TRUMP

In 2017 the US SENATE passed new Russian sanctions for interfering with our 2016 election 98-2 (Veto Proof) . President Trump reluctantly signed it Aug 2, 2017 BUT NEVER IMPLEMENTED THEM. THIS is a constitutional violation. 

While diehard, uneducated, close minded Trump supporters feel Trump can't do wrong, nor do they believe he lies (despite fact check.org showing he lies 5.5x a day such as having Mexico pay for a big beautiful wall...) 

I use this constitutional example as solid proof. " The Executive Branch is defying the Constitution. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” This clause, known as the Take Care Clause, requires the President to enforce all constitutionally valid Acts of Congress, regardless of his own Administration’s view of their wisdom or policy. The clause imposes a duty on the President; it does not confer a discretionary power. The Take Care Clause is a limit on the Vesting Clause’s grant to the President of “the executive power.”

The end

Plenty of other constitutional examples such as violations of the emoluments clause

Nuclear option

Why the Senate "Nuclear Option" scheduled by Sen. Mitch McConnell is bad for all parties. 
With members of congress more polarized than ever, those in congress find solace in power and focus on campaigning for their re election , thus are constantly short sighted vs looking at what is best for our nation long term 
When our founding fathers set up our government, they oddly spent time crafting each house and intentionally making the House and Senate different. The House was designed with Representatives to be, "The will of the people". States are allocated a specific number of house seats depending on their population which is frequently updated as is the electoral college based on population.
The Senate was designed differently, more like a big brother to the House, their role was more than just to exercise the will of their constituents and as such have different standards for passing certain laws and or appointments. It is for this reason the Senate only confirms SCOTUS nominees with a 60 vote threshold to push bipartisanship, while in the House a simple majority of the votes can pass a law. (Which then goes to the Senate) 
By invoking the "nuclear option" (which has been done before by both parties) the rules of the Senate change to a simple majority 51 votes. The Senate effectively has just become a mirror of the House, the checks and balance of legislative power has vanished and with it the foundation in which our founding fathers set up the Senate.
In this case, using the "nuclear option" to confirm a SCOTUS nominee will be a first and set a precedence as the Senate has no higher duty than to confirm or reject a SCOTUS nominee. One could argue a Nominee in such a position , knowing what chaos is about to ensue would step aside for the good of the country. The only higher responsibility the Senate has would be to remove a sitting president from office after the House has voted for an impeachment.
The short sightedness of this move by republicans could come back to haunt them in just 18 months when democrats will attempt to retake the Senate. If successful, Democrats with 51 votes could stop EVERY SINGLE BILL from reaching the President making Trump not just a lame duck 2 years into his presidency but an incapacitated duck at that. 
Trump then would only have Executive Order power which as we have seen, judges are more than happy to intervene if Trump goes too far, further every order could be reversed by a new 2020 president .
Let's hope a few republicans in the Senate see the chaos that will occur and vote NO on Thursday in regards to changing the rules of The Senate.

China

I'm writing this piece as it's not gotten the news coverage it needs... It involves China , a Chinese businessman, Donald Trump, and the U.S. Constitution (sounds like intro to a joke I know, but this is real)

For over a decade Trump has been fighting and loosing every time over Trademarking his name "Trump" in China because a Chinese businessman already did.

Just as if someone here in America was smart enough to do so before NIKE or buy NIKE.COM

Trump, rather than buy the name, fought it in court for over 10 years, loosing every time. Then Trump became a candidate for President. PART of his platform was attacking China for currency manipulation. The SAME country that has denied his trademark appeal for a decade... 

Trump also stated as a candidate he wasn't sold on the "One China policy" which does not view Taiwan as independent... 

Magically just as Trump was to become president Trump supported the "One China Policy" (a reversal from his campaign)... then China with no explanation changed its constant, decade long year after year decisions, and awarded Trump a trademark to his name for buildings opening the door for Trump to use his name such as selling the rights to put his name on buildings ... a change worth over $100 MILLION in potential revenue easily.

But now this has Trump receiving compensation from a foreign country which is a violation of The Emoluments Clause of the constitution. Apparently Trump gets his own set of rules to play by... China knows this and no more tough talk regarding tariffs or currency manipulation has been spoken by Trump.

Many legal experts state not only is this a clear and direct violation of the Emoluments Clause, but a PAY FOR PLAY by China as they will clearly be expecting something in return from Trump... That is, unless you think China randomly did this...

Trump

Some food for thought take it or leave it your call... when you review anything you must put yourself in the situation itself ... example
a police shooting you must put yourself in the position of the officer when he decided to shoot and if it was reasonable (this is the legal standard) you CAN NOT Monday morning quarterback it and critique it w the ability to hit pause, rewind and take an hour to review what's really 8 seconds.. you must put yourself in those 8 seconds

with that as a background I bring you back to a discussion from Nov. the ELECTORAL COLLEGE.my points as to why it's not relative in 2017

1. Put yourself (as in police shooting example as to when it was implemented). So let's journey back to 1787... a system a brilliant system was created to ensure people, no matter where you lived, were courted for their votes... but wait in 1787 Women could not vote and blacks were not "people" thus could not vote... so those rural voters needing to be courted were wealthy land and slave owners and white.. on that alone I would argue it has no place in our society today

2. It CAN be manipulated.. if a hack was to manipulate votes (not saying they did) it's far easier to swing a few votes here and there vs the popular vote... it's said 80,000 votes gave Trump the states he needed despite loosing by 3 million votes (no 3 million illegal votes never were cast)

SO here is how you LEGALLY manipulate the electoral college (in this example for democrats) to win the White House EVERY ELECTION LEGALLY... you take 5 Million democrats from Cali and 5 Million voters from NY (leaving enough for Cali and NY to remain BLUE.. you move these 10 Million democrats to Texas in the time frame to legally register to vote as a Texas resident and Tx becomes a blue state... democrats win the White House each time.. after the election these 10 million ppl move back to the respective states...you now have just legally manipulated the electoral college...

its far harder to manipulate the popular vote ...this would take illegal tampering...

take it for what it's worth .. just a different view from someone bored waiting for "Vikings" to come on ...

point is if you are a woman or black, this system was not made to represent you and circumvents one person one vote, and is able to be manipulated... it worked back in the day for what it was designed for.. but don't be fooled that it serves the same purpose today...

today it underminds the one vote per person, all votes are equal notion... yes it really does not even make candidates campaign all over they merely know the swing states, republicans don't waste time and money in Tx as it's in the bag nor in Cali as it's a loss and the opposite is true for democrats

Additionally it's the only position (president) we DONT use the popular vote... the popular vote is the gold standard inside states from state reps to US reps and senators and governors ..

again just a totally different perspective .. this post is so long few will read it but if the President wins the popular vote, they are a president for , of , and by the people... when they loose by 3 million votes but still win... well you see millions marching, protesting ect ...

ok VIKINGS is just about on..

Jordan Letschert surrogacy blog PART 3

Jordan Letschert and Robby Price surrogacy blog on www.gayswithkids.com part 3 with new updated content! 

https://gayswithkids.com/jordan-and-robbys-surrogacy-journey-to-fatherhood-part-3/

Jordan Letschert blog on gayswithkids.com

Here is part 1 , together with our video clip has over 60,000 views... Check it out 

https://gayswithkids.com/jordan-and-robbys-surrogacy-journey-to-fatherhood-part-1/

A Baby Boy

It's crazy to think it's been 1 month today since our son Kellan Joseph was born.... Many parents say they would go to the ends of the earth for their child.. The earth is 24,901 miles around... Due to legal restrictions attempting to block us from having a family, we traveled more than 30,000 miles just to have our son. 

That's 1.2 times around the globe just before he was even born! And it took us 21 months...

Now we have an amazing son .... 

Don't ever let someone say you can't do something or accomplish something 

Look at me.. At 17 I came out.. At that time, you had to accept no marriage, no equal rights, no kids, no family

What did I do ?

I became a cop in Tx

I became 1 of 200 current and former first responders who took on Pam Bondi in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for the right to marry in Florida

I got married in Florida before it was legal nation wide

I along with 199 other current and former police filed an Amicus Brief with SCOTUS in the historic marriage equality ruling

I took 21 months... Navigated the law and now have perfect son...

Off to crack the next supposed ceiling 

#cantstopme #equality #love #family #jordanletschert @jordanletschert