If neither dominant party represents you, consider the Libertarian Party.

Influential Books

My public mind has been nurtured by many books. Some of the most influential writings are listed below. They will inform you of my thinking as a public servant.

 
  1.   The Bible – Faith demands that we help each other
  2.   US Bill of Rights, especially Amendment IX
  3.   Declaration of Independence – what can a distant central gov't inflict upon The People?
  4.   The Law by Frederic Bastiat (1850) – Legal Plunder … what gov't does, but shouldn't
  5.   The Federalist Papers by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay
  6.   George Washington: Writings by Library of America – a glimpse into the mind of the indispensable man
  7.   The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand – Howard Roark, a true hero who stands on Truth and conviction
  8.   The Marshall Plan by Benn Steil – Ukraine is the ongoing provocation of Russia by NATO
  9.   America's War for the Greater Middle East by Andrew J. Bacevich – the futility of war
  10.   Foreign Affairs Magazine – how do unelected bureaucrats affect world affairs?
  11.   The Fourteenth Amendment by William E Nelson – the closure of the War Between the States
  12.   A History of the Supreme Court by Bernard Schwartz
  13.   Cynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay – a peek into today's academia
  14.   Common Sense by Thomas Paine – just what is the United States?
  15.   The Last Jeffersonian by Ryan S Walters … a little preachy at the end
  16.   Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky – the true evil of zero-sum politics

Mike Kolls

I am a concerned citizen that believes our federal gov't has gone off the rails. The federal gov't is operating far outside the The Constitution of the United States. I saw this in 2009 amidst the debate over the "Affordable" Care Act. I still do NOT see how the federal gov't can compel its citizens to buy a product … one it may NOT want, nor can afford. Fortunately, the Individual Mandate was removed by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (2017).

As such, I was politically re-awakened by the TEA Party movement. The planks of fiscal responsibility and limited gov't rang especially true for me.

By 2012 I found the Libertarian Party. I was a congressional candidate in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2022.

Project Manager

Professionally I am a Project Manager within Information Technology. My first project was Year 2000 planning and then making some of the computer programming changes.

The following discipline could be applied successfully to being a representative to the federal gov't.

  •   identifying the scope,
  •   deconstructing/separating the tasks,
  •   assessing risk,
  •   monitoring the work,
  •   working issues, and
  •   making sure all interested parties are informed

I wonder how many Senators and Representatives have this kind of experience.

Reading

Besides political theory (list above) I try to read about:
  •   The Bible and Lutheran theology
  •   United States history – our founding and the early republic
    •   including biographies
  •   Some science fiction or fiction … a rare read
 

Life, Liberty!, Property

Web Author - Mike Kolls