Full Text of Balanced Budget Amendment Bill - S.J.Res. 10 With Latest Updates: House Votes Next Week

Below is the full text of the bill proposing that the federal government have a balanced budget.  Maybe you, like me, think it's a good idea to read this thing. 

What is a balanced budget amendment? 

Balanced budget amendments are not new, a federal version has been debated for years -- and all but three of the states have their own version of a balanced budget requirement, imposed either by constitution or by statute (the three that do not are Wyoming, North Dakota, and Alaska according to the Austin American Statesman). 

In sum, these balanced budget laws (or amendments) state that the government cannot spend more than it takes in; in this proposal, each year the President would have to provide a proposed budget to Congress (who has the purse-strings) that demonstrated no plan for the feds to spend more than the federal income. 

The 2011 Balanced Budget Amendment - Details


For more information on the current proposed bill for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, read through the links provided here by Thomas.gov. 

Note that this proposal not only seeks a Balanced Budget but it also establishes caps on spending at 18% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it fights against an increase in federal taxes by requiring an overwhelming Congressional vote approving any tax hike.

Shown below is the version of the bill that was accurate as of the date of this post (you can download a pdf from the Government Printing Office here). 

The House of Representatives will vote on this bill during the week of July 18, 2011.  If the House approves this bill, then the next step will be to send the proposed amendment to the 50 states for their ratification: 


 _____________________________________________  112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. J. RES. 10
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to balancing the budget.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 31, 2011

Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. LEE, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. KYL, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. TOOMEY, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. RISCH, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. PAUL, Mr. VITTER, Mr. ENZI, Mr. KIRK, Mr. THUNE, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. BURR, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. COBURN, Mr. MORAN, Mr. LUGAR, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts, Mr.

Interview of Psychologist Who Examined Casey Anthony for Mental Illness Including Personality Disorders

In tandem with today's Guest Post, thought I'd add this short post, too, as it regarding the same topic: questions regarding psychological issues that have arisen during the Casey Anthony trial coverage.

Here is the link to the five minute interview by Nancy Grace of William Weitz Ph.D. who was brought in by the defense back in 2009 to evaluate Casey Anthony and his discussion as a psychologist of those findings, including sociopathy as well as various personality disorders:

http://debsnews.com/nancygrace/UiY-tJtYrqSHafi0

Psych Today's Dr. Karyl McBride Answers Your Casey Anthony Trial Questions

As promised, guest blogger Dr. Karyl McBride answers your questions today regarding some of the psychological issues that have arisen during the course of the Casey Anthony trial.

Dr. McBride is the author of Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers, published by Simon and Schuster and available as either a paperback or e-book. She will be hosting her annual workshop (for therapists and narcissist survivors) this fall at the Inverness Hotel in Denver, Colorado on October 7 - 9, 2011 (details here), the "Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers Workshop."

You may listen to her recent interviews regarding the Casey Anthony trial at her website, which include (1) June 9, 2011 - HLN's "In Session" with Mike Galanos and (2) June 20, 2011 - HLN's "Issues With Jane Velez Mitchell." 

For more details on Dr. McBride's background and expertise, please review the biographic details provided in my earlier post.  What follows are Dr. McBride's answers to the questions sent to her, which were culled from both Backseat Lawyer comments as well as emails that I received regarding psychological questions/concerns.

Question:  In families with a narcissist, what other mental illnesses are found - aren’t they all ill from living with the narcissist and being controlled by him? 

Dr. McBride:  Narcissistic families are a dysfunction all to themselves. There are unique and insidious factors to the family that looks good on the outside, but has emotionally harming behaviors and reactions happening on the inside, in the dark, and behind closed doors. The cornerstone to maternal narcissism is the inability to love unconditionally and a lack of empathy.

Narcissistic parents do not tune in to the emotional world of their children. Instead, everything is all about them...the parents. The children are there to meet the needs of the parents. There are many ramifications to the children... so many, I could write a book about it! Ha! See book details at www.nevergoodenough.com . The most damaging to the children is growing up with nagging self doubt and a feeling of not being good enough.

Question:  What is the difference between a narcissist and a sociopath and a psychopath?

Dr. McBride:  Not all narcissists are sociopaths or psychopaths of course. But most sociopaths and psychopaths are also narcissists. How confusing is that, eh? Psychopaths can't form human attachment, have a lack of empathy, masked by an inability to appear normal. They have no remorse and these are the people with a criminal mind who do bad...really bad things.

Sociopaths are people with social behavior that is extremely abnormal and they are interested only in their own personal needs and desires without concern for the effects of their behavior on others. They can also be criminals.

There is an interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental factors much like addiction in sociopaths and psychopaths, but it is thought that psychopaths leans more towards heredity while sociopaths lean more towards environment.

I don't think there is enough research out there to confirm. The debate continues on nature versus nurture. What makes it even more confusing is that trauma effects the brain.

Question:  Is being a liar or a gambler sometimes a born trait? 

Dr. McBride:  Addictive personalities have a predisposition but turning into a gambler is mostly related to environmental factors. Lying is a learned behavior in my opinion. Can you imagine looking at a new born baby and knowing that this precious little one is sure to be a liar. It doesn't make much sense to me.

Question:  How can a mother not cry about her missing child but go bar hopping and being in “Hot Body” contests? 

Dr. McBride:  Oh, talking about Casey Anthony here? I do not believe we know all the details of this case. See my Psychology Today post on the family dynamics theories. I always worried that Casey's behaviors were trauma related and best explained in that way. I still wonder why the litigation did not bring forth more psychological testimony or assessment.

Question:  I would like to know if it does not seem strange that there has never been any comments from friends or relatives of the Anthony family... except Casey's fly by night 'friends' who we've seen in court. Why no one else is sitting in the courtroom with George and Cindy for support. Where are the siblings of George and Cindy? Or neighbors or parents of Lee or Casey's childhood friends, teachers – anyone who can say something about what life was like in the Anthony household? 

Dr. McBride:  This is such an interesting point! In narcissistic families, there are few friends. Narcissists don't make emotional connections with people. We don't know if this family had narcissistic dynamics, but if there were, this all makes a whole lot of sense to me.

Additionally, the family members of narcissistic families are rarely close and connected. They were not taught to be close, but rather pitted against each other in competitive ways. Ughhh!

Question:  Do narcissists kill? Isn’t that what makes the difference between a narcissist and a sociopath like Ted Bundy? 

Dr. McBride:  Many people have narcissistic traits and we could never say that narcissists kill.

Question:  Is Lee Anthony the scapegoat in this dysfunctional family? 

Dr. McBride:  Again, good question and thought. We don't know anything for sure. But, with the dynamics we saw and then looking at narcissistic family dynamics, it looked that way.

Question:  What about Cindy Anthony? No one talks about her but she lies too and there’s something not right about her. It can’t be just one mentally ill person in that house. What if Cindy is a maternal narcissist? 

Dr. McBride:  I don't want to diagnose anyone without knowing them. We can only do hypotheticals. But the mother-daughter strained relationship makes sense if we have a narcissistic family and an incest family. The engulfing behavior of the mom in this family makes more sense too.

Question:  How do we know if we are working with a narcissist? I think I know someone just like Casey! 

Dr. McBride:  A narcissist is someone who exploits others, has no empathy or interest in others, is all about themselves, can be grandiose, haughty, arrogant, has a sense of entitlement and is jealous of others or thinks others are jealous of them. I think one way to tell is if they are able to give and take and do reciprocity or if it is always about them when they invest in something. The biggest key, however, is that lack of empathy.

Question:  Can narcissists change? Could Casey Anthony have been helped if she was in therapy long ago or she unreachable?

Dr. McBride:  We don't know if Casey was or is a narcissist. Narcissism is a spectrum disorder and one can have traits without being a full-blown NPD. I think it is very difficult to assess what went wrong in this case and with Casey.

I can make a case for the defense though when I look at all the dynamics. If so, then Casey does not look like she appeared on television. Hard to explain, but if you read the blog post on Psychology Today it will make more sense.

I don't believe in diagnosing people we don't know, so please understand that my postings here and on my blog are using the case to educate about dysfunctional families and not to take a stance or diagnose this family. There is much here that we will never know or understand because there are too many unknowns, secrets and lies.

Casey Anthony Book Deal: With Her Deposition in the Zenaida Gonzalez Case, How Much Is Left to Sell to a Publisher?

The real Zeniada Gonzalez filed her civil lawsuit against Casey Anthony back in September 2008. Last week, Ms. Gonzalez's lawyer, John Morgan, lost no time after the infamous Not Guilty verdict in the murder trial -- he promptly served Casey Anthony with a subpoena to have her deposition taken in Zeniada's civil suit.

Unless there is an agreed-upon delay, the deposition is scheduled to take place in Mr. Morgan's Orlando law offices on July 19, 2011.

Zenaida is suing for defamation, seeking damages for the harm she has experienced after her name was used as "Zanny the Nanny" - something that Casey Anthony admitted in her criminal case was a total fabrication.

That deposition will be transcribed by a court reporter. Maybe it will be videotaped. Casey Anthony will be sworn in - just as if she was taking the witness stand in a courtroom - and everything she says will be part of this civil defamation suit.

So, here's my question: with that big fat deposition coming down, how much will be left for any book deal? The deposition will be public record, it's the taking of testimony in a court case, and unless there's a gag order it will only be a matter of time till the depo will be online for anyone interested to read.

Add that to the fact that double jeopardy has attached, and Casey Anthony cannot take the Fifth on any question that might tend to incriminate her in Caylee's death (she cannot be tried twice for that crime), and that deposition testimony should be pretty interesting.

Suggestion: if it's acceptable under Florida law and Florida ethical rules, as well as the court reporter (in Texas, court reporters are paid for extra copies), maybe Zenaida would consider placing that deposition transcript for a small price on Amazon - and let the proceeds go to an appropriate charity that would honor Caylee. If that's okay to the Court, the Bar, etc. and I don't know that it is (maybe it could be if there was a Court Order in place that gave the okey-dokey).

I'm not sure that this flies, but I like the idea of sales of Casey's words going to honoring Caylee Marie.

Child Advocates Are Needed - Would You Be a Good Advocate for a Child Involved in an Abuse or Neglect Case?

Child Advocates are trained volunteers appointed by the courts to champion children who have been removed from their parents' home because of allegations of abuse and/or neglect. 

These kids range in age from toddlers to teens about to "age out" of the system and they are placed in any number of caretaking locations:  in group homes, in foster care, in orphanages, in special treatment facilities.  Each has his or her own unique history, personality, etc. - but I haven't met a child in a CPS case yet that wasn't scared, worried, and in need of loving support.

Child Advocates visit the kids, building rapport and relationship, bonding with them.  They also attend meetings with the attorneys, case workers, therapists, parents, and the like - and they appear in court at the counsel table (here in Bexar County, CASA volunteers set in the chair next to the child's attorney(s)), giving their own reports and recommendations to the judge.

It is a proactive, important job and there aren't enough people taking on this responsibility.  A good Child Advocate can really change a kid's life -- I've seen it happen on more than one occasion.  Child Advocates make a difference. 

I think that some of the readers here on Backseat Lawyer have left comments that suggest they would be great Child Advocates -- and that they might just be interested in getting involved.  If so, I leave these links with you for more information and  please feel free to contact me if you have any questions:

National CASA
CASA - San Antonio

Casey Anthony - What Happens Now?

Well, the Casey Anthony jury verdict was returned today and yes, I'm surprised that the jury found Not Guilty on all the felonies.  From the news coverage, I'm right there with the majority of the country: there's even media alerts on the large, growing number of celebrities who are tweeting their shock at this result.  

A copy of the complete jury charge is here (not the verdict, I'm sure that will be uploaded to the web shortly). It's this that the jury had with them in the jury room to guide them in their decision-making, together with the exhibits and their recollection or notes of witness testimony. 

Reading through the counts within that charge, I understand that the jurors did not find a sufficient connection in the "act" or "criminal act" to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Casey Anthony was guilty of that particular crime.   And I understand that their perspective is different from the judge, the defense, the prosecutor (as I've posted about earlier). 

The jury did the right thing: if they did not think that the State of Florida provided evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that there was guilt, then "not guilty" was where they should have come down.  

It's not like the jury voted that she is innocent of her daughter's death.  Not guilty and innocent are two different things. 


In my view, this didn't have anything to do with Jose Baez's antics but dealt solely with the prosecution's evidence, which was almost entirely circumstantial in its attempts to connect the mother to the crime.  No DNA, etc. was a big problem for them - apparently, an insurmountable one. 

I'm sure that we'll hear interviews and probably read books written by some of these jurors, giving us more details than we really need on the why and the how of their deliberations and their decision.   I imagine some of those deals are being ironed out while I type this.

Speaking of book deals and things, I imagine that Casey Anthony will financially benefit from these events.  I imagine that Jose Baez and his team are making deals for books and movies and all sorts of things.  Maybe Cindy is going to write a book, too.  Heck, maybe River Cruz will be on Amazon in time for Christmas.

What I'm interested in watching now is how the public is reacting to this surprise verdict, and how disrespect has grown for our system of justice; how a trial by media does impact a case; and I'm also concerned about some fool seeking vengeance on behalf of Caylee - because I fear that there are those out there that are that incensed that Casey Anthony will walk free. 

Finally, today reminds me of one of the reasons that I stopped working the Children's Court.  Without revealing details, I can share that I was involved in a case where a prostitute had her children taken from her by CPS and she fought long and hard to get those kids back.  She earned the respect of everyone in the case, and we all believed that she had taken this life event as an opportunity to change her life: to have an apartment with ivy growing in the kitchen window, a regular job, her kids in school, her own car and a normal family life.

Her family was reunited and the case was closed.  Everyone - the attorneys, the therapists, the ad litems, the case workers, the judge - counted this case as a victory.  Victories aren't seen too often in Children's Court.  We all took this case to heart because so many of the CPS cases are so sad - we all needed this to remember that sometimes things do work out well. 

Then, about a year later, we were told that this woman had been arrested in another state, high on drugs and she had almost killed her youngest child.  She didn't fight the charges, and she'll spend the rest of her days behind bars.

Today, I think about that case and that pretty little girl who was about the same age as Caylee when she was almost killed by her mother and I remember the lesson from that case. 

It's not always over when the judge closes the case.  The justice system isn't omnipotent nor omnipresent and its power is intentionally limited.  Life continues after the lawsuit is done.

I worry that this tragedy isn't over with, and I hope and pray that I'm wrong. It just seems in my gut that there's another shoe that's going to drop, and I'm hoping this is just my personal reaction based upon that old CPS case.