The Founding Father's Real Reason for the Second Amendment
And remember the words of Thomas Jefferson "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." See Video of Suzanna Gratia-Hupp’s Congressional Testimony: What the Second Amendment is REALLY For, below (u-tube HERE).
The Leaders Are Here... Palin, Cruz, Lee, Paul, Chaffetz....
T'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Can You Really Still Believe That None of These People Would Have Done a Better Job???
Victory: Eric Holder Sent Letter To Rand Paul On Obama’s Authority To Target U.S. Citizens With Drones: ‘The Answer Is No’
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced during Thursday’s briefing that Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) this morning regarding the administration’s policy on drone strikes targeting Americans on U.S. soil. Holder’s letter stated definitively that the U.S. would not use “weaponized” drones to targets American citizens on domestic soil. Read Full Article HERE
Mimi Steel, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 12/26/11
As the New Year begins, it is traditional to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. It is a time to assess where we have been and where we want to go, a time to determine priorities and resolve to accomplish them. From the perspective of one new to political activism, this is a daunting task. Reflecting on the past brings the realization of what a unique and remarkable country the United States of America truly is. To begin the US Constitution with the words “WE THE PEOPLE” in bold font was absolutely unheard of, revolutionary, in the annals of European history. Think about that. We were colonies that came from countries ruled by kings and queens. The elite owned the land, made the rules, and dictated the course of most people’s lives. You were born in to a class from which there was no escape. You were either one of the very few powerful or one of the serfs. There was little in between.
Then the upstart colonies came up with an idea, the grand experiment, that man could rule himself. They unleashed the genius of the human mind by instituting the rule of law, by laying the groundbreaking philosophy that all men were equal under that law, and by allowing people the right to pursue happiness (invent things, acquire property, and enjoy the fruits of their own labor). They limited government and mankind thrived.
Unfortunately we are now on the verge of squandering this magnificent gift of our Founders. Not only do we not appreciate it, too many of our fellow citizens distain it, too many of us are complacent, willing to let others do the heavy lifting of government. Let someone else deal with it. I’m too busy with my career. I am raising my family. I don’t have time. Great excuses abound.
While most of us have been blissfully ignorant of government, our opposition has become increasingly emboldened in their efforts to control government at all levels. And who can blame them? Those of us who want the government to leave us alone, tend not to get involved in politics. Those who think the government is the answer are the ones who show up at that city council meeting and all other levels of government demanding that the government do one thing or another that promotes their interests and most likely goes against the interests of the individual. The collective is ascendant in America. It’s for the greater good. Then we complain. We look around after all these years of our uninvolvement and wonder why things are the way are. It’s really quite simple. If you “cede” the field of battle, you lose. And right now, most of us have not even been aware that there was a battle being fought. Americans are fair-minded and trusting individuals generally. We elect people to office and assume that they will do the right thing. But if you don’t show up to support those people and policies or if you elect people with a different philosophy from yours because you could not be bothered to learn their positions on issues, you lose.
So here we are with a New Year upon us and many Americans starting to wake up to the realization that America is being fundamentally transformed in to something that is no longer a Representative Republic. We are in imminent danger of answering the question “Can man rule himself?” in the negative and turning over our god given rights to a handful of powerful elites who are happy to tell us how to live, where to live, and to control just about every aspect of our lives from what we eat to our health care.
We let this happen. Our self-absorption in our own lives has brought us to this point. There is no one to save us from this fate. The system was designed for WE THE PEOPLE. If WE THE PEOPLE are absent, the spoils go to the spoilers-those who see government as the solution to all problems. Every government solution chips away at man’s freedom. This is only going to get turned around if enough citizens get involved in their local communities. Very few of us have the money or connections to influence Presidential politics, Senate or Congressional politics, or even State Senate and Assembly positions. But we can influence our local city council. We can take an active role in city government. Many of these elections are won or lost by a few hundred votes. Most people don’t even bother to learn about local candidates and what they stand for. Yet local is where it is at.
As you make your New Year’s resolutions, I hope one of them will be to become a Community Organizer for the Constitution. Get involved in a local taxpayer association, homeowners association, 912 Group or Tea Party Group. Join up with people of like mind who want to preserve freedom, not subvert it. Your country needs you now more than ever before. And the only sacrifice on your part is to spend some of your precious time to insure the future of your children and grandchildren so they can live in freedom as you did. What is that worth?
You can join Mimi in Community Organizing for the Constitution through her website at www.bayarealiberty.org or on twitter @912CalGal.
CAIR's PR wire is entitled "CAIR Asks FBI to Probe Internet Threats to Mosques" and they cite their successful attempt to have Wordpress shut the site down.
Predictably, a collective shriek went through the blogosphere, starting with Jim Hoft over at Gateway Pundit and there were a multitude of calls to 'boycott sharia compliant Wordpress.'
I doubt this will make me any friends, but I don't support that action at all, and I think it's worth the time to explain why.
I don't need to tell my regular readers what I think of CAIR. The information that came out in the Holy Land Federation trial on CAIR and other Muslim Brotherhood fronts should have been enough to shut them down permanently and provide jail sentences for a number of their members, and that's exactly what would have happened if the Obama Department of Justice hadn't filed Disinclination to Prosecute briefs in what were likely open and shut cases, letting the Islamists walk free.
It's a screen shot of what appears to be an actual page from Bare Naked Islam's site, and if that was what was actually running there, CAIR was entirely within their rights to voice their concern and bring to to WordPress's attention.
The page in question celebrates a graffiti attack on a French mosque with the text "Whoo Hoo! Will the Muslims ever get a clue they aren't welcome in France?"
The comments are even worse, with many of them calling for the burning of mosques 'with the asslifters inside of them.' Others call for violent attacks on Muslims. You can find the page and the comments at the above link.
If that was truly what BNI was allowing on their site, ( and I wouldn't put it past CAIR to manufacture something like this) the site owner definitely crossed the line. The Supreme Court has made it quite clear on a number of occasions that free speech ends when it comes to bodily harm and mayhem. That's exactly how neo-Nazi Tom Metzger's conviction was upheld - because of messages on his answering machine urging violence on various ethnic groups he didn't care for. When you provide a forum for this kind of violent hatred, you are past protected speech and yelling fire in a crowded theater.
I would also add that as far as I'm concerned, the site owner had a responsibility to monitor the comments. The fact that the owner didn't gives credence to the appearance that the owner not only didn't disagree, but supported and approved using the site as a forum for those kind of sentiments.
There is plenty to be said about Islamist infiltration in America, about jihad, about creeping sharia, about the threat of Islamists and Salafists to our civilization, and I've said it here more than once. But to call for the butchering of innocent people praying in a mosque is simply evil. In fact, it's exactly how jihadis treat churches in places like Nigeria, Pakistan and Indonesia.
And speaking just for myself,I consider that not only irresponsible but morally reprehensible.
It's also stupid, because it plays right into the Islamist's hands. It's not well known, but the majority of domestic jihad terrorist attacks here in America have been thwarted because an American Muslim saw or heard something in a mosque, overheard a conversation, saw something that didn't look or feel right and reported it to the authorities, often at risk to themselves.
They did it out of simple decency, which is the frame where the majority of people operate ordinarily. But they also did it because they realized that every jihad attack here in America reflected on them as Muslims and threatened their continued existence as free citizens in a free country.
It's exactly the same for the sort of material I saw on that Bare Naked Islam page. It allows Islamists like CAIR to use it to shut down legitimate criticism of Islamism and jihad, it gives credence to the constant whining about Islamophobia and most importantly, it allows them to go to Muslims who may not support CAIR's agenda and raise money and support from them, saying: 'You see why you need us? You see now how we were right all along?'
A friend asks 'do you really think it's worth losing their site over?'
That's not my decision to make. But if what CAIR linked to was what was actually appearing on Bare Naked Islam and not manufactured, then as far as I'm concerned, Wordpress was well within their rights to decide that they didn't want to be associated with that kind of material, and to invite the owners of Bare Naked Islam to take their content elsewhere.
It's a decision I would have made myself, CAIR or no CAIR. There's real danger in getting so blinded by hatred that you become what you despise without realizing it.
The devil of our lesser nature inside all of us laughs out loud at that kind of self-mockery.
There is a very thin like between Freedom of Speech and in some cases harmful hate speech or even hate crimes, but censorship of any kind opens the door to all types of censorship. (We are now re-writing history and books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn rather than reading it as is, allowing it to spark conversation and learning from our mistakes in the past. This pattern or re-writing books and history is one of the major arguments to buying printed vs electronic books and keeping and preserving them!) One man’s opinion is another man’s hate crime; the camel’s nose under the tent scenario. And are allowing Big Brother and groups of all kinds to trample our Constitution. Standing firm on freedom and the Constitution isn’t always easy or without controversy. Does anyone remember the The People Vs. Larry Flynt case? (Larry Flynt: author of One Nation Under Sex)
The truth has no agenda… and neither should the law. You be the judge… Ask Marion~
"Preparedness 101" and some of the realities about survival that most people try to ignore
The Ultimate Step-By-Step guide to creating your 40 Day Plan:
After I’d been serious about preparedness and self reliance for a year or two, I realized that my buying, training, and planning had been based on whatever was the most exciting or urgent to me at the time. I’d go through a gun phase, then a food phase, then a natural medicine phase, but I didn’t have anything to tie it all together.
I want to go over a few things that have acted as a compass for my personal preparedness planning. Yours should be unique to you, but feel free to use mine as a jumping off point to create your own. We’ll get into more nuts-and-bolts stuff tomorrow, but this is an important place to start so that you know that we’re on the same page. There’s a lot of nuts out there. I’m not one of them. I’ve got a wife, two YOUNG boys, and my planning is based on reality and proven, tested techniques–not fantasy.
1. Self-Reliance vs. Bureaucratic “solutions”: I define survival/preparedness/self-reliance, in part, as the ability for my family to survive and possibly thrive during periods of civil breakdown without having to depend on government agencies or non-government agencies. This will be as a result of a combination of our family preparedness and because of relationships with friends who have also prepared in advance. I don’t hate government agencies. In fact, I’m a first responder under FEMA–but I’ve repeatedly seen how one bureaucrat can destroy the effectiveness of dozens of competent first responders.
2. Maintain Morals: We have decided in advance that we will make the necessary preparations so that we don’t have to compromise on our morals and values in civil breakdown situations. A large number of people’s survival planning involves stealing/looting after a disaster. Ours does not. Remember, at some point, some form of stability will return and you’ll have to live with the consequences of your actions.
3. Carpe diem–Enjoy The Journey: We are not so focused on potential disaster that we miss out on daily fun. We continually evaluate our decisions and purchases based on how they will play out, regardless of whether we ever have to live through civil breakdown. This keeps us balanced. As an example, we tend to buy large quantities of food that we already eat rather than large quantities of MREs that, truth be told, we really don’t like. We actually USE a lot of our survival supplies on a daily basis.
4. Enrich Your Daily Life: Preparedness planning should not only be useful in a disaster, but enrich your daily life. Increasing your situational awareness will cause you to see more beauty as well as more potential threats. Exercise will help you be more resilient in a disaster, but will also burn off stress hormones and help you sleep better every day. Learning trauma skills and natural health care will allow you to treat yourself when there are no doctors available and it will put you more in tune with your body.
5. Preparedness Planning Should be Realistic. I’m always amazed at the number of people I talk to who’s plan is STILL to “head to the hills” when “it” happens. I kind of laugh because if half of those people actually DO go to the wilderness, the wilderness is going to be hunted clear of food in no-time. Then all the people will die…except for the handful who actually know what they’re doing. The reality is, most people live in urban areas (even communities of a few thousand) and will have to survive disasters in those areas.
6. “Survival” is not Necessarily Romantic, Fun, or Comfortable. If it was, it would be “Primitive Living.” Understand it, prepare for it, practice it if you’re able, and if you are ever forced into a situation where you need your skills to survive, you’ll have a more realistic idea of what to expect.
7. Most People will Never Understand Why You Prepare. Whether you call yourself “self-reliant”, a “prepper”, a “survivalist”, or just practical and moderately observant…everyone is not going to share your passion. Fortunately, we have a community online that does share your passion.
8. You’ll never be 100% prepared for everything that could happen…deal with it. We’ve got dozens of natural and manmade threats to contend with. Dirty bombs, EMPs, earthquakes, hurricanes, mud-slides, cyberattacks, economic collapse, attacks on the electricity grid, local accidents, etc. etc. Don’t waste your time worrying about it…Just start taking steps to prepare.
If all of your gear is at home and an earthquake buries it while you’re at the store, you’re going to have to improvise, adapt, and overcome. (and maybe decide to set up some caches) Especially as you’re starting out, try to focus on the basics…food, fire, water, shelter and then medical, security, and tools. These are all things that will help you on a regular basis and will help you if you go through rough economic times. They’re also ways that you can get prepared that are more “tolerable” for relatives who aren’t on board yet.
9. You don’t have to be rich to get prepared. Focus on skills and double up on groceries as you’re able and you’ll be light years ahead of people who have a pallet of food in their garage but no manual can opener to get them open.
10. Plan To Survive Where You Are Right Now. Since most people live in urban areas, most people are going to have to survive disasters in urban areas. Some have no intention of leaving and feel honor-bound to stay. Full-time law enforcement and first responders, sheepdogs, CERT personnel, and others who aren’t willing to leave. It may not be ideal, but if your plan (or backup plan) for survival is to Survive In Place in an urban area, you aren’t going to be on your own. After every disaster, there will be remnants who are currently training to be able to help stabilize neighborhoods, cities, and regions if necessary.
The fact that you might HAVE to survive for a time in an urban area is the core of the 12 week SurviveInPlace.com Urban Survival Course. You don’t have to buy it to enjoy the free mini course, but I’ll give you an opportunity to sign up at the end of each email.
I have received several responses about the course and how much people got out of going through the exercises in the lessons.
Wicked indeed… It would seem the elitists in Houston County, Minnesota want to implement Agenda 21 and take away citizen’s property rights. Disparaging the Constitution and treating the local populace as if they were nothing more than serfs. The very arrogant face of Progressivism and evil without a doubt.
One of the strongest American freedoms we have is the right to own property. It is what makes us a free society and is the very cornerstone of liberty.
Each individual of the society has a right to be protected by it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property, according to standing laws. He is obliged, consequently, to contribute his share to the expense of this protection; and to give his personal service, or an equivalent, when necessary. But no part of the property of any individual can, with justice, be taken from him, or applied to public uses, without his own consent, or that of the representative body of the people. In fine, the people of this commonwealth are not controllable by any other laws than those to which their constitutional representative body have given their consent.
Exercising their quintessential American rights, landowners in Houston County, Minnesota decided they had had enough five years ago and set out to reclaim their rights after the County Commissioners started making directives on how people could and could not use their own land. The fight continues today as threats, court proceedings, the stripping of Constitutional rights and lawyer’s fees fly frantically back and forth, egged on by Progressives in positions of power who are more interested in the environment and instituting Agenda 21 than they are in the rights of property owners. Cass Sunstein, is that you hiding behind the EPA again? Who’s a little Marxist?
“I know we’ve sworn to uphold the Constitution but it is an old document; times have changed,” stated Commissioner Tom Bjerke.
Well sir… If you think that the Constitution is outdated, perhaps you should take your viewpoint and move to a more ‘Progressive’ country in Europe, or perhaps Russia would be a better fit for you. I’m sure you would be much happier with like-thinking comrades. Don’t let the American door hit you in the behind on the way out.
The County Commissioners have told those citizens attending meetings to sit down and shut up. The local paper has told them that they have said enough and have quit taking letters to the editor longer than 500 words. But if you are on the side of the Progressives, well have your say! The media propaganda machine is in full swing skewing the truth as usual as I understand it.
In 2007, Houston County sued a young, newly married couple due to the new land use plan. The couple, who had just legally bought the home, was given four options to “settle the situation.” The couple was required to move their house fifty feet, purchase an additional 32 acres of land, sell their property to a neighbor, or tear their house down. Dealing with “impossible options,” the couple chose to appeal the ruling in the Minnesota Supreme Court. The court refused to hear their case, thus leading them to sell their property. The couple is now renting the very house they once owned.
That’s ridiculous and just wrong. And they didn’t even get to have their day in court, which probably wouldn’t have mattered any way since the County and State have already decided that this couple had no rights, Constitutional or otherwise. What a farce. This makes me boiling mad. And this couple is not alone, there are over 50 landowners in the area facing similar situations. Ask yourself, what would you do?
The County Commissioners have ignored the petition requesting they resign – over 700 landowners signed that petition. For a small county in the southeast corner of the state, that is a huge number of petitioners. These Commissioners have ignored all efforts by the people to have their voices heard concerning their Constitutional rights as landowners. They are told at meetings, in no uncertain terms, not to bring up the Constitution.
A small group of landowners decided that it was time to educate others, and themselves. With easy-to-read handouts of the Declaration of independence, quotes of the Founding Fathers, and parts of the Constitution, the group spent their evenings going from door to door, talking to their fellow citizens and asking for support.
And the march to take back their freedom has brought them to the Minnesota Federal Court, where they will plead their case. Fighting oppressive regulations and the blatant violation of Constitutional rights, these patriots are also fighting the insidious label by the Progressives of restricting their property’s use for “the public good.” That is Progressive lingo indicating that they: a) don’t feel there is any such thing as private property, b) the Constitution is irrelevant and c) landowners are too stupid to know what is good for them. If they do not prevail in Federal Court, property rights will be gutted and zoning rights will be the standard. Mull that over for a second… It renders the Constitution meaningless – individuals will no longer have the right to say what they can and can’t do with their own property – bureaucrats will wield that power. How very Marxist.
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that “nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation”. Houston County is essentially saying that they aren’t taking the property. They’re just telling private property owners that the county, not the landowner, will control the use of private property.
This is unacceptable. If Houston County wants to be the final arbiter of what land can be used for, then it should be required to purchase the land from the landowners at a fair market price. If Houston County isn’t willing to purchase the land for a fair market price, then it shouldn’t have decision-making rights, final or otherwise.
Essentially, Houston County wants everything for nothing. That sounds more like what happened in the former Soviet Union than in the United States.
I’m sure there are tons of legal documents being issued. This cannot stand. I’m beginning to see the scene from The Patriot where Benjamin Martin says to plead with the King and plead again if necessary. But pleading has been done on this over and over to no avail. Better yet, this is reminiscent of Andrew Jackson and his Manifest Destiny. The question is if the Federal Court rules against Constitutional rights, will we allow this wicked writ of the Midwest to stand? Or will it be time to take a stand that will shake this country to its very foundations?
I will leave it to each of you to search your souls and decide what side you are on. Remember the principles of our founding fathers and the Constitution – remember what this country was founded upon. Here is the press release announcing the lawsuit:
The Houston County, Minnesota Landowners Concerned About Property Rights have endorsed new litigation to get government back in the hands of “We the People.” The Complaint, to be filed in the Minnesota Federal District Court, asserts that the Houston County Commissioners, the Board of Adjustment, and the Planning Commission, as well as Houston County Zoning Administrator Bob Scanlan and Environmental Service Director Richard (Rick) Frank are violating the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the landowners in Houston County.
The case, which will be filed during the week of October 3, 2011, argues that the County, Scanlan and Frank have violated the private property rights, the rights of due process, the rights to freedom of speech and association, the right to petition for redress of grievance and the right to equal protection of the law to similarly situated landowners in the application of the County’s Land Use Plan and Zoning Ordinance. The case is being brought under the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1871.
“We are not a litigious group,” said Robert Ideker, a Houston County landowner. “We have tried to work with the County; we have attended dozens of meetings and hearings; we have written dozens of letters, but no one will listen. This last year, we even tried to talk to the Commissioners individually to express our concerns about the protection of property rights, and some landowners were told that the Commissioners would not speak to them. These are our elected representatives; it boggles my mind that they won’t even hear what we have to say.”
“At some of the meetings, we are told not to talk about the Constitution and the protection it guarantees to U.S. citizens. We need to get government back in the hands of the people; we just want the use of our property, our land and buildings. As we have told the County numerous times, we are not against civil law, but if our property use is not harming our neighbors or the environment, we should be able to use our property. We aren’t disrespectful to the County, but they should listen to our side as well. We are disappointed that we have to resort to the federal court to get a fair hearing on our concerns.”
The disagreements with the County came to a head when concerned citizens who had been deprived of their property rights went to the county officials, only to be rebuffed for their concerns. The landowners, often referred to as Landowners Concerned About Property Rights, then drafted a resolution, which was signed by 700 of the County’s landowners, that urged the County Commissioners to recognize the protections for private property and property use. That petition was presented to the Commission in 2007. The Commissioners never responded.
The Concerned Landowners filed litigation in state court challenging the land use plan and zoning ordinance in 2010, but during the research and discovery in the case, many landowners learned that the issues between the County and its citizens were significantly deeper than the land use plan; those issues go to the heart of the guarantees in the U.S. Constitution that are protected by the Federal Civil Rights Act. That is why the landowners are dismissing the state court case and endorsing the Federal District Court Civil Rights case. Dismissal of the state court case does not mean we agree with the County, it means we want to resolve all the claims at once and that can only be done in Federal Court.
“Civil rights are the rights belonging to an individual by virtue of his or her U.S. citizenship, especially the fundamental freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and by subsequent acts of Congress, including property rights, civil liberties, due process, equal protection of the laws, and freedom from discrimination,” explained Ideker. “Specifically, section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act makes monetary and equitable relief available to those whose constitutional rights had been violated by a bureaucrat or official acting under State authority.
The Federal Civil Rights Act stands as one of the most powerful authorities under which federal courts may protect those whose constitutionally guaranteed rights are deprived. Section 1983 provides a way individuals can sue to stop past and prevent future violations of constitutionally protected rights. Section 1983 applies to both governmental employees as individuals and to state and local boards and commissions acting under state authority. It requires that the individuals or boards be responsible for the decisions they make, and not simply hide behind a claim that they are ‘following the law.’”
“It is disappointing that it has come to federal court litigation, but there is nowhere else to turn. We would still be open to talking to the County officials to try to come to a resolution,” said county land owner Tom Groeschner. “But we can’t really talk to them if they won’t listen to us. Don’t we have to put government back in the hands of ‘we the people?’”
The rights of the American People and the U.S. Constitution have been under attack for a long time and the war on personal freedoms was dramatically increased after 9/11 with the passing of the Patriot Act in the name of security. And under the Obama administration the onslaught has continued at a frightening pace. Big brother is watching and monitoring us all from Onstar in your car, to everything you write and post on the Internet, to cameras on street corners and the box on your TV, to SmartMeters on your homes and the increased push for chips and biometric information in our bodies and on all our ID.
“He who trades freedom for security usually gets neither!” …Benjamin Franklin
Yet through the planned process to grind America down including the dumbing down of America and purposeful distraction of the masses, the average American is suffering from either the Sheeple Shuffle or Ostrich Syndrome.
Amazon Gets Big Brother Patent That Could Track Your Mall Movements
The Blaze There is a new player in the ever controversial location tracking game. Amazon gained a patent for a program that would track where users go with mobile devices and use such information to predict where they’ll go next in order to best target them with personalized ads and coupons, according to CBS MoneyWatch (via CNET).
Erik Sherman for CBS reports that Amazon joins Google, Apple and Microsoft with its patent that went through last week. Sherman has more on what Amazon’s program would do:
The system calculates a path and then predicts a set of likely next destinations. Then the system takes bids from third parties that want to send marketing messages to displays along the route the person takes, probably monitoring speed and direction to time displays for maximum chance of visibility.
Additional claims make clear that the ad could also go to the mobile device — including a message to tell the person to look over at a particular display. Shades of a science fiction story (or Minority Report), where personalized ads follow and appear on public displays wherever you go.
Sherman reports that in tracking location, this could mean specific stores inside of a mall. (Earlier this year two malls tracked smartphone signals to evaluate customers movement through the mall and what they seemed to like/dislike.)
Amazon’s patent states “mobile device users’ current and past travel patterns may be analyzed to determine a predicted next destination. For instance, by analyzing the recent movements of a mobile device user among stores in a shopping mall, it may be determined that a particular store is a predicted next destination for the mobile device user.”
Amazon gives the example of providing coupons, or the like, if the program senses a person is in a certain store. As Sherman sums it up, here’s where it gets a bit creepy:
Location ties to function. If you know what sort of establishment is at a spot, you can start to make more intelligent guesses of what a person is doing. The more stops, the more chances of putting together a picture of what a person is doing. And if you store this data over time, you might build a more complete picture.
Now consider where the ads might show up. It’s not hard to imagine Amazon trying to partner with retailers that have TVs, computer monitors, digital signs, or other ways of displaying advertising.
Amazon’s approach is more sophisticated than the usual proximity marketing, where a person’s location would trigger messages for nearby businesses. Maybe GPS provides the location, or maybe cell tower triangulation, according to the patent.
Sherman reminds us that this is just in a patent stage and that there is the possibility that the company may never decide to create and use the program.
Across the Web and around the world, your face is being detected and recognized. It’s creepy and a violation your Constitutional rights!
CNNMoney Looking at digital advertisements has become commonplace in malls and bus stops around the world. A growing number of those signs are now looking back at you.
Intel's AIM Suite digital signs use facial detection cameras and software to determine a consumer's age and gender, and then tailors their ads. If an 23-year old woman walks by the sign, it might display an ad for a hair product. But if a 53-year old man strolls past, a BMW ad may be displayed.
AIM Suite is designed to detect broad age ranges: 18 and under, 18-34, 34-59 and 60 and over. It can also determine gender -- typically by checking out the ears. If ears are showing, there's an 85% chance the subject is male, according to Intel. The software cannot, however, record images or recognize specific faces.
But it does send data back to the advertisers, including how long a consumer engages with a particular ad and how far away they're standing from the sign. That can help advertisers understand the appeal of their on-screen content for different groups and decide how frequently they should change it. Static posters can't do that.
The technology has been on the market for just three months, but advertisers have been quick to adopt it. Brian Huseman, senior counsel for Intel, estimates that of the "millions" of digital signs around the world, AIM Suite is in a "low single-digit percentage" of them.
Congress Authorizes Pentagon to Wage Internet War
The ancient art of war is coming to the internet.
The House and Senate agreed to give the U.S. military the power to conduct “offensive” strikes online — including clandestine attacks, via a little-noticed provision in the military’s 2012 funding bill.
The power, which was included in the House version but not the Senate version, was included in the final “reconciled” bill that is all but guaranteed to pass into law.
Congress affirms that the Department of Defense has the capability, and upon direction by the President may conduct offensive operations in cyberspace to defend our Nation, Allies and interests, subject to–
(1) the policy principles and legal regimes that the Department follows for kinetic capabilities, including the law of armed conflict; and (2) the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.).
While “offensive” action isn’t defined, that’s likely to include things like unleashing a worm like the Stuxnet worm that damaged Iran’s nuclear centrifuges, hacking into another country’s power grid to bring it down, disabling websites via denial-of-service attacks, or as the CIA has already done with some collateral damage, hacking into a forum where would-be terrorists meet in order to permanently disable it.
The conferees recognize that because of the evolving nature of cyber warfare, there is a lack of historical precedent for what constitutes traditional military activities in relation to cyber operations and that it is necessary to affirm that such operations may be conducted pursuant to the same policy, principles, and legal regimes that pertain to kinetic capabilities.
The conferees also recognize that in certain instances, the most effective way to deal with threats and protect U.S. and coalition forces is to undertake offensive military cyber activities, including where the role of the United States Government is not apparent or to be acknowledged. The conferees stress that, as with any use of force, the War Powers Resolution may apply.
Despite mainstream news accounts, there’s been no documented hacking attacks on U.S. infrastructure designed to cripple it. A recent report from a post-9/11 intelligence fusion center that a water pump in Illinois had been destroyed by Russian hackers turned out to be baseless — and was simply a contractor logging in from his vacation at the behest of the water company.
Over the last few years, there’s been a drumbeat from D.C. and security contractors about the possibility of “cyberwar,” and the military has been pushing for, and largely receiving, increased funding for internet security research and more power to monitor and operate on the civilian internet.
Chinese hackers, perhaps affiliated with the government, have targeted large U.S. corporations, defense contractors and human rights groups with data-stealing trojans, something Bloomberg News trumpeted Tuesday as an “undeclared global cyber war.”
However, spying isn’t an act of war — just ask the NSA and CIA, who spend billions of dollars a year spying on other countries by intercepting communications and persuading foreign citizens to give the U.S. valuable intelligence. It’s certainly an aggressive state action, and a diplomatic issue. But if spying was an act of war, every CIA agent hiding under diplomatic cover would count as cause for a country to attack the U.S.
After perfunctory votes in both the House and Senate, the spending measure — and the cyberwar green light — will go to the President for his signature.
The Montross Tea Party in Virginia just sent out the following:
Every Breath You Take, Every Move You Make – 14 New Ways That the Government Is Watching You
If you live in the United States today, you need to understand that your privacy is being constantly eroded. Our world is going crazy, government paranoia is off the charts and law enforcement authorities have become absolutely obsessed with watching us, listening to us, tracking us, recording us, compiling information on all of us and getting us all to spy on one another. If you doubt that we are rapidly getting to the point where the government will monitor every breath you take and every move you make, just read the rest of this article. The truth is that the government is watching you more closely than ever, and they are spending billions upon billions of dollars to enhance their surveillance capabilities even further. If our society stays on this current path, we will eventually have zero privacy left. At this point, it is not too hard to imagine a society where we will not be able to say anything, buy anything, sell anything, assemble with others or even leave our homes without government permission. We truly are descending into a dystopian nightmare and the American people had better wake up.
Sadly, most people living in the United States and in Europe do not realize what is happening. Most of them think that everything is just fine. The "Big Brother control grid" that is being constructed all over the western world squeezes all of us just a little bit tighter every single day, and most people don't even feel it.
But when you step back and take a look at the big picture, it truly is horrifying.
The following are 14 new ways that the government is watching you....
#1 In many areas of the United States today, you will be arrested if you do not produce proper identification for the police. In the old days, "your papers please" was a phrase that we used to use to mock the tyranny of Nazi Germany. But now all of us are being required to be able to produce "our papers" for law enforcement authorities at any time. For example, a 21-year-old college student named Samantha Zucker was recently arrested and put in a New York City jail for 36 hours just because she could not produce any identification for police.
#2 The federal government has decided that what you and I share with one another on Facebook and on Twitter could be a threat to national security. According to a recent Associated Press article, the Department of Homeland Security will soon be "gleaning information from sites such as Twitter and Facebook for law enforcement purposes".
Other law enforcement agencies are getting into the act as well. For example, the NYPD recently created a special "social media" unit dedicated to looking for criminals on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
#3 New high-tech street lights that are being funded by the federal government and that are being installed all over the nation can also be used as surveillance cameras, can be used by the DHS to make "security announcements" and can even be used to record personal conversations. The following is from a recent article by Paul Joseph Watson for Infowars.com....
Federally-funded high-tech street lights now being installed in American cities are not only set to aid the DHS in making “security announcements” and acting as talking surveillance cameras, they are also capable of “recording conversations,” bringing the potential privacy threat posed by ‘Intellistreets’ to a whole new level.
#4 More than a million hotel television sets all over America are now broadcasting propaganda messages from the Department of Homeland Security promoting the "See Something, Say Something" campaign. In essence, the federal government wants all of us to become "informants" and to start spying on one another constantly. The following comes from an article posted by USA Today....
Starting today, the welcome screens on 1.2 million hotel television sets in Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Holiday Inn and other hotels in the USA will show a short public service announcement from DHS. The 15-second spot encourages viewers to be vigilant and call law enforcement if they witness something suspicious during their travels.
#5 The FBI is now admittedly recording Internet talk radio programs all over the United States. The following comes from a recent article by Mark Weaver of WMAL.com....
If you call a radio talk show and get on the air, you might be recorded by the FBI.
The FBI has awarded a $524,927 contract to a Virginia company to record as much radio news and talk programming as it can find on the Internet.
The FBI says it is not playing big brother by policing the airwaves, but rather seeking access to what airs as potential evidence.
Potential evidence of what?
This is very creepy. Why is the FBI so interested in what is being said during Internet talk radio programs?
#6 TSA VIPR teams are now conducting random inspections at bus stations and on interstate highways all over the United States. For example, the following comes from a local news report down in Tennessee....
You're probably used to seeing TSA's signature blue uniforms at the airport, but now agents are hitting the interstates to fight terrorism with Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR).
"Where is a terrorist more apt to be found? Not these days on an airplane more likely on the interstate," said Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons.
Tuesday Tennessee was first to deploy VIPR simultaneously at five weigh stations and two bus stations across the state.
#7 Thermal imaging face scanners are becoming much more sophisticated. Law enforcement authorities in the western world are getting very excited about "pre-crime" tools such as this that will enable them to "prevent crimes" before they happen. The following is from a recent BBC News article....
A sophisticated new camera system can detect lies just by watching our faces as we talk, experts say.
The computerised system uses a simple video camera, a high-resolution thermal imaging sensor and a suite of algorithms.
Researchers say the system could be a powerful aid to security services.
But face scanners are not just a tool that will be used in the future. The truth is that face scanners are being used all over the United States right now. The following comes from an article posted on Singularity Hub....
Law enforcement continues to adopt new technologies in an effort to make their jobs easier and keep us safer. The latest gizmo attaches to officers’ iPhones and turns them into biometric face scanners. The scanners have already been street tested in Massachusetts. Pretty soon cops all across the US will be using them to ID suspects.
Before long, technology like this will be all over America. In fact, the FBI has announced that it will be activating a "nationwide facial recognition service" in January.
#8 Another "pre-crime" technology currently being tested by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is The Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) program. The following description of this new program comes from an article in the London Telegraph....
Using cameras and sensors the "pre-crime" system measures and tracks changes in a person's body movements, the pitch of their voice and the rhythm of their speech.
It also monitors breathing patterns, eye movements, blink rate and alterations in body heat, which are used to assess an individual's likelihood to commit a crime.
The Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) programme is already being tested on a group of government employees who volunteered to act as guinea pigs.
Do you want government officials to pull you aside and interrogate you just because you are feeling a little bit nervous one particular day?
#9 Sadly, "pre-crime" technology is even being used on our children. The Florida State Department of Juvenile Justice has announced that it will begin using analysis software to predict crime by young delinquents and will place "potential offenders" in specific prevention and education programs.
How soon will it be before this type of things is applied to adults?
#10 Our children are being programmed to accept the fact that they will be watched and monitored constantly. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is spending large amounts of money to install surveillance cameras in the cafeterias of public schools all across the nation so that government control freaks can closely monitor what our children are eating.
#11 The U.S. government is also increasingly using "polls" and "surveys" as tools to gather information about all of us. In previous articles, I have noted how government authorities seems particularly interested in our children. According to Mike Adams of Natural News, the CDC is starting to call parents all over the U.S. to question them about the vaccination status of their children....
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which has been comprehensively exposed as a vaccine propaganda organization promoting the interests of drug companies, is now engaged in a household surveillance program that involves calling U.S. households and intimidating parents into producing child immunization records. As part of what it deems a National Immunization Survey(NIS), the CDC is sending letters to U.S. households, alerting them that they will be called by "NORC at the University of Chicago" and that households should "have your child's immunization records handy when answering our questions."
You can see a copy of the letter that the CDC has been sending out to selected parents right here.
#12 As I have written about previously, a very disturbing document that Oath Keepers has obtained shows that the FBI is now instructing store owners to report many new forms of "suspicious activity" to them. According to the document, "suspicious activity" now includes the following....
paying with cash
missing a hand or fingers
"strange odors"
making "extreme religious statements"
"radical theology"
purchasing weatherproofed ammunition or match containers
purchasing meals ready to eat
purchasing night vision devices, night flashlights or gas masks
Do any of those "signs of suspicious activity" apply to you?
According to a report on WorldNetDaily, this document is part of a "series of brochures" that will be distributed "to farm supply stores, gun shops, military surplus stores and even hotels and motels."
#13 In some areas of the country, law enforcement authorities are pulling data out of cell phones for no reason whatsoever. According to the ACLU, state police in Michigan are now using "extraction devices" to download data from the cell phones of motorists that they pull over. This is taking happening even if the motorists that are pulled over are not accused of doing anything wrong.
The following is how a recent article on CNET News described the capabilities of these "extraction devices"....
The devices, sold by a company called Cellebrite, can download text messages, photos, video, and even GPS data from most brands of cell phones. The handheld machines have various interfaces to work with different models and can even bypass security passwords and access some information.
#14 The government can spy on us and record our conversations seemingly without any limitation, but in many areas of the country it has become illegal to watch them or record them in public. For example, one 21-year-old man down in Florida was recently arrested for trying to document a confrontation that he was having with police on his iPhone. But if we can't record them, how can we prove our side of the story in court?
America is becoming a much different place.
Our privacy is being eroded in thousands of different ways.
National governments and big corporations know far more about you than you probably ever would imagine.
Yes, there will always be "security threats", but we should not have to throw away any of our rights in order to be "safe".
America is supposed to be about liberty and freedom.
America is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.
If given the choice between living in "1984" and living in "1776", I know what my choice would be.
I would choose 1776.
I would choose liberty and freedom even if it meant that the world around me was a little bit less "safe".
What about you?
What would you choose?
Reprinted with permission from End of the American Dream.
A reader on my blog wrote earlier this week that Americans are slow to rally, but when they finally rise up they are fierce. My question is have the Sheeple been too brainwashed, drugged, poisoned, diverted and dumbed down that they won’t awaken this time… or will it just be too late?
The Democratic Party has become the Lawyers Party. Barack Obama is a lawyer. Michelle Obama is a lawyer. Hillary Clinton is a lawyer. Bill Clinton is a lawyer. John Edwards is a lawyer. Elizabeth Edwards was a lawyer.
Every Democrat nominee since 1984 went to law school (although Gore did not graduate). Every Democrat vice presidential nominee since 1976, except for Lloyd Bentsen, went to law school. Look at leaders of the Democrat Party in Congress: Harry Reid is a lawyer. Nancy Pelosi is a lawyer.
The Republican Party is different. President Bush is a businessman. Vice President Cheney is a businessman. The leaders of the Republican Revolution: Newt Gingrich was a history professor. Tom Delay was an exterminator. Dick Armey was an economist. House Minority Leader Boehner was a plastic manufacturer. The former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is a heart surgeon. Who was the last Republican president who was a lawyer?
Gerald Ford, who left office 31 years ago and who barely won the Republican nomination as a sitting president, running against Ronald Reagan in 1976. The Republican Party is made up of real people doing real work, who are often the targets of lawyers. The Democrat Party is made up of lawyers. Democrats mock and scorn men who create wealth, like Bush and Cheney, or who heal the sick, like Frist, or who immerse themselves in history, like Gingrich. The Lawyers Party sees these sorts of people, who provide goods and services that people want, as the enemies of America . And, so we have seen the procession of official enemies, in the eyes of the Lawyers Party, grow. Against whom do Hillary and Obama rail? Pharmaceutical companies, oil companies, hospitals, manufacturers, fast food restaurant chains, large retail businesses, bankers, and anyone producing anything of value in our nation. This is the natural consequence of viewing everything through the eyes of lawyers. Lawyers solve problems by successfully representing their clients, in this case the American people. Lawyers seek to have new laws passed, they seek to win lawsuits, they press appellate courts to overturn precedent, and lawyers always parse language to favor their side. Confined to the narrow practice of law, that is fine. But it is an awful way to govern a great nation.
When politicians as lawyers begin to view some Americans as clients and other Americans as opposing parties, then the role of the legal system in our life becomes all-consuming.
Some Americans become adverse parties of our very government.
We are not all litigants in some vast social class-action suit.
We are citizens of a republic that promises us a great deal of freedom from laws, from courts, and from lawyers. Today, we are drowning in laws; we are contorted by judicial decisions; we are driven to distraction by omnipresent lawyers in all parts of our once private lives. America has a place for laws and lawyers, but that place is modest and reasonable, not vast and unchecked. When the most important decision for our next president is whom he will appoint to the Supreme Court, the role of lawyers and the law in America is too big. When House Democrats sue America in order to hamstring our efforts to learn what our enemies are planning to do to us, then the role of litigation in America has become crushing. We cannot expect the Lawyers Party to provide real change, real reform or real hope in America . Most Americans know that a republic in which every major government action must be blessed by nine unelected judges is not what Washington intended in 1789. Most Americans grasp that we cannot fight a war when ACLU lawsuits snap at the heels of our defenders. Most Americans intuit that more lawyers and judges will not restore declining moral values or spark the spirit of enterprise in our economy. Perhaps Americans will understand that change cannot be brought to our nation by those lawyers who already largely dictate American society and business. (One of the greatest problems is that all these Democratic Lawyers believe in, were trained in and practice case law… not Constitutional law and they generally look at the Constitution as a relic from the past lacking any use or place in modern time instead of being the greatest document for freedom ever created. The use of case law is one of the main reasons that our country has headed down the wrong path.)
Perhaps Americans will see that hope does not come from the mouths of lawyers but from personal dreams nourished by hard work. Perhaps Americans will embrace the truth that more lawyers with more power will only make our problems worse. The United States has 5% of the world's population and 66% of the world's lawyers!
Tort (Legal) reform legislation has been introduced in congress several times in the last several years to limit punitive damages in ridiculous lawsuits such as spilling hot coffee on yourself and suing the establishment that sold it to you and also to limit punitive damages in huge medical malpractice lawsuits. This legislation has continually been blocked from even being voted on by the Democrat Party.
When you see that 97% of the political contributions from the American Trial Lawyers Association goes to the Democrat Party, then you realize who is responsible for our medical and product costs being so high!
Chertoff & Company have raised the price of their mandatory full body irradiation devices from $160,000 to $250,000 since the winter. Why the big price increase?
They've got a lot of Congressmen to pay off.
The good news is that the GOP (god bless their pointy little heads) have said "NO" to funding additional purchases of these things. Personally, I made the decision back in November to stop flying into or out of any airport that uses these things which means I'm not flying in the US.
I'm lucky that I no longer have to fly for work and most of my family is within a reasonable drive.
The fact is my quality of life has improved noticeably since I stopped flying. No more stress of getting to the airport on time and dealing with all the crap that takes place there and on the planes.
I'm discovering all the great things I can do within 250 miles of my home and have learned that I'd never run out of interesting, pleasurable things to do within that radius in ten lifetimes.
Disney World? Las Vegas? Is it really worth getting on a plane to go to places like that and in doing so support outrageous conduct on the part of the government?
I don't think so, but that's just me.
There are dogs everywhere who need a job and purpose and there are millions of us who don’t want to be groped and have our privacy and rights infringed upon any longer!! (Video: All Breeds: Awareness)
Apparently deciding that the risk of angering his constituents over a failure to act against Obamacare was worse than angering his Attorney General, Wayne Stenehjem, who holds that the state cannot pass laws contradicting federal law, Governor Jack Dalrymple signed SB2309. (click here to read about the health care nullification act in N.D.)
The bill affirms that North Dakotans have the right to buy, or not buy, whatever health insurance they want. This law is statute. A previous bill that would have amended the constitution with similar language was defeated with a gang of 29 House Republicans voting with Democrats at the behest of Stenehjem to kill it.
This bill was discussed on Fox News recently by state nullification proponent Tom Woods and Judge Andrew Napolitano. “The new state law, if signed by Dalrymple, says the federal health insurance law can’t interfere with North Dakotans’ decision to buy health insurance or not buy health insurance,” wrote the editorial board of the Minot Daily News though the paper went on to say that the law “won’t make a difference” because state law “can’t override a federal law.”
This, of course, isn’t true. The states are under no obligation to abide by federal laws that are unconstitutional. And since that is the State of North Dakota’s official position on Obamacare in a multi-state lawsuit challenging the law, this law passed by the legislature and signed by the governor is appropriate.
Kudos to Dalrymple for having the courage many other political leaders in this state do not.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Recently, Idaho’s Governor Otter signed an order refusing state compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). With this signature, North Dakota is now the first state in the country to pass into law the Health Care Nullification Act.
The Tenth Amendment Center has released the Federal Health Care Nullification Act, which directly nullifies the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” on a state level. Click here to learn more about the bill. CLICK HERE to track the Nullification Act in states around the country.
Keep Praying!
Today's hearing of our lawsuit against ObamaCare is making national headlines. Many news organizations are reporting on the great significance of my oral argument and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's presentation that will be heard back-to-back by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.
These lawsuits - one on behalf of private parties and one on behalf of a sovereign state - are the first lawsuits against ObamaCare to reach the appeals court level.
Because the three judges who will hear our case are selected from among the 14 sitting judges in the Fourth Circuit - four of whom are Obama appointees and three of whom are Clinton appointees - preparation for this case has been highly challenging. We cannot know who will be chosen to hear our case tomorrow, so we had to make sure we are very broadly prepared.
How important is our challenge to the constitutionality of ObamaCare? The panel of judges we will face is just one level below the United States Supreme Court. As you may recall, two lower court judges have already declared ObamaCare to be unconstitutional, while certain liberal judges have sided with the so-called healthcare "reform" act.
We are well prepared and calling for continual prayer!
As I wrote on Friday, I'm excitedly anticipating just how powerful the prayers of tens of thousands of Believers will actually be!
I know each of the 76,593 patriotic men and women who signed our Amici Book want our nation to be delivered from the devastation of ObamaCare before it is too late.
Above all, I know God is hearing these prayers and that He Is answering!
I am emphatically asking that you pray for my entire team and me in the remaining hours before I stand before the panel of federal judges to defend the liberties of all Americans against this outrageous law.
Your prayers mean a great deal to me and our Liberty Counsel Litigation Team and they are also crucially important to all Americans who recognize this blatant socialist takeover of our medical industry for exactly what it is!
Are we we experiencing a quiet constitutional crisis?
It’s well known that Judge Roger Vinson ruled yesterday that the individual mandate exceeded the powers of the federal government under the Commerce Clause. But he also ruled that because the law lacked a severability clause and the law’s proponents had argued that the individual mandate was a necessary part of the scheme, the entire law was invalid.
That means that under the ruling, the law is void and cannot be implemented from this point forward. The Administration’s legal remedy is to seek a stay of the ruling pending appeal. It cannot just defy a federal court ruling. If it tries, the plaintiffs should go to court for the injunction and/or seek an order of contempt against the administration. Pretending that the ruling doesn’t change anything when it unequivocally does, would be both a petulant and extra-legal approach to governance.
So has the Obama administration halted the implementation of the law? The answer is: No.
Vinson’s decision did not include an injunction to stop the implementation of health care reform on the grounds that an injunction would be superfluous. He argued that the government would stop implementing the law automatically once it was announced as unconstitutional.
That, apparently, hasn’t happened.
So here’s a question: should government officials mindful of the constitution start defying the Obama administration to honor the decision by the court? If, say, you were charged with monitoring the computers that send out rebate checks to seniors with high prescription drug costs, should you turn off the computer?
Much of this is probably theoretical. Most of the law did not yet apply, so implementation was minimal. But if you were working on implementing the law, shouldn’t you be obligated to stop work?
“Pencils down” as we used to say back when an M&A deal fell apart.
As the nation's biggest circuit, representing most of the western United States, it should come as no surprise that the 9th Circuit has more cases heard before the Supreme Court than any other jurisdiction -- in turn resulting in more reversals. But the latest string of rulings is unusual even for the 9th, which often is at odds with conservatives on the Supreme Court. The fact that the rulings were unanimous can be seen as a signal from on high that the circuit needs to get in line.
Take a Hint? Supreme Court Rejects 5 Rulings in a Row From West Coast Bench By Judson Berger Published February 02, 2011 | FoxNews.com The Supreme Court may be sending a message to one of the country's most liberal appeals courts, unanimously overturning five consecutive cases out of the 9th Circuit in less than a week. As the nation's biggest circuit, representing most of the western United States, it should come as no surprise that the 9th Circuit has more cases heard before the Supreme Court than any other jurisdiction -- in turn resulting in more reversals. But the latest...
As expected, all 47 Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to repeal the sweeping health law, but no Democratic members joined them, leaving the GOP well short of the 60 needed to pass. But the bill, which easily cleared the GOP-led House last month, forced vulnerable Senate Dems to once again back the controversial legislation. Meanwhile, the Senate voted 81-17 to roll back the much-hated “1099” tax-reporting requirement. The obscure ObamaCare provision would have required companies, starting in 2012, to file a 1099 tax form every time they make cumulative purchases of $600 or more from any business.
How did Obama ever think that his program would pass constitutional muster? How could he imagine that the Interstate Commerce clause could cover something that wasn’t interstate (health insurance cannot be sold over state lines) and wasn’t commerce (failure to buy insurance is not commerce) would stand up in court? He was so sure that he would win any constitutional challenge that he arrogantly failed to put a severability clause in the bill so that it would survive even if parts were stricken down. The decision of the Florida District Court may or may not prevail in the Circuit Court....
As the 112th Congress of the United States House of Representatives takes it’s Oath to God to uphold and defend the Constitution from ALL enemies foreign and domestic the first on a long list of orders to be fulfilled is the actual reading of the Document that they swear the Oath to.
This reading will take place on the Second day of the 112th Congress in session and the first time in history that the Constitution will be read aloud on the floor of the House.
This is probably the most honorable symbol from those the American People entrust so much too, with vested power, in enacting laws and keeping us safe. Simply put the Constitution is the relevant document that bestows our Legislative, Executive and Judicial leaders in the Federal Government with the needed authority on what they can and cannot do for or most importantly against the American people.
Today more and more Americans are talking about this document because they are reading it and understanding the true nature of its power when enforced by the American people. As the word spread about this reading on the House floor led by new House Speaker John Boehner some in the media questioned this with obvious confusion and anger.
On Joy Behar’s HLN program Tuesday night she questioned a Progressive radio host Bill Press, “Do you think this Constitution-loving is getting out of hand? I mean, is it a nod to the Tea Party?" Behar asked Press, before unwittingly, perhaps, answering her own question: "Is it the first time a lot of congressmen will have heard about it, er, read it?"
The mood amongst most Americans and specifically the TEA Party is that which Behar described in her ending remarks. Most of the Congressmen in Washington have never read it, much less understand it because if the Politicians do they are willingly lying about the Constitutions intent for Government and breaking an Oath to God.
What’s worse is the thought Ezra Klein of the Washington Post most absurdly articulated here in this statement on MSNBC, a news channel.“You can say two things about it, One; it has no binding power on ANYTHING. The issue of the Constitution is that the text is confusing because it was written more than a hundred years ago, and what people believe it says differs from person to person and differs depending on what they want to get done.”
The idea that the text is confusing is extremely disturbing given that if the Constitution and all 27 Amendments are added to a Word document with Calibri and 11 size fonts you have 17 pages of 7,500 words. Just one of the most recent laws signed by President Obama, one of positive rights, ObamaCare, was 2,500 pages and more than 500,000 words and in the last two years Congress has passed and President Obama has signed at least 5 laws just like ObamaCare. How will we ever interpret them? (And everyday we learn something new about this bill that isn’t good for “We the People”!
These remarks come from a much discussed and debated idea most of you reading this will already know and that is that the Constitution is a “Living, Breathing Document.” This means that we, namely Politicians and those wanting to get stuff done, have to translate and manipulate the language of the Constitution to fit their purpose and our rapidly changing environment, socially and politically, based on verbiage.
For those that proclaim the living, breathing lie also believe the Constitutions language must be altered arbitrarily, or interpreted, to match the agenda for those seeking to pass unconstitutional legislation.Over generations meanings of words do change but for this case the Founding Fathers wrote and published thousands of hand written explanations for the words, terms and meanings of which they used.
The most important aspect of all this aside from reading and understanding our founding documents is how the concept of the “living,breathing document” theory was passed down as more than a theory.
To some, the answer and conclusion you will read may seem controversial or conspiratorial but the annals of history and time prove this true. I implore you to not take my word for it but conduct your own research and you will find the same answers.
As Karl Marx, German Philosopher, and Friedrich Engels’, German Social Scientist, Communist Manifesto took off amongst the elite in the world and the framework for their plans began to take shape. For the many pages of horrid rhetoric describing the knowledge on how to dismantle the American system in particular the Authors tell of the plans to remove the American people from history and eternal truths.
“Undoubtedly,religious, moral, philosophical, and juridical ideas have been modified in the course of historical development. But religion, morality, philosophy, political science and law, constantly survived this change.”
“There are, besides, eternal truths, such as Freedom, Justice, etc., that are common to all states of society. But Communism abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion and all morality, instead of constituting them on a new basis; it therefore acts in contradiction to all past historical experience.”
It is true that President Reagan defeated the Communist Soviet Russians and the Communist International but ideas are more complicated to defeat than a human cabal.
Those Americans who joined hands with the Communist around the turn of the 20th century knew that once the ills of the Communist International were made public the ideas espoused by them would never see the light of day. So, the only logical thing to do would be to call your ideas by another name. For this we have a generation of history in America that is called the Progressive Era.
This was the beginning of the end of generations of American children learning the meaning and history of our founding leaders and documents. Those children obviously grew up and did not understand the concept of limited-Government and what the tool that kept it that way was. For this, we have a completely out of control Federal Government that is constantly stepping over its boundaries and usurping from the American people the ability to self-govern.
Understand Liberal/Progressives will use the Constitution, explicitly to progress their agenda, but when it comes to the ideas of it limiting government per its enumerated powers the document becomes out dated and hard to interpret. So, in hindsight, to Progressives the Constitution is a dead, living breathing document.
The importance of the Constitution cannot be overstated for a free people to remain as such. In fact Thomas Jefferson, Author of the Declaration of Independence said, “If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
The Constitution is a timeless document that transcends generations primarily due to the overarching wisdom and intellect of history and Faith in God by the Founding Fathers. The men, who debated, wrote and studied which form of government to be best where literal students of history and took from the best of former societies and established unto God what was intended for human kind, Individual Liberty and self-government.
Because of this, it is of the utmost importance that each and every American be more than familiar with the documents history, text and original intent. The intent of which I speak is a parameter setting, NOT for the general public as are laws, but for the Government. It lists basic governing principles and enumerated powers that are to be bound like shackles to the ankles of our Representing body of government.
Like most humans do when presented with an obstacle in its way is for that human to get around said obstacle, like former Speaker of the House Progressive Democrat Nancy Pelosi stated during the healthcare debate, "We will go through the gate. If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn't work, we will parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed.” The Constitution was the obstacle and the American people were the closed gate.
But if removed, the Constitution or the people, singularly or both together you have a government in full fledge tyranny.
The idea at the time of ratification was simply to give the majority unblemished Freedom and allow for God’s hand to work its spirit and soon thereafter would secure to all unequivocal Freedom that no human civilization has ever been witnessed to.
Above all, what makes the U.S. Constitution so special aside from securing self governance and individual liberty is that it is the oldest governing document in human history. Most societies revolutionize themselves every fifty to one hundred years. We, Americans, have lived under the inalienable core principles abound in the Constitution for more than 234 years.
This gives even more reason for taking an Oath to God to uphold and defend with my life and liberty in order to secure it for future generations because if there is no more important thing to understand then self governance it is that the Constitution and Freedom do NOT belong to us, this generation, it belongs to future generations of God’s children to also uphold and defend. We are not the sole proprietors of Liberty but it must be passed on and the only way to accomplish this is by teaching, reading and living by the Constitution.
“Whether peace is best preserved by giving energy to the government, or information to the people. This last is the most certain and the most legitimate engine of government. Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. Enable them to see that it is their interest to preserve peace and order, and they will preserve them. And it requires no very high degree of education to convince them of this. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”
Wilder Pub. put WARNING LABELS on the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Federalist Papers.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME????
They feed us genetically modified food that our bodies may not even recognize as food, our school kids are #19 in the world... 100's of cities don't have safe water in their pipes, and now...
THE CONSTITUTION NEEDS A WARNING LABEL!??
I gotta say....I am actually laughing at this one...
Want to fight back? Write Wilder a nice little note and then go buy one of those things they "warned" us of, from ANOTHER publisher. And then do something REALLY mean and spiteful... Actually READ THE THING!
And if you haven’t read the Constitution (and related documents) or have children in school now, please sit down and read it and discuss it… Here are some suggestions:
This photo is an example of what makes America great… the most civil transfer of power in world… even sealed with a kiss by this two arch rivals. It demonstrates the amazing tools that our Founding Fathers have given us… a republic and a divinely inspired Constitution that the Progressives have worked to destroy for over 100-years, and are closer in doing so than they ever have been before! If there was ever a time for each of us to get involved in saving our country and all that is good about it, it is now!
Keep them honest… Keep up the pressure by calling, faxing, emailing and writing your Senators and Congress-people as well as visiting their offices both at home and Washington D.C. and keep the tea party candidates and Republicans focused on their election promises!!
thecommunists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
Then they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.
Then they came for the trade unionists, I did not protest; I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, I did not protest; I was a Protestant.
Then they came for the Jews, I did not speak out; I was not a Jew.
When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.
Election 2014 - What Is Really At Stake
Help Stop Voter Fraud!! Stand for the Constitution and God
Time to remember that: "We Surround Them", not the other way!
Stand Up Against Voter Fraud... Demand Re-Counts and Verification Until It is Right!! A Little Ink Goes a Long Way Toward Honesty... 1 Person 1 Vote... No More Mickey Mouse or Dead People Voting
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about IT! --Albert Einstein
Call Congress Today and Tell Them To Vote Against Cap and Trade
The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality -- Dante Alighieri / Often Quoted by Mark Twain
Thanks for calling the Congressional switchboard. Keep up the pressure: "NO on Cap and Trade"!!! "NO Vote on Obamacare", NO on another Stimulus Bill, NO to the never ending parade of "Power Grab Bills", and ABSOLUTELY NO on the Climate Change Treaty in Copenhagen!!
"No" on Cap and Trade and "No" on Government Controlled Healthcare!!! And Keep up the good fight! Keep up the Pressure on both the House and Senate! These are 2-fights the American People cannot afford to lose!!!
If you choose not to go this route… call and fax your Senator and as many of them on the list yourself, but don’t sit idly by!!
United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121
We apologize in advance for any Videos or links that are not functioning in these or other older posts. Internet information... like 'true' history in our student's textbooks are under constant attack by the Progressive Movement and even more so under the present administration. Try to save what you can to your own computer.
"...there comes a time, ladies and gentlemen, when ideology can cause death. I am so tired, so tired, of zealots, primarily on the left, putting their insane personal agendas above the safety of fellow Americans. Do you think the brave soldiers and Marines operating in dangerous areas right now want [unreleased photos of alleged abuse of prisoners] all over al-Jazeera and the terror websites? So let's look out for the military, OK? Nancy Pelosi has an obligation to get the loons in her party under control. If the Speaker can't do that, she doesn't deserve her position." ... Bill O'Reilly
Updated:If you'd like to contact Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, here's the contact information that you'll need.
![Rand Paul - Filibuster_thumb[1]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5EdQ-VFrOq8_KTSQMO9ScwtGhAevJQvoT0S1j-QLnWBZxPsEw0Q6-9PnqFdlVznR289jF3gGBDvm03YUDjje7K1xRGppHK2jcXCXosRTKq7IV-lRim5J3uFr0__isKy2sgtqnKPQ6GY7G/s1600-h/Rand%252520Paul%252520-%252520Filibuster_thumb%25255B1%25255D%25255B6%25255D.jpg "Rand Paul - Filibuster_thumb[1]")
Are we we experiencing a quiet constitutional crisis?
