My views

As we go through the coming days we all will be seeing advertisements, hearing radio ads, getting Robo calls and seeing yard signs pop up. All this for the election for President of the United States. There will be arguments, people will stop talking to each other for awhile, families will be divided.

I have been interested in elections and politics since I was in the 6th grade when Kennedy and Nixon ran against each other. For you younger people, that was John F. Kennedy a Democrat who was assassinated while in office and Richard M. Nixon, a Republican, who resigned office in disgrace after an incident called Watergate. Go to Google and look them up. I doubt much has been said in your history classes about these two. But! I digress a bit. I had a wonderful teacher in 6th grade. Mr. Waligurski made us read the Wall Street Journal every Friday. He made us aware of the stock market showing us the stock reports in those Friday issues. He made us aware of the Presidential elections. There was another 6th grade class in the room next to us. Mr. Waligurski and the other teacher (her name fails me) chose which candidate each class would be for. We learned to read and study up on our chosen candidate and then we had to debate each other’s class. It was exciting. I was for Kennedy, but my class was for Nixon. It was really hard to debate for a candidate I didn’t want, but I did it. We learned to listen to both sides. We learned to share our thoughts and ideas without anger or name-calling or meanness. It was very exciting.

I remember over the years my parents talking about Adlai Stevenson who ran for President against General Dwight D. Eisenhower. For you young ones who haven’t been told, Dwight D. Eisenhower was an admired General in the WWII European Theater of Operation. General Eisenhower won the election. Again, I suggest you Google him. You will learn much.

I lived in a small community for 13 years. During those years I became involved through some community organizations and eventually ended up running for position on the local Town Board. I lost the first time I ran, but I won the second time. What an exciting time that was. I wanted to be sure the people who lived in my town knew I was there for them. I didn’t care if they voted for me or not. It certainly was not going to be a lifetime commitment for me. I set a couple goals and planned to only serve a couple terms and hopefully reach the goals before leaving. Life took a terrible turn and I was not able to stay as long as I hoped. Moving to a new area became the thing we had to do after a series of events in our lives.

Now it is 3 years later. We are back to another election season. We have two men running for President who have their own hopes, dreams and goals. Do we honor either of them? Not really. We fight and argue about them with neither side wanting to consider the other at all. I am just as guilty. I really prefer the one, over the other and stand on why I feel that way. Should it divide friendships and families?? Absolutely not. But, we all have one failing. We are human beings and self- preservation stands above everything else.

In the last two weeks we have seen both parties hold their conventions. We heard and saw speeches given. We listened to defenses and offenses. We watched with some humor, some jaw dropping WTF moments, saw moments that brought tears to ones eyes and we saw two parties so totally different in beliefs try to imitate each other. The only thing missing was the empty chair routine in the DNC.

In the last two weeks I learned that I don’t want more of the same. I have a small investment I don’t want to lose. It is there to help me in my so-called golden years and hopefully there will be a bit to leave to my children.

I learned no one can say anything about anything without being accused of being racist. I learned that there are people who want everything handed to them without them putting out any effort to obtain it on their own. I have learned there are people who believe that the people that did work hard and make it on their own are selfish and need to give what they accomplished to the people who wont do it on their own. I listened to people being interviewed who feel that a way of life where they don’t have to be at all responsible for themselves is the way of life they want. I have learned if one commits a crime and has money they will pay little or no price for that crime, but someone without money committing the same crime will get many years in jail. I learned if you enter this country illegally it is ok. Because you live and work here you have the right to everything that those who took years, hard work and a lot of money to do it the legal way have. We are becoming a lawless country. Laws don’t count unless you are middle class or poor. Oh wait! I can’t say middle class. We really don’t have one anymore. I learned that children in school are not taught the history that made this country great. I learned that spanking a child (not beating) is a crime. I have learned that children can do whatever they want with no regard to consequences. This worries me because they are going to grow up only half educated and totally unruly. Doesn’t say much for the future of this world does it?

What I have learned of late makes me glad I am in my 60s and not in my 20s or 30s facing what may lie ahead for this country. I fear for my children and grandchildren. There was a time when I was growing up that there was hope, the ability to make dreams come true, a chance to own a home, go to college and do wonderful things. Sure, there were bumps in the road, but not the mountains we have to climb now. We weren’t going to be saddled with college bills so high we would have to decide between them and having a home because we couldn’t afford both. We weren’t faced with years of college to get a degree and then earn less in that occupation than someone earned even 5 years ago. We weren’t faced with rising medical costs so extreme that we have to choose between having health insurance and a place to live. The lowest priced policy I can obtain for myself is so high it would eat up over ½ the small amount of money I earn a month. I would have to work 24 hours a day to make enough money to have health care insurance. And it will only get worse. The cost of healthcare is rising daily. I have friends who are trying to decide if they can keep theirs or not. They might have to give up their home to keep healthcare. It is exactly as was predicted.

We live in a country that saw people leave their homes and families in Europe to come here to escape religious persecution, high taxation, poverty with no hope and many other reasons. They came here with a dream. A dream to be free, able to make their own choices, get educated, make something of themselves. Owning land and making that land produce was a dream of theirs. After settling in here and being oppressed by England they fought back. A group of men from a variety of walks of life got together and decided to make this a free Republic. They wrote a Declaration of Independence and a Constitution to live by. They elected our first President. His name was George Washington. This country lived by their words, prayed with the freedom to pray that we were guaranteed. No specific religion was ever mentioned. Just if you believe and wish to pray go for it. They guaranteed us certain inalienable rights to education, attend church without persecution, to live in our homes raising families and able to start businesses or work for companies, to be able to assemble and share ideas and hopes, to a speedy justice and so much more. FREEDOM people!! FREEDOM! We need to rid our government of those who wish to take that away from us. The statement was made yesterday that we have lost our freedoms with the past administration. I challenge the reader to tell me exactly what freedoms were lost. Did you lose the right to move about freely anywhere you wish to go without needing to carry ID and prove who you are everywhere you go? Have you lost your freedom to get an education? Have you lost your freedom to worship as you choose? Have you lost your freedom to do anything in this country? Tell me what freedoms you have lost.

The are those saying us women don’t have rights. That we women don’t get paid the same as a man. Well, I challenge that. In a factory all employees are paid the same for each job no matter whether they are male or female because a union sets the rates and there is nothing in union rules that says there are separate pay levels based on sex. In corporate America if a woman is not being paid the same as a man for the same job then shame on her. Jobs obtained in corporate America often come with contracts. If a woman signs a contract and is making less than a man for the same job then it is her own fault for allowing herself to sign that contract. In the course of the interviews pay is discussed. If a woman accepts an offer and didn’t check to see if it is on an equal with a man doing the same job then shame on her for agreeing to it. We are responsible to ourselves for what we get or don’t get. No, a secretary should not make the same amount as an executive and if she expects to she is dreaming. I am a woman. Each job I have had the salary was discussed and I was given the opportunity to counter the offer. If I felt it was to low and they wouldn’t come to an agreement that was equitable with me I wouldn’t take the job. We control our own destinies. When are people going to stop blaming others for their own short comings in taking charge of their own destinies. Grow a backbone and do it yourself. This is what people have done for the last 200 years. Grown a backbone and stood up for themselves. Suffragettes stood up for themselves and fought for the right to vote. In the 80s women stood up for themselves and got women even more rights and took control of their own lives. For you younger people this was your mothers and grandmothers who did this. Are you going to try to convince this writer that you don’t believe in what your mothers/grandmothers accomplished??

Women got the right to have an abortion. I think it has gotten out of control though. I go to the websites for abortion proponents and agencies. What makes me terribly sad is there is absolutely no mention of adoption!! What isn’t that choice given? I am seriously disturbed because couples have developed the habit of having sonograms to see what sex the child is and if it isn’t what they wanted they abort it. How horrible is that? They also abort if the there is a possibility the child wont be perfect. What if the tests were wrong?? This so reminds me of Hitler and his desire for the perfect race. Sometimes these “less than perfect” babies turn out to be some of the world’s geniuses. It isn’t just the body. It is the mind too. I have a funny shaped nose, small chin, skinny legs. I am less than perfect. Should I have been aborted?? The lack of respect for a human being in this country and world deserves the wrath of God. We need to regain the respect for the human being for this world to survive.

People strive to have that “perfect” child and then send them to schools that dumb them down. Teach to the test. No real education. Well, what did we just do to that “perfect” child?? The next generation that is going to run this country will have absolutely no clue what to do and how to do it. Without a proper education in American history, English, Math and Science there will be no innovation, no dreamers, no brains to keep things going. Within the next couple generations the majority of humans will not be able to survive. They wont know how to grow crops to eat, how to communicate well, how to run a business, how to teach because they wont know what to teach, how to build a house, how to do many of the things central to survival. Thousands of years of human beings growing and developing will all be for naught. It makes people like me so sad to think all we tried to accomplish and leave for our children and grandchildren will go away. No need to worry about someone pushing the big red button. No one will know how. I am sorry if I sound overly dramatic, but if you take a long serious look at what is happening in our schools today and talk to some of the kids coming from the schools listening to their answers you will see exactly what I am saying. Heck, when the movie Titanic came out two high school seniors were talking about the movie. Both said they loved the movie, but really wished they hadn’t sunk the ship. Hello??? Obviously there wasn’t much knowledge there about that one was there?? Watch Jay Leno talking to the people on the corners and see how many questions they don’t know the answer to. It is disgraceful. I don’t know the answers to all questions myself, but I sure know more than the people I see being interviewed on the street corners.

Ok. Enough for now. I hope someone reads this and feels the fear I fear for this country and for the human race. Maybe enough people will read this and decide to do something about it to help right things again.

Manufacturing is not dead in the US

Manufacturing not dead in US:

I am working a temporary job for a manufacturing company in the US. We make machinery used by other manufacturers all over the world. In the time I have been here I have come to realize that manufacturing is not dead in the US. There is a lot of it still happening all over the US.

Manufacturers in the US are building/manufacturing machinery, equipment for the construction trades, automobiles and many other products. I am beginning to wonder if the appearance of a lack of manufacturing is being contrived by the government and media. I go through the list of customers this company has. The list amounts to thousands, not hundreds, of manufacturers that we work with just here in the US. They may not be huge manufactures like a G-M plant of the 70s and 80s. They may be small local mom and pop operations. But the point here is that they are here and they have people working for them in many capacities. Manufacturing in the US is not dead. Again, I have to ask, is the appearance of a lack of them hidden by our government and the media? I haven’t gotten past the letter “A” in our list of customers and I find customers in 34 of our 50 states plus Puerto Rico.

I am the backup to the main person answering phones here. I must take 50 calls a day at least. That is over and above the 100 or more she takes. Each one is usually from a different company. This is happening five days a week, 40 hours a week. Manufacturing is not dead in the US. This doesn’t include the calls that go directly to the Tech Support group here either.

We do not import everything we use in this country. We still manufacture here in the US. Someone has to make the parts that go in our machines that are parts we don’t make. Then someone is purchasing the machines we make to make parts that they sell to other manufacturers, suppliers, builders, and so on. All of these items do not get shipped overseas. They stay here being bought and sold by other manufacturers and vendors of parts.

Have we become so blind to what goes on in our country that we don’t notice these things? Have we let our government and media do so much of our thinking for us that we don’t put two and two together anymore on our own??

Look around you. Every steel door you open, your windows, your siding are all made using machinery most likely built in the US. In fact, most likely built by the company I am working for or built using a machine purchased from this company. The doors on your car, the side walls on your van are made here in the US on machines created by the company I am working for. Manufacturing is not dead in the US.

Not everything built in the US is so expensive people can’t afford it either. In a community near where I live there is a store where absolutely everything in the store is completely made in the US. If it even has parts made elsewhere the store does not purchase the item to sell. I bought a T-shirt there. It was $11.00, but it didn’t shrink when I washed and dried it, it has held the lettering on it in perfect condition and it hangs just as nicely as the day I bought it two years ago. The point here is the quality is excellent. I buy a T-shirt from Walmart, wear it a couple times, wash it, dry it and it hangs limp, out of shape and it shrunk. Was it made in the US? No it wasn’t. Do I now have to replace it? Yes, I do. In a two year time I have to replace nearly all my wardrobe when it is purchased from Walmart. I prefer purchasing something that I may spend a dollar or two more for, but two years later I still have it, it still fits right, it still looks great and it is because it was made here in the US. Are you getting my point here? Manufacturing isn’t dead in the US.

Do I think a person needs to be a college major or hold a degree or two to work in manufacturing? No. Should people who work in manufacturing be paid a decent living wage? Yes, I do. Do they need to be paid $42 an hour? No. Do we need to continue manufacturing in the US? Yes. It is well known that the quality in the US is superior. My son works for a US manufacturer who imports parts from Mexico. He tells me that 85% of the product sent to them from Mexico has to go back because it is defective. That means additional expenses that will be added onto the cost of the product my son’s company is building because they now have to pay to ship 85% of the parts back to Mexico to be remade correctly. That cost gets passed on to the American consumer. Was it the American worker who drove the price up? No, it was the cheap Mexican laborers who didn’t make the part right that did. Some could say yes, it is the American worker’s fault because they didn’t use that defective product. Ok, the next time your car is in an accident because the brakes failed think about it. You wanted that defective part so you could save money. Now you have to pay a deductible for the accident, an increase in your insurance premiums because you had an accident and your nice vehicle is now a repaired vehicle. All because you wanted to save money and not pay for a better built part that would have prevented that accident.

Did you know your local fire company purchases its fire trucks from US companies? Did you know the machinery to build that truck was probably made in the US? Would you want a cheap defective piece of junk used to put out your house fire or a quality made vehicle that will work properly and very possibly save your home?? How about the ambulance that picks up you or your loved ones from an accident or transports you to the hospital because you are too ill to drive yourself?? The parts for those vehicles were most likely built here in the US on machinery built by the company I am working for.

Are you getting the picture? It isn’t all about how much the item costs. It is also about the quality of that item, how long it will last and it was made by your own friends and neighbors here in the US. We used to be proud of who and what we are and proud of how outstanding the quality of what we made was. We surpassed the rest of the world and yet we allowed someone somewhere to convince us we couldn’t survive doing it that way and needed to do it elsewhere. Someone somewhere said we needed to support a global economy and that included stepping down the quality of what we enjoyed using and owning. Is that how we want it to be? Do we want to reduce the quality of our lives because someone somewhere says it is better for the rest of the world if we do??

All around the world people are taking back their lives, trying to bring their countries back to what once made those countries great. We shouldn’t be any different. We need to take control of our lives and country once again. It isn’t about the rest of the world. It is about us and the quality we choose for our lives. Do you really and truly need to have someone sitting in your local, state and federal government telling you how you want to live, where you want to live, how and where you want to work or have your children educated or what doctor you should see? Do you REALLY and TRULY want this?? Is life so much easier for you sitting back and letting all your life decisions being made for you? I prefer to decide for myself. I prefer to move forward in my life making my own decisions right and wrong. We learn from our mistakes. That is why we make mistakes. Do we continue to learn and grow as a person when someone else is doing it for us? If we continue letting others decide what happens when they get old and die? Who will be left to do the decision making that people no longer know how to do? It will leave a world society of zombies totally lost and confused. The human race will die off of starvation and illness because they don’t know how to use their brains anymore. I know that this sounds drastic but think about it. Ask your children about current events. Do they have a clue what is happening in the news and in the community around them? Ask them what they know about the Revolutionary War that shaped this country. I wager that they don’t have a clue.

We need to get our children educated properly, get off foreign fuel, bring down the cost of healthcare and bring America back to its greatness. The solution is not what we have now. It has to change. Lets get the right things happening. Lets bring back people to run this country who understand and cherish our Constitution.

Bill of Rights

Today is the Bill of Rights. These should be read in total before anyone goes into a booth to vote again.

Original Ten Amendments: The Bill of Rights

Passed by Congress September 25, 1789.
Ratified December 15, 1791.
Amendment I

Freedoms, Petitions, Assembly

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II

Right to bear arms

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III

Quartering of soldiers

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV

Search and arrest

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V

Rights in criminal cases

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI

Right to a fair trial

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed; which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.
Amendment VII

Rights in civil cases

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII

Bail, fines, punishment

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX

Rights retained by the People

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X

States' rights

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Later Amendments
Amendment 11

Lawsuits against states

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

February 7, 1795.
Amendment 12

Presidential elections

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;--The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;--The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. [And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.]* The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

June 15, 1804.
Superseded by Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment.
Amendment 13

Abolition of slavery

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce these article by appropriate legislation.

December 6, 1865.
Amendment 14

Civil rights

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

July 9, 1868.
Amendment 15

Black suffrage

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

February 3, 1870.
Amendment 16

Income taxes

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

February 3, 1913.
Amendment 17

Senatorial elections

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

April 8, 1913.
Amendment 18

Prohibition of liquor

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article, the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

January 16, 1919. Repealed by the Twenty-First, December 5, 1933.
Amendment 19

Women's suffrage

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any States on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

August 18, 1920.
Amendment 20

Terms of office

Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

January 23, 1933.
Amendment 21

Repeal of Prohibition

Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

December 5, 1933.
Amendment 22

Term Limits for the Presidency

Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.

February 27, 1951.
Amendment 23

Washington, D.C., suffrage

Section 1. The District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a state, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

March 29, 1961.
Amendment 24

Abolition of poll taxes

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

January 23, 1964.
Amendment 25

Presidential succession

Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

February 10, 1967.
Amendment 26

18-year-old suffrage

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

June 30, 1971.
Amendment 27

Congressional pay raises

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

May 7, 1992. (Note: Congress submitted the text of this amendment as part of the proposed Bill of Rights on September 27, 1789. The Amendment was not ratified together with the first ten Amendments.)

How many People know the Constitution

I am going to paste into here the original Constitution of these United States. Who will care to read it? I think every American should read it before they vote in 2012. The worst voter is the uninformed voter. We deserve better than that. So lets have a go at it and do some history reading. After the Constitution we will work on the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. I do not care what your party affiliation is. That is nto what this is about. It is about the birth of our country and what made it so great for 200 years. Then it is about how to get back to that greatness.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.

Article. I.

Section. 1.

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section. 2.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section. 3.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Section. 4.

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section. 5.

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section. 6.

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Section. 7.

All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Section. 8.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Section. 9.

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Section. 10.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

Article. II.

Section. 1.

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section. 2.

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Section. 3.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section. 4.

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Article III.

Section. 1.

The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section. 2.

The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;-- between a State and Citizens of another State,--between Citizens of different States,--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section. 3.

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

Article. IV.

Section. 1.

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section. 2.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

Section. 3.

New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Section. 4.

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.

Article. V.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Article. VI.

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Article. VII.

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, the Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page.

Attest William Jackson Secretary

done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,

G°. Washington
Presidt and deputy from Virginia

Delaware
Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: Broom

Maryland
James McHenry
Dan of St Thos. Jenifer
Danl. Carroll

Virginia
John Blair
James Madison Jr.

North Carolina
Wm. Blount
Richd. Dobbs Spaight
Hu Williamson

South Carolina
J. Rutledge
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler

Georgia
William Few
Abr Baldwin

New Hampshire
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman

Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King

Connecticut
Wm. Saml. Johnson
Roger Sherman

New York
Alexander Hamilton

New Jersey
Wil: Livingston
David Brearley
Wm. Paterson
Jona: Dayton

Pennsylvania
B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robt. Morris
Geo. Clymer
Thos. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouv Morris

Next the Bills of Rights.

Hello again from Happy Smile

It has been awhile since I have posted to my blog. It has now been several weeks with my new teeth and pretty smile. I am now able to eat most things. Having a little issue with things like lettuce. Have to learn to make my teeth tear it into small bits. Amazing what we took for granted before. My lips still haven't come back. I asked the dentist where she hid them. She wouldn't tell me. She relined the plates for snugger fit. They are loose again. My swelling has really gone down and my gums are changing. I probably should go back for another lining, but I will wait until January and continue to nail them down with Polident and Fixodent. They hold well and make the plates feel comfy.
It is never the same trying to eat with false teeth and I do find I eat less breads and things that are not as good for me and lots more veggies-well cooked. Probably better for me in the long run. :) I am really enjoying my new smile and talking is getting much better. I am not whistling with my "S" like I was. Good thing. Was getting nuts having people turn around thinking I was whistling at them!!
I am off now for a bit. Will be back soon. Enjoy what is left of your summer and have a fabulous and safe Labor Day Weekend. Remember that weekend is to celebrate those who still have jobs and how hard they work at their jobs. It isn't easy these days for sure.

Week 4 with new smile

Well, it is now four weeks since I got my new smile. The teeth are feeling more and more natural. Today the dentist did a soft reline. That is where she puts this goop that tastes terrible on the dentures and shoves them back in my mouth telling me to bite down and hold for seven minutes. It might make a person gaggy but just holding the head upright helps.

After she took them out she trimmed off the excess and put them back in. WOW! They feel so much more comfy. The bottom plate is still bouncing around on me though. She said that has a lot to do with what my tongue is doing. I have to train my tongue to stay up nearer the teeth and not brush along the bottom of the plate. Doing that will keep the sides of the plate from bouncing upward on me. She said I don't need to use the Fixadent any more, but if I feel the need for it only use a little bit. In January I will go back and she will do the permanent final lining. I am still thinking the bottom will be loose and have to have something done to it. Maybe add the pegs that will hold it down. I know someone who did that and it worked very well. I prefer not to have to do that. I still don't like the idea of anyone putting their hands in my mouth.

I am eating better. Over the weekend I ate some pizza (cut up) and today I had Chinese. I don't want to start eating the stuff I used to before though. I have lost 10 pounds and want to keep losing. I am really laying low on the carbs.

That is my update on my smile. If anyone has anything they want to add, please add what you want. Remember to take care of your teeth. Nothing ever really replaces what you were born with.

New Smile Is Here

On Tuesday afternoon I got my new dentures. I haven't had a smile this nice in years. I haven't had this many teeth intact in many years. I also haven't had this many changes ever!
When a person gets dentures a lot of things happen. How about eating ice cream and never having brain freeze again? But how about you don't taste the ice cream until it gets to the back of your throat? Suddenly there is all this material covering what you were born with. These dentures cover the roof of your mouth meaning you no longer have sensation there. Your gums are a hard material. The teeth have no feeling. Imagine putting a fork or spoon in your mouth and not 100% certain you hit where you are supposed to go with that utensil because there is no feeling past your lips. The reality in this adventure is that you can't duplicate what you originally had. I am not complaining mind you. I am observing. For a few days to a few weeks there is a new kind of pain when eating. No longer do the teeth hurt when you chew. Now the inside of the cheeks and the edges of the tongue hurt from rubbing against all this material. There are sore spots that move around. Once it leaves one spot it shows up in another. The roof of your mouth is covered as I said and perilously close to your gag reflex.
It has only been 55 hours since these foreign objects were inserted into my mouth. I have eaten ice cream, puddings and this evening I ate some scrambled eggs. I still have not asked them to actually chew anything yet. I am taking a lot of motrin to keep things at bay on the discomfort level. I leave them in at night and that has been uncomfortable for sleeping. The dentist said it will take about two weeks to get used to them. I am excited that the ability to talk has only slightly been affected. Doc said to read out loud, talk, sing in the shower (I think not!! It is a bit scary when I sing) and keep them in. She said to many take them out because they got uncomfortable and eventually don't put them back in at all because they never get past the point where I am now. It is hard not to take them out just for a little rest time. I can see where people would stop wearing them at all doing that. I wont. I will stick it out. I cannot stand how I look without them. I think by next week there may be a couple spots that will need to be adjusted, but it is more me needing to do the adjusting.
I have enjoyed being in public much more. I no longer feel like I look like a freak. As the discomfort subsides my confidence level will rise. I am so looking forward to that. I know that how I feel after only 55 hours will not be the way I feel in 55 days. I will get used to that feeling I have a speculum shoved in my mouth. I will enjoy smiling and laughing again. It was a good thing I did. It does have a price, but a price that I will adjust to.
I will finish the way I have been through this escapade. Take care of your teeth. If you are frightened by your dentist then find a new one. Keep looking, ask people and find one that you are confident with who will help you keep the pretty smile you were born with. It truly will be worth it.