a pretty pathetic argument, except that the gullible buy into it. They look at the quasi Socialist European nations as signs of success, negating the reality that their socialist experiments have been of short duration and are also moving in the direction of non-sustainability.

The Left is running out of steam. Short of projecting their shortcomings on the opposition, name calling and the promotion of various remarks of hatred, they lack coherence. It is time to turn those caught up in the Leftist propaganda around. To win them to a positive, workable agenda for how a nation should operate.

A more positive vision—one which unfortunately the Conservatives/Republicans/Libertarians/Rightests do not articulate—should if properly presented and promoted to sway the majority of those who are currently following the Pied Piper of the Left.

I believe there is a way to reach the youth (as well as adults) in a way that they will cause them to want to change their allegiance and be motivated to rebel against the Leftist/Swamp establishment—in favor of a vision for America that will truly be a path to promote opportunity for all:

• nullify the Supreme Courts decision in Reynolds v. Sims and restore California’s legislature to what it was prior to that judicial overreach, and California should take the lead whenever Congress or the federal courts exceed their authority—since the feds won’t do it, the States need to assure the 9^th and 10^th Amendments are upheld;
• control our borders while compassionately address the root causes why many seek to flee to America from their own countries;
• institute policies that will put a permanent curb on racism and bigotry;
• allow the public the freedom to monitor and control the values they want for their particular communities;
• repair our education system so our youth can get the education they deserve, want, and need to succeed; 
• restore the ability of the poor to acquire and develop private property;
• restore the founders intent of the 1st and 2nd Amendments as well as the rest of the Bill of Rights
• educate the public to the fundamentals of representative government such that suitable amendments (repeal of the 17th and passage of one similar to Article the First as approved by the House and Senate in 1789) can be effected such that we the people can select our representatives rather than the power brokers and special interests;
• eliminate 90% or so of the federal programs and bureaucracy, while restoring social functions to the States, local municipalities, and We the People (including charities);
• curb the political power of mega-corporations (without compromising free enterprise);
• and in general provide the opportunity for the extent of freedom that I believe the average person—youth as well as adult—would want for our nation.

We need to promote the Policy of the U.S.A. – a policy that I believe is articulated in the Preamble to the Constitution:  “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The founders vision for America is a wonderful vision, but also one that has been corrupted from the outset by those who wish to limit the power of We the People to self-govern our nation.  Each of the elements listed in the Preamble has been corrupted.  It is in defining each of those elements, explaining how they were corrupted, and what is needed to repair them that will enlighten the public to how we can bring our nation to conform to the founders vision and compliance with our Constitution—and in that regard, make America great again.

To accomplish this, is going to take convincing and gaining the allegiance of our cities and universities.  If this can be accomplished in California, it will be the impetus to transform our nation to what it should be.

A major obstacle that I see in the large metropolitan areas is getting good information to the public and overcoming the peer pressure that frightens people into towing the line for fear they will be ostracized. This will take a big effort and would best be served if we can get people with talent in film production involved—as video/films will be absolutely essential to penetrating the darkness that currently prevails in our cities and universities. 

What do you think?

See my email below regarding why California is no longer a republic:

CALIFORNIA IS NO LONGER A REPUBLIC

The State of California is no longer a republic, but instead a oligarchy comprised of a small number of politicians. The politicians wield power due to disproportionate representation given to the large metropolitan areas of the state. Under this scenario, the democratic process is a sham that has completely undermined the concept of a functioning representative republic.

Article 4, Section 4 of the Constitution provides: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government…”

In order to rectify a situation where Los Angeles and other large metropolitan areas had acquired exorbitant control over the political process, the electorate changed the dynamics of the State Senate to mirror the U.S. Senate, via a 1926 ballot proposition 28. This limited any county from having more than one Senator (in 1911, Los Angeles County had 8 Senators, and three bay area counties combined had 13 Senators, giving majority control to those 4 heavily populated counties in both house of the legislature).

After proposition 28 passed, those same 4 counties had 4 Senators total instead of the 21, and the balance of power in the state was restored—the Assembly still represented the population, but the Senate represented the diverse interests of the various counties (similar to the U.S. Senate).

Thanks to the Warren Court decision in Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964), the California Senate was required to revert to the pre-Proposition 28 configuration. While I challenge the Warren Court had any jurisdiction to interfere with the internal configuration of a state legislature—an example of judicial overreach—it did usurp authority and the States complied. 

As a result, Los Angeles County now has 14 of the 40 State Senators, and the large metropolitan centers of the bay area and Los Angeles combined control both the Assembly and Senate once again.  With a few politicians from these few counties controlling the show, the rest of the State be damned.

Representative government by We the People only works effectively when the representative district is small enough that the people can select the candidates. Our nation’s founders thought the maximum practical size was in the range of 50 to 60 thousand population. California has 80 Assembly districts and 40 Senate districts. Based on the current population, the average Assembly district encompasses a population close to 500,000 people, and the Senate Districts close to 1,000,000 people. Under such a scenario, the public cannot select candidates known to them, but are dependent upon what big money and special interests offer as their choices come election time.  Candidates who represent the people—and not special interests—become the exception rather than the rule.

The primary election process (which I believe is counterproductive to the process of a representative government) has been further skewed by two factors:

1) The California State primary is open, such that regardless of a person’s political party registration, one can vote for any candidate, regardless of political party.

2) The passage 2010 of a top two ballot initiative, the top two vote getters are the ones selected to compete in the election. Both of these undermine the political party system. In the last election, two Democratic candidates competed for U.S. Senate with no Republican candidate on the ballot.

Under the current scenario in California, the heavily populated metropolitan areas control both houses of the state legislature. The dynamics of urban areas favors the dominance of a single political ideology, and the extreme size of the legislative districts (500,000 and 1,000,000) favor dominance by big money/special interests.

By in large, majority controlling state legislators act independent of the best interests of the public, creating law to suit their ideologies or whims.

California is no longer a republic. It is a one party state, controlled by a political oligarchy of 121 (40 plus to control the Assembly, 20 plus to control the Senate, and a governor) so-called representatives.

Dumbed down and naïve people may think they have a choice in California, but they don’t.