Beware of Right-Wing Extremists

Friends,
When little boys were growing up in the age of true American heroes like Lieutenant Audie Murphy, General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, General of the Army Omar Bradley, General George Patton, and Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, they pictured themselves doing heroic things such as saving their comrades from certain death or rescuing the city from certain calamity. One picture they did not have of themselves was that of a terrorist.

We grew up steeped in patriotism. We had just emerged from under the cloud of three despotic megalomaniacs who wanted to split the world into three pieces for them to rule with their iron fists. Our thoughts were of the preservation of our freedoms and our nation. However in this day of globalism, these thoughts put my generation and those of like minds squarely in the crosshairs of our new administration and the agency tasked with preserving those freedoms.

I question whether members of our current administration fully appreciate how close we have come to losing our very national identity. With few exceptions, we have never gone into a war with a certainty of success. The number of Americans killed in action during all major wars since the Revolution stands at over 2.7 million. Those lives were sacrificed to guarantee that we would not have to live under the boot heel of despots.

The current list of patriots now includes the soccer moms, who want to protect their kids from crushing debt and oppressive government regulation; citizens who work every day to support their families and don’t want to see illegals come in and take their jobs; caring, loving parents who cherish their children and do not believe that a child is a throw-away commodity; and ordinary citizens, like myself, who “cling to their guns and Bibles” because they are guaranteed under our Constitution by the Founders.

The Department of Homeland Security sent a memo out to all law enforcement agencies in the US giving their assessment of Right-Wing extremist groups. You can view this memo here. (If DHS takes the link down you may email me and I will send you a copy of it.) The most astounding part of their concern is that they characterize returning veterans as potential terrorists. Why is this list of patriots now viewed by the DHS as potential terrorists and worthy of being watched? This may seem like a perplexing question but there is a simple answer. The current crop of Liberals has a major problem with criticism as evidenced by their push for reinstatement of the “Fairness Doctrine.”

One question that we patriots should be asking ourselves is “What freedoms will we lose under the guise of preventing Right-Wing-Extremism?” Already mentioned is curtailment of our First Amendment rights under the “Fairness Doctrine.” Additionally, if Right-Wing groups are seen as a threat, will the government try to limit our right of free assembly? Will groups like the Coalition for a Conservative Majority, www.ccm-cos.com, be banned from meeting or at least be required to obtain a permit? What about our Second Amendment rights? If those of us clinging to our guns and Bibles are viewed as a threat, can gun confiscation be far behind?
This egregious memo closely resembles one put out by the Missouri law enforcement folks a couple of months ago. They received so much heat for their memo that they removed it from distribution.

Now, Secretary Napolitano has released a statement saying that her department is not profiling anyone but that it is the department’s responsibility to safeguard the country and they are constantly “on the lookout for criminal and terrorist activity but we do not – nor will we ever – monitor ideology or political beliefs.” This sounds like a bit of double-speak. The department’s memo tells law enforcement agencies across the country to beware of all of these Right-Wing groups, including returning veterans. Someone please correct my thought process. How can you be associated with a Right-Wing group unless you have political beliefs that lean to the right? But the secretary says that they do not monitor ideology or political beliefs. Maybe I’m missing something.

The bottom line is that Secretary Napolitano’s “clarification” falls a bit short. The memo is still out there providing guidance for our country’s law enforcement agencies. I find this to be offensive to the extreme. This administration is pitting the government against its citizens just the way Lenin, Stalin, and Mao did. It is past time for the citizens of this great nation to tell the federal government to stay out of our meetings, churches, and homes.

As always, I welcome your comments and discussion.

Dan

The Enumerated Powers Act

Friends,

Wow! There is a new concept brewing in Congress, HR 450, also known as the Enumerated Powers Act. If this bill passes it would state “Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act. The failure to comply with this section shall give rise to a point of order in either House of Congress….”

What a concept, basing the actions of the federal government on only those powers granted by the Constitution. Now why didn’t I think of that? Actually, the Founders did think of it and spelled it out quite succinctly in the 10th Amendment which states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This tells me that Congress, the President, and the Courts have specific powers and only those powers.

My hat is flying off my head to salute Representative John Shadegg, R-Ariz. and the 19 other representatives who have signed on to this ground-breaking bill that will receive no notice in the main-stream press or by the Democrat leadership.

As it turns out, this is not the first time Representative Shadegg has introduced the bill. He has introduced it every year he has been in Congress. I have a couple of questions for every member of Congress; “Why is it necessary that this bill should even be required?” and “Why do I not see every member of the House of Representatives name as a cosponsor and the same in the Senate on a companion bill?” I do not think that these are rhetorical questions. I want an answer from each and every one of these individuals. For over 150 years, successive congresses, presidents, and courts have taken on powers not specifically spelled out in the Constitution. To see the cosponsors of this bill go here.

As I have noted on numerous occasions, I am no Constitutional Scholar, but in my reading of this venerable document I have found no constitutional justification for bailing out any private corporation; no constitutional justification for ordering a corporate executive to resign; or even the constitutional justification to tell petroleum companies when or where they can explore or drill for oil. Where in our Constitution does it say that the federal government has the authority to tell us who will have health care insurance, or who will pay for it? Please do not misunderstand me, I want everyone to be able to have access to health care but it is not within the purview of the federal government to determine the scope of that need or provide it.

The continuous over-reach of the federal government has accelerated to the point where we will not be out of debt for at least three generations unless we turn this trend around now. This means taking a number of immediate steps:
1. Cancel the “Stimulus Package”
2. Cut corporate taxes to a maximum rate of 14%
3. Repeal the 16th Amendment
4. Pass a new amendment that guarantees all taxes will be fairly and equitably levied
5. Eliminate all cabinet/federal departments that do not directly fall in line with the enumerated goals and powers in the Constitution.

These measures only address the financial mess with which the federal government has saddled us. There are many more measures that should be taken to return the United States to the greatness that we once enjoyed. But our economy is arguably at the fore of our thought process at this time.

As usual, I welcome your comments and discussion

Dan