My commentary on a variety of issues that interest me including gun rights, individual liberty, illegal immigration, politics, religion, taxes, aviation, judicial activism, journalistic bias and laziness, environmental activism, education, family, health, gardening, history, Scouting, genealogy, etc.
I am a retired international airline captain. In real life, I strike fear into the US Department of Homeland Security as a right-wing extremist (in other words, I believe in God, go to church regularly, own a gun or two, oppose Al Gore and the environmentalist fraud, expect the government to aggressively enforce immigration laws, believe English should be established as the nation's official language, believe the US Constitution says what it says, seek a return to the limited federal government described in the US Constitution, and as a military veteran have sworn to support and defend the Constitution). To quote one of my heroes, Captain Moroni: "I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country." (Book of Mormon, Alma 60:36) In my spare time, I serve on the local Boy Scout District Training Committee. I coach a 4-H Shooting Sports club (see 4-H link below). I also teach the Utah Hunter Education Course, the Utah Concealed Firearm Course, and various other gun safety classes including most NRA courses (see Firearm Training link below).
However, the RNC doesn't seem to be concerned about its abandoning of the People and of the principles found in the US Constitution and even in the Republican Party Platform! Those principles include:
◦ Limited government scope and power,
◦ Decentralized government power as required by the Tenth Amendment,
◦ Limited federal police powers,
◦ Legislative power vested solely in Congress -- not executive-branch bureaucrats,
◦ Promotion of "the general welfare" -- not welfare checks for all, regulation of interstate and international commerce -- not central planning of commerce,
◦ Etc.
The GOP establishment (party leadership and the vast majority of career GOP politicians including my own senior senator, Orrin Hatch) is to the left of FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ, and even Bill Clinton. I cannot support such a political party.
The GOP establishment (including my own senior senator, Orrin Hatch) sabotages Republican politicians who do not toe the establishment line (Chris McDaniel of Mississippi is a recent example of GOP establishment tyranny). Orrin Hatch has even condemned support for "constitutionalists" (his term for non-GOP-establishment candidates). I cannot support such a political party.
The GOP establishment (including my own senior senator, Orrin Hatch) refuses to do anything to stop the invasion which has been coming across our southern border for decades. I cannot support such a political party.
The GOP establishment (including my own senior senator, Orrin Hatch) persists in confirming (even recommending) enemies of the US Constitution to the federal courts and to key positions in the Administration. I cannot support such a political party.
I will resume support for the GOP (and subsets thereof) with my votes and my donations when the GOP leadership (including incumbent politicians) when they begin to adhere to the US Constitution and the Republican Party Platform. I have no loyalty to any political party, politician or political candidate. My sworn loyalty is to the US Constitution.
The Highway Trust Fund in a nutshell: states send money to Washington DC, Washington takes its share (see graph which shows how much states get back from the Highway Trust Fund), then Washington sends money back to states with strings attached.
The Senate will vote on my Transportation Empowerment Act as an amendment to the bill to reauthorize the Highway Trust Fund. My proposal will reduce the federal gas tax and give the states more power to fund, build and maintain roads.
The goal of this legislation is to increase America’s investment in infrastructure, by putting decisions in the hands of communities with the most to gain from better roads, highways, and transit, and by cutting out Washington’s middlemen. Under the current system, the federal Davis-Bacon Act adds an estimated 10% to the costs of federal construction projects, at a price of more than $10 billion per year. Federal environmental reviews are estimated to add an additional 8-10% to the cost and up to 8 years to the approval time for projects. My amendment will allow transportation dollars to be spent on steel and concrete, not bureaucrats and special interests, so Americans can get more roads and bridges for their buck.
My opinion on highway funding extends to funding the entire central government:
2 - Repeal the 17th Amendment (direct election of US senators).
3 - Any and all corporate and individual taxation on income or consumption must be imposed only at the state and/or local level.
4 - Instead of federal taxes on businesses and on the People themselves, funding for the central government would be through an assessment on the individual States based on state population.
5 - Since, with the repeal of the 17th Amendment, US senators would serve at the pleasure of the respective state legislatures, they will be more sensitive to federal assessment demands on the States. A more frugal central government will be the natural result.
6 - As for funding highways, there would be a small federal tax on highway fuels, as there is now. 100% of those funds would go to the States to pay a significant portion of the cost of "post roads" (Interstate and US Highways) based on the number of miles of such roads in the respective states. The only "strings attached" would be standards for the construction and maintenance of "post roads". Funding for all other roads and highways would be strictly a State or local responsibility.
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