A new Constitution? Part 1?

Twenty some years ago, I had an idea for what became my Human Republic Universe.  I started writing stories set in this universe to flesh things out, as well as practice for the main thing, a TV series.  But I didn’t get too far, and other projects came up, and life, and stuff, so I haven’t done much in this universe for the last decade or so.  But that might change.

Anyway, the basic idea for my Human Republic Universe is that after World War I, the Leage of Nations was created, which failed to stop World War II.  After which, the United Nations was created, which also failed.  Now, World War III has been overused and has certain connotations, so my thing was that the UN failed to stop The Conflagration.  This was marked by a series of terrorist attacks, as well as numerous small to minor border wars.  And at one point, the US President does something – because America is always right – that really sours our relationships with some of our closest allies.

Anyway.

The Human Republic was to be this weak, planetary government.  Basically, it was to only deal with matters between the Member Nations and any interactions between them and any Non-Member Nations.  To become a Member Nation, you had to meet some requirements, like a democratic form of government open to all your citizens, as well as some basic rights like speech and religion.  And the citizens had to vote to join.  Any issue within a Member Nation would be handled by their government, with limited if any oversight from the Human Republic. 

At some point, I thought it would be interesting if I wrote up the Constitution of the Human Republic.  I figured I could start with the US Constitution, clear out all the racist shit, make some corrections, and have something – at least – I could start with.  But have you ever read the Constitution?  There’s old-timey words and spellings, as well as things that really should be fixed.  So I never got far writing the Constitution of the Human Republic.

It was probably that experience that gave me the idea of updating the Constitution.  Basically, just cleaning out the junk, updating the terminology, and adding the Amendments in to where they should go.  This was just a random idea I had that I never put much thought into.  Then that treasonous shitweasel won. 

A couple weeks later – once the initial horror and disgust had passed – I started thinking about a new Constitution again.  What I was thinking, is that at some point Trump will do something clearly and unmistakenly unconstitutional, and his bootlicks in Congress and the Courts won’t do anything.  (Apparently, they’ll just cheer so he can go on and do even more clearly and unmistakenly unconstitutional things.)  At some point, I imagine some Governor will announce that since the Constitution is no longer being followed, it means that the United States no longer exists.  They won’t succeed from the US, the US will just dissolve.  So I started writing a New Constitution for a New United States.  This would form – hopefully without bloodshed – from the old states, or from slightly changed new states. 

Turns out, this is harder than I expected.  For one, it’s difficult to balance putting in exact details for some issue, but leaving it flexible enough to handle future events I can’t imagine.  Or, there are some clearly good ideas – like Presidents not having immunity – that quickly get bogged down trying to figure out how to implement them.  Like if Presidents don’t have immunity, would that just open the floodgates of their opponents filing frivolous lawsuits to waste their time?  What’s the best way to handle all this?  I don’t know.  Somebody smarter than me will have to figure that out.

So here’s the first part of my New Constitution.  It gives some idea of where I’m going with things.  If people find this interesting, maybe I’ll try to finish it.  And if you have any suggestions, or want to point out some flaw, please do.  Maybe, just maybe, someone might take this as a rough draft for a real New Constitution.  Who knows.

***

We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

 

Article I

Section I

This Constitution is a contract between the American people and the Government that serves them.  While not perfect, its heart is what many consider the essence of America: striving to be better.

 

Section II

All persons residing within a State at the time that State ratifies this Constitution, is a Citizen of that State and therefore of the United States.

All children born within the territory of the United States, will be Citizens of the United States. 

All children with at least one biological parent that is a Citizen, will be a Citizen of the United States even if born outside the territory of the United States.  Any dual citizenship status the child will have will depend upon the laws of wherever they are born.

All residents of a Non-State Territory that the United States claims, will be Citizens of the United States.  Every ten years, the Voters of Non-State Territories shall vote on whether to maintain the status quo, to become a State, to join an existing State, or to become independent of the United States. 

Any non-citizen who enters the territory of the United States at a legal entry point, may request to become a Citizen.  The exact process of becoming a Citizen will be set by Congress with reasonable stipulations.

Every adult Citizen has the right to renounce their citizenship.

Congress by a two-thirds vote in both chambers, may – for specific reasons – limit immigration from a region or country for a period of no more than one year.

For heinous acts, Congress by a two-thirds vote in both chambers, may strip a Citizen of their citizenship.  Bills to do this will apply only to an individual and may not be combined with any other bill.

 

Section III

All United States Citizens, regardless of where they live, upon reaching eighteen years of age, are Voters.  The right of a Citizen to be a Voter may not be infringed or removed for any reason.

 

Article II

Section I

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

 

Section II

The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every two years by the Voters of their State.  Each Representative shall have one vote.  No person shall be a Representative who – at the time of the election – hasn’t attained the age of twenty-five years, been seven years a Citizen of the United States, or spends less than nine months each year living in that State or Territory.  Representatives shall be limited to serving at most five terms from one, or many States or Territories.  

For the first four scheduled elections after a State ratifies this Constitution, being a Citizen of the State shall suffice for the citizenship requirement.

To determine the numbers of Representatives each State shall have, a census counting the total population of the United States shall be taken every ten years.  The State with the lowest population of Citizens will be taken as a Base Unit.  The population of Citizens each State has will then be divided by this Base Unit, and the resulting number – after rounding – will be the number of Representative for that State.

Regardless of their population, Non-State Territories of the United States shall only have one Representative.  This Representative shall be treated exactly as a Representative from a State.

Regardless of their number, all Voters who do not live within a State or Territory of the United States, shall choose one Representative.  This Representative shall be treated exactly as a Representative from a State.

The Voters of a State, Non-State Territory, or foreign residents may – by collecting a number of signatures in excess of 15% of the total votes in the most recent election – force a recall election of a Representative.  The result of such an election will go into effect when the election results are confirmed.

In the event of the death, resignation, recall, or impeachment of a Representative, the Governor of their State or Non-State Territory may appoint a Representative whose term may not exceed ninety days.  The office of a Representative may not be left empty for a period exceeding sixty days.  If a regularly scheduled election is not set to happen within one hundred and fifty days of the death, resignation, recall, or impeachment of a Representative, then a special election must be held to permanently replace the Representative for the remainder of the original term.  For outstanding circumstances, these restrictions may be altered for a seat by a majority vote in the House of Representatives. 

Appointed Representatives, or specially elected Representatives whose terms are less than six months, will not have that time count towards any term limits. 

If the next regularly scheduled election after a State ratifies this Constitution is more than one hundred and fifty days away, then the office will be filled in a similar manner.  The number of Representatives will be determined from the best available data until the next census.

With input from the Senate as well as the Executive and Judicial branches, The House of Representatives shall create a Code of Conduct/Ethics that will apply to all elected members of the government as well as members approved by the Senate.  This Code will be periodically updated.  Breaking of this Code by any member will be grounds for Impeachment. 

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

 

Section III

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Voters of that State, for a term of six years.  Each Senator shall have one vote.  No person shall be a Senator who – at the time of the election – hasn’t attained to the age of thirty years, been seven years a Citizen of the United States, or spends less than nine months each year living in that State or Territory.  Senators shall be limited to serving at most two terms from one, or two States, and or Territories.

For the first four scheduled elections after a State ratifies this Constitution, being a Citizen of the State shall suffice for the citizenship requirement.

In the first regularly scheduled election after a State ratifies this Constitution, each elected Senator shall randomly select if their term will be two, four, or six years in length.  This way, roughly one third of the Senate shall be elected every two years.  The two Senators from a State must be on different schedules.  Abridged terms of two or four years will count as a term in regards to term limits.

Non-State Territories of the United States shall only have one Senator.  This Senator shall be treated exactly as a Senator from a State.  In the first regularly scheduled election after a Territory is claimed, the elected Senator shall randomly select if their term will be two, four, or six years in length.

Regardless of their number, all Voters who do not live within a State or Territory of the United States, shall choose one Senator.  This Senator shall be treated exactly as a Senator from a State.  In the first regularly scheduled election after this Constitution is ratified, the elected foreign resident Senator shall randomly select if their term will be two, four, or six years in length.

The Voters of a State, Non-State Territory, or foreign residents may – by collecting a number of signatures in excess of 15% of the total votes in the most recent election – force a recall election of a Senator.  The result of such an election will go into effect when the election results are confirmed.

In the event of the death, resignation, recall, or impeachment of a Senator, the Governor of their State or Non-State Territory may appoint a Senator whose term may not exceed ninety days.  The office of a Senator may not be left empty for a period exceeding sixty days.  If a regularly scheduled election is not set to happen within one hundred and fifty days of the death, resignation, recall, or impeachment of a Senator, then a special election will be held to permanently replace the Senator for the remainder of the original term.  For outstanding circumstances, these restrictions may be altered for a seat by a majority vote in the Senate. 

Appointed Senators, or specially elected Senators whose terms are less than six months, will not have that time count towards any term limits.

If the next regularly scheduled election after a State ratifies this Constitution is more than one hundred and fifty days away, then the office will be filled in a similar manner. 

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 choose their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore to serve in the absence of the Vice President, or when they shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all Impeachments.  If the President or Vice President are on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside.  All other trials will be presided by the Vice President.  No person shall be convicted without a two-thirds vote.

Judgment in cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.  The judgment of an Impeachment trial may be used as evidence in a civil court.

 

***

And I’ll end it here, because after this it gets into the minutia of Congress’s power which is a bit of a headache.  But if there’s enough interest, I’ll work on it.  Well, I’ll probably work on it anyway and post it in six months.  We’ll see.

Save America EBook Sale

I think for the past decade, every Fourth of July I’ve had a sale for some of my ebooks.  Which ones vary over the years, but Political Pies, my collection of forty short stories of a political nature, is always included.  The sale is usually just to mark the Fourth of July, but this year – with an ever-quickening slide into authoritarianism – I’m making it a Save America Sale.

How will my ebooks save America?  Well, I could argue that most of my stories are science fiction and show worlds where very alien aliens have learned to live and work together, thus showing the idiocy of people being upset their neighbor doesn’t have the exact same shade of skin color.  But really, my ebooks don’t contain some magic formula to save America.  It’s just a nice gesture.  If you’re fighting authoritarianism, then it’s likely you read, so here is a collection of free ebooks you can pick up.

In previous years, I’ve had sales at points throughout the year where I asked people to also register to vote or to vote.  But apparently, offering anything to get people to register or to vote is technically illegal.  I doubt they’d go after some unknown author giving away free ebooks, but I’m also not a billionaire who can just bribe his way out of problems.  So for this Save America Sale, I’m not asking anyone to do anything.  If you do decide to register to vote, or run for office, or march in the streets, that is entirely on you.  But if you have some time waiting for the march to get going, some of these ebooks are collections of short stories you can read in a few minutes. 

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From Tuesday July 1st through Saturday July 5th, the following eight ebooks will be free to download.

Political Pies

Everybody complains about politics, but does anyone do anything about it? My attempt to do something about it is to collect forty of my short stories with a political element into my Political Pies anthology. The stories are either politically neutral or equally condemning of the national parties. Instead of trying to sway you to one ideology or another, my goal is to just get people thinking about politics in the hopes a rose might grow out of all the political manure.

Rise

“Rise” is a standalone story set in my Human Republic Universe. The story follows the events after the tragic deaths of the colonists on a small colony in a distant star system.

Duty

For reasons of safety and avoiding paradoxes, Time Travel Incorporated assigns a Guardian to all its travelers. So when there is an accident during political historian Roj Hasol’s trip back to 1968, it’s his Guardian Susan who sets out on the arduous task of cleaning up the mess.

The Only Certainty

On The Day, for reasons unknown, people began changing. They went to sleep as their old selves and woke in their beds in different bodies: bodies that had belonged to other people. And each time they fall asleep, they wake in a new body. Set months later, The Only Certainty follows Derrick Gorton on an average day in this new world as he deals with food shortages, the semi-collapse of society, and how to finish his latest novel.

Lonely Phoenix

Partway to a new colony world, board member Geoffrey Ames is woken from hibernation by the caretaking crew of the Lucian. They require him to look into the matter of their fellow crewman Morgan Heller. Morgan’s claims – such as being over 1500 years old – would normally land him in the psychiatric ward, except he can back up some of his other claims.

An Ounce of Prevention

Like most people, Jason Fisher wanted to make the world a better place, but he doubted he would ever have the chance to make much of a mark. Then a “woman” came to him, asking his help to save humanity by threatening it.

The Moon Before Mars: Why returning to the moon makes more sense than rushing off to Mars

Over the last few years a lot of people have caught Mars fever. It seems a week doesn’t go by without a report of some new group wanting to send people to Mars, or some big name in the industry talking about why we have to go to Mars, or articles talking about the glorious future humanity will have on Mars. All of this worries me. In my opinion, a Mars base is currently not sustainable because there’s no way for it to make money. A few missions may fly doing extraordinary science, but if it’s then cancelled for cost the whole Mars Project may just be seen as an expensive stunt.

Fortunately, there are other places in the solar system besides Mars. While bases on the moon and amongst the asteroids won’t be as inspirational as one on Mars, they will have opportunities for businesses to make goods and services as well as profits, meaning less chance of them being outright cancelled. This will make life better on Earth and secure a firm foothold in space for humanity. The essays in The Moon Before Mars: Why returning to the moon makes more sense than rushing off to Mars allow me to describe my ideas on what can be accomplished on the moon and with the asteroids, and why Mars isn’t the destiny of humanity its cheerleaders make it out to be.

The Future is Coming

As a science fiction writer, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how technology will change the way we live. I’ve come up with these ten short essays about science fictional elements that will – almost certainly – one day become science fact as a way for people to start coming to terms with them. Because I’ve spent time thinking about clones and AIs, I feel I’ll be okay when they do finally show up whereas most people will probably freak out. I hope these essays will get people to start thinking about the future because, no matter what we do, the future is coming.

My prediction on what will happen when Trump dies

I’m writing a story each month on my website.  Back in March, I had an idea for a “story” that would be a list of what the biggest headline in the US were on a certain day for the next 100 years.  I knew I’d need some time to write it, so the day I picked was June 20th.  The 2025 headline was “Trump assassinated at Anti-Woke rally in Raleigh; gunman killed by Secret Service.” Having an anti-woke rally right after Juneteenth seemed like a thing he would do.  The 2026 headline was “One year later, questions still remain about Trump assassination.” And the 2035 headline was “Ten years after his assassination, the continuing need to eradicate Trumpism.” And those were the only time Trump would be mentioned.  Because, the point of the story was to show that despite all the damage he has done, once he dies he’ll be forgotten.  It’s like how after decades, the deaths of people like Robin Williams and Steve Irwin still hit hard.  Whereas people like Rush Limbaugh and David Koch are quickly and rightfully forgotten.  The same will be with Trump.

But how quickly will the world move on from him?  I predict even before he’s in the ground.  In large part because of the various MAGA factions that will start backstabbing to gain dominance.  What I predict will be some Faction X that will say, “We just learned, and had no prior knowledge, that Trump was a pedophile.  Not only did Faction Y know, they did nothing about it.” Meanwhile, Faction Y will go, “We just learned, and had no prior knowledge, that Trump was embezzling funds.  Not only did Faction X know, they did nothing about it.” We can only hope that these factions will destroy one another, leaving good, decent people that actually care about America to clean up their colossal mess. 

***

In case you’re wondering what happened to my story, well, coming up with headlines ninety years from now turned out to be harder than I thought.  Also, I’ve been a bit under the weather for the last few weeks and haven’t written much.  So about a week ago, I decided I wouldn’t get around to the story.  At least, not this year.  But I also had been thinking about how magats will end up backstabbing each other, so I decided to write this post and release it today instead of the story.

Some of the headlines I’d come up with dealt with wild fires, mass shootings, beloved actors dying in accidents, but I also had some hopeful headlines.  Since those are so rare these days, I figured I’d share some of the ones I came up with. 

2043

German doctors “cure” first patient of Alzheimer’s with MZT treatment.

2048

Mohawk #3, the last coal fired power plant in America, has finally shut down.

2050

First child born on the moon.

2055

President Piña announces she’s pregnant … with twins!

2060

After decades of controversy, Bitcoin finally shuts down.

209X

Scientist report that atmospheric CO2 concentration likely peaked in 209X at X ppm.  (I never got around to finalizing this one.)

Random Story – Bottle cap battles

This is just an odd little story from my life.

When I was in high school in the early 90’s, the bus would pick up one group of kids that lived in town and take them home, and then come back and pick up us kids who lived out in the boonies.  And given that our bus driver was old and drove very slowly, it was usually half and hour or more after school ended that we finally got on the bus to go home.  So we had time to kill.  Sometimes, I’d hang out in the computer room for another ten minutes or so until the teacher finally kicked me out, or I’d take the time to clean my locker, or whatever.  Sometimes, some friends and I would walk a couple blocks into town to buy candy or cards and then get back for the bus.  But most afternoons we just stood around and goofed off. 

One way we goofed off began by accident.  I think what happened is one of us had a bottle of pop (I’m from that part of the country) and dropped the lid.  Someone else “pretended” to stomp on it, for some reason, but they just missed and they caught the edge of the bottle cap with the edge of their shoe.  The result was the cap went flying five or so feet.  Which we found pretty funny, so we started doing it on purpose.  You put the cap open side up, and just put the edge of your shoe on it, and then do a quick press down.  Sometimes, the cap would just fly up and hit our nuts, but usually it would fly off across the hallway.  So we started having bottle cap battles trying to hit each other.  If they connected, it was just a little thump.  At worst, if they hit your arm, you might have a bit of a red mark for five minutes. 

After a dozen or so flights, the caps would start to deform, meaning they didn’t fly as far or as well.  So we would save caps from the week or dig in the trash for some to have one big battle with five or six caps whizzing around.  We did this, off and on for a couple of years.

It was probably a decade ago, I remembered this, so I got a cap to relive my youth.  But I don’t know if they’re using softer material in caps, or shoes, or what, because I could only get a cap to fly a foot or two.  Either that or there’s some basic step I’ve forgotten.

Where does Trump rank in terms of America’s enemies?

Anyone with more than a few brain cells knows that Trump has caused considerable harm to America.  I was thinking about this the other day, and I wondered where he stood in terms of damage done by our historical enemies.

With his botched handling of Covid, I’d say it’s certain Trump killed more Americans than al-Qaeda.  But he probably hasn’t killed as many as Nazi Germany or the Empire of Japan did.  Yet. 

I have no idea how many – adjusted for inflation – billions of dollars’ worth of ships and aircraft and other equipment our WWII enemies destroyed, or how that compares to the billions of dollars America has lost from his idiotic tariffs and other failed economic ideas.  Of course, all those ships and whatnot were already built and paid for, whereas who knows how much money we’ll lose as people around the world stop buying American.  How many small businesses will go under, and how many millions will lose their jobs. 

While Trump hasn’t killed as many Americans as some of our bigger historical enemies – yet – I’d say the material damage he’s caused is probably comparable to them.  But the one thing he excels at is the damage he has done to America itself.  Hitler or bin Laden could only dream of hurting America as much as Trump has.  If America falls, it won’t be because of a Nazi (classic Nazi, that is) or a suicide bomber, but some dumbass loser playing a King. 

So I’d say that Trump is the worst enemy America has ever faced.  In which case, we need to ask ourselves, What am I doing to defeat Trump and all his minions?

Random Story – What happened to the pill guy?

This is just an odd little story from my life.

As a nerdy kid growing up in 80’s and early 90’s, I watched a lot of PBS.  There was Nova and Scientific American Frontiers and several other science shows.  If the topic was about space, I almost certainly watched it, but I watched most of them regardless of their topic.  Having been over thirty years, I’m sure I’ve forgotten most of what I watched, or whatever I’ve learned has just become part of the mass of “Things I know, but I don’t know how I know them.” But there are a few random fragments that, for some reason, I remember.  For example.

I don’t know what show it was, or if it was late 80’s or early 90’s, but there was one episode on longevity.  I think overall it dealt with the various ways people were trying to live longer.  I don’t remember, but it’s likely there was a section on people eating a particular diet, or people doing things like tai chi, or whatever.  But the one I remember was this guy taking vitamins.

I can’t remember if this guy (I’m 99% certain it was a guy) was a doctor or just some health enthusiast, but somehow he came to the conclusion that more vitamins somehow made you live longer.  I’m not talking about just taking two multivitamins a day, or whatever.  He was taking like 50X the daily recommended amounts.  And not just of Vitamin C, but like, all of them.  He had ones he took in the morning, ones in the afternoon, and ones in the evening.  I think there was a scene where he had a garbage bag of the vitamin bottles he emptied each week.  But the scene I do remember is him sitting on his couch reading a book, and on an end table there’s a little candy dish with the evening mix.  And every few minutes, he’d just grab one and swallow it, without water or anything. 

For some reason, that image has stuck with me for … over three decades.  And I have to wonder what happened to him?  He was … fifty, or whatever, so it’s possible he’s still alive.  Or, he could have died shortly after that show from a … Vitamin A overdose.  Or, he might have some role in the current regime’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Short story – “A Sealed Fate”

 

“A Sealed Fate”

A bored young man wearing only a T-shirt reading “Bank robber” stood in a space just big enough for two people.  The ceiling – while not so low as to make him stoop – was uncomfortably low and the walls were painted in the blandest beige imaginable.  The only other thing currently in the room was a counter high on the wall he faced quickly approaching zero.

When the counter hit 0:00, several things happened at once.  A folded T-shirt appeared in the man’s right hand, a door appeared below the counter, and the counter reset to 5:00 and began counting down.  But the main thing that happened was a bright flash of reddish light deposited a naked, older woman in the space.

In a monotone, the man began, “You died and were-”

The woman screamed and slapped him.  “What have you done to me?  Where am I?” She turned around, and realized she was naked.  She tried to cover herself while screaming and punching the man.

After about a minute of silently taking her punches, he suddenly yelled, “Shut up!”

This stunned the woman and she backed up, as far as she could.

The man then explained, “I did nothing to you.  You died and were sent to Hell.”

The woman started to argue, but stopped herself.  Shaking her head, she said, “No, no.  I don’t belong in Hell.  I should be in Heaven.”

“Sure.  Anyway,” handing her the shirt, the man continued, “everyone gets a shirt that explains why they are here in Hell.  It’s not the main reason, but a big one.  For example, I hated the idea of a 9 to 5, so I decided I’d rob a bank to make easy money.  Only I got shot and ended up here where I’ll spend the next few thousand years welcoming people to Hell and giving them a shirt.  So take your shirt Miss,” here he unfolded her shirt and read “‘Trump supporter, even after he went full fascist,’ and go through that door to your eternal damnation.  And hurry up, because,” here he pointed at the counter reading 3:13, “when that hits zero, another person will be transported in, even if you’re still here.  And that sucks.”

The woman reluctantly took the shirt.  Shaking her head, she said, “No.  It shouldn’t be like this.  These aren’t Pearly Gates, and you’re no Saint Peter.”

The man sighed.  “Having died in 1973, I don’t know who this Trump is, but apparently, he’s a fascist.  And if you supported him, then you are to.  And you wonder why you ended up in Hell?  Why would Saint Peter waste his time on someone who’s fate is already sealed?”

The woman thought for a moment, then said, “No.  I refuse-”

“Just go through the fucking door you bitch,” the man yelled.  “Find out what Hell has in store for a fascist, and give me a minute’s peace.”