Formal Articles of Impeachment
Posted August 29, 2013
I
have prepared these formal Articles of Impeachment as a Constitutional
lawyer. They are in proper legal form and I believe all allegations are
provable. They will be sent to Congress with annotations.
Michael Connelly
Resolution Impeaching Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Article I
The means used to implement this course of conduct or scheme included one or more of the following acts:
(1) Shortly after being sworn in for his first term as President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama began creating new departments and appointing Czars to oversee these departments. These Czars were never submitted to the United States Senate for approval as required by Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution. In addition, these Czars and the Departments have budgets that are not subject to being controlled by Congress as provided for by Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. He also made recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess.
(2) Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution mandates that the President of the United States “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed…” Barack Hussein Obama, in violation of his oath of office has repeatedly ignored this Constitutional mandate by refusing to enforce laws against illegal immigration, defend in court the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and refusing to enforce Federal voting laws.
(3) Article 1 of the Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the U.S. government and sets forth the powers of the Senate and House of Representatives to make laws. These powers are exclusive and the Constitution does not grant the President the power to either make laws or amend them on his own. Barack Hussein Obama has ignored these provisions and made or changed laws by either issuing unconstitutional executive orders or instructing governmental departments to take illegal and unconstitutional actions. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- A. Ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to implement portions of the Cap & Trade bill that failed to pass in the U.S. Senate.
- B. Ordering implementation of portions of the “Dream Act” that failed to pass in Congress.
- C. Orchestrating a government takeover of a major part of the automobile industry in 2009.
- D. Ordering a moratorium on new offshore oil and gas exploration and production without approval of Congress.
- E. Signing an Executive Order on March 16, 2012 giving himself and the Executive branch extraordinary powers to control and allocate resources such as food, water, energy and health care resources etc. in the interest of vaguely defined national defense issues. It would amount to a complete government takeover of the U.S. economy.
- F. Signing an Executive Order on July 6, 2012 giving himself and the Executive branch the power to control all methods of communications in the United States based on a Presidential declaration of a national emergency.
- G. Signing an Executive Order on January 6, 2013 that contained 23 actions designed to limit the individual right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution.
- H. Amending portions of the Affordable Healthcare Act and other laws passed by Congress without Congressional approval as required by Article 1 of the Constitution.
Article II
- A. Using Executive privilege to block Congress from getting documents relating to the DOJ’s Operation Fast and Furious and the death of U.S. Border Patrol Brian Terry.
- B. Had members of his administration provide false information about the act of terrorism committed in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 and refusing to allow the State Department and other federal agencies to cooperate in the Congressional investigation.
- C. Falsely labeled the mass murder of American soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas as “workplace violence” instead of the act of Islamic terrorism it was.
- D. Falsely labeling the IRS targeting of conservative and Christian groups as a “phony” scandal and refusing to order an active pursuit of the investigation into who was ultimately responsible.
- E. Refusing to order an independent investigation of the actions of Eric Holder and the DOJ in targeting the phone records of members of the news media.
- F. Telling the American people on a television show that the NSA was not prying into the emails and phone calls of Americans when the facts prove otherwise
- A. Having the Department of Health and Human Services order religious institutions and businesses owned by religious families to provide their employees free contraception and other services that are contrary to their religious beliefs. This is being done under the auspices of the Affordable Health Care Act and violates the religious freedom clauses of the First Amendment.
- B. Having the military place restrictions on the religious freedom of Chaplains and other members of the military in order to favor gay rights advocates and atheists in violation of the First Amendment.
- C. Having the military place restrictions on the freedom of speech of members of the military and the civilian employees of the DOD in violation of their rights under the First Amendment.
- D. Using Executive orders and government agency actions to limit Second Amendment rights. This includes actions by the Veterans Administration to disarm American veterans without due process as required by the Fifth Amendment.
- E. Having the National Security Agency intercept and monitor the private communications of millions of Americans without a court order and in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
- F. Joining with foreign governments in lawsuits against sovereign U.S. states to prohibit them from enforcing immigration laws. This is in violation of the Tenth Amendment.
- G. Filing suits under the Voting Rights Act against sovereign U.S. states to prevent them from enforcing Voter ID laws despite rulings by the Supreme Court upholding these laws. This is another violation of the Tenth Amendment and the balance of powers.
- A. In the name of “political correctness,” he imposed unnecessary and dangerous rules of engagement on our troops in combat causing them to lose offensive and defensive capabilities and putting them in danger. Many American service personnel have been killed or wounded as a result of this policy.
- B. Releasing the identity of American military personnel and units engaged in dangerous and secret operations such as the killing of Osama bin Laden by Navy Seal team 6.
- C. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the exclusive power to declare war. Yet, without consulting Congress President Obama ordered the American military into action in Libya.
Wherefore, Barack Hussein Obama, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.
A PHONY PRESIDENT
Posted July 31, 2013
Isn’t
it ironic that we have a phony President of the United States
complaining about the “phony scandals” he claims were created by those
who dare to oppose him and his dictatorial regime? There is nothing
phony about the death of Border Patrol officer Brian Terry as a result
of the Fast and Furious scandal and there is certainly nothing phony
about the massacre of Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone
Woods, and Glen Doherty by Islamist terrorists in Benghazi.
There is also nothing phony about a powerful federal agency, the IRS, using its power to intimidate conservative and Christian political organizations and donors in order to help Obama get reelected. Nor was the fact that the Attorney General of the United States lied while under oath to a congressional committee investigating the efforts of the DOJ to intimidate members of the news media. Yet, Obama, members of his corrupt administration, and many of his protectors in the mainstream media continue with the narrative. They remind me of the police officers at a crime scene telling the public to move on, there is nothing to see here.
The reality is there is much more to see than initially meets the eye. When I refer to Obama as a phony President I am not just talking about the many unanswered questions about this man’s background. We know less about him than any other President in recent history, and he appears to lie about things even when he is aware that most people know he is lying. However, he is a phony President primarily because he took an oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and is doing exactly the opposite.
Regardless of where he was born, Obama is not an American because he does not believe in our Constitutional form of government, our free enterprise system, or even the basic freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. He routinely takes actions that are contrary to the authority given to him as President of the United States. He bypasses Congress by making laws through illegal Executive orders; he refuses to fulfill his Constitutional duty to enforce those laws passed by Congress, and he uses the departments of the Executive Branch to bully, intimidate, and silence American citizens and businesses. He also is trying to use the executive orders to take away our Second Amendment rights.
He encourages class warfare and racial hatred among Americans while steadfastly protecting and defending the radical elements of the Muslim brotherhood and other terrorist groups. Why do you think that no one has been arrested or killed in response to the Benghazi attack? We know who they are yet Obama refuses to act against them, probably for the same reason that he refuses to acknowledge murderous acts by Muslims as acts of terror.
When he was first running for President, Obama told an adoring crowd of union members that after he was elected he would reward his friends and punish his enemies. He has fulfilled his promise, but unfortunately his enemies seem to be all of the American people while his friends seem to be those that would destroy us. Remember, the Constitutional definition of treason includes giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States.
As a Constitutional lawyer I am well aware that the oath of office that I took as an army officer and that Obama and all members of his cabinet took is not supposed to be taken lightly, much less ignored. In fact, under federal law, the very act of advocating the overthrowing our Constitutional from of government is a criminal offense. Obama and his minions are doing much more than just advocating the overthrow, they are actually making it happen.
I have written several articles on this blog about Obama’s impeachable offenses, but I Am going one step further. What Obama is doing to this country and to its citizens is a violation of two federal statues 5U.S.C. 7311 and 18 U.S.C. 1918. In short, Obama is a criminal and so are many of those who work for him. They should be prosecuted and jailed.
This also means that no state, county, or city officials have any obligation to enforce illegal actions taken by Obama as President and no American citizen is required to obey them. It is time for all of us to “Stand Our Ground”.
There is also nothing phony about a powerful federal agency, the IRS, using its power to intimidate conservative and Christian political organizations and donors in order to help Obama get reelected. Nor was the fact that the Attorney General of the United States lied while under oath to a congressional committee investigating the efforts of the DOJ to intimidate members of the news media. Yet, Obama, members of his corrupt administration, and many of his protectors in the mainstream media continue with the narrative. They remind me of the police officers at a crime scene telling the public to move on, there is nothing to see here.
The reality is there is much more to see than initially meets the eye. When I refer to Obama as a phony President I am not just talking about the many unanswered questions about this man’s background. We know less about him than any other President in recent history, and he appears to lie about things even when he is aware that most people know he is lying. However, he is a phony President primarily because he took an oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and is doing exactly the opposite.
Regardless of where he was born, Obama is not an American because he does not believe in our Constitutional form of government, our free enterprise system, or even the basic freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. He routinely takes actions that are contrary to the authority given to him as President of the United States. He bypasses Congress by making laws through illegal Executive orders; he refuses to fulfill his Constitutional duty to enforce those laws passed by Congress, and he uses the departments of the Executive Branch to bully, intimidate, and silence American citizens and businesses. He also is trying to use the executive orders to take away our Second Amendment rights.
He encourages class warfare and racial hatred among Americans while steadfastly protecting and defending the radical elements of the Muslim brotherhood and other terrorist groups. Why do you think that no one has been arrested or killed in response to the Benghazi attack? We know who they are yet Obama refuses to act against them, probably for the same reason that he refuses to acknowledge murderous acts by Muslims as acts of terror.
When he was first running for President, Obama told an adoring crowd of union members that after he was elected he would reward his friends and punish his enemies. He has fulfilled his promise, but unfortunately his enemies seem to be all of the American people while his friends seem to be those that would destroy us. Remember, the Constitutional definition of treason includes giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States.
As a Constitutional lawyer I am well aware that the oath of office that I took as an army officer and that Obama and all members of his cabinet took is not supposed to be taken lightly, much less ignored. In fact, under federal law, the very act of advocating the overthrowing our Constitutional from of government is a criminal offense. Obama and his minions are doing much more than just advocating the overthrow, they are actually making it happen.
I have written several articles on this blog about Obama’s impeachable offenses, but I Am going one step further. What Obama is doing to this country and to its citizens is a violation of two federal statues 5U.S.C. 7311 and 18 U.S.C. 1918. In short, Obama is a criminal and so are many of those who work for him. They should be prosecuted and jailed.
This also means that no state, county, or city officials have any obligation to enforce illegal actions taken by Obama as President and no American citizen is required to obey them. It is time for all of us to “Stand Our Ground”.
LEGISLATIVE ALERT: THE IMMIGRATION BILL
Posted July 9, 2013
I
have reviewed the Immigration reform bill, S744, passed overwhelmingly
by the United States Senate and it is a disaster. It is lengthy and
confusing and in many ways reminds me of the final version of Obamacare
that was passed by members of Congress who did not read it and had no
idea what was in it. There is no mistaking that this is an amnesty bill.
It provides a pathway to citizenship for individuals who are already on
record as being willing to break our laws.
According to those supporting the legislation there are only eleven or twelve million of these illegal aliens (I refuse to use the politically correct term “undocumented workers”). However, if the law passes these illegals will be entitled to include their family members in the deal bringing the total to around thirty million. The law will also increase the number of legal immigrants allowed into this country from 1 million 1.5 million. This will happen when millions of American citizens are either unemployed or under employed.
This legislation will also be extraordinarily expensive for the already suffering American citizens. The burden of providing services and benefits for these individuals will primarily fall on state and local governments creating obligations they can’t afford to meet unless they increase taxes, reduce essential services to their residents, or a combination of both.
By the way, if you or I use forged or fraudulent documents or a stolen social security number we will be prosecuted and possibly go to jail. Under the provisions of S744 illegals who have committed these crimes can apply for and get a free pass.
Of course, the public is being told that one of the top priorities of the bill is border security. However, shades of Obamacare, there is a problem. The job of securing the border is left entirely in the hands of Obama and Janet Napolitano. They are given complete authority under the law to do anything they want or to continue doing virtually nothing at all. The DHS Secretary has left our border wide open to illegal aliens, drug traffickers, and terrorists, while assuring us that the border is better protected than ever before. S744 allows her to continue this pattern.
Make no mistake; this legislation is not about border security or even helping the so called poor oppressed illegals who just want to live the American dream. It is ultimately about adding millions of new Democratic voters to the rolls and turning red states like Texas and Arizona into blue states.
The Republicans in Congress who support this legislation seem to be under the illusion that many of the voters who went for Obama in 2008 and 2012 will be so grateful for the passage of this amnesty bill that they will rush to embrace Republican candidates at the polls in 2014 and thereafter. I understand that many of these same Republicans have purchased shares in the Brooklyn Bridge and beachfront property in the Florida everglades.
After what happened in the Senate we cannot take anything for granted in the House. Everyone must contact their representatives and insist that S744 be voted down. Cosmetic amendments will not be enough. Passage of this legislation will be much more than just another jewel in Obama’s weighty crown, it will mean the end of the USA as we know it.
According to those supporting the legislation there are only eleven or twelve million of these illegal aliens (I refuse to use the politically correct term “undocumented workers”). However, if the law passes these illegals will be entitled to include their family members in the deal bringing the total to around thirty million. The law will also increase the number of legal immigrants allowed into this country from 1 million 1.5 million. This will happen when millions of American citizens are either unemployed or under employed.
This legislation will also be extraordinarily expensive for the already suffering American citizens. The burden of providing services and benefits for these individuals will primarily fall on state and local governments creating obligations they can’t afford to meet unless they increase taxes, reduce essential services to their residents, or a combination of both.
By the way, if you or I use forged or fraudulent documents or a stolen social security number we will be prosecuted and possibly go to jail. Under the provisions of S744 illegals who have committed these crimes can apply for and get a free pass.
Of course, the public is being told that one of the top priorities of the bill is border security. However, shades of Obamacare, there is a problem. The job of securing the border is left entirely in the hands of Obama and Janet Napolitano. They are given complete authority under the law to do anything they want or to continue doing virtually nothing at all. The DHS Secretary has left our border wide open to illegal aliens, drug traffickers, and terrorists, while assuring us that the border is better protected than ever before. S744 allows her to continue this pattern.
Make no mistake; this legislation is not about border security or even helping the so called poor oppressed illegals who just want to live the American dream. It is ultimately about adding millions of new Democratic voters to the rolls and turning red states like Texas and Arizona into blue states.
The Republicans in Congress who support this legislation seem to be under the illusion that many of the voters who went for Obama in 2008 and 2012 will be so grateful for the passage of this amnesty bill that they will rush to embrace Republican candidates at the polls in 2014 and thereafter. I understand that many of these same Republicans have purchased shares in the Brooklyn Bridge and beachfront property in the Florida everglades.
After what happened in the Senate we cannot take anything for granted in the House. Everyone must contact their representatives and insist that S744 be voted down. Cosmetic amendments will not be enough. Passage of this legislation will be much more than just another jewel in Obama’s weighty crown, it will mean the end of the USA as we know it.
PSYCHIATRY AS A WEAPON OF TYRANNY
Posted June 25, 2013
I
have written extensively about the horrendous and ongoing efforts by
the Veterans Administration to disarm American military veterans by
declaring them incompetent to handle their financial affairs due to
physical or mental disabilities. Once declared incompetent the veterans
are arbitrarily stripped of their Second Amendment right to purchase,
own, or possess a firearm.
This is all being done by broadening the definition of mental illness to the point of absurdity. Often with the VA there is no psychiatrist or psychologist involved in the determination of incompetence. Instead, some untrained bureaucrat reviews the file of the veteran and if they find any mention of PTSD or the use of the word depression they seize on that and make the declaration of incompetence. There is no legal adjudication process involved in this; the veterans have no right to due process as required by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. It is tyranny in its purest form.
Unfortunately, what the VA is doing is not new. The use of phony psychiatry has been a weapon of tyranny for decades. In dictatorships like Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Cuba, and China people who opposed the regime would be declared mentally ill and placed in psychiatric hospitals or internment camps. That way no charges had to be filed and no evidence offered that an individual had committed a crime.
For the Nazis it was initially a perfect way to deal with the Jews and other groups that they considered sub human. If you were Jewish you had to mentally defective and therefor you could be put in a hospital and experimented on. It was the beginning of the holocaust. In the Soviet Union anyone who was not a devout supporter of Communism was held in an institution and then often sent on to the Gulag where they could be worked and starved to death.
We have certainly not reached that point in the United States, but we have reached the point where the basic premise is the same. The VA is using declarations of mental illness to disarm veterans and there have been reports of states like California doing the same. If it happening to veterans now how long will it be before it starts happening to other American citizens?
Consider this; soon those stalwarts of integrity who run the IRS will have access to the medical records of every American. They will be able to review them to see if you have ever told a doctor that you were depressed, ever suffered from PTSD after the loss of a loved one or from being in an accident, or even suffered from some minor memory loss. Based on the criteria being used by the VA the IRS could declare you mentally defective and put you on the list of people that can’t legally purchase or own firearms.
You also have to consider the fact that one of the 23 so called executive actions on gun control Obama recently signed called for doctors to ask their patients if they owned a firearm. This is not just directed at psychiatrists, but at all physicians including pediatricians. In other words, if your child confesses that Mommy and Daddy have a gun in the house that could conceivably be considered the actions of mentally defective individuals and you could be disarmed. Once we are disarmed we cease to be citizens and become subjects.
This is all being done by broadening the definition of mental illness to the point of absurdity. Often with the VA there is no psychiatrist or psychologist involved in the determination of incompetence. Instead, some untrained bureaucrat reviews the file of the veteran and if they find any mention of PTSD or the use of the word depression they seize on that and make the declaration of incompetence. There is no legal adjudication process involved in this; the veterans have no right to due process as required by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. It is tyranny in its purest form.
Unfortunately, what the VA is doing is not new. The use of phony psychiatry has been a weapon of tyranny for decades. In dictatorships like Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Cuba, and China people who opposed the regime would be declared mentally ill and placed in psychiatric hospitals or internment camps. That way no charges had to be filed and no evidence offered that an individual had committed a crime.
For the Nazis it was initially a perfect way to deal with the Jews and other groups that they considered sub human. If you were Jewish you had to mentally defective and therefor you could be put in a hospital and experimented on. It was the beginning of the holocaust. In the Soviet Union anyone who was not a devout supporter of Communism was held in an institution and then often sent on to the Gulag where they could be worked and starved to death.
We have certainly not reached that point in the United States, but we have reached the point where the basic premise is the same. The VA is using declarations of mental illness to disarm veterans and there have been reports of states like California doing the same. If it happening to veterans now how long will it be before it starts happening to other American citizens?
Consider this; soon those stalwarts of integrity who run the IRS will have access to the medical records of every American. They will be able to review them to see if you have ever told a doctor that you were depressed, ever suffered from PTSD after the loss of a loved one or from being in an accident, or even suffered from some minor memory loss. Based on the criteria being used by the VA the IRS could declare you mentally defective and put you on the list of people that can’t legally purchase or own firearms.
You also have to consider the fact that one of the 23 so called executive actions on gun control Obama recently signed called for doctors to ask their patients if they owned a firearm. This is not just directed at psychiatrists, but at all physicians including pediatricians. In other words, if your child confesses that Mommy and Daddy have a gun in the house that could conceivably be considered the actions of mentally defective individuals and you could be disarmed. Once we are disarmed we cease to be citizens and become subjects.
CENSORED BY THE ARMY
Posted June 13, 2013
When
I post a new article to my blog on the Constitution I always send out
an email to those who request to be put on the list to be notified of
new posts. I have many military veterans on the list and some members of
the active military. Most of them have given me personal email
addresses but some use their military email address and some people
forward my emails and articles to active duty military personnel.
Now when anyone in the army is sent one of my articles the following automated response is received: “The message that you sent to an @us.army.mil user with subject "The Politics of Fear" was not accepted for delivery since it contained URLs that Army Cyber Command has disallowed.”
The URLs being referred to are to my blog, the United States Justice Foundation, and the Constitutional Law Alliance. In other words active duty members of the army are being denied access to information about the very Constitution they have vowed to fight and if necessary die to defend. Something is very wrong with this picture.
I have emailed the Army Cyber Command for an explanation. I pointed out that I am an army veteran an asked why my emails and articles were being blocked. I received no reply to explain why I am being denied my First Amendment rights and so are the members of the army who would like to read my articles.
This appears to be another part of a pattern by the Obama administration to strip away the basic Constitutional rights of every American. I don’t intend to let it end here. I intend to keep the oath I took to protect and defend the Constitution and take whatever legal steps are necessary to reverse this censorship effort by the government.
Now when anyone in the army is sent one of my articles the following automated response is received: “The message that you sent to an @us.army.mil user with subject "The Politics of Fear" was not accepted for delivery since it contained URLs that Army Cyber Command has disallowed.”
The URLs being referred to are to my blog, the United States Justice Foundation, and the Constitutional Law Alliance. In other words active duty members of the army are being denied access to information about the very Constitution they have vowed to fight and if necessary die to defend. Something is very wrong with this picture.
I have emailed the Army Cyber Command for an explanation. I pointed out that I am an army veteran an asked why my emails and articles were being blocked. I received no reply to explain why I am being denied my First Amendment rights and so are the members of the army who would like to read my articles.
This appears to be another part of a pattern by the Obama administration to strip away the basic Constitutional rights of every American. I don’t intend to let it end here. I intend to keep the oath I took to protect and defend the Constitution and take whatever legal steps are necessary to reverse this censorship effort by the government.
THE POLITICS OF FEAR
Posted June 11, 2013
It seems that the scandals just keep on coming. First, Americans are abandoned to die in a terrorist attack in Benghazi and the American people are lied to about the attack by the President and members of his cabinet. All of the facts are still unknown and the cover up continues.
Then we learn that one of the most powerful and feared government agencies, the IRS, used its power to deny tax exempt status to hundreds of conservative and religious groups in order to protect the Democrats and influence the outcome of the 2010 and 2012 election cycles. The IRS also abused its power by using illegal and unconstitutional tactics to intimidate the organizations, their members, and contributors and to target other individuals and companies that it perceived as enemies of Obama. Again, many of the facts are still unknown, but this is clearly a violation of the First Amendment right of free speech.
Right on the heels of the IRS scandal came the revelations that the Justice Department was illegally obtaining the phone records of reporters to find out who they might be talking to when investigating the administration. When questioned about this by a Congressional Committee Eric Holder did what the members of this administration do best, he lied. Obama feigned indignation over the whole matter and then took “decisive” action by telling Eric Holder to investigate himself. So much for the freedom of the press guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Of course that was just the beginning because the hits just keep on coming. Americans are now learning that the National Security Agency (NSA) that has the task of protecting us from terrorists and other enemies is now spying on all of us simply because we are Americans. They are gathering our phone records, reading our emails, and gathering data about every aspect of our lives. All to be stored for future use.
While all of this was breaking, the VA has been depriving our military veterans of their Second and Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution, and the Pentagon has been threatening active duty members of the military with punishment for practicing their religion, (unless it is Islam of course), or exercising their right to freedom of speech. Not to be outdone, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has turned over the names, addresses, and other private information of over 80,000 American farm families to radical environmental groups that want to put these farms out of business.
If you think closely about all of these so called scandals, they have one common denominator; all of these actions by our government are designed to make us afraid of it. They are meant to induce a climate of fear that has been the major strategy for every dictatorship in history. Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin were masters at it and the people in Cuba, China, Iran and other countries still live in this climate.
The philosophy is simple, if people know they are being monitored and that everything they say or do is subject to government scrutiny and possible punishment for any transgressions they commit, they will alter their behavior to conform to the wishes of the dictatorship. In Obamaland that means that the news media will stop investigating his scandals because reporters and their sources are afraid of retaliation by the Justice Department.
People will stop speaking out against Obama, forming groups to influence elections, or contributing to conservative groups and candidates for fear of retaliation by the IRS. Veterans will stop seeking treatment from the VA because they don’t want to be declared incompetent and lose their rights to own a firearm. Americans will be afraid to say what they believe in emails or on the phone and even be fearful of calling their elected representatives.
Worst of all is that as a result of Benghazi members of the military and the diplomatic service will be aware that no one has got their back. They can be sacrificed at any time for the personal political aspirations of this President.
I have come to the conclusion that none of this is an accident. Unfortunately for America, Obama is neither stupid nor incompetent. He is an elitist and a narcissist who knows exactly what he is doing, and it is only going to get worse. We now have Obamacare and the same people in the IRS, DOJ, etc. who have attacked our basic freedoms will now control our access to medical care.
The climate of fear is becoming a reality in the United States of America just as it did in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The difference is that if we recognize it for what it is and Obama for what he is we are still in a position to resist. If that means taking to the streets in massive protests or even forming neighborhood groups to protect ourselves and our homes then so be it.
Our founding fathers gave their all to give us this Constitution and our freedoms, and generations of Americans have given their best and brightest to do battle to defend them. We can do nothing less.
D-DAY
Posted June 6, 2013
I
am writing this on June, 6, 2013. Sixty nine years ago today my father,
Roy Connelly, was a young army Lieutenant fighting his way up Utah
Beach with other men of the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion.
It was D-Day and they were invading Normandy to free Europe from Nazi
domination and restore and preserve freedom. Many of these men didn’t
make it home, but those that did were honored for their service and were
proud veterans.
There are over 21 million proud military veterans of WW II and other wars we have fought since then that are still alive in our nation. I am one of them and I have two sons still serving in the U.S. Army. We all took the same oath “to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic” and we still keep that oath.
Unfortunately, our veterans are being dishonored by the very government they fought to defend. They are being denied adequate medical treatment and many are being stripped of their Constitutional rights under the Second and Fifth Amendment. They have even been classified by the Department of Homeland Security as “potential domestic terrorists.” They deserve better.
Today is not just the sixth day of June; it was and always will be D-day. As for my part, I will honor my father, the men of the 87th, and all of the veterans of the greatest generation by watching the movie “The Longest Day.” I used to watch it every year on this day with my father but that is no longer possible. However, as I watch it I will remember his stories of that day and the stories told to me by the other members of his battalion. I am sure that the tears will flow at some point, they always do.
To my fellow veterans and their families I say God Bless You and God Bless America!
There are over 21 million proud military veterans of WW II and other wars we have fought since then that are still alive in our nation. I am one of them and I have two sons still serving in the U.S. Army. We all took the same oath “to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic” and we still keep that oath.
Unfortunately, our veterans are being dishonored by the very government they fought to defend. They are being denied adequate medical treatment and many are being stripped of their Constitutional rights under the Second and Fifth Amendment. They have even been classified by the Department of Homeland Security as “potential domestic terrorists.” They deserve better.
Today is not just the sixth day of June; it was and always will be D-day. As for my part, I will honor my father, the men of the 87th, and all of the veterans of the greatest generation by watching the movie “The Longest Day.” I used to watch it every year on this day with my father but that is no longer possible. However, as I watch it I will remember his stories of that day and the stories told to me by the other members of his battalion. I am sure that the tears will flow at some point, they always do.
To my fellow veterans and their families I say God Bless You and God Bless America!
THE WAR ON OUR VETERANS
Posted May 21, 2013
With
Memorial Day approaching Americans should be preparing to honor our
veterans and military heroes currently fighting for us as well as
remembering those we have lost. This honor should be especially due from
our own government that has sent these brave men and women off to war.
Unfortunately, the opposite is true. It is clear that the Federal
government has declared war on our veterans and is intent on denying
them the very Constitutional rights they fought to protect.
First there is the ever widening scandal involving the systematic denial of veterans Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and their rights to due process under the provisions of the Fifth Amendment. This is being orchestrated by the VA which sends out letters to veterans telling them that because of physical or mental disabilities the VA is going to declare them incompetent to handle their own financial affairs and appoint a fiduciary to represent them.
Then in the same letter the veterans are told that “A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”
An estimated 150,000 veterans are now on the NICS background check list and cannot legally purchase firearms. I believe that the vast majority of them do not belong on the list and many of the veterans don’t know why they are there or even that they have been placed on the list. The only legitimate reasons for veterans to lose Second Amendment Rights is if they have been convicted of a felony, are known drug addicts, or been found to be mentally ill to a point where they are a danger to themselves or others.
The veterans that are being represented by the United States Justice Foundation (USJF) are reporting to us that they are being declared incompetent for having minor depression, PTSD, or simply because they let their spouses pay the family bills. Some veterans are reporting that if they try to fight the VA determination of incompetence the VA either threatens to withhold their payments or actually has done so. This is extortion since many veterans rely on their VA payments to feed themselves and their families.
The VA has refused to respond to several requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for information about the criteria being used to declare veterans incompetent and deny them their Second Amendment rights. The USJF has filed a suit to force the VA to turn over this information and will soon be filing a class action suit on behalf of veterans to stop the whole process.
This suit is the last chance these veterans may have since the bill introduced by Senator Richard Burr (R.NC) to protect the gun rights of veterans was recently defeated by the Democrats in the Senate.
There are at least three other attacks taking place on our veterans. The first has been the subject of a series of reports by the Fox News and ABC affiliates in Dallas, Texas which last fall reported that veterans going to the VA hospital were either having to wait for months to get treatment for serious illnesses or in some cases being denied effective treatment entirely. Two veterans were found to have committed suicide, one on the hospital grounds, because they were not being properly treated for their severe problems.
The second problem for our wounded warriors has been exposed in a series of reports by the Colorado Springs Gazette. According to the paper an extraordinary number of veterans who have received traumatic wounds, been treated and latter returned to their units, have ultimately received less than honorable discharges from the military for alleged misconduct. Once that happens, the soldiers can no longer receive treatment from the VA for their wounds or illnesses and they can’t receive any other benefits.
Reporter Dave Philipps stated in his article that: “It doesn't take serious misconduct to be discharged and lose a lifetime of benefits. The Gazette found troops cut loose for small offenses that the Army acknowledges can be symptoms of TBI and PTSD. Some soldiers missed formation a handful of times or smoked marijuana once. Some were discharged for showing up late or missing appointments. Some tested positive once for drugs, then were deployed to combat zones because the Army needed the troops, only to be discharged for the drug offense when they returned.”
In other words, wounded soldiers who have problems because of their injuries are rewarded for their combat service by getting kicked out of the military so the government will not have to fulfill its obligation to treat them.
Last, but certainly not least is the horrendous treatment the 32 members of the army who were wounded in the terrorist attack at Fort Hood, Texas on November 5, 2009. Since the Pentagon was ordered to be politically correct and label the attack by jihadist Nidal Milak Hasan as workplace violence instead of the obvious terrorist attack it was the soldiers who survived have been denied the Purple Heart medal for the wounds they received and denied the financial benefits that come with it.
According to a report on the NBC affiliate in Dallas some soldiers can barely afford to feed their families, yet Hasan has received his regular military pay since he was arrested and awaiting trial. The total pay so far is $268,000. His family has access to this money so our government is taking good care of the family of an Islamic terrorist and ignoring the families of our wounded soldiers. By the way, I join with the families of the 13 soldiers who died in the attack in asking why this man has not yet been tried for his crimes.
I am outraged by these actions of our government that dishonor our veterans and the debt we owe to them. This is developing into an additional scandal for the Obama administration yet many people are unaware that this is even happening. Please help me spread the word.
To my fellow veterans on this Memorial Day I can only say thank you for your service and I believe the American people will not let you be forgotten.
First there is the ever widening scandal involving the systematic denial of veterans Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and their rights to due process under the provisions of the Fifth Amendment. This is being orchestrated by the VA which sends out letters to veterans telling them that because of physical or mental disabilities the VA is going to declare them incompetent to handle their own financial affairs and appoint a fiduciary to represent them.
Then in the same letter the veterans are told that “A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”
An estimated 150,000 veterans are now on the NICS background check list and cannot legally purchase firearms. I believe that the vast majority of them do not belong on the list and many of the veterans don’t know why they are there or even that they have been placed on the list. The only legitimate reasons for veterans to lose Second Amendment Rights is if they have been convicted of a felony, are known drug addicts, or been found to be mentally ill to a point where they are a danger to themselves or others.
The veterans that are being represented by the United States Justice Foundation (USJF) are reporting to us that they are being declared incompetent for having minor depression, PTSD, or simply because they let their spouses pay the family bills. Some veterans are reporting that if they try to fight the VA determination of incompetence the VA either threatens to withhold their payments or actually has done so. This is extortion since many veterans rely on their VA payments to feed themselves and their families.
The VA has refused to respond to several requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for information about the criteria being used to declare veterans incompetent and deny them their Second Amendment rights. The USJF has filed a suit to force the VA to turn over this information and will soon be filing a class action suit on behalf of veterans to stop the whole process.
This suit is the last chance these veterans may have since the bill introduced by Senator Richard Burr (R.NC) to protect the gun rights of veterans was recently defeated by the Democrats in the Senate.
There are at least three other attacks taking place on our veterans. The first has been the subject of a series of reports by the Fox News and ABC affiliates in Dallas, Texas which last fall reported that veterans going to the VA hospital were either having to wait for months to get treatment for serious illnesses or in some cases being denied effective treatment entirely. Two veterans were found to have committed suicide, one on the hospital grounds, because they were not being properly treated for their severe problems.
The second problem for our wounded warriors has been exposed in a series of reports by the Colorado Springs Gazette. According to the paper an extraordinary number of veterans who have received traumatic wounds, been treated and latter returned to their units, have ultimately received less than honorable discharges from the military for alleged misconduct. Once that happens, the soldiers can no longer receive treatment from the VA for their wounds or illnesses and they can’t receive any other benefits.
Reporter Dave Philipps stated in his article that: “It doesn't take serious misconduct to be discharged and lose a lifetime of benefits. The Gazette found troops cut loose for small offenses that the Army acknowledges can be symptoms of TBI and PTSD. Some soldiers missed formation a handful of times or smoked marijuana once. Some were discharged for showing up late or missing appointments. Some tested positive once for drugs, then were deployed to combat zones because the Army needed the troops, only to be discharged for the drug offense when they returned.”
In other words, wounded soldiers who have problems because of their injuries are rewarded for their combat service by getting kicked out of the military so the government will not have to fulfill its obligation to treat them.
Last, but certainly not least is the horrendous treatment the 32 members of the army who were wounded in the terrorist attack at Fort Hood, Texas on November 5, 2009. Since the Pentagon was ordered to be politically correct and label the attack by jihadist Nidal Milak Hasan as workplace violence instead of the obvious terrorist attack it was the soldiers who survived have been denied the Purple Heart medal for the wounds they received and denied the financial benefits that come with it.
According to a report on the NBC affiliate in Dallas some soldiers can barely afford to feed their families, yet Hasan has received his regular military pay since he was arrested and awaiting trial. The total pay so far is $268,000. His family has access to this money so our government is taking good care of the family of an Islamic terrorist and ignoring the families of our wounded soldiers. By the way, I join with the families of the 13 soldiers who died in the attack in asking why this man has not yet been tried for his crimes.
I am outraged by these actions of our government that dishonor our veterans and the debt we owe to them. This is developing into an additional scandal for the Obama administration yet many people are unaware that this is even happening. Please help me spread the word.
To my fellow veterans on this Memorial Day I can only say thank you for your service and I believe the American people will not let you be forgotten.
BENGHAZI: PROTECTING THE THRONE
Posted May 9, 2013
As a result of the May 8th
House of Representatives Committee hearing on the September 11, 2012
attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya three chilling
conclusions can be drawn. First, the four Americans who were killed were
abandoned by the very government they so bravely served. Days prior to
the attack Ambassador Chris Stevens and others on his staff pointed out
to the State Department that the security situation in Libya was
deteriorating. There had already been a car bomb attack on the Consulate
in Benghazi and an attempt had been made on the life of the British
ambassador. Therefore, Ambassador Stevens wanted an increase in security
personnel.
Yet, despite these reports and the fact that the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 was rapidly approaching these requests were denied and orders were issued actually reducing the number of security personnel already assigned to the Ambassador. Then when the attacks began on September 11th, there is clear evidence that there were American military assets in the area, including a four man special ops team in Tripoli, that could have been used to break up the assault and save American lives. Instead of immediately deploying these assets, someone in the Obama administration ordered a stand down and no help was provided to the Ambassador and his embattled staff at the Consulate.
The second conclusion that can be clearly drawn is that the U.S. government knew from the beginning of the assault that this was a coordinated terrorist attack yet tried to hide this fact from the public for days. Instead of acknowledging that we had been struck by Jihadists once again on 9/11 administration officials, including the President and Secretary of State, claimed it was a spontaneous demonstration resulting from an obscure You Tube video critical of the prophet Mohammed that the demonstration somehow evolved into bloodshed. This was claimed despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
There are still more questions than answers and there will be more hearings, but the final inescapable conclusion to be drawn from this initial hearing is that the Administration, the vast majority of the Democrats in Congress, and most of the mainstream media don’t want the American people to know the truth. Their only interest is in protecting King Obama and his throne, and protecting his possible successor, Hilary Clinton. Instead of asking pertinent questions the Democrats on the committee spent most of their time attacking the Republicans and the valiant whistleblowers.
Indeed, these elected representatives of “we the people” drew their swords and locked their shields together in order to form a bulwark between the truth and the American people. This is a direct violation of their oath of office where they swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. The founding fathers carefully crafted the Constitution to set up a limited Federal government with three separate, but equal branches that would provide checks and balances to keep one branch from becoming too powerful and plunging our nation into tyranny. By refusing to rein in the excesses of the Executive Branch of government these so called “lawmakers” are failing to do what they are tasked to do by the Constitution. This is not only an impeachable offense, but is subject to criminal penalties under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 7311 and 18 U.S.C. 1918.
As for the members of the national news media, they take no such oath but I contend that they are still bound by the duties imposed on them by the Constitution. The First Amendment provides for freedom of the press and the founding fathers placed it in the Constitution for a specific reason. They wanted a free press to be a watch dog over the Federal government to keep it from becoming tyrannical, lying to the American people, and taking away our God given freedoms. By refusing to dig for the truth about Benghazi and in fact assisting the Administration in the cover up much of the mainstream media has become nothing more than a propaganda forum for the President and his allies. They are no longer the standard bearers for a free press, but the disciples of tyranny.
It is time for us to take back our country and hold the enemies of our Constitution accountable for their actions.
Yet, despite these reports and the fact that the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 was rapidly approaching these requests were denied and orders were issued actually reducing the number of security personnel already assigned to the Ambassador. Then when the attacks began on September 11th, there is clear evidence that there were American military assets in the area, including a four man special ops team in Tripoli, that could have been used to break up the assault and save American lives. Instead of immediately deploying these assets, someone in the Obama administration ordered a stand down and no help was provided to the Ambassador and his embattled staff at the Consulate.
The second conclusion that can be clearly drawn is that the U.S. government knew from the beginning of the assault that this was a coordinated terrorist attack yet tried to hide this fact from the public for days. Instead of acknowledging that we had been struck by Jihadists once again on 9/11 administration officials, including the President and Secretary of State, claimed it was a spontaneous demonstration resulting from an obscure You Tube video critical of the prophet Mohammed that the demonstration somehow evolved into bloodshed. This was claimed despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
There are still more questions than answers and there will be more hearings, but the final inescapable conclusion to be drawn from this initial hearing is that the Administration, the vast majority of the Democrats in Congress, and most of the mainstream media don’t want the American people to know the truth. Their only interest is in protecting King Obama and his throne, and protecting his possible successor, Hilary Clinton. Instead of asking pertinent questions the Democrats on the committee spent most of their time attacking the Republicans and the valiant whistleblowers.
Indeed, these elected representatives of “we the people” drew their swords and locked their shields together in order to form a bulwark between the truth and the American people. This is a direct violation of their oath of office where they swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. The founding fathers carefully crafted the Constitution to set up a limited Federal government with three separate, but equal branches that would provide checks and balances to keep one branch from becoming too powerful and plunging our nation into tyranny. By refusing to rein in the excesses of the Executive Branch of government these so called “lawmakers” are failing to do what they are tasked to do by the Constitution. This is not only an impeachable offense, but is subject to criminal penalties under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 7311 and 18 U.S.C. 1918.
As for the members of the national news media, they take no such oath but I contend that they are still bound by the duties imposed on them by the Constitution. The First Amendment provides for freedom of the press and the founding fathers placed it in the Constitution for a specific reason. They wanted a free press to be a watch dog over the Federal government to keep it from becoming tyrannical, lying to the American people, and taking away our God given freedoms. By refusing to dig for the truth about Benghazi and in fact assisting the Administration in the cover up much of the mainstream media has become nothing more than a propaganda forum for the President and his allies. They are no longer the standard bearers for a free press, but the disciples of tyranny.
It is time for us to take back our country and hold the enemies of our Constitution accountable for their actions.
Veterans lawsuit against the VA
Posted April 22, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 22, 2013
CONTACT: Michael Connelly, Executive Director,
michael@usjfmail.net or (214)731-6280
The United States Justice Foundation (USJF) has filed the first of several lawsuits against the Veterans Administration (VA) involving the VA’s violation of Constitutional rights of veterans guaranteed by the Second and Fifth Amendment.
The initial lawsuit is to compel the VA to respond to two requests sent to the agency under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The information requested included Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) rules, regulations, and criteria for making “determinations of incompetency due to a physical or mental condition of a benefit recipient” and copies of all rules, regulations and criteria used by the VBA to determine that a veteran found incompetent for any reason can be “prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm.”
The statutory deadline for the VA to respond has passed so this litigation has become necessary.
Michael Connelly, Executive Director, said, “The USJF has received numerous complaints from military veterans around the country who are being declared incompetent to handle their own financial affairs and then told that they can no longer purchase or own firearms or ammunition. This determination is being made without due process protections for the veterans and the basis for the incompetency ruling is often arbitrary and without a factual or legal basis.”
The suit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The USJF is also filing additional lawsuits on behalf of individual veterans whose Constitutional rights have been forfeited due to the actions of the VA. Connelly said that “the USJF will not charge the veterans or their families any fees or expenses for its representation. As a veteran myself I know that America’s heroes, many of them recovering from wounds do not need the additional pressure of having to pay to defend their rights.”
The USJF is a nonprofit, public interest, legal action organization, dedicated to instruct, inform, litigate, and educate the public on significant legal issues confronting the United States.
CONTACT: Michael Connelly, Executive Director,
michael@usjfmail.net or (214)731-6280
The United States Justice Foundation (USJF) has filed the first of several lawsuits against the Veterans Administration (VA) involving the VA’s violation of Constitutional rights of veterans guaranteed by the Second and Fifth Amendment.
The initial lawsuit is to compel the VA to respond to two requests sent to the agency under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The information requested included Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) rules, regulations, and criteria for making “determinations of incompetency due to a physical or mental condition of a benefit recipient” and copies of all rules, regulations and criteria used by the VBA to determine that a veteran found incompetent for any reason can be “prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm.”
The statutory deadline for the VA to respond has passed so this litigation has become necessary.
Michael Connelly, Executive Director, said, “The USJF has received numerous complaints from military veterans around the country who are being declared incompetent to handle their own financial affairs and then told that they can no longer purchase or own firearms or ammunition. This determination is being made without due process protections for the veterans and the basis for the incompetency ruling is often arbitrary and without a factual or legal basis.”
The suit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The USJF is also filing additional lawsuits on behalf of individual veterans whose Constitutional rights have been forfeited due to the actions of the VA. Connelly said that “the USJF will not charge the veterans or their families any fees or expenses for its representation. As a veteran myself I know that America’s heroes, many of them recovering from wounds do not need the additional pressure of having to pay to defend their rights.”
The USJF is a nonprofit, public interest, legal action organization, dedicated to instruct, inform, litigate, and educate the public on significant legal issues confronting the United States.
UPDATE ON VETERANS’ GUN RIGHTS ISSUE
Posted April 2, 2013
Our
investigation into the plight of our military veterans and the assault
on their Second and Fifth Amendment rights continues to uncover a
disturbing pattern that confirms that the VA is violating the
Constitutional rights of America’s heroes on a daily basis. The
investigation included two separate requests to the VA under the federal
Freedom of Information Act. We asked for the criteria used for
appointing a fiduciary for veterans to handle their financial affairs
and for information on the criteria for adding such veterans to the list
of Americans ineligible to buy firearms. The legal deadline for a
response from the VA has passed and our requests have been totally
ignored. This does not surprise me because it is obvious that the VA has
much to hide.
Between the information we are receiving from veterans around the country and our research of the law and history of the VA fiduciary program we have come up with a timeline of what has happened and is happening to our veterans. While the VA fiduciary program has been in place for years it was designed to appoint someone, usually a family member, to handle the VA payments for veterans who were unable to handle these financial matters themselves because of some type of severe mental problems such as dementia.
There have been problems with the system from the beginning, but the problems regarding the Second amendment rights of veterans are much more recent. In 1993 Congress passed the Brady Bill that mandated a national background check system that was designed to keep convicted felons and those individuals declared mentally defective and found to be a danger to themselves or others from being able to legally purchase firearms.
In 2007 the Congress passed some ill advised amendments to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The amendments were in response to the Virginia Tech shooting, (which did not involve a veteran) and were designed to make sure that people adjudicated to be “mentally defective” were on the list. However, the disqualification criteria remained the same, a person had to be found to be a danger to themselves or others or “lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs.”
Since that amendment was adopted the VA has decided that all veterans that it declares “incompetent” to handle their VA payments are also ineligible to purchase or own firearms. There is absolutely nothing in the NICS criteria that states that those with physical disabilities belong on the list of individuals prohibited from owning firearms, yet the VA specifically states in their letter to veterans that this is part of their criteria. In addition, our investigation has found that the VA is using reasons such as minor depression, minor PTSD, and even minor short term memory loss as grounds for declaring veterans “mentally defective.” In some cases, the veterans are not even given a reason.
It has also become clear that there has been a rapid acceleration over the last few years in the efforts by the VA to declare veterans incompetent and deny them the right to possess firearms. Veterans who go to the VA for routine checkups or for treatment of physical illnesses are routinely asked if they own firearms. In fact, this in apparently a required question that all VA employees must ask of all veterans.
In other words, virtually anything can trigger an attempt by the VA to declare a veteran incompetent and deny them their Second Amendment rights. The Constitutional requirements of due process are completely ignored and veterans must fight this on their own at their own expense. To make matters even worse, we are receiving reports from veterans that if they even attempt to resist the declaration of incompetence, the VA is threatening to, and in some cases actually withholding the monetary payments to the veterans unless they agree to the VA declaration.
Our research has determined that there are at least four separate categories of veterans that the United States Justice Foundation needs to represent in either administrative actions or in court. They are:
1. Veterans who have received a letter from the VA threatening to declare them incompetent, but no decision on competence have been finalized.
2. Veterans who have received the letter and been declared incompetent and added to NICS list for unjust reasons.
3. Veterans who have been declared incompetent and had it reversed, but are still on the NICS list.
4. Veterans who have received the VA letter and are having their VA funds withheld because they are fighting to keep from being declared incompetent.
The situation with the veterans and their rights has not gone completely unnoticed in Congress. Last year an amendment was offered in the Senate to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act to stop the VA from arbitrarily adding veterans to the NICS list. It was opposed by the White House and failed to pass. Just a few weeks ago Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina introduced S 572, the “Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act”. It is a good piece of legislation to protect veterans and all members of Congress should be urged to support it. Unfortunately, so far only 11 Senators have signed on as co-sponsors and none of them are Democrats.
In the meantime, any veterans with information on this or who need help should contact me immediately at usjf.net.
Between the information we are receiving from veterans around the country and our research of the law and history of the VA fiduciary program we have come up with a timeline of what has happened and is happening to our veterans. While the VA fiduciary program has been in place for years it was designed to appoint someone, usually a family member, to handle the VA payments for veterans who were unable to handle these financial matters themselves because of some type of severe mental problems such as dementia.
There have been problems with the system from the beginning, but the problems regarding the Second amendment rights of veterans are much more recent. In 1993 Congress passed the Brady Bill that mandated a national background check system that was designed to keep convicted felons and those individuals declared mentally defective and found to be a danger to themselves or others from being able to legally purchase firearms.
In 2007 the Congress passed some ill advised amendments to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The amendments were in response to the Virginia Tech shooting, (which did not involve a veteran) and were designed to make sure that people adjudicated to be “mentally defective” were on the list. However, the disqualification criteria remained the same, a person had to be found to be a danger to themselves or others or “lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his own affairs.”
Since that amendment was adopted the VA has decided that all veterans that it declares “incompetent” to handle their VA payments are also ineligible to purchase or own firearms. There is absolutely nothing in the NICS criteria that states that those with physical disabilities belong on the list of individuals prohibited from owning firearms, yet the VA specifically states in their letter to veterans that this is part of their criteria. In addition, our investigation has found that the VA is using reasons such as minor depression, minor PTSD, and even minor short term memory loss as grounds for declaring veterans “mentally defective.” In some cases, the veterans are not even given a reason.
It has also become clear that there has been a rapid acceleration over the last few years in the efforts by the VA to declare veterans incompetent and deny them the right to possess firearms. Veterans who go to the VA for routine checkups or for treatment of physical illnesses are routinely asked if they own firearms. In fact, this in apparently a required question that all VA employees must ask of all veterans.
In other words, virtually anything can trigger an attempt by the VA to declare a veteran incompetent and deny them their Second Amendment rights. The Constitutional requirements of due process are completely ignored and veterans must fight this on their own at their own expense. To make matters even worse, we are receiving reports from veterans that if they even attempt to resist the declaration of incompetence, the VA is threatening to, and in some cases actually withholding the monetary payments to the veterans unless they agree to the VA declaration.
Our research has determined that there are at least four separate categories of veterans that the United States Justice Foundation needs to represent in either administrative actions or in court. They are:
1. Veterans who have received a letter from the VA threatening to declare them incompetent, but no decision on competence have been finalized.
2. Veterans who have received the letter and been declared incompetent and added to NICS list for unjust reasons.
3. Veterans who have been declared incompetent and had it reversed, but are still on the NICS list.
4. Veterans who have received the VA letter and are having their VA funds withheld because they are fighting to keep from being declared incompetent.
The situation with the veterans and their rights has not gone completely unnoticed in Congress. Last year an amendment was offered in the Senate to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act to stop the VA from arbitrarily adding veterans to the NICS list. It was opposed by the White House and failed to pass. Just a few weeks ago Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina introduced S 572, the “Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act”. It is a good piece of legislation to protect veterans and all members of Congress should be urged to support it. Unfortunately, so far only 11 Senators have signed on as co-sponsors and none of them are Democrats.
In the meantime, any veterans with information on this or who need help should contact me immediately at usjf.net.
VETERANS ARE FIGHTING BACK
Posted March 15, 2013
Since
I wrote the article titled “Disarming America’s Heroes” I have been
inundated with emails and phone calls from veterans and the families of
veterans. The horror stories I am hearing are proof that the VA and the
Obama administration have launched an all out assault on the
Constitutional rights of our nation’s wounded warriors and other
veterans.
Veterans are being declared incompetent not because they have a serious mental illness that makes them a danger to themselves or others, but because they have a physical disability resulting from their service in the armed forces or because they simply let their spouses pay the family bills.
If veterans have minor issues with PTSD, have expressed that they are depressed sometimes, or even in the case of Vietnam veterans admit that they are getting older and sometimes forget to pay their bills on time, the bureaucrats at the VA will seek to declare them incompetent. (I am a 65 year old veteran and often forget where I put my car keys, does that make me incompetent to handle my own financial affairs and even worse mean that I can’t own a firearm?) According to the VA it apparently does.
All of this has resulted in America’s heroes being declared incompetent by a process that blatantly violates their rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Then, for reasons that have not been explained these same veterans are also being denied their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Many of the veterans I have heard from were initially both scared because of what was happening to them, and hurt because it is their own government that is causing this fear. After all, when they joined the military they signed a blank check to their country to defend it and its Constitution even if it cost them their lives. Yet, now their own government is turning on them and taking from them the very Constitutional rights they fought to preserve.
However, now something else is happening; the fear and betrayal that these veterans felt is turning to anger. Their training and instincts as warriors is coming forth and they are once again prepared to fight for their rights and the rights of other Americans. I think that the Obama administration has picked a fight with the wrong dog. Veterans are fighting back.
As Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation (www.usjf.net) I am committed to helping these veterans and protecting their Constitutional rights. We are putting together a top notch legal team that is already exploring several potential avenues including administrative procedures and a class action lawsuit.
It will be a huge undertaking since we have veterans who have just received the letter telling them that the VA is considering declaring them incompetent, veterans who have already been declared incompetent and lost their Second Amendment Rights, and even veterans who have gotten the incompetence ruling reversed, but are still blacklisted when it comes to buying firearms. There will be no charge to any veterans or their families that we represent. We will raise the money to finance our efforts from private sources.
There are those detractors who claim that the letter from the VA is not real even though several reporters have contacted me and said they have talked to representatives of the VA and it is confirmed that it is sending out these letters. The VA apparently downplays this by saying it is not a big deal. I suggest that to the veterans who are losing their rights it is a very big deal and we intend to join them in the fight.
If you are a veteran or have a friend or family member who is a veteran and has received one of these letters or already been declared incompetent, please contact me and the USJF. We intend to come out swinging. Our veterans deserve nothing less.
Veterans are being declared incompetent not because they have a serious mental illness that makes them a danger to themselves or others, but because they have a physical disability resulting from their service in the armed forces or because they simply let their spouses pay the family bills.
If veterans have minor issues with PTSD, have expressed that they are depressed sometimes, or even in the case of Vietnam veterans admit that they are getting older and sometimes forget to pay their bills on time, the bureaucrats at the VA will seek to declare them incompetent. (I am a 65 year old veteran and often forget where I put my car keys, does that make me incompetent to handle my own financial affairs and even worse mean that I can’t own a firearm?) According to the VA it apparently does.
All of this has resulted in America’s heroes being declared incompetent by a process that blatantly violates their rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Then, for reasons that have not been explained these same veterans are also being denied their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Many of the veterans I have heard from were initially both scared because of what was happening to them, and hurt because it is their own government that is causing this fear. After all, when they joined the military they signed a blank check to their country to defend it and its Constitution even if it cost them their lives. Yet, now their own government is turning on them and taking from them the very Constitutional rights they fought to preserve.
However, now something else is happening; the fear and betrayal that these veterans felt is turning to anger. Their training and instincts as warriors is coming forth and they are once again prepared to fight for their rights and the rights of other Americans. I think that the Obama administration has picked a fight with the wrong dog. Veterans are fighting back.
As Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation (www.usjf.net) I am committed to helping these veterans and protecting their Constitutional rights. We are putting together a top notch legal team that is already exploring several potential avenues including administrative procedures and a class action lawsuit.
It will be a huge undertaking since we have veterans who have just received the letter telling them that the VA is considering declaring them incompetent, veterans who have already been declared incompetent and lost their Second Amendment Rights, and even veterans who have gotten the incompetence ruling reversed, but are still blacklisted when it comes to buying firearms. There will be no charge to any veterans or their families that we represent. We will raise the money to finance our efforts from private sources.
There are those detractors who claim that the letter from the VA is not real even though several reporters have contacted me and said they have talked to representatives of the VA and it is confirmed that it is sending out these letters. The VA apparently downplays this by saying it is not a big deal. I suggest that to the veterans who are losing their rights it is a very big deal and we intend to join them in the fight.
If you are a veteran or have a friend or family member who is a veteran and has received one of these letters or already been declared incompetent, please contact me and the USJF. We intend to come out swinging. Our veterans deserve nothing less.
DISARMING AMERICA’S HEROES
Posted February 20, 2013
How
would you feel if you received a letter from the U.S. Government
informing you that because of a physical or mental condition that the
government says you have it is proposing to rule that you are
incompetent to handle your own financial affairs? Suppose that letter
also stated that the government is going to appoint a stranger to handle
your affairs for you at your expense? That would certainly be scary
enough but it gets worse.
What if that letter also stated: “A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”?
That makes is sound like something right from a documentary on a tyrannical dictatorship somewhere in the world. Yet, as I write this I have a copy of such a letter right in front of me. It is being sent by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of America’s heroes. In my capacity as Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation (USJF) I have been contacted by some of these veterans and the stories I am getting are appalling.
The letter provides no specifics on the reasons for the proposed finding of incompetency; just that is based on a determination by someone in the VA. In every state in the United States no one can be declared incompetent to administer their own affairs without due process of law and that usually requires a judicial hearing with evidence being offered to prove to a judge that the person is indeed incompetent. This is a requirement of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that states that no person shall “…be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law…”.
Obviously, the Department of Veterans Affairs can’t be bothered by such impediments as the Constitution, particularly since they are clearly pushing to fulfill one of Obama’s main goals, the disarming of the American people. Janet Napolitano has already warned law enforcement that some of the most dangerous among us are America’s heroes, our veterans, and now according to this letter from the VA they can be prohibited from buying or even possessing a firearm because of a physical or mental disability.
Think about it, the men and women who have laid their lives on the line to defend us and our Constitution are now having their own Constitutional rights denied. There are no clear criteria for the VA to declare a veteran incompetent. It can be the loss of a limb in combat, a head injury, a diagnosis of PTSD, or even a soldier just telling someone at the VA that he or she is depressed over the loss of a buddy in combat. In none of these situations has the person been found to be a danger to themselves or others. If that was the case than all of the Americans who have suffered from PTSD following the loss of a loved one or from being in a car accident would also have to be disqualified from owning firearms. It would also mean that everyone who has ever been depressed for any reason should be disarmed. In fact, many of the veterans being deprived of their rights have no idea why it is happening.
The answer seems to be it is simply because they are veterans. At the USJF we intend to find the truth by filing a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Veterans Affairs to force them to disclose the criteria they are using to place veterans on the background check list that keeps them from exercising their Second Amendment rights. Then we will take whatever legal steps are necessary to protect our American warriors.
The reality is that Obama will not get all of the gun control measures he wants through Congress, and they wouldn’t be enough for him anyway. He wants a totally disarmed America so there will be no resistance to his plans to rob us of our nation. That means we have to ask who will be next. If you are receiving a Social Security check will you get one of these letters? Will the government declare that you are incompetent because of your age and therefore banned from firearm ownership. It certainly fits in with the philosophy and plans of the Obama administration. It is also certain that our military veterans don’t deserve this and neither do any other Americans.
I have had techincal difficulties posting a copy of one of these letters on this site. I have someone working on it. In the meantime, I have sent a copy to www.redflagnews.com and it has been posted there with my article.
What if that letter also stated: “A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2).”?
That makes is sound like something right from a documentary on a tyrannical dictatorship somewhere in the world. Yet, as I write this I have a copy of such a letter right in front of me. It is being sent by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of America’s heroes. In my capacity as Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation (USJF) I have been contacted by some of these veterans and the stories I am getting are appalling.
The letter provides no specifics on the reasons for the proposed finding of incompetency; just that is based on a determination by someone in the VA. In every state in the United States no one can be declared incompetent to administer their own affairs without due process of law and that usually requires a judicial hearing with evidence being offered to prove to a judge that the person is indeed incompetent. This is a requirement of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that states that no person shall “…be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law…”.
Obviously, the Department of Veterans Affairs can’t be bothered by such impediments as the Constitution, particularly since they are clearly pushing to fulfill one of Obama’s main goals, the disarming of the American people. Janet Napolitano has already warned law enforcement that some of the most dangerous among us are America’s heroes, our veterans, and now according to this letter from the VA they can be prohibited from buying or even possessing a firearm because of a physical or mental disability.
Think about it, the men and women who have laid their lives on the line to defend us and our Constitution are now having their own Constitutional rights denied. There are no clear criteria for the VA to declare a veteran incompetent. It can be the loss of a limb in combat, a head injury, a diagnosis of PTSD, or even a soldier just telling someone at the VA that he or she is depressed over the loss of a buddy in combat. In none of these situations has the person been found to be a danger to themselves or others. If that was the case than all of the Americans who have suffered from PTSD following the loss of a loved one or from being in a car accident would also have to be disqualified from owning firearms. It would also mean that everyone who has ever been depressed for any reason should be disarmed. In fact, many of the veterans being deprived of their rights have no idea why it is happening.
The answer seems to be it is simply because they are veterans. At the USJF we intend to find the truth by filing a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Veterans Affairs to force them to disclose the criteria they are using to place veterans on the background check list that keeps them from exercising their Second Amendment rights. Then we will take whatever legal steps are necessary to protect our American warriors.
The reality is that Obama will not get all of the gun control measures he wants through Congress, and they wouldn’t be enough for him anyway. He wants a totally disarmed America so there will be no resistance to his plans to rob us of our nation. That means we have to ask who will be next. If you are receiving a Social Security check will you get one of these letters? Will the government declare that you are incompetent because of your age and therefore banned from firearm ownership. It certainly fits in with the philosophy and plans of the Obama administration. It is also certain that our military veterans don’t deserve this and neither do any other Americans.
I have had techincal difficulties posting a copy of one of these letters on this site. I have someone working on it. In the meantime, I have sent a copy to www.redflagnews.com and it has been posted there with my article.
MORE OF THE SAME?
Posted February 13, 2013
Obama’s state of the Union address on February 12, 2013 can be summed up as follows:
He called for massive amounts of new Federal spending, and the Obamabots in the Congress and the Administration stood up and cheered.
He proposed raising taxes again instead of using spending cuts to cut the deficit, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He proposed massive new regulations on businesses in the name of climate change, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He pledged that if Congress did not do what he wanted he would once again violate the constitution and his oath of office by using Executive orders to impose his will on the American people, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He bragged about just bypassing Congress and issuing a new Executive order on cyber security, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
In thes areas of foreign policy and national security he vowed to face the growing nuclear threats by North Korea and Iran by promising to meet with the Russians and work out a deal to cut our country’s nuclear capability, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He vowed to slam small businesses with a minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $9.00 per hour that would put some of them out of business and cause people to lose their jobs, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He called for the virtual abolition of the Second Amendment to the Constitution with draconian legislation and Executive actions to restrict the ownership of firearms by honest and law abiding American citizens, and the Obamabots went wild.
It was more of the same, but not the same. Obama showed his true colors and revealed his plan to destroy our Constitutional Republic and strip us of our freedoms. As I watched the speech and the reaction of the Democrats I had an eerie sensation that I had seen it all before, and then I realized that I had.
For years I have been an avid student of American history and particularly World War II. When I was writing the book about my father’s unit during the war, I researched the Nazis that they were fighting in order to get a better idea of the evil that these brave Americans had confronted and ultimately defeated. I watched videos of some of Adolph Hitler’s speeches and one stood out in particular.
Watch it with English subtitles on You Tube at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGhdX1SI3KY.
Listen to the elitist rhetoric, watch the demeanor and the arrogance of the man, and see the faces and reactions of the audience as they give him mindless adoration. The Nazis stood up and cheered his every utterance. Even if you did not watch Obama’s State of the Union address you will have seen enough of him to recognize the bizarre and eerie similarities. It is time to be afraid; to be very afraid.
WAKE UP AMERICA!
He called for massive amounts of new Federal spending, and the Obamabots in the Congress and the Administration stood up and cheered.
He proposed raising taxes again instead of using spending cuts to cut the deficit, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He proposed massive new regulations on businesses in the name of climate change, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He pledged that if Congress did not do what he wanted he would once again violate the constitution and his oath of office by using Executive orders to impose his will on the American people, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He bragged about just bypassing Congress and issuing a new Executive order on cyber security, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
In thes areas of foreign policy and national security he vowed to face the growing nuclear threats by North Korea and Iran by promising to meet with the Russians and work out a deal to cut our country’s nuclear capability, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He vowed to slam small businesses with a minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $9.00 per hour that would put some of them out of business and cause people to lose their jobs, and the Obamabots stood up and cheered.
He called for the virtual abolition of the Second Amendment to the Constitution with draconian legislation and Executive actions to restrict the ownership of firearms by honest and law abiding American citizens, and the Obamabots went wild.
It was more of the same, but not the same. Obama showed his true colors and revealed his plan to destroy our Constitutional Republic and strip us of our freedoms. As I watched the speech and the reaction of the Democrats I had an eerie sensation that I had seen it all before, and then I realized that I had.
For years I have been an avid student of American history and particularly World War II. When I was writing the book about my father’s unit during the war, I researched the Nazis that they were fighting in order to get a better idea of the evil that these brave Americans had confronted and ultimately defeated. I watched videos of some of Adolph Hitler’s speeches and one stood out in particular.
Watch it with English subtitles on You Tube at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGhdX1SI3KY.
Listen to the elitist rhetoric, watch the demeanor and the arrogance of the man, and see the faces and reactions of the audience as they give him mindless adoration. The Nazis stood up and cheered his every utterance. Even if you did not watch Obama’s State of the Union address you will have seen enough of him to recognize the bizarre and eerie similarities. It is time to be afraid; to be very afraid.
WAKE UP AMERICA!
BATTLE PLANS
Posted February 6, 2013
The
Middle East is in chaos with war imminent and terrorists are emboldened
by the weakness of our President who has a foreign policy that consists
of apology and appeasement. As a result, Americans both at home and
abroad are in greater danger than ever. Iran will soon have a nuclear
weapon and North Korea will have the capacity to deliver its own nuclear
weapons to the west coast of the United States.
The U.S. economy is heading into a probable double dip recession, federal spending is out of control and many Americans, including the middle class that Obama vowed to protect during his reelection campaign, are finding their taxes going up dramatically. To make things even worse the prices of food, energy, and other essentials are rapidly rising.
In other words, our country is facing one crisis after another and Obama’s response to all of this is to disarm the American people and set us up for destruction. He is using his office to attack us and our Constitution. The EPA has come out with 4,000 new regulations that cater to environmental extremists and the now disproven theory of climate change and will use these regulations to destroy American businesses and put thousands out of work.
The question I am often being asked by angry and frustrated Americans is, what can we do besides complain and preach to the choir? To answer that I have come up with some battle plans that involve both short and long term tactics and goals. Because this is an article for the blog I will outline the ideas here and plan on elaborating with more specific details in a small booklet I am working on.
First, we have to keep the pressure on members of Congress when issues like gun control are being considered. It is unlikely that the so called assault weapons ban will pass in the Senate or the House of Representatives, but other bills are more problematic. The universal background check bill is nothing more than a nationwide gun registration program in disguise, yet there are some Republicans considering supporting it and the same is true of the restrictions on the size of magazines.
We also need to urge Congress to reverse Executive Orders issued by the President. It has the power to do this, but of course any such bill passed by the House will probably not pass the Democrat controlled Senate, but the House does have the ability to deny funding to many of Obama’s initiatives.
We need to stop thinking defensively and concentrate on attacking instead. This is what the left has been doing to us for years and we have either failed to recognize it or responded defensively when it is too late. So our second line of attack is through our state legislatures. We need to get the legislatures and governors in the red states to pass legislation refusing to comply with illegal and unconstitutional actions by the Federal government. This is completely legal under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.
For example, the Texas legislature is considering legislation proposing that the state refuse to enforce any new control laws or even allow them to be enforced by the Feds. Texas is also moving to block enforcement of the thousands of new EPA regulations that were hidden from the American people and the Congress until after the election. The purpose of these regulations is to implement by Executive Action the Cap and Trade bill that Congress failed to pass.
We also need to go on the attack at the local government level. People need to be made aware of the efforts to implement the United Nations Agenda 21 and we must aggressively oppose it. We also have to take back our school boards so we can ensure that our children are getting a proper education and learning about American history and the importance of our Constitution. This can be done even if you live in a so called blue state. A relatively small group of people can win local victories.
Last but not least we need to be relentless in fighting in the courts to defend our Constitutional rights. That is where I am focused and the United States Justice Foundation and other conservative legal groups are going to be resisting the dismantling of our Republic and the violation of our God given Constitutional rights, including the Second Amendment. We are involved in lawsuits at every level from state courts to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The important thing is to join with the groups and individuals who are willing to do what it takes to resist tyranny. We have to fight for short term victories and for the long term. It took the leftists years to get our country to the point of imminent collapse and tyranny. They were patient and never gave up, but the battle is not over yet. As patriots you can provide financial support to the cause, attend rallies, write letters to the local newspapers, and spread the word to friends and neighbors.
During the American Revolution on approximate one third of the colonists actively supported it while another third opposed it. The final one third tried to stay neutral and some people tried to profit from it by selling goods or services to both sides. George Washington’s ragtag army fought every battle outmanned and outgunned yet won the war. I firmly believe that “We the People” outnumber both the bad guys and those who just don’t care. We can prevail, as our forefathers did, if we have the will to persevere and maintain our faith in God, our Constitution, and each other.
The U.S. economy is heading into a probable double dip recession, federal spending is out of control and many Americans, including the middle class that Obama vowed to protect during his reelection campaign, are finding their taxes going up dramatically. To make things even worse the prices of food, energy, and other essentials are rapidly rising.
In other words, our country is facing one crisis after another and Obama’s response to all of this is to disarm the American people and set us up for destruction. He is using his office to attack us and our Constitution. The EPA has come out with 4,000 new regulations that cater to environmental extremists and the now disproven theory of climate change and will use these regulations to destroy American businesses and put thousands out of work.
The question I am often being asked by angry and frustrated Americans is, what can we do besides complain and preach to the choir? To answer that I have come up with some battle plans that involve both short and long term tactics and goals. Because this is an article for the blog I will outline the ideas here and plan on elaborating with more specific details in a small booklet I am working on.
First, we have to keep the pressure on members of Congress when issues like gun control are being considered. It is unlikely that the so called assault weapons ban will pass in the Senate or the House of Representatives, but other bills are more problematic. The universal background check bill is nothing more than a nationwide gun registration program in disguise, yet there are some Republicans considering supporting it and the same is true of the restrictions on the size of magazines.
We also need to urge Congress to reverse Executive Orders issued by the President. It has the power to do this, but of course any such bill passed by the House will probably not pass the Democrat controlled Senate, but the House does have the ability to deny funding to many of Obama’s initiatives.
We need to stop thinking defensively and concentrate on attacking instead. This is what the left has been doing to us for years and we have either failed to recognize it or responded defensively when it is too late. So our second line of attack is through our state legislatures. We need to get the legislatures and governors in the red states to pass legislation refusing to comply with illegal and unconstitutional actions by the Federal government. This is completely legal under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.
For example, the Texas legislature is considering legislation proposing that the state refuse to enforce any new control laws or even allow them to be enforced by the Feds. Texas is also moving to block enforcement of the thousands of new EPA regulations that were hidden from the American people and the Congress until after the election. The purpose of these regulations is to implement by Executive Action the Cap and Trade bill that Congress failed to pass.
We also need to go on the attack at the local government level. People need to be made aware of the efforts to implement the United Nations Agenda 21 and we must aggressively oppose it. We also have to take back our school boards so we can ensure that our children are getting a proper education and learning about American history and the importance of our Constitution. This can be done even if you live in a so called blue state. A relatively small group of people can win local victories.
Last but not least we need to be relentless in fighting in the courts to defend our Constitutional rights. That is where I am focused and the United States Justice Foundation and other conservative legal groups are going to be resisting the dismantling of our Republic and the violation of our God given Constitutional rights, including the Second Amendment. We are involved in lawsuits at every level from state courts to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The important thing is to join with the groups and individuals who are willing to do what it takes to resist tyranny. We have to fight for short term victories and for the long term. It took the leftists years to get our country to the point of imminent collapse and tyranny. They were patient and never gave up, but the battle is not over yet. As patriots you can provide financial support to the cause, attend rallies, write letters to the local newspapers, and spread the word to friends and neighbors.
During the American Revolution on approximate one third of the colonists actively supported it while another third opposed it. The final one third tried to stay neutral and some people tried to profit from it by selling goods or services to both sides. George Washington’s ragtag army fought every battle outmanned and outgunned yet won the war. I firmly believe that “We the People” outnumber both the bad guys and those who just don’t care. We can prevail, as our forefathers did, if we have the will to persevere and maintain our faith in God, our Constitution, and each other.
TYRANNY BY EXECUTIVE ORDER
Posted January 17, 2013
What
the hell just happened? That is the question that many Americans should
be asking themselves following the news conference where Obama unveiled
his plan for destroying the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. At
first glance it appeared to be a case of Obama shamelessly using the
deaths of innocents, and some live children as a backdrop, to push for
the passage of radical gun control measures by Congress. Most of these
have no chance of passing, yet, Obama’s signing of Executive orders
initiating 23 so called Executive actions on gun control seemed like an
afterthought.
Unfortunately, that is the real story, but it is generally being overlooked. The fact is that with a few strokes of his pen Obama set up the mechanisms he will personally use to not only destroy the Second Amendment to the Constitution, but also the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. It will not matter what Congress does, Obama can and will act on his own, using these Executive actions, and will be violating both the Constitution and his oath of office when he does it.
Here are the sections of the Executive Order that he will use:
“1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background-check system.”
What exactly is relevant data? Does it include our medical records obtained through Obamacare, our tax returns, our political affiliations, our military background, and our credit history? I suggest that all of the above, even if it violates our fourth Amendment right to privacy will now be relevant data for determining if we are allowed to purchase a firearm.
“2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background-check system.”
This should be read in conjunction with section 16 of the order that says:
“16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.”
One of the few amendments successfully placed in Obamacare by conservatives does appear to prohibit doctors from asking such questions. Yet, with these two Executive actions, Obama is illegally amending an act of Congress and setting up a procedure for him to force doctors to gain information from patients about gun ownership, and to get our medical history.
Section 3 of Obama’s order states:
“3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background- check system.”
Once again, what does this mean? What information does the Federal government want from the states? Copies of state personal and business income tax returns or court records of divorce and child custody cases are possibilities that come to mind as well as our voter registrations showing our party affiliations. How does any of this figure into our right to purchase a firearm?
One of the most dangerous and troubling sections of the Obama order in Section 4 that states:
“4. Direct the attorney general to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.”
This section directs Eric Holder, the architect of Operation Fast and Furious that illegally transferred several thousand semi automatic weapons to Mexican drug cartels and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Mexican citizens and several U.S. border patrol agents, to now add people indiscriminately to the list of Americans ineligible to purchase firearms. Who might be added to the list?
Well, let’s look at the record of the Obama administration. Shortly after being appointed as the Director of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano sent a list of potential domestic terrorists to law enforcement agencies around the country. The list included individuals who were pro-life, who supported the Second Amendment, who had Ron Paul bumper stickers on their cars, and most disturbing, all members of the military returning from combat in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The list has recently been supplemented to include individuals who hoard more than a week’s supply of food and water, and those who support individual liberties and oppose big government. I belong on most of these lists and I suspect that Eric Holder will be adding all of us to the list of dangerous people not qualified to own guns. In other words, you will no longer have to be a convicted felon or mentally ill to make the list; you will qualify simply by being an American patriot.
This is not a conspiracy theory, at the United States Justice Foundation we are seeing increasing evidence that military veterans are being specifically targeted by the Obama administration when it comes to prohibitions against purchasing firearms. Any veteran diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is in danger of being banned from owning a firearm. Even those veterans suffering from mild depression are being added. None of these conditions constitute a mental illness that makes them a danger to themselves or others.
However, in Obamaland veterans who took an oath to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”, are definitely considered a threat to the new Fuehrer and must not be allowed to own firearms.
If we skip to Section 6 of the order we get a good idea of Obama’s real intentions when it comes to gun control. That sections states:
“6. Publish a letter from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.”
This is particularly interesting because one of the legislative proposals is to require universal background check requirements for any firearm transfer even between private citizens. In other words, you can’t sell your firearm or even give it to someone s a gift without Federal government approval. It is doubtful that this proposal will pass in the House of Representatives, yet Obama is already setting up the mechanism for enforcing the requirement. That is a clear signal that he doesn’t care what Congress does, he is going to violate the Constitution and bypass the Legislative branch in order to push his agenda to disarm the American people. I suspect he will ultimately use Executive orders to ban many weapons including most rifles and pistols.
There are numerous other actions dictated in the Obama order, but I think you get the idea. Our Second Amendment right is going to be taken from us for whatever reasons Obama decides. The simple act of opposing these actions can cause the Attorney General to place you on the list of “dangerous people”. Our privacy will be violated and all of this will be done without due process of law. That is what just happened.
Unfortunately, that is the real story, but it is generally being overlooked. The fact is that with a few strokes of his pen Obama set up the mechanisms he will personally use to not only destroy the Second Amendment to the Constitution, but also the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. It will not matter what Congress does, Obama can and will act on his own, using these Executive actions, and will be violating both the Constitution and his oath of office when he does it.
Here are the sections of the Executive Order that he will use:
“1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background-check system.”
What exactly is relevant data? Does it include our medical records obtained through Obamacare, our tax returns, our political affiliations, our military background, and our credit history? I suggest that all of the above, even if it violates our fourth Amendment right to privacy will now be relevant data for determining if we are allowed to purchase a firearm.
“2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background-check system.”
This should be read in conjunction with section 16 of the order that says:
“16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.”
One of the few amendments successfully placed in Obamacare by conservatives does appear to prohibit doctors from asking such questions. Yet, with these two Executive actions, Obama is illegally amending an act of Congress and setting up a procedure for him to force doctors to gain information from patients about gun ownership, and to get our medical history.
Section 3 of Obama’s order states:
“3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background- check system.”
Once again, what does this mean? What information does the Federal government want from the states? Copies of state personal and business income tax returns or court records of divorce and child custody cases are possibilities that come to mind as well as our voter registrations showing our party affiliations. How does any of this figure into our right to purchase a firearm?
One of the most dangerous and troubling sections of the Obama order in Section 4 that states:
“4. Direct the attorney general to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.”
This section directs Eric Holder, the architect of Operation Fast and Furious that illegally transferred several thousand semi automatic weapons to Mexican drug cartels and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Mexican citizens and several U.S. border patrol agents, to now add people indiscriminately to the list of Americans ineligible to purchase firearms. Who might be added to the list?
Well, let’s look at the record of the Obama administration. Shortly after being appointed as the Director of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano sent a list of potential domestic terrorists to law enforcement agencies around the country. The list included individuals who were pro-life, who supported the Second Amendment, who had Ron Paul bumper stickers on their cars, and most disturbing, all members of the military returning from combat in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The list has recently been supplemented to include individuals who hoard more than a week’s supply of food and water, and those who support individual liberties and oppose big government. I belong on most of these lists and I suspect that Eric Holder will be adding all of us to the list of dangerous people not qualified to own guns. In other words, you will no longer have to be a convicted felon or mentally ill to make the list; you will qualify simply by being an American patriot.
This is not a conspiracy theory, at the United States Justice Foundation we are seeing increasing evidence that military veterans are being specifically targeted by the Obama administration when it comes to prohibitions against purchasing firearms. Any veteran diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is in danger of being banned from owning a firearm. Even those veterans suffering from mild depression are being added. None of these conditions constitute a mental illness that makes them a danger to themselves or others.
However, in Obamaland veterans who took an oath to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”, are definitely considered a threat to the new Fuehrer and must not be allowed to own firearms.
If we skip to Section 6 of the order we get a good idea of Obama’s real intentions when it comes to gun control. That sections states:
“6. Publish a letter from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.”
This is particularly interesting because one of the legislative proposals is to require universal background check requirements for any firearm transfer even between private citizens. In other words, you can’t sell your firearm or even give it to someone s a gift without Federal government approval. It is doubtful that this proposal will pass in the House of Representatives, yet Obama is already setting up the mechanism for enforcing the requirement. That is a clear signal that he doesn’t care what Congress does, he is going to violate the Constitution and bypass the Legislative branch in order to push his agenda to disarm the American people. I suspect he will ultimately use Executive orders to ban many weapons including most rifles and pistols.
There are numerous other actions dictated in the Obama order, but I think you get the idea. Our Second Amendment right is going to be taken from us for whatever reasons Obama decides. The simple act of opposing these actions can cause the Attorney General to place you on the list of “dangerous people”. Our privacy will be violated and all of this will be done without due process of law. That is what just happened.
STANDING OUR GROUND
Posted January 6, 2013
It’s
time for a reality check. The election is over and according to the
results the majority of the people residing in this country voted to
abolish our Republican form of government and trash the Constitution.
They voted for virtually unlimited government, redistribution of wealth
through higher taxes, limits on individual liberties, and out of control
spending and debt. They voted to end the free market economic system,
and place an unmanageable burden on their own children and grandchildren
so they can collect their free stuff now.
The leftists in this country now feel that they are in a position to do what they have wanted to do for decades; impose their elitist views on the population and take control of how we live, what we do, what we think, and what God we can worship. They are confident that they can succeed in destroying our country and our way of life for good because they have a President in the White house that is committed to establishing himself as a dictator. They also control the schools, the universities, the mainstream media, many of the courts, the United States Senate, and most of the largest cities in the country.
The left believes that this is their moment in history when they impose their will on the American people, the time when we all submit to their will and become compliant subjects who will acknowledge their intellectual superiority and march in lockstep to the beat of their corrupt drummers. They truly believe this and yet they are very frightened. They are frightened of a document called the Constitution; most specifically of the Bill of Rights and the 2nd Amendment.
The elitists like Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Diane Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi, and their lackeys in academia, the news media, and Hollywood are cowards. They are willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want, but they are not willing to pick up a weapon and fight for what they profess to believe, they will rely on others to do that.
Yet, they know that in order to be successful they must take an important step and disarm the American people. They must abolish the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution and they must do it now. The effort has already begun and it is an all out assault. Bills are being introduced in the House and Senate to ban so called assault weapons, certain magazines, various types of ammunition, and certain handguns. This is all supposed to be an effort to protect our children from another Sandy Hook tragedy.
That is where the reality check comes in. The left has always been willing to exploit tragedy to get its way. All of this proposed legislation is just window dressing to lay the ground work for the ultimate goal of outlawing the private ownership of all firearms in the United States. Once that is accomplished, the government will move to confiscate all of those in private hands.
That is why the Obama administration is purchasing millions of rounds of ammunition for federal bureaucracies, and FEMA and DHS are training thousands of people to engage in urban warfare. Not urban warfare against foreign or domestic terrorists, but against American citizens who attempt to exercise the 2nd Amendment rights that have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. In fact, the left is already calling for the people who believe in gun rights to be declared terrorists and arrested not only for supporting the 2nd Amendment, but also for exercising our 1st Amendment rights.
This is not an obscure conspiracy theory, but is happening now. It is for real. I have people telling me that it will never happen, because these bills will not pass Congress. I agree that with an all out effort we can defeat the legislation in the House of Representatives, but Obama and the left plan to simply bypass Congress and impose gun control by Executive order and by signing the UN Small Arms treaty.
Therefore, our most critical battles may be in the Courts. For over 38 years I have defended the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution both in and out of the courtrooms. As the new Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation (USJF) I will make sure that the foundation is in the forefront of the fight.
This is not just a battle that we must win; this is the war that will decide the fate of our nation. We cannot compromise and we cannot surrender. The 2nd Amendment was placed in the Constitution to ensure that the American people would be able to defend themselves against any future government that sought to become a tyranny. That is what is happening now and we must not give up our weapons.
A friend and fellow veteran just forwarded a quote by the great Russian writer and patriot Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn who said this about the lack of resistance to the communist takeover of his country:
"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else at hand?...
The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If......if......We didn't love freedom enough. And even more----we had no awareness of the real situation.......We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward."
Enough said. Fight back now!
The leftists in this country now feel that they are in a position to do what they have wanted to do for decades; impose their elitist views on the population and take control of how we live, what we do, what we think, and what God we can worship. They are confident that they can succeed in destroying our country and our way of life for good because they have a President in the White house that is committed to establishing himself as a dictator. They also control the schools, the universities, the mainstream media, many of the courts, the United States Senate, and most of the largest cities in the country.
The left believes that this is their moment in history when they impose their will on the American people, the time when we all submit to their will and become compliant subjects who will acknowledge their intellectual superiority and march in lockstep to the beat of their corrupt drummers. They truly believe this and yet they are very frightened. They are frightened of a document called the Constitution; most specifically of the Bill of Rights and the 2nd Amendment.
The elitists like Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Diane Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi, and their lackeys in academia, the news media, and Hollywood are cowards. They are willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want, but they are not willing to pick up a weapon and fight for what they profess to believe, they will rely on others to do that.
Yet, they know that in order to be successful they must take an important step and disarm the American people. They must abolish the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution and they must do it now. The effort has already begun and it is an all out assault. Bills are being introduced in the House and Senate to ban so called assault weapons, certain magazines, various types of ammunition, and certain handguns. This is all supposed to be an effort to protect our children from another Sandy Hook tragedy.
That is where the reality check comes in. The left has always been willing to exploit tragedy to get its way. All of this proposed legislation is just window dressing to lay the ground work for the ultimate goal of outlawing the private ownership of all firearms in the United States. Once that is accomplished, the government will move to confiscate all of those in private hands.
That is why the Obama administration is purchasing millions of rounds of ammunition for federal bureaucracies, and FEMA and DHS are training thousands of people to engage in urban warfare. Not urban warfare against foreign or domestic terrorists, but against American citizens who attempt to exercise the 2nd Amendment rights that have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. In fact, the left is already calling for the people who believe in gun rights to be declared terrorists and arrested not only for supporting the 2nd Amendment, but also for exercising our 1st Amendment rights.
This is not an obscure conspiracy theory, but is happening now. It is for real. I have people telling me that it will never happen, because these bills will not pass Congress. I agree that with an all out effort we can defeat the legislation in the House of Representatives, but Obama and the left plan to simply bypass Congress and impose gun control by Executive order and by signing the UN Small Arms treaty.
Therefore, our most critical battles may be in the Courts. For over 38 years I have defended the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution both in and out of the courtrooms. As the new Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation (USJF) I will make sure that the foundation is in the forefront of the fight.
This is not just a battle that we must win; this is the war that will decide the fate of our nation. We cannot compromise and we cannot surrender. The 2nd Amendment was placed in the Constitution to ensure that the American people would be able to defend themselves against any future government that sought to become a tyranny. That is what is happening now and we must not give up our weapons.
A friend and fellow veteran just forwarded a quote by the great Russian writer and patriot Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn who said this about the lack of resistance to the communist takeover of his country:
"And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else at hand?...
The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If......if......We didn't love freedom enough. And even more----we had no awareness of the real situation.......We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward."
Enough said. Fight back now!
CROSSROADS
Posted December 18, 2012
It
is the 2012 Christmas season, yet many of my fellow Americans are not
feeling the usual joy that has historically come with this time of year
when we not only celebrate the birth of Christ, but celebrate a time to
spend with friends and family. Instead, I sense there is almost a
feeling of despair and desperation in the air.
Christmas itself and our right to celebrate it are under attack by those who want to strip America of our traditions and our values. In addition, millions of Americans are unemployed, and even many of those who do have jobs face an uncertain future. Regardless of what happens with the so-called “fiscal cliff” the hidden taxes in Obamacare will kick in on January 1, 2013 and people will see their take home pay decrease while their insurance premiums and cost of health care take a huge jump.
At the same time, thousands of new onerous and unnecessary regulations are being imposed on American businesses by the Obama administration that are going to result in increases in the prices of everything from food to energy and the loss of even more jobs. Small businesses are in the cross hairs of the Obama campaign to bring the American economy to its knees and everyone is afraid except for those who are looking forward to more “free stuff” from our new “Lord and Savior” as actor Jamie Foxx refers to our President.
The New Year will also see massive cuts to our military even as the Obama foreign policy of coddling our enemies is leading to rapid growth of Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other radical Islamic groups who have vowed to destroy Western civilization. In fact, the Obama administration’s latest move to “protect” America in a politically correct manner is have the military issue a new 75 page manual to the members of the military prohibiting our troops from saying anything that might be offensive to the Taliban or other Muslim extremists.
Many Americans believe that we have lost our moral compass and committed national suicide by reelecting a President who will continue to take away our basic freedoms. That is clearly the goal of our Dictator in Chief, but all is not lost yet. There are still many true Americans out there and we need to take heart from some of our past Christmases when all seemed lost.
In December 1777 General George Washington led a bedraggled and apparently thoroughly beaten Continental Army into its winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. There were only 12,000 men left in the army at that point and many left bloody footprints in the snow as they marched since they had no shoes. They also had little food, ammunition, and adequate clothing or blankets. That Christmas of 1777 was spent trying to construct enough shelters to keep them from freezing to death.
The outcome seemed inevitable; the promise of a new nation, free from British oppression, that had been born just seventeen months earlier by the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was not to be. As the winter got worse 2500 members of the meager army succumbed to various diseases, yet the rest continued to drill and train and they refused to give up. They emerged in the spring as a fighting force that would always be outnumbered and out gunned, yet they would fight for five more years and against all odds ultimately prevail.
Now fast forward to another Christmas season in Europe in 1944. The Nazis had launched a surprise offensive in the Ardennes in Belgium, overrun and virtually destroyed several American infantry divisions and trapped the 101st Airborne Division in the small town of Bastogne. The town was where several key roads merged and if it fell there was nothing to stop the Germans from dividing the Allied armies and prolonging WW II indefinitely.
The American paratroopers were outnumbered and running out of food, ammunition, and medical supplies, yet they refused to surrender and they stopped the Nazi offensive. When the Germans failed to take Bastogne they tried to bypass it shortly after Christmas and they found a gap in the U.S. lines. SS troops surged through it at night and after a fierce fight in the village of Sadzot overran Company B of the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion killing, wounding or capturing half of the company and taking all of the 4.2 mortars.
The surviving Mortarmen, including my father 1st LT Roy Connelly, regrouped and with the help of a small contingent of stranded paratroopers and combat engineers they took back the town and their mortars. Then they held off the Nazi armored battalion for three days until relieved. There are countless stories like this throughout our history and they should give us comfort and hope.
We can’t give up and the people in Washington D.C. who think that they have a green light to subjugate us should remember that the United States is not a democracy and was never meant to be. Our founding fathers knew that a democracy could become a vehicle for a small majority of people to vote to deny basic human rights to everyone else.
In a Republic this can’t happen because the rights of all individuals are protected by law and in our case that Law is the Constitution. If any effort is made to take away those rights than we have a right and a duty to resist, and that is what we must do at every level. We must fight tyranny in our school boards, our city councils, state legislatures, in congress, and in the courts. Whether it is the tyranny of UN Agenda 21, gun control, denying us our religious freedom, or invading our privacy we can and will resist.
Christmas has always been a time of hope and this year must be no different. We must start off the New Year by redoubling our effort to take back our country. God Bless America and Merry Christmas.
Christmas itself and our right to celebrate it are under attack by those who want to strip America of our traditions and our values. In addition, millions of Americans are unemployed, and even many of those who do have jobs face an uncertain future. Regardless of what happens with the so-called “fiscal cliff” the hidden taxes in Obamacare will kick in on January 1, 2013 and people will see their take home pay decrease while their insurance premiums and cost of health care take a huge jump.
At the same time, thousands of new onerous and unnecessary regulations are being imposed on American businesses by the Obama administration that are going to result in increases in the prices of everything from food to energy and the loss of even more jobs. Small businesses are in the cross hairs of the Obama campaign to bring the American economy to its knees and everyone is afraid except for those who are looking forward to more “free stuff” from our new “Lord and Savior” as actor Jamie Foxx refers to our President.
The New Year will also see massive cuts to our military even as the Obama foreign policy of coddling our enemies is leading to rapid growth of Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other radical Islamic groups who have vowed to destroy Western civilization. In fact, the Obama administration’s latest move to “protect” America in a politically correct manner is have the military issue a new 75 page manual to the members of the military prohibiting our troops from saying anything that might be offensive to the Taliban or other Muslim extremists.
Many Americans believe that we have lost our moral compass and committed national suicide by reelecting a President who will continue to take away our basic freedoms. That is clearly the goal of our Dictator in Chief, but all is not lost yet. There are still many true Americans out there and we need to take heart from some of our past Christmases when all seemed lost.
In December 1777 General George Washington led a bedraggled and apparently thoroughly beaten Continental Army into its winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. There were only 12,000 men left in the army at that point and many left bloody footprints in the snow as they marched since they had no shoes. They also had little food, ammunition, and adequate clothing or blankets. That Christmas of 1777 was spent trying to construct enough shelters to keep them from freezing to death.
The outcome seemed inevitable; the promise of a new nation, free from British oppression, that had been born just seventeen months earlier by the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was not to be. As the winter got worse 2500 members of the meager army succumbed to various diseases, yet the rest continued to drill and train and they refused to give up. They emerged in the spring as a fighting force that would always be outnumbered and out gunned, yet they would fight for five more years and against all odds ultimately prevail.
Now fast forward to another Christmas season in Europe in 1944. The Nazis had launched a surprise offensive in the Ardennes in Belgium, overrun and virtually destroyed several American infantry divisions and trapped the 101st Airborne Division in the small town of Bastogne. The town was where several key roads merged and if it fell there was nothing to stop the Germans from dividing the Allied armies and prolonging WW II indefinitely.
The American paratroopers were outnumbered and running out of food, ammunition, and medical supplies, yet they refused to surrender and they stopped the Nazi offensive. When the Germans failed to take Bastogne they tried to bypass it shortly after Christmas and they found a gap in the U.S. lines. SS troops surged through it at night and after a fierce fight in the village of Sadzot overran Company B of the 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion killing, wounding or capturing half of the company and taking all of the 4.2 mortars.
The surviving Mortarmen, including my father 1st LT Roy Connelly, regrouped and with the help of a small contingent of stranded paratroopers and combat engineers they took back the town and their mortars. Then they held off the Nazi armored battalion for three days until relieved. There are countless stories like this throughout our history and they should give us comfort and hope.
We can’t give up and the people in Washington D.C. who think that they have a green light to subjugate us should remember that the United States is not a democracy and was never meant to be. Our founding fathers knew that a democracy could become a vehicle for a small majority of people to vote to deny basic human rights to everyone else.
In a Republic this can’t happen because the rights of all individuals are protected by law and in our case that Law is the Constitution. If any effort is made to take away those rights than we have a right and a duty to resist, and that is what we must do at every level. We must fight tyranny in our school boards, our city councils, state legislatures, in congress, and in the courts. Whether it is the tyranny of UN Agenda 21, gun control, denying us our religious freedom, or invading our privacy we can and will resist.
Christmas has always been a time of hope and this year must be no different. We must start off the New Year by redoubling our effort to take back our country. God Bless America and Merry Christmas.
AN AMERICAN MANIFESTO
Posted November 29, 2012
The
English version of the Russian newspaper Pravda, that once was the
voice of the Soviet Communist Party, has run an editorial saying
essentially that the in reelecting Obama, America has put someone back
in office who is pushing the Communist Manifesto on us without calling
it what it is.
I offer an alternative. Thirty seven years ago I was a young attorney and National Secretary of a Conservative organization called Young Americans for Freedom. In 1975 I was asked to write something relating to the upcoming Bicentennial to present to the YAF convention in Chicago. When I read what I wrote to the convention it was greeted with a prolonged standing ovation and adopted by YAF as the official Bicentennial statement of the organization.
I present it here exactly as I wrote it and as it was printed by YAF in pamphlet form. I still believe everything in it and I believe there are many Americans who will agree with it. I offer it as an American Manifesto:
“On this, the eve of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America, we, the members of the Young Americans for Freedom, as citizens of this great nation, do hereby reaffirm and pledge ourselves to the following:
We reaffirm our belief in the inalienable and divine rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We reaffirm our belief in the free enterprise system of economics as the only system compatible with human freedom.
We reaffirm our belief in the right of all men to own individual property and use it as they see fit.
We reaffirm our belief that a government is only legitimate as long as it serves its citizens and becomes illegitimate when it compels its citizens to serve the government.
We reaffirm our belief that the Constitution of the United States and its original Bill of Rights establish the best form of government for the preservation of freedom.
We reaffirm our belief in the rights of men to control their own individual destinies without interference by other men or by government.
We reaffirm our own moral obligation to fulfill those responsibilities incumbent upon the exercise of our rights by never intentionally violating the sacred rights of others.
We reaffirm our belief that the power to tax is the power to control and that such power should be restricted to the one purpose of national security.
We reaffirm our belief that the United States of America is not just territory, that it is a way of life and a state of mind. It will live as long as there is one man who still believes in human freedom, and as long as that one man lives, the spirit of the United States will never be conquered.
Along with our reaffirmation of these basic beliefs of free Americans, we pledge the following:
We pledge that we will never submit to tyranny in any form and we issue the following warnings:
To those in other lands who would destroy our freedom, be forewarned that there are still millions of us who believe that liberty is worth fighting and dying for. Do not naively believe that you can win just by forcing our government to surrender. If you plan to occupy this nation come prepared to fight for every acre of ground, for every building and for every hill and valley.
To our own government we say this: Do not forget that you are only a government which exists at the pleasure of the American people. We will not allow tyranny to be established from within any more than we will allow it to invade from without. Only the republican institutions created by our Constitution are sacred to us; the people who occupy them are not.
We pledge never to surrender the sacred rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
We pledge, on behalf of generations yet, unborn, to continue the struggle begun by our forefathers over two hundred years ago to secure and maintain liberty and to defend that liberty against all enemies domestic and foreign.
And, following their example, to that end, the preservation of liberty, we pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
I offer an alternative. Thirty seven years ago I was a young attorney and National Secretary of a Conservative organization called Young Americans for Freedom. In 1975 I was asked to write something relating to the upcoming Bicentennial to present to the YAF convention in Chicago. When I read what I wrote to the convention it was greeted with a prolonged standing ovation and adopted by YAF as the official Bicentennial statement of the organization.
I present it here exactly as I wrote it and as it was printed by YAF in pamphlet form. I still believe everything in it and I believe there are many Americans who will agree with it. I offer it as an American Manifesto:
“On this, the eve of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America, we, the members of the Young Americans for Freedom, as citizens of this great nation, do hereby reaffirm and pledge ourselves to the following:
We reaffirm our belief in the inalienable and divine rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We reaffirm our belief in the free enterprise system of economics as the only system compatible with human freedom.
We reaffirm our belief in the right of all men to own individual property and use it as they see fit.
We reaffirm our belief that a government is only legitimate as long as it serves its citizens and becomes illegitimate when it compels its citizens to serve the government.
We reaffirm our belief that the Constitution of the United States and its original Bill of Rights establish the best form of government for the preservation of freedom.
We reaffirm our belief in the rights of men to control their own individual destinies without interference by other men or by government.
We reaffirm our own moral obligation to fulfill those responsibilities incumbent upon the exercise of our rights by never intentionally violating the sacred rights of others.
We reaffirm our belief that the power to tax is the power to control and that such power should be restricted to the one purpose of national security.
We reaffirm our belief that the United States of America is not just territory, that it is a way of life and a state of mind. It will live as long as there is one man who still believes in human freedom, and as long as that one man lives, the spirit of the United States will never be conquered.
Along with our reaffirmation of these basic beliefs of free Americans, we pledge the following:
We pledge that we will never submit to tyranny in any form and we issue the following warnings:
To those in other lands who would destroy our freedom, be forewarned that there are still millions of us who believe that liberty is worth fighting and dying for. Do not naively believe that you can win just by forcing our government to surrender. If you plan to occupy this nation come prepared to fight for every acre of ground, for every building and for every hill and valley.
To our own government we say this: Do not forget that you are only a government which exists at the pleasure of the American people. We will not allow tyranny to be established from within any more than we will allow it to invade from without. Only the republican institutions created by our Constitution are sacred to us; the people who occupy them are not.
We pledge never to surrender the sacred rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
We pledge, on behalf of generations yet, unborn, to continue the struggle begun by our forefathers over two hundred years ago to secure and maintain liberty and to defend that liberty against all enemies domestic and foreign.
And, following their example, to that end, the preservation of liberty, we pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
THE UPS REPLY
Posted November 19, 2012
When I wrote and posted my article about “Bullying the Boy Scouts” on November 14th
I sent a copy to UPS along with a notice that I would no longer be
doing business with the company because of their refusal to give further
donations to the Boy Scouts of America. The action of UPS is based on
the fact that the Boy Scouts refuse on moral grounds to allow gays and
lesbians to be scout leaders.
Here is the reply I received from UPS:
“Dear Michael,
Thank you for your e-mail. To ensure inclusion and diversity are reflected in its philanthropic giving, The UPS Foundation believes its funding must align with UPS's non-discrimination policies. UPS policy states that we place great value on the diversity that exists within our workforce, our customers, providers of goods and services to our company, and the global communities in which we do business. UPS also promotes an environment of inclusion that encourages equality among all people. I sincerely hope that you will not let this situation determine your choice for future shipping needs. Please allow us the opportunity to reestablish your confidence and trust in our service and company.
Please contact us if you need any additional assistance.”
This is probably the standard reply that everyone received who complained to UPS about this. However, it is important to understand what is being said here. This is the standard left wing hypocrisy. If you agree with the radical homosexual agenda, then you are inclusive and diverse. If you disagree on moral or religious grounds, then your Constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of religion are null and void and you must be punished, or better yet, your organization must be destroyed. You certainly are not entitled to equality. UPS welcomes you to doublespeak and Obama land.
I have had enough of the Political Correctness madness that targets anyone that fails to follow the party line. I think it is time to bring down UPS and I intend to be a catalyst. If you want to be involved then let the corporate executives at UPS know where you stand. Go to the UPS website and email them through customer service. You can also fax them at: United Parcel Service, Inc. Fax: 404-828-7666. The chairman and CEO is D. Scott Davis. Let them know that organizations like the Boy Scouts of America in this country are more important to you than the profits of any business.
Here is the reply I received from UPS:
“Dear Michael,
Thank you for your e-mail. To ensure inclusion and diversity are reflected in its philanthropic giving, The UPS Foundation believes its funding must align with UPS's non-discrimination policies. UPS policy states that we place great value on the diversity that exists within our workforce, our customers, providers of goods and services to our company, and the global communities in which we do business. UPS also promotes an environment of inclusion that encourages equality among all people. I sincerely hope that you will not let this situation determine your choice for future shipping needs. Please allow us the opportunity to reestablish your confidence and trust in our service and company.
Please contact us if you need any additional assistance.”
This is probably the standard reply that everyone received who complained to UPS about this. However, it is important to understand what is being said here. This is the standard left wing hypocrisy. If you agree with the radical homosexual agenda, then you are inclusive and diverse. If you disagree on moral or religious grounds, then your Constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of religion are null and void and you must be punished, or better yet, your organization must be destroyed. You certainly are not entitled to equality. UPS welcomes you to doublespeak and Obama land.
I have had enough of the Political Correctness madness that targets anyone that fails to follow the party line. I think it is time to bring down UPS and I intend to be a catalyst. If you want to be involved then let the corporate executives at UPS know where you stand. Go to the UPS website and email them through customer service. You can also fax them at: United Parcel Service, Inc. Fax: 404-828-7666. The chairman and CEO is D. Scott Davis. Let them know that organizations like the Boy Scouts of America in this country are more important to you than the profits of any business.
BULLYING THE BOYS SCOUTS
Posted November 14, 2012
I
am sure that the management of UPS is celebrating and waiting for
congratulations to pour in praising their move to punish a bunch of kids
in the name of political correctness. With great fanfare the company
has announced that it is withdrawing its financial support for the Boy
Scouts of America, an institution that for over 100 years has taught
young men to be self reliant, patriotic, to help others, and to foster
the virtues of honesty, selflessness, and morality. Now UPS has said how
dare they?
The company is refusing to donate any more money to the scouts because the scouts are refusing to cave into the homosexual agenda in this country and allow gays and lesbians to serve as leaders in the organization. The Boy Scouts are making a stand for what they believe in and that is no longer allowed according to UPS executives. Welcome to Obama land where you are not allowed to maintain beliefs that are not in lock step with the official party line. If you dare to express your God given rights to freedom of speech and to associate with those who believe as you do, you will be punished.
So, “Damn the Constitution, it is full speed ahead” to bully the Boy Scouts into submitting to the political agenda of the far left, and UPS has decided to be a pawn in that effort. After all, in a nation where traditional values are under constant attack an organization that has its members swear an oath that states “On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” How archaic can you get?
For progressives it gets even worse when they look at the points of the Scout Law where the scouts pledge that: “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” These laws incorporate the American values that the left hates and it wants to deprive our young people from even espousing them, much less putting into practice.
Unfortunately for the progressive community, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that the Boy Scouts has the right to free association, and to set its own membership requirements. Therefore, the left will rely on its lackeys in the private sector to enforce its will. UPS fell right in line and is attacking one of America’s most important groups. Now, it is time for these corporate executives to find that their actions are not without consequences.
I admit that this is personal for me. I am an Eagle Scout and a former Scoutmaster of a large Scout troop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. All four of my sons became Eagles. Of the 59 boys who obtained the rank of Eagle Scout in my troop while I was Scoutmaster, 12 served in the U.S. military. Of course, their patriotism and sacrifice for their country is of no consequence to the people who run UPS. I have used that company frequently to ship out copies of my books and usually select the UPS option when ordering products for my home or business. That ends now. I will never do business with the company again, and I encourage my readers to do the same.
The UPS Corporation has crossed the line. Of course, they can make donations to whoever they want; that is their choice, but when they choose to withdraw their donation and attack a group of fine young people in order to make political points and contribute to the destruction of that group I will respond accordingly.
When I was making speeches to groups prior to the election I also told them that if Obama was reelected that political correctness would run amok and be used to silence us. The action of UPS is just one of many that will be used to take away our rights and bully us into submission. It is time for the rest of us to draw a line in the sand.
The company is refusing to donate any more money to the scouts because the scouts are refusing to cave into the homosexual agenda in this country and allow gays and lesbians to serve as leaders in the organization. The Boy Scouts are making a stand for what they believe in and that is no longer allowed according to UPS executives. Welcome to Obama land where you are not allowed to maintain beliefs that are not in lock step with the official party line. If you dare to express your God given rights to freedom of speech and to associate with those who believe as you do, you will be punished.
So, “Damn the Constitution, it is full speed ahead” to bully the Boy Scouts into submitting to the political agenda of the far left, and UPS has decided to be a pawn in that effort. After all, in a nation where traditional values are under constant attack an organization that has its members swear an oath that states “On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” How archaic can you get?
For progressives it gets even worse when they look at the points of the Scout Law where the scouts pledge that: “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” These laws incorporate the American values that the left hates and it wants to deprive our young people from even espousing them, much less putting into practice.
Unfortunately for the progressive community, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that the Boy Scouts has the right to free association, and to set its own membership requirements. Therefore, the left will rely on its lackeys in the private sector to enforce its will. UPS fell right in line and is attacking one of America’s most important groups. Now, it is time for these corporate executives to find that their actions are not without consequences.
I admit that this is personal for me. I am an Eagle Scout and a former Scoutmaster of a large Scout troop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. All four of my sons became Eagles. Of the 59 boys who obtained the rank of Eagle Scout in my troop while I was Scoutmaster, 12 served in the U.S. military. Of course, their patriotism and sacrifice for their country is of no consequence to the people who run UPS. I have used that company frequently to ship out copies of my books and usually select the UPS option when ordering products for my home or business. That ends now. I will never do business with the company again, and I encourage my readers to do the same.
The UPS Corporation has crossed the line. Of course, they can make donations to whoever they want; that is their choice, but when they choose to withdraw their donation and attack a group of fine young people in order to make political points and contribute to the destruction of that group I will respond accordingly.
When I was making speeches to groups prior to the election I also told them that if Obama was reelected that political correctness would run amok and be used to silence us. The action of UPS is just one of many that will be used to take away our rights and bully us into submission. It is time for the rest of us to draw a line in the sand.
WHAT CONSTITUTION?
Posted November 7, 2012
I
have repeatedly stated in speeches and on my radio show that many
Americans are woefully unaware of what the Constitution says, and that
means that if they don’t know how our government works and what rights
they have then they won’t recognize what they are losing until it is too
late. Unfortunately, yesterday’s election proved me right.
It appears that a majority of Americans voted to allow Obama and the left wing elitists to continue with their program to destroy our Constitution, our freedoms, our country, and our way of life. I use the word appears since evidence is mounting that there was massive voter fraud around the country and we may never know how many people actually voted for Obama.
However, it is clear that millions of Americans did cast their votes for the “Dictator in Chief.” Some of them knew exactly what they were doing because they are committed leftists who have long hated their own country and want to see it destroyed, and want to turn us all into subjects instead to free citizens. On the other hand, the vast majority of those who voted for Obama were just clueless as to what they were doing to themselves and our nation.
I have been disturbed throughout the campaign that no one seemed to be talking about the Constitution and what Obama was doing to it. In previous articles on this blog I have detailed what I consider impeachable offenses committed by Obama and his appointees as well as members of Congress. They all took an oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, yet they have repeatedly and openly violated that oath.
Why was this not a major campaign issue? Obama has ignored the balance of powers provisions of the Constitution. He has bypassed Congress and violated Article 2 of the Constitution by not only refusing to enforce laws adopted by Congress, but by making laws on his own by Executive order and agency actions. He has ignored Federal Court decisions, and carried out an unrelenting assault on the basic freedoms of the American people protected by the Bill of Rights. Yet, he has basically been given a free pass by Republicans with only a handful of members of Congress calling him to account for these criminal actions.
As a result, many people voted for America’s first dictator, and why not? They have not been taught about the Constitution in school, and have probably never read it, and if they did may not have understood it. Its importance is no longer stressed, and besides, for many voters the Constitution is certainly not as important as the “free stuff” Obama promised them in order to get their votes.
As for those of us that are aware of the disaster of this election and the horrors that will be heaped upon us by this administration, we cannot give up the fight. The phone calls and emails I have been getting today are mainly from people who are depressed and scared, and don’t believe there is anything that they can do. I disagree, we can educate and resist.
Education is crucial because as even more bad things begin to happen under the Obama regime, people need to know that these are direct violations of our Constitution. For example, political correctness will get worse and will be further used to stifle freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
People also need to understand that they are not going to know about betrayal and corruption in our government if they rely on the mainstream news media for information. The major networks like NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN are totally controlled by the President and will only provide propaganda favorable to the administration. If people want the truth, they will need to read conservative blogs and listen to conservative talk radio shows. Fox News is also usually reliable when it comes to reporting the truth.
In the long term we must take back our universities and schools from the liberals that use them as political indoctrination centers instead of sources of education. Our children and grandchildren must be taught about the Constitution and free enterprise system.
By resistance I mean that it is time for the states to stand up for the 10th Amendment and say no to illegal federal mandates that will damage or destroy the economies of the states, or limit the individual freedoms of their citizens. West Virginia for example is in danger of having its coal mining industry destroyed, not by a vote in Congress, but by unilateral and unconstitutional actions of the EPA. The state should invoke the 10th Amendment to the Constitution and refuse to comply with the EPA. Other states should take similar actions.
Individuals must also be willing to defy the Federal government when their individual rights are threatened. That is where I can help. I have recently been appointed the Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation. This is a legal foundation founded by a good friend, Gary Kreep, who has recently been elected a Judge in San Diego County. I will be taking over the position he is vacating. The USJF specializes in defending the Constitution and we represent people on court at no charge who have their rights threatened, and we also get involved in other major Constitutional litigation.
I will also continue to write this blog and do my radio show on the Constitution. It is now more imperative than ever that we take a unified stand to save our country. As I write this article, I am listening to Amazing Grace being played on the bagpipes. It is a sacred hymn that I have most often heard played at the funerals of our military heroes. They have sacrificed themselves for our freedom and we must be prepared to do what is necessary to defend what they gave their lives for.
From now on when Obama by words or actions says “What Constitution?” our response should be “Our Constitution!” No retreat and No surrender! From now on we take the fight to them on every level, and it will take place on our terms and on our ground. Let the battle begin!
It appears that a majority of Americans voted to allow Obama and the left wing elitists to continue with their program to destroy our Constitution, our freedoms, our country, and our way of life. I use the word appears since evidence is mounting that there was massive voter fraud around the country and we may never know how many people actually voted for Obama.
However, it is clear that millions of Americans did cast their votes for the “Dictator in Chief.” Some of them knew exactly what they were doing because they are committed leftists who have long hated their own country and want to see it destroyed, and want to turn us all into subjects instead to free citizens. On the other hand, the vast majority of those who voted for Obama were just clueless as to what they were doing to themselves and our nation.
I have been disturbed throughout the campaign that no one seemed to be talking about the Constitution and what Obama was doing to it. In previous articles on this blog I have detailed what I consider impeachable offenses committed by Obama and his appointees as well as members of Congress. They all took an oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, yet they have repeatedly and openly violated that oath.
Why was this not a major campaign issue? Obama has ignored the balance of powers provisions of the Constitution. He has bypassed Congress and violated Article 2 of the Constitution by not only refusing to enforce laws adopted by Congress, but by making laws on his own by Executive order and agency actions. He has ignored Federal Court decisions, and carried out an unrelenting assault on the basic freedoms of the American people protected by the Bill of Rights. Yet, he has basically been given a free pass by Republicans with only a handful of members of Congress calling him to account for these criminal actions.
As a result, many people voted for America’s first dictator, and why not? They have not been taught about the Constitution in school, and have probably never read it, and if they did may not have understood it. Its importance is no longer stressed, and besides, for many voters the Constitution is certainly not as important as the “free stuff” Obama promised them in order to get their votes.
As for those of us that are aware of the disaster of this election and the horrors that will be heaped upon us by this administration, we cannot give up the fight. The phone calls and emails I have been getting today are mainly from people who are depressed and scared, and don’t believe there is anything that they can do. I disagree, we can educate and resist.
Education is crucial because as even more bad things begin to happen under the Obama regime, people need to know that these are direct violations of our Constitution. For example, political correctness will get worse and will be further used to stifle freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
People also need to understand that they are not going to know about betrayal and corruption in our government if they rely on the mainstream news media for information. The major networks like NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN are totally controlled by the President and will only provide propaganda favorable to the administration. If people want the truth, they will need to read conservative blogs and listen to conservative talk radio shows. Fox News is also usually reliable when it comes to reporting the truth.
In the long term we must take back our universities and schools from the liberals that use them as political indoctrination centers instead of sources of education. Our children and grandchildren must be taught about the Constitution and free enterprise system.
By resistance I mean that it is time for the states to stand up for the 10th Amendment and say no to illegal federal mandates that will damage or destroy the economies of the states, or limit the individual freedoms of their citizens. West Virginia for example is in danger of having its coal mining industry destroyed, not by a vote in Congress, but by unilateral and unconstitutional actions of the EPA. The state should invoke the 10th Amendment to the Constitution and refuse to comply with the EPA. Other states should take similar actions.
Individuals must also be willing to defy the Federal government when their individual rights are threatened. That is where I can help. I have recently been appointed the Executive Director of the United States Justice Foundation. This is a legal foundation founded by a good friend, Gary Kreep, who has recently been elected a Judge in San Diego County. I will be taking over the position he is vacating. The USJF specializes in defending the Constitution and we represent people on court at no charge who have their rights threatened, and we also get involved in other major Constitutional litigation.
I will also continue to write this blog and do my radio show on the Constitution. It is now more imperative than ever that we take a unified stand to save our country. As I write this article, I am listening to Amazing Grace being played on the bagpipes. It is a sacred hymn that I have most often heard played at the funerals of our military heroes. They have sacrificed themselves for our freedom and we must be prepared to do what is necessary to defend what they gave their lives for.
From now on when Obama by words or actions says “What Constitution?” our response should be “Our Constitution!” No retreat and No surrender! From now on we take the fight to them on every level, and it will take place on our terms and on our ground. Let the battle begin!
THE ARROGANCE OF POWER
Posted October 18, 2012
We
have had two Presidential debates between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama
and a Vice Presidential debate between Paul Ryan and Joe Biden. There
has been a lot of discussion about winners and losers and who had a bad
or a good night, but based
on what I saw that is not the only thing that the American people should focus on.
What I saw from Obama and Biden was one of the worst displays of the arrogance of power I have ever witnessed. Obama was not just having a bad night in his first debate with Romney; by both words and actions he was conveying his complete disdain for the entire election process in this country. He clearly felt that it was beneath him to participate in a debate where he would be required to defend his actions and philosophy before the American people.
He is an elitist and as such he believes that he and Michelle are royalty and the Presidency is his by some divine right. He is only supposed to have to give speeches to adoring handpicked audiences where he can safely hide his ignorance and arrogance behind some safe Teleprompters. He does not believe that anyone has the right to disagree with him or even question him.
He showed that clearly in the second debate. He was aggressive with the arrogant attitude and smirks that indicated he again felt that no one had a right to question him. He didn’t have a teleprompter, but he had something almost as good; he had a moderator who handpicked questions that by 2-1margin were favorable to his campaign. He also relied on Candy Crowley to bail him out by interrupting Romney when he was making a good point and assisting the President with her own
comments when necessary.
I am totally convinced that at least in the case of the final question Obama had been tipped off in advance about the content. Remember that the moderator insisted that she get that question in and it was directed at Romney and she then allowed Obama to wrap up the debate with what sounded like rehearsed remarks on the 47% comment Romney had made at a fund raiser. Romney was given no chance to respond. Once again, Obama showed that he does not believe he has to play by the rules.
Joe Biden was just as bad, if not worse. He treated his opponent with rudeness and disrespect and thought that the American people would love his being condescending. He is also an elitist and anyone who disagrees with him is subject to derision and
insults. On the other hand, Paul Ryan was a gentleman and showed his respect for the office of Vice President.
Obama and Biden have nothing to run for re-election on except for a wrecked economic and foreign policy failures, and their headlong rush to destroy our Constitution, our values, and our way of life. They, and the other elitists in Washington D.C., think they are smarter than the rest of us and therefore are entitled to tell us what to do, what to say, and what to think.
They do not believe that the rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution are God given and inherent rights. Obama, Biden, Clinton, Reid, and Pelosi believe that those rights were given to us by the government and thus the government can take them
away from us. They have forgotten that under the Constitution we are the government, not them. They are nothing more than our employees and very poor ones at that. Barack and Michelle are not our King and Queen and we will not tolerate royalty of any kind.
on what I saw that is not the only thing that the American people should focus on.
What I saw from Obama and Biden was one of the worst displays of the arrogance of power I have ever witnessed. Obama was not just having a bad night in his first debate with Romney; by both words and actions he was conveying his complete disdain for the entire election process in this country. He clearly felt that it was beneath him to participate in a debate where he would be required to defend his actions and philosophy before the American people.
He is an elitist and as such he believes that he and Michelle are royalty and the Presidency is his by some divine right. He is only supposed to have to give speeches to adoring handpicked audiences where he can safely hide his ignorance and arrogance behind some safe Teleprompters. He does not believe that anyone has the right to disagree with him or even question him.
He showed that clearly in the second debate. He was aggressive with the arrogant attitude and smirks that indicated he again felt that no one had a right to question him. He didn’t have a teleprompter, but he had something almost as good; he had a moderator who handpicked questions that by 2-1margin were favorable to his campaign. He also relied on Candy Crowley to bail him out by interrupting Romney when he was making a good point and assisting the President with her own
comments when necessary.
I am totally convinced that at least in the case of the final question Obama had been tipped off in advance about the content. Remember that the moderator insisted that she get that question in and it was directed at Romney and she then allowed Obama to wrap up the debate with what sounded like rehearsed remarks on the 47% comment Romney had made at a fund raiser. Romney was given no chance to respond. Once again, Obama showed that he does not believe he has to play by the rules.
Joe Biden was just as bad, if not worse. He treated his opponent with rudeness and disrespect and thought that the American people would love his being condescending. He is also an elitist and anyone who disagrees with him is subject to derision and
insults. On the other hand, Paul Ryan was a gentleman and showed his respect for the office of Vice President.
Obama and Biden have nothing to run for re-election on except for a wrecked economic and foreign policy failures, and their headlong rush to destroy our Constitution, our values, and our way of life. They, and the other elitists in Washington D.C., think they are smarter than the rest of us and therefore are entitled to tell us what to do, what to say, and what to think.
They do not believe that the rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution are God given and inherent rights. Obama, Biden, Clinton, Reid, and Pelosi believe that those rights were given to us by the government and thus the government can take them
away from us. They have forgotten that under the Constitution we are the government, not them. They are nothing more than our employees and very poor ones at that. Barack and Michelle are not our King and Queen and we will not tolerate royalty of any kind.
Calling All Military Veterans
Posted October 2, 2012
An
unknown song writer once wrote these words: “A veteran is a man or
woman who at one point in their life wrote a blank check payable up to
and including their life.” The check was payable to the people of the
United States of America and to make sure we were understood we took an
oath that said “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United
States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”
Now, we have fought our wars against foreign enemies, but we still have that blank check and that oath that we have never given up. I am therefore calling on my comrades in arms and fellow veterans to go into battle again and defend our nation and our Constitution on the political battlefield. There are over 21 million veterans in this countryand this election is another fight that we must win if we are to see our nation survive.
We have a President of the United States who is openly hostile to the Constitution. He has stated that if Congress does not pass the legislation he wants he will do it by issuing executive orders, and he continuously does just that despite the fact that it violates the Constitution. He is destroying the balance of power that is one of the mainstays of our Constitution.
When you combine that with the fact that he has appointed some 45 Czars without the required approval of the Senate, gone to war in Libya without Congressional approval, and signaled that he is planning to sign and implement United Nations treaties without submitting them to the Senate for ratification, it is clear that he is establishing a de facto dictatorship.
I have posted many articles on this blog detailing the Obama administration’s all out assault on individual liberties in this county, particularly those enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Whether you look at freedom of speech and religion, the right to keep and bear arms, the right to due process of law, or any of our other basic rights, the President seems intent on restricting them or abolishing them all together.
In addition, Obama has put us in a position where our nation is no longer respected around the world. He continues to apologize to our enemies and ignore or insult our friends. He still refuses to acknowledge the dangers of radical Islam and Sharia law and is putting the safety of every American at risk. We all know that the murder of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood was not workplace violence, but an act of terrorism, and the murder of our Ambassador and three other brave Americans in Libya on 9/11 was not a spontaneous reaction to a video on You Tube. It’s time that we let the President know that we are not stupid.
As veterans, we must also be aware of what is happening to our military. Obama is cutting the size of our military and stopping the production of the weapons and equipment needed by our personnel to effectively defend us and stay alive while doing so. He is stripping the military of a key component for many of its members, their faith in God. He sees political correctness as more important than giving our men and women in the service the same freedom of religion that they are fighting to defend. Now, we are learning that under Obamacare the President is mandating that our military members, veterans and their families pay much more for their medical care. However, civilian employees of the Department of Defense who happen to be union members will not see any increase in their costs for the same benefits.
As I have watched the progression of the Obama Presidency it has become clear that his agenda is not what I took an oath to protect. I did not take an oath of allegiance to defend socialism, or any other form of dictatorship, and I certainly did not take an oath to take away the Constitutional rights of my fellow Americans. Obama took the same type of oath I did, but he seems to have no problem violating it. I cannot and will not accept that.
So, once again I am calling on my fellow veterans to join me in stepping up to the plate once again, and not only voting to retire Obama on November 6, 2012 and to retire members of the House and Senate who do not support the Constitution, but to get other Veterans to do the same. If we lose this time we may never have another chance.
Now, we have fought our wars against foreign enemies, but we still have that blank check and that oath that we have never given up. I am therefore calling on my comrades in arms and fellow veterans to go into battle again and defend our nation and our Constitution on the political battlefield. There are over 21 million veterans in this countryand this election is another fight that we must win if we are to see our nation survive.
We have a President of the United States who is openly hostile to the Constitution. He has stated that if Congress does not pass the legislation he wants he will do it by issuing executive orders, and he continuously does just that despite the fact that it violates the Constitution. He is destroying the balance of power that is one of the mainstays of our Constitution.
When you combine that with the fact that he has appointed some 45 Czars without the required approval of the Senate, gone to war in Libya without Congressional approval, and signaled that he is planning to sign and implement United Nations treaties without submitting them to the Senate for ratification, it is clear that he is establishing a de facto dictatorship.
I have posted many articles on this blog detailing the Obama administration’s all out assault on individual liberties in this county, particularly those enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Whether you look at freedom of speech and religion, the right to keep and bear arms, the right to due process of law, or any of our other basic rights, the President seems intent on restricting them or abolishing them all together.
In addition, Obama has put us in a position where our nation is no longer respected around the world. He continues to apologize to our enemies and ignore or insult our friends. He still refuses to acknowledge the dangers of radical Islam and Sharia law and is putting the safety of every American at risk. We all know that the murder of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood was not workplace violence, but an act of terrorism, and the murder of our Ambassador and three other brave Americans in Libya on 9/11 was not a spontaneous reaction to a video on You Tube. It’s time that we let the President know that we are not stupid.
As veterans, we must also be aware of what is happening to our military. Obama is cutting the size of our military and stopping the production of the weapons and equipment needed by our personnel to effectively defend us and stay alive while doing so. He is stripping the military of a key component for many of its members, their faith in God. He sees political correctness as more important than giving our men and women in the service the same freedom of religion that they are fighting to defend. Now, we are learning that under Obamacare the President is mandating that our military members, veterans and their families pay much more for their medical care. However, civilian employees of the Department of Defense who happen to be union members will not see any increase in their costs for the same benefits.
As I have watched the progression of the Obama Presidency it has become clear that his agenda is not what I took an oath to protect. I did not take an oath of allegiance to defend socialism, or any other form of dictatorship, and I certainly did not take an oath to take away the Constitutional rights of my fellow Americans. Obama took the same type of oath I did, but he seems to have no problem violating it. I cannot and will not accept that.
So, once again I am calling on my fellow veterans to join me in stepping up to the plate once again, and not only voting to retire Obama on November 6, 2012 and to retire members of the House and Senate who do not support the Constitution, but to get other Veterans to do the same. If we lose this time we may never have another chance.
LEAVE MY FLAG ALONE!
Posted September 21, 2012
There is nothing that angers U.S. military veterans more than someone showing disrespect for the flag that they have fought to defend and that their friends and comrades have died for. I am a U.S. Army veteran and I not only feel that way, but I find it particularly egregious when the person showing disrespect and contempt for our flag is the President of the United States.
Therefore, I say this to Mr. Obama: how dare you defile and degrade our flag by having your campaign sell posters showing the American flag with the field of fifty stars replaced with your campaign logo? This degradation comes on the heels of actions taken by a veterans group in Florida to force one of your campaign offices to take down an American flag that had been defaced by replacing the field of stars with your picture.
Who do you think you are? My family came over here from Ireland in 1756 and we have had someone serving in the military during every war from the American Revolution to the current war on terror. We fought for our flag, for our country, and after the revolution for the newly written Constitution that established the United States of America. We did not take a sacred oath to fight for any individual. Yet, you have shown that you have nothing but distain for the flag, for our country, and especially for the Constitution, and then you had the audacity to thank our men and women in the service for fighting for you!
You are not the Messiah, you are not the overseer of an American plantation, you are not our King; you are nothing more than an employee of the American people, and hopefully you will soon find yourself unemployed. Leave our flag alone and leave our constitution alone! Despite what you may think, we are not your subjects Mr. Obama, we are free Americans and we intend to stay free Americans.
Constitution Day
Posted September 17, 2012
Today, September 17, 2012 marks the 225th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America. Congress has passed a resolution mandating this date as “Constitution and Citizenship Day” and calling on the people of the United States to celebrate the anniversary and learn more about the Constitution.
Unfortunately, there is little being said about this in the news media, and in many places schools are ignoring it. With the Constitution under attack as never before, now is the time for people to read the Constitution and realize what we are about to lose. Essential elements contained in this unique and venerated document establish and maintain our way of life and protect us from government excesses.
These include the balance of powers, limits on federal government powers, the rights of states, and the Bill of Rights that does not list the rights given to us by the government, but instead sets forth the rights that are inherently ours and can’t be taken away by the government.
Yet, as I write this many of the elected and appointed officials in our government who have taken an oath of office where they swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…..” are violating the oath and trashing the Constitution. This includes the President of the United States, members of both houses of Congress, federal judges and bureaucrats as well as elected officials at the state and local level.
In an effort to help reverse this trend the Constitutional Law Alliance and the U.S. Justice Foundation have chosen this day to release the second and final part of my video presentation on the destruction of the Constitution. It is now available on YouTube. The link to the first part is: http://youtu.be/H5ozzjs7ouE and the link to part 2 is: http://youtu.be/UH_vrxngFd0. Please watch it, comment, and send the links to others.
Happy Constitution Day my fellow Americans. I hope this is not the last time we get to celebrate it.
Our Constitution video
Posted August 27, 2012
The
first part of a video about “Our Constitution” has been posted on You
tube. In this dramatic video I explain in detail how the U.S.
Constitution has been defiled and ignored by the current administration.
I take each part of the Constitution and tell you how it is being
destroyed. The link to the video is as follows: http://youtu.be/H5ozzjs7ouE
Please take a look at it and if you like it, forward it on to others. Part two will be posted shortly. Also, please go to www.constitution.jigsy.com to place your orders for copies of the booklet “Our Constitution” or to make a donation to support distribution of the booklet at reduced prices to schools and youth groups.
Please take a look at it and if you like it, forward it on to others. Part two will be posted shortly. Also, please go to www.constitution.jigsy.com to place your orders for copies of the booklet “Our Constitution” or to make a donation to support distribution of the booklet at reduced prices to schools and youth groups.
THE OBAMABOTS
Posted August 24, 2012
I have no idea who first came up with the term Obamabots to refer to those mindless progressives in the news media and the general population who come to the defense of Barack Hussein Obama whenever anyone on the right or even the left has the audacity to question his actions. I just know term is totally accurate and reflects the efforts of the left in this country to silence everyone they disagree with.
The problem with Obamabots is that they not only parrot the official party line of the White House, but they often act as the attack dogs for the administration. They are not built to think, but only to react, in fact many of them appear to never have an original thought of their own.
A good example is one of the most notorious Obamabots in the media, Bob Beckel, who is a very liberal commentator on Fox News. He is featured on the Fox show “The Five” and the group was recently talking about the ads put out by former special operations personnel questioning the leaking of classified information by members of the White House staff. According to the ads these leaks endanger the lives of our men and women in the military and intelligence community, yet appear to have been done in order to try and make Obama look tough to the voters and help him get reelected.
I’ve watched Bob Beckel and he always says only what the White House wants him to say, even if he knows it is untrue. In fact, I can’t think of a time when Beckel has been guilty of appearing to articulate an original thought. However, in this instance he went too far even for an Obamabot. He said that these American heroes, who have risked their lives to protect the right of free speech, were essentially committing treason by daring to criticize Obama.
Treason? The definition of treason in the Constitution is specific: “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and comfort.” That is exactly what the people in the White House are doing when they leak classified information, they are providing aid and comfort to our enemies. Yet, according to Bob Beckel the act of criticizing the President for the actions of the White House staff that he appointed and controls are treasonous. Really?
It is time for Obama and his Bob Beckel androids to understand that the members of the Intelligence Community and the military take an oath of office to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” We have not taken an oath to defend any individual, particularly if that person is violating his or her own oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution.
Unfortunately, they will not understand because they are programmed to go on the attack against anyone who dares to question the imperial Presidency. They are essentially the product of a high quality brain washing campaign conducted in the public schools, universities, and in the mainstream media. It has been going on for years. and is now producing the desired results. We are becoming a nation of Drones being trained to live in Obama’s “Brave New World”.
I am reminded of a television debate I was involved in many years ago during the Vietnam War. I was in school at LSU and was the State Chairman of the Young Americans cor Freedom, a campus conservative group. I was a supporter of the concept of Victory in Vietnam, and was invited by a local television station to debate a young woman from a prominent anti-war group. During the debate she was parroting the standard arguments against the war and “American Imperialism” that she had been drilled to repeat without thought.
As a result, she kept making inaccurate statements about the war in Vietnam and American involvement. This included errors about the basic history of the region. I kept correcting her and finally she snapped at me that I was unfairly confusing her with the facts. There was stunned silence for a moment, because no one thought they would ever hear this cliché actually stated. Then the entire production crew broke into laughter.
This incident speaks volumes about the roots of the Obamabots. They refuse to acknowledge the truth even when it slaps them in the face. Their response to a message that contradicts their blind allegiance is met with an effort to destroy the messenger. These are the people who want to reelect Obama, control our country, and take away our freedom. They must be defeated.
STEALING THE ELECTION
Posted August 6, 2012
With the most important Presidential election in history happening in just three months the Obama campaign is pulling out all of the stops to see that he is reelected so he can complete his personal mission of destroying the United States and our Constitution. As a result he is running a campaign full of distortions, outright lies, and vicious personal attacks not only on his opponent, but on those who support Mitt Romney.
It is fully supported in his efforts by much of the main stream media that have become propaganda organs for the Obama campaign, and only report what he wants them to tell the American people. It has gone so far that a recent report in the New York Times says that the members of most big print media outlets have agreed to submit their articles about the administration to the White House to be edited before they are published. Our Founding Fathers would be aghast at the very idea.
However, the quest to reelect Obama is not stopping there. The White House, the Justice Department and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) are launching an all out effort to steal the election from the American people. The pattern actually started shortly after Obama was sworn in and Eric Holder was appointed as the Attorney General. He declined to prosecute the members of the New Black Panther party who had openly carried weapons and intimidated white voters at a polling place in Philadelphia in 2008.
Then, prior to the 2010 elections the Justice Department told many state governments that they did not have to comply with the federal law that required them to send absentee ballots to military personnel within a certain time period. The law was designed to make sure that our people overseas had time to file their ballots and have them counted. The actions of the DOJ were specifically designed to undercut the intent of the law and many members of the military did not have their votes counted. In fact, according to the Army Times magazine as many as 30% of the absentee votes of military personnel in the 2010 elections were not counted.
To make matters even worse, the Obama campaign and the DNC are trying to limit the rights of military personnel stationed in the U.S. They have filed a lawsuit in Ohio challenging a law in the key swing state of Ohio that gives military personnel an extra three days to cast early votes in elections. The Obama campaign claims that there is “no discernible rationale basis” for the law. It is unbelievable that the Dems are trying to make it harder for the people defending our right to vote to cast their own votes. Their rational is clear however, the majority of military personnel will be voting for Republican candidates in the election.
Eric Holder has also been aggressively trying to stop states like Texas and South Carolina from enforcing laws that require a picture ID in order to vote. He is also trying to keep other states like Florida from purging their voter rolls of people who are deceased, and of illegal aliens who are not eligible to vote. It is estimated that thousands of illegal or fraudulent votes were cast in the last Florida election.
The intentions are clear, protect the Democratic base of dead voters and illegals, limit the military votes, sanction voter intimidation, and get Obama reelected at any cost. It is up to the rest of America to make sure that we vote so that we still have a chance of saving out country.
It is fully supported in his efforts by much of the main stream media that have become propaganda organs for the Obama campaign, and only report what he wants them to tell the American people. It has gone so far that a recent report in the New York Times says that the members of most big print media outlets have agreed to submit their articles about the administration to the White House to be edited before they are published. Our Founding Fathers would be aghast at the very idea.
However, the quest to reelect Obama is not stopping there. The White House, the Justice Department and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) are launching an all out effort to steal the election from the American people. The pattern actually started shortly after Obama was sworn in and Eric Holder was appointed as the Attorney General. He declined to prosecute the members of the New Black Panther party who had openly carried weapons and intimidated white voters at a polling place in Philadelphia in 2008.
Then, prior to the 2010 elections the Justice Department told many state governments that they did not have to comply with the federal law that required them to send absentee ballots to military personnel within a certain time period. The law was designed to make sure that our people overseas had time to file their ballots and have them counted. The actions of the DOJ were specifically designed to undercut the intent of the law and many members of the military did not have their votes counted. In fact, according to the Army Times magazine as many as 30% of the absentee votes of military personnel in the 2010 elections were not counted.
To make matters even worse, the Obama campaign and the DNC are trying to limit the rights of military personnel stationed in the U.S. They have filed a lawsuit in Ohio challenging a law in the key swing state of Ohio that gives military personnel an extra three days to cast early votes in elections. The Obama campaign claims that there is “no discernible rationale basis” for the law. It is unbelievable that the Dems are trying to make it harder for the people defending our right to vote to cast their own votes. Their rational is clear however, the majority of military personnel will be voting for Republican candidates in the election.
Eric Holder has also been aggressively trying to stop states like Texas and South Carolina from enforcing laws that require a picture ID in order to vote. He is also trying to keep other states like Florida from purging their voter rolls of people who are deceased, and of illegal aliens who are not eligible to vote. It is estimated that thousands of illegal or fraudulent votes were cast in the last Florida election.
The intentions are clear, protect the Democratic base of dead voters and illegals, limit the military votes, sanction voter intimidation, and get Obama reelected at any cost. It is up to the rest of America to make sure that we vote so that we still have a chance of saving out country.
OBAMACARE UPDATE
Posted July 12, 2012
The first article I wrote and posted on this blog was in August 2009 and it was titled “The Truth About the Health Care Bills.” It was based on my reading of the original 1100 pages of H.R. 3200 that was the first of the proposed bills. Based on what I read in that bill and other proposals I made a number of predictions about what would happen if the bill passed. I was immediately viscously attacked by those on the left who believe freedom of speech is only allowed if you agree with them.
I received death threats, was called every name in the book, and people claimed that I was lying about being an attorney and a Constitutional Law Instructor. The group “Media Matters” funded by George Soros went berserk as did some other left wing so called “fact check” groups that never really disputed the facts I presented, but challenged my opinions.
In any case, the law that finally passed was 2700 pages long and in most respects is worse than the original. It is now being enforced and the horror is unfolding. I have therefore reposted by original article below and made comments in red to illustrate how, unfortunately, most of the things I predicted are now reality.
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HEALTHCARE BILLS
Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed
House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I
studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise,
constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed
law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found
was far worse than what I had heard or expected.To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and otherclasses of citizens are involved, (Various panels made up of bureaucrats appointed by the Obama administration will decide health care expenditures under Medicare, and decide what patients will receive specific types of care. They will also choose the doctors and hospitals that can be used by each patient. This is a direct interference with the doctor patient relationship and is clearly rationing.) free health care for illegal immigrants, (millions of dollars have been appropriated to set up clinics in certain states to provide free medical treatment for immigrants. However, employees of the clinics are prohibited from asking patients about their legal status.) free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession. (Doctors and nurses are not yet being forced to perform abortions, but religious institutions are being forced to finance free contraception, and abortion inducing morning after pills, despite the fact that this violates their religious beliefs and is a direct violation of the 1st Amendment. The next step will certainly be mandating that Catholic hospitals and others provide full abortion services.)
The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business and put everyone into a government run system. (Although the so called “public option” was removed from the final version of the health care bill it is still alive and well in the minds of most proponents of the legislation. Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the mainstream news
media all assured Americans that under Obamacare health care costs and insurance premiums would decline. The exact opposite is true. Health care costs continue to rise and so do insurance premiums. Small businesses can’t afford to provide insurance for their employees and the employees can’t afford it on their own. In addition, insurance companies are being forced to provide benefits that will ultimately force many of them to price themselves out of business.) All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats and most of them will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled. (Under the provisions of Obamacare some 138 new Federal agencies or committees have been established to make many of the decisions on your health care that were previously made by you and your physician. The most heinous of the provisions in the law in this area places a tax on artificial limbs including those being provided to elderly veterans, and our troops that have wounded fighting for our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan.The Veterans Administration will not pay the tax so these heroes and their families will have to pick up the tab. The same is not true for illegal aliens.They can get them at taxpayer expense.)
However, as scary as all of that it, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.
The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. TheCongress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people and the businessesthey own. The irony is that the Congress doesn’t have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with. I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care. (Ironically, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the individual mandate portion of the law passed by Congress was not constitutionally permissible under either the commerce clause or the necessary and proper clause of the Constitution. However, using some bizarre reasoning five Justices found it Constitutional under the taxing power of Congress. They ignored the Constitutional requirement that all tax laws must originate in the House of Representatives, while the final version of Obamacare originated in the Senate. The bottom line is that Congress passed a piece of legislation without reading it and it gave Obama and the Executive Branch the power to make over 4,000 decisions on every aspect of health care without any Congressional approval or oversight.)
This legislation also provides for access by the appointees of the Obamaadministration to of all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and\hospital. (This is all in the process of being implemented under the rules and regulations being adopted as a result of thelaw.) All of this is a direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.
If you decide not to have healthcare insurance or if you have private insurance that is not deemed “acceptable” to the “Health Choices Administrator” appointed by Obama there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a “tax” instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn’t work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the “due process of law. (When this original article was written the penalty for not complying with the original mandate was styled as a tax. Then to quell some of the overwhelming opposition to the proposed law, it became a penalty or a fine. Now the Supreme Court has ruled that it is in fact a tax. I personally don’t care what it is called, or what the five Justices on the Supreme Court say, it is still unconstitutional.)
So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much out the original ten in the Bill of Rights that are effectively nullified by this law. It doesn’t stop there though. The 9th Amendment that provides: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed todeny or disparage others retained by the people;” The 10th Amendment
states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control. (The only victory in the Obamacare court challenge for those who support the Constitution came when the Court ruled that the federal government could not compel the states to put millions of people on the Medicaid rolls without any way to finance it. This was a victory for the 10th Amendment, but what about we the people and our rights under the 9th and 10th Amendments? Apparently those don’t exist any longer.)
I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to “be bound by oath or affirmation” to support the Constitution. If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway I would hope the American people would hold me accountable. (This paragraph is self explanatory and I stand by it.)
For those who might doubt the nature of this threat I suggest they consult the source.
Here is a link to the Constitution: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
And another to the Bill of Rights: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.
THE DAY THE CONSTITUTION DIED
Posted June 28, 2012
It is June 28, 2012 and on this day in history five Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court joined with President Obama and members of Congress to declare the U.S. Constitution and our free Republic dead. The Justices accomplished all of this by issuing a bizarre opinion on the Constitutionality of the “Affordable Health Care Act” commonly known as Obamacare.
In August of 2009 I wrote my first blog article on the Constitutionality of the proposed health care bill, H.R. 3200. I noted a number of Constitutional objections to it with the primary one being the violation of Article, Section 8, of the Constitution that limits the powers of Congress. I argued that nothing in that article, including the Commerce Clause, gave Congress the power to either regulate health care, or to turn over the power to do so to the Executive Branch of government.
Ironically, the Supreme Court agreed with me today on the Commerce Clause issue, but then did something that by its own past admissions; it has no Constitutional authority to do. The Court took a clearly unconstitutional law passed by Congress and essentially rewrote it in order to declare it Constitutional. I’m referring specifically to the “penalties” imposed on Americans who fail to comply with the individual mandate requiring them to buy health insurance. Under the law, these people can be “fined” by the IRS for non compliance.
If you remember, when Obamacare was being proposed, the President, members of his cabinet, Democrats in Congress, and members of the mainstream news media were all assuring the American people that this was not a new “tax.” Now, John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has written a majority opinion saying essentially that these were all lies, but he is going to fix it by declaring that this is a tax, and therefore falls within the powers of Congress.
In a nutshell, we have a situation where the Congress passed a law that it had no authority under the Constitution to pass, and that further unconstitutionally granted extraordinary new powers to the Executive Branch, that are not authorized by the Constitution. Now, we have the U.S. Supreme Court upholding this, and making a power grab of its own by saying that it can ignore the Constitution and rewrite the laws passed by Congress.
The implications of this are staggering. The Supreme Court has now decided that the Federal government can use its powers of taxation to force the American people to do its will, even if individual freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights are taken away in the process. Obama is already using the authority of the health care law to attack freedom of religion, and now when can expect him to go much further.
Imagine this, you are obese and the government declares that since that is a danger to your health, you will be taxed if you don’t lose weight. If you have dangerous weapons in your homes like firearms, and Obama orders you to surrender them to the Federal government, you can be taxed if you fail to do so. What about going to political websites on the internet that the Feds decide are inappropriate and endanger your emotional well being; there is a tax for that.
It sounds incredible, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it could all happen as a result of today’s Supreme Court decision. Justice Roberts and the other four Justices who signed off on this opinion have increased the power of the Federal government far beyond what was intended by the founding fathers who wrote the Constitution, and for that matter the Declaration of Independence.
Today, the Constitution and our Republic were given the last rites by the progressives on the Supreme Court, but I am not ready to kick the dirt in on our freedom yet. I believe that many Americans are not just angry, but are as infuriated as I am. The election in November, if we are allowed to have a free and fair one, is one that must be won across the board. If Obama is re-elected and Democrats continue to control the Senate, then the demise of the United States will be official.
Well, maybe not. There is one other alternative and it is stated clearly in theDeclaration of Independence when Thomas Jefferson wrote about our inalienable rights:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
Perhaps it would be wise for those who are celebrating the death of America today, to remember that as long as there is one American left that is willing to defend the Constitution and the Republic, there will always be a spark of life that has not been extinguished. I intend to be one of those sparks.
In Contempt
Posted June 21, 2012
The press is labeling it as a Constitutional crisis. A committee of the U.S. House of Representatives has charged Attorney General Eric Holder with Contempt of Congress for refusing to provide documents on “Operation Fast and Furious” an ill fated gun walking operation that cost the lives of several U.S. Border Patrol agents, and an uncounted number of Mexican
nationals.
It has already been established that Holder has lied to the committee about several aspects of the case and now he has refused to turn over documents that have been lawfully subpoenaed by Congress. The White House has gotten involved claiming that these documents are protected by “Executive privilege,” despite the fact that they don’t fall under the definition of that term as put forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of United States v. Nixon. The Court found that even though it was not in the Constitution, such a privilege did exist, but it was very limited.
So, is Eric Holder guilty of contempt of Congress? I would say absolutely since the legal definition of contempt is: “The willful defiance, disregard, or disrespect of judicial or legislative authority or dignity, especially any disobedience of an order or any conduct that disrupts, obstructs, or interferes with the administration or procedures of a court or legislature.” That is
certainly what is happening here.
However, I would take it a step further and suggest that Eric Holder and his boss Barack Obama are both guilty of far more. I’m not talking about the legal definition of contempt, but the standard version that is defined as “attitude of utter disgust or hatred: a powerful feeling of dislike toward somebody or something considered to be worthless, inferior, or undeserving of respect.”
If we use that definition, then Barack Obama and his appointees and staff, like Eric Holder, are in contempt of our country, our heritage, our Constitution and laws, our allies, and most importantly in contempt of us, the American people. They show us this contempt on a daily basis.
Obama continuously shows his contempt for our heritage by doing things like leaving out the words “endowed by our Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence and showing his utter disdain for our Judeo/Christian religious heritage.
He shows his contempt for the balance of powers provisions of our Constitution by bypassing Congress and the will of the American people who elected the Congress. He issues illegal and unconstitutional executive orders that make laws when the Constitution only allows the President to enforce the laws passed by Congress.
He further shows his contempt for the separation of powers in the Constitution by trying to intimidate justices of the Supreme Court and ordering his Federal agencies such as the FCC to ignore specific Supreme Court decisions limiting their powers.
Obama’s contempt for the Bill of Rights knows no bounds. He ignores freedom of speech by ordering the IRS to investigate and intimidate groups and individuals who oppose his policies, and violates freedom of religion by telling churches like the Catholic Church to ignore their teachings and beliefs and blindly obey his orders.
He has further ignored the Constitution and has shown his contempt for the will of the American people by pushing through Obamacare, and he is the first President in American history to order his Attorney General to join with foreign nations to sue sovereign American states such as Arizona for trying to enforce federal laws that Obama refuses to enforce.
Obama has also repeatedly shown his contempt for members of the military and our veterans. Just this past Memorial Day he kept thousands of veterans and family members of the fallen from visiting the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington for five hours so he could have a photo opportunity and make a 13 minute speech to a group of “selected guests.”
In the meantime he is making massive cuts to our military including requiring our disabled and wounded heroes to pay more of their own medical costs while at the same time exempting civilian DOD employees under the same plan from paying the same costs. Of course, they are union members and contribute to the Obama reelection campaign.
Obama’s open contempt for our allies such as Great Britain and Israel has led us to be in a position where we are no longer trusted by our friends or feared by our enemies. In the eyes of the world a country that was once a super power is now an empty and impotent shell.
As for the American people as a whole, we must understand that Obama views us with utter contempt. He is an elitist and as such he does not consider us free citizens in a free country. Instead, he looks at us as his subjects and as such we must obey him. It doesn’t matter what your race, gender, or religion is, you are of no consequence. If you are black and unemployed that is fine with our President because he thinks that means you are dependent on the government and will vote to reelect him. If you are poorly educated that only means that in Obama’s view you are inferior and are too stupid to realize that he is stripping you of your human rights.
Legislative Alert
Posted May 31, 2012
Some superficial changes were made to the wording of the treaty and President Bill Clinton signed it on behalf of the United States. However, the U.S. Constitution requires that any treaty signed by the President must be ratified by a two thirds vote of the Senate in order to go into effect. Clinton was never able to muster the votes in the Senate to bring it up for ratification.
During his second term President George W. Bush tried to push the treaty through the Senate. He had almost unanimous support of the Democrats in the Senate, (which alone makes me suspicious of the treaty), but most Republican Senators stood their ground and opposed it so it never go the support of the required two thirds.
Now, we have a President who is pushing one socialist cause after another and is apparently intent on turning the United States into a nation that is subject to the jurisdiction of the United Nations. With the help of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry he is making a major effort to get this treaty ratified before the 2012 elections. This would appear to be another wasted effort, but something has changed. We are suddenly seeing a number of Republican Senators who have thus far refused to come out in opposition to the treaty.
I have read the treaty and agree with former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, and the scholars at the Heritage Foundation who have all expressed serious concerns about the provisions of the treaty. Among other things, the treaty establishes an enormous UN bureaucracy to administer its provisions. It will have very little accountability and the U.S. will be forced to comply with its mandates, even if they are contrary to our national interests.
This bureaucracy will be partially funded by an international tax on U.S. companies that are drilling or mining in the oceans. Some of the money taken from these companies and their shareholders will then be distributed to so called “emerging nations” that will be chosen by the UN. Some of these nations may be states that sponsor terrorism and are enemies of the United States. Under the provisions of our Constitution, only the Congress can impose taxes on American citizens and businesses, yet this treaty would violate the Constitution and give that authority to a foreign body.
There is also language in the treaty that can be interpreted to put the maneuvering of U.S. Navy warships subject to UN approval. In other words, we might not be able to take military action to protect our nation’s security without specific permission of the UN. Remember, the Obama appointed Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, has already told a Congressional Committee that he and the President do not believe that it is necessary for them to get approval of Congress to go to war, as required by the Constitution. Instead they believe that UN or NATO approval is sufficient.
In addition, there are the troublesome provisions in the treaty that give this UN bureaucracy the right to impose restrictions on U.S. land based industries in order to push the “climate change” agenda. This could potentially include
ordering the closing of utility plants that use coal or other energy sources that the UN feels could threaten the oceans. Forget, the fact that the whole climate change agenda is based on what has now been proven to be fraudulent scientific data, Obama and the UN bureaucrats like it and that is what is important to them.
In fact, that is probably the most troubling aspect of the treaty for me. If it is ratified by the U.S. Senate it will put immense power in the hands of the UN and that is exactly what our President wants. The loss of U.S. sovereignty to
an international body is a recognized goal of his. It is important to remember that once a treaty is signed and ratified it becomes the supreme law of our nation, and can’t be reversed or modified by a future President or Congress
except by a Constitutional amendment.
Senator Kerry is planning to try and bring the treaty to a vote in the next few weeks. Everyone reading this blog should immediately contact their Senators and demand that they vote against it. As of the latest count I have seen we need at least seven more Republican Senators to come out in opposition to it in order to ensure its defeat.
The Republican Senators that as of May 27thhave so far failed to do this are: Lamar Alexander (TN), Kelly Ayotte (NH), Scott Brown (MA), Thad Cochran (MS), Susan Collins (ME),Bob Corker (TN), Michael Enzi (WY), Lindsey Graham (SC), Chuck Grassley (IA), Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), Johnny Isakson (GA), Mike Johanns (NE), Mark Kirk (IL), Richard Lugar (IN),John McCain (AZ), Mitch McConnell (KY), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Rob Portman (OH), Olympia Snowe (ME), and Patrick Toomey, (PA). (Note, I have seen unconfirmed reports that Senators McConnell and Corker are very close to coming out in opposition.) They should be immediately contacted along with all the others on this list. In fact everyone should contact their Senators to find out where they stand.
BACK INTO THE BATTLE
Posted April 27, 2012
In May of 2,000 I closed my law practice in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana after practicing for 27 years. I put myself on inactive status
with the Louisiana State Bar Association, meaning that as long as I was not
practicing law I would not have to pay Bar Association dues or take the yearly
Continuing Legal education courses. This was partially so I could devote more
time to taking care of my late wife who had suffered a massive stroke a few
years earlier and also because I was burned out fighting legal battles.
However, my specialty was Constitutional Law and I continued to keep up with
the important issues in that area. This ultimately led to the creation of my
blog on Constitutional Law and my talk radio show titled “Our Constitution” I
also recently formed a nonprofit corporation named the Constitutional Law
Alliance (CLA) and wrote a booklet on the Constitution with the same title as
my radio show, “Our Constitution.”
Yet, I have decided that I am not doing enough. I seemy country in the greatest Constitutional crisis in our history. We are aboutto lose the freedoms that my father and I risked our lives to defend and that
my sons are currently risking their lives to defend. We are losing these freedoms to a President and his minions who want to take us into a totalitarian form of government where all of our decisions are made for us by self determined elitists.
Accordingly, I have taken the necessary steps toreactivate my law license and will now be working with the U. S. Justice Foundation that handles Constitutional cases for free for Americans who can’t afford to
pay for a private attorney. I have also prepared an online course on the
Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights, that will help people understand
what they are about to lose. The course is available at: http://libertyfirstclass.com/.In addition, I am making myself available to make speeches on the Constitution to groups that want to hear my message. So much for being retired. At age 64 I am putting myself in a position of being fully engaged in the battle to save our nation. I ask for your continued prayers and support for my efforts.
Impeachable Offenses Update
Posted April 11, 2012
I
have repeatedly been asked by a number of different people if I think
that the President of the United States, Barack Obama, has committed any
offenses that subject him to being impeached by the Congress of the
United States. The answer is without a doubt, yes because he has
repeatedly breached his oath of office. The oath of office of the
President of the United States is simple and concise. It reads:
"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Instead of living up to that oath, President Obama has actively attempted to subvert, ignore, and completely destroy large parts of the Constitution. I believe the President of the United States is well aware of what he is doing, and it is completely intentional. Listed below are what I believe are impeachable offenses and the list continues to grow.
1. President Obama has appointed numerous people to cabinet level positions without the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, as is required by the Constitution. These individuals are given extraordinary power and independent funding, and are not under the scrutiny of Congress. The fact that Obama calls them Czars does not make them legal. He has also made illegal recess appointments of other members of his cabinet that required Senate approval. He simply declared that the U.S. Senate was in recess despite the fact that no such declaration had been made by the Senate. The President has no Constitutional authority to do this.
2. The push by Pres. Obama to pass healthcare legislation in the Congress of the United States that he was fully aware was unconstitutional. He has continued to use his powers and executive branch of government to implement this legislation despite the fact that a federal judge had declared the entire law unconstitutional, and ordered that it not be implemented. In addition, Obama has directed members of his administration to violate the right to freedom of religion protected by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution.
Religious institutions such as churches and schools have been ordered to provide contraceptives and abortion inducing morning after pills to employees as part of the health care bill requirements. The fact that this is a direct violation of their religious teaching is of no concern to Obama.
3. Despite the fact that the United States Senate refused to pass the Cap and Trade bill, the President has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to use regulations to implement key portions of the bill, including those regulating so-called greenhouse gases. Obama himself has acknowledged that this will force energy prices in this country to skyrocket. He is taking these actions in direct defiance of the will of the people of the United States, the will of Congress, and the Constitution. The actions of the EPA include regulations that will force many coal burning power plants to close.
4. Through the Department of the Interior (DOI) Obama has placed a moratorium on offshore oil drilling or exploration off both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States and in parts of the Gulf of Mexico. He has also prohibited new drilling exploration on federal land in any states in the United States. These actions by the DOI have continued in direct defiance of several court orders issued by Federal Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans, Louisiana declaring that the department had no authority to issue such a moratorium on drilling in the Gulf. In fact, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) has been held in contempt by the same judge. The administration has claimed to be complying, but has tied up the drilling permits in so much red tape that the effect is the same.
5. Instead of allowing American companies to drill for oil domestically, Obama has betrayed the American people and authorized loans of billions of dollars to countries like Brazil and Mexico so that they can drill for oil, and then sell that oil to the United States. This will dramatically increase our dependence on foreign nations including Venezuela, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and even Libya that do not serve the interest of America or the American people.
Obama has also refused to approve the keystone pipeline from Canada to the United States that would not only lessen our dependence on oil from countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, but create thousands of new jobs in the United States. The decision on the pipeline is one that belongs in the hands of the members of Congress, not the President.
6. President Obama has abdicated his responsibility to enforce the laws of the United States against illegal immigration. He has virtually declared our southern border an open border by declaring certain areas of federal land in states like Arizona as off-limits to federal, state, and local authorities. This is despite the fact that these areas are being used to bring in thousands of illegal immigrants, massive amounts of drugs, and also being used by foreign terrorists to infiltrate the United States. He has also ordered the border patrol not to arrest most illegal immigrants entering the country, and has stopped deportation proceedings against thousands of people in this country illegally. He is in effect instituting the so-called “dream act” bypassing the Congress of the United States which has sole authority over immigration matters.
7. The President and his Attorney General Eric Holder have clearly violated their oath of office by joining with foreign countries such as Mexico, Bolivia, and Columbia, in lawsuits against the sovereign states of Arizona, Georgia, and Alabama to stop them from enforcing the federal immigration laws.
8. President Obama has ordered the Federal Communications Commission to adopt regulations giving the federal government control of the Internet and its contents, including providing Obama with a kill switch that gives him authority to shut down the Internet if he sees fit. This is in direct violation of a decision by the United States Supreme Court that the FCC has no Constitutional authority to control the Internet.
There were two bills pending in Congress to effectively give Obama the kill switch he wants over the Internet. When these two proposals, the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) were withdrawn amid public outcry Obama announced he will sign an international treaty that purports to give him the same authority. He has signaled his intention to do this as an “Executive Act” and not bring the treaty to the Senate for ratification as required by Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution. I believe he intends to take the same action in regard to the United Nations Small arms treaty and the UN Law of the Sea treaty that are both unlikely to get Senate approval.
9. One of the paramount responsibilities of the President of the United States and his executive branch of government is to enforce and defend laws adopted by Congress unless they are declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. Obama has decided that he should ignore this Constitutional mandate, and that as President he is more powerful than either the Congress of the United States or the Supreme Court. He has unilaterally declared that the Defense of Marriage Act passed by the Congress is unconstitutional, and further declared that he will not have the Justice Department defend it against lawsuits.
His administration has also refused to enforce laws against voter intimidation and federal law that requires states to purge their voter registration lists of deceased individuals and those that are registered illegally. In addition, the Justice Department is refusing to allow states to enforce laws requiring proof of identity by voters at the polls. Obama has essentially said that he is the supreme ruler of the United States, and that the Congress and the Federal Judiciary are irrelevant.
10. It has been widely reported that acting through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms the Obama administration was involved for months in getting legitimate and law-abiding gun store owners along our southern border to supply weapons to straw buyers who the government knew would deliver them to the drug cartels in Mexico. This was billed as a sting operation against the cartels when in fact it was designed to produce fraudulent data showing that large numbers of weapons were going from the United States to the Mexican drug dealers.
This data was then to be used, and is being used, to try to justify new gun control regulations to limit the rights of American citizens to keep and bear arms. It has nothing to do with arresting members of the drug operations. The administration has, in effect, armed our enemies, and one border patrol agent has already been killed by one of these weapons. Now, Obama continues to impose gun control laws by Executive order so he will not have to deal with Congress. The administration is also refusing to cooperate with the committees in the House of Representatives that are investigating the entire operation. It is even defying Congressional subpoenas.
11. The President of the United States is not authorized by the Constitution to take our nation to war without the consent of the Congress of the United States. The only exception to this is the authority granted to the President by Congress under the War Powers Act. This law allows the President to take immediate action without the consent of Congress if there is an imminent threat to the security of the United States, or its citizens. Although there was clearly no such imminent threat caused by the Civil War in Libya, the President committed members of the United States military to combat missions in a foreign country without the consent of Congress. He based his authority on a United Nations resolution, and a resolution by the Arab League.
Now, the President has carried it one step further. During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 7, 2012, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told Senators that the President has authority to take our country to war without the Congressional approval required by Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution. The administration is taking the position that it can ignore Congress as long as it has United Nations approval or NATO approval.
However, these actions may be the least of the worries facing the American people. The White House insisted that language be included in the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that gives the President sole authority to order the military to arrest and indefinite detain American citizens on U.S. soil if the President suspects them of terrorist ties. This was amazingly passed overwhelmingly by Congress. It appears to be another situation where few members read the bill before voting on it.
This was almost immediately followed by another unconstitutional executive order titled the National Defense Resources Preparation order. It is similar to orders signed by past Presidents, but this one includes language that appears to give Obama the authority to declare martial law in peacetime, and take over the allocation of everything from food and fuel to transportation and health care. This violates the Constitution in a number of different ways.
12. Last but not the least of my dirty dozen of impeachable offenses, is the fact that since taking office the President has used executive orders, laws pushed through Congress in the dark of night, and administrative actions by his departments to nationalize and control automobile manufacturers, banks, insurance companies, and portions of the healthcare industry. This is designed to take our country from a free enterprise economy to a socialist economy. There is absolutely no authority in the Constitution of the United States that allows the President to do this.
Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution provides as follows: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
I contend that among those high crimes and misdemeanors is the intentional violation of the oath of office administered to the President and all other federal officials. In fact, federal law at 5 U.S.C. 7311 specifically provides that violation of the oath of office includes advocating the overthrowing of our constitutional form of government. This is specifically declared a criminal offense in 18 U.S.C. 1918 and is punishable by both a fine and imprisonment.
In the 12 areas I mentioned in the paragraphs above I firmly believe that Obama, Eric Holder, and numerous other members of his administration have gone beyond just advocating the overthrow of our constitutional form of government. They are actually engaged in making it happen, and as a result should be impeached and convicted. There are also the emerging issues of corruption such as the Solyndra scandal caused by Obama using stimulus money to pay off campaign contributors.
Will there be an impeachment and conviction in the current Congress? Probably not, since it takes a two thirds vote in the House of Representatives to impeach, and a two thirds vote in the Senate to convict. With Harry Reid and the progressives still in control of the Senate, and many of them guilty of some of the same impeachable offenses, they will resist it.
However, we are the American people and we still have a right to control our government, and the people elected to represent us. Therefore, I am personally calling on the conservative members the House of Representatives to bring this action based on the grounds I have enumerated so that the American people can understand what is really at stake here. Then “we the people,” can make our voices heard.
"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Instead of living up to that oath, President Obama has actively attempted to subvert, ignore, and completely destroy large parts of the Constitution. I believe the President of the United States is well aware of what he is doing, and it is completely intentional. Listed below are what I believe are impeachable offenses and the list continues to grow.
1. President Obama has appointed numerous people to cabinet level positions without the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, as is required by the Constitution. These individuals are given extraordinary power and independent funding, and are not under the scrutiny of Congress. The fact that Obama calls them Czars does not make them legal. He has also made illegal recess appointments of other members of his cabinet that required Senate approval. He simply declared that the U.S. Senate was in recess despite the fact that no such declaration had been made by the Senate. The President has no Constitutional authority to do this.
2. The push by Pres. Obama to pass healthcare legislation in the Congress of the United States that he was fully aware was unconstitutional. He has continued to use his powers and executive branch of government to implement this legislation despite the fact that a federal judge had declared the entire law unconstitutional, and ordered that it not be implemented. In addition, Obama has directed members of his administration to violate the right to freedom of religion protected by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution.
Religious institutions such as churches and schools have been ordered to provide contraceptives and abortion inducing morning after pills to employees as part of the health care bill requirements. The fact that this is a direct violation of their religious teaching is of no concern to Obama.
3. Despite the fact that the United States Senate refused to pass the Cap and Trade bill, the President has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to use regulations to implement key portions of the bill, including those regulating so-called greenhouse gases. Obama himself has acknowledged that this will force energy prices in this country to skyrocket. He is taking these actions in direct defiance of the will of the people of the United States, the will of Congress, and the Constitution. The actions of the EPA include regulations that will force many coal burning power plants to close.
4. Through the Department of the Interior (DOI) Obama has placed a moratorium on offshore oil drilling or exploration off both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States and in parts of the Gulf of Mexico. He has also prohibited new drilling exploration on federal land in any states in the United States. These actions by the DOI have continued in direct defiance of several court orders issued by Federal Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans, Louisiana declaring that the department had no authority to issue such a moratorium on drilling in the Gulf. In fact, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) has been held in contempt by the same judge. The administration has claimed to be complying, but has tied up the drilling permits in so much red tape that the effect is the same.
5. Instead of allowing American companies to drill for oil domestically, Obama has betrayed the American people and authorized loans of billions of dollars to countries like Brazil and Mexico so that they can drill for oil, and then sell that oil to the United States. This will dramatically increase our dependence on foreign nations including Venezuela, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and even Libya that do not serve the interest of America or the American people.
Obama has also refused to approve the keystone pipeline from Canada to the United States that would not only lessen our dependence on oil from countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, but create thousands of new jobs in the United States. The decision on the pipeline is one that belongs in the hands of the members of Congress, not the President.
6. President Obama has abdicated his responsibility to enforce the laws of the United States against illegal immigration. He has virtually declared our southern border an open border by declaring certain areas of federal land in states like Arizona as off-limits to federal, state, and local authorities. This is despite the fact that these areas are being used to bring in thousands of illegal immigrants, massive amounts of drugs, and also being used by foreign terrorists to infiltrate the United States. He has also ordered the border patrol not to arrest most illegal immigrants entering the country, and has stopped deportation proceedings against thousands of people in this country illegally. He is in effect instituting the so-called “dream act” bypassing the Congress of the United States which has sole authority over immigration matters.
7. The President and his Attorney General Eric Holder have clearly violated their oath of office by joining with foreign countries such as Mexico, Bolivia, and Columbia, in lawsuits against the sovereign states of Arizona, Georgia, and Alabama to stop them from enforcing the federal immigration laws.
8. President Obama has ordered the Federal Communications Commission to adopt regulations giving the federal government control of the Internet and its contents, including providing Obama with a kill switch that gives him authority to shut down the Internet if he sees fit. This is in direct violation of a decision by the United States Supreme Court that the FCC has no Constitutional authority to control the Internet.
There were two bills pending in Congress to effectively give Obama the kill switch he wants over the Internet. When these two proposals, the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) were withdrawn amid public outcry Obama announced he will sign an international treaty that purports to give him the same authority. He has signaled his intention to do this as an “Executive Act” and not bring the treaty to the Senate for ratification as required by Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution. I believe he intends to take the same action in regard to the United Nations Small arms treaty and the UN Law of the Sea treaty that are both unlikely to get Senate approval.
9. One of the paramount responsibilities of the President of the United States and his executive branch of government is to enforce and defend laws adopted by Congress unless they are declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. Obama has decided that he should ignore this Constitutional mandate, and that as President he is more powerful than either the Congress of the United States or the Supreme Court. He has unilaterally declared that the Defense of Marriage Act passed by the Congress is unconstitutional, and further declared that he will not have the Justice Department defend it against lawsuits.
His administration has also refused to enforce laws against voter intimidation and federal law that requires states to purge their voter registration lists of deceased individuals and those that are registered illegally. In addition, the Justice Department is refusing to allow states to enforce laws requiring proof of identity by voters at the polls. Obama has essentially said that he is the supreme ruler of the United States, and that the Congress and the Federal Judiciary are irrelevant.
10. It has been widely reported that acting through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms the Obama administration was involved for months in getting legitimate and law-abiding gun store owners along our southern border to supply weapons to straw buyers who the government knew would deliver them to the drug cartels in Mexico. This was billed as a sting operation against the cartels when in fact it was designed to produce fraudulent data showing that large numbers of weapons were going from the United States to the Mexican drug dealers.
This data was then to be used, and is being used, to try to justify new gun control regulations to limit the rights of American citizens to keep and bear arms. It has nothing to do with arresting members of the drug operations. The administration has, in effect, armed our enemies, and one border patrol agent has already been killed by one of these weapons. Now, Obama continues to impose gun control laws by Executive order so he will not have to deal with Congress. The administration is also refusing to cooperate with the committees in the House of Representatives that are investigating the entire operation. It is even defying Congressional subpoenas.
11. The President of the United States is not authorized by the Constitution to take our nation to war without the consent of the Congress of the United States. The only exception to this is the authority granted to the President by Congress under the War Powers Act. This law allows the President to take immediate action without the consent of Congress if there is an imminent threat to the security of the United States, or its citizens. Although there was clearly no such imminent threat caused by the Civil War in Libya, the President committed members of the United States military to combat missions in a foreign country without the consent of Congress. He based his authority on a United Nations resolution, and a resolution by the Arab League.
Now, the President has carried it one step further. During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 7, 2012, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told Senators that the President has authority to take our country to war without the Congressional approval required by Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution. The administration is taking the position that it can ignore Congress as long as it has United Nations approval or NATO approval.
However, these actions may be the least of the worries facing the American people. The White House insisted that language be included in the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that gives the President sole authority to order the military to arrest and indefinite detain American citizens on U.S. soil if the President suspects them of terrorist ties. This was amazingly passed overwhelmingly by Congress. It appears to be another situation where few members read the bill before voting on it.
This was almost immediately followed by another unconstitutional executive order titled the National Defense Resources Preparation order. It is similar to orders signed by past Presidents, but this one includes language that appears to give Obama the authority to declare martial law in peacetime, and take over the allocation of everything from food and fuel to transportation and health care. This violates the Constitution in a number of different ways.
12. Last but not the least of my dirty dozen of impeachable offenses, is the fact that since taking office the President has used executive orders, laws pushed through Congress in the dark of night, and administrative actions by his departments to nationalize and control automobile manufacturers, banks, insurance companies, and portions of the healthcare industry. This is designed to take our country from a free enterprise economy to a socialist economy. There is absolutely no authority in the Constitution of the United States that allows the President to do this.
Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution provides as follows: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
I contend that among those high crimes and misdemeanors is the intentional violation of the oath of office administered to the President and all other federal officials. In fact, federal law at 5 U.S.C. 7311 specifically provides that violation of the oath of office includes advocating the overthrowing of our constitutional form of government. This is specifically declared a criminal offense in 18 U.S.C. 1918 and is punishable by both a fine and imprisonment.
In the 12 areas I mentioned in the paragraphs above I firmly believe that Obama, Eric Holder, and numerous other members of his administration have gone beyond just advocating the overthrow of our constitutional form of government. They are actually engaged in making it happen, and as a result should be impeached and convicted. There are also the emerging issues of corruption such as the Solyndra scandal caused by Obama using stimulus money to pay off campaign contributors.
Will there be an impeachment and conviction in the current Congress? Probably not, since it takes a two thirds vote in the House of Representatives to impeach, and a two thirds vote in the Senate to convict. With Harry Reid and the progressives still in control of the Senate, and many of them guilty of some of the same impeachable offenses, they will resist it.
However, we are the American people and we still have a right to control our government, and the people elected to represent us. Therefore, I am personally calling on the conservative members the House of Representatives to bring this action based on the grounds I have enumerated so that the American people can understand what is really at stake here. Then “we the people,” can make our voices heard.
CONSOLIDATING POWER
Posted March 25, 2012
I have received dozens of inquiries about the Executive Order signed by
President Obama on March 16, 2012. It is titled the “National Defenses
Resources Preparation” order and appears at first glance to be just the
reissuing of an order signed by previous Presidents during wartime or
when war seemed imminent. It is designed to provide for the efficient
allocation of critical resources needed by the military. It is claimed
that this order is no different from previous orders and just puts new
agencies into the mix such as the Department of Homeland Security.
However, there are several things that raise my concerns when I read the order. First, it clearly gives expanded powers to the President in peacetime if there is a national emergency, and of course, the President is the person who will decide what constitutes such an emergency. At that point the President can take control of energy production and allocation as well as food, water, and other resources. It also gives the President the power to control the allocation of health care resources, transportation, and other important areas of the economy. By the way, the President can also reinstate the draft.
The second major concern I have is that this version of the order was signed by a President who has consistently shown his willingness to ignore the Constitution of the United States in order to get what he wants. It was the White House that insisted that the provisions allowing for indefinite detention of American citizens be included in the National Defense Authorization Act that was the subject of a previous article on my blog. It was also Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, who recently said that it is Obama who determines what the constitutional phrase, “due process of law,” means, not the Constitution itself or the courts.
Then we have Leon Panetta, the Secretary of Defense, informing Congress that Obama can commit the United States to go to war if he has International permission instead of the permission of the U.S. Congress that is required by the Constitution. Add this to the fact that Obama has ignored the Congress and the will of the American people when issuing Executive orders, and has ignored direct orders from the Federal courts and we see a President who is consolidating power into his own hands at the expense of the Constitution and the freedoms of Americans.
These are not the actions of a man who thinks that he will be relinquishing his position in November. They are the actions of someone who is willing to do whatever is necessary to stay in power. Does anyone remember a few months ago when Beverly Perdue, the Democratic governor of North Carolina, suggested that the 2012 elections be suspended for two years to give Congress time to fix the deficit. The national news media ignored the comment or treated it as a joke. Perhaps it was just a bad joke, or perhaps it was one of the trial balloons that Obama is so fond of floating.
It is important to look at history. Many of the longest ruling dictators allowed elections to be held. They just made sure that they never lost one. It is time for every American to read our Constitution once again and realize what we are losing. You can also read the Executive Order on the White House website at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness
However, there are several things that raise my concerns when I read the order. First, it clearly gives expanded powers to the President in peacetime if there is a national emergency, and of course, the President is the person who will decide what constitutes such an emergency. At that point the President can take control of energy production and allocation as well as food, water, and other resources. It also gives the President the power to control the allocation of health care resources, transportation, and other important areas of the economy. By the way, the President can also reinstate the draft.
The second major concern I have is that this version of the order was signed by a President who has consistently shown his willingness to ignore the Constitution of the United States in order to get what he wants. It was the White House that insisted that the provisions allowing for indefinite detention of American citizens be included in the National Defense Authorization Act that was the subject of a previous article on my blog. It was also Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, who recently said that it is Obama who determines what the constitutional phrase, “due process of law,” means, not the Constitution itself or the courts.
Then we have Leon Panetta, the Secretary of Defense, informing Congress that Obama can commit the United States to go to war if he has International permission instead of the permission of the U.S. Congress that is required by the Constitution. Add this to the fact that Obama has ignored the Congress and the will of the American people when issuing Executive orders, and has ignored direct orders from the Federal courts and we see a President who is consolidating power into his own hands at the expense of the Constitution and the freedoms of Americans.
These are not the actions of a man who thinks that he will be relinquishing his position in November. They are the actions of someone who is willing to do whatever is necessary to stay in power. Does anyone remember a few months ago when Beverly Perdue, the Democratic governor of North Carolina, suggested that the 2012 elections be suspended for two years to give Congress time to fix the deficit. The national news media ignored the comment or treated it as a joke. Perhaps it was just a bad joke, or perhaps it was one of the trial balloons that Obama is so fond of floating.
It is important to look at history. Many of the longest ruling dictators allowed elections to be held. They just made sure that they never lost one. It is time for every American to read our Constitution once again and realize what we are losing. You can also read the Executive Order on the White House website at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness
CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS AOUT THE NDAA
Posted March 7, 2012
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was
recently adopted by Congress, and signed into law by Barack Obama, contains
language that has raised substantial Constitutional questions by civil
libertarians on both the political right and on the political left. The bulk of
the lengthy legislation deals with the routine authorization for military
spending by the Pentagon, including items such as military pay, veterans’
benefits, weapons procurement, etc. Such
legislation must be passed on a regular basis if the United States military is
to continue to operate.
However,
in the U. S. Senate version of the legislation, S.1867, there are sections
dealing with the detaining of people suspected of being involved with terrorist
organizations or any groups engaging in, or planning, hostile actions against
the United States. These suspects can be arrested by American military forces
and detained indefinitely, without formal charges being filed, and without
trial, until the “hostilities” end. The term hostilities refers to the general
war on terror, not to specific military actions, such as those in Afghanistan
or Iraq. Therefore, there is no end in sight to the possible period of
detention. This is the version that was ultimately passed by the full Congress.The question is, does the law allow members of the United States armed forces to detain American citizens, including those arrested in the United States, without granting them due process? The language in the bill is unclear, at best. In section 1031, the first paragraph states:
“(a) In general.—Congress affirms that the authority of the President to use all necessary and appropriate force pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40) includes the authority for the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons (as defined in subsection (b)) pending disposition under the law of war.”
The legislation then provides a definition of the individuals covered by the legislation:
“(b) Covered persons.—A covered person under this section is any person as follows:
(1) A person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored those responsible for those attacks.
(2) A person who was a part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces.”
The legislation goes on to provide various options for dealing with the individuals arrested pursuant to the authority provided to the President. It states:
“(c) Disposition under law of war.—The disposition of a person under the law of war as described in subsection (a) may include the following:
(1) Detention under the law of war without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
(2) Trial under chapter 47A of title 10, United States Code (as amended by the Military Commissions Act of 2009 (title XVIII of Public Law 111–84)).
(3) Transfer for trial by an alternative court or competent tribunal having lawful jurisdiction.
(4) Transfer to the custody or control of the person's country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity.”
The next section of the law is 1032, and it requires the military to detain certain individuals that fall under the definition of the act. Critics point out that the language is so broad that American citizens can fall under the provisions of the act, and can be detained indefinitely, without the Constitutional protections provided to them under the 5th and 6th Amendments to the U. S. Constitution. In other words, there would be no due process, no right to a speedy trial, no right of habeas corpus, and no right to a trial by jury.
However, supporters of the law, including some members of Congress, point to additional language in the same section of the law that they say protects the Constitutional rights of U.S. citizens. The specific provisions state:
“(b) Applicability to United States citizens and lawful resident aliens.—
(1) UNITED STATES CITIZENS.—The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States.
(2) LAWFUL RESIDENT ALIENS.—The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to a lawful resident alien of the United States on the basis of conduct taking place within the United States, except to the extent permitted by the Constitution of the United States.”
The problem is that when the language is carefully read, it becomes clear that this does not exempt U.S. citizens from being detained without due process, but only says that it is not required under the previously cited provisions. The decision of whether an American citizen can be detained indefinitely, without being formally charged, or tried, is, therefore, left in the hands of one person, the President of the United States.
Giving the President of the United States, or anyone else, this kind of authority over American citizens was something that the framers of the U. S. Constitution, and, specifically, the Bill of Rights, were trying to prohibit. Yet it appears that this law is doing what the founders of our country feared. One of the problems is that it has been done before. U.S. citizens of Japanese descent were interred by the U.S. government after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The detention was the result of Executive Orders issued by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
There were numerous challenges in the courts to the detention orders, and several cases reached the U.S. Supreme Court, including Yasui v. United States, 320 U.S. 115 (1943), Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81 (1943), Ex parte Endo, or Ex parte Mitsuye Endo, 323 U.S. 283 (1944), and Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944). In all of these decisions, the court upheld the right of the government to place curfews on Japanese Americans, to exclude them from certain areas, and to place them in internment camps. These decisions were later considered a mistake, and, in the 1980’s, when evidence was uncovered that the government had been aware that there was no real threat, but withheld that information from the courts, the decisions were overturned.
The latest case involving the detention of U.S. citizens by the military is Hamdi v Rumsfield 542 U.S. 547 (2004). Yaser Isam Hamdi was born in the United States, and, then, his family moved to Saudi Arabia. He was captured in Afghanistan during the U.S. invasion in 2001 and held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as an enemy combatant. He challenged this status in court, and, in a plurality decision, the Supreme Court Justices ruled that U.S. citizens, even when arrested in foreign countries, and designated as enemy combatants, must be provided with an opportunity to have the legality of their detention decided in a civilian court.
This case would appear to settle this issue, but Congress has used language in NDAA that appears to be an attempt to circumvent this ruling. In addition, Congress has conferred the power to order long term detentions of U.S. citizens on an occupant of the White House that has repeatedly expressed his willingness to ignore the Congress, the courts, and even the U. S. Constitution itself. This establishes a dangerous situation for Americans.
The new law also appears to repeal, or at least modify, the Posse Comitatus Act, that was passed in 1878 at the end of post Civil War reconstruction. That law is designated as 18 USC 1385, and it prohibits the states of the union, and local governments, from using members of the U.S. Army for law enforcement purposes. It was later amended to include the Air Force, and the Marines, and the Navy are under the same prohibitions, by order of the U. S. Department of Defense. If the critics of NDAA are correct, and members of the United States military can make arrests of U.S. citizens in the United States, then it appears that the intent of the Posse Comitatus law is negated.
In conclusion, the language in the bill appears to be deliberately vague and confusing, and many members of Congress seem to be unaware of what they were actually voting for. However, that does not lessen the impact of a law that gives the President extraordinary powers to violate the Constitutional rights of American citizens. If Congress can’t be convinced to amend the law to remove those provisions, then the courts must be asked to declare the provisions unconstitutional.
This article was originally written by me for the
U.S. Justice Foundation and is reprinted here with its permission.
Time to apologize
Posted February 29, 2012
President Obama has done it again; hehas apologized on behalf of Americans when no apology by the President was
needed or warranted. The incident involved American military personnel at a
base in Afghanistan being given documents in Arabic and told to dispose of
them. Apparently, the documents included pages from the Muslim Holy book, the
Quran; however, there was nothing to identify them specifically to the soldiers
as such.
They had actually been confiscated because the pages contained hand written notes
from Taliban prisoners inside the base who were attempting to use the books to
communicate with each other and their comrades outside of the base. These
people are enemies of Afghanistan and the United States. Once the books were
used to pass illegal communications they ceased to be holy books, but instead
became documents of war defaced by the Muslim prisoners themselves, and burning
them was entirely appropriate.
However ,rightly or wrongly, the U.S. Commander for the area issued an apology and that
should have been enough, yet radical Muslims fanned the flames and riots broke
out, and the killing of Americans in retaliation was openly advocated. At this
point any legitimate President of the United States would have stepped up to defend
the men and women who serve us in the military, and demand that the Afghan
government get the riots under control. Of course, that is not what Barack
Obama did.
America’s apologist in chief issued a written apology to the Afghan government and people
and to the Muslim world in general. This apology served only to embolden the
Taliban that rejected it and renewed its calls for the killing of Americans.
Their efforts paid off and American soldiers were killed and wounded as a
result. Once again, Obama’s response to this was not to demand an end to the
riots and murder of American military personnel, but to have the Pentagon issue
yet another apology, this time to the Muslim community in America.
This is the same President who shortly after he was elected went on his world
apology tour during which he bowed to
the Muslim King of Saudi Arabia and told Muslims and everyone else he spoke to
how sorry he was for the history of American arrogance and greed when dealing
with the rest of the world. I personally consider that a direct insult to the
men and women of this country who have sacrificed their lives over the years to
defend freedom around the world and the enormous American responses to help
those in need.
As a result of all of this many people are demanding that Obama stop apologizing,
however, I disagree. He has a lot of apologies to make.
He can begin by apologizing to the families of the American officers who lost
their lives as a result of the entire made up crisis over the Quran, and he
should explain why he did not backup our military. He should also be demanding that the Afghan
government apologize to us for failing to maintain control of their own people
who are rioting over this perceived insult.
Then he should say he is sorry for the military lives that have been lost in order
for him to further his reelection campaign. By setting dates for the withdrawal
of American troops from Afghanistan he encouraged the Taliban to keep fighting.
He also needs to apologize to our soldiers for sending them into combat with
arbitrary rules of engagement that limit their ability to fight effectively and
protect themselves. All of this was done to appease his left wing base.
He must apologize to the wounded and the families of the men and women who died in
a terrorist attack by a radical Muslim at Fort Hood, Texas. How dare he demean
their loss by having his administration refer to this as an incident of “work
place violence,” rather than the savage act of Islamic terrorism that it was.
In addition, the President should apologize for and back off from his new
administration proposal that members of the U.S. Armed Services and their
families, as well as veterans, start paying a much larger percentage of their
health care expenses. This not only would violate the contract America made
with these warriors and their families when they signed up to fight for our
country, but is particularly disturbing since no unionized civilian workers who
work for the Department of Defense would have a similar requirement.
These are just a few of the things Obama should apologize to the military for. There
is also a laundry list of apologies he and his appointees owe to the American
people as a whole. For example, he should say he is sorry for:
.Increasing our national debt to a level that will burden our children and grandchildren
for decades.
Pushing through Congress a healthcare bill that is not only destroying the best health
care system in the world, but will force many people to have their premiums for
health care rise while rationing services to much of the population,
particularly senior citizens.
Proposing and getting passed a phony economic stimulus package that not only failed to
create jobs and growth in the economy, but instead used taxpayer dollars to
reward companies and individuals who provided financial support to the Obama
campaign and the Democratic Party.
Making executive branch appointments of Czars and others without getting the
constitutionally required approval of the U.S. Senate.
Using the power of his office to severely limit domestic energy production and making
us more dependent on unstable foreign sources. This has resulted in the rising
cost of gasoline and home heating oil in the U.S. and the inflationary spiral
in the cost of food and other items.
Ignoring the balance of powers in the Constitution and using Executive Orders and
actions by Executive Branch departments and agencies such as the EPA and FCC to
enforce Cap and Trade, stifle Internet freedom, institute gun control laws, and
grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. These are all things that Congress
refused to pass and the President has no Constitutional authority to do on his
own.
Launching an all-out assault on the freedom of religion guaranteed in the 1st
Amendment by ordering religious institutions and hospitals to provide
contraceptive and abortion services that violate their religious views.
Trying to institute class warfare in this country in order to guarantee his
reelection.
Accusing anyone who disagrees with his policies of being racist.
And last, but certainly not least, repeatedly and blatantly
violating his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States.
Of course, there is much more that could be listed here, but it all boils down to one thing
and that is that I owe no apology to the President. Mr. Obama, you do not speak for me, represent
me, or believe in any of the things that make this country free and great. Come
November, you have to be prepared to pack your bags and move back to wherever
you came from. I will continue to cling to my guns and religion and to the
Constitution that you abhor. This American has had enough!
needed or warranted. The incident involved American military personnel at a
base in Afghanistan being given documents in Arabic and told to dispose of
them. Apparently, the documents included pages from the Muslim Holy book, the
Quran; however, there was nothing to identify them specifically to the soldiers
as such.
They had actually been confiscated because the pages contained hand written notes
from Taliban prisoners inside the base who were attempting to use the books to
communicate with each other and their comrades outside of the base. These
people are enemies of Afghanistan and the United States. Once the books were
used to pass illegal communications they ceased to be holy books, but instead
became documents of war defaced by the Muslim prisoners themselves, and burning
them was entirely appropriate.
However ,rightly or wrongly, the U.S. Commander for the area issued an apology and that
should have been enough, yet radical Muslims fanned the flames and riots broke
out, and the killing of Americans in retaliation was openly advocated. At this
point any legitimate President of the United States would have stepped up to defend
the men and women who serve us in the military, and demand that the Afghan
government get the riots under control. Of course, that is not what Barack
Obama did.
America’s apologist in chief issued a written apology to the Afghan government and people
and to the Muslim world in general. This apology served only to embolden the
Taliban that rejected it and renewed its calls for the killing of Americans.
Their efforts paid off and American soldiers were killed and wounded as a
result. Once again, Obama’s response to this was not to demand an end to the
riots and murder of American military personnel, but to have the Pentagon issue
yet another apology, this time to the Muslim community in America.
This is the same President who shortly after he was elected went on his world
apology tour during which he bowed to
the Muslim King of Saudi Arabia and told Muslims and everyone else he spoke to
how sorry he was for the history of American arrogance and greed when dealing
with the rest of the world. I personally consider that a direct insult to the
men and women of this country who have sacrificed their lives over the years to
defend freedom around the world and the enormous American responses to help
those in need.
As a result of all of this many people are demanding that Obama stop apologizing,
however, I disagree. He has a lot of apologies to make.
He can begin by apologizing to the families of the American officers who lost
their lives as a result of the entire made up crisis over the Quran, and he
should explain why he did not backup our military. He should also be demanding that the Afghan
government apologize to us for failing to maintain control of their own people
who are rioting over this perceived insult.
Then he should say he is sorry for the military lives that have been lost in order
for him to further his reelection campaign. By setting dates for the withdrawal
of American troops from Afghanistan he encouraged the Taliban to keep fighting.
He also needs to apologize to our soldiers for sending them into combat with
arbitrary rules of engagement that limit their ability to fight effectively and
protect themselves. All of this was done to appease his left wing base.
He must apologize to the wounded and the families of the men and women who died in
a terrorist attack by a radical Muslim at Fort Hood, Texas. How dare he demean
their loss by having his administration refer to this as an incident of “work
place violence,” rather than the savage act of Islamic terrorism that it was.
In addition, the President should apologize for and back off from his new
administration proposal that members of the U.S. Armed Services and their
families, as well as veterans, start paying a much larger percentage of their
health care expenses. This not only would violate the contract America made
with these warriors and their families when they signed up to fight for our
country, but is particularly disturbing since no unionized civilian workers who
work for the Department of Defense would have a similar requirement.
These are just a few of the things Obama should apologize to the military for. There
is also a laundry list of apologies he and his appointees owe to the American
people as a whole. For example, he should say he is sorry for:
.Increasing our national debt to a level that will burden our children and grandchildren
for decades.
Pushing through Congress a healthcare bill that is not only destroying the best health
care system in the world, but will force many people to have their premiums for
health care rise while rationing services to much of the population,
particularly senior citizens.
Proposing and getting passed a phony economic stimulus package that not only failed to
create jobs and growth in the economy, but instead used taxpayer dollars to
reward companies and individuals who provided financial support to the Obama
campaign and the Democratic Party.
Making executive branch appointments of Czars and others without getting the
constitutionally required approval of the U.S. Senate.
Using the power of his office to severely limit domestic energy production and making
us more dependent on unstable foreign sources. This has resulted in the rising
cost of gasoline and home heating oil in the U.S. and the inflationary spiral
in the cost of food and other items.
Ignoring the balance of powers in the Constitution and using Executive Orders and
actions by Executive Branch departments and agencies such as the EPA and FCC to
enforce Cap and Trade, stifle Internet freedom, institute gun control laws, and
grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. These are all things that Congress
refused to pass and the President has no Constitutional authority to do on his
own.
Launching an all-out assault on the freedom of religion guaranteed in the 1st
Amendment by ordering religious institutions and hospitals to provide
contraceptive and abortion services that violate their religious views.
Trying to institute class warfare in this country in order to guarantee his
reelection.
Accusing anyone who disagrees with his policies of being racist.
And last, but certainly not least, repeatedly and blatantly
violating his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States.
Of course, there is much more that could be listed here, but it all boils down to one thing
and that is that I owe no apology to the President. Mr. Obama, you do not speak for me, represent
me, or believe in any of the things that make this country free and great. Come
November, you have to be prepared to pack your bags and move back to wherever
you came from. I will continue to cling to my guns and religion and to the
Constitution that you abhor. This American has had enough!
IN MEMORIAM: OUR CONSTITUTION
Posted February 9, 2012
Barack Obama and the other elitists in Washington consider themselves superior beings that have not only the right, but the duty to control the rest of us. We are no longer considered free citizens of the United States, but subjects who must be taught to obey our rulers. As subjects we have no inherent rights, only those rights granted to us by the elitists, who in their infinite wisdom have the power and authority to limit or abolish those rights as they see fit. Unfortunately, while many Americans are blissfully unaware of it that is exactly what is happening.
The Bill of Rights that was designed to protect the God given rights of American citizens from intrusion by the Federal government and it is being shredded by the Obama administration. Every one of the first ten amendments to the Constitution is under assault with the First and Second amendments being among the prime targets. The current attack on the freedom of religion is a prime example.
In August of 2009 when I started this blog by writing my first article on HR 3200, the original version of Obamacare, I made the following observations: “The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.”
I was immediately attacked by the left for making false claims about what was in the health care bills, yet everything I stated is taking place. Catholic Bishops around the country were convinced to support Obamacare because they were assured that there would be no abortions paid for by the government, and no religious institutions or individuals would be forced to violate their religious beliefs. Now, these same Bishops are up in arms because they have learned that they were lied to. Through the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, the Obama administration has informed Catholic hospitals, universities and other religious institutions that they must provide health insurance coverage to employees that will have to include contraceptive devises and abortion inducing medication with no co-pay.
This directly contradicts the teachings of the Catholic religion. Whether you agree with their position or not, the forcing of this on the Church is a direct violation of freedom of religion as guaranteed under the First Amendment of the Constitution. It is clearly only the first step. The next order will be to force Catholic hospitals, doctors, and nurses to provide abortions. Ironically, the health care bill itself does not contain this mandate. This is being done by Executive action by Obama and it is certainly something he has no authority to do under the Constitution.
Freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment is also under constant attack. After our victory over the bills pending in the U.S. House and Senate that would have given Obama a virtual “kill switch” allowing him to shut down the Internet, Obama has decided to bypass Congress and sign an international treaty pushed by the United Nations that will give him the same type of control. Of course, any treaty signed by the President must be approved by two thirds of the Senate. However, Obama has reportedly decided to ignore this Constitutional mandate and bypass the Senate. He claims he has the authority to do this under the so-called “Sole Executive Agreement” doctrine. No such doctrine is provided for in the Constitution.
There are also strong indications that Obama intends to invoke the same unconstitutional power to sign and enforce the U.N. Small Arms treaty. I have read the draft of this treaty and it is directly designed to force the disarmament of American citizens in violation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution. The Supreme Court ruled in 1957 that no treaty, even if signed by the President and ratified by the Senate can supersede the rights of U.S. citizens protected by the Constitution. Yet, clearly, Obama intends to ignore the U.S. Senate, the Supreme Court, and the Constitution to impose his will on us. I will state it bluntly, Obama is out of control. He considers himself a dictator.
I sincerely hope I am premature in declaring the Constitution dead. I will continue to fight for it, but obviously the President of the United States and his minions already consider it dead and buried. Americans must wake up now and take back our country!
THE STATE OF THE CONSTITUTION
Posted January 30, 2012
President
Obama made his 2012 State of the Union address and as expected, it was
primarily a campaign speech to reinforce his changes for re-election in
November. He is not the first President to have done this, and will
probably not be the last. However, this speech was different because
what Americans need to look at now, and consider when voting in
November, is not just the State of the Union, but the State of the
Constitution. The fact is that if we discard our Constitution there will
be no union. The United States of America will cease to exist.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration, with the help of the leftist elite in the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, and even some Federal judges are systematically destroying our Constitution, our freedoms, and our country. It is not an accident; it is being done with malice and design. Here are the facts about what has occurred in the three years that Obama has been in office.
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution has been violated by Congress passing the Obama health care bill. Congress has no authority under that section or any other section of the Constitution to enact legislation requiring the American people to purchase health care insurance, or to provide free health care to illegal aliens. Yet, this among other things is what has been done. I am confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule that it is unconstitutional; yet, President Obama has repeatedly shown his disdain for the rulings of the Judicial Branch of government.
Article 1, Section 1 of the Constitution also gives Congress the sole legislative powers in the federal government. Article 2 of the Constitution that establishes the Presidency and the Executive Branch of government gives no such legislative powers to the President. In other words, only Congress can make laws and the President and his cabinet appointees can only enforce laws made by Congress; the President has no authority to make laws. Yet, that is exactly what Obama is doing.
By misusing the power to issue Executive orders to enforce laws or take emergency action if Congress is not in session the President is bypassing Congress and the Constitution to implement his personal agenda on immigration, cap and trade, gun control, and in many other areas. He actually brags about this in his taxpayer funded campaign speeches, and during the State of the Union Address he stated that he plans to continue the practice if Congress doesn’t do exactly what he demands.
In addition, ever since he took office Obama has continuously violated Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution by making appoints to major positions in the Executive Branch of government without the required Senate approval. I’m referring of course to the over 40 Czars that the President has appointed. These appointments are in numerous areas from overseeing the takeover of the automobile industry to regulating free speech on the internet. These Czars are not under the control of the Congress, and are given massive budgets at taxpayer expense. By the way, the very use of the term Czar violates Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution that specifically forbids the U.S. government from bestowing titles of nobility on anyone.
Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution does give the President the right to make short term appointments when the Senate is in recess. The important point here is that the Constitution only empowers the Senate to declare when it is in recess. Obama recently showed his disdain for that part of our governing document by making several high level appointments when the Senate had not formally declared a recess. Obama claimed he has the right to decide when the Senate is in recess. The purpose of these appointments was to put people in positions of power that the Senate would not have approved. The reasons are already becoming clear because the new appointees to the National Labor Relations Board are preparing to order companies that are not unionized to turn over the private phone numbers and email addresses of their employees to labor union organizers. This is a clear violation of the right of privacy of these individuals.
Article 2, Section 2 also authorizes the President of the United States to sign treaties with other countries; however, the Senate must ratify the treaties by a two thirds vote of those Senators present and voting. Now Obama has decided that this Constitutional requirement should not keep him from doing what he wants. Since the SOPA and PIPA bills were withdrawn in Congress Obama is looking for a new way to take control of the Internet and limit freedom of speech.
According to the U.S. Justice Foundation Obama is going to sign and enforce an international treaty “which will give governments and special interest groups the power to shut down websites, and terminate your access to the internet, without the due process of law.” It is called the ACTA Treaty and Obama does not intend to send it to the Senate for ratification, but instead will do it as a “sole Executive Agreement.”
There is nothing in the Constitution that allows such agreements although Federal courts have allowed Presidents to enter into some international agreements that are minor in nature. The ACTA agreement is not minor, but would allow websites to be shut down, such as my blog site, at the whim of the President. I also suspect that Obama is planning to use the same approach to enter into and enforce the United Nations “Small Arms Treaty” that would virtually eliminate the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution that protects the rights of Americans to keep and bear arms.
The state of the constitution is not good; in fact it is gravely ill. This article has just scratched the surface and in my next post I will talk more about Obama’s all out assault on the Bill of Rights. A good friend of mine recently said that this upcoming election is not about personalities or even the economy. It is instead a referendum on the Constitution and whether it and our American way of life are to survive. I concur with that statement.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration, with the help of the leftist elite in the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, and even some Federal judges are systematically destroying our Constitution, our freedoms, and our country. It is not an accident; it is being done with malice and design. Here are the facts about what has occurred in the three years that Obama has been in office.
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution has been violated by Congress passing the Obama health care bill. Congress has no authority under that section or any other section of the Constitution to enact legislation requiring the American people to purchase health care insurance, or to provide free health care to illegal aliens. Yet, this among other things is what has been done. I am confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule that it is unconstitutional; yet, President Obama has repeatedly shown his disdain for the rulings of the Judicial Branch of government.
Article 1, Section 1 of the Constitution also gives Congress the sole legislative powers in the federal government. Article 2 of the Constitution that establishes the Presidency and the Executive Branch of government gives no such legislative powers to the President. In other words, only Congress can make laws and the President and his cabinet appointees can only enforce laws made by Congress; the President has no authority to make laws. Yet, that is exactly what Obama is doing.
By misusing the power to issue Executive orders to enforce laws or take emergency action if Congress is not in session the President is bypassing Congress and the Constitution to implement his personal agenda on immigration, cap and trade, gun control, and in many other areas. He actually brags about this in his taxpayer funded campaign speeches, and during the State of the Union Address he stated that he plans to continue the practice if Congress doesn’t do exactly what he demands.
In addition, ever since he took office Obama has continuously violated Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution by making appoints to major positions in the Executive Branch of government without the required Senate approval. I’m referring of course to the over 40 Czars that the President has appointed. These appointments are in numerous areas from overseeing the takeover of the automobile industry to regulating free speech on the internet. These Czars are not under the control of the Congress, and are given massive budgets at taxpayer expense. By the way, the very use of the term Czar violates Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution that specifically forbids the U.S. government from bestowing titles of nobility on anyone.
Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution does give the President the right to make short term appointments when the Senate is in recess. The important point here is that the Constitution only empowers the Senate to declare when it is in recess. Obama recently showed his disdain for that part of our governing document by making several high level appointments when the Senate had not formally declared a recess. Obama claimed he has the right to decide when the Senate is in recess. The purpose of these appointments was to put people in positions of power that the Senate would not have approved. The reasons are already becoming clear because the new appointees to the National Labor Relations Board are preparing to order companies that are not unionized to turn over the private phone numbers and email addresses of their employees to labor union organizers. This is a clear violation of the right of privacy of these individuals.
Article 2, Section 2 also authorizes the President of the United States to sign treaties with other countries; however, the Senate must ratify the treaties by a two thirds vote of those Senators present and voting. Now Obama has decided that this Constitutional requirement should not keep him from doing what he wants. Since the SOPA and PIPA bills were withdrawn in Congress Obama is looking for a new way to take control of the Internet and limit freedom of speech.
According to the U.S. Justice Foundation Obama is going to sign and enforce an international treaty “which will give governments and special interest groups the power to shut down websites, and terminate your access to the internet, without the due process of law.” It is called the ACTA Treaty and Obama does not intend to send it to the Senate for ratification, but instead will do it as a “sole Executive Agreement.”
There is nothing in the Constitution that allows such agreements although Federal courts have allowed Presidents to enter into some international agreements that are minor in nature. The ACTA agreement is not minor, but would allow websites to be shut down, such as my blog site, at the whim of the President. I also suspect that Obama is planning to use the same approach to enter into and enforce the United Nations “Small Arms Treaty” that would virtually eliminate the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution that protects the rights of Americans to keep and bear arms.
The state of the constitution is not good; in fact it is gravely ill. This article has just scratched the surface and in my next post I will talk more about Obama’s all out assault on the Bill of Rights. A good friend of mine recently said that this upcoming election is not about personalities or even the economy. It is instead a referendum on the Constitution and whether it and our American way of life are to survive. I concur with that statement.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Posted January 20, 2012
Great
news! The two bills mentioned in my recent blog designed to regulate
the Internet have been pulled out of consideration in both the House of
Representatives and the Senate. I refer specifically to HR 3261, the
Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and Senate Bill S 968, the Protect
Intellectual Property Act (PIPA).
This is directly due to the loss of support the proposed bills suffered as a direct result of the public outcry made by people like you. I know that many of you had been working on defeating this legislation long before I wrote my article and want to say congratulations to all of you for a strong effort that paid off. This proves that in this election year we can have an impact by continuing to contact our representatives and senators.
The fight is far from over because it is likely that the liberals will try to introduce this type of legislation again in a different form and it is also likely that Obama may try to bypass Congress by having the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) illegally implement similar restrictions on freedom by agency action. We must stay vigilant and I will keep you informed through my blog and radio show.
By the way, you can now listen to my radio show on your Smart phone. You find out how at this link http://www.radiosandysprings.com/index.php?id=1
This is directly due to the loss of support the proposed bills suffered as a direct result of the public outcry made by people like you. I know that many of you had been working on defeating this legislation long before I wrote my article and want to say congratulations to all of you for a strong effort that paid off. This proves that in this election year we can have an impact by continuing to contact our representatives and senators.
The fight is far from over because it is likely that the liberals will try to introduce this type of legislation again in a different form and it is also likely that Obama may try to bypass Congress by having the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) illegally implement similar restrictions on freedom by agency action. We must stay vigilant and I will keep you informed through my blog and radio show.
By the way, you can now listen to my radio show on your Smart phone. You find out how at this link http://www.radiosandysprings.com/index.php?id=1
LEGISLATIVE ALERT!
Posted January 18, 2012
I pointed out in my last blog article that President Obama has started
off the year by continuing to ignore Congress and implement his
socialist agenda by using Executive action. However, that does not mean
that the rest of us can also ignore Congress. There are currently some
important pieces of legislation pending in either the House or the
Senate that demand the attention of every patriotic American. Some of
them merit our support while other bills need to be defeated.
There are two pieces of pending legislation that are very dangerous to our First Amendment rights since they are designed to limit our ability to use the Internet to express ourselves, and to find out the truth about what is actually happening in our country. These are HR 3261, the so called “Stop Internet Piracy Act” (SOPA) in the House of Representatives, and S 968 in the Senate, the “Protect Intellectual Property Act” (PIPA), The Senate version has heavy support from the usual far left Democrats while surprisingly the House version has a lot of Republican support.
Both pieces of legislation profess to have noble intentions to prevent Internet piracy, and copyright infringement, . However, I have read the proposed bills and both of them contain some very dangerous language that would basically give President Obama and his Attorney General, Eric Holder a kill switch over the Internet. For example, if you have a website and post content from other websites on it the government can shut you down if anyone complains that you don’t have permission to use the material.
The key is, “if anyone complains.” If I give you permission to repost my articles and you do so, it would not me necessary for me to claim you misused them, anyone can do it and you would be shut down until you proved otherwise. It is assumed you are guilty until you take the time and go to the expense to prove your innocence. There are other provisions in both bills that would essentially allow the Federal government to severely restrict and control the content of the Internet such as is the case in countries like Iran and China. Please contact your representative and Senators and urge them to oppose these bills.
On the other hand, there are some good pieces of legislation that have been introduced in the House of Representatives that I urge you to support. The first is HR 973 that restricts the use of foreign law in deciding cases in U. S. Courts. This bill has become extremely important in light of the recent unbelievable ruling by the U. S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a lower Federal ruling striking down an amendment to the state Constitution of Oklahoma that was adopted by a favorable vote of 70% of the people of Oklahoma. The amendment stated in part, "The courts shall not look to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures. Specifically, the courts shall not consider international law or Sharia law."
A Muslim representative from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a radical Islamic group, challenged the law on the grounds that it violated his freedom of religion. The court agreed and found the state constitutional amendment unconstitutional under the Federal Constitution. This ruling is incredible to me since Sharia law relegates women to what amounts to slave status. Under Sharia law women are subordinate to men, and a Muslim man can rape, beat, and even kill his wife for virtually any reason. He can also murder his daughters if they “dishonor the family” by dating a non Muslim or adopting American dress or habits.
If this court ruling is allowed to stand Sharia law could potentially be used as a valid defense against charges brought by U. S. prosecutors for any of these crimes. HR 973 is designed to prevent that from happening. It is sponsored by Republican Representative Sandy Adams of Florida and has 83 cosponsors. Contact your representative now and ask them to support this important legislation.
Two other house bills that need your support are HR 204 and HR 2913. The first cuts Congressional pay and the second cuts the extravagant benefits given to members of Congress. For example, if you serve one term in the House of Representatives you get full retirement benefits for the rest of your life. On the other hand, if you risk your life serving our country in the military you get no retirement benefits at all until you have served at least twenty years. At a time when our deficit is at an all time high and many Americans are struggling to even feed their families, it is time for members of Congress to share some of the sacrifices that the rest of us face.
HR 204 was introduced by Democrat Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and has only 18 cosponsors while HR 2913 was introduced by Republican Mike Coffman of Colorado and has only 15 cosponsors. Let your representatives know you expect them to support these bills.
There are two pieces of pending legislation that are very dangerous to our First Amendment rights since they are designed to limit our ability to use the Internet to express ourselves, and to find out the truth about what is actually happening in our country. These are HR 3261, the so called “Stop Internet Piracy Act” (SOPA) in the House of Representatives, and S 968 in the Senate, the “Protect Intellectual Property Act” (PIPA), The Senate version has heavy support from the usual far left Democrats while surprisingly the House version has a lot of Republican support.
Both pieces of legislation profess to have noble intentions to prevent Internet piracy, and copyright infringement, . However, I have read the proposed bills and both of them contain some very dangerous language that would basically give President Obama and his Attorney General, Eric Holder a kill switch over the Internet. For example, if you have a website and post content from other websites on it the government can shut you down if anyone complains that you don’t have permission to use the material.
The key is, “if anyone complains.” If I give you permission to repost my articles and you do so, it would not me necessary for me to claim you misused them, anyone can do it and you would be shut down until you proved otherwise. It is assumed you are guilty until you take the time and go to the expense to prove your innocence. There are other provisions in both bills that would essentially allow the Federal government to severely restrict and control the content of the Internet such as is the case in countries like Iran and China. Please contact your representative and Senators and urge them to oppose these bills.
On the other hand, there are some good pieces of legislation that have been introduced in the House of Representatives that I urge you to support. The first is HR 973 that restricts the use of foreign law in deciding cases in U. S. Courts. This bill has become extremely important in light of the recent unbelievable ruling by the U. S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a lower Federal ruling striking down an amendment to the state Constitution of Oklahoma that was adopted by a favorable vote of 70% of the people of Oklahoma. The amendment stated in part, "The courts shall not look to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures. Specifically, the courts shall not consider international law or Sharia law."
A Muslim representative from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a radical Islamic group, challenged the law on the grounds that it violated his freedom of religion. The court agreed and found the state constitutional amendment unconstitutional under the Federal Constitution. This ruling is incredible to me since Sharia law relegates women to what amounts to slave status. Under Sharia law women are subordinate to men, and a Muslim man can rape, beat, and even kill his wife for virtually any reason. He can also murder his daughters if they “dishonor the family” by dating a non Muslim or adopting American dress or habits.
If this court ruling is allowed to stand Sharia law could potentially be used as a valid defense against charges brought by U. S. prosecutors for any of these crimes. HR 973 is designed to prevent that from happening. It is sponsored by Republican Representative Sandy Adams of Florida and has 83 cosponsors. Contact your representative now and ask them to support this important legislation.
Two other house bills that need your support are HR 204 and HR 2913. The first cuts Congressional pay and the second cuts the extravagant benefits given to members of Congress. For example, if you serve one term in the House of Representatives you get full retirement benefits for the rest of your life. On the other hand, if you risk your life serving our country in the military you get no retirement benefits at all until you have served at least twenty years. At a time when our deficit is at an all time high and many Americans are struggling to even feed their families, it is time for members of Congress to share some of the sacrifices that the rest of us face.
HR 204 was introduced by Democrat Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and has only 18 cosponsors while HR 2913 was introduced by Republican Mike Coffman of Colorado and has only 15 cosponsors. Let your representatives know you expect them to support these bills.
AMERICA’S EMERGING DICTATORSHIP
Posted January 11, 2012
When
our founding fathers declared our independence from Great Britain in
1776 the colonists were already in the middle of a bloody and costly war
to secure their freedom. Once the war was successfully concluded it was
necessary to create a new nation with a form of government that would
not allow a single individual or group to establish another totalitarian
regime and steal the freedom of Americans.
It took years and one failed effort with the Articles of Confederation before the founders settled on the Constitution of the United States that established a unique type of government with three separate, but equal branches of branches. These are the executive branch that includes an elected President and his cabinet appointees, the legislative branch that consists of a Congress made up of two houses, the Senate and House of Representatives, and the judicial branch that consists of the Supreme Court and any lower federal courts that Congress might authorize.
A system of checks and balances was put into place to ensure that none of the three branches would be able to dominate the others and establish a dictatorship. In addition, the basic distrust of a powerful centralized government caused the framers of the Constitution to adopt the Bill of Rights that protected the rights of both individual Americans and the various states that formed the United States of America. The system has worked so well that our country became the most prosperous and powerful nation in the world.
Yet, now, almost 250 years later, elements in all three branches of government are conspiring to shred the Constitution and rob us of our God given rights. We have a rapidly emerging dictatorship and prime examples of it can be found in what is occurring in the first days of this New Year. As part of the balance of powers prescribed in the Constitution, the U.S. Senate must approve Presidential appointments to major positions in the Executive Branch of Government. The only exception is that during the times that the Senate is in recess the President can make appointments without the approval of the Senate, but they are temporary in nature.
However, on January 4, 2012, President Obama appointed three members to the National Labor Relations Board and a new “Czar” to head the Consumer Protection Agency without Senate approval despite the fact that the Senate was not in recess. This has created a Constitutional crisis of epic proportions.
I refer to this as a Constitutional crisis because this is not the first such action Obama has taken that has clearly violated not only the provisions of the Constitution, but also his oath of office, and he obviously plans to continue ignoring both the legislative and judicial branches of government. In fact, he actually brags about what he is doing while campaigning for reelection at the expense of American taxpayers.
There is now no doubt that the current President of the United States considers himself a de facto dictator who is so much smarter than the rest of us that he can ignore the Constitution, the supreme law of our nation, and do whatever he wants. History has taught that in order to establish an effective dictatorship there must be three decisive actions taken.
First, if the military in the country is patriotic and pro freedom, it must be marginalized to minimize its ability to resist the imposition of tyranny. Right after the New Year, Obama announced drastic cuts in the size and strength of our military forces across the board. He is claiming to have the authority to do this under the bill passed by Congress that created the so-called super committee that was to enact wide ranging spending cuts.
If it failed to do so there would be massive reductions of the defense budget. In previous articles I pointed out that the very creation of this super committee was unconstitutional and that its failure to act would cause the “doomsday scenario” to unfold for our military. Unfortunately, not only are my predictions coming true, but Obama is not even waiting for the automatic cuts to begin in 2013, he is unilaterally moving to destroy the military now.
Secondly, the citizens of any country to be subjugated must be disarmed in order to diminish their ability to resist the imposition of a dictatorship. It is now clear, by virtue of the ongoing investigation in Congress of “Operation Fast and Furious” that over 2500 semi automatic weapons were sold to Mexican drug dealers on orders from the U.S. government not for the purpose of entrapping the drug dealers, but so Obama could impose gun control laws on U.S. citizens. He has now done so by Executive Order, bypassing Congress that had refused to take the same action.
In addition, Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton have pledged to sign the United Nations Small Arms Treaty that specifically targets private gun ownership in the United States. This treaty would essentially abolish the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution and make private ownership of firearms illegal despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has twice ruled that the right to keep and bear arms is a valid and individual right under the provisions of the Constitution.
Of course, the Constitution requires that any treaty that is signed by a President must be approved by two thirds of the Senate to be valid. The U.S. Supreme Court has also ruled that no treaty can supersede the provisions of the Constitution, particularly those that deal with individual rights. All of this would seem to render the treaty moot since two thirds of the current Senate will not ratify it, and it clearly violates the provisions of the second amendment.
So why is Obama pushing for it? Simply put, he believes he can ignore the Senate and the court, sign the treaty, and then allow the United Nations to begin enforcing it. If you believe that he won’t try that, just look at what he has done in other areas.
The third goal of an effective dictatorship involves limiting the rights of the citizens to have free speech and a free press. People who can’t communicate and learn the truth are easier to control. Most of the main stream media in this country have already relinquished their freedom of the press and are doing whatever Obama tells them to do. Those that oppose him are under constant assault and Obama’s minions on the Federal Communications Commission are looking for ways to shut down conservative talk radio and control internet content. This is despite the fact that the Supreme Court has said that the FCC has no authority to regulate the Internet. Once again, Obama has issued orders that the Supreme Court and the Constitution be ignored.
Even more frightening is the fact that legislation pending in both houses of Congress will effectively give Obama an Internet kill switch. It is being pushed in the Senate by the usual leftists like Reid and Schumer, but in the House of Representatives it is some Republicans that are pushing it. My next blog article will contain more information about these and other bills pending in Congress.
The bottom line is, we are headed for a country that is no longer a Republic, but a nation controlled entirely by a small group of elitists, and unless the American people wake up soon it will be too late to stop it.
It took years and one failed effort with the Articles of Confederation before the founders settled on the Constitution of the United States that established a unique type of government with three separate, but equal branches of branches. These are the executive branch that includes an elected President and his cabinet appointees, the legislative branch that consists of a Congress made up of two houses, the Senate and House of Representatives, and the judicial branch that consists of the Supreme Court and any lower federal courts that Congress might authorize.
A system of checks and balances was put into place to ensure that none of the three branches would be able to dominate the others and establish a dictatorship. In addition, the basic distrust of a powerful centralized government caused the framers of the Constitution to adopt the Bill of Rights that protected the rights of both individual Americans and the various states that formed the United States of America. The system has worked so well that our country became the most prosperous and powerful nation in the world.
Yet, now, almost 250 years later, elements in all three branches of government are conspiring to shred the Constitution and rob us of our God given rights. We have a rapidly emerging dictatorship and prime examples of it can be found in what is occurring in the first days of this New Year. As part of the balance of powers prescribed in the Constitution, the U.S. Senate must approve Presidential appointments to major positions in the Executive Branch of Government. The only exception is that during the times that the Senate is in recess the President can make appointments without the approval of the Senate, but they are temporary in nature.
However, on January 4, 2012, President Obama appointed three members to the National Labor Relations Board and a new “Czar” to head the Consumer Protection Agency without Senate approval despite the fact that the Senate was not in recess. This has created a Constitutional crisis of epic proportions.
I refer to this as a Constitutional crisis because this is not the first such action Obama has taken that has clearly violated not only the provisions of the Constitution, but also his oath of office, and he obviously plans to continue ignoring both the legislative and judicial branches of government. In fact, he actually brags about what he is doing while campaigning for reelection at the expense of American taxpayers.
There is now no doubt that the current President of the United States considers himself a de facto dictator who is so much smarter than the rest of us that he can ignore the Constitution, the supreme law of our nation, and do whatever he wants. History has taught that in order to establish an effective dictatorship there must be three decisive actions taken.
First, if the military in the country is patriotic and pro freedom, it must be marginalized to minimize its ability to resist the imposition of tyranny. Right after the New Year, Obama announced drastic cuts in the size and strength of our military forces across the board. He is claiming to have the authority to do this under the bill passed by Congress that created the so-called super committee that was to enact wide ranging spending cuts.
If it failed to do so there would be massive reductions of the defense budget. In previous articles I pointed out that the very creation of this super committee was unconstitutional and that its failure to act would cause the “doomsday scenario” to unfold for our military. Unfortunately, not only are my predictions coming true, but Obama is not even waiting for the automatic cuts to begin in 2013, he is unilaterally moving to destroy the military now.
Secondly, the citizens of any country to be subjugated must be disarmed in order to diminish their ability to resist the imposition of a dictatorship. It is now clear, by virtue of the ongoing investigation in Congress of “Operation Fast and Furious” that over 2500 semi automatic weapons were sold to Mexican drug dealers on orders from the U.S. government not for the purpose of entrapping the drug dealers, but so Obama could impose gun control laws on U.S. citizens. He has now done so by Executive Order, bypassing Congress that had refused to take the same action.
In addition, Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton have pledged to sign the United Nations Small Arms Treaty that specifically targets private gun ownership in the United States. This treaty would essentially abolish the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution and make private ownership of firearms illegal despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has twice ruled that the right to keep and bear arms is a valid and individual right under the provisions of the Constitution.
Of course, the Constitution requires that any treaty that is signed by a President must be approved by two thirds of the Senate to be valid. The U.S. Supreme Court has also ruled that no treaty can supersede the provisions of the Constitution, particularly those that deal with individual rights. All of this would seem to render the treaty moot since two thirds of the current Senate will not ratify it, and it clearly violates the provisions of the second amendment.
So why is Obama pushing for it? Simply put, he believes he can ignore the Senate and the court, sign the treaty, and then allow the United Nations to begin enforcing it. If you believe that he won’t try that, just look at what he has done in other areas.
The third goal of an effective dictatorship involves limiting the rights of the citizens to have free speech and a free press. People who can’t communicate and learn the truth are easier to control. Most of the main stream media in this country have already relinquished their freedom of the press and are doing whatever Obama tells them to do. Those that oppose him are under constant assault and Obama’s minions on the Federal Communications Commission are looking for ways to shut down conservative talk radio and control internet content. This is despite the fact that the Supreme Court has said that the FCC has no authority to regulate the Internet. Once again, Obama has issued orders that the Supreme Court and the Constitution be ignored.
Even more frightening is the fact that legislation pending in both houses of Congress will effectively give Obama an Internet kill switch. It is being pushed in the Senate by the usual leftists like Reid and Schumer, but in the House of Representatives it is some Republicans that are pushing it. My next blog article will contain more information about these and other bills pending in Congress.
The bottom line is, we are headed for a country that is no longer a Republic, but a nation controlled entirely by a small group of elitists, and unless the American people wake up soon it will be too late to stop it.
IN MEMORY OF PATRICK
Posted January 4, 2012
On December 21, 2011 my son Patrick died of complications related to a
rare degenerative muscle disease that was untreatable. He was only 36
years old. Many of you who are reading this were aware of Patrick’s epic
struggle with this disease and supported him with your prayers.
However, few knew who Patrick really was.
He was a brilliant young man with an IQ that was off the charts and that sometimes caused him problems. He didn’t fit in with his fellow students in high school and the teachers had trouble dealing with someone who could read an entire textbook in a few days and often got bored in class as a result. He actually dropped out of high school at one point and then got his GED, but decided to go back to high school and get his diploma because he didn’t want to leave anything unfinished.
Patrick was an Eagle Scout and was very proud of that fact. He was also a member of the elite scout honor society, the Order of the Arrow. He loved the outdoors and spent several summers as a camp counselor teaching young people about the beauty of nature. At the same time he was a black belt in karate and an accomplished kick boxer.
Patrick always wanted to help other people so he decided to go to nursing school and was determined to pay his own way by starting several small and successful businesses. He was also a patriot and joined the Louisiana Army National Guard and became a combat medic. When he graduated from nursing school he became a traveling nurse working in one of the most challenging and stressful areas of medicine, Emergency room care. However, Patrick felt that this was where he could do the most good.
In 2004 while he was working in Connecticut he volunteered to go to Iraq as a combat medic to join his older brother Sean who was a combat engineer officer. However, since he was a registered nurse the army decided to commission him as an officer and send him overseas as a nurse. Unfortunately, he failed his physical because of an irregular heart beat that was ironically the first indication of the emerging health problems. He received an honorable discharge from the military, but I learned just a few years ago that he felt guilty because he had not been able to serve his country overseas as his brothers Sean and Tim had done.
Yet, Patrick soon found another way to serve his fellow Americans. In August of 2005 he and his wife had moved back to our home town, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which is just 60 miles north of New Orleans. When Hurricane Katrina roared through New Orleans and caused massive devastation and loss of life, many of the refugees and injured ended up in Baton Rouge. The hospitals were soon overwhelmed so many of the injured and homeless were housed on the Louisiana State University campus.
Pat was working his regular eight hour shift at the hospital and then going on from there directly to the LSU campus where he worked another eight to ten hours a day as a volunteer nurse. This went on for weeks and I later learned that he and his wife Sarah gave away virtually all of their clothes to the people of New Orleans who had lost everything. For a long time Patrick had nothing to wear but his nursing scrubs.
In 2006 my wife Kay, who was Patrick’s stepmother, was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer. Patrick and Sarah came to visit us in Dallas and wanted to know where Kay would like to go on a trip. Kay decided on Disney World where we had spent so many wonderful times with our six children. Pat and Sarah gave us $1,000 to get things started and then our other children, our many friends, and my fellow veterans jumped in to help raise enough money to give us a remarkable final trip together.
Shortly after Kay died in June 2008 Patrick made a special trip to stay with me for three days in Dallas. We cried together over our loss and then he went on his way to continue his ER nursing career. I knew he was having health problems, but it was not until early 2011 that it was determined that he had a terminal illness. Patrick continued to fight the disease and to work doing what he loved, helping others as an ER nurse. We talked often and I marveled at his courage. Then, about six months ago all communications between Patrick and I ceased.
He stopped talking to me. He wouldn’t respond to my emails or telephone messages. Then, I learned that he had died while in California, still working as an ER nurse. He had continued to work despite being in severe pain. I then heard from Pat’s sister, my oldest daughter that he had talked to her and told her that he knew I had watched my wife die and he didn’t want to put me through that again so he was determined to go it alone. In the midst of all his suffering Pat was still watching out for those he loved.
So, who was Patrick Connelly? He was brilliant man, an athlete, an Eagle Scout, a dedicated nurse, a patriot, and a soldier; yet most of all he was my son and I am grateful that for 36 years God allowed me to have this remarkable individual in my life. Our country needs more men like him. I miss you Patrick and I love you.
Michael Connelly
mrobertc@hotmail.com
www.michaelconnelly.jigsy.com
www.constitution.jigsy.com
He was a brilliant young man with an IQ that was off the charts and that sometimes caused him problems. He didn’t fit in with his fellow students in high school and the teachers had trouble dealing with someone who could read an entire textbook in a few days and often got bored in class as a result. He actually dropped out of high school at one point and then got his GED, but decided to go back to high school and get his diploma because he didn’t want to leave anything unfinished.
Patrick was an Eagle Scout and was very proud of that fact. He was also a member of the elite scout honor society, the Order of the Arrow. He loved the outdoors and spent several summers as a camp counselor teaching young people about the beauty of nature. At the same time he was a black belt in karate and an accomplished kick boxer.
Patrick always wanted to help other people so he decided to go to nursing school and was determined to pay his own way by starting several small and successful businesses. He was also a patriot and joined the Louisiana Army National Guard and became a combat medic. When he graduated from nursing school he became a traveling nurse working in one of the most challenging and stressful areas of medicine, Emergency room care. However, Patrick felt that this was where he could do the most good.
In 2004 while he was working in Connecticut he volunteered to go to Iraq as a combat medic to join his older brother Sean who was a combat engineer officer. However, since he was a registered nurse the army decided to commission him as an officer and send him overseas as a nurse. Unfortunately, he failed his physical because of an irregular heart beat that was ironically the first indication of the emerging health problems. He received an honorable discharge from the military, but I learned just a few years ago that he felt guilty because he had not been able to serve his country overseas as his brothers Sean and Tim had done.
Yet, Patrick soon found another way to serve his fellow Americans. In August of 2005 he and his wife had moved back to our home town, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which is just 60 miles north of New Orleans. When Hurricane Katrina roared through New Orleans and caused massive devastation and loss of life, many of the refugees and injured ended up in Baton Rouge. The hospitals were soon overwhelmed so many of the injured and homeless were housed on the Louisiana State University campus.
Pat was working his regular eight hour shift at the hospital and then going on from there directly to the LSU campus where he worked another eight to ten hours a day as a volunteer nurse. This went on for weeks and I later learned that he and his wife Sarah gave away virtually all of their clothes to the people of New Orleans who had lost everything. For a long time Patrick had nothing to wear but his nursing scrubs.
In 2006 my wife Kay, who was Patrick’s stepmother, was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer. Patrick and Sarah came to visit us in Dallas and wanted to know where Kay would like to go on a trip. Kay decided on Disney World where we had spent so many wonderful times with our six children. Pat and Sarah gave us $1,000 to get things started and then our other children, our many friends, and my fellow veterans jumped in to help raise enough money to give us a remarkable final trip together.
Shortly after Kay died in June 2008 Patrick made a special trip to stay with me for three days in Dallas. We cried together over our loss and then he went on his way to continue his ER nursing career. I knew he was having health problems, but it was not until early 2011 that it was determined that he had a terminal illness. Patrick continued to fight the disease and to work doing what he loved, helping others as an ER nurse. We talked often and I marveled at his courage. Then, about six months ago all communications between Patrick and I ceased.
He stopped talking to me. He wouldn’t respond to my emails or telephone messages. Then, I learned that he had died while in California, still working as an ER nurse. He had continued to work despite being in severe pain. I then heard from Pat’s sister, my oldest daughter that he had talked to her and told her that he knew I had watched my wife die and he didn’t want to put me through that again so he was determined to go it alone. In the midst of all his suffering Pat was still watching out for those he loved.
So, who was Patrick Connelly? He was brilliant man, an athlete, an Eagle Scout, a dedicated nurse, a patriot, and a soldier; yet most of all he was my son and I am grateful that for 36 years God allowed me to have this remarkable individual in my life. Our country needs more men like him. I miss you Patrick and I love you.
Michael Connelly
mrobertc@hotmail.com
www.michaelconnelly.jigsy.com
www.constitution.jigsy.com
Christmas, 1944
Posted December 13, 2011
However, the true story below is not about Sean and the fighting Americans of today, but about Sean’ grandfather and another Christmas long ago. I wrote it many years ago and it has been reprinted and put on websites around the world. I offer it once again to honor our heroes of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Come to think of it, this story is really about all of them because it epitomizes who and what they are.
Christmas 1944
The frigid night air cut through the Lieutenant’s army issue coat as the stopped in the knee deep snow to survey the perimeter. A heavy snow continued to fall on this Christmas Eve 1944, but it was not a silent night. The flashes of artillery lit the sky and generated a rumble like distant thunder as the young officer finished his tour of the unit’s outposts. He was an officer in Company B, 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion, the men who fired the big 4.2 mortars which were so critical to the effort of the infantry to advance. They were someplace in Belgium, he really had no clue where, and for the first time in a while the battalion was together again. All four companies had been brought in to help stop the German breakthrough. They didn’t know it, but the 87th was about to be thrown right into the heart of the Battle of the Bulge.
As the Lieutenant finished his rounds he wearily dragged himself into the monastery where the command had taken refuge for the night. The warmth that enveloped him as he entered the large community room was certainly welcomed. He glanced around and saw his comrades sprawled in every available space. They were bedraggled and exhausted after 201 days of almost continuous combat, and by the looks on their faces you could tell that it was only going to get worse. Despite the thickness of the monastery walls, a new sound intruded, the quick crack of tank gunfire.
Everyone knew what that meant, American tankers were making a last ditch stand against the German armored columns in the area. They were outnumbered and outgunned and their Sherman tanks stood no chance against the awesome German Tiger tanks, but they fought anyway. When the battle ended, and it would before dawn, then the 87th became part of the last American line of defense. The war hung in the balance, and so did the lives of everyone in the ancient house of God.
The Lieutenant found a place to sit against one wall and sank down in exhaustion, gratefully accepting the wine, bread and cheese being offered by the monks. In the corner of the room, a soldier fiddled with the dial of a radio, finally picking up the armed forces station. Christmas carols filled the room, but only added to the loneliness. Then as, the sound of the tank battle increased in intensity, a new song started on the radio, Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas."
For the Lieutenant the song immediately invoked memories of the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas on the farm in Mason City, Iowa and of how far away he was from those he loved. He could not help himself, the tears began to flow and embarrassed, he glanced around the room to see if anyone had noticed. His eyes fell first on the Company Commander, Captain J.J. Marshall, one of the toughest men the Lieutenant had ever known. The Captain sat ramrod straight, unashamed, as tears streamed down his stubbly cheeks. It was universal that night, strong men, the bravest of the brave, cried over a Christmas carol, and over the homes many would never see again.
As dawn broke the next morning, Christmas Day, the battalion was again split up with Company B assigned to take up mortar positions in support of what was left of the 289th infantry, 75th Division, and defend a Belgium village called Sadzot, a key location in the thin American defense line. For three days they fired their mortars in support of the hastily assembled defense units, and then disaster struck. Early in the predawn hours of Dec. 28th enemy elements of the 12 SS Panzer Division, the infamous Hitler Jugend, broke through the infantry lines and overran the mortar position.
They hastily assembled all of the men they could, and the mortarmen fought a delaying action, fighting hand to hand and house to house against overwhelming numbers. As the fighting retreat continued, they men of company B were joined by remaining elements of the 509th Parachute Battalion which had formed a new defensive position north of the village. There they held until reinforced and then joined a counterattack which retook the village, and recaptured six of their nine mortars and most of their vehicles.
It was later learned that this makeshift force of Americans had successfully stopped a major attack by German troops designed to capture a major highway intersection which would have broken the American line. No one has ever been able to tell me how they won. History recorded it as a classic situation where the attacking enemy held all of the advantages, yet was stopped by the cold determination of a hand full of defenders on the verge of physical and mental collapse. Somehow, they emerged victorious, with Company B reporting almost half of its men killed, wounded, or missing.
For his actions during the defense of Sadzot the Lieutenant and the other men of the company received both the French and Belgium Croix de Guerre medals. I know the story of that lonely Christmas Eve and the ensuing days from my Father’s diary. He was the young Lieutenant, Roy E. Connelly, Co. B. 87th Chemical Mortar Battalion. He would read that story to us on Christmas Eve every year until his death in 1987, and then I took over the job with my children.
He never read it without crying over the friends he lost during that Christmas season of 1944, and to this day, I can not read it or even write about it without the same reaction. What was done during that six day period by the men of Co. B and the other companies of the 87th, who also held the line, surpasses the ability of most of us to comprehend. They fought for each other, and they fought for us. We must never forget.
FOR MY DAD, AND THE MEN OF THE 87TH
Michael Connelly: Author of “The Mortarmen”http://michaelconnelly.jigsy.com/the-mortarmen
ABOUT OUR CONSTITUTION
Posted November 29, 2011
Some
people seem to be forgetting that it is “our Constitution.” It belongs
to the American people. It is not the property of the President, the
Congress, or even the Federal courts. It is not theirs to tinker with,
rewrite, or ignore depending on their personal whims and ideologies. It
was carefully crafted by the founding fathers to provide a form of
government that was limited, not all powerful.
The Bill of Rights does not contain a list of rights that are given to the American people by the government. Instead it provides a list of the rights that are inherently ours, and they can’t be taken away by the government. For example, despite their claims to the contrary, freedom of speech and freedom of the press don’t just belong to those that agree with a certain political ideology. In addition, the Constitution and Bill of Rights were not designed for only the people who consider themselves elite and better than the rest of us. In fact, it was designed to protect us from them.
However, despite these truths that have been the foundation of our Republic for over 200 years, every article, section, and amendment of one of our most precious documents is under constant and unrelenting attack by the current administration. The balance of powers between the three branches of government is being ignored in favor of a de facto dictatorship by those who consider themselves above the rest of us. They think they are ordained to tell us how to live our lives and to decide what is best for us.
Yet, sadly, even as we face the imminent prospect of losing our freedoms and the way of life that so many brave Americans have fought and died for, there are many citizens of this country who seem oblivious to this fact. This is because they have either never read the Constitution in its entirety or don’t really understand what it means. This is probably not really their fault because for years the importance of the Constitution has been downplayed or ignored in many of our schools, especially in our so-called institutions of “higher education.”
The bottom line is that if Americans are unfamiliar with the Constitution and the way our government is designed to work, how will they know that it and the rights it protects are being taken from them? That is why I have done something new. I have prepared a pocket sized booklet on the Constitution that doesn’t just contain the wording of the document, but after each section and amendment contains my comments on what each means.
Here is an excerpt from the booklet about the 2nd Amendment:
“Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Comments: The Second Amendment to the Constitution has been the subject of much controversy over the years. Many individuals in the United States own firearms, either for protection, or for hunting, or for both. There are other individuals who feel that only the police and members of the military should be allowed to carry firearms, and that individual citizens should have restrictions put on their gun ownership rights. These “gun-control” proponents have long argued that the Second Amendment does not provide an individual right of gun ownership, but, only, a collective right belonging to state militias or to the National Guard. In recent years, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that the right to keep and bear arms is, in fact, an individual right, and it cannot be restricted unduly by either the federal government or by state and local governments.”
Many people who have read the booklet have told me that they have learned things about the Constitution that they had never realized before. The booklet is being offered through my non- profit corporation, the Constitutional Law Alliance (CLA). The website is www.constitution.jigsy.com and single copies can be ordered through the site for $6.00 each including postage. There are also substantial discounts available for multiple copies and these are explained on the website.
I encourage everyone to get at least one copy to carry with you. That way when you hear someone making an incorrect comment about the Constitution or our freedoms you can have the document there to show them. However, I also hope you will let others know about the booklet and order additional copies to distribute. You can also make donations to the CLA to help us supply this booklet to youth groups and schools at reduced prices.
I believe that this booklet will raise the consciousness of Americans when it comes to understanding how important our Constitution is and how it must be defended.
The Bill of Rights does not contain a list of rights that are given to the American people by the government. Instead it provides a list of the rights that are inherently ours, and they can’t be taken away by the government. For example, despite their claims to the contrary, freedom of speech and freedom of the press don’t just belong to those that agree with a certain political ideology. In addition, the Constitution and Bill of Rights were not designed for only the people who consider themselves elite and better than the rest of us. In fact, it was designed to protect us from them.
However, despite these truths that have been the foundation of our Republic for over 200 years, every article, section, and amendment of one of our most precious documents is under constant and unrelenting attack by the current administration. The balance of powers between the three branches of government is being ignored in favor of a de facto dictatorship by those who consider themselves above the rest of us. They think they are ordained to tell us how to live our lives and to decide what is best for us.
Yet, sadly, even as we face the imminent prospect of losing our freedoms and the way of life that so many brave Americans have fought and died for, there are many citizens of this country who seem oblivious to this fact. This is because they have either never read the Constitution in its entirety or don’t really understand what it means. This is probably not really their fault because for years the importance of the Constitution has been downplayed or ignored in many of our schools, especially in our so-called institutions of “higher education.”
The bottom line is that if Americans are unfamiliar with the Constitution and the way our government is designed to work, how will they know that it and the rights it protects are being taken from them? That is why I have done something new. I have prepared a pocket sized booklet on the Constitution that doesn’t just contain the wording of the document, but after each section and amendment contains my comments on what each means.
Here is an excerpt from the booklet about the 2nd Amendment:
“Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Comments: The Second Amendment to the Constitution has been the subject of much controversy over the years. Many individuals in the United States own firearms, either for protection, or for hunting, or for both. There are other individuals who feel that only the police and members of the military should be allowed to carry firearms, and that individual citizens should have restrictions put on their gun ownership rights. These “gun-control” proponents have long argued that the Second Amendment does not provide an individual right of gun ownership, but, only, a collective right belonging to state militias or to the National Guard. In recent years, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that the right to keep and bear arms is, in fact, an individual right, and it cannot be restricted unduly by either the federal government or by state and local governments.”
Many people who have read the booklet have told me that they have learned things about the Constitution that they had never realized before. The booklet is being offered through my non- profit corporation, the Constitutional Law Alliance (CLA). The website is www.constitution.jigsy.com and single copies can be ordered through the site for $6.00 each including postage. There are also substantial discounts available for multiple copies and these are explained on the website.
I encourage everyone to get at least one copy to carry with you. That way when you hear someone making an incorrect comment about the Constitution or our freedoms you can have the document there to show them. However, I also hope you will let others know about the booklet and order additional copies to distribute. You can also make donations to the CLA to help us supply this booklet to youth groups and schools at reduced prices.
I believe that this booklet will raise the consciousness of Americans when it comes to understanding how important our Constitution is and how it must be defended.
THE DOOMSDAY SCENARIO
Posted November 8, 2011
Members
of the U.S. Military are calling it the “Doomsday Scenario” and that is
a completely accurate assessment of what is about to occur on November
23rd of this year. Unless something changes in the next two
weeks that day will mark the beginning of the end of the United States
military as the most powerful fighting force in the world. The end
result will be putting our nation and our people in a position where we
will be unable to effectively defend ourselves against those who would
destroy us.
Dismantling our military has been something that the far left in this country has been trying to do for decades, and now with the help of the Obama administration and Congress they are about to be successful. It will occur as a result of the ill advised and unconstitutional legislation agreed to by Congress in order to avert a failure to raise the debt ceiling. A super committee of Congress was appointed made up of six Republicans and six Democrats from both houses of Congress that was given the task of finding and agreeing to $1.5 trillion in spending cuts by November 23rd.
If the super committee fails to come to agreement, then the legislation provides for an automatic $1.2 trillion in cuts to be made. Approximately half of this amount will come from the defense budget. This will be in addition to some $850 billion in cuts that have already been made to the defense budget since Obama has taken office. Some of these cuts have already taken place, or are scheduled to happen over the next few years. Even Obama’s choice for Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, has said that these additional cuts triggered by the super committee’s failure to act will be devastating to the military and our national security.
Exactly what will happen to our military? The strength of the Army and Marine Corps will be reduced by about 50%. The Air Force will lose two thirds of its fighters and strategic bombers, while the Navy will have to mothball a number of ships including two aircraft carrier groups. The Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force will be at the smallest they have been in many years and the Navy will be smaller than it was prior World War II.
Many military bases will be closed, both at home and abroad, and the Navy will be barely strong enough to patrol our own shores, much less make its presence felt in the Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, or close to China. This is happening at exactly the same time that China is rapidly increasing its own military strength including building an increasingly strong Navy. (This is all eerily similar to the scenario I laid out in and my 2009 novel, “Amayehli: A Story of America.”)
In addition to the impact on national security, we can expect to see large increases in the unemployment rate. Over the next 10 years hundreds of thousands of members of the military will be thrown into an already dwindling job market. Thousands of civilian employees who work at soon-to-be closed military bases will also lose their jobs. The development of new weapons systems and equipment for the military will virtually cease as will the upgrading of our current equipment and weapons. This will undoubtedly put some defense contractors out of business, and at the very least cause thousands of additional people to be out of work. So, with a sagging U.S. economy in a dangerous world with countries like Iran about to have nuclear weapons, our military is going to be gutted.
Of course, is not going to stop there. Veterans are also going to see their benefits cut. Pensions are going to shrink and many medical benefits are simply going to go away. At the beginning of his Presidency, Obama proposed that members of the military who were wounded in the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq should pay for their own private insurance, and thus pay for their own medical treatment. The outcry from the American people was so great that the idea was soon dropped, but now Obama may get his way after all.
If the Doomsday Scenario happens, and it appears it will, the people who have laid their lives on the line to defend our country and its freedom will be punished for their sacrifice. At the same time there are a large number of people who will lose nothing. Members of Congress will not have their salaries or benefits cut, and they will keep their generous pensions, even if they have served only one term in office as compared to the minimum 20 years members of the armed services have to serve to even qualify for a pension.
White House staffers and Obama’s illegally appointed Czars and their staff members will lose no pay or benefits, and this is true of most other Federal employees, but then they will vote to re-elect Obama, while most military personnel and families will not. Do you see a pattern here? I certainly do. By the way, does anyone remember the proposal that Obama made during his campaign that there be a Civilian Defense Force formed that would be as well funded and equipped as the military? If we have a weak military then such a force will probably be formed and be under the complete control of one person, Obama.
There is one chance to stop this disaster. A committee in the House of Representatives is working on proposals to stop the Doomsday Scenario from happening, and it has bi partisan support. Everyone should write, call, or email their Senators and Representatives to support this and keep our military intact. Here is a link to a website that will help you contact your Congressional representatives: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/.This is urgent.
Dismantling our military has been something that the far left in this country has been trying to do for decades, and now with the help of the Obama administration and Congress they are about to be successful. It will occur as a result of the ill advised and unconstitutional legislation agreed to by Congress in order to avert a failure to raise the debt ceiling. A super committee of Congress was appointed made up of six Republicans and six Democrats from both houses of Congress that was given the task of finding and agreeing to $1.5 trillion in spending cuts by November 23rd.
If the super committee fails to come to agreement, then the legislation provides for an automatic $1.2 trillion in cuts to be made. Approximately half of this amount will come from the defense budget. This will be in addition to some $850 billion in cuts that have already been made to the defense budget since Obama has taken office. Some of these cuts have already taken place, or are scheduled to happen over the next few years. Even Obama’s choice for Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, has said that these additional cuts triggered by the super committee’s failure to act will be devastating to the military and our national security.
Exactly what will happen to our military? The strength of the Army and Marine Corps will be reduced by about 50%. The Air Force will lose two thirds of its fighters and strategic bombers, while the Navy will have to mothball a number of ships including two aircraft carrier groups. The Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force will be at the smallest they have been in many years and the Navy will be smaller than it was prior World War II.
Many military bases will be closed, both at home and abroad, and the Navy will be barely strong enough to patrol our own shores, much less make its presence felt in the Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, or close to China. This is happening at exactly the same time that China is rapidly increasing its own military strength including building an increasingly strong Navy. (This is all eerily similar to the scenario I laid out in and my 2009 novel, “Amayehli: A Story of America.”)
In addition to the impact on national security, we can expect to see large increases in the unemployment rate. Over the next 10 years hundreds of thousands of members of the military will be thrown into an already dwindling job market. Thousands of civilian employees who work at soon-to-be closed military bases will also lose their jobs. The development of new weapons systems and equipment for the military will virtually cease as will the upgrading of our current equipment and weapons. This will undoubtedly put some defense contractors out of business, and at the very least cause thousands of additional people to be out of work. So, with a sagging U.S. economy in a dangerous world with countries like Iran about to have nuclear weapons, our military is going to be gutted.
Of course, is not going to stop there. Veterans are also going to see their benefits cut. Pensions are going to shrink and many medical benefits are simply going to go away. At the beginning of his Presidency, Obama proposed that members of the military who were wounded in the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq should pay for their own private insurance, and thus pay for their own medical treatment. The outcry from the American people was so great that the idea was soon dropped, but now Obama may get his way after all.
If the Doomsday Scenario happens, and it appears it will, the people who have laid their lives on the line to defend our country and its freedom will be punished for their sacrifice. At the same time there are a large number of people who will lose nothing. Members of Congress will not have their salaries or benefits cut, and they will keep their generous pensions, even if they have served only one term in office as compared to the minimum 20 years members of the armed services have to serve to even qualify for a pension.
White House staffers and Obama’s illegally appointed Czars and their staff members will lose no pay or benefits, and this is true of most other Federal employees, but then they will vote to re-elect Obama, while most military personnel and families will not. Do you see a pattern here? I certainly do. By the way, does anyone remember the proposal that Obama made during his campaign that there be a Civilian Defense Force formed that would be as well funded and equipped as the military? If we have a weak military then such a force will probably be formed and be under the complete control of one person, Obama.
There is one chance to stop this disaster. A committee in the House of Representatives is working on proposals to stop the Doomsday Scenario from happening, and it has bi partisan support. Everyone should write, call, or email their Senators and Representatives to support this and keep our military intact. Here is a link to a website that will help you contact your Congressional representatives: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/.This is urgent.
OCCUPYING AMERICA
Posted October 24, 2011
They bill themselves as the Occupy Wall Street movement, and they claim
to be a new wave of outraged Americans. Yet, in my view there is
nothing new about them. They are camping out in public places in various
locations around the country smoking dope, singing protest songs,
screaming obscenities at anyone who disagrees with them, and spitting on
men and women who proudly wear the uniform of the United States
military.
It is all eerily reminiscent of the late 1960s and early 1970s when you had the hippies, and the antiwar protesters banding together in the streets and on college campuses in order to disrupt the lives of ordinary Americans. In the turbulent 1960s the protesters were demanding an end to the war, the end of capitalism, and a redistribution of wealth. In other words, they wanted to take everything away from Americans who work for living and give it to those who preferred not to work.
Now, we have this current band of protesters who are demanding that we end the war on terrorism, that we let the government take complete control of our economy, and that everyone be entitled to a living wage whether they work or not. So, who are these people? Well, in the 1960s they were mostly spoiled rich kids who never had to work in their lives and whose parents were paying for their college educations. There were also the far left college professors and the committed radicals from both the Socialist and Communist parties.
This 21st century group of protesters is basically a new generation of the same type of people. I can remember attempting in vain to speak to the campus protesters in the 60s in ordsr to find out what they really wanted and what they believed. I quickly learned that it was impossible to carry on a coherent conversation with most of them. They were protesting a war that many of them knew nothing about. In fact they couldn't even find Vietnam on a world map. They were also protesting the economic system when they were clueless about how it worked.
They spoke mostly in platitudes and clichés, and you could tell they were simply parroting what they were being told by their college professors, leaders of various far left groups, or the liberal news media. It was virtually impossible for them to produce an original thought on their own. I can remember one young woman that I was debating on a local radio show that actually shouted at me to stop confusing her with the facts about the Vietnam War.
Today, when I watch the protesters being interviewed on television, I'm hearing the same tiresome rhetoric that I heard back then. They sound like good little androids that have been programmed by their masters in universities, in the far left media, and in unions like the NEA and the SEIU to repeat what they are told and under no circumstances engage in independent thought.
Unfortunately, this new group is being led by well-financed and well-organized individuals and organizations that believe the time has come to destroy the United States. They include Communists, Socialists, and radical Islamists. They are being aided and abetted in their quest by the liberal media, and are being encouraged and applauded by Barrack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.
It is past time for the American people to wake up and realize that our Constitution and our way of life are being seriously threatened. In fact, in many ways we are already an occupied nation. The President of the United States continues to shred the Constitution and assume dictatorial powers. He openly boasts of the fact that he is bypassing Congress, and enacting laws despite the fact that the Constitution has established a balance of powers in the federal government that was designed to keep that very thing from happening. By using a combination of executive orders and rules and regulations issued by various departments under his control, Obama is killing jobs, destroying the free enterprise economic system, and opening our borders to illegal immigrants, potential terrorists, and drug runners. In addition, he is using his office to dictate new laws and regulations that are robbing the American people of the God-given rights protected by the Bill of Rights in the Constitution.
He is also looting the U.S. Treasury and using taxpayer money to reward those individuals and companies that support his actions. Of course, that is illegal, but is being covered up by the mainstream news media. In fact, virtually everything that Obama is doing is illegal and unconstitutional and a clear violation of his oath of office. Yet, there seems to be no great outcry from the American people.
Perhaps, that is because so many people have never read the Constitution, were not really talked about it in school, or just don't understand what it means. That is why, the nonprofit Corporation I formed, the Constitutional Law Alliance, has just released a pocket-sized booklet that sets out the Constitution and has comments after each section and amendment that explain what they each mean. The booklet is available at www.constitution.jigsy.com.
We would like to have this booklet widely distributed prior to the upcoming 2012 election. Please consider buying copies and handing them out to your friends and neighbors or making a donation to help us provide the booklet to students and others at a reduced price. It is important for Americans to understand what we're losing.
It is all eerily reminiscent of the late 1960s and early 1970s when you had the hippies, and the antiwar protesters banding together in the streets and on college campuses in order to disrupt the lives of ordinary Americans. In the turbulent 1960s the protesters were demanding an end to the war, the end of capitalism, and a redistribution of wealth. In other words, they wanted to take everything away from Americans who work for living and give it to those who preferred not to work.
Now, we have this current band of protesters who are demanding that we end the war on terrorism, that we let the government take complete control of our economy, and that everyone be entitled to a living wage whether they work or not. So, who are these people? Well, in the 1960s they were mostly spoiled rich kids who never had to work in their lives and whose parents were paying for their college educations. There were also the far left college professors and the committed radicals from both the Socialist and Communist parties.
This 21st century group of protesters is basically a new generation of the same type of people. I can remember attempting in vain to speak to the campus protesters in the 60s in ordsr to find out what they really wanted and what they believed. I quickly learned that it was impossible to carry on a coherent conversation with most of them. They were protesting a war that many of them knew nothing about. In fact they couldn't even find Vietnam on a world map. They were also protesting the economic system when they were clueless about how it worked.
They spoke mostly in platitudes and clichés, and you could tell they were simply parroting what they were being told by their college professors, leaders of various far left groups, or the liberal news media. It was virtually impossible for them to produce an original thought on their own. I can remember one young woman that I was debating on a local radio show that actually shouted at me to stop confusing her with the facts about the Vietnam War.
Today, when I watch the protesters being interviewed on television, I'm hearing the same tiresome rhetoric that I heard back then. They sound like good little androids that have been programmed by their masters in universities, in the far left media, and in unions like the NEA and the SEIU to repeat what they are told and under no circumstances engage in independent thought.
Unfortunately, this new group is being led by well-financed and well-organized individuals and organizations that believe the time has come to destroy the United States. They include Communists, Socialists, and radical Islamists. They are being aided and abetted in their quest by the liberal media, and are being encouraged and applauded by Barrack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.
It is past time for the American people to wake up and realize that our Constitution and our way of life are being seriously threatened. In fact, in many ways we are already an occupied nation. The President of the United States continues to shred the Constitution and assume dictatorial powers. He openly boasts of the fact that he is bypassing Congress, and enacting laws despite the fact that the Constitution has established a balance of powers in the federal government that was designed to keep that very thing from happening. By using a combination of executive orders and rules and regulations issued by various departments under his control, Obama is killing jobs, destroying the free enterprise economic system, and opening our borders to illegal immigrants, potential terrorists, and drug runners. In addition, he is using his office to dictate new laws and regulations that are robbing the American people of the God-given rights protected by the Bill of Rights in the Constitution.
He is also looting the U.S. Treasury and using taxpayer money to reward those individuals and companies that support his actions. Of course, that is illegal, but is being covered up by the mainstream news media. In fact, virtually everything that Obama is doing is illegal and unconstitutional and a clear violation of his oath of office. Yet, there seems to be no great outcry from the American people.
Perhaps, that is because so many people have never read the Constitution, were not really talked about it in school, or just don't understand what it means. That is why, the nonprofit Corporation I formed, the Constitutional Law Alliance, has just released a pocket-sized booklet that sets out the Constitution and has comments after each section and amendment that explain what they each mean. The booklet is available at www.constitution.jigsy.com.
We would like to have this booklet widely distributed prior to the upcoming 2012 election. Please consider buying copies and handing them out to your friends and neighbors or making a donation to help us provide the booklet to students and others at a reduced price. It is important for Americans to understand what we're losing.
IN DEFENSE OF PATRIOTS
Posted October 3, 2011
Obviously, this blog is dedicated to defending the Constitution of the
United States of America. It is something that I have been trying to do,
in one way or another, since I was a junior in high school, 46 years
ago. During that time I have been awed and inspired by those much more
learned than I am who stood up and defended what I consider to be one of
the greatest documents ever written. In the beginning, even those on
the other side of the political spectrum believed resolutely that the
Constitution was the heart and soul of our great country.
I can remember on Wednesday afternoons going to free-speech alley at LSU and as president of the Young Republicans on the campus getting into heated arguments with my counterpart, the president of the LSU Young Democrats. We had different views on many issues, and were not afraid to express them, but the one thing that was constant for both of us was that we loved our country and the Constitution. Often, after our fierce debates, the two of us retired to the student union to have a beer or two. The fact is, we were friends and respected each other, and we considered each other patriots.
Unfortunately, that type of civility has disappeared in our country today. Thanks to the far left progressives in our government, in our news media, our institutions of higher learning, and in the entertainment industry, to name but a few, patriotism has become a dirty word. Those who love America and express that fact are viciously attacked, and repeated attempts are made to silence them. None of us who are defenders of the Constitution are immune from such attacks, but one group in particular has been singled out. I am referring to the tea party movement, and its members around the country.
Simply because they have stepped forward to take a stand for what they believe, they are being castigated as racists, extremists, and lunatics. They're being blamed for inciting acts of violence even when those acts are committed by individuals who have no connection with the tea party and in fact, have beliefs that are the opposite of those expressed by the tea party. Some left-wing commentators in the media are almost foaming at the mouth as they hurl insults at their fellow Americans who dare to disagree with them.
At the same time, President Obama, and members of his administration are blaming tea party members for many of his own failures as president. That is, when he is not blaming the tsunami in Japan, the economic crisis in Europe, ATMs, or President George W. Bush. Left-wingers in Congress tell tea party members to go to hell, and accuse them of wanting to have blacks lynched at the nearest tree, while members of labor unions declare war on them and make not so vague threats. At the same time, the liberal elitists in Hollywood and on university campuses openly call for the tea party to be kept from using their First Amendment rights to express themselves.
So who are these terrible individuals and groups that are considered such a threat by progressives? Well, I have spoken to tea party groups and worked with them, and I found them to be ordinary Americans who come from varied backgrounds, varied economic situations, and all of the racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds that make up this melting pot that is America. They are professionals, small business owners, housewives, military veterans, and students who are united in their belief in the Constitution and the United States of America. In other words, they are patriots.
They believe in what our founders believed in, a limited government, maximum individual liberties, the right of the states to govern without undue burdens being placed on them by the federal government, and a robust free-market economy. They do not believe that socialism, communism, or any form of fascism is the inevitable wave of the future for the people of this country, and they are prepared to speak up and resist those who do. Many of them carry a copy of the Constitution with them wherever they go.
They are the same men who over 230 years ago would have stood shoulder to shoulder at Bunker Hill to beat back the British onslaught. They're the same women who would have torn up their own clothes to make bandages for our wounded warriors, and who would have sewed the flags that were proudly carried into battle. They are the same people who sacrificed so much so that tyranny could be defeated, and a new and vibrant free country could be formed.
In fact, only between 40 and 45% of the colonists supported the American Revolution while 15 to 20% supported the King of Britain. The remainder tried to avoid taking sides and many of these continued to do business with both sides. Yet, the rebels were successful, and a new nation was born. Now, we have a new group of patriots standing up for America, and I'm proud to say that I stand with them.
Yet, unfortunately, the vicious assault on them seems to be having some effect. Support for the tea party movement seems to be diminishing, at least according to some polls. Of course, I have little trust in many of the public opinion polls being taken today, but that doesn't really matter. To the members of the tea party I say this; you are the present-day embodiment of the men and women who forged this great nation. Do not give up the fight, you're not alone. I am proud to call many of you my friends, and I'm proud to stand with you in defense of our Constitution.
I may not always agree with you on every occasion, but that is what has made America great in the past. We again need to be able to disagree without being disagreeable. My fellow Americans should understand that those who support the tea party movement are fighting for us and deserve our respect, admiration, and support. All of us who believe in freedom must stand tall, stand together, and be resolute in our defense of the Constitution and our way of life. At the same time, those who would destroy our nation must be made aware that we will not let them win. God bless America!
I can remember on Wednesday afternoons going to free-speech alley at LSU and as president of the Young Republicans on the campus getting into heated arguments with my counterpart, the president of the LSU Young Democrats. We had different views on many issues, and were not afraid to express them, but the one thing that was constant for both of us was that we loved our country and the Constitution. Often, after our fierce debates, the two of us retired to the student union to have a beer or two. The fact is, we were friends and respected each other, and we considered each other patriots.
Unfortunately, that type of civility has disappeared in our country today. Thanks to the far left progressives in our government, in our news media, our institutions of higher learning, and in the entertainment industry, to name but a few, patriotism has become a dirty word. Those who love America and express that fact are viciously attacked, and repeated attempts are made to silence them. None of us who are defenders of the Constitution are immune from such attacks, but one group in particular has been singled out. I am referring to the tea party movement, and its members around the country.
Simply because they have stepped forward to take a stand for what they believe, they are being castigated as racists, extremists, and lunatics. They're being blamed for inciting acts of violence even when those acts are committed by individuals who have no connection with the tea party and in fact, have beliefs that are the opposite of those expressed by the tea party. Some left-wing commentators in the media are almost foaming at the mouth as they hurl insults at their fellow Americans who dare to disagree with them.
At the same time, President Obama, and members of his administration are blaming tea party members for many of his own failures as president. That is, when he is not blaming the tsunami in Japan, the economic crisis in Europe, ATMs, or President George W. Bush. Left-wingers in Congress tell tea party members to go to hell, and accuse them of wanting to have blacks lynched at the nearest tree, while members of labor unions declare war on them and make not so vague threats. At the same time, the liberal elitists in Hollywood and on university campuses openly call for the tea party to be kept from using their First Amendment rights to express themselves.
So who are these terrible individuals and groups that are considered such a threat by progressives? Well, I have spoken to tea party groups and worked with them, and I found them to be ordinary Americans who come from varied backgrounds, varied economic situations, and all of the racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds that make up this melting pot that is America. They are professionals, small business owners, housewives, military veterans, and students who are united in their belief in the Constitution and the United States of America. In other words, they are patriots.
They believe in what our founders believed in, a limited government, maximum individual liberties, the right of the states to govern without undue burdens being placed on them by the federal government, and a robust free-market economy. They do not believe that socialism, communism, or any form of fascism is the inevitable wave of the future for the people of this country, and they are prepared to speak up and resist those who do. Many of them carry a copy of the Constitution with them wherever they go.
They are the same men who over 230 years ago would have stood shoulder to shoulder at Bunker Hill to beat back the British onslaught. They're the same women who would have torn up their own clothes to make bandages for our wounded warriors, and who would have sewed the flags that were proudly carried into battle. They are the same people who sacrificed so much so that tyranny could be defeated, and a new and vibrant free country could be formed.
In fact, only between 40 and 45% of the colonists supported the American Revolution while 15 to 20% supported the King of Britain. The remainder tried to avoid taking sides and many of these continued to do business with both sides. Yet, the rebels were successful, and a new nation was born. Now, we have a new group of patriots standing up for America, and I'm proud to say that I stand with them.
Yet, unfortunately, the vicious assault on them seems to be having some effect. Support for the tea party movement seems to be diminishing, at least according to some polls. Of course, I have little trust in many of the public opinion polls being taken today, but that doesn't really matter. To the members of the tea party I say this; you are the present-day embodiment of the men and women who forged this great nation. Do not give up the fight, you're not alone. I am proud to call many of you my friends, and I'm proud to stand with you in defense of our Constitution.
I may not always agree with you on every occasion, but that is what has made America great in the past. We again need to be able to disagree without being disagreeable. My fellow Americans should understand that those who support the tea party movement are fighting for us and deserve our respect, admiration, and support. All of us who believe in freedom must stand tall, stand together, and be resolute in our defense of the Constitution and our way of life. At the same time, those who would destroy our nation must be made aware that we will not let them win. God bless America!
DANGEROUS GAMES
Posted September 23, 2011
It is too close to the way things started in places like Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Any criticism of these governments, or their leaders was to be reported so appropriate action could be taken to stifle the criticism. Individuals were encouraged to inform on their neighbors, employers and fellow employees, and children were trained to inform on their peers and their parents. At the beginning much of what was happening was ignored yet, ultimately, freedom of speech and freedom of the press became things of the past in these countries.
Of course, this is not the first time that the Obama administration has tried something like this. If you recall, when Obama began pushing hard for his healthcare bill there was a place put up on the White House website that asked people to inform on anyone that said anything “fishy” about the proposed law. The outcry from the American people was so great that the link was quickly eliminated, but now here we go again with Attack Watch.
This new website is not only a place where people can be reported for being critical of the president but it also serves as a propaganda organ for the Obama administration. For example, here are some statements made on the website:
“The Obama administration has strengthened our borders while making our immigration system smart and fair.”
“President Obama is a friend to Israel, despite unfounded claims to the contrary.”
” President Obama believes in common sense gun control laws compatible with Second Amendment rights.”
The statements are apparently being made with a straight face in order to refute “smears” against Obama, yet the real reason for the website seems to be to collect information on people or groups that oppose Obama's reelection and/or his policies in order to intimidate and silence them. This fits in perfectly with the other actions of the Obama administration to silence its critics in the press and on the Internet.
For example, Obama appointed Mark Lloyd as his diversity czar. This is a man who is openly antagonistic towards First Amendment freedoms of speech and the press and has called for restrictions similar to those imposed by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela where people are imprisoned for opposing the government. In addition, the Federal Communications Commission has been told by the US Supreme Court that it has no authority to regulate the Internet. Obama has instructed the FCC to do so anyway and take control of the content on the Internet.
What makes the situation even worse is that the progressives are enlisting the aid of the news media, some unions, and even major companies to help destroy the First Amendment. Some recent examples include gay activists getting PayPal to launch investigtions and deny its services to Christian groups or individuals that oppose things like homosexual marriages. The most prominent of these is the pro-family activist from Brazil Julio Severo.
It has also been reported to me that Facebook has started closing down some Facebook pages run by conservatives, particularly if they were openly critical of Obama. There are also some changes being made on the Facebook site that allow it to censor or control content on some pages for strictly political reasons. It is well known that Mark Zuckerberg is an Obama supporter. Google has also been reported to be playing games with the conservative content on its search engine.
Further, this cancer seems to be spreading rapidly with numerous incidents like the couple in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., that was fined $300 by the city for holding a Bible study in their own home with some friends. The city claims that people now need a permit in order to hold such activities. In the meantime, a public school teacher in San Antonio Texas tried to intimidate some Tea Party leaders speaking at a public forum by calling them Nazis for saying that public schools should obey the immigration laws. Also in Texas, a Fort Worth high school student was suspended for making the comment in a class discussion that: “I'm a Christian, and I don't think being gay is right.” The school said this was bullying.
These incidents are just a handful of what is occurring repeatedly throughout this country. It shows a frightening pattern that is developing prior to the 2012 elections. It is time for Americans who believe in the First Amendment to stand up and be counted. If you are aware of any similar incidents please post them as comments to this article or e-mail them to me. These are some of the things that I intend to have the Constitutional Law Alliance start working on. It is time that we take the fight to those that are trying to silence us.
You
may make donations here to help support and continue this site. You can
also make donations by mailing a check or money order to me at PMB
141, 12895 Josey Lane #124, Farmers Branch, Texas 75234. Thank you for
your support.
Please
make a donation to help support this website and blog. You may donate
through paypal by clicking the button below or you may mail your
donation to Michael Connelly, PMB 141, 12895 Josey Lane #124, Farmers
Branch, Texas 75234.
552923
