"If the
freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep
to the slaughter." ~ George
Washington
"Brethren, we came to this
country to practice our religious liberties, and if we don't get involved, we're
going to lose them." ~
John Peter Muhlenberg, 1777
The
Simple Difference between Socialism and Free Enterprise
An economics professor
at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student
before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that
Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich,
a great equalizer.
The professor then said,
"OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".. All
grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no
one would receive an A....
After the first test,
the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset
and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled
around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who
studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.
The second test average
was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an
F.
As the tests proceeded,
the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in
hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.
All failed, to their
great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately
fail because when the reward isgreat,
the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all thereward away, no one will try or want to succeed.
Could not be any simpler
than that. (Pleasepass this on)
Remember, there is a test coming up. The 2012 elections.
Obama administration, including his czars and his closest Progressive
supporters, are planning a manufactured insurgency against America. Using the
media to garner both sympathy and support for his unfinished goals
The planned re-election of Obama, revolutionary style
It was not the proverbial 3:00 a.m. phone call, but close enough. And it was not
made to the White House, but to my house, which is not white, nor is it in DC.
It was about 2:30 a.m. on 25 April 2012, and the call itself was somewhat
unexpected. I had anticipated the telephone call from my DHS insider much
earlier the previous day, but our schedules didn’t synch up. I was traveling
on an investigative assignment, while my source was in meetings all day. I had
just fallen asleep, and was slumbering no more than 20 minutes when the phone
rang.
In most households, a ringing phone at that time of night causes concern for
everyone who hears it. In my household, it seems to surprise only my surly, 140
pound light-sleeping German Shepherd. He let out an objective grunt as I stepped
over him to take the call in another room. It was “Rosebud,” the code name
given my insider source.
About Rosebud
Just a little bit here about my source and his “super-secret code name.”
I’ve known this government insider since 1979, when he first became a
municipal patrol officer. He took a job in a bigger city and had a very
successful run as a cop. Before retirement and after the events of 9/11, he was
tapped by the feds, where he worked in various capacities under the umbrella of
DHS. He worked his way up, and suddenly found himself in what he terms the inner
sanctum of the “TEC” building. TEC, he explains, is an acronym for what he
calls “The Estrogen Challenged,” which houses the upper echelon of the
Department of Homeland Security. I’ll leave it at that.
As far as his code name, it originates from an incident that occurred at the
end of the disco era. It is something that we both privately laugh about, but
rarely ever talk about. His “code name” is known to him, me, and at the
time, a young woman who has since vanished amid the glitter of disco balls and
constant replays of the Bee Gees in a dark nightclub some 32 years ago, and has
no “cloak and dagger” origins.
But he is real, his position serious, and his knowledge vast. Unfortunately,
that’s what makes the whole situation frightening and deadly serious.
The information
It began on Wednesday, 2 May 2012 with a 45-minute interview on TruNews with
Rick Wiles when I first disclosed the information I received the previous week
from my source. The information I relayed “went viral,” as they say, across
the internet.
To support the statements I made during that interview, I am showing my
handwritten notes taken contemporaneously during our conversation. My notes
consist of two pages and are, at various points, admittedly difficult to
decipher. I ask that points not be deducted for my penmanship given the time of
the morning which they were taken.
According to my source, there is talk among the highest levels of the
uppermost echelon of the Department of Homeland Security, which he describes as
effectively under the control of Barack Hussein Obama. During this call, he said
that the DHS is actively preparing for massive social unrest inside the United
States. He then corrected himself, stating that “a civil war” is the more
appropriate term. Certain elements of the government are not only expecting and
preparing for it, they are actually facilitating it,” stated my source.
“The DHS takes their marching orders from the Obama administration, from
Obama himself, but mostly from his un-appointed czars. And Jarrett, especially
Valerie Jarrett. Don’t think for a minute that the administration is doing
anything to stabilize events in the U.S. They are revolutionaries, and
revolutionaries thrive on chaos,” he added.
My source stated that he has not seen things this bad since he began working
within DHS. “It’s like they [DHS agency heads] don’t care about what the
American people see or feel about what the DHS agencies are doing. They figure
that if the average American will put up with being “sexually groped and
nuked” just to fly, they’ll accept almost anything. “That’s why their
actions are becoming more overt. “It’s in your face and the brass actually
chuckle about it” said my source.
New Information
Astounded by the information my source provided “going viral,” I spoke to
him again early Sunday morning. This was a scheduled telephone call (as noted on
page 2 of my notes) based on a high level meeting of DHS personnel that was
scheduled for and took place in Chantilly, Virginia, on Saturday, 5 May 2012. He
hoped to provide me with more information to supplement that which he already
given. Although he was not personally present, his source was. While he would
not say who was at the meeting on Saturday or give its precise location, he said
that the many of the names would be recognizable. He spoke to his source late
Saturday night.
I contacted him on his cellular phone early Sunday morning to get the
promised update.
“Geez, nice job on getting the word out about what’s really going on at
DHS and in this administration,” were the first words out of his mouth,
followed by “thanks a lot.” I asked him why he would be thanking me. “I
just wanna’ tell you that I’m going to have to hire someone to start my car,
and I’m surely not going for any rides in small planes in the immediate
future,” he said with a bit of nervous laughter. “I hope no one finds out
who I am or it’s going to be more than my pension I’ll have to worry
about.”
“I can tell you word is getting out that people are starting to wake up,
which is causing a lot of ‘pissed off brass.’ I can’t tell if they are
more desperate or upset about the exposure, but the tone is starting to become a
lot more tense. I hope that we’re having something to do with that,” he
added.
With that, he provided me with additional information to supplement that
which he already given me on 25 April. For clarity purposes, I have combined the
information together from both contacts. The following information includes the
updated information provided to me Sunday morning.
Obama the revolutionary
Metaphorically speaking, there’s a revolution going on in the U.S., propped
up by three legs. Economic chaos, chaos through racial division, and chaos
through class division, all joined by one core element: Barack Hussein Obama and
his stable of unelected czars. Obama is using the lessons learned in 1968 as the
template for 2012, and many of those who were active in the late 1960s are now
calling the shots for 2012.
“The Obama administration and many of the un-elected ‘czars,’ either
directly or indirectly, are engaged in covert activities with the occupy
movement, various labor protests, and other subversive activities inside the
U.S.,” stated my source. Using untracked campaign funds, they are paying
people to infiltrate the various movements to cause physical destruction of
property and disrupt commerce. That began last year, but has increased ten-fold
already this year,” stated this source. He added that they are using some
lower level DHS agents to make the payments under the context of tracking
subversives, but they are the unwitting subversives. “It’s like Fast &
Furious” but in the social realm,” he added.
“Obama is using some high profile people as pawns to foment the revolution.
I heard several times through very credible sources that [Louis] Farrakhan is on
the CIA payroll. Other have been named as well, but I’m not prepared to
identify them yet. Farrakhan is to coordinate the Blacks and the Muslims to
prepare for riots this summer, using any means necessary.”
“Mentioned at the meeting Saturday were methods to use pawns to simulate
the rioting in the Arab Spring countries, but to the benefit of this
administration. A controlled chaos thing,” stated my source. They envision
rioting starting in the urban areas first, such as New York and other major
cities, followed by a disruption of business and commerce. This will allow the
DHS to mobilize their various teams into the streets of America without
objection of the people,” stated my source.
“They want to restrict travel, if not through high energy prices, then by
checkpoints and curfews mandated by rioting and unrest. They understand we are
the most well-armed nation in the world, yet they are aware of our
vulnerabilities and intend to fully exploit them,” he added. The whole purpose
is to keep Obama in office for another term, no matter how unpopular he is, as
he is not finished changing our country from a Constitutional Republic. This is
the run-up to the 2012 elections, or perhaps causing enough chaos to delay them
- indefinitely.”
One statement that rattled me more than anything was that a great number of
those already in power, whether in appointed or elected positions, actually want
to see Obama stay in power, according to this source. “This is what we’ve
been working toward and we’re closer now than we’ve ever been. If we lose
now, we might not have another chance.”
This chilling common goal also explains the lack of interest in the
Constitutional legitimacy of Obama. It is common knowledge that Obama is not an
American, and neither is his agenda. Of course, criticism of his bona-fides
feeds into the cries of racism, despite the massive fraud perpetrated on the
American people. Party lines are meaningless when the common objective is the
revolutionary overtaking of America.
Obama, the professor of Keynesian economics
“The Obama administration is working closely with Bernanke, Geithner and
others not to save our economy, but to outright destroy it. He is not the first
or only one to try this, but the most effective and most vetted for that
purpose. Do you actually think that the fact that Timothy Geithner’s father
worked with Obama’s mother in Indonesia was coincidental,” stated my source
rhetorically. “What we’re seeing now is the fourth quarter of a game that
started long ago, which also currently involves the Clintons. Obama would not be
where he is if it were not for the Clintons, and to a lesser extent, Bush, but
that’s for other reasons. Don’t be fooled, the Clintons never left or lost
power,” he added.
“There are file drawers full of papers, heavily guarded papers at the
‘TEC building’ so I can only imagine what’s in them, about international
financial dealings going back decades. I do know, or at least I was told, that
they involve organizations that are the so-called conspiracy fringe groups, such
as the Bilderberg group, the Trilateral Commission, and people including George
Soros, Henry Kissinger, and current leaders of big industry. Some are fossils.
They’ve been around a long time. Others are up-and-coming. They’ve got one
thing in common, though, and that is to put in place a global system of
governance, including a common currency. Economics is a huge part of this
revolution, and they want to replace the dollar, to see it collapse. They
expect, that is, they are working toward this very goal, and when this happens,
it will cause chaos like never seen before in the history of this country.”
“Why do you think Jon Corzine is not only walking around, but heavily
involved in Obama fundraising? They know it’s just a matter of time that
Europe will implode economically, and when it does, start counting the days
before we see massive hyperinflation and the ultimate collapse of the U.S.
dollar,” stated this insider. “What will it look like in the streets of
America when the general population realizes that there is no money? That’s
right, chaos.”
Obama & the planned racial divide
According to this insider, the Trayvon Martin case is just the tip of the
iceberg. “You certainly don’t have to be a genius to understand how Obama
and his team played the public on this issue, and it’s far from over. But
that’s not the sole element of what we’ll see this summer.”
“Remember the shots fired at the White House not too long ago?” asked my
source. There was an element of outrage that was squandered, according to
‘team Obama.’ In fact, Obama and some of his closest advisors, especially
[Valerie] Jarrett were incredibly angered that the outrage was seemingly
tempered. It should have been an opportunity to use our force against the Tea
Parties, the gun clingers, the Constitutionalists, and everyone who has
complained about Obama. DHS should have stepped in right then, and used that
event to start the clampdown,” this source stated about White House comments.
This source stated that from that point on, the DHS must become more
responsive and aggressive.
Watch for a false flag event against Obama or his family, something that will
outrage ‘black America.’ It will be carefully choreographed, but executed in
a manner that will evoke the ugliest of reactions and create racial chaos in
this country that will make the Watts riots, 1968 and the Rodney King riots pale
in comparison. That’s the third leg in this.”
The planned end-game
Does Obama look worried about the upcoming elections? Look at his lavish
vacations, his limited work schedule, and those with whom he is working. This is
a very dangerous man who has, as his closest advisors, people who have
orchestrated the revolutions of the 1960s. They know the “trigger points” in
America.
The Obama administration, including his czars and along with his closets
Progressive supporters, are planning a manufactured insurgency against America.
He is using the media to his advantage to garner both sympathy and support for
his unfinished goals. He is desperately seeking a way to remain in office, even
if it means the surreal prospect of an indefinite postponement of elections - if
it can be pulled off. So far, he’s got the support of the majority of the DHS
“brass” behind him, according to my source.
“They’re power hungry, and they want to remain in charge,” stated this
source.
The “surreal” aspect of suspended elections won’t look so surreal when
you see any or all of the “trigger points” take place in the not-so-distant
future.
“The end-game plan for America is its destruction as a Constitutional
Republic, with the assistance of the agencies under the umbrella of the DHS.”
My sourced stated one more thing that seemed to tie things together. He urged
me to recall the quote by Henry Kissinger who was speaking at a Bilderberg
meeting at Evian, France, on 21 May 1992:
Today Americans would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to
restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful. This is especially true if they
were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated,
that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world
will plead with world leaders to deliver them from this evil. The one thing
every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual
rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well being
granted to them by their world government.
That threat need not be from beyond. All it might take is a world of
starving, broke and desperate people.
Note: My source promised more information at a later time. Stay tuned.
Uploaded 4/12/2012
President should be changed to American "dictator."
Who said he hasn't done anything?
An impressive list of accomplishments!
· First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny
he was a foreigner
· First President to have a social security number from a state he has never
lived in.
· First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United
States
· First President to violate the War Powers Act. .
· First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing
oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
· First President to defy a Federal Judge's court order to cease
implementing the Health Care Reform Law.
· First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a
third party.
· First President to spend a trillion dollars on 'shovel-ready' jobs when
there was no such thing as 'shovel-ready' jobs.
· First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of
companies to his union supporters.
· First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through
executive fiat. .
· First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the
deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S., including those with criminal
convictions.
· First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his
political appointees.
· First President to terminate America’s ability to put a man in space.
· First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.
· First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional
and refuse to enforce it.
· First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly spoke-out
on the reasons for their rate increases.
· First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state it is
allowed to locate a factory.
· First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to
protect (AZ, WI, OH, IN).
· First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly
issued years ago.
· First President to fire an inspector general of Ameri-corps for catching
one of his friends in a corruption case.
· First President to appoint 45 czars to replace elected officials in his
office. .
· First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half
years in office, 90 to date.
· First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.
· First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.
· First President to go on multiple global 'apology tours'.
· First President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date nights and
Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends; paid for by the taxpayer.
· First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his
wife.
· First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a year at
taxpayer expense.
· First President to repeat the Holy Qur’an tells us the early morning
call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth.
· First President to take a 17 day vacation.
So how is this hope and change working out for you?
Mixture of philosophy, social history, economics, and
"social justice" propaganda: Dialectical Materialism, Historical
Materialism, and Marxist Economics.
- Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh Thursday, January 26, 2012
Marx believed that the bourgeoisie exploited the proletariat by keeping them
in chains. He urged, “Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose
but your chains.” Classical socialists believed that socialism was an
imperfect stage before communism, where the means of production were owned by
the state and workers were paid hourly for their work.
Margaret Thatcher had once said, “The problem with socialism is that, at
some point, you run out of other people’s money.” She was referring to the
deliberate attempt by a centralized socialist government to confiscate by
various means and redistribute wealth they viewed as unfairly earned at the
expense of the masses.
Communism abolished classes and the workers were paid for their needs not for
the work they performed—“from each according to his ability, to each
according to his need.” This brings to mind the motto Romanian workers adopted
under communism in order to survive: “They pretend to pay us and we pretend to
work.”
There is no such thing as “equal” or “shared” (”communis”
means “shared” in Latin) in communism. There is equal misery, equal
suffering, equal mistreatment, and equal poverty. We shared constant shortages
of food, rationing of necessities, water, energy, and heat.
Marx said, the proletariat does all the work. It is only fitting that they
share the wealth. What wealth? The one that the Communist Party elites
confiscated by force from its citizens after they were thrown in jail for being
“bourgeois?”
Karl Marx, “the original hippie,” was negligent with his own family and
“detested manual labor, preferring to dream up ideas about mooching from
others and spreading their wealth around.” A report written in1852 by a
Prussian police agent described a man who rarely washed, combed, or changed his
linens, idle for days on end, an intellectual Bohemian. (Michael Savage, Trickle
Up Poverty)
“There is not one clean and solid piece of furniture to be found in the
whole apartment: everything is broken, tattered and torn…in one word
everything is topsy turvy… When you enter Marx’s room, smoke and tobacco
fumes make your eyes water so badly, that you think for a moment that you are
groping about in a cave… Everything is dirty and covered with dust. It is
positively dangerous to sit down. One chair has three legs. On another chair,
which happens to be whole, the children are playing at cooking.” (Michael
Savage, Trickle Up Poverty, 64, quoting Eugene Kamenka, The Portable
Karl Marx, 41-42)
Marx cherished his philosophical ideas more than his responsibilities to his
family because he relied on wealthy patrons such as Friedrich Engels, communist
sponsors, and inheritances to care for his family. He died a pauper. (Michael
Savage, Trickle Up Poverty, 65)
The failed socialist experiment at Jamestown, Virginia, taught us that, when
people worked the land together, some were lazy and did much less work, while
others, who worked harder, resented the slackers. The whole commune nearly
starved to death. The following year, land was divided again to each family, and
the settlement thrived and had extra food to trade for other needs.
Marxism does not work because greed and jealousy exist
Marxism does not work because greed and jealousy exist. Not everyone is so
altruistic that he/she is willing to work extremely hard for the good of
everyone.
Capitalism does work because of self-interest. One individual’s hard work
to achieve self-interest enables Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” (the price
system) to push everyone else to greater economic achievement. Waiting on the
dole and the spreading of wealth is the death of initiative, respect, dignity,
honor in a good-day’s work, and the desire to improve one’s standing in
society.
Self-interest also breeds charity. Communist elites were never charitable
except to themselves. People living under communism were not charitable to
strangers. They performed volunteer activities involuntarily under the forced
directions of communist rulers.
The population in communism hoarded food, enabled black markets to thrive,
and engaged in bartering stolen goods or raw materials from work in order to
survive. They tended to steal even public items that were fastened or nailed
down if they could be sold for recycling.
There was no private property in communism because it created unfair
competition. However, if a citizen was part of the ruling regime elites, he/she
could own as much private property as they wished or as fast as they could steal
it from the hapless proletariat and from the common means of production.
In the socialist and communist “utopia” I experienced, the proletariat
was given free health care, education, and transportation. In reality, we had to
pay for transportation and anything else at subsidized prices. Health care so
dismal and constant shortages due to rationing created a huge black market.
Medical care was pathetically inadequate and life had no value. People were
killed by malpractice with no accountability since everybody worked for the
ruling communist regime for meager wages and the omnipotent government could not
be sued. Doctors, nurses, teachers, and engineers were told where to live, where
to practice their trade, and how much they could earn.
Modern socialists in Europe advocate and run bankrupt welfare states with a
nanny mentality of cradle-to-grave entitlements. Exceptionalism is punished, “global
citizens” are shaped by socialist schools, and “groupthink” is rewarded.
Most inventions of the modern world were the result of individual creativity and
exceptional talent of one individual not of groups “brainstorming.”
Communist China did not start to make economic progress until the centralized
bureaucracy lessened its stronghold on the population and allowed individual
creativity and entrepreneurship to thrive. People were forced to do everything
in society against their will.
Norman Matoon Thomas (Nov. 20,1884—December 19, 1968), a leading American
socialist and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of
America, explained best the status of socialism in the U.S.:
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the
name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program,
until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it
happened.” He continued, “I no longer need to run as a Presidential
candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democrat Party has adopted our platform.”
It appears that they have reached that goal.
Why would French or Greek citizens work hard if the government cannot fire
them? Those who lack a work ethic and are lazy should be fired. Why would
welfare Americans find work when they are encouraged to stay home and receive
undeserved checks from the taxes of hard-working Americans? Socialism is forced
on America by an ever-increasing federal bureaucracy.
Marxism, named after Karl Marx (1818-1883), is a mixture of philosophy,
social history, economics, and “social justice” propaganda: Dialectical
Materialism, Historical Materialism, and Marxist Economics.
For Marx, philosopher Georg Hegel’s dialectic—the contradiction between
subject and object - was a “reflection of the actual contradiction between
workers and employers under capitalism.” Modern man is alienated from his true
nature because he has no tie to the product of his labor for which he earns a
wage, Marx said.
Based on the history of class struggle, Marx believes that competition for
resources divides society into “mutually antagonistic classes.” Poor workers
“could be inflamed to believe that the capitalist system would always be
disadvantageous to them.”
Das Kapital (Capital) promoted the idea that the “bourgeoisie” made
profits by exploiting the “proletariat.” Workers were “exploited” when
the value of goods produced exceeded the wages paid, thus creating “surplus
value.”
Agitating class envy, Marx claimed that bourgeois competition forced them to
exploit workers more. When they refused to exploit more, the capitalist would be
forced into bankruptcy or bought out by someone who would continue the
exploitation. Low wages would persist, the proletariat would rebel and would
replace capitalism with socialism/communism. Marx imagined a “complete
mechanization of production, so that any man could do any job.”
Marx acknowledges, “Capitalism is the most powerful mode of production
available.” Yet abolition of private property is the crux of the theory of
communism.
Marx and Engels introduced the “dictatorship of the proletariat” which
was used by Lenin and Stalin to defend their totalitarian rule.
Marx believed that abolishing private ownership of the means of production by
force and dictates, the proletariat would crush the resistance of the
bourgeoisie. Lenin envisioned a dictatorship by a minority party, not by a
democratically chosen majority.
Marx wrote in the Communist Manifesto ,“exploitation and class
warfare will destroy the national barriers between members of the proletariat,
and the proletariat has a duty to overthrow the ruling classes in each nation.”
When the proletariat ruled, the following would happen:
No private property
Progressive tax
No right of inheritance
One centralized bank
Centralized credit
Centralized communication
Centralized transportation
Means of production owned by state
Equitable distribution of population density across the country
Free education (in the communist society I experienced, free education
was rationed)
Combine education with production and agriculture
Industrial armies
Agricultural armies
Equal wages
As I sat in my high school class during Scientific Socialism lessons, with
eyes glazed over by sheer boredom, I wondered how anyone could make such a
deceptive ideology into a science. I could never say it, lest I went to a Gulag.
Stepping outside into our real world, there was no egalitarian society in
communism, there were chronic shortages of food while the communist elite ate
well and stuffed themselves.
We certainly had two distinct classes: the workers and the communist
apparatchiks/the “intellectual proletarians”/the “cultivated proletarian
artists.” Some had a fifth grade education, like the dictator Nicolae
Ceausescu, a cobbler, and his equally uneducated wife who presented papers at
international forums, stolen from seasoned Ph.D.s who did not dare cross the “Mother
of the Country” or challenge her faux credentials.
The common denominator of the communist rulers was that they were agitators
and street organizers who had learned “how to be good commies” at brief
seminars. For their servitude and help in oppressing the masses, helpful idiots
and underlings received extra food, better housing, and comfortable professional
jobs in spite of their lack of qualifications.
“Workers of the world” did not unite to overthrow capitalism as Marx
wished, on the contrary, in 1989, the workers united and threw out communism in
Eastern Europe as a failed ideology, economic, and societal system.
Our founding fathers believed in and respected private property as the
cornerstone of our Constitutional republic. Belief in God and family were the
keystones.
A majority of Americans today subscribe to the ideas that:
Character is the single most important attribute in a leader
Respect and honor are laudable traits
Entrepreneurs are our economic lifeblood and deserve what they make
The rich and entrepreneurs help enrich us all
American ingenuity promotes wealth
American generosity saves many nations in times of peril/need
Families are the building blocks of society
Guns prevent evil from taking over
Stoked class envy and hatred is un-American
Hyphenated labels are divisive and destructive
Illegal and unchecked immigration are dangerous to this country
Multilingualism is a divider
Global warming scare is junk science
Liberalism is a failed ideology
Military strength deters aggression (”Si vis pacem, para bellum.”
If you want peace, prepare for war, said the Romans.
National security is the first responsibility of the federal government
“Political correctness is the liberal version of fascism”
Quotas should not exist
Tax rates should be flat and everybody should pay taxes
Unions have outlived their usefulness
“Vigilance is the price of freedom”
“Welfare robs people of their dignity and is the poison of capitalism”
We are responsible for our own destiny, not government or society
Government is not the solution, out-of-control government is the problem
“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as
sacred as the laws of God and that there is not a force of law and public
justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If ‘Thou shall not covet’
and ‘Thou shall not steal’ were not commandments of Heaven, they must be
made inviolable percepts in every society before it can be civilized or made
free.” (John Adams, A Defense of the American Constitutions, 1787)
I
have seen this misconception, even among patriots, on the Internet
so often, and this is so critical to our ability to understand who
& what we are, as a nation, that I had to say something and make
sure everybody here on the 9.12 Project Network understood this fact
so we're all on the same page. If you already know this, please
share this information wide and far.
The
United States of America is NOT a Democracy; The United
States of America is a Constitutional Republic:
"I
pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and
to theRepublic, for which it stands, One Nation Under
God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All!"
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this
Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect
each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the
Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be
convened), against domestic Violence.
The Founding Fathers knew that Democracy is a horrible system of
government, totally inadequate for a nation as large as America,
as well as conducive to a tyranny of the majority, so they gave us
a Constitutional Republic with balanced sharing of powers and
checks & balances keeping the progression of tyranny in check,
for the most part, for many years
As Benjamin Franklin exited the Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia on September 18, 1787, a Mrs. Powel, who wanted to
know the result of the months of deliberation, asked: "Well
Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"
Benjamin Franklin responded: "A republic if you can keep
it."
Benjamin Rush said, in the year 1789: "A simple democracy
... is one of the greatest of evils" and James Madison
said, in 1787, "Democracies have ever been spectacles of
turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with
personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in
general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in
their deaths," and John Adams is reported to have stated
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes,
exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that
did not commit suicide," in the year 1814.
By the 1830's, what we now call "progressives" had
already begun transforming our language. Noah Webster's American
Dictionary of the English Language (1828 Facsimile Edition) is
the last one to have fully Biblical/Christian education definition
of all words. Nothing since, other than later printings of this
edition of this dictionary, has been published, that I am aware
of, that didn't contain some form of word distortion/pollution by
those we now call "progressives."
Those "progressives" from the early 20th century all
knew full well that we are a Constitutional Republic, IMHO, and
like BHO, they felt that the Constitution of the United States of
America was an impediment to their agenda, and one of the myriad
things that was done to combat the Principles of Liberty Enshrined
in the Constitution of the United States of America, was to
promote the falsehood that we are a democracy, rather than a
Republic. As Glenn Beck highlighted in his speech
at CPAC 2010, in 1938, the COMMUNIST PARTY was publicly
exhorting people to vote for "progressive" candidates in
pamphlets. This makes it far easier to frame the argument in terms
more agreeable to tyranny and oppression, empowering the media
& the government-run schools to more easily mislead and
misinform.
But even earlier than that, a significant, negative structural
change in the system of checks and balances set up by our founding
fathers passed by Congress May 13, 1912, then ratified on April 8,
1913. It's name?
It
modified Article I, section 3, of the Constitution of the United
States of America, usurping the U.S. Senatorial Election process
from the state legislatures, which process was a bulwark against
the Federal Government's expansion of power, and turned the
election of Senators over to the masses, removing yet another
check and balance against unlimited growth and power of the
Federal Government.
Prior to the passage of the 17th Amendment, Senators were chosen
by state legislatures, which allowed much greater local control
over the election process, thereby keeping the Senators linked to
the best interest of the states. Sadly, with the 17th Amendment,
Senators were given the incentive to increase their own power by
bribing the uneducated of the electorate with their neighbors' tax
dollars. This unwise change modified our Constitutional Republic
to make it more like a Democracy, weakened the protections of the
peoples' liberties in the process, and removed the Senate's
check/balance against the Spending power of the House of
Representatives.
Which brings up the point that technically, according to James
Madison (Federalist
No. 51, Wednesday, 06 February, 1788), we are
a COMPOUND Constitutional Republic:
In
a single republic, all the power surrendered by
the people is submitted to the administration of a single
government; and the usurpations are guarded against by a
division of the government into distinct and separate
departments. In the compound republic of America,
the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two
distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each
subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a
double security arises to the rights of the people. The
different governments will control each other, at the same time
that each will be controlled by itself.
By
the latter half of the 20th century, most public education
resources had adopted the falsehood that America is a Democracy as
if it were reality, and today, the very mention of the fact that
we're a Constitutional Republic is met with scorn by those who
know better, but don't want to admit it, as well as the
well-intentioned, but misinformed, who have been misled by our
public education system, and are resistant to new ideas.
I just wanted to clear up this misconception, because whoever
controls the language, controls society. It's time we took back
our country, including our culture! When we use the distorted
definitions and false terminology of the American Left (so-called
"progressives"), we are fighting the battle with one
hand tied behind our backs. Awake and Arise, fellow Patriots! Wake
up, America, and realize that liberty is being smothered in the
back room! Let us continue to rally to her defense, even on issues
that are seemingly small, such as the definitions of the words we
use to discuss principles and issues. If it makes the difference
in just a few dozen cases, it's worth it, but I would guess that
if universally understood, this truth could potentially make the
difference in a few hundred thousand, and indirectly, a few
million cases, if not more!
Here is a great video clip* that does an excellent job explaining
the differences between forms of government, including Democracy
and the Republic:
During
the early 1900s an ideological war erupted, and the word
“democracy” became one of the casualties. Today, the average
American uses the term “democracy” to describe America’s
traditional Constitutional republic. But technically speaking,
it is not. The Founders had hoped that their descendants would
maintain a clear distinction between a democracy and a republic.
The
creation of the current confusion developed as a result of a new
movement in the United States. Approximately 100 people met in
New York in 1905 and organized what they called the
Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS). Chapters were
established on more than sixty college and university campuses
coast-to-coast. In time the co-directors of the movement became
Harry W. Laidler and Norman Thomas. Laidler explained that the
ISS was set up to “throw light on the world-wide movement of
industrial democracy known as socialism.”
What
was this new movement attempting to accomplish? Socialism is
defined as “government ownership or control of all the means
of production (farms, factories, mines, and natural resources)
and all the means of distribution (transportation,
communications, and the instruments of commerce).” Obviously,
this is not a “democracy” in the classical sense. And it is
the very antithesis of a free-market economy in a republic.
...by
1921 the violence associated with the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR) had given the term “socialism” a strongly
repugnant meaning to many people. The ISS therefore decided to
change its name to “The League for Industrial Democracy.”
The word “democracy” was supposed to carry the message that
through the nationalization (government expropriation) of all
the means of production and distribution, the nation’s
fabulous resources would become the property of “all the
people” — hence a democracy. Then America could enjoy
“production for use, not for profit.” This meant that the
word “democracy” was deceptive. Various devices were used to
alert the public to the true meaning of the word. For example,
the U.S. Army’s Training Manual No. 2000-25, published in
1928, contained a whole section explaining the difference
between a democracy and a republic in their original, historical
sense.
Our Founding Fathers studied Plato, Aristotle and Cicero, among
others.
There are many reasons why the Founders wanted a republican
form of government rather than a democracy. Theoretically, a
democracy requires the full participation of the masses of the
people in the legislative or decision-making processes of
government. This has never worked because the people become so
occupied with their daily tasks that they will not properly
study the issues, nor will they take the time to participate
in extensive hearings before the vote is taken. The Greeks
tried to use democratic mass participation in the government
of their city states and each time it ended in tyranny.
In
Federalist
No. 10 (Thursday, November 22, 1787), James Madison
contrasted democracy and the republic, pointing out that an
expanding nation such as The United States of America couldn't
confine itself to the limitations inherent in a democracy. The
point is also touched upon in Federalist
No. 14:
"...in a democracy, the people meet and exercise the
government in person; in a republic, they assemble and
administer it by their representatives and agents. A
democracy, consequently, will be confined to a small spot. A
republic may be extended over a large region." -The
Federalist No. 14, Friday November 30, 1787
We know the media will not help save America. They hate America as
much as Obama does and always have. When Obama came on the scene they sprung
to life behind the leader they always yearned for but could never find.
To save America we have to keep asking questions and keep demanding
answers. We have to talk to friends, co-workers and family asking these
questions about Obama the media won’t ask.
Why did Watergate forced Nixon out but Fast and Furious has not
touched Obama or Holder?
Why did Eric Holder participate in a cover-up of the circumstances
of the Oklahoma
City bombing? What does Obama know about Oklahoma City?
Why does the media accept Obama’s “safety concerns” to kill
the Keystone pipeline when EVERY
lower 48 state has a pipeline running through it?
Why did Obama
give Brazil money for off shore drilling while continuing to prohibit
Americans from drilling for oil in America?
How can Obama be in a lawsuit
WITH Mexico AGAINST Arizona over the ”rights” of illegal aliens?
Did Obama withhold relief aid to the flood
stricken Midwest because it is populated by Whites who won’t vote for
him anyway?
How can the media remain silent about Obama’s
“recess appointments” when the Senate never was in recess?
Ask what compelling argument for reelect Barack Hussein Obama can
make? What has he done that America needs more of?
Demanding a long form birth certificate and mocking Obama over
“57 states” and “Marine Corpse” gives our enemies an opportunity to
change the subject- stay away from them those traps.
We have to pound away at these real questions. Write your local
liberal rag until they final publish your letters. Attend every public forum
and ask at least two of these questions. If you can, print out these questions
and hand them to strangers at public places.
We KNOW who won’t ask these questions. It’s up to us to save
our country for our children and grandchildren by being the ones who will ask
them.
At a time when our President and other politicians tend to apologize for our
country's prior actions, here's a refresher on how some of our former patriots
handled negative comments about our country.
These are good and deserve repeating...
JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 1960's when
DeGaulle decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaulle said he wanted all US Military
out of France as soon as possible.
Rusk responded, "Does that include those who are buried here?"
DeGaulle Did not respond.
You could have heard a pin drop.
When in England, at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the
Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire
building' by George Bush.
He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many
of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our
borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to
bury those that did not return."
You could have heard a pin drop.
There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers
were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the
French engineers came back into the room saying, "Have you heard the latest
dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help
the tsunami victims. What does he Intend to do, bomb them?"
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three
hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear
powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have
three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they
can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and
they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured
to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; How many does France
have?"
You could have heard a pin drop.
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals
from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail
reception, he found himself standing with a large group of officers that
included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in
English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained
that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He
then asked, "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these
conferences rather than speaking French?"
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, "Maybe it's because
the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have
to speak German."
You could have heard a pin drop.
AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At
French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.
"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer
asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.
"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."
The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show
it."
"Impossible. Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in
France!"
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly
explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help
liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport
to."
"Firearms
stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are
the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under
independence... From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the
present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to
ensure peace, security, and happiness, the rifle and pistol are
equally indispensable...The very atmosphere of firearms
everywhere restrains evil interference--they deserve a place of
honor with all that's good."- George Washington.
Move
ahead to today. We have not George Washington as president, but
Barack Obama, by far the most anti-Second Amendment president in
American history. Obama has been quoted as saying "I don't
believe people should be able to own guns." Obama said in a
questionnaire that he supported banning the manufacture, sale
and possession of ALL handguns, and as a junior senator from
Illinois Obama endorsed a state ban on the sale and possession
of ALL handguns. Obama OPPOSED a bill designed to assert a right
of citizens to protect themselves against home invasions. Obama
has proposed that all federally licensed gun dealers sell
firearms in a storefront and not from their homes, while banning
their business from being within five miles of a school or a
park, effectively putting virtually ALL GUN DEALERS OUT OF
BUSINESS. Obama has proposed to make it a felony for a gun owner
if their firearm was STOLEN from their residence and it causes
harm to another person. Obama wanted a ban on police agencies
from reselling their used weapons. Obama's attorney general,
Eric Holder, is a veteran gun-grabber.
WE NEED GOVERNMENT CONTROL, NOT GUN CONTROL!
Tyrants have always loathed an armed people. GUN CONTROL KILLS.
In the 20th century alone, there is undeniable evidence of the
evils of gun control. Let history be proof:
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun
control under one of the bloodiest despots in modern history,
Joseph Stalin. From 1929 to 1953, approximately 20 million
dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From
1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend
themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
In 1928, Germany established gun control. From
1939 to 1945, 13 million Jews, Christians, gypsies, the mentally
ill, and others, who were unable to defend themselves, were
rounded up and exterminated.
In 1935, China established gun control. From
1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents were unable to
defend themselves and were rounded up and exterminated.
In 1964, Guatemala established gun control. From
1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend
themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
In 1970, Uganda, under brutal dictator Idi Amin,
established gun control. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians,
unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
In 1956, Cambodia established gun control. From
1975 to 1977, one million "educated" people, unable to
defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
That places total victims who lost their lives
at the hands of their own governments because of gun control at
approximately 56 million in the last century.
"This year will go down in history. For the
first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our
streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world
will follow our lead." (Chancelor's Speech, 1935 by Adolf
Hilter)
"The most foolish mistake we could make
would be to allow the subject peoples to possess arms. So let's
not have any talk about native militas." (Hitler's Secret
Conversations, 1941-44, Farrar, Strauss and Young, 1953)
"Germans who wish to use firearms should
join the SS or the SA, ordinary citizens don't need guns, as
their having guns DOESN'T SERVE THE STATE." - HEINRICH
HIMMLER
"All political power comes from the barrel
of a gun. The communist party must command all the guns, that
way, no guns can ever be used to command the party." -Mao
Zedong
"If I could have banned them all - Mr. And
Mrs. America turn in your guns - I would have!" (Statement
on TV program 60 Minutes, Feb 5, 1995 by CFR California U.S.
Senator Diane Feinstein)
"When we got organized as a country, they wrote a fairly
radical Constitution, with a radical Bill of Rights, giving
radical amounts of freedom to Americans, it was assumed that
Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly. When
personal freedom is being abused, you have to move to limit
it." - Ex-President Bill Clinton
"One man with a gun can control 100 without one. ...
Make mass searches and hold executions for found arms." --V.I.
Lenin.
"We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the
rights of ordinary Americans ..." Bill Clinton
"Gun registration is not enough. Waiting periods are
only a step. Registration is only a step. The prohibition of
private firearms is the goal." - Janet Reno
"Our main agenda is to have all guns banned. We must use
whatever means possible. It doesn't matter if you have to
distort the facts or even lie. Our task of creating a socialist
America can only succeed when those who would resist us have
been totally disarmed." Sara Brady, Chairman, Handgun
Control
Any discussion of The Right to Bear Arms should begin with an
understanding of this: Rights do not come from government. Only
privileges come from government. Privileges that are granted by
government can also be taken away by government. Rights do not
come from the Constitution either. The Constitution only
protects Rights the people had long before the Constitution was
written. All Rights come from God and are inalienable, which
means that they cannot be taken away. The only legitimate way a
person can lose God-given Rights is by ALLOWING a government or
individual to take them from you. Governments or individuals who
violate your God-given Rights must believe themselves superior
to God or they must believe that God does not exist, and
therefore have NO GOD-GIVEN AUTHORITY OVER YOU! Several of the
Founding Fathers suggested the following slogan for our Great
Seal, "Resistance to Tyranny is Obedience to GOD".
Name one communist country, or one despotic
dictatorship, where gun ownership among the civilian population
is a cherished right? Of course you can't. That type of tyranny
only flourishes in an environment where the population is weak,
and unable to stand up for itself. In the 1930's, after Hitler
came to power, the NAZI government made the ownership of guns
among private civilians illegal. They then proceeded to
confiscate all the guns so that the German people would be weak,
and unable to stand up against the tyrannical activities of
their own government.
The Nazi disarmament campaign began as soon as Hitler assumed
power in 1933. It started with the creation of large volumes of
written rules and regulations. Yet it was not until March 1938,
the same month that Hitler annexed Austria, that the Nazis
created their own Weapons Law. On November 9, 1938, the Nazis
launched the Kristallnacht, and unarmed Jews all over Germany
were attacked by government-sponsored mobs. In conjunction with
Kristallnacht, the government used the administrative authority
of the 1938 Weapons Law to require immediate Jewish surrender of
all firearms and edged weapons, and to mandate a sentence of
death or 20 years in a concentration camp for any violation. Do
you think if the Jews in Nazi Germany were well armed, and
offered feirce resistance, that the holocaust would have
happened on a scale that it did? Of course not. They offered
very little resistance, and were not armed. Also during Hitlers
reign, the Germans invaded country after country in Europe.
However, one country they would not invade was Switzerland. Why?
Switzerland was the only country left in Europe that still
allowed it's people to freely keep and bear arms. The NAZI's,
being afraid of widespread armed resistance, left them alone.
The latest mass shootings (Put the name of whatever school,
church, courthouse, and so on here) highlight the fact that the
police were powerless and unable to prevent or stop these
attacks. What the mainstream (Put the name of whatever
politician or media outlet here) refuses to point out is that if
the victims had guns to protect themselves, not only would have
the assailants been more afraid to start shooting, but they
would have been stopped far more quickly. Emergency 911 service
is available almost everywhere in the U.S., and it was worthless
against those armed attackers. And how often do the gun
prohibitionists use whatever recent spate of murderous attacks
on schools, businesses, community centers and churches as
reasons for "gun control"? Each of these cases
highlights just the opposite.
The unarmed victims of criminal attack and their families
cannot get compensation from the city governments that failed to
protect them in these terrible cases. At the same time, the
prevailing laws and anti-gun culture made sure those victims
were unarmed. Police help was too little, too late. Those
murderous events do not prove the need for "gun
control". They PROVE the need for an armed population. They
also demonstrate the utter inability of the police to protect
individuals from violent crime. Police typically investigate
crimes after the fact -- they don't prevent very many crimes.
And the laws in nearly every state say that the police don't
even owe a duty to protect individual citizens. Citizens are on
their own -- and the sooner they know it, the better.
Since gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to
surrender firearms to their own government, the results are now
in: homicides, assaults, and armed robberies are surging! In the
state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300
percent. While the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the
criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns, and
are less afraid to use them! When I was in Australia a couple of
years ago, I asked a friend if everyone turned in their guns. He
said that about one-third did, but two-thirds hid their guns,
because they know that some day they may have to defend
themselves against their own government.
Over the last several years law-abiding citizens have been
stripped of their right to own some or all types of firearms in
Australia, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand among others.
New regional and international agreements have been made by
governments of various countries in which civilian possession
and sales of other types of firearms are to be restricted,
registered, or completely prohibited. And now, with the eager
help of president Obama, and under the watchful eye of the
United Nations, America is moving rapidly in the same direction.
Tyrannical people and systems, when they become too powerful,
only understand one thing, MAXIMUM FORCE, AND RESISTANCE! All of
these UN inspired restrictive gun laws that are currently being
passed in the United States are designed to weaken the
population, and make them unable to stand up against the
tyrannical forces behind one-world government that want to
control them.
"The Constitution shall never be construed to authorize
Congress to prevent the people of the United States, who are
peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms." -Samuel
Adams
From Thomas Jefferson's "Commonplace Book," -
"laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only
those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes .
. . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for
the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent
homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater
confidence than an armed man."
"Americans need never fear their government because of
the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over
the people of almost every other nation." - James Madison.
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty.
Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately,
nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give
up that force, you are ruined.... The great object is that every
man be armed." - Patrick Henry
"The Constitution of the United States asserts that all
power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by
themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times
armed." -Thomas Jefferson.
"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large
is that they be properly armed." -Alexander Hamilton
"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has
justly been considered as the safeguard of the liberties of a
republic; since it offers a strong moral check against
usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will enable the
people to resist and triumph over them." - U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Joseph Story, 1833
STATE GUN
LAWS: THE BEST AND THE WORST
There are gun owners, enthusiasts, and second amendment
activists in every state. This is a list of the best, and worst
states as far as gun laws are concerned. "Worst
States" refers to states with legislatures that have
refused to allow their constituents to legally protect
themselves and their families and have denied the citizens of
those states their constitutional rights. "Best
States" refers to states that have respect for the
Constitution, and the peoples right to protect and defend
themselves against criminals, including the ones in their own
government, if necessary.
THE WORST
#1: CALIFORNIA. No list of anti-Second Amendment places would
be complete without this cancer on the body of liberty. Not only
does it have some of the most oppressive gun laws in America, it
is also the place where almost all worthless causes and trends
originate, and then spread across the country like a virus.
Hypocrite California Senator Dianne Feinstein is a strong
proponent of gun control, yet is known to have carried concealed
handguns herself with a normally nearly impossible to obtain
California carry permit. Few people, other than politicians and
celebrities, are able to obtain California CCW permits. At one
time, she was the only person in San Francisco to possess a
concealed carry permit. The California legislature's strategy is
to put so many restrictions on the requirements of the guns sold
themselves, that it is too restrictive for manufacturers to sell
in that state. The intent is to eliminate all private ownership
of firearms in California. So California gets the # 1 spot on
this list.
#2: MASSACHUSETTS. Not only is Massachusetts the home of some
of the most nauseating pieces of sleaze ever to be allowed to
exist in American politics, Barney Frank, Ted Kennedy and John
Kerry just to name a few, but it also has some of the most
extreme anti-Second Amendment laws imaginable. In 1998
Massachusetts passed a new set of laws that make it virtually
impossible to legally own and carry a firearm. During the years
since passage, there has been an 84 percent drop in licensed gun
ownership from 1,500,000 to around 240,000. During the same
period, there has been a 67 percent increase in firearm related
homicides, 236 percent increase in assault related hospital
discharges, 331 percent increase in firearm related Emergency
Room visits and 590 percent increase in gun related outpatient
observations. These statistics were provided by the
Massachusetts Department of Health. Added to that is the lack of
oversight and accountability, overcharges in licensing fees,
licensing delays and violations, and a complete lack of
credibility and trust between gun owners and their government.
Massachusetts is the only state where lawmakers have actually
banned the use of silhouette targets for defensive training.
Also, a Massachusetts fourth-grader was suspended from school
for possessing a fired blank cartridge case from a Memorial Day
ceremony, and everyone who handled the cartridge case and who
didn't have a Massachusetts firearm license could have been
charged with a two-year state felony. Enough said and clearly
deserving of # 2 on this list.
#3: NEW YORK. Home of some of the most restrictive gun laws
in the country where reports of people legally transporting
firearms by airlines are being arrested as they change planes in
New York as their baggage is brought into the airport. The
authorities know this is illegal and have belligerently
continued this horrendous practice. New York state doesn't give
new residents any grace period at all before requiring a license
to possess any handgun. The recent case of the man who opened
fire in an immigration office in New York, killing 13, simply
magnifies the fact that all of the worst gun crimes are
committed in states like New York that have virtually given the
green light to criminals, who know that they have their guns,
and the law abiding citizens do not. New York mayor Bloomberg
seals the deal for # 3 for New York with his "war on out of
state gun dealers".
#4: ILLINOIS. The state that gave us Obama is home of one of
the most perpetually corrupt and bloated governments imaginable.
They are also obsessed with tracking and restricting law-abiding
gun owners. For example, it would be difficult to find a more
outspoken opponent of the Second Amendment than Chicago mayor
Richard Daley. Handguns are already banned in Chicago (tell that
to the many gangbangers who use them), and all other guns are
supposed to be registered at City Hall, but that isn't enough to
satisfy Daley's lust for power. On more than one occasion, Daley
has stated his desire to see all guns banned. His
taxpayer-financed hallucinations include an unsuccessful attempt
to create a 100-mile "gun free" zone around Chicago.
Where does Daley think he has the right to impose his Stalinist
vision on other towns, not to mention residents of Wisconsin and
Indiana? Never one to refrain from butting in where he has no
business or jurisdiction, the mayor also failed in a lawsuit
against suburban gun shops. Daley has Mussolini's bluster with
60 fewer IQ points than Il Duce, and things aren't much better
outside of Chicago. All Illinois gun owners are required to
obtain a Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID) from the
state, and the card must be presented to purchase even a single
round of ammo. All gun purchases are supposed to be registered
with the state, and concealed carry by private citizens is
prohibited. They also don't honor other states' carry permits.
#5: NEW JERSEY. New Jersey is an ugly place that nobody wants
to visit. On top of this to get a gun you need to:
1. Fill out a 4 page application.
2. Be finger printed for an FID card.
3. Have two references that are contacted by local police.
4. Sign a paper giving the police the right to look into your
medical history.
5. Wait months, upon months for the permit to be processed.
Not only that, but you can never obtain a carry permit. If you
plan to go to the range and shoot, you better just go to the
range and come back. If you decide to go and grab some food
after the range and get stopped by an officer, you can be
charged with carrying a weapon.
#6: HAWAII. Unlike New Jersey, Hawaii is beautiful and there
is actually a reason to want to visit it. Unfortunately it also
has some of the most unreasonable anti Second Amendment laws in
the U.S. Before one can purchases any firearm, one must produce
a permit. But only specific citizens have access to this permit.
Citizens and visitors bear with luggage ransacking activities at
the airports before and after alighting from the airbuses.
Hawaii takes registration of handguns to the extreme, requiring
registration of "firearms of any description, whether
usable or unusable, serviceable or unserviceable, modern or
antique." So if you own a wall-hanger that's so old it
isn't legally a firearm under federal law and is in such bad
shape it can't be fired at all, you'd better head on down to the
police station and do your paperwork anyway.
#7: MARYLAND. To purchase a Handgun there's a 7 day waiting
period, MINIMUM. Can be 30 to 45 days, depending on the 'mood'
of the Maryland authorities. Paperwork does not come back
"Approved" or "Disapproved". If you are
allowed to purchase the 'restricted' firearm, the registration
paperwork comes back "Not Disapproved". Handguns are
REGISTERED as are some rifles and shotguns that the legislature
and MSP have deemed to have 'evil' qualities. NO Conceal Carry
Permit unless you can prove 'apprehended danger' or are a former
cop that left whatever department under 'honorable'
circumstances.
There are actually many other states that come close to these
in their UNCONSTITUTIONAL gun laws, including CONNETICUT,
DELAWARE, PENNSYLVANIA and RHODE ISLAND. These are the worst of
the worst to live in or move to if you are concerned about
retaining your God-Given rights to defend yourself and your
family. If you are a gun owner and live in one of the states
mentioned above, our prayers are with you. Keep fighting for
your rights. Be sure to be armed with intelligent information
and facts to state your case. Be an activist. You can change
things in your state. If you can't move, fight.
THE BEST
States that have the least restrictive gun laws have
lower violent crime rates than those that have the most
restrictive gun laws. That's a provable fact. In the face of
this logic, the left continues to rabidly cry foul over our
right to keep and bear arms.
#1: VERMONT. Believe it or not. Vermont has a far left
reputation, but on the right to bear arms they are #1. Until
Alaska, Wyoming and Arizona recently followed the same route,
Vermont was the only state in nation where no permit is required
to carry a concealed handgun, and has a preemption clause that
forbids any town or city from enacting laws restricting
concealed carry. No Permit to purchase a handgun. No
Registration of handguns. No Licensing of owners of handguns. No
Permit needed to carry handguns, open or concealed. No State
waiting period. No FBI *NICS check for firearm transactions. For
many years Vermont has proven to have the lowest crime rate in
the nation. You'd think this would tell the other states
something about Free Carry. The state of Vermont has been ranked
the second-safest state in the nation in a report released by CQ
Press. New Hampshire was ranked as the safest state, which
brings us to:
#2: NEW HAMPSHIRE. New Hampshire does not require a license
for purchasing handguns. New Hampshire does not require a
license for open carry. No State waiting period. No Registration
of handguns. No Licensing of owners of handguns. Concealed Carry
does require a shall-issue permit. The NH permit for concealed
carry is issued by the local police department at a cost of $10
for residents, and by the NH State Police at a cost of $20 for
non-residents, and is good for at least four years. If you pass
the instant background check when purchasing, you will get the
conceal carry permit. Turn around time is generally 1 - 2 weeks,
with 14 days being the maximum time allowed by law.
#3: ALASKA. Alaska has had permitless carry, both open and
concealed, since 2004. No restrictions on vehicle carry. Can be
loaded, unloaded, on your person, stuffed under the seat, in
plain view with a case of ammo and loaded mags on the front
seat. Full-auto and all Class III friendly. No restrictions on
possession or aquisition other than federal. No confiscation
during disasters backed up with civil and criminal penalties.
Castle Doctrine applies wherever you legally happen to be.
Alaska Statutes only prohibit misconduct. Carry is restricted
from bars, courthouses, school grounds and DV shelters.
#4: KENTUCKY. Kentucky is one of the best. Anybody over 18
can carry any gun just about anywhere openly. Carry ANY weapon
concealed with a shall-issue permit, unconcealed without one.
Basically, the only gun laws they have are "no carry by
felons", "no giving guns to kids under 18, unless they
are supervised", and "no concealed carry without a
'shall issue' permit". No NICS check with a CCW permit, no
notifying the police you have a gun, and you can carry in
alcohol serving restaurants. Kentucky laws for justified
shooting are also among the easiest in the nation: shoot to
prevent burglary or arson, even if you aren't in danger. People
who sue you for justified shootings have to pay for your lawyer,
court cost and lost time from work.
#5: UTAH. Utah does not require a license for purchasing
handguns. No license required for open carry. No State waiting
period. No Registration of handguns. No Licensing of owners of
handguns. Utah is a "shall issue" state for concealed
carry. A permit test must be passed and a license acquired to
carry a concealed handgun. Utah is a "Stand Your
Ground" state, in which there is no duty to retreat if you
reasonably believe that a perpetrator on your property is going
to commit a forcible felony (rape, burglary, murder, grand
theft, ect).
#6: IDAHO. Idaho does not require a license for purchasing
handguns. No license required for open carry. No State waiting
period. No Registration of handguns. No Licensing of owners of
handguns. Idaho is a "shall issue" state for concealed
carry. The local sheriff shall issue a concealed weapons permit
to a qualified applicant within ninety days. A permit is valid
for five years. Idaho recognizes valid concealed carry permits
from any state. A concealed weapons permit is not required for
carry of long guns concealed or not. The firearm being openly
carried must be clearly visible. A firearm can also be
transported in a vehicle, as long as it is in plain view, or is
disassembled or unloaded. Idaho has state preemption of firearms
laws, so local units of government can not regulate the
ownership, possession, or transportation of firearms. The state
constitution states that "No law shall impose licensure,
registration or special taxation on the ownership or possession
of firearms or ammunition. Nor shall any law permit the
confiscation of firearms, except those actually used in the
commission of a felony." A concealed weapon may not be
carried at a school, courthouse, in a prison, at the Idaho State
Capitol mall, or in certain other governmentally designated
locations.
#7: WEST VIRGINIA. West Virginia does not require a license
for purchasing handguns. No license required for open carry. No
State waiting period. No Registration of handguns. No Licensing
of owners of handguns. West Virginia is a "shall
issue" state for concealed carry. A permit test must be
passed and a license acquired to carry a concealed handgun.
There still remain grandfathered restrictions on open carry in
some localities, such as Charleston and Dunbar. There is a
proposed senate bill which would amend the law to remove those
restrictions. West Virginia enacted the castle doctrine on April
10, 2008. The Castle Doctrine gives a person the legal right to
use deadly force to defend that place(his/her
"castle"), and/or any other innocent persons legally
inside it, from violent attack or an intrusion which may lead to
violent attack. In a legal context, therefore, use of deadly
force which actually results in death may be defended as
justifiable homicide under the Castle Doctrine.
The "Shall-Issue" law is where activists for gun
owners civil rights have won the most important series of
victories in the last 20 years. It started in Florida where they
went from a system where it was optional for the authorities to
give out such permits, and they were only good in the county
where they were issued, to a license that authorized the holder
to carry statewide. Moreover, the law was written so that the
permit could not be denied to any law-abiding citizen.
Shall-issue means that the appointed issuing authority can't
turn you down because they don't like the way you look, or the
way you vote, or the idea of ordinary people carrying guns.It
has been wonderfully successful. It has been proven that violent
crime goes down after Shall-Issue laws are passed. Currently, we
have 35 shall-issue states. They are: Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington,
Wisconsin and West Virginia.
"Stand-your-Ground" states expressly relieve the
home's occupants of any duty to retreat or announce their intent
to use deadly force before they can be legally justified in
doing so to defend themselves. Clauses that state this fact are
called "Stand Your Ground", "Line In The
Sand" or "No Duty To Retreat" clauses, and state
exactly that; the shooter has no duty or other requirement to
abandon a place in which they have a right to be, or to give up
ground to an assailant. States with a Stand-your-ground Law:
Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, and
Washington State.
With Obama now as president, the worst gun laws from the
worst states have a friend in Washington. That alone is reason
enough for every gun owner to fight locally and nationally for
gun rights, and stock up in preparation just in case.
"When governments fear the people, there is liberty.
When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. No free
man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason
for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as
a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in
government." - Thomas Jefferson, US Founding Father,
drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President of the
United States.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
- Sher Zieve Monday, January 2, 2012
Today’s column will be short and to the point. It has finally arrived,
folks. I’d hoped I was wrong about it but, tragically and chillingly I was
not. Obama has just announced—in his own words—that he can detain (imprison)
anyone he wants with the new unconstitutional NDAA bill passed by Congress and
signed by the now self-proclaimed Dictator-in-Chief Barack Hussein Obama. Note:
As usual, the Marxist-media doesn’t care and is, instead, jubilant that Dear
Leader Obama has finally done away with that pesky Constitution.
In a statement published 31 December on his White House site, Mr. Obama
states: “Today I have signed into law H.R. 1540, the “National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.” He goes on in the statement: “I
have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain
provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of
suspected terrorists.” Note: Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) advised in the
below YouTube video that the White House and Barack Obama DEMANDED the removal
of any and all protections for US citizens and legal residents. So, the
collaborative Congress gave him the dictatorial powers he has wanted since he
usurped the Office of POTUS.
The now formal Dictator of the USA Obama also disingenuously stated: “Section
1021 affirms the executive branch’s authority to detain persons covered by the
2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) (Public Law 107-40; 50 U.S.C.
1541 note). This section breaks no new ground [yes, it does] and is unnecessary.
The authority it describes was included in the 2001 AUMF, as recognized by the
Supreme Court and confirmed through lower court decisions since then.”
“Two critical limitations in section 1021 confirm that it solely codifies
established authorities. First, under section 1021(d), the bill does not “limit
or expand the authority of the President or the scope of the Authorization for
Use of Military Force.” Second, under section 1021(e), the bill may not be
construed to affect any “existing law or authorities relating to the detention
of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any
other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.” Note: But,
it does.
“My Administration strongly supported the inclusion of these limitations in
order to make clear beyond doubt that the legislation does nothing more than
confirm authorities that the Federal courts have recognized as lawful under the
2001 AUMF.” Note: No, it did not. In fact, per Democrat Senator Carl
Levin, just the opposite occurred—as Obama demanded protections for US
citizens and legal residents be removed before he would sign the bill! Obama
continues with: “Moreover, I want to clarify that my Administration will not
authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens.”
Translation: “I may choose to be a beneficent dictator, if I wish to do so.”
“Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important
traditions and values [they are not ’traditions and values’ they are US law]
as a Nation. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that
ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the
laws of war, and all other applicable law.” Note: This is another
abject ObamaLie. The new revised NDAA bill, which Obama demanded, effectively
renders the US Constitution’s Bill of Rights—and the US Constitution, itself—null
and void.
We have now reached the end of the road as a free country. As never before,
only two choices now remain We-the-People: “If we refuse to rise up and fight,
we’ll be forced to lie down and die.”
“And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by
his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and
the base against the honourable”—Isaiah 3:5
Statement
by the President on H.R. 1540:Proof Obama
Will Sign NDAA 1031 Citizen Indefinite Detention Law in a Few Days and that the
removal of protection for US citizens and legal residents was DEMANDED by the
White House:
As the attention of most Americans was captivated by the shiny object in
Times Square this weekend like infants fixated on car keys dangled in front of
them, Barack Hussein Obama signed into law H.R. 1540, better known as the
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Regardless of any concurrent
executive signing statements that are mere window dressing and not legally
binding, Obama and every member of congress who crafted and voted for this act
has essentially declared war on American citizens on U.S. soil.
To quote Rush Limbaugh, “words mean things.” As a career investigator, I
can assure you that words contained in local, state and federal laws most
certainly mean things, and provide the legal authority for conduct sanctioned by
national or state authorities without regard to any promised judicial or
prosecutorial discretion that could be likened to the signing statement. The
NDAA now codifies the most controversial aspects of the Patriot Act, which “candidate”
Obama publicly opposed. What changed?
Greasing the slope
Any person of reasonable sensibilities should be raising a multitude of
questions upon considering the current and historical conduct of the executive
and legislative branches of our government. It was the attack on 9/11 that
ostensibly paved the way for the Bush administration to craft the USA PATRIOT
Act, which was signed into law by congress on October 26, 2001. That legislation
broadened law enforcement powers well beyond the rights granted to Americans by
the U.S. Constitution. While many of the provisions contained in the PATRIOT Act
were scheduled to end on December 31, 2005, the U.S. Senate passed a
reauthorization bill containing numerous changes in July 2005, and the House of
Representatives submitted a bill that kept most of the original bill intact. The
largely unchanged bill passed congressional vote on March 2, 2006 and was signed
into law by George W. Bush.
Although the PATRIOT Act has gone through various subsequent incarnations,
congress crafted and Obama signed a four-year extension last May, extending
certain key provisions that particularly focused on businesses in the U.S. It is
important to note that the manner and methods in which the U.S. government
interprets and carries out the provisions of the PATRIOT Act are classified and
kept secret from the American public, an issue rarely addressed by politicians
or pundits. Why the secrecy?
Continuity of agenda
One must also question the obvious continuity of agenda from the Bush
administration to the Obama administration, and from the congress seated in 2001
through today. Despite pro-Constitutional campaign rhetoric from both
Republicans and Democrats, and the rapid acquiescence of some TEA party
candidates who now occupy seats of power, it is obvious that the rights of
Americans granted by the very Constitution elected officials swore to uphold are
under attack. Why the change?
As one looks at the larger picture, pieces of the puzzle seems to become more
recognizable.
The move toward globalism
Once thought to be the fanciful designs of the conspiracy minded, there
appears to be an acceleration toward one world governance, or the infamous “New
World Order.” It is an agenda that has been in place for decades, yet the
politically myopic and the agent facilitators deliberately avoid any discussion
of its existence. Exposure of this agenda has been hobbled by the merger of
major news organizations into a half-dozen corporations who control what is
reported. Even many who present themselves as purveyors of the truth decline to
discuss the globalist agenda, or are held hostage by big money contracts with
editorial stipulations and controls.
While the attacks of 9/11 paved the way for passage of the PATRIOT Act, what
could explain the draconian legislation contained in the NDAA of 2012? Looking
through the prism of current events, those with intellectual honesty can readily
see events unfolding that would create conditions to necessitate its
implementation.
Controlled economic collapse
Who could have predicted the economic crisis of 2008, just two months before
the U.S. presidential election? Nearly everyone who was aware of the agenda of
the global elite. The economic crisis of 2008, an incident which the banking
elite used the specter of martial law to fund their global operations, landed a
financial sucker punch on every American with the approval of congress. Using
such phrases as “too big to fail,” banking giants, facilitated by the
Federal Reserve, the U.S. Treasury and members of congress knowingly and
deliberately defrauded the American public out of trillions of dollars, much of
which remains unaccounted for despite dubious internal financial audit reports.
While the corporate media remain lapdogs for the banking and global elite and
report recovery on the horizon, the real story has yet to be told by our media
and elected officials. There is a controlled demolition of not only our national
economy, but the entire world economy. Look at the financial death throes of the
European Union, which cannot survive, despite the best fiction from cable news
economists hired to hide the truth from the masses. The consequential social
upheaval will not be contained to Europe, nor will the economic apocalypse. Due
to the Ponzi scheme created by the globalist bankers and government leaders from
the Goldman-Sachs bloodline, Americans will find themselves in financial turmoil
unseen in modern history.
Perhaps it is for those who cannot seem to take their eyes of the shiny
objects, or those who camp out at big box stores for bargains on the latest and
greatest electronic gadgets that the NDAA was crafted.
Note: For detailed discussion on the signing of the NDAA, tune in to the new
Hagmann & Hagmann Report, broadcast live in audio and video format
weeknights from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. ET on the Liberty Broadcasting Network.
The new show debuts today. For more information, click
This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Robert Knight was published January 2,
2012 inThe
Washington Times.
The most consequential election in our lifetime is still 10 months away, but
it's clear from the Obama administration's order halting South Carolina's new
photo ID law that the Democrats already have brought a gun to a knife fight.
How else to describe this naked assault on the right of a state to create
minimal requirements to curb voter fraud?
On Dec. 23, Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez sent a letter ordering
South Carolina to stop enforcing its photo ID law. Mr. Perez, who heads the
Civil Rights Division that booted charges against the New Black Panther Party
for intimidating voters in Philadelphia in 2008, said South Carolina's law would
disenfranchise thousands of minority voters.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson rejected Mr. Perez's math and
explained on Fox News why the law is necessary. The state Department of Motor
Vehicles audited a state Election Commission report that said 239,333 people
were registered to vote but had no photo ID. The DMV found that 37,000 were
deceased, more than 90,000 had moved to other states, and others had names not
matched to IDs. That left only 27,000 people registered without a photo ID but
who could vote by signing an affidavit as to their identity.
Mr. Wilson told me by phone Thursday that he would file a challenge to the
order in federal district court in January. Asked whether he felt South Carolina
was being singled out, he declined to speculate on motives. However, citing the
National Labor Relations Board's order to invalidate the voter-approved union
card check amendment, the NLRB's order to stop a new Boeing Co. plant, and the
Justice Department's suit to halt the state's immigration law, he said,
"There certainly is a pattern of the federal government overreaching into
South Carolina."
Leading Democrats loudly equate recently enacted photo ID legislation as
updated versions of Jim Crow laws that once robbed people of their
constitutional right to vote simply because of their race. But photo ID laws and
other voter integrity measures cover everyone. Like other states, South Carolina
provides photo IDs if a person cannot afford one.
The U.S. Constitution empowers the states to enact voting procedures with
minimal input from the national government, such as setting the voting age and
election days for federal offices. The 15th and 19th amendments ensure that no
one is denied the right to vote based on race or sex.
In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which authorizes the U.S.
attorney general or a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia to review changes to voting procedures or redistricting in
nine states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South
Carolina, Texas and Virginia), some counties in California, Florida, New York,
North Carolina and South Dakota, and some townships in Michigan and New
Hampshire.
Congress did so to counter clearly established patterns of voter intimidation
of blacks. Now, the Justice Department, which, under Attorney General Eric H.
Holder Jr. could be renamed the Retribution Department, looks the other way
depending on the race of the parties involved.
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Indiana's 2005 photo ID law, which the
Democratic Party and several interest groups had challenged as a "severe
burden."
But, as American Civil Rights Union attorney Peter Ferrara noted in the
group's friend- of-the-court brief:
"No one has been denied the right to vote by the Indiana Voter ID Law.
The record clearly establishes without challenge that 99 percent of the Voting
Age Population in Indiana already has the required ID, in the form of driver's
licenses, passports, or other identification. Of the remaining 1 percent,
senior citizens and the disabled are automatically eligible to vote by
absentee ballot, and such absentee voting is exempt from the Voter ID
Law."
Does that sound "severe" to you?As Mr. Ferrara notes, "the
slight burden of additional paperwork for a fraction of 1 percent, to show who
they are and thereby prove their eligibility to vote, cannot come close to
outweighing the interests of all legitimate legal voters in maintaining their
effective vote."
A bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform in 2005 chaired by former
President Jimmy Carter and former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III
found no evidence that requiring photo IDs would suppress the minority vote. The
panel recommended a national photo ID system and a campaign to register voters.
In a 2008 column, Mr. Carter and Mr. Baker cited a study by American
University's Center for Democracy and Election Management that echoed the
election commission. Among other things, researchers found that in three states
- Indiana, Mississippi and Maryland - about 1.2 percent of registered voters had
no photo ID.
Since the GOP took a majority of governorships and legislatures in 2010 and
continued enacting voting safeguards, you can feel the panic in Democratic
strongholds.
The Obama administration is playing the same race card that Democrats have
played for decades. But this is not about race; it's about whether legitimately
cast votes will be wiped out by illegally cast votes.
In Chicago, a federal investigation of the 1982 gubernatorial election
estimated that at least 100,000 illegal votes had been cast and that voter fraud
had been routine for many years. In 1960, Mayor Richard J. Daley's Chicago
Democrat machine almost certainly sealed John F. Kennedy's presidential election
by delaying reporting by Democratic-controlled precincts and counting them for
Kennedy.
Vice President Richard M. Nixon, the Republican candidate, had a compelling
case for a challenge, but chose not to do so. The media would have crucified him
as a sore loser without seriously investigating fraud allegations.
Conversely, in 2000, when Democrat Al Gore challenged George W. Bush's
razor-thin victory in Florida, the media flogged Florida Secretary of State
Katherine Harris because she refused to overlook "hanging chads" and
other questionable vote counting.
The stakes are enormous, and the Obama administration is quite aware of the
danger posed by an aroused electorate on a level playing field.
With the economy in a ditch, their only hope of stemming the conservative
tide might be to rig the returns, especially where political machines still
prevail.
This column by ACRU Senior Fellow Ken Blackwell and ACRU Senior Legal
Analyst Ken Klukowski was published December 30, 2011 onBig
Government.
Eric Holder's Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an all-out war on
voter-ID laws and other measures to safeguard the electoral process. Although
Holder's actions are purportedly to prevent African-Americans from being
disenfranchised, the reality is that they serve the crass political purpose of
ensuring that Holder's boss gets reelected next year.
In the past several years states have increasingly focused on measures to
protect the vote. After years of the federal government loosening voting
regulations, such as through the Motor Voter Act and HAVA (Help America Vote
Act), the pendulum started swinging back at the state level.
The clearest example of this trend is through voter-ID laws. In 2008 the
Supreme Court upheld Indiana's landmark law requiring citizens to show that they
are the person they claim to be by showing government-issued ID before casting a
ballot. But to ensure that those without driver's licenses or passports are not
disenfranchised, Indiana provides free ID's to everyone who applies for one. The
Court upheld this law, with the primary opinion written by no one less than
liberal lion Justice John Paul Stevens.
Such laws combat voter fraud that we see on Election Day, especially in
certain parts of the nation. In Washington State, King County suddenly
"discovered" enough previously "unnoticed" votes for
Democrat Christine Gregoire to edge out Republican Dino Rossi for Washington's
governorship in 2004. There are also examples from Wisconsin, Missouri, and
other states.
Yet Holder has blocked South Carolina's voter-ID law. DOJ argues that this
law is different from Indiana's because South Carolina is subject to additional
federal oversight under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. (This is especially
important because there are several federal cases challenging the
constitutionality of Section 5.)
But the reality is that DOJ's actions are not focused on protecting voting
rights. They are instead intended to make sure that Barack Obama wins
reelection.
It's not cynical to say this. The twelve or so battleground states that will
decide the 2012 presidential election suggest Obama's reelection strategy. These
states include Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan,
Wisconsin, and Missouri. All these states have large African-American
populations.
The African-American community has a staggeringly-high unemployment rate
under President Obama. So Black Americans will not vote for this president
because of any prosperity he's brought to that community. Instead, he has to gin
up their votes by painting a picture of racial conflict in which he--and the
governmental agency dealing with such things, DOJ--is their champion.
This is also seen in Holder's incessant playing of the race card. First he
says we're a nation of cowards about race. Now that he's on the ropes for DOJ's
scandalous Operation Fast and Furious gun-running scandal into Mexico, he has
the audacity to say that he and President Obama are being attacked in part
because they're both African-Americans.
Voting is a fundamental right. It is the means by which "We the
People" consent to be governed for a fixed period of time by certain
individuals, by electing them as stewards of governmental power. They wield this
power to secure our rights as set forth in the U.S. Constitution and (for state
officials) the constitutions of the fifty states.
But there is another voting right. It is the right not to have your legal
vote diluted by fraudulent votes. As we explain in our Yale Law & Policy
Review article "The Other Voting Right," every invalid vote
cancels out one valid vote. Each such cancellation undermines our democratic
republic and reduces the legitimacy of election results.
Voting is also unique in that it might be the only right that is also a duty.
It's not too much to ask for citizens to exert a minimal amount of effort to
fulfill reasonable regulations to protect the integrity of the electoral
process.
Every eligible citizen has a duty to vote. But as we explain in our book Resurgent:
How Constitutional Conservatism Can Save America, it is a duty to cast an
informed vote. Although there are only so many hours in the day, we each need to
make an effort to gather enough information to understand the major issues
facing our nation, state, and community, and to carefully vote for candidates
who offer the best solutions for our long-term safety and prosperity.
Because voting is a duty, and also because every voter has the right to
ensure their valid vote is not diluted by fraudulent votes, citizens can be
expected to fulfill certain requirements that would not be justified when
exercising other rights, such as free speech or the free exercise of religion.
Measures such as showing up at the correct place on the correct day to cast a
ballot under the watchful eyes of trained precinct personnel are examples of
fulfilling our duty, as is showing valid ID to prove that you are the person
listed on that precinct's voter rolls.
These measures are essential to our self-governing republic. As examples the
world over show, losing the integrity of the electoral process is a mistake a
free people often gets to make only once
There is a saying that "people get the government they vote for."
The implication of the maxim is that if undesirable or unwise legislation is
enacted, if executive branch officials are inept or ineffective, or if the
government is beset with widespread corruption, then such unfortunate results
are the consequence of the electorate's decision regarding whom to trust with
the powers and prestige of public office. The Constitution does not forbid
people from enacting wrongheaded policies. If voters elect leaders that fail
them, then the citizenry is saddled with the consequences of its choice until
the next election. Such is the reality in a democratic republic.
But this argument begs the question of whether voters did in fact elect the
individuals who take their oaths of office. How do citizens know which candidate
actually won in any given election? Election results are legitimate only to the
extent that the returns include every legal vote--and only those legal
votes--undiluted by fraudulent or otherwise unacceptable votes. The task of
counting every legal ballot and excluding every unlawful one is the challenge
faced by practitioners of election law, whether as lawyers or as election
officials. Primary authority for elections in America rests with the states, and
in each jurisdiction the secretary of state is the senior executive officer
responsible for ensuring a free and fair election. Thus the secretary of state
is involved in the unique act of balancing the duty to ensure access to the
ballot box with protecting the integrity of the voting process.
Over the past four decades, most developments in voting rights legislation
and case law have focused specifically on the franchise: the right to cast a
ballot and have that ballot tabulated as a vote. These advances, albeit
important, have left underdeveloped the concomitant right to an undiluted count.
And if we seek to ensure the legitimacy and fairness of our electoral system
then we must now turn to protecting this "other voting right"
vigorously. Further, we must do so in a manner that recognizes voting as a duty
and that expects the voter to exert some effort toward fulfilling that duty.
This Essay explores several aspects of protecting the second, equally
important, right to a protected ballot box. Click
here to download the full essay. (PDF)
,
has the following to say on the subject:
