Category: Enumeration - Bryan William Brickner

2020: Part 1 of Hannah Arendt, American Greatness and Constitutio Libertatis

6/9/2019

American Greatness

Hannah Arendt said she wasn’t German.

The Germans didn’t want her anymore, ‘cuz, you know, they went nuts.

Why’d they go nuts?

One reason for sure is that American greatness was ignored.

Ask yourself, “How did Hitler come to power?” And the answer has to include the constitution Woodrow Wilson offered to Germany at the end of World War I.

Why didn’t Wilson offer the Germans a constitution like ours, like the one George Washington and the founders made?

Where’s the thirty Thousand?

Where’s the Enumeration?

Not in Wilson’s constitutional offering, so how could it be great? This is no small matter, given what happened to Hannah Arendt and millions of others.

When Arendt got to America she wrote about revolution. One commentator noted something new about her thoughts: “The new paradigmatic political actors are the American Founders, whose debates and deliberations concerning the drafting and adoption of the Constitution are presented by Arendt as every bit as exemplary as anything in Homer or Thucydides.”

As exemplary as anything in Homer or Thucydides: in other words, American greatness is not found in the boom-boom of rebellion and the 4th of July; American greatness is found in the law of revolution, the US Constitution, and 17 September.

*Next Up: A celebration of the 7th Amendment on 7/20 with Part 2 of Hannah Arendt, American Greatness and Constitutio Libertatis.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

2020: We the People and the Actual (Cat) Enumeration, not Census or Questioning

5/9/2019

Cat Enumeration

There is one cat in the picture.

That is the actual (cat) enumeration.

Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US Constitution details the purpose for taking the “actual Enumeration,” the formal count of the people of the several states, and it doesn’t mention a census or the logic for asking the people questions. It simply states:

“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 …”

Congress does the count, the enumeration, by law.

Then Congress is to divide by thirty Thousand, by law and as Washington taught in the first veto, for a state’s federal representation.

That aggregate creates the House of Representatives for We the People.

No questions asked.

We the People represented according to numbers is constitutional fact, just like there’s one cat in the picture.

One people.

One constitution.

One cat.

2020.

*Next Up: 9 June and a 2020 update focusing on Hannah Arendt, American Greatness and Constitutio Libertatis.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Thereat: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb, On Our Way A Gain

10/22/2017

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Steppin'

V of XIII

“Steppin’ Johnny.”
“With ya Gus.”
“On our way again.”
“With a gain.”
“Which one?”
“Clarity.”
“Regarding the paths?”
“Yes.”
“Agreed.”
“The two paths to 2020 step differently.”
“Say more.”
“One is already law.”
“Article 1 and its thirty Thousand.”
“And the other path is in the hands of individual states.”
“You talking states’ rights Reb?”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat States

“More like amendment rights by states.”
“So We the People have options.”
“We do.”
“To be constitutional, we can enforce the representation ratio in Article 1.”
“True.”
“And the other option, the one involving states: how would that work Johnny?”
“Complete the ratification of Article the first of the Bill of Rights.”
“How many states have ratified Article the first?”
“Eleven.”
“Indiana?”
“No.”
“Virginia?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know the other states that have already ratified Article the first?”
“Sure.”
“Which ones Johnny?”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Thereat Fulcrums

“New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina.”
“Okay.”
“Then New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.”
“That makes eight.”
“Then Vermont, Virginia and Kentucky.”
“Eleven.”
“Of the original 13, only Delaware voted no on Article the first: Massachusetts, Georgia and Connecticut never voted.”
“That’s interesting.”
“What are you thinking Gus?”
“About fulcrums.”
“Fulcrum states?”
“Yes: fulcrum states shift the weight.”
“Good point Gus: by ratifying Article the first, those eleven states reveal evidence of the representation usurpation.”
“Otherwise why did they vote for the amendment Johnny?”
“Exactly.”
“So We the People have eleven state allies against the usurpation.”
“We do.”
“That is a gain Reb.”
“Yes it is Yank.”

*Next Up: Sunday 29 October and Thereat part VI, Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb On Our Way Not Tumid.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

2020: In High Spirits, a Seven-Twenty Preamble

7/19/2017

The twenty dollar right in the US Constitution, Amendment VII

One gathers what another spills /
We the People /
Show some spirit /
For constitutionalism /
For the law that makes We the People We the People /
Every ten years

If you care to, ask yourself what you are doing for We the People? What part are you playing?

If the answer is nothing (no part) and that’s okay with you, then okay.

If the answer is nothing and that’s not okay, then do something to support the Constitution, our supreme law and the thing that makes us We the People, constitutionally reborn every ten years (enumeration / census).

Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 and the 7th Amendment are numerical avenues of approach for those of constitutional spirit ~ a spirit for constitutionalism. One could start by asking representatives (at all levels) if they support the US Constitution; they’ll say yes, of course, so then ask them the next question, the one about representing We the People by the “thirty Thousand” ratio or the one about the twenty dollars in the 7th Amendment: that will begin a conversation. If they support constitutionalism they are obliged (by citizenship and law) to help; if they don’t help, then they aren’t supporting the Constitution. If you don’t support the US Constitution, are you even still American? If so, how?

The representation usurpation ends when We the People want it to: if not now, what more do We need to see?

The Preamble, where our ideals are shown in high spirits and fulfillment waiting, is a We the People rally point; it reads like a dream, perhaps a dream we need to dream again …

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.

Tomorrow is 7/20; perhaps make a moment for Amendment VII, establishing Justice and insuring domestic Tranquility; read something, share something, or discuss with someone the implications of such a right hiding in plain sight (in the US Bill of Rights) and nearly 100 percent ignored.

For ourselves and our Posterity.

*Next Up: Friday 11 August and some receptor science ~ The Neurotransmitter Acetylcholine: Tobacco (Nicotine) Soldiers Soldiering.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Republican Values: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb On Our Way Constitutional Solutions

3/19/2017

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb OOW One

Part 13 of 13

“What happens next Reb?”
“Forward.”
“I mean for We the People?”
“Forward.”
“Specifically.”
“There are constitutional solutions Gus.”
“Amendment.”
“For sure.”
“Amend what though?”
“The representation ratio in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3.”
“It’s 2017.”
“Yes.”
“So 2020 is the next Enumeration.”
“Correct.”
“If Congress is going to make amends, they have to get started.”
“True: Article 1 certainly does not say Congress can set its own number of representatives for We the People.”
“That’s our birthright.”
“And that’s the usurpation.”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb OOW Two

“How many constitutional solutions are there Johnny?”
“Three.”
“So amend the representation ratio from thirty Thousand to a new number is one way.”
“Yes.”
“What else?”
“Completing the original Bill of Rights.”
“That sounds appealing.”
“Of course.”
“What does completing the Bill of Rights mean?”
“States voting for Article the first.”
“Okay.”
“Article the first would raise the ratio from thirty Thousand to fifty Thousand.”
“What’s its status?”
“Available.”
“Meaning?”
“Something like 27 states would have to pass it to become law.”
“Sounds easier than a new representation ratio.”
“It would be, and it would complete part of our founding.”
“The Bill of Rights.”
“Yes.”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb OOW Three

“What’s the third constitutional solution Reb?”
“Honor our founding and the founders’ creation, We the People.”
“By using the thirty Thousand in 2020.”
“That’s it.”
“And it got this way because of George?”
“He put the thirty Thousand in the Constitution.”
“Washington did?”
“It was forty Thousand until the last day of the Convention.”
“Then George ordered the change?”
“No, he requested it.”
“Okay.”
“They made the change on the spot.”
“Left their mark ‘eh?”
“Left a smudge on the Constitution.”
“Metaphor.”
“Appears so.”
“What day did George smudge our Constitution?”
“Seventeen September 1787.”
“Constitution Day.”
“Forward is as easy as one, two three Gus.”
“Johnny, we should shine some light on representation.”
“Indeed.”

*Next Up: 4 April and some spring and summer thoughts. Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb will begin again 17 September 2017 in Part II of Republican Values: On Our Way.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Republican Values: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb On Our Way Census

3/12/2017

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb OOW Enumeration

Part 12 of 13

“American exceptionalism.”
“What is it Reb?”
“The way the founders defined ‘We.’”
“We?”
“The constitutional pronoun We.”
“What’s exceptional about that?”
“The Enumeration.”
“You don’t say.”
“It defines We the People Gus.”
“By numbers?”
“The Enumeration is the counting of people.”
“The census.”
“Census is a noun.”
“So is enumeration.”
“Enumerate is the verb.”
“The doing.”
“Yes.”
“And that was exceptional?”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb OOW Represent

“There is no other republic like ours Gus.”
“Definitely not Plato’s.”
“And nothing like it since.”
“So the founders implemented something new by defining We the People by numbers.”
“They did.”
“And this is to happen every ten years?”
“A built in renewal.”
“So adding the ‘We’ to We the People was exceptional.”
“Still is.”
“So do the Enumeration and then what Johnny?”
“Divide by thirty Thousand.”
“To represent We the People.”
“Yes Yank.”
“This is the part where our Constitution says there shall be one Representative of We the People for every thirty Thousand people.”
“Yes.”
“That seems good.”
“We wouldn’t have had our Constitution without it.”
“Really?”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb OOW We the People

“It’s called the Connecticut Compromise.”
“Heard of that.”
“The Enumeration unifies by dividing.”
“Sounds like us.”
“You and me?”
“Yes.”
“Our war?”
“That and the Enumeration reverses.”
“Counter-intuitive.”
“More like it reverses thinking.”
“I hear ya.”
“The whole ‘unify by dividing’ idea.”
“Sharing.”
“It is sharing, ain’t it Johnny?”
“Power sharing.”
“We the People is a political means that divides in order to unify.”
“To share is to divide.”
“Go figure Reb.”
“Go figure Yank.”

*Next Up: 19 March and our season finale for Republican Values: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb On Our Way Constitutional Solutions.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

2020: Clinton, Trump and the Constitutional Enumeration (Census)

9/30/2016

US Constitution Article I

Contacting the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump presidential campaigns with the following query:

The person elected president in 2016 will provide leadership for the 2020 enumeration (census).

Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US Constitution states: “The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand.”

Does your organization support the enumeration and representation of We the People according to the mandate in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US Constitution?

*Next Up: Saturday 8 October with a 2020 update on Clinton, Trump and the Constitutional Enumeration (census).

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

2020: Part One of the 7/20 Bill of Rights Participation Day Preparations, 20 Minutes for Twenty Dollars

7/1/2016

US Constitution, Amendment VII

Working on some numbers showing We the People as a collective power. Basically, I got to wondering what could happen if we all did something for 20 minutes for the “twenty dollars” in Amendment VII; sort of a what if there was a Participation Day for the 7th Amendment and its twenty dollar clause? What would that equal as participation time?

Let’s view it as a story problem.

Estimating, we can use 300 million US citizens acting for 20 minutes, so that is 1/3 of an hour and equals 100 million hours.

Take 100 million hours divided by 25-hour days (easy math) and you get four million days.

Take four million days divided by 400-day years (more easy math) and the answer is 10,000 years.

So Americans spending 20 minutes writing a letter or sending an email or talking with a friend on July 20th (or any convenient time) in support of the US Constitution and the twenty dollar clause in the 7th Amendment of the Bill of Rights, would be equivalent to 10,000 years of participation in one effort.

We the People is definitely a collective power.

Part Two of the 7/20 Bill of Rights Participation Day Preparations, Jesus and Caesar, will be posted 15 July.

Next Up: The Union 2016 summer series continues on Sunday 3 July with Johnny Reb and Gus Kotka, Nowhere Know Sympathy.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Summer Union 2016: Johnny Reb and Gus Kotka Nowhere Three-Fifths

6/26/2016

Johnny Reb and Gus Kotka Nowhere Three

Part 2 of 13

“… In our approach to representation and We the People, would that help Gus?”
“Use the slave fraction.”
“Yes.”
“You’re saying,” Gus summed, “that we could use the three-fifths clause to understand free people.”
“Right.”
“How so?”
“Three-fifths implies sixty percent of something.”
“Sure does.”
“Of what?”
“That’s the fraction friction you keep at Reb.”
“The representation ratio Gus.”
“Which is?”

Johnny Reb and Gus Kotka Nowhere Fifths

“Thirty Thousand.”
“So free people counted as 30,000.”
“Sort of.”
“How then?”
“The US Constitution says free people are to be represented at the rate of one Representative for every thirty Thousand people.”
“That’s what makes us a republic.”
“True.”
“So 100,000 slaves would have counted as 60,000 free people.”
“Yes.”
“That’s a big deal.”

Johnny Reb and Gus Kotka Nowhere Clause

“It was the deal that held the Constitutional Convention together.”
“It made us Reb.”
“Sure did.”
“Hey?”
“What?”
“These plants,” paused Gus, “there appears to be something in them.”
“In the sunflowers?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure is.”
“What ya’ figure?”
“That balancer we mentioned.”
“Balance to what?”
“Us and Tory Crown.”

Next Up: 1 July and Part One of the 7/20 Participation Day preparations (a day scheduled for Wednesday the 20th of July).

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner

Summer Union 2016: Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Juneteenth Square

6/19/2016

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Back

Back to square one

“It got dim Johnny.”
“That happens when Tory’s around.”
“Crown’s around?”
“Yeah.”
“Tory Crown dimmed the light?”
“Metaphorically.”
“What stopped Crown from turning the lights out?”
“You Gus.”

Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Square

“What?!”
“You Yank.”
“Me?”
“You.”
“Metaphorically?”
“No Gus, you for real.”
“Be square Johnny.”
“I am being square.”
“Seems like a circle-merry-go-round to me.”
“Corners Gus, like a flanking move.”
“Okay.”
“You Yanks didn’t give up: you just kept at us.”
“We was against you Johnny, not Tory Crown.”
“Think again Gus.”
“How so?”
“Let's step over here –”
“Sure.”

Johnny Reb and Gus Kotka Nowhere One

“Free people Gus: how were they to be represented?”
“You asked that before.”
“Right.”
“Census somehow, but I don’t know.”
“Tory Crown knew.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“What did Crown know?”
“How to divide us,” explained Johnny, “how to divide We the People.”
“A dis-unionizer.”
“Correct.”
“That’s the Anti-Republic part you mentioned.”
“It is.”
“Is? Not was?”
“Is.”
“So Johnny, how are free people to be represented?”
“Perhaps if we use the three-fifths clause to illustrate …”

Next Up: The Union 2016 summer series continues Sunday 26 June with Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Nowhere Three-Fifths.

Posted by Bryan W. Brickner