SWITCH THE PARADIGM! Why We Really CAN Make a Change for the Better

(Editor’s Note: This inspiring essay comes just in time for the July 4th holiday.  Enjoy the holiday but take some time to reflect on what it really honors…IA)

~~By Grail Guardian

I’ve been reading a lot of internal squabbling on various web sites lately about whether or not people can or should vote for Republicans in order to restore the political balance in Washington. I’ve “listened” to both sides of the argument and for those who have not been paying attention (or living an actual life instead of following the blogs) I offer this brief summary of each:

Pro: Voting Republicans in is the only way to offset Obama and the idiots in Congress that are bleeding the country dry. The Democratic majority is killing the American economy and Constitution and is out of control. No third party candidate will be able succeed in the current system, so we must hold our noses and vote for all Republican candidates and hope they induce a stalemate in Congress.

Con: The Republicans are just as bad as the Democrats, and we’ll just end up swing from far left to far right (then back again) if we vote them back in. I can’t vote for someone that supports everything I have fought against all my life just to stop the Democrats (i.e.: abortion rights). Replacing one form of evil with another does no good, therefore I must look for the least offensive Democrat to support despite the fact that they will likely vote along party lines (think Kirsten Gillibrand in NY).

I must confess that I can find some truth in both of these arguments, but there’s something I need to point out here: These are not the only options!

That’s right – I said it! There are other choices. To wit, we need term limits and alternative candidates that don’t belong (a totally accurate term in every sense) to either political party. But, but…Grail, you say, how could that be? No Congress critter will ever vote for their own term to be limited and everyone knows that no third party candidate can possible get elected!

Wrong! Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to play Switch That Paradigm! The exciting game show where you, the American public, actually get to choose the winners! No, it’s not American Idol. Not even close. It’s a nifty concept I learned about from commenter Practical Madman over at Logistics Monster, and it’s called Get Out of Our House. Here’s the concept: If we want to stop the insanity in D.C. we must clean out the political lifers in Congress; the Obama administration (or any other administration for that matter) cannot pass legislation without the support and complicity of Congress (at least as of the writing of this piece), no matter how many mouth breathers support him. The easiest way to do this is in the House of Representatives, since the whole barrel of monkeys is up for re-election every 2 years under the Constitution (yes, all 435 members are up in 2010). Besides, the Senate isn’t exactly a cohesive majority, and if the bills can’t pass in the House they aren’t making it to the Oval Office for signature. Get Out of Our House, or GOoOH (pronounced “go”) wants to dump all 435 members at once and replace them with ordinary citizens that actually (gasp) vote for what their constituents want. That’s right – you and me for Congress!

Here’s the deal: if enough regular Americans are willing to participate, they group can raise enough money to support candidates in every district. People who wish to run for office complete a comprehensive position questionnaire that is posted on line. There are no right or wrong answers, no political philosophy you must adhere to, no liberal or conservative viewpoints required at the door. You answer the questions, and sign a legally binding pledge that if you are elected you will vote the way you answered on the questionnaire or abstain from the vote if there is fuzzy or unrelated material attached to the bill, as Congress is wont to do. (Note: there is an alternative option wherein you can change your vote if you post your intent to do so online at least 7 days in advance and a majority of your district votes that it’s OK for you to change your vote.) Once the candidates have locked in their answers, a series of Selection Sessions are held where members get the chance to vote for or against candidates that best represent how they would like their Representative to vote. Sessions are held until there is only 1 candidate per district, and that person becomes the GOoOH nominee for the district. The whole organization is based on the concept that the candidates will not follow any particular school of thought; for instance, voters in New York City would probably tend to select a candidate with more liberal viewpoints, whereas voters in Butte, MT would be more prone to select a candidate with conservative views that fit the local political consciousness.

Oh, and did I mention that all candidates agree in advance to a few interesting conditions:

· To run for no more than 2 terms (it was originally 1, but was changed due to input on the site)

· To disclose in advance of each Selection Session if you are an attorney (originally excluded, but again changed due to commenter input)

· To disclose in advance of each Selection Session if you are wealthy (a multi-millionaire)

· To resign within 72 hours and pay a fine if you vote contrary to your stated positions (per the questionnaire)

· To resign within 72 hours and pay a fine if you accept funds “other than your federal paycheck”

Are there drawbacks to the system? Yes. Some of the bigger ones are: the $100 membership fee (that is used to fund the candidates that are eventually selected, the fact that at least 500,000 members are needed to make it work, and the inability for people not on the web to participate in the upfront process (we all get to vote eventually, but you must register online).

Some of the other advantages are: the ability to join an existing organization that is prepared for the political process, regardless of your political views, the ability of average Americans to have a “hands on” role in actually choosing the nominee from a large pool of candidates (rather than just the guy who has lost the last 3 times in your area), and the inability of political interest groups (lobbyists, PACs, unions, or even religious groups) to influence the candidates. I personally believe that America is at a “do or die” juncture as a free Republic, and GOoOH may just provide a way back to the basics. We are at a crossroads that our Founders predicted and feared:

“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” –Samuel Adams

“A government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have… The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.” –Thomas Jefferson

Now is the time for all good PUMAs to put up or shut up. We all agree we want change. We all agree that the current system is not working. We all agree that the time to stop the juggernaut poised to crush our nation is extremely limited. We call agree that 2008 ended the political process as we knew it forever. And who better to change things than us? And who are we? Simply average Americans that have seen the road the political corruption and corporate greed of the current government is leading us down and wish to return to the Constitution as it was written. For those of you that need a bit more background, I offer this excellent video courtesy of Diamond Tiger at Logistics Monster that explains the current political situation in concise and frightening terms. Take 10 minutes and watch it all the way through; if you are not scared at the similarities between circumstances preceding the fall of Rome and the current fall of America at the end, then go in peace and enjoy your final moments of freedom. If you are disturbed and unwilling to take any more, take a serious look at the GOoOH site and see what you think. I know it is not the ideal solution, but if we wait for perfection our economy will be collapsed, there will be record inflation not seen since 1920’s Germany, government will have taken an extraordinary amount of power away from We the People, and our country as we know it will be gone.

Change is inevitable. The only question is: which side of it do you want to be on?

This:

Or this:

These images should remind us of a few very simple concepts:

· Ordinary people can make a difference if they believe enough to fight against tyranny

· You can speak truth to power, no matter how well ensconced it may appear

· Women can and do lead the way

· We have what everyone else in the world wants, and we are letting it slip away with little more than a whimper

· “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” (This quote is generally attributed to Edmund Burke but the true source appears to be unknown.)

The truth of the matter is simple: the concept that we, the people of the greatest nation in the world, cannot alter our destiny or stop The Powers That Be from destroying our Republic is nothing more or less than the same mass-marketing advertising scam that has been used to brainwash the masses into thinking we need the latest bright, shiny object on the market to distract ourselves from reality. It’s a sales job – that’s all! If enough of us are disgusted and use our votes, any candidate can be elected and any party can be successful. When you get right down to it, isn’t that all political campaigns have evolved into? Never-ending infomercials! And now the very office of the President of the United States of America has been turned into the world’s largest infomercial. (I’m surprised he doesn’t have a Guthy-Renker logo on his backside!) But that’s really good news, because that means that we don’t have to buy it! We can shop around for what we really want, no matter what they tell us on the tee vee! For cryin’ out loud, when have they ever told us the truth? Isn’t that the whole concept of Madison Avenue (and K Street)? Lie big, lie often, and then lie some more and eventually people will buy what you tell them because that’s what Charlie and Katie and Brian tell them to do!

Well, I’m here to tell you the sad news: Edward R. Murrow is dead and so is the “fourth estate”; John F. Kennedy was barely elected (and probably only then because of “creative” voting in Daley’s Chicago) and there was no “magic bullet” (no matter what Arlen “Which party am I in again?” Specter wants you to believe); aspartame and fluoride are actually toxins sold to us to make profit off of useless chemicals; and the United States Constitution does not grant the government the right to tax income or sales, no matter what the IRS says. They are all advertising scams designed to persuade compliant Americans to buy the “official” version of a convenient fabrication. The idea that no third party candidate could ever win a national election is another such ad campaign, and we have bought it lock, stock and barrel. We even preach it to each other. So the time has come to shift our paradigm and alter our vision of “reality” (whatever that is). Dorothy eventually looked behind the curtain and discovered that Oz was nothing more than a two-bit carnie hustler, and that the ability to return to where she wanted to be was always within her own power. We, too, must accept that we’re not in Kansas anymore and take a good hard look at what’s behind that curtain.

You can save this nation. You can be a US Representative. If you believe in the Constitution of this Republic, I propose you owe it to America to step up to the plate and either be a candidate or at a minimum support the system that may just be capable of returning every day, common sense Americans to the business of running this country.

The choice is yours; what will you choose?

Welcome to “Fiji on the Potomac”…

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

It was already Easter Sunday in Australia when I turned on my Grundig shortwave radio and tuned in to Radio Australia.  I always find the news interesting from Australia because the regional news often talks about events in Southeast Asia– places like Vietnam, Thailand and  little-talked about places in the media here like Fiji.

Well, the report that caught my attention that morning was about Fiji’s woes.

Fiji has had 4 coups in the last 20 years…and hopes of bringing democracy to the country are fading.

Fiji’s constitution has been scrapped and the screws are being put to the media. From Radio Australia:

FEATURE: Fiji’s political crisis

Fiji has been plunged into political chaos after the country’s Court of Appeal ruled that the interim government of Commodore Frank Bainimarama was illegal.

Last Updated: Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:03:00 +1000

Campbell Cooney and Sean Dorney

(SNIP)

The scrapping of Fiji’s constitution also appears to mean the scrapping of any notion of a free and open media in Fiji.

“Emergency regulations are in force,” Commodore Bainimarama said on Saturday.

“However, these regulations are only an emergency measure. I am sure we will all, including the media, collaborate with the relevant agencies.”

But Fiji’s media hasn’t really been given a choice about co-operation.

On Friday officers from Ministry of Information and the Police Media Unit were placed in the country’s newspaper, radio and TV newsrooms.

In response, sections of Fiji’s media have launched a self-imposed news blackout in response to new censorship regulations.

Fijian media are boycotting political stories, with newspapers on Monday strikingly bland in their design and reports.

The Fiji Times on Sunday ran blank spaces where censored stories critical of Friday’s abolition of the constitution and the re-appointment of Commodore Frank Bainimarama’s government would have run.

For Monday, it ran no stories at all relating to the extraordinary events of the past four days.

The Fiji Sun says it will not print any political stories under the current censorship provisions, imposed on Friday.

The main television station in Fiji, Fiji One, refused to run a news bulletin on Sunday because the management objected to the censorship being imposed by the head of information, Major Neumi Leweni.

Major Leweni has been given exceptional powers as the chief censor – he can recommend the closure of any newspaper, television or radio station that does not obey his directions.

Now apart from the fact that here in the U.S. the media was bought and sold for Obama during the election season and is still pushing his charms at us constantly,  we’ve also had rumblings about the government “helping” newspapers in trouble.  We know from the banking debacle that banks who take money from the government are either in cahoots with the people responsible for this financial mess or, it they were outside the cabal and forced to take money, they’re having a hard time extricating themselves from the Obama Administration’s grip.

Right now our own Constitution is being disregarded when convenient.  We have a compliant/complicit media along with a dying print media that may be willing to be “helped.”

So, while “officers from the Ministry of Information” aren’t quite in television studios or newsrooms here yet because so far very few feathers are being ruffled,  don’t you wonder if things will change if and when some of the mass media that adore Obama and helped create him begin to get a bit uppity? Obama and his crowd are so very good at applying pressure and intimidation…

In Fiji, the press is fighting back as best they can by ignoring any political stories or running blank spaces.

Wouldn’t that be something?  Dead air on all the talking heads’  TV shows?  A refusal by newspapers and magazines to run Obama’s propaganda?

One can dream..

Oh, but now there’s a new development…The courts are being “recreated” and there’s much talk of reform.

Fiji courts to be reinstated, says attorney-general

(SNIP)

In a wide-ranging interview with the ABC’s Michael Vincent, Mr Sayed Khaiyum [Fuji’s Attorney General] also: defends the actions of the Fijian interim regime as part of a long-term vision; speaks about the need for fundamental reform in the nation; and says communications blackouts are not as serious as had been claimed.

SNIP

The Attorney-General defended the actions of the interim regime. Asked about negative international reaction, he said: “With any changes, any reforms, people who are perhaps not in the country itself may take a different view.

“People need to look at our history, need to look at the objectives, the vision of the government including (that of) the President, and make their judgement calls then.”

Vision outlined

He said the national vision had been outlined in recent speeches by the President and the Prime Minister.

“Fundamentally, we need a number of reforms in Fiji, in particular things like electoral reform, before we can have true democratic and parliamentary elections.”

Present features of the electoral system were that “a huge gerrymandering (electoral boundary changes) takes place within it; you don’t have equal value of votes; you don’t have equal suffrage, and plus it’s based on ethnicity . .

“You don’t have basic notions of citizenry.”

MORE

Well, that’s the way to get true “reform”–have a few coups.  And the Police Media Unit and a military man running the “information office”–nice touches, yes?  But not to worry about those “communications blackouts”–who knows whether Radio Australia shut down its transmitters in Fiji–the AG doesn’t have any “personal knowledge” about it.  Anyway, it’s all OK because Commodore Bainimarama was once a U.N. Peacekeeper, doncha know.

We’re in the middle of our own stealth coup now and many of us saw it coming during the primaries as the Democratic Party acted anything but.  And, the “ethnicity card”…well, we had/have that, too.

The BBC report on the problems in Fiji includes the following observation by Professor Helen Ware in Australia:

“The country’s about to fall off a cliff…”

And other observers see the promises being made as “vague and worryingly-open ended.”

Sounds so familiar over here in “Fiji on the Potomac”…

UPDATE: HOUSE PASSES HR1; SENATE VOTES LATER TODAY ON HR 1 STIMULUS PACKAGE!! SIGN THE PETITION! (More SHOCKING Info on What’s in Bill & More on the Way [Hidden Agenda]; Listen to W.A.M. Radio This Weekend for More Info)

FROM W.A.M.

WAKE UP AMERICA ALERT/PETITION DRIVE FOR REVISION OF HR1

IT’S NOT OVER TIL IT’S OVER!

WAKE UP AMERICA ALERT/PETITION DRIVE FOR REVISION OF HR1

To all who care enough to know and know enough to care: THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON US! Wake Up America is sending an URGENT Petition on the “Stimulus” to revise the bill’s most detrimental features. Please review the vital facts below and forward this Information to everyone you know. PLEASE CLICK LINK AT END of POST NOW and sign the PETITION for Congressional Committee to URGENTLY revise final HR1. Also go to SPREAD THE WORD downloads on W.A.M. site to send FREE FAX Copies of this Revision PETITION to the Congressmen & Senators in your home state.

Remember we may each just be a drop in the bucket as any one group can make a splash – but together – WE ARE THE WAVE OF TRUTH empowered by this joint ACTION! FORWARD this information!  HELP GET SIGNATURES ON THIS PETITION – TAKE A STAND Link at end of this post. THANKS FOR HELPING TO WAKE UP AMERICA!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

WAKE UP ALERT

TROJAN HORSE IS NOW AT THE GATE….SEE WHAT’S REALLY INSIDE!

From December into January, TSUNAMI MEDIA warned that Obama’s mobilization of his propaganda corps – both in Washington and online -was clearly preparing to dominate Capitol Hill with a frenzy and fury unseen before. Investigation indicated an alarming stack of suspicious legislation, all introduced on January 6th. Each bill was presented with a vague title and a few disconcerting paragraphs of description. (S1 to S10) So far, the public is only even aware of the 1st: HR1. Behind the scenes,it is now becoming shockingly clear what this total package of bills could portend.

Starting with a revealing review of the actual contents of HR1, a bigger picture emerges which many might consider pulp science fiction. Unfortunately, it’s one we’ll all soon be living unless Americans wakes up and act on Congress and the Media. Until now, penetrating the public mindset about the insane conduct of our current Congress has been all uphill. Mainstream Media’s maneuvers to manipulate viewers have shifted to high gear – avoiding details of HR1 – and that’s far from all, MSM has omitted from reports. Under a blanket of distractions scrambled with gross exaggeration and generalized statements, the Obama machine grinds forward as planned, it would seem, well in advance. Take a look here at what’s really been going on and bear in mind, HR1 is only the beginning. Here’s a sobering, somber review of the facts:

HR1 aka “Stimulus Plan.” Prior aliases to cover its hidden agenda include the “Bail Out” (first MSM blitz); then “Obama’s Recovery Plan” (second media blitz.) Worse yet, bear in mind – as staggering as its expenditures are – HR1 is only the first of a series of “bills” prepared for launch by the corrupt one-party system now tyrannizing our nation. The ever-shifting taglines given this burdensome legislation, conceal its capacity to break – not improve – the US Economy and what it means by “Recovery” is the highway robbery of middle class America’s freedom and prosperity. As recently as January 14, this package of lies offered just a 1 page description. Suddenly, 647 pages appeared and received consent of the House of Representatives, whose members had obviously not only not read the contents but could not have had time to write them either. So who handed over this bulky fiction to Congress – with enough carrots and pressure to ensure compliance? Obviously Speaker Pelosi, America’s very own Medusa. What every American should really be asking is: WHO REALLY WROTE HR1 and WHAT IS IT FOR?

OVERLOOKED CONTENTS of HR1 are more alarming than its “tiny bits of pork” (as a Democratic legislator recently stated) Its tiny BILLIONS of pork serve a two-pronged purpose: buy off Congressional votes while capturing the public’s eye, via the Media, in the cloud cover of complaints about who is to blame for which piece of waste in the bill. Fixating on that pork is like trying to pull a sliver out of your finger when you’re just about to step into a land mine. It may be a nuisance but it won’t do much good to save your finger when your whole body implodes!

The HIDDEN AGENDA of HR1, so covertly buried beneath its pork, is that it concretizes Obama’s totalitarian agenda via 1) “income redistribution”; 2) full penetration of “vulnerable populations” via expanded electronic media; and 3) total eradication of the privacy of US citizens and residents. In view of all this, it’s critical we collectively shift our attention off the pork and put a flood light of scrutiny and exposure on what HR1 is really about. By now, even a blind idiot can tell it will damage rather than improve our economy! That’s no surprise really because this BOOK of new LAWS is chockfull of staggering measures (at last count mushroomed to about 1,500 pages) was never set out for its publicly presented purpose at all. Read excerpt of original bill below and notice neither Congress nor Media publicly addresses these “measures.”

S1:”….measures that modernize the nation’s infrastructure, enhance America’s energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need, and for other purposes.”

HR1 the biggest Swindle in the History of Civilization, is doing exactly what it really set out to do:

• Pours BILLIONS into “neighborhood stabilization programs” Keep up the payscale and expand the outreach of “community organizations” like A.C.O.R.N. which is a necessity for Obama to continue building and feeding his political machine. How can it even be legal to FEDERALLY FUND A GROUP WHICH IS UNDER CRIMINAL INDICTMENTS FOR FRAUD in at least 12 US States? These bulky portions of the package maintain political control and good favor of lower income, uneducated populations
• Expand Cable Outreach and hook everyone up via Analog to Digital Conversion: If you want to fool everyone and track them at the same time, you need 100% market penetration. BILLIONS in the latter portion of the bill are designated for use of LCCR (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights) to “educate vulnerable (including rural) populations” on this conversion. It appears Obama is keeping his promise to give priority perks to the “community organizers” who ensured his fraudulent election. Without them his 53% winner would have been a landslide loss. If you live “out in the country” (where Obama did have a landslide loss) guess who’s going to get paid to come to your door about this “conversion?”
• Collect all personal medical information of every US citizen and resident on record everywhere for a new National Data Base accessible to the Federal government, via the Center for Disease Prevention and Control for purposes to include “bio-surveillance.” As illegal as it would appear providing huge financing for indicted criminals in A.C.O.R.N. how can a Law be passed that preempts our Constitutional right to privacy – not only without our consent but without our foreknowledge?!!

The HIDDEN AGENDA BEYOND HR1

In a tromp d’oleil (trick of the eye) beyond any prior political take-over of a nation, here’s a review of what’s been going on in Washington at the same time – again unreported by any Mainstream Media, despite their public responsibility to information for free use of the airwaves:

1. While all were busy watching the House of Representatives initial action on HR1, the Senate sailed through SCHIP program. Its massive Federal funding has remained unreported in the Media tallies of T.A.R.P. 1 & 2 plus HR1’s added near TRILLION dollars. The scope of this mandate for government payments for children’s Health Care covers the births and medical care of illegal aliens, claiming these costs will be covered by adding yet another $1 to every pack of cigarettes sold. Estimates, however, indicate the US is short twenty-two million smokers to fund this new law. Which might be a problem since HR1 provides MILLIONS of dollars for Smoking Prevention! Even less attention has been given to the fact that SCHIP legislates this mandate for children’s Health Care be provided to the ripe age of 30 years old!!

2.  Then when all eyes turned toward the Senate’s action on HR1 the House of Representatives voted in an unfathomable new law called “Global Poverty Act” (S2433). This law, now on its way to the Senate for finalization, quadruples such US funding abroad (beyond even our normal foreign aid.) Of greater concern than where on earth all this money is to come, it gets much worse, including:

1) placing US military troops under the jurisdiction of the United Nations and

2) placing a GLOBAL TAX on all US citizens!!!

3.  In a subterfuge that outdoes Machiavelli, when Richardson’s role as Commerce Secretary was undone, Axelrod put GOP Gregg in place. Lest any considered that a magnanimous gesture, turns out the White House has decided that Senator Gregg’s record on immigration makes him an unreliable choice to supervise the critical forthcoming US Census. Solution: Just move the Census to supervision by the White House. This fits like a crucial puzzle piece with HR1 funding of Obama’s community organizers while giving his Chief of Staff direct control of the forthcoming redistricting of Congress. Remember – your vote only counts in relation to the total voting populace in your district. Such redistricting combined with social engineering can give extraordinary weight to populations who would otherwise be in the minority.

You’ve got Obama’s First Month Report now. Summing it up: Nearly a Trillion for T.A.R.P.; another Trillion for HR1;

Billions more for SCHIP; Billions again (for years to come!) for “Global Poverty” Relief. . . . but what happened to resolving collapsing property & retirement income? How about the foreclosure crisis? Providing jobs and tax reductions for the middle class?

If you still haven’t registered what is self-evident of Washington’s new “Change” Administration, Michelle Obama, herself, tried to

tell US way back in the primaries that “Change will be hard” with only “so many pieces of pie to go around” and we need to expect,

after all, to “give up” some of our pie. Obama and company hold the American middle class in complete contempt and consider it

their Mission to eradicate the American economy and social structure as we have known it.

SORRY TO SAY THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. THERE’S MORE TO COME . . . BACK TO THE FUTURE:

HR1 is only the first of 10 related pieces of legislation which, together, rewrite the nature of our Nation.

The lipstick on the pig of HR1 is already compounded by the squandering funds of T.A.R.P; Global Taxation and SCHIP-

WITHOUT ANY MAINSTREAM MEDIA REPORTING ON THE TOTAL TALLIES. Also note the equally unreported

introduction of a bill for the REPARATIONS OF SLAVERY (yet to reach the floor of Congress but already prepared!)

After that, take a look at S 2 – 9 yet to come –and imagine what the rest of these sketchy legislative descriptions will become:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/d?d111:0:./list/bss/d111SN.lst:%7CTOM:/bss/111search.html

Also, by no coincidence, on January 6, another overlooked bill was introduced to eliminate term limits on the Presidency,

by deleting one of our most critical Constitutional amendments which protects us from attempts at dictatorship by our leadership.

Buried in an earlier record of this previously failed legislation is record of a powerful new sponsor for this law: none other than

Barney Frank. Ask yourself: Why is the Head of the Banking Committee sponsoring legislation to allow a permanent “President?!”

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hj111-5

Compounding the apparent lunacy that has overtaken the nation’s Capitol, as reported above, a strange change of tone is already prepared for in S10 (after the endless seemingly irrational spending spree outlined above): S10 stated purpose is: “to restore fiscal discipline and begin to address the long-term fiscal challenges facing the United States, and for other purposes.”

At the same time, Ohio recently came close to bringing US just 2 states short of organizing a Constitutional Convention for

the purported purpose of an Amendment to require a balanced Federal budget. If that all sounds like a good idea, consider

this fact: Once a Constitutional Convention is convened it operates under no outside rules; is not required to fulfill its original

agenda: and supersedes all existing authority including that of Congress. In fact, such a Convention can do away with the

Constitution altogether. http://www.eagleforum.org/topics/concon/ http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/1987/sept87/psrsept87.html

Ask yourself, before it’s too late: Why would our Congress push through legislation intended for purposes other than its public presentation? Why would they further act to break our already threatened economy and dollar by expending unheard of sums of (nonexistent) money on what are, by and large, social engineering projects when the very foundation of free enterprise is threatened? Why would they do so in an unprecedented rush, with flim-flam titles, and the real contents hidden from the public completely? Any economist knows all this can only result in chaos caused by rapid hyper-inflation.Why would the head of the Banking Committee be preparing to remove term limits from the Presidency? Why would nine books of law be hurriedly written and passed to spend all this fiat cash – only to lead to a pre-planned SELF CONTRADICTORY law demanding “fiscal responsibility?” And why would a Convention that can dissolve the Constitution be organizing, simultaneously, under the same false header of “fiscal responsibility?”

FOR THE WHOLE STORY, TUNE IN to HEAR W.A.M. this weekend on:

Kicking Back with Central Park, Sat., Feb. 14, 11:00 pm EST   (Corrrected Link)

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Central-Park-7/2009/02/15/Kicking-Back-with-Central-Park

AND ALSO

USAPatriots-shout, Sun., Feb. 15, 11:00 pm EST

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Usapatriots-shout
_______________________________________________________

TO TAKE ACTION, GO HERE TO SIGN THIS CRITICAL HR1 PETITION

Take a Stand

Text of Petition

PETITION to the CONFERENCE COMMITTEE CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP

Whom are Responsible for the final form and contents of HR1:

We, the undersigned, inform you that all Americans are not deluded by the misleading Title nor its massive propaganda campaign which strain all credibility.

We wish the Conference Committee of HR1 to be aware that we are informed that the preparation of HR1 was not undertaken by a full Congressional body; nor were its contents thoroughly reviewed in the normal order of business by relevant Congressional Committees, for a reasonable hearing; nor has there been honest disclosure of its contents to the American people. We recognize that “Stimulus Plan” is an intentional misnomer, meant to disguise a massive package of Entitlement legislation. We further recognize and vehemently  object to numerous HR inclusions, which support political patronage of special interest groups rather than middle class Americans, who need tax relief, jobs and protection for own homes and retirement. We also adamantly object to the partisan attacks made on all who have attempted to bring proper scrutiny and practical amendments to this bill’s contents.

We insist that the following provisions be eliminated from HR1 before its passage, due to the facts that the following provisions are neither pertinent nor responsive to a “Recovery” of the US economy. sustain middle class American jobs or investments: Delete massive funding for “neighborhood stabilization” grants and projects. It is clear these expenditures are nothing other than pay-back to “community organizations” which enabled Barack Obama’s Presidency. These provisions endanger our political system by their precedent of using Federal funding to sustain the interests of one political party over another.

Ensure that HR1 clearly stipulates the exclusion of A.C.O.R.N. as a recipient of Federal any funds distributed as a consequence of this legislation,  as said organization is under criminal indictment for fraud in numerous states of the Union. It is no less than appalling for American taxpayers to be expected to finance this organization, directly or indirectly.

Remove the massive financial support of LCCR under the cover of “educational support” of “vulnerable populations” for the unnecessary, costly, ill-timed Analog to Digital conversion. Delay this conversion, as an irrelevant and inappropriate response to the critical state of the US economy and treat this measure, as it should be, as a separate piece of legislation, subject to normal Congressional procedures.

Absolutely remove all amendments related to revision of America’s health care system, which represent nearly one third (1/3) of the current pages of HR1. Such massive alteration of the health care industry has no relevance to the urgent issues of economic crises this bill is purported to address: these exclusion to ensure removal of HR1‘s flagrant violation of our Constitutional right to privacy as contained in this measure’s requirement that all individuals Medical records in a national data base without their foreknowledge or agreement; these exclusions to also remove any governmental oversight of the nature or extent of treatment of Americans by health care providers. We insist that all Health Care related provisions in HR1 be presented in a separate piece of legislation, subject to normal Congressional procedures.

HEAR THIS NOW: If the above listing of items in HR1 are not removed or amended according to this Petition, all members of this Committee and Congress, who vote for this legislation will be held accountable by We the American people for destructive allocation of Federal funds in a manner that will damage, not aid, the immediate economy and will burden middle-class families needlessly for generations to come.

KING HARRY SAYS "HE’S NOT WELCOME" (UPDATE 1X) Burris Stopped by “Paperwork”

~~By American Lassie

It isn’t very often that I find anything amusing in the news anymore, but I find the situation in Chicago very entertaining and I am loving every minute of it.

Governor Blagojevich of Illinois has the bull by the horns and he is not letting go.

By appointing Roland Burris to the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama he has that opportunistic bunch of Illinois (and Washington) Democrats all reaching for their Immodium AD.  They all have their bowels in an uproar.

Especially Bobby Rush, Lt. Governor Quinn, and both Jacksons – Sr. and Jr.

Bobby Rush has started playing the race card, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn is salivating for the Governor’s job, and both Jacksons are in a frenzy over just what exactly is in those tapes that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is holding.

A filing from Fitzgerald’s office requesting an extension of the time to prepare the case against the governor states “The government has been conducting a diligent and thorough investigation in this case, but the investigation includes multiple defendants and potential defendants.”

Patrick Fitzgerald says more time is needed because of the complexity of the corruption case against the Illinois governor who was arrested on a criminal complaint. Fitzgerald’s office said “multiple witnesses have come forward in recent weeks to discuss their knowledge of criminal activity.”

Everybody is getting nervous.  Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White,  says he will not sign the requisite papers to approve the appointment of Roland Burris, or of any other person Gov. Blagojevich might appoint.  Harry Reid says that any appointment by Gov. Blagojevich would be tainted by fraud and would not be seated by the Senate.  His words pertaining to Roland Burris appearing in the Senate – “HE IS NOT WELCOME.”
King Harry is forgetting that in America you are presumed innocent until found guilty.  Until there is a trial and he is found guilty Rod Blagojevich is still the legal governor and entitled to make appointments and sign legal papers.

A Constitutional fight could loom over Roland Burris’ appointment.  The fight may go to the Supreme Court as Burris intends to fight for his right to the seat he has been appointed to by Gov. Blagojevich.

Under the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, governors alone have the power to appoint a replacement to complete the term of senators who are expelled, resign, or die.

AMENDMENT XVII (1913)

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

The governor’s power to fill vacancies is granted by Illinois election law.  If the legislature writes a new law and takes that power away from him, Blagojevich could VETO the legislation to remove his appointment power.  CATCH 22 !!!

“The governor has the Constitutional and statutorial authority to make the appointment,” Burris said.  “We are certainly going to make contact with the leadership of the Senate to let them know that the Governor of Illinois has made a legal appointment, and that I am currently the Junior Senator  from the state of Illinois”.

Harry Reid is twisting the Constitution to make it sound as though the Senate has the right to deny anyone they wish.  Not so:

Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution gives Congress the  power to be “judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members.”

Article 1, Section 3 says “no person shall be senator who shall not have been attained to the age of 30 years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States.”

Roland Burris meets all those qualifications and has been a life-long citizen of the State of Illinois.  He is 71 years old.

Harry Reid says it is not about Mr. Burris, but about Rod Blagojevich’s integrity.  Senate leadership spokesman Jim Manley said,  “This is like judging the integrity of an election, free from fraud and corruption.”  GIVE ME A BREAK !!!!!!  Free from fraud and corruption?  After this past election cycle, he has the nerve to say that?

Trying to thwart Mr. Burris from being seated in the senate because of their opinion of Gov. Blagojevich is like (in Mr. Burris’ words) comparing apples and oranges.

In 1967 the House of Representatives refused to seat Adam Clayton Powell, D-NY, during a corruption investigation.  The Supreme Court weighed in on the side of Mr.Powell stating  “The house is without power to exclude any member-elect who meets the Constitution’s requirements for membership.”

The Illinois State Supreme Court refused to grant Lisa Madigan’s (Illinois  Attorney General) attempt to stifle the governor’s authority.  As long as he hasn’t been tried and convicted it is his duty to perform the duties of an elected governor (which he is).  And the  duty now before the Governor of Illinois is to appoint a member to the seat vacated by Barack Obama (which he has).

In Chicago’s Oakwoods Cemetery Burris has erected a granite mausoleum listing his many accomplishments, including being the state’s first African-American Attorney General  and the state’s first African-American Comptroller.

The Illinois House has bumped up its schedule and will meet several days this week.  A spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (father of the Secretary of State Lisa Madigan) says the chamber may vote on a recommendation from the special committee studying whether Blagojevich should be impeached.

The Democrats (once the party I supported) are in a pickle; there’s Minnesota (decided but facing lawsuits), New York and Illinois, bringing their dream of a 60-seat majority into sight.  They thought they had their hand-picked members all line up and now they are hoisted by their own petard.  The rejected the idea of a special election to replace Obama in Illinois and now it seems the governor has more guts than they thought and their plans have gone astray.  He has outfoxed the foxes, and I am enjoying every minute of it.

I hold no sympathy for Blagojevich if he is guilty of the things they say he is guilty of, but I say let the courts play out their hand and let’s see the evidence.  In the meantime he is still the governor with all the powers of a governor and, as I said, if they pass a law in the Illinois Legislature, as governor he has the right to veto it.

I know nothing about Roland Burris other than what I have read and heard recently.  He seems to have a clean record of accomplishments by all accounts, except by the Chicago Tribune and I wouldn’t  put much stake in anything they have to say.

I think it is very suspicious that they pulled the rug out from under Fitzgerald before he was ready to take action.

What goes around comes around, and it’s about time some people got hit by the boomerang.

***

NOTES:

Burris Drama Plays out as Senate Set to Begin Work (January 4)

Reid said he expected to meet with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Monday evening in hopes “we can solve this issue on a bipartisan basis.” Reid added, “I’m on old trial lawyer. There’s always room to negotiate.”

(Negotiating with the Republican Senate leader?  WHY???? Other than to screw a Democrat who isn’t in the Obama crowd??)

Cornyn rips Reid on Blago calls (January 3)

Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee get into the act…

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UPDATE 1

Secretary of Senate rejects Burris, aide says

(CNN) — Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson has rejected Roland Burris’ appointment to the Senate, an aide to the secretary told CNN.

Erickson rejected Burris’ appointment because his certificate of appointment was missing the signature of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, the aide said Monday.

Rule 2 of the Standing Rules of the Senate states that the secretary of state must sign the certificate of election along with the governor. (MORE)

On Reflection: These Are The Times That Try Men’s (and Women’s) Souls

~~By American Lassie

On December 10, 2008, Grail Guardian posted an article  entitled How Long Has This Been Going On? (”What They Want is the World”…The Roots of Our Current Coup d’Etat) .  The post opened with this quote:

“What is past is prologue.”

Her last statement in the article stuck in my mind and I couldn’t get past it. She said,  “The good news is America has been at it for 122 years, and some of us have no intention of letting go of our belief in our Constitution.”

A link in a comment by “Music Producer” on December 12, 2008, at 5:15 pm, following InsightAnalytical’s re-post of An Open Letter to Caroline Kennedy–July 13, 2008 (Reposted and Updated 12/11/08) pushed Grail’s statement to the front of my mind and I had to go back and read her post again. I’m sorry to say I missed the real gist of the post the first time because the reference to Oliver Stone turned me off.  My mistake – and I’m ashamed to say that took my attention away from the true message of the article, which was fabulous – and a little scary. But I’m finding many things scary these days.

> Vodpod videos no longer available.

Grail’s post and this video from “Music Producer” plus the disturbing comment on www.DemocraticDisaster.com from an asinine elector from North Carolina named Wayne Abraham  really ticked me off. (Abraham said that since the SCOTUS hasn’t defined “natural born citizen” he would use his own definition for the term. This elector is a hand-picked elector chosen by the Obama camp.) His reply is too long for me to repeat.  The comment that I saw when the site was operating is a sad example of  who made the choice for us on December 15, 2008. (Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, something strange has happened to www.DemocraticDisaster.com.)

A story from 11/26 in the Christian Science Monitor also quotes Abraham:

Wayne Abraham, a Democratic elector in Greensboro, N.C., says he’s received three letters – two signed, one not – and one phone call about Obama’s citizenship.

“I was surprised, but I’m not worried about it,” he says, dryly. “As I said to the lady on the phone, I figured that the Bush administration had ample opportunity to investigate Senator Obama, and if they had discovered he was not truly a citizen they … would have let us know.”

Wayne Abraham (L) Voting 12/15

The idiotic comments by this elector made me think of Thomas Paine and his passage which includes “These are the times that try men’s souls” quotation.  Of course Paine wasn’t referring to electors, but to those men and women of the colonies who were not convinced that the fight for freedom could be won.

Thomas Paine (January 29, 1737 – June 8, 1809) was an English pamphleteer, a participant in the American Revolution and a great patriot.

Paine wrote the following on December 23, 1776. The timing is important. It was written just before Washington’s Christmas attack on the British.

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap (sic) we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods, and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated.”

He goes on to say:

“Tis surprizing to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. All nations and ages have been subject to them. Britain has trembled like an ague at the report of a French fleet of flat bottomed boats; and in the fourteenth (sic) (it was actually the fifteenth) century the whole English army, after ravaging the kingdom of France, was driven back like men petrified with fear; and this brave exploit was performed by a few broken forces collected and headed by a woman, Joan of Arc. Would that Heaven might inspire some Jersey maid to spirit up her countrymen, and save her fair fellow sufferers from ravage and ravishment.

(This  written while he was serving with the army on a narrow neck of land between the North River and the Hackensack, thus the reference to the “Jersey maid.”)

We could say this was prophetic in a way. We could have had a Joan of Arc, but we just didn’t have enough patriots to overcome the king’s forces. That doesn’t mean we have to give up, we can keep fighting for our Constitution as long as we remember what it really means and refuse to let those who want to undermine it win the  battle.

Our poor Joan of Arc has taken a different path now, but she should be wary. She is dealing with a devious crowd, and you know what happened to France’s Joan.

I have no illusions that the electors or the SCOTUS will have the guts of our forefathers to do the right thing about honoring our Constitution. I only pray that there are enough people left believing as Grail Guardian does (and many others, myself included) to keep the fight going even in light of the decisions made on December 15, 2008.

God Bless and keep our Constitution safe from those who would trash it, dishonor it, and condemn it to the dust bin of history. What our forefathers fought so hard for should not be allowed to be lost because a group of scoundrels wants to re-make America to suit themselves.

***

Click here for a report on North Carolina’s Wayne Abraham and the electors’ vote.