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Heads up! It’s the President’s Address

Tonight President Trump addresses the Joint Session of Congress.  To find out how to watch it, click here. (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-watch-trumps-address-to-joint-session-of-congress/)

I classify myself, if I must be classified, as a Progressive Catholic. I vote both sides of the aisle, following my conscience and paying close attention to what the candidate and their party plans to accomplish.

Much of what President Trump says and does saddens me, but tonight is not really about him.  It’s about the plan.  So today, I recap what’s on the agenda for Republicans, who hold sway over two of our branches of government.

During the Presidential campaign, I summarized the party platforms.  Today, I remind everyone of the game plan for the Republican Party. I divided the Platform according to subjects and parsed it out in an effort to be easy to digest.  That said, there’s a lot of info here, so wade in and be prepared for tonight’s talk.

American Families, Education, Healthcare, and Criminal Justice:

We will By So that
Advance the causes of liberty Opposing policies and laws that create a financial incentive for or encourage cohabitation;

Supporting laws that recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman;

Reversing the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage;

Opposing government discrimination against businesses or entires which decline to sell items or services to individuals for activities that go against their religious views;

 We lesson the need for government in our daily lives. This column is intentionally empty.  I intended to include how the party intended to pay for the plan.  However, very few portions of the action plan contained this element.
Create a culture of hope Proposing dynamic compassion of work requirements in a growing economy;

Removing structural inpediments such as over-regulation of start-up enterprises

Removing excessive licensing requirements;

Removing needless restriction on formation of schools and day-care centers;

Removing restrictions on providing public services in fields like transport and sanitation;

 We have poverty programs that actually reduce poverty and increase the personal independence of its participants.
Remove the federal government as a partner in education. Supporting a constitutional amendment to protect parents’ from interference by states, the federal government, or international bodies such as the United Nations. We restore parents’ right to be the first and primary educators of the children.
Make the Bible an indispensable development tool. Encouraging state legislation to offer the Bible in a literature curriculum as an elective in America’s high schools; We have an educated citizenry.
Allow flexibility to school administrators to  innovate. Urging school districts to make use of teaching talent in the business community, STEM fields, and the military;

Protecting teachers against frivolous lawsuits;

Allowing reasonable actions to maintain discipline and order;

Replacing rigid tenure systems with merit-based approach;

Background checking all personnel who interact with school children.

 We attract the best talent to the classroom.
Provide every child with equal access and opportunity. Encouraging instructions in Amrican history and civics by using the original documents of our founding fathers;

Making technology a key element in education;

 We have a world-class system of education.
Provide choices in education. Supporting innovative financing mechanisms such as eduction saving accounts, vouchers, and tuition tax credits;

Allowing Title I and IDEA funds follow the child to whatever school the family thinks will work best;

Repealing federal regulations which interfere with state and local control of public schools;

Advancing the concept of block grants;

 We have educational options.
Provide choices in education. Supporting English First approach;

Opposing divisive programs that limit students’ ability to advance in American society;

 All students have access to the mainstream of American life..
Provide choices in education. Replacing “family planning” programs with abstinence until marriage as the responsible and respected standard of behavior;

Opposing school-based clinic  that provide referral or counseling for abortion and contraception;

Defunding mandatory or universal mental health,, psychiatric or socio-emotional screening programs;

 Federal funds are not used
Eliminate the opportunity gaps. Advocating for labor and public assistance laws that ensure poor parents can spend time with their children;

Raising household incomes in poor communities;

Ensuring children have health care, style housing;

Ensuring children have a community free of violence

 We minimize cognitive delays
Support the original, authentic meaning of Title IX. Saluting states that filed suit against the use of Title IX; The edict concerning restrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities is declared illegal, dangerous, and ignores privacy issues.
Support the original, authentic meaning of Title IX. Halting the way colleges and universities deal with allegations of sexual abuse and assault; We prevent don’t prevent the proper authorities from investigating and prosecuting sexual assault effectively with due process.
Improve Higher Education. Calling on state officials to preserve our public colleges, universities, and trade schools as places of learning and the exchange of ideas;

Condemning campus-based Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaigns against Israel;

Ending “safe zones”

 Protect students 1st Amendment rights
Address college costs. Giving students access to financing options, and private sector participation in financing; The federal government is not in the business of originating student loans.
Address college costs. Decoupling accreditation from federal financing;

Empowering states to allow a wide array of accrediting and credentialing bodies to operate;

 We encourage new modes of higher education delivery to enter the market.
Restore patient control and preserve quality in health care. Repealing ACA;

Reducing mandates and increasing healthcare options;

Proposing a block grant for Medicaid;

Returning regulation to the states;

 We contain costs and increase options.
Restore patient control and preserve quality in health care. Promoting price transparency Patients know the cost of treatments before they agree to them.
Restore patient control and preserve quality in health care. Repealing the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act We no longer protect  insurance companies from anti-trust litigation.
Give our aging population access to safe and affordable care. Making homeware a priority in public policy;

Implementing programs to protect against elder abuse.

 Seniors can age at home.
Protect individual conscience in healthcare. Urging enactment of legislation that requires parental consent for their daughter to be transported across stage lines for abortion;

Codifying the Hyde Amendment;

calling for a permanent ban on federal funding and subsidies for abortion and healthcare plans that include abortion coverage;

 Healthcare professionals are not forced to choose between following their faith and practicing their profession.
Support tort reform. supporting state and federal legislation to cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits; We address a serious cause of higher medical bills.
Advance research and development in healthcare. Expanding support for the stem cell research through adult stem cells, umbilical cord blood, and cells reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells;

Banning human cloning for research or reproduction;

Banning the creation of, or experimentation on, human embryos for research;

Applauding the ban on FDA approval of research involving three-parent embryos;

Cutting federal and state funding for entities that endanger women’s health by performing abortions in a manner inconsistent with federal or state laws;

 We continue to marry significant investment, both public and private, with the world’s best talent.
Reform the FDA. Urging Congress to pass federal legislation to give all Americans with terminal illnesses the right to try investigational medicines not yet approved by the FDA. We restore the FDA to a premier scientific health agency, focused on promoting and protection the public health and ensuring americans live longer, healthier lives.

The United States remains the world leader in life sciences and medical innovation;

Millions of high-paying, cutting-edge device and drug jobs stay in the US.

US patients benefit first and most from new devices and drugs.

The FDA no longer wastes US taxpayer and innovators’ resources through bureaucratic red tape and legal uncertainty.
Including the disabled in the Small Business Administran’s 8(a) certification program, which opens up federal contracting for emerging businesses;

Restructuring the tax code to consider ways companies can benefit from the talent and energy of disabled employees.

 The disabled have access to education and the tools necessary to compete in the mainstream of society.
Advance Americans with disabilities Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act; Students with disabilities have increased access to the general curriculum.
Advance Americans with disabilities Modernizing the Fair Labor Standards Act with the Transition to Integrated and Meaningful Employment Act;

Mininmizing the separation of children with disabilities from their peers;

Endorsing efforts like Employment First;

 We encrourage ompetitive employment for the disabled.

We replace dependency with jobs in the mainstream of the American workforce.
Advance Americans with disabilities Urging DEA to restore its ban on the use of controlled substances for physician-assisted suicide;

Opposing the non-consensual withholding of care or treatment from people with disabilities, including newborns, the elderly, and infirm;

Opposing euthanasia and assisted suicide;

 We protect those on the margins of society.
ensuring the immediate dismissal and prosecution of any Department of Justice official who has violated their oath of office; End the current conduct of the DOJ which includes refusal to enforce laws, stonewalling congressional committees, destroying evidence, reckless dealing with firearms, defying a citation for contempt, urging leniency for rioters while turning a blind eye to mob attacks on peaceful citizen exercising their political rights.
Reform the Criminal Justice and Prison system. Making clear in words and actions that every human life matters;

Requiring the President to adhere to the rule of law;

 The public’s trust in law enforcement and civil order is restored.
Ensure safe neighborhoods. Urging caution in the creation of new “crimes”;

Creating a bipartisan presidential commission to purge the Code and the body of regulations of old “crimes.”

Urging Congress to codify the Common Law’s Rule of Lenity;

 Career civil servants and political appointees cannot criminalize behavior through regulations.

We have fewer crimes.
Ensure safe neighborhoods. Emphasizing restorative justice;

Encouraging states to offer opportunities for literacy and vocational education;

 We make the victims of crime whole and put the offenders on the right path.
Ensure safe neighborhoods. Condemning the Supreme Court’s erosion of the right of the people to enact capitol punishment in their states.

Enacting mandatory prison time for all assaults involving serious injury to law enforcement officers;

Targeting particular categories of crime, such as nonviolent offenders and persons with drug, alcohol, or mental health issues,  for any modification of mandatory sentences

 The federal courts are a model for the rest of the country in protecting the rights of victims and their families.
Ensure safe neighborhoods. Encouraging states to fight internet pornography and its harmful effects;

Urging energetic prosecution of child pornography, which is lclosely linked to human tafficking.

 The internet is a not a safe haven for predators.
Combat Drug Abuse Ensuring no physician is penalized for limiting opioid prescriptions;

Passing the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act.

 We address the opioid epidemic.

America’s Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment

 We will By So that
Maintain an abundant and inexpensive source of food from our farms. Insisting that our global trading partners adhere to science-based standards regarding food and health regulation; We expand trade opportunities and opening new markets for agriculture  This column is intentionally empty.  I intended to include how the party intended to pay for the plan.  However, very few portions of the action plan contained this element.
Maintain an abundant and inexpensive source of food from our farms. Restructuring our regulatory process;

We halt mandatory labels for genetically modified food;

We end mandates for menu labels;

We enhance dairy farmers efforts to double capacity;

We bloc rules on poultry and livestock marketing.

 Food prices do not get too expensive, particularly for low-income people.
Return control of waterways to farmers and ranchers. Invalidating EPAs Waters of the United States rule Unelected bureaucrats do not have control of state waters, watersheds, groundwater.
Respect modern farmers’ and ranchers’ techniques to protect the land. Allowing ranching on public lands; providing abundant water supply for America’s farmers, ranchers, and their communities. We keep food prices low.
Expand agricultural exports around the world. ??? We provide farm security.
Create certainty about natural weather and market risks. Passing the next Farm Bill ???
Protect farmers and ranchers from “Big Data” collection by regulations and programs. Advancing policies protecting data. We protect the privacy of ranchers and farmers.
Promote active sustainable management of our forests Allowing states to manage our forests; Improve the health of our forests, reduce forest fires, and save animal lives.
Plan for our energy future. Giving authority to state regulators to manage energy resources on federally controlled public lands within their respective borders;

Open public lands and the outer continental shelf to exploration and responsible production of oil;

 We add jobs.
End Obama’s war on coal. Eliminating EPA’s Clean Power Plan We give America’s poor warmer winter, cooler summers, more job mobility, and cheaper food.
Expedite mining for minerals on public lands; Allowing states to regulate mining on public land. End our reliance on minerals from China and other nations.
Urge the private sector to focus resources on carbon capture and sequestration technology. Opposing any carbon tax. We keep energy prices down.
Expand trade opportunities and new markets for American energy. Increasing domestic production, including on public land; We reduce our vulnerability to energy price volatility;

We increase jobs.
Acknowledge that year by year, the environment is improving. Shifting responsibility for environmental regulations to the states;

Transforming the EPS into an independent bipartisan commission

 We create jobs and expand opportunities for a better life for everyone willing to work for it.
Enforce the original intent of the Clean Water Act Forbidding the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide;

Modernize the permitting process;

 We stop frivolous lawsuits;

Create jobs get projects approved, and support growth.
Transfer federally owned land to the states. Immediately passing legislation that provides a timely and orderly mechanism The lands are protected by those who know best how to do so.
Balance protecting species with the costs of compliance and the rights of property owners. Protecting species transparently, with stakeholders input and in consideration of the impact on the development of lands and natural resources; We don’t upset the economic viability of an area with an unneeded designation, costing jobs and hurting local communities.
Stop politicizing climate change. Rejecting the agenda of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement;

Halting the U.N.’s Framework Convention on Climate Change

 We give incentives for human ingenuity and the development of new technologies;

We allow the government to supply guns to Palestine and any government that grants Palestian membership status.

  

 

The Rebirth of a Constitutional Government

We will By

So that
Have a constitutionally-minded Supreme Court. Appointing up to five Supreme Court judges. We can begin to reverse Roe, Obergefell, and the Obamacare cases.
Have a court that follows the text and original meaning of the Constituion and our laws. Restoring a strong conservative majority in the judiciary. We oppose the adoption or ratification of treaties that weaken or encroach upon American sovereignty.
Reclaim the constitutional powers from the bureaucratic state. Requiring major new federal regulations be approved by Congress before they can take effect (Regulation Freedom Amendment). Rules and regulations are no longer created and enforced by executive departments, agencies, and commissions.
Define marriage as one man and one woman. Supporting the appointment of justices and judges who respect the constitutional limits on their power and respect the authority of the states to decide fundamental social questions. Marriage is defended against an activist Judiciary.
Prohibit government, specifically the IRS, from policing or censoring speech based on religious convictions or beliefs. Repealing the Johnson Amendment The 1st Amendment: Religious Liberty is protected.
Bar the government from discrimination against individuals & businesses for acting on the belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. Endorsing the 1st Amendment Defense Act. The 1st Amendment: Religious Liberty is protected.
Support the freedom of Americans to act in accordance with their religious beliefs. Supporting the public display of the Ten commandments and affirming the rights of students to engage in voluntary prayer at public school events. The 1st Amendment: Religious Liberty is protected.
Oppose any restrictions or conditions that would discourage participation in the public square or limit their ability to promote their ideas. Repealing McCain Feingold, raising or repealing contribution limits.

End the Fairness Doctrine.

 The 1st Amendment: constitutionality of Protected Speech is protected.
Uphold the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. Preventing the President from installing a new liberal majority on the Supreme Court. The 2nd Amendment: Our Right to Keep and Bear Arms is protected.
Uphold the right of individuals to bear arms. Opposing laws that restrict magazine capacity or ban the sale of common modern rifles.

Opposing any efforts to deprive individuals of their right to keep and bear arms.

Supporting firearm reciprocity legislation;

Supporting right to carry statutes..

 The 2nd Amendment: Our Right to Keep and Bear Arms is protected.
Condemn lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers and harassment of gun dealers. Opposing federal licensing or registration of law-abiding gun owners, registration of ammunition, and restoration of gun bans. The 2nd Amendment: Our Right to Keep and Bear Arms is protected.
Affirm the 4th Amendment “right of the people to be secure in their houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” Calling for strict limits on the use of aerial surveillance on U.S. soil, with the exception of patrolling our national borders for illegal entry and activity. The 4th Amendment: Liberty and Privacy is protected.
End governments warrantless seizure of personal financial information of Americans overseas. Repealing FATCA U.S. citizen living outside overseas can lead normal lives.
Assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. Supporting a human life amendment to the Constitution;

Supporting legislation to make clear that the 14th Amendment’s protection apply to children before birth.

 The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can “be deprived of life, liberty or property.”
Make it a crime to acquire, transfer, or sell fetal tissues from elective abortions for research; Opposing public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can be deprived of life.
Ban the practice of misleading women on fetal harvesting consent forms. Refusing to fund or subsidize healthcare that includes abortion coverage. The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can be deprived of life.
Support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life. Opposing the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment including food & water, from individuals with disabilities, newborns, the elderly, or the infirm.

Opposing euthanasia and assisted suicide.

 The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can “be deprived of life.
Affirm our moral obligation to assist women who face an unplanned pregnanacy. Supporting legislation that requires financial responsibility for the child be equally borne by both the mother and the father. The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can be deprived of life.
Add enforcement to the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act Passing the Born-Alive Abortion Survivor Protection act, Healthcare providers will face civil and criminal penalties who fail to provide treatment an care to an infant who survives an abortion.
Prohibit abortions after twenty weeks. Passing a Capable Unborn child Protection Act. Protect unborn babies at a point where they can feel excruciating pain.
End discrimination in its most lethal form. Banning sex-selective abortions, abortions based on disabilities. The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can “be deprived of life.
Support adult stem cell research. Banning embryonic stem cell research, federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, opposing federal funding for harvesting embryos;

Banning human cloning.

 The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can be deprived of life.
Assure that private property can be taken only for true public use. Supporting the Private Property Rights Protection Act. The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can be deprived of life
End unscrupulous law enforcement officials that profit by destroying the livelihood of innocent individuals. Enacting reforms to protect law-abiding citizens against abusive asset forfeiture tactics. The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can be deprived of  property.
Guard against counterfeit part that can compromise the reliability of our weapons systems and the safety of military personnel. Enforcing intellectual property laws against all infringers, whether foreign or domestic. The 5th Amendment  is protected, so that no one can be deprived of intellectual property
Restore the vertical separation of powers between the federal government and state government. Stopping federal government from bullying states and local government regarding voter identification, immigration, healthcare programs, forced education curricula, school restroom policies, etc. The 10th Amendment is protected as the foundation of personal liberty.
Restore the vertical separation of powers between the federal government and state government. Reducing and ultimately eliminating conditioned grant.s State and local taxpayers can decide for themselves what is best for their own communities.
Uphold the Electoral College procedure. Opposing the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact or any other scheme to abolish or distort the Electoral College procedures. Our Presidential Elections are honest.
Protect the voting rights of every citizen. Supporting state efforts to ensure ballot access for the elderly, handicapped, military personnel, and all legitimate voters. We have honest elections.
Oppose litigation against states that enact voter registration limitations. Supporting legislation to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and securing photo ID when voting. We have honest elections.
Keep voter rolls accurate. Urging every state to join the Interstate Voter Registration Cross Check Program We have honest elections
Guard against foreign involvement in elections. Calling for vigilance regarding online credit card contributions to candidates and campaigns. We have honest elections.
Ensure that citizenship, rather than residency, be made the basis for apportionment of representatives among the states. Conducting the decennial census “in such a Manner as they shall by Law direct.” Preserve the principle of one person, one vote.

Jobs and the Ecconomy

We will By So that
Not divide people into winners and losers Eliminating as many special interest provisions and loopholes as possible and curb corporate welfare We don’t penalize thrift and discourage investment.  This column is intentionally empty.  I intended to include how the party intended to pay for the plan.  However, very few portions of the action plan contained this element.
Level the international playing field Lowering the corporate tax rate to be on a par with, or below the rates of other industrial nations America is competitive.
Level the international playing field Switching to a territorial system of taxation Profits earned and taxed abroad may be repatriated for job-creating investments.
Prevent foreign governments from limiting American access to their markets while stealing our designs, patents, brands, know-how, and technology. Broadening our trade agreements with countries which share our values and commitment to fairness The interests of the U.S. workers are advanced.
Avoid future taxpayer housing market bailouts Scaling back the role of government in the housing market Homeowners and lenders are responsible.
Advance responsible homeownership End government mandates to satisfy lending quotas to specific groups We end discrimination in the mortgage industry.
Advance responsible homeownership Reviewing federal environmental regulations We make it easier and less costly for Americans to rent, buy, or sell homes.
Eliminate Federal funds for ferries, bike-share, sidewalks, recreational trails, landscaping Remove the Highway Trust Fund programs We end the current administration’s efforts to get people out of their cars.
Eliminate Federal funds for Amtrak Allow private ventures to provide passenger service to the northeast corridor and high-speed intercity rail across the country American taxpayers don’t subsidize public transportation
Create a partnership with individuals and industries for investment and innovation Simplifying the tax code, reduce corporate rates, transition to a territorial system, and create incentives for investment and innovation. We have a business climate that rewards risk and promotes innovation.
Create new jobs, , give access to new markets, open opportunities to underserved populations, and expand consumer choices. Paving the way for broadband deployment and completion on the internet and for internet services.

Encouraging the sharing economy and on-demand platforms

 We are competitive in an open market
Improve the Electric Grid Expediting siting processes and the thoughtful expansion of the grid Our aging grid is replaced in seven to ten years.
Reduce the occupational licensing laws Overturning the Dodd-Frank law Millions of entrepreneurial careers open.
Annually audit the Federal Reserve’s activities Advancing legislation already approved by the House The Federal Reserve’s role is carried out in a more transparent manner.
Bring labor laws into the 21st century Supporting the States to enact Right-to-work laws. We protect economic liberty of the modern workforce.
Limit non-cash benefits of the federal workforce Reviewing the unionization of the federal workforce for the effects on cost, quality, and performance of the civil service. We align iFederal compensation and benefits  with most American employees and expedite firing of bad workers, tax cheats, and scammers.
Reduce the Federal Dept Imposing caps on future dept, accelerate the repayment of the trillions now owed. Our economy is strong.

 

Thank you for reading this far.  I know it’s a tough one.  [tweetthis]Maybe not as much fun as the proposed “Drinking Game,” [/tweetthis], but I plan print this and follow along and shout bingo every time he mentions one of these items.

I’m also staying diligent about what the the Senate and the House propose.  My pink hat is ready to demonstrate. I’m taking action beyond demonstrations.  What’s your plan?

Here’s the drinking game, in case you’re wondering.

 

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