That Provident Article

A real treat for me this week, and I think informative for all of you as well.  We'll be interviewing Michael Cicerone, who worked in Texas State Senator Brian Birdwell's office this past legislative session as a Policy Analyst to the Senator. Michael played a key role for the Convention of States Texas team in Austin, as our real insider, able to access key staffers for other legislators when we could not make headway. No news segment in this podcast.

Following Tuesday's election results, analysis was available in print, digital, talk radio, and probably at your work place water cooler as to what this means. On Wednesday's Mark Levin show, Mark spent the majority of the first two hours of his show laying out the case that the grassroots, We the People, have shown that we are ready to consider the alternative to the business as usual in Washington, D.C.  With the continuing show of strength for Constitutional Conservative candidates and policies in local and statewide races, ballot initiatives, and referendums, NOW is the time to take advantage of this interest. We will spend time on this past week's news and how it relates to the Convention of States, and then spend some presentation time reviewing the Tuesday election results, the implications in general, and then some specific, individual applications based on those implications. The presentation section of this podcast is particularly relevant for those either already in a leadership position with th

Since last week's episode was devoted entirely to our great interview with Joy Davis, Chief of Staff for my State Representative DeWayne Burns, we missed our normal news update. So today, we're going to cover the last two weeks of news, spend a little bit longer fleshing out each story, and do the real easy work of concluding that the only real fix is for the States to reclaim the authority given them in the Constitution.  Only an Article V "convention for proposing amendments" is going to curtail the continuous abuse. And, we'll allow time for your phone calls.

This week we interviewed the Chief of Staff for my State Representative here in Texas.  Joy Davis generously gave us about 30 minutes of her time as we discussed some of the general challenges in running a State Legislator's office and schedule.  We then specifically discussed the best methods of communicating with our State Legislators, how to not only get their attention, but also to keep their attention.  Joy worked in 2013-14 as DeWayne Burns' campaign manager, and then after winning election in November of 2014, transferred into her role as his Chief of Staff during Representative Burns' (R, TX, HD 58) freshman legislative session.  She continues in her role as Chief of Staff, as well as again managing another campaign as Representative Burns seeks reelection in 2016. For time and continuity sake, we will forego our normal news update during this podcast.  However, weather being what it is this weekend in Texas, I may well host a bonus "news only" episode on Sunday late afternoon. There should, however

The concluding part (6) of our multi-part series examining the view with which James Madison, considered the father of the Constitution, regarded the State amending convention provision in Article V. Various interpretations of Madison's views have been presented over many years, in support of multiple positions in regard to the utility, and even the safety, of the Article V provision to the States to hold a "convention for proposing amendments".  We are going to walk through this man's life, through his written record, to construct his position, and the continued consistency of his position, and provide the most accurate representation we can of his thoughts.  We're going to take as many episodes as necessary to thoroughly flesh out his view. Today, we discuss James Madison's response (the Virginia Resolution) to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, instituted by Founding Father, and Second President, John Adams.  What was Madison's initial goal, what was the response, and what did Madison conclude after th

Part 5 of our multi-part series examining the view with which James Madison, considered the father of the Constitution, regarded the State amending convention provision in Article V. Various interpretations of Madison's views have been presented over many years, in support of multiple positions in regard to the utility, and even the safety, of the Article V provision to the States to hold a "convention for proposing amendments".  We are going to walk through this man's life, through his written record, to construct his position, and the continued consistency of his position, and provide the most accurate representation we can of his thoughts.  We're going to take as many episodes as necessary to thoroughly flesh out his view. Today, we discuss the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, instituted by Founding Father, and Second President, John Adams, which led Madison to write the Virginia Resolution (and Jefferson the Kentucky Resolution).  What is the historical context for these acts, and what is the final outc

Part 4 of our multi-part series examining the view with which James Madison, considered the father of the Constitution, regarded the State amending convention provision in Article V. Various interpretations of Madison's views have been presented over many years, in support of multiple positions in regard to the utility, and even the safety, of the Article V provision to the States to hold a "convention for proposing amendments".  We are going to walk through this man's life, through his written record, to construct his position, and the continued consistency of his position, and provide the most accurate representation we can of his thoughts.  We're going to take as many episodes as necessary to thoroughly flesh out his view. Today, we'll just introduce the historical context of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, which led Madison to write the Virginia Resolution (and Jefferson the Kentucky Resolution).  We'll especially remind ourselves how even our founders, such as John Adams, can easily forget the fre

We're interrupting our series on James Madison's view of the phrase "a convention for proposing amendments", mainly because of an interruption in my weekly schedule which included a lengthy meeting with my State Senator.  While the meeting is fresh on my mind, I thought I'd take advantage of this Providence to discuss some of the ways to contact your State Legislators, what to ask them when you do meet them, and some of the decorum and best practices. Today's episode is airing a little later in the day, as my weekly schedule has been tossed and turned multiple times, both from work and from Convention of States.  As always, we'll present the latest news in the Convention of the States.  And, we'll allow time for your phone calls.

Part 3 of our multi-part series examining the view with which James Madison, considered the father of the Constitution, regarded the State amending convention provision in Article V. Various interpretations of Madison's views have been presented over many years, in support of multiple positions in regard to the utility, and even the safety, of the Article V provision to the States to hold a "convention for proposing amendments".  We are going to walk through this man's life, through his written record, to construct his position, and the continued consistency of his position, and provide the most accurate representation we can of his thoughts.  We're going to take as many episodes as necessary to thoroughly flesh out his view. Today, we'll analyze the Madison's correspondence with George Lee Turberville in 1788, which includes one of the most oft quoted phrases used by opponents of the Article V "convention for proposing amendments".  We'll include a brief biography of the man George Lee Turberville, of whic

Part 2 of our multi-part series eamining the view with which James Madison, considered the father of the Constitution, regarded the State amending convention provision in Article V. Various interpretations of Madison's views have been presented over many years, in support of multiple positions in regard to the utility, and even the safety, of the Article V provision to the States to hold a "convention for proposing amendments".  We are going to walk through this man's life, through his written record, to construct his position, and the continued consistency of his position, and provide the most accurate representation we can of his thoughts.  We're going to take as many episodes as necessary to thoroughly flesh out his view. Today, we'll review the year plus after the Constitutional Convention, and look at Madison's writings not only in the Federalist Papers, but also his personal correspondence, where much has been made of his concerns about the States holding another convention.  To what was he referring?

  Today we'll begin a multi-part series concerning the view with which James Madison, considered the father of the Constitution, regarded the State amending convention provision in Article V. Various interpretations of Madison's views have been presented over many years, in support of multiple positions in regard to the utility, and even the safety, of the Article V provision to the States to hold a "convention for proposing amendments".  We are going to walk through this man's life, through his written record, to construct his position, and the continued consistency of his position, and provide the most accurate representation we can of his thoughts.  We're going to take as many episodes as necessary to thoroughly flesh out his view. As always, we'll present the latest news in the Convention of the States.  I'll keep the presentation a bit shorter, to allow time for calls

What a busy week for all things Convention of States this has been, and next week promises to get even busier!  And that's good news for patriots around the nation, and for those who hunger to see our federal government restored to functioning as a Constitutional Republic! We'll cover this week's news as briefly as possible, and we'll preview the upcoming COS activity. Our presentation will be concentrating on the Framers' (those delegates at the Constitutional Convention) own words in describing the State's authority in exercising their unilateral method of amending he Constitution.  We'll investigate not only Madison's own words, but also Hamilton and George Washington. And, we'll try to leave time for your phone calls. Join with us in our quest to restore our republic!

Before our presentation and calls, we'll take a look at just how the result of an amending convention could greatly impact the course of our nation for the better, using a current news topic as a springboard. We'll continue our discussion concerning the 55 Constitutional Convention delegates (commissioners!) and their previous experiences in conventions of states/colonies. How did these experiences inform their wording of Article V of the Constitution? This is Part 2 of a series examining the Framers and their understanding of conventions. We'll also share the latest news from the Convention of States Project, and reserve some time for your phone calls.

A discussion concerning the 55 Constitutional Convention delegates and their previous experiences in conventions of states/colonies.  How did these experiences inform their wording of Article V of the Constitution? This is Part 1 of a series examining the Framers and their understanding of conventions. We'll also share the latest news from the Convention of States Project, and reserve some time for your phone calls

A "Bonus" episode, thanks to a quirk in my work schedule, and the lack of a chance for phone calls during our previous podcast. A review of our first two podcasts - "An Introduction to Article V", and "Article V in the Constitutional Convention" Since the presentation in the second podcast went long, we'll open up the phone lines for questions and comments.

A review of Article V as it was developed throughout the 1787 Constitutional Convention, highlighting the original, and overriding, intent of the framers to give the State Legislators the authority over the "National Legislature". Also, our weekly Convention of States update. No phone calls this week, as our presentation will take up the entire episode.  Hang on for lots of information!

Our first podcast for the Convention of States Project. We'll cover the latest news in the Convention of States movement. And we'll bring about a 12 minute presentation introducing Article V of the U.S. Constitution Finally, we'll open up the phone lines for questions and your input.