Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Barack Hussein Obama's 50 Lies Grow to 63 and Still Counting
In case you missed the first 50 they can be found here. Barack Hussein Obama's 50 Lies
If you want more information on this charlatan please visit www.obamatruth.org
51.) Treehouse Is A Small Company - LIAR, the CEO of Treehouse last year, made more than the CEO of Wal-Mart, according to public records.
52.) University Of Chicago Hospital Pay Is Fair - LIAR, your wife’s pay raise was nearly 150% her already bloated rate and the hospital is a Non-Profit Hospital, which made $100,000,000 in the last 3 years. They overcharge blacks VS whites for services, and overcharge everyone in general by 538%!
53.)I Barely Know Rezko - Only 5 Billed Hours - LIAR, you have known him for 17 years, and decided to do a real estate deal with him during a time when he was proven to be under investigation. Despite this, you divided your property and had them take off $300K before the mortgage problems started. Then Rezko’s wife buys the lot beside it that you can’t afford, saving you $625,000.
54.) My Donations Have Been Checked Thoroughly - LIAR, you only gave back Hsu ($72K) and Rezko (first $66K, then when caught lying $86K, then when caught lying again $150K and now caught lying YET AGAIN OBAMA, it’s $250k) their money when publically called on their involvement in your campaigns.
55.) My Church Is Like Any Other Christian Church - LIAR, your church is so extreme, the pastor who married you, Rev. Wright, just got done blaming the US for 9/11 and named Louis Farrahkan their person of the year.
56.) I Disagree With My Church All The Time - LIAR, you still have yet to repudiate Wright, who married you and your wife, and you still donate large sums of money to assist the church in furthering its message - hatred and revenge. You donated in 2006 alone, $22,500 to the church that you so terribly disagree with. That is nearly $500 PER WEEK - that sure is disagreement, Senator Obama.
57.) I Have Clean Connections Despite Rezko - LIAR, you are not only connected to Exelon and Rezko, you are also connected to Hillary PAC supporter Mr. Hsu, AND an Iraqi Billionaire of ill repute, Nadhmi Auchi, who ripped off people in the Food For Oil, Iraqi deal. Seems Mr. Auchi may have helped Obama buy his million dollar property long before Obama had millions of dollars. Wonder what favors Mr. Auchi expects, when Obama leaves Iraq free to be taken over by special interests such as him.
58.) I never heard sermons like Rev. Wright’s, that have been in videos all day, You Tube - LIAR! 3 days later during your Mea Culpa BS speech you said “Did I hear controversial statements while I sat in that church? Yes I did.”
59.) The Passport Invasion is a conspiracy to find dirt on me! - LIAR. Your own Campaign Foreign Policy Advisor is the CEO of the company that looked into your records. PS - You had them look into yours to hide the fact you looked into Clinton’s and McCain’s more than a year before!
60.) Rev. Meeks has nothing to do with my campaigning - LIAR. Rev. Meeks appeared in ads for your Senate Campaign, donated to you, and helped raise money, then AND NOW. PS - He also seems to despise America.
61.) My wife didn’t mean America is ignorant, she was just using a phrase - LIAR. Again, MicHELLe’s comments perfectly sync with Wright’s, Meeks’, and Farrakhans, both in language, anger, and direction.
62.) I am very Anti-Terror - LIAR. One of your good pals is long time radical and terrorist William Ayers, with whom you have been seen in the last 12 months and who has helped the now jailed khalid
63.) I have the best plan to cure the Mortgage Crisis - LIAR. You and your campaign buddy Penny SubPrime Bank Collapse Prizker have had your little fingers full of subprime cash - Obama has taken $1,180,103 from the top issuers of subprime loans: Obama received $266,907 from Lehman, $5395 from GMAC, $150,850 from Credit Suisse First Boston, $11,250 from Countrywide, $9052 from Washington Mutual, $161,850 from Citigroup, $4600 from CBASS, $170,050 from Morgan Stanley, $1150 from Centex, and last but certainly NOT LEAST - Obama received $351,900 from Goldman Sachs. I am sure that cash all came from folks who knew the subprime loan they had was a dream, eh?
If you want more information on this charlatan please visit www.obamatruth.org
51.) Treehouse Is A Small Company - LIAR, the CEO of Treehouse last year, made more than the CEO of Wal-Mart, according to public records.
52.) University Of Chicago Hospital Pay Is Fair - LIAR, your wife’s pay raise was nearly 150% her already bloated rate and the hospital is a Non-Profit Hospital, which made $100,000,000 in the last 3 years. They overcharge blacks VS whites for services, and overcharge everyone in general by 538%!
53.)I Barely Know Rezko - Only 5 Billed Hours - LIAR, you have known him for 17 years, and decided to do a real estate deal with him during a time when he was proven to be under investigation. Despite this, you divided your property and had them take off $300K before the mortgage problems started. Then Rezko’s wife buys the lot beside it that you can’t afford, saving you $625,000.
54.) My Donations Have Been Checked Thoroughly - LIAR, you only gave back Hsu ($72K) and Rezko (first $66K, then when caught lying $86K, then when caught lying again $150K and now caught lying YET AGAIN OBAMA, it’s $250k) their money when publically called on their involvement in your campaigns.
55.) My Church Is Like Any Other Christian Church - LIAR, your church is so extreme, the pastor who married you, Rev. Wright, just got done blaming the US for 9/11 and named Louis Farrahkan their person of the year.
56.) I Disagree With My Church All The Time - LIAR, you still have yet to repudiate Wright, who married you and your wife, and you still donate large sums of money to assist the church in furthering its message - hatred and revenge. You donated in 2006 alone, $22,500 to the church that you so terribly disagree with. That is nearly $500 PER WEEK - that sure is disagreement, Senator Obama.
57.) I Have Clean Connections Despite Rezko - LIAR, you are not only connected to Exelon and Rezko, you are also connected to Hillary PAC supporter Mr. Hsu, AND an Iraqi Billionaire of ill repute, Nadhmi Auchi, who ripped off people in the Food For Oil, Iraqi deal. Seems Mr. Auchi may have helped Obama buy his million dollar property long before Obama had millions of dollars. Wonder what favors Mr. Auchi expects, when Obama leaves Iraq free to be taken over by special interests such as him.
58.) I never heard sermons like Rev. Wright’s, that have been in videos all day, You Tube - LIAR! 3 days later during your Mea Culpa BS speech you said “Did I hear controversial statements while I sat in that church? Yes I did.”
59.) The Passport Invasion is a conspiracy to find dirt on me! - LIAR. Your own Campaign Foreign Policy Advisor is the CEO of the company that looked into your records. PS - You had them look into yours to hide the fact you looked into Clinton’s and McCain’s more than a year before!
60.) Rev. Meeks has nothing to do with my campaigning - LIAR. Rev. Meeks appeared in ads for your Senate Campaign, donated to you, and helped raise money, then AND NOW. PS - He also seems to despise America.
61.) My wife didn’t mean America is ignorant, she was just using a phrase - LIAR. Again, MicHELLe’s comments perfectly sync with Wright’s, Meeks’, and Farrakhans, both in language, anger, and direction.
62.) I am very Anti-Terror - LIAR. One of your good pals is long time radical and terrorist William Ayers, with whom you have been seen in the last 12 months and who has helped the now jailed khalid
63.) I have the best plan to cure the Mortgage Crisis - LIAR. You and your campaign buddy Penny SubPrime Bank Collapse Prizker have had your little fingers full of subprime cash - Obama has taken $1,180,103 from the top issuers of subprime loans: Obama received $266,907 from Lehman, $5395 from GMAC, $150,850 from Credit Suisse First Boston, $11,250 from Countrywide, $9052 from Washington Mutual, $161,850 from Citigroup, $4600 from CBASS, $170,050 from Morgan Stanley, $1150 from Centex, and last but certainly NOT LEAST - Obama received $351,900 from Goldman Sachs. I am sure that cash all came from folks who knew the subprime loan they had was a dream, eh?
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The End of Network News?
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The big three TV network newscasts lost about 1.2 million viewers last year, and advertising on their three big morning news shows fell to an estimated $1.03 billion. The average viewer is 60 years old, and the demographic marketers most want to reach is more likely to be facing a computer screen than a TV screen when the evening news comes on.
Given that rather sobering picture, maybe the discussion shouldn't be over whether Katie Couric will last at CBS through the election. Maybe it should be whether we need network-TV news at all.
Full Story: The End of Network News as We Know It?
Monday, May 5, 2008
John McCain Panders to Mexicans
http://www.johnmccain.com/espanol/
That's right John McCain.com now in Espanol. Last time I checked this was The United States of America, the hell with people living here whose primary language is Spanish. If you don't speak English you don't need to be voting in our elections. In fact you should get the hell out period unless you speak English. I'm sick of walking through a store and some fat pregnant wet back talking in Spanish to someone on the phone. We are far to tolerant, we bend over backwords for minorities who have no right to be here in the first place. We ought to lynch any politician who votes for amnesty for these ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS and John McCain should be the first up the gallows.
If you are considering voting for McCain in November I urge you to reconsider, to sit back and think for a second. Ask yourself did my ancestors give their lives so that we could be invaded by Mexico while I sat idly by?
BJ's Wholesale Bans the Confederate Flag
http://www.news4jax.com/news/16116836/detail.html
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/05/02/rebel.flag.flap.wjxt
At the BJ's warehouse in Jacksonville Florida Bobby Tillet has been banned from parking in the employee parking lot for displaying a Confederate Flag in the back of his truck. He now has to walk 10 minutes to work. He says "It's about heritage; it's about pride," Tillett said. "I don't look at it much different than the American flag. There's been a lot of blood spilled over that flag, too, and I love that flag, and I'll fly it 'till the day I die."
I say more power to you Mr. Tillet. Keep her flying we were on the right side of that war and this is still Dixie! Not to mention this violates the first Amendment which states clearly.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
So now there is a boycott on BJ's which I whole heartedly support. I am asking for you to call or email BJ's wholesale and tell them what you think of this attack on free speech. Just ask yourself what they would do if an employee had a Peurto Rican or Mexican flag on there truck.
BJ's Wholesale Club
4500 Directors Rd
Jacksonville, FL 32220 Map
(904) 378-4448
BJ's Member Care Services
www.bjs.com
E-mail: MemberCare@bjs.accentonline.com
Club Inquires: 1 800 BJS CLUB (1-800-257-2582)
Online Order Inquiries: 1 866 4BJS WEB (1-866-425-7932)
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The Truth About John "Songbird" McCain
As a delegate to our state convention this coming weekend we have a solemn obligation to know the truth about the man who has been anointed the “presumptive nominee” of our party. Our job is not to be a rubber stamp for anyone else’s agenda, no matter how “nobly” the cause is presented. The Republican establishment in Maine is counting on us not having the documented information on this sheet. It is counting on our willingness to be told what to think in the same way that the mainstream media has been telling us what to think throughout this entire election cycle. We are expected to suspend any other concerns we may have in the name of “party unity.”
The truth is that a patriot who loves his country makes it an ultimate priority to be well-educated about the decisions he or she must make. Unless we have come to understand how dominated by the leftist military-industrial complex America’s major media has become, and done some research, we are not prepared to do our duty at the convention.
This letter, supported by many delegates to the Republican Convention, is literally about saving the party and the nation from a maniacal neoconservative war monger, who supports a United States presence in Iraq for 100 years, and who is not really even a Republican!
“War hero” image is a media creation not supported by the facts
McCain graduated 894th of the 899 cadets in his class at the Naval Academy. Google it. Why would we want someone who was a failure and took his responsibilities so flippantly as our commander-in-chief?
* McCain was an irresponsible pilot who crashed 6 planes, and started a major fire on an aircraft carrier through negligent action. Why would we want someone this reckless in the most-important office on the planet?
* McCain collaborated with the enemy, was given “soft” treatment because his father was an admiral, and is known as “Songbird McCain” by those who were imprisoned with him. (http://vietnamveteransagainstmccain.com) He is the MIA/POW family’s worst enemy for his constant attempts to belittle their concerns and stifle their inquiries while serving in the Senate.
McCain ditched his ill wife to marry an heiress when he returned from Vietnam
Is this the type of morality we Republicans condone? Is this type of heinous lack of loyalty we want in a President? He also has a track record of shocking verbal abuse, including screaming profanities against his Senate Republican colleagues. Senator Thad Cochran, MS, says “The thought of his being President sends a cold chill down my spine.” Other Senators relate times when McCain screamed four-letter obscenities right in their faces in the Senate cloak room, like Dick Shelby, Rick Santorum or Jim Imhofe. “The man is unhinged,” one senator said. “He is frighteningly unfit to be commander-in-chief.”
The truth is, John McCain is not even a Republican. He is a phony stalking horse who is a liberal in disguise. He not only can’t win this fall because he is so out of step with the majority of Americans and with the principled stands of Republicanism, but if we support this person for our nominee, he will likely destroy our party. Consider:
* He was intimately involved in the “Keating 5” Savings & Loan scandal.
* He has been endorsed by the liberal/leftist New York Times.
* He is a big advocate of the extreme “green” global warming scare, and the economically horrific “solutions” being proposed by people like Al Gore.
* He has promoted illegal amnesty for millions of illegal aliens.
* His McCain-Feingold Bill has destroyed much of the rights of people to take part in the political process the way they see fit. This bill remains un-Constitutional and a major affront to the First Amendment protections on the right of free speech.
* He is a big-time gun grabber who is an extreme advocate of restrictions on 2nd Amendment rights.
* He opposes repeal of Roe v. Wade, and opposes a Constitutional amendment to protect all life.
* He is no fiscal conservative, and he supports raising taxes on Social Security benefits.
* He continues his aggressive support for the Iraq War, which costs the U.S. taxpayer $12 billion a month, even though only 34% of Americans support the war. (According to Paul Craig Roberts, Asst. Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration, and vocal opponent of the Iraq War: 4,538 Americans have died in the war, 29,780 have been wounded, 300,000 soldiers are suffering from major depression, and 320,000 received brain injuries, all as a result of this unconstitutional and immoral war.)
We will hear much about “unity” at the Maine State Convention. However, it is very important that we understand that to unify behind this man is tantamount to nominating a Democrat. We can vote our consciences or abstain from voting.
John McCain did poorly in our Maine caucuses. By most estimates he got fewer than 20% of the delegates to the State Convention coming out of our caucuses and was soundly trounced by both Romney and Texas Congressman Ron Paul. McCain did not win a single county in the straw poll, with 15 counties going to Romney and one (Aroostook) going to Dr. Paul. McCain has little support nationally…there are never huge rallies for McCain, unless people are paid to show up. In short, he is a media creation and the darling of the Trotskyite neoconservative warmongers who have hijacked our party. He does not support our own platform!
Former Romney supporters who receive this info sheet DO NOT have to follow the “uncalled for” advice of the Massachusetts governor that you go over the cliff with support for this unstable man.
DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF OR YOUR VOTE TO BE PROSTITUTED IN THE NAME OF PARTY UNITY. PUT YOUR COUNTRY FIRST!
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for being such an important part of our representative form of government -- the envy of the world!
The Founding Fathers on Gun Control
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." What did they really mean? What were they thinking?... Read on to learn what our founding fathers really said about the right to keep and bear arms.
TO TAKE ARMS AGAINST THE BRITISH
From "A Journal of the Times", calling the citizens of Boston to arm themselves in response to British abuses of power, 1769:
"Instances of the licentious and outrageous behavior of the military conservators of the peace still multiply upon us, some of which are of such nature and have been carried to so great lengths as must serve fully to evince that a late vote of this town, calling upon the inhabitants to provide themselves with arms for their defense, was a measure as prudent as it was legal. It is a natural right which the people have reserved to themselves, confirmed by the [English] Bill of Rights, to keep arms for their own defense, and as Mr. Blackstone observes it is to be made use of when the sanctions of society and law are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression."
ASSAULT RIFLES, COLONIAL STYLE
George Mason's Fairfax County Militia Plan, 1775:
"And we do each of us, for ourselves respectively, promise and engage to keep a good firelock in proper order, and to furnish ourselves as soon as possible with, and always keep by us, one pound of gunpowder, four pounds of lead, one dozen gunflints, and a pair of bullet moulds, with a cartouch box, or powder horn, and bag for balls."
GIVE ME FLINTLOCKS OR GIVE ME DEATH
Patrick Henry, 1775:
"They tell us that we are weak—unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Three million people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us."
THOUGHTS ON DEFENSIVE WAR
Thomas Paine, writing to religious pacifists in 1775:
The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them; the weak would become a prey to the strong."
SOUND BITES FROM BEFORE AND AFTER THE REVOLUTION
Samuel Adams:
"Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life, secondly to liberty, thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can."
John Adams:
"Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self-defense."
Thomas Jefferson, in an early draft of the Virginia constitution:
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms in his own lands."
WE HAVE SEEN THE ENEMY AND HE IS US
Patrick Henry:
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined. The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun."
TREAD LIGHTLY
Thomas Jefferson's advice to his 15 year-old nephew:
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercise, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks."
Noah Webster, 1787:
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."
ON THE ROLE OF THE MILITIA
James Madison, "The influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared, "46 Federalist New York Packet, January 29,1788:
"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. And it is not certain that with this aid alone they would not be able to shake off their yokes. But were the people to possess the additional advantages of local governments chosen by themselves, that could collect the national will and direct the national force, and of officers appointed out of the militia, by these governments and attached both to them and to the militia, it may be affirmed with the greatest assurance that the throne of every tyranny in Europe would be speedily overturned in spite of the legions which surround it."
James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, 6-8-1789
"The right of the people to keep and bear...arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia,
composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country..."
Alexander Hamilton, "Concerning the Militia," 29 Federalist Daily Advertiser, January 10, 1788:
"There is something so far fetched and so extravagant in the idea of danger to liberty from the militia that one is at a loss whether to treat it with gravity or raillery. Where, in the name of common sense, are our fears to end if we may not trust our sons, our brothers, our neighbors, our fellow citizens? What shadow of danger can there be from men who are daily mingling with the rest of their countrymen and who participate with them in the same feelings, sentiments, habits and interests? What reasonable cause of apprehension can be inferred from a power in the Union to prescribe regulations for the militia, and to command its services when necessary, while the particular states are to have the sole and exclusive appointment of the officers? If it were possible seriously to indulge a jealousy of the militia upon any conceivable establishment under the federal government, the circumstance of the officers being in the appointment of the states ought at once to extinguish it. There can be no doubt that this circumstance will always secure to them a preponderating influence over the militia."
Alexander Hamilton speaking of standing armies in Federalist 29
"...but if circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that
army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights..."
Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters form the Federal Farmer, 1788:
"Militias, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves and include all men capable of bearing arms. To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
Trench Coxe, writing as "the Pennsylvanian" in the Philadelphia Federal Gazette, 1788:
"The power of the sword, say the minority of Pennsylvania, is in the hands of Congress. My friends and countrymen, it is not so, for the powers of the sword are in the hands of the yeomanry of America from 16 to 60. The militia of these free commonwealths, entitled and accustomed to their arms, when compared with any possible army, must be tremendous and irresistible. Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? It is feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom? Congress has no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people."
Thomas Jefferson
"On every question of construction [of the Constitution] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, spoken during floor debate over the Second Amendment [ I Annals of Congress at 750 {August 17, 1789}
"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty.... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."
George Mason, 3 Elliot, Debates at 425-426
"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for few public officials."
Patrick Henry, 3 J. Elliot, "Debates in the Several State Conventions" 45, 2d ed. Philadelphia,
1836
"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?"
ANTECEDENTS Connecticut gun code of 1650:
"All persons shall bear arms, and every male person shall have in continual readiness a good musket or other gun, fit for service."
Article 3 of the West Virginia state constitution:
"A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use."
Virginia Declaration of Rights 13 (June 12, 1776), drafted by George Mason:
"That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power."
A proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution, as passed by the Pennsylvania legislature:
"That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and their own states or the United States, or for the purpose of killing game; and no law shall be passed for disarming the people or any of them, unless for crimes committed, or real danger of public injury from individuals."
ROUGH DRAFT
An amendment to the Constitution, proposed by James Madison:
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, a well-armed and well-regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person."
THE FINAL DRAFT
The Second Amendment, as passed September 25, 1789:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
TO TAKE ARMS AGAINST THE BRITISH
From "A Journal of the Times", calling the citizens of Boston to arm themselves in response to British abuses of power, 1769:
"Instances of the licentious and outrageous behavior of the military conservators of the peace still multiply upon us, some of which are of such nature and have been carried to so great lengths as must serve fully to evince that a late vote of this town, calling upon the inhabitants to provide themselves with arms for their defense, was a measure as prudent as it was legal. It is a natural right which the people have reserved to themselves, confirmed by the [English] Bill of Rights, to keep arms for their own defense, and as Mr. Blackstone observes it is to be made use of when the sanctions of society and law are found insufficient to restrain the violence of oppression."
ASSAULT RIFLES, COLONIAL STYLE
George Mason's Fairfax County Militia Plan, 1775:
"And we do each of us, for ourselves respectively, promise and engage to keep a good firelock in proper order, and to furnish ourselves as soon as possible with, and always keep by us, one pound of gunpowder, four pounds of lead, one dozen gunflints, and a pair of bullet moulds, with a cartouch box, or powder horn, and bag for balls."
GIVE ME FLINTLOCKS OR GIVE ME DEATH
Patrick Henry, 1775:
"They tell us that we are weak—unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Three million people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us."
THOUGHTS ON DEFENSIVE WAR
Thomas Paine, writing to religious pacifists in 1775:
The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them; the weak would become a prey to the strong."
SOUND BITES FROM BEFORE AND AFTER THE REVOLUTION
Samuel Adams:
"Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life, secondly to liberty, thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can."
John Adams:
"Arms in the hands of the citizens may be used at individual discretion for the defense of the country, the overthrow of tyranny or private self-defense."
Thomas Jefferson, in an early draft of the Virginia constitution:
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms in his own lands."
WE HAVE SEEN THE ENEMY AND HE IS US
Patrick Henry:
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined. The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun."
TREAD LIGHTLY
Thomas Jefferson's advice to his 15 year-old nephew:
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercise, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks."
Noah Webster, 1787:
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword, because the whole of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."
ON THE ROLE OF THE MILITIA
James Madison, "The influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared, "46 Federalist New York Packet, January 29,1788:
"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of. Notwithstanding the military establishments in the several kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. And it is not certain that with this aid alone they would not be able to shake off their yokes. But were the people to possess the additional advantages of local governments chosen by themselves, that could collect the national will and direct the national force, and of officers appointed out of the militia, by these governments and attached both to them and to the militia, it may be affirmed with the greatest assurance that the throne of every tyranny in Europe would be speedily overturned in spite of the legions which surround it."
James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, 6-8-1789
"The right of the people to keep and bear...arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia,
composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country..."
Alexander Hamilton, "Concerning the Militia," 29 Federalist Daily Advertiser, January 10, 1788:
"There is something so far fetched and so extravagant in the idea of danger to liberty from the militia that one is at a loss whether to treat it with gravity or raillery. Where, in the name of common sense, are our fears to end if we may not trust our sons, our brothers, our neighbors, our fellow citizens? What shadow of danger can there be from men who are daily mingling with the rest of their countrymen and who participate with them in the same feelings, sentiments, habits and interests? What reasonable cause of apprehension can be inferred from a power in the Union to prescribe regulations for the militia, and to command its services when necessary, while the particular states are to have the sole and exclusive appointment of the officers? If it were possible seriously to indulge a jealousy of the militia upon any conceivable establishment under the federal government, the circumstance of the officers being in the appointment of the states ought at once to extinguish it. There can be no doubt that this circumstance will always secure to them a preponderating influence over the militia."
Alexander Hamilton speaking of standing armies in Federalist 29
"...but if circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude, that
army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people, while there is a large body of citizens, little if at all inferior to them in discipline and use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights..."
Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters form the Federal Farmer, 1788:
"Militias, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves and include all men capable of bearing arms. To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
Trench Coxe, writing as "the Pennsylvanian" in the Philadelphia Federal Gazette, 1788:
"The power of the sword, say the minority of Pennsylvania, is in the hands of Congress. My friends and countrymen, it is not so, for the powers of the sword are in the hands of the yeomanry of America from 16 to 60. The militia of these free commonwealths, entitled and accustomed to their arms, when compared with any possible army, must be tremendous and irresistible. Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? It is feared, then, that we shall turn our arms each man against his own bosom? Congress has no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state governments, but where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people."
Thomas Jefferson
"On every question of construction [of the Constitution] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, spoken during floor debate over the Second Amendment [ I Annals of Congress at 750 {August 17, 1789}
"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty.... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."
George Mason, 3 Elliot, Debates at 425-426
"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for few public officials."
Patrick Henry, 3 J. Elliot, "Debates in the Several State Conventions" 45, 2d ed. Philadelphia,
1836
"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?"
ANTECEDENTS Connecticut gun code of 1650:
"All persons shall bear arms, and every male person shall have in continual readiness a good musket or other gun, fit for service."
Article 3 of the West Virginia state constitution:
"A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use."
Virginia Declaration of Rights 13 (June 12, 1776), drafted by George Mason:
"That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power."
A proposed amendment to the Federal Constitution, as passed by the Pennsylvania legislature:
"That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and their own states or the United States, or for the purpose of killing game; and no law shall be passed for disarming the people or any of them, unless for crimes committed, or real danger of public injury from individuals."
ROUGH DRAFT
An amendment to the Constitution, proposed by James Madison:
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, a well-armed and well-regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person."
THE FINAL DRAFT
The Second Amendment, as passed September 25, 1789:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Chinese Organ Harvesting Confirmed by Former Prisoner
In early 2006, The Epoch Times first exposed the Chinese Communist Party's crime of harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners. Since then new evidence continues to surface.
Recently a witness from Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province has come forward and revealed what he discovered during his detention in Wuxi City No.2 Detention Center. According to the witness, many cases of organ harvesting occurred during 2002.
He was detained from 2005 to 2007 because he made opposing comments about China's unlawful control of personal speech and media. During his imprisonment he learned that not only death row prisoners were killed for their organs, but Falun Gong practitioners too. For the safety of the witness's family in China, we will not disclose his name.
Reporter: Under what circumstance were you able to find out about the organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners?
Witness: Between March 2005 and early 2007, I was unlawfully imprisoned in Wuxi City No.2 Detention Center. To add insult to my injury, the prison guards repeatedly moved me from cell to cell. Each time I was moved to a different cell, the despicable guards told the inmates I was nuts and that they shouldn't talk to me. The inmates were even instructed to give me a hard time. During my detention, I was kept in 17 different cells. Inmates that had been imprisoned for a long time told me that organs were harvested from about two or three Falun Gong practitioners in every cell between 2002 and 2003.
Reporter: How did the subject come up?
Witness: In the detention center, each inmate must have at least two physical examinations a year. During the examination, the veteran inmates quietly told me, "It's time to harvest organs from these people. Look at those strong young men. It is their organs that will be harvested."
Reporter: Who were those "strong young men"?
Witness: Death row inmates and Falun Gong practitioners. The doctors carefully examined these people, but hardly paid attention to other inmates. It is no longer kept a secret that organs are removed from death row prisoners. Executions are carried out before the Chinese New Year and October 1 every year, so physical examinations are made in January and September when the doctors check on the health of prisoners to determine which parts are fit for organ transplant. These veteran inmates have noticed that Falun Gong practitioners are examined with unusual care. This means they may be targeting them.
Reporter: How did these veteran inmates know that Falun Gong practitioners' organs were harvested?
Witness: Falun Gong practitioners have their own spiritual belief. Those inmates think they are just obstinate. All it takes for practitioners to be released is to guarantee in writing never to practice Falun Gong again, but they will not do it. So they are subjected to beating and torture. Sometimes the guards will deny practitioners food. Other times the guards feed them pigswill or food spoiled by fungi. I know for a fact that there are two prison guards in each detention center in Wuxi whose job is to beat up inmates. They will beat and torture practitioners until they are nearly dead. Sometimes the prisoners suffer internal injuries that prevent them from eating. Sometimes their lips and mouths are injured by severe kicking, making them unable to eat. After administering saline solutions for two days, the guards will stop and ignore them. By then, these practitioners are half dead. The next day they are hauled out of the cell and their organs will be removed. We will never see them again.
Reporter: How can these inmates be certain these practitioners are killed for their organs, instead of being released?
Witness: You asked me how the veteran inmates know for sure if these practitioners are killed for their organs instead of being released? Firstly, these people will not promise to stop practicing Falun Gong, so there is no way they will be released. Second, practitioners are taken to an isolated room. Many doctors dressed in white will go to the room and collect them, and they are never seen again. One day a new prisoner was put in our cell. He told us that a practitioner's family was arguing with the guards outside. They questioned why their relative had died so suddenly and why the body was cremated before it was shown to the family. The inmates were puzzled. After all, that practitioner was alive when he was removed from the cell two days ago. How could he die so suddenly? He must have been murdered. Why did they deny his family the right to see the body before cremation? It is because his organs had been removed. Think about it. They harvest organs from executed prisoners, why wouldn't they go one step further?
Reporter: Does this happen to every cell? How often?
Witness: I was imprisoned for two years and kept in 17 different cells. In each cell, one inmate related real stories about practitioners being killed for their organs, often more than once. Even though I didn't witness the crime in person, I did see how violently they beat up Falun Gong practitioners. The guards would bind them to a board with their limbs stretched out and keep them tied for long hours. They would not be allowed to visit the toilet. I have also witnessed guards prying open practitioners' mouths with sharpened bamboo sticks for force-feeding or stuffing their mouths with wooden blocks. I have no idea if they have changed the way they operate now.
Reporter: In other words, inmates in detention centers knew about organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners as early as 2002, before the crime was exposed to the world?
Witness: That's right. Inmates from detention centers knew about it in 2002. When I read the reports about the organ harvesting after I left China, I totally believed and agreed in the accuracy of the reports.
Recently a witness from Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province has come forward and revealed what he discovered during his detention in Wuxi City No.2 Detention Center. According to the witness, many cases of organ harvesting occurred during 2002.
He was detained from 2005 to 2007 because he made opposing comments about China's unlawful control of personal speech and media. During his imprisonment he learned that not only death row prisoners were killed for their organs, but Falun Gong practitioners too. For the safety of the witness's family in China, we will not disclose his name.
Reporter: Under what circumstance were you able to find out about the organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners?
Witness: Between March 2005 and early 2007, I was unlawfully imprisoned in Wuxi City No.2 Detention Center. To add insult to my injury, the prison guards repeatedly moved me from cell to cell. Each time I was moved to a different cell, the despicable guards told the inmates I was nuts and that they shouldn't talk to me. The inmates were even instructed to give me a hard time. During my detention, I was kept in 17 different cells. Inmates that had been imprisoned for a long time told me that organs were harvested from about two or three Falun Gong practitioners in every cell between 2002 and 2003.
Reporter: How did the subject come up?
Witness: In the detention center, each inmate must have at least two physical examinations a year. During the examination, the veteran inmates quietly told me, "It's time to harvest organs from these people. Look at those strong young men. It is their organs that will be harvested."
Reporter: Who were those "strong young men"?
Witness: Death row inmates and Falun Gong practitioners. The doctors carefully examined these people, but hardly paid attention to other inmates. It is no longer kept a secret that organs are removed from death row prisoners. Executions are carried out before the Chinese New Year and October 1 every year, so physical examinations are made in January and September when the doctors check on the health of prisoners to determine which parts are fit for organ transplant. These veteran inmates have noticed that Falun Gong practitioners are examined with unusual care. This means they may be targeting them.
Reporter: How did these veteran inmates know that Falun Gong practitioners' organs were harvested?
Witness: Falun Gong practitioners have their own spiritual belief. Those inmates think they are just obstinate. All it takes for practitioners to be released is to guarantee in writing never to practice Falun Gong again, but they will not do it. So they are subjected to beating and torture. Sometimes the guards will deny practitioners food. Other times the guards feed them pigswill or food spoiled by fungi. I know for a fact that there are two prison guards in each detention center in Wuxi whose job is to beat up inmates. They will beat and torture practitioners until they are nearly dead. Sometimes the prisoners suffer internal injuries that prevent them from eating. Sometimes their lips and mouths are injured by severe kicking, making them unable to eat. After administering saline solutions for two days, the guards will stop and ignore them. By then, these practitioners are half dead. The next day they are hauled out of the cell and their organs will be removed. We will never see them again.
Reporter: How can these inmates be certain these practitioners are killed for their organs, instead of being released?
Witness: You asked me how the veteran inmates know for sure if these practitioners are killed for their organs instead of being released? Firstly, these people will not promise to stop practicing Falun Gong, so there is no way they will be released. Second, practitioners are taken to an isolated room. Many doctors dressed in white will go to the room and collect them, and they are never seen again. One day a new prisoner was put in our cell. He told us that a practitioner's family was arguing with the guards outside. They questioned why their relative had died so suddenly and why the body was cremated before it was shown to the family. The inmates were puzzled. After all, that practitioner was alive when he was removed from the cell two days ago. How could he die so suddenly? He must have been murdered. Why did they deny his family the right to see the body before cremation? It is because his organs had been removed. Think about it. They harvest organs from executed prisoners, why wouldn't they go one step further?
Reporter: Does this happen to every cell? How often?
Witness: I was imprisoned for two years and kept in 17 different cells. In each cell, one inmate related real stories about practitioners being killed for their organs, often more than once. Even though I didn't witness the crime in person, I did see how violently they beat up Falun Gong practitioners. The guards would bind them to a board with their limbs stretched out and keep them tied for long hours. They would not be allowed to visit the toilet. I have also witnessed guards prying open practitioners' mouths with sharpened bamboo sticks for force-feeding or stuffing their mouths with wooden blocks. I have no idea if they have changed the way they operate now.
Reporter: In other words, inmates in detention centers knew about organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners as early as 2002, before the crime was exposed to the world?
Witness: That's right. Inmates from detention centers knew about it in 2002. When I read the reports about the organ harvesting after I left China, I totally believed and agreed in the accuracy of the reports.
Dr. Ron Paul on Taxes
On the fourth day of July, in 1776, a small group of men, representing 13 colonies in the far-off Americas, boldly told the most powerful nation on earth that they were free.
They declared, in terms that still are radical today, that all men are created equal, and endowed with certain inalienable rights that government neither grants nor can take away.
In the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers sought to demonstrate to the world that they were rejecting a tyrannical king. They listed the “injuries and usurpations” that contain the philosophical basis for our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
One point of consternation to our founding fathers was that the king had been “imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” But 230 years later, taxation with representation has not worked out much better.
Indeed, one has to wonder how Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin would react to the current state of affairs. After all, they were outraged by mere import tariffs of a few pennies on the dollar. Today, the average American pays roughly 50 percent of their income in direct and indirect taxes.
In fact, most Texans will not start working for themselves for another week. Texans, like most Americans, work from January until early July just to pay their federal income taxes, state and local taxes, and the enormous costs of regulation. Only about half the year is spent working to pay for food, clothing, shelter, or education.
It is easy to simply blame faceless bureaucrats and politicians for our current state of affairs, and they do bear much of the blame. But blame also rests with those who expect Washington DC to solve every problem under the sun. If the public demanded that Congress abide by the Constitution and pass only constitutional spending bills, politicians would have no choice but to respond.
Everybody seems to agree that government waste is rampant and spending should be cut—but not when it comes to their communities or pet projects. So members of Congress have every incentive to support spending bills and adopt a go-along, get-along attitude. This leads to the famous compromises, but the bill eventually comes due on April 15th.
Our basic problem is that we have lost sight of the simple premise that guided the actions of our founding fathers. That premise? The government that governs least is the government that governs best.
When we cut the size of government, our taxes will fall. When we reduce the power of the federal bureaucracy, the cost of government will plummet. And when we firmly fix our eyes, undistracted, on the principles of liberty, Americans truly will be free. That should be our new declaration.
They declared, in terms that still are radical today, that all men are created equal, and endowed with certain inalienable rights that government neither grants nor can take away.
In the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers sought to demonstrate to the world that they were rejecting a tyrannical king. They listed the “injuries and usurpations” that contain the philosophical basis for our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
One point of consternation to our founding fathers was that the king had been “imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” But 230 years later, taxation with representation has not worked out much better.
Indeed, one has to wonder how Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin would react to the current state of affairs. After all, they were outraged by mere import tariffs of a few pennies on the dollar. Today, the average American pays roughly 50 percent of their income in direct and indirect taxes.
In fact, most Texans will not start working for themselves for another week. Texans, like most Americans, work from January until early July just to pay their federal income taxes, state and local taxes, and the enormous costs of regulation. Only about half the year is spent working to pay for food, clothing, shelter, or education.
It is easy to simply blame faceless bureaucrats and politicians for our current state of affairs, and they do bear much of the blame. But blame also rests with those who expect Washington DC to solve every problem under the sun. If the public demanded that Congress abide by the Constitution and pass only constitutional spending bills, politicians would have no choice but to respond.
Everybody seems to agree that government waste is rampant and spending should be cut—but not when it comes to their communities or pet projects. So members of Congress have every incentive to support spending bills and adopt a go-along, get-along attitude. This leads to the famous compromises, but the bill eventually comes due on April 15th.
Our basic problem is that we have lost sight of the simple premise that guided the actions of our founding fathers. That premise? The government that governs least is the government that governs best.
When we cut the size of government, our taxes will fall. When we reduce the power of the federal bureaucracy, the cost of government will plummet. And when we firmly fix our eyes, undistracted, on the principles of liberty, Americans truly will be free. That should be our new declaration.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
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