Our Constitution Made Easy

Copyright © 2020 Richard Britner.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-0831-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-0832-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-0830-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020919639

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/22/2020

CONTENTS

1. The Start

YouTube Scripts

2. Articles 1–3

Article 1: What Our Founding Fathers Didn’t Want

Article 2: A Look at a Constitutional Republic: What Our Founders Were Looking For

Article 3: Constitutional or Not

3. Articles 4–5

Article 4: The Rights of the States Part 1

Article 5: The Rights of the States Part 2

4. Four Articles 6–9

Article 6: Shortcomings Part 1: The Presidency

Article 7: Shortcomings Part 2: Congress

Article 8: Shortcomings Part 3: Congress Continued

Article 9: Shortcomings Part 4: Congress, Conclusion

5. Articles 10–11

Article 10: Armed or Not to Arm

Article 11

6. Articles 12–14

Article 12: Subterfuge and Solution Part 1

Article 13: Subterfuge and Solution Part 2

Article 14: Remedy at State Level

Epilogue

References

CHAPTER ONE

THE START

Most books start off with an introduction, but if most people are like me, they want to cut to the chase and just start in at chapter 1, so I thought I should just incorporate the introduction in chapter 1 as this book isn’t your typical book.

First, this was never supposed to be a book. When I started this project, I was attempting to write scripts for a series of YouTube videos. It seems to me that most people today would rather watch a video than read a book. The latter method is just too time consuming and lacks stimulation. I believe the information in this book is of the utmost, dire need for patriotic Americans to have, so I wanted to get it out in the way I believed was the most effective method possible.

Of course that method was YouTube.

I am not a techie, but even I appreciate the value of learning via others’ experience and seeing the proof of their knowledge firsthand. I coupled the scripts with a series of articles I wrote for the Tea Party and planned to attach them to my YouTube page so they could explain in greater detail what I covered in the videos.

My hope was that the videos would spark a greater interest in our Constitution so viewers would be willing to take the plunge into the world of the written page. What talent I have lies in the written medium, so writing the scripts and articles came easily for me.

Then came what turned out to be the monumental task of producing the videos. Through that experience, I realized that I was by no means an actor or producer. It took me only eight months (and a friend who reviewed one of what I thought was a complete video) for me to come to that conclusion. After those eight months of work, all I really had was scores of bloopers that would have landed me first prize on America’s Funniest Videos.

I still, however, believe that the information I want to convey is vital for the well-being of this nation and our people. It is imperative if we wish to remain a free people or more accurately regain our freedom. As harsh as that sounds, we are slaves to our government. So I decided to fall back on the medium I was confident with and decided to write this book.

At first, I got the idea of leaving those as scripts and individual articles and put them in chapters, but after a proofread, I realized it was too chaotic. I realized I would have to reorganize my scripts and articles and write new chapters in the traditional method incorporating it all into new and more-complete articles.

You’re going to notice some redundancy. Actually, I’m very happy with that because with repetition, inculcating as it might be, there’s a greater chance that you’ll remember what I wrote. I hope what I wrote will drive you to be a more active participant in securing our liberty.

I felt the need to write a book, or articles and scripts, about the US Constitution because I understand the subject; I fully understand what our founding fathers were trying to establish for us—a nation in which everyone could live independent and free, devoid of excessive governmental control. A nation in which there was little government, only what was necessary to keep us safe from invasion and maintain a civilized environment. A nation whose government officials were our servants, not our masters. This is why we call our legislators, our members of the judiciary, and executives civil servants, not leaders.

We were never meant to have a president who was the leader of this nation; he was meant to be only the leader of the federal government. Our Congress was never meant to be the leader of the federal government; its members’ only job is to make laws. The only, ‘quote,’ oversight authority given them is the oversight of their own house.

Yes, the Senate can approve or deny a treaty. Yes, it can approve or deny the selection of a presidential selectee or appointee. But that is the extent of its constitutional authority as it pertains to oversight. Anything beyond that is an act of rebellion.

Nor are our federal judges to be leaders over us; it is illegal for them to make case law as I will reveal later in this book. Their only job is to decide the case before them, and their ruling is exclusive to that case.

As Tomas Jefferson stated in his letter to the Danbury Baptist Church, The legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions. Yet the government we have today, and I’m talking about government at all levels, as our master, freely makes laws that are designed to curtail what we think in direct violation of the supreme Law of the Land. Let me give you a clear example of how our so-called leaders in the federal government are clearly exceeding their true authority and enslaving the people.

The Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, is a federal law that forced people to obtain health insurance. This law was illegal on so many levels that it becomes ludicrous. One, the president has no authority to demand that Congress make any type of law. Second, health care is a public act, and Congress has absolutely no authority whatsoever to make a health care plan for the people let alone make it law. Third, the Supreme Court classified health care as a tax knowing very well what it was ordaining was extortion. All of this I will clarify later in this book. But think about this, how does health insurance make health care affordable? The only way to make health care affordable is to make it affordable. The Democrats pushed this bill not for the sake of the populace but to enrich the insurance company tycoons. This is the only thing this bill did, and let me add that the Republicans were behind this act all the way.

So what did I mean when I stated that the only way to make health care affordable is to make it affordable? When the Democrats first started clamoring about health care, I knew that it was illegal for them to do so but that they would accomplish their task. Knowing that, I wrote my House representative Rep. Dennis Rehberg and laid out a plan that would actually make health care affordable. Here’s my letter.

To the Honorable Dennis Rehberg

Dear Congressman Rehberg,

I would like to discuss the topic of socialized medicine. Please forgive me if I sound a little condescending in this letter; it is not directed at you personally. We both know that the fourth article of the Constitution gives the State government full authority over public acts and that medicine is a public act. But we both know quite well that the federal government has not abided by the Constitution for decades. We also know quite well that if the Democrats institute social medicine, and they will, that they will do more harm for the nation than good.

What I propose instead of Socialized Medicine is that we institute Monopolized Medicine. Please hear me out. I know how some people feel about monopolies. The federal government would have full authority over the monopoly with the States being the overseers. If the federal government had over twenty employees in the system, then there would be too much federal involvement as well as too much administrative involvement. As you are aware of, the purpose of socializing medicine is to reduce the cost and make it affordable for the people. Administration is a no-profit portion of business. There is a small need for admin, but it is not cost effective.

What I propose is that the federal government controls every aspect of the medical field. From education, practice, research and development, pharmaceutical, to emergency response.

Medical school would be controlled by the government. They would own the buildings, supply the doctors to be the teachers, and supply the curriculum. The school would only focus on medicine, and other electives would not be given. Students should have received a well-rounded education in high school and not need any more rounding in med school. They should strictly focus on learning to heal. This will reduce the cost of schooling, which in turn will reduce the stress of paying back student loans. Meaning we do not have to pay them as much before they can get their feet on the ground.

Doctors as well as all other medical staff would be paid on a GS schedule. An intern would be paid a GS-10 salary. A one-year resident would jump up to a GS-12, and a three-year resident would jump to a GS-13.

A doctor who excels and becomes a surgical specialist would be given a GS-14, and a doctor who is nominated to become a teacher would be given a GS-15 grade. This will promote competition and provide cost-effective treatment for the people. As you know, these pay grades provide for a comfortable living, not rich, but comfortable.

Nurses, med techs, and pharmacists would attend the same schools, different courses with less time and money, and also be paid on a GS schedule. The salary range would be from GS-7 to GS-10.

Paramedics, first responders (EMTs), and aides would be trained at the hospitals and be paid at the GS-6 to GS-8 range.

Psychologists, not psychiatrists, would be paid at a GS-10 to GS-11 schedule. As psychologists primarily just listen to people’s problems and most people need to get a lot off their chests, there is more time spent at these offices, and most just render bad advice in the first place. Therefore, the lower salary will make it affordable for the people especially if they are truly neurotic.

No doctor or nurse would be put in an administrative position. Persons trained for administration work will do that type of work. A file clerk or receptionist would be a GS-5 to GS-6, and the hospital director would be a GS-12.

As with socialized medicine, health insurance will need to be abolished in monopolized medicine as well. I will not go into details, but health insurance was a bonehead idea in the first place, and is the root cause for our souring health cost.

The reason monopolized health care will work in reducing the cost is because the government controls the price tag and the pricing would look something like this.

A doctor visit: The average time spent in a doctor’s office, not including your waiting time, is about 20 minutes. You pay a minimum of one hour at $32.00 per hour for a GS-12 doctor. You pay a $10.00 administration fee that covers the handling of paper work, swabs, and the paper that lines the examination table. Total cost for visit, $42.00.

Lab work: The cost of a doctor’s visit, $42.00, the lab technician, GS-8 at $18.00 per hour for two hours, the lab material actually used at $40.00, and an admin fee of $10.00. The total cost for a doctor visit and lab fees is $128.00.

Surgical procedure: A two-hour procedure with a specialist surgeon at GS-14 is about $42.00 per hour. Two nurses and anesthesiologist GS-8 at $18.00 per hour. The cost for the anesthesia, oxygen, and other surgical supplies $50.00. Admin fees $10.00, plus a profit margin of 10% and the total cost of the surgery is $277.20.

Overnight hospital stay of 12 hours: A flat fee for the room would be $75.00 per night. This is the average cost of a hotel room. Then there are the nurse’s fees, but these are a reduced rate as the fee is dispersed among the other patients she/he attends, let’s say $5.00 per hour. Cost of medicine; this is the exact cost of each pill, not the bottle, $15.00 and $10.00 for a one-time admin fee. The total for the night is $160.00.

Emergency room treatment: The cost for the doctor for two hours of treatment is $64.00. The nurses and attendants, figure three of them, $108.00. Medical supplies $50.00, figuring paying for just what is used. Admin cost, $10.00. Total cost for a trip to the emergency room, $232.00.

Trip in ambulance: Cost for two EMTs at GS-7, $15.00 per hour, one hour minimum $30.00. $.50 per mile, from home to hospital, let’s say 6 miles, $3.00. Medical supplies, oxygen, IV (mostly water and salt) and bandages, $50.00, vehicle maintenance $15.00. Cost of vehicle $50.00. Total cost of trip, $148.00.

How to determine the cost of a medical procedure or device, such as a c-scan, X-ray, or ultrasound.

Let’s say you need a c-scan (sorry, I don’t know the technical term) and the machine costs $1,000,000.00. The life span of the machine is five years and in five years it will be used on 250,000 patients. 1,000,000.00 divided by 250,000 is $4.00 per use. Double that and the exam should cost $8.00. The reason you double it is so you pay for the unit and after the five years have enough to buy the next machine outright. The next five years, after the initial first five years, $4.00 of the test goes to replacement costs and the other $4.00 is profit. After five years a nice profit is made.

Assisted living: A flat fee of $800.00 per month for apartment, this price at 2008 cost of living. On staff, nurse GS-9 at $19.50 per hour, plus other attendants such as cooks, activity organizers, etc. at GS-5 or 6. All of these personnel’s salary fees would be dispersed among all the residents. Then add a profit margin of 5%.

Nursing homes should be figured the same as the assisted living but a CNA GS-7 for every six patients. The monthly rent should only be about $400.00

As you can see, no combination of these procedures costs over a $1,000.00 making a monopoly a very cost effective form of medical health care. Since the primary concern of the government is the health and welfare of the people and not making a large profit for shareholders, the people should never be gouged.

The pharmaceutical companies would be controlled by the monopoly as well. From the research and development, manufacturing and distribution, all should be controlled by the government. The cost of medication should be figured by the cost of development and manufacturing and a cost recoup of 10 years. After ten years a medicine’s cost can be lowered, but now kept at a small profit margin.

Some of the profits should go to maintenance of the facilities, but much will go into a benevolence fund. Those people who do not even make minimum wage can apply for this benevolence. In this fashion, this monopoly actually takes on the form of a socialized system, but in fact, most people will be paying on an as-used process and not be taxed to death. We’ll get enough of that when we pay off this mindless bailout. Oh, by the way, the bailout won’t work. The reason recessions or depressions come is to equalize the economy. With that bailout, the equalization never happens. Thus, it just prolongs the agony.

I’m sure you realize that you could never call this a Monopolized Health Care plan; the Democrats would be shocked and dismayed. Probably many Republicans as well. Democrats are less into substance and more into phonetics. ‘If it sounds good, it’s marvelous, darling.’ So if you choose to consider this proposal, my suggestion is you call it a Post Modern Socialized Medical Health Plan. It has a lot of big sounding words and very politically correct. They should buy off on it.

Please give this proposal some serious consideration. I think if you truly think about what I’m proposing, you will see it is for the benefit of the American people. It is far better than the socialized medicine that the Democrats want to impose on us. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Richard Britner

Clancy, MT

You see, to make health care affordable, you have to reduce the cost, not force people to buy insurance. Our government cares nothing about the people; it is interested only in pleasing those who put money in their pocket. By the way, Rehberg wrote me back and stated that they already had a plan they wanted to pass. At that time, the Republicans were still claiming to be fighting the bill. Come on, people. It’s time we the people stop being so gullible and educate themselves. Hence, I put my scripts and articles in this book. I incorporated my scripts into these new articles, but I left my introduction script for the YouTube video in its entirety as seen below. Hope you like it. Happy learning.

Oh ya, I need to give special thanks to Abe and Johnette Gonzales, and Ralph Coia for their help with this project. Thanks guys

YouTube Scripts

INTRODUCTION

Hello. My name is Richard Britner, and what I’d like to do for you is present a series of tutorials on our US Constitution that I’ve entitled Our Constitution Made Easy. There are many myths today concerning our Constitution, and I want to give you a clear picture of what our founding fathers were truly trying to do for us when they penned our Constitution.

It was not to empower our federal or state governments, far from it. Their purpose was to ensure that we the people would always remain free. They did so by setting in place restrictions and limitations. The only way for a people to remain free is by placing limitations on their government, a set of boundaries it cannot cross. So you make a law binding the government and making it a criminal act if it breaches those limitations. We call that law the Constitution.

So how did I obtain my expertise on this subject? In 1991, the US Treasury Department sent me to the federal police academy to become a US Mint police officer. As you would think, the academy had an extensive course on constitutional law.

At that time, they explained the four branches of government outlined in the Constitution and their functions, how the legislative was the most powerful branch of the federal government, the executive was the second most powerful, and the weakest branch of the federal government was the judiciary. They also explained how state governments were sovereignties in themselves and had a symbiotic but essential relationship with the federal government.

In 1996, when I transferred to the Federal Protective Service, I was sent to the same academy again. That time, however, the training on the Constitution was not as extensive and they were teaching that there were three equal branches of government and that the Constitution placed certain restrictions only on the state government—the antithesis of what I had previously learned.

Federal police officers are sworn to uphold the Constitution, and as I was taught two differing explanations of the same document, I, being an autodidact, decided to conduct an investigation to determine what version I should be enforcing. These videos are the result of what I learned from that investigation.

What I’m about to teach you will be totally different from what your college law professor taught you or what you learned in high school. So how can I be sure what I’m teaching you is the truth about our Constitution while all the constitutional scholars are getting it wrong?

Our founding fathers left nothing to chance. And three of the men who wrote the Constitution also wrote a series of articles known as the Federalist Papers. These articles explained in explicit detail why they wrote the Constitution, the way they did it, the purpose of the Constitution, the functions of the various branches of government, and why they placed the limitations on it that they did. They left no room for misinterpretation of the Constitution. Any deliberate misinterpretation of the Constitution by any branch or agency of the federal government or for that matter any level of government is a criminal act. It is a crime, an act of rebellion, for them not to follow the letter of this law.

Throughout these tutorials, I will define certain words in the Constitution. The only way anyone can truly understand the Constitution’s meaning as our founding fathers understood it and intended for us to understand it is to know the definitions of the words they used as they knew them. The only reliable dictionary we can use then has to be one written in the same era they wrote the Constitution, the American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster,