That Provident Article

A "Bonus" Episode, with apologies for the incorrect episode airing on January 16, 2016.

Today's episode will be dedicated to an interview with Ben Stratmann, the Chief of Staff for Texas State Senator Brian Birdwell.  Please note the day and time for this episode (Monday, January 18, 2016), 11:30 Central Time!

I realize that with the increased interest generated from Governor Abbott's surprise endorsement last Friday, this would be a great time for news and phone calls - unfortunately, circumstances are such that I cannot accommodate a podcast for news and phone calls until the end of the month.  At that time we will dedicate at least one episode exclusively to Governor Greg Abbott's inclusion of a call for a Convention of States in the "Texas Plan", the legislative priorities he has for the next session!

In the meantime, please consider hearing from a Chief of Staff for a State Senator.

Mr. Stratmann will share insights on how a State Legislator's office functions, and give some tips on how to best contact your legislator, and advocate for an issue.

That Provident Article" is hosted by Convention of States Texas volunteer Paul Hodson, with the Convention of States since late 2013, a District Captain in Texas from February 2014 through November 2015, and now serving as Co-Director for the Convention of States Texas.

So, you're convinced that a Convention of States via Article V is the best hope for our nation, and you're ready to help out anyway that you can.  But, where do you start? What can you do?

Today's episode will be dedicated to an interview with Stewart Collins, a Convention of States volunteer in Florida. Stewart is the epitome of a self-governing individual - in today's language, Stewart "takes initiative" rather than waiting for direction.  I first became aware of Stewart in early 2015 on Facebook; the Convention of States Project began filing legislation in multiple states in a short period of time, and it became very difficult to keep track of which States were filing, which were already in process, and which had already completed the process with his maps - he became known as "Map Guy"!

I realize that with the increased interest generated from Governor Abbott's surprise endorsement last Friday, this would be a great time for news and phone calls - unfortunately, circumstances are such that I cannot accommodate a podcast for news and phone calls until the end of the month.  At that time we will dedicate at least one episode exclusively to Governor Greg Abbott's inclusion of a call for a Convention of States in the "Texas Plan", the legislative priorities he has for the next session!

In the meantime, please consider hearing from active Convention of States volunteer from Florida.

Mr. Collins will share some of his experiences in Florida, including participation in a mock Convention of States, and the success of seeing a state legislature approve of our Article V resolution..

That Provident Article" is hosted by Convention of States Texas volunteer Paul Hodson, with the Convention of States since late 2013, a District Captain in Texas from February 2014 through November 2015, and now serving as Co-Director for the Convention of States Texas.

Today's episode will be dedicated to an interview with Martin Harry, the Legislative Liaison for the Texas Convention of States Project.  No news segment, no phone calls.

Mr. Harry will share insights on the responsibilities of the Legislative Liaison, and how supporters and District Captains can best help the Legislative Liaison.

That Provident Article" is hosted by Convention of States Texas volunteer Paul Hodson, with the Convention of States since late 2013, a District Captain in Texas from February 2014 through November 2015, and now serving as Co-Director for the Convention of States Texas.

The Convention of States mission statement is “To urge and empower state legislators to call a Convention of States to propose amendments to the Constitution to curb the abuses of the federal government.”

The only participants with actual authority to accomplish this task are the state legislators.

Almost every state legislator is a member of a political party.

How does this inform us in terms of fulfilling our mission?

Last week we described some specific reasons which may prompt you to get involved with a political party.  This week we will delve into the process of constructing, defending, and approving a political party's platform.  How do you get started?  Where does a platform come from?  How will my participation in the party assist me in now influencing the platform?

We'll spend a little bit of time with Convention of States news first.  And save some time for phone calls.

"That Provident Article" is hosted by Convention of States Texas volunteer Paul Hodson, with the Convention of States since late 2013, a District Captain in Texas from February 2014 through November 2015, and now serving as Co-Director for the Convention of States Texas.

The Convention of States mission statement is “To urge and empower state legislators to call a Convention of States to propose amendments to the Constitution to curb the abuses of the federal government.”

The only participants with actual authority to accomplish this task are the state legislators.

Almost every state legislator is a member of a political party.

How does this inform us in terms of fulfilling our mission?

We will discuss the opportunity we have to use the COS grassroots enthusiasm to participate in, and influence, the political parties.

We'll spend a little bit of time with Convention of States news first.  And save some time for phone calls.

We'll also close the show with Madison Rising's "Soldier's Christmas".

"That Provident Article" is hosted by Convention of States Texas volunteer Paul Hodson, with the Convention of States since late 2013, a District Captain in Texas from February 2014 through November 2015, and now serving as Co-Director for the Convention of States Texas.

Our 5th, and final, installment of our examination of the history behind the phrase "Constitutional Convention", as it has been, and continues to be, applied to describe the Constitution's Article V State authorized amending mode, a "convention for proposing amendments".

Last week we discussed the 1960's campaign, led by Senator Everett Dirksen, to promote an amending convention focused on overturning the apportionment rulings of an activist Supreme Court, and the responses from the likes of Senators Joseph Tydings, Robert Kennedy, William Proxmire, and Jacob Javits.  This final look at the fruits of the disinformation campaign will pick up with the influence of Senator Robert Kennedy and his political clout, the continuing presence of Yale Law Professor Charles Black, and culminating in the opposition successfully rebranding the phrase "convention to propose amendments" into the politically charged phrase "Constitutional Convention", as a means to counteract the Balanced Budget Amendment movement of the late 1970's/early 1980's.

How has the prominence of the phrase affected the view of Article V?

We'll spend a little bit of time with Convention of States news first.  And save some time for phone calls.

"That Provident Article" is hosted by Convention of States Texas volunteer Paul Hodson, with the Convention of States since late 2013, a District Captain in Texas from February 2014 through November 2015, and now serving as Co-Director for the Convention of States Texas.

Part 4 of our examination of the history behind the phrase "Constitutional Convention", as it has been, and continues to be, applied to describe the Constitution's Article V State authorized amending mode, a "convention for proposing amendments".

We will pick up right where we left off last week, following the coordinated disinformation campaign from prominent progressive law professors, through the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, high-profile Senators like Joseph Tydings, Robert Kennedy, William Proxmire, and Jacob Javits.

How has the prominence of the phrase affected the view of Article V?

We'll spend a little bit of time with Convention of States news first.  And save some time for phone calls.

"That Provident Article" is hosted by Convention of States Texas volunteer Paul Hodson, with the Convention of States since late 2013, a District Captain in Texas from February 2014 through November 2015, and now serving as Co-Director for the Convention of States Texas.

Part 3 of our examination of the history behind the phrase "Constitutional Convention", as it has been, and continues to be, applied to describe the Constitution's Article V State authorized amending mode, a "convention for proposing amendments".

This episode will dive into the initial motive behind introducing the phrase "Constitutional Convention", and the key players involved in promoting that phrase.

How has the prominence of the phrase affected the view of Article V?

We'll spend a little bit of time with Convention of States news first.  And save some time for phone calls.

"That Provident Article" is hosted by Convention of States Texas volunteer Paul Hodson, with the Convention of States since late 2013, a District Captain in Texas from February 2014 through November 2015, and now serving as Co-Director for the Convention of States Texas.

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving weekend than to learn some of the history behind the phrase "Constitutional Convention", as it has been, and continues to be, applied to describe the Constitution's Article V State authorized amending mode, a "convention for proposing amendments"?

We'll spend some time referencing multiple original source documents from hundreds of Article V State applications for an amending convention, asking the questions why, and how, the description was changed to "Constitutional Convention", and begin discussion of the implications of this change in nomenclature.

We'll spend a little bit of time with Convention of States news first.  And save some time for phone calls.

"That Provident Article" is hosted by Convention of States Texas volunteer Paul Hodson, with the Convention of States since late 2013, a District Captain in Texas from February 2014 through November 2015, and now serving as Co-Director for the Convention of States Texas.

Today's episode will begin a series considering the phrase "Constitutional Convention", as it has been used for decades to describe the second mode of amending the Constitution as defined in Article V.  This will be an introductory presentation, laying some basic ground work, highlighting both opponents and proponents of an Article V "convention for proposing amendments" using the phrase "Constitutional Convention", and beginning the discussion regarding whether that is helpful, or harmful, to the understanding of the meaning of Article V.

The news segment will be a bit longer, as we missed last week's news, so we have two weeks of news to cover.

We will definitely allow time for phone calls as well.