Defigo Postremo

Diminishing the Constitution

2012-02-15T08:30:00.006-05:00

It is certainly no surprise for gun owners to see the New York Times run a story belittling the United States Constitution.

After all, the Times has worked for decades to devalue our founding document.

“[I]ts influence is waning,” opines the Times. It is “terse and old, and it guarantees relatively few rights.” The paper faults the Constitution for being difficult to amend and reflective of the times in which it was written. While the Times does not go so far as to claim the U.S. Constitution has been bad for America, it does lament that it is of “little current use to, say, a new African nation.”

But it was a much bigger shock when the Times reported in the same story that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a sitting associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and grande dame of the Court’s liberal voting bloc, shares the Times’ dim view of the Constitution. Ginsburg said “I would not look to the United States Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012.” Her personal recommendations would instead include “the South African Constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the European Convention on Human Rights.”

NRA-ILA Alerts
Vol. 19, No. 06 02/10/12

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2012-02-14T08:30:00.000-05:00

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Comment:
Prepare for 2012 - get one of these!
Also useful if there is a Zombie Apocalypse or other collapse of civilisation.

George Washington

2012-02-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."

REFERENCE: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_washington_2.html

Russian spies were succeeding, FBI official says -- LA Times (31 Oct 2011)

2012-02-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

The 10 sleeper agents exposed in 2010 were reportedly succeeding in efforts to rise in American society and gain connections to policymakers. Newly released documents detail the investigation.

October 31, 2011|

By Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Washington — Brush passes. Dead drops. Secret electronic messages. All under the watchful eye of the FBI.

Documents released Monday, including photos, videos and papers, offered new details about the FBI's decade-long investigation into a ring of Russian sleeper agents who, U.S. officials say, were trying to burrow their way into American society to learn secrets from people in power.

The investigation was code-named Operation Ghost Stories because six of the 10 agents had assumed the identities of dead people.

PHOTOS: Russian sleeper agents in the U.S.

The agents, whom the U.S. sent to Russia in July 2010 in the largest spy swap since the Cold War, are not accused of stealing any U.S. secrets. But they were more dangerous than commonly believed, C. Frank Figliuzzi, FBI assistant director for counterintelligence, said in an interview.

They were "the cream of the crop" of trained Russian intelligence agents, he said, and they were sent here to blend in and befriend American policymakers. They were succeeding, Figliuzzi said.

"Several were getting close to high-ranking officials," he said. One had gone to work for a confidant of a U.S. Cabinet member, he added, declining to offer details.

One of the Russians, who identified herself as Cynthia Murphy of Montclair, N.J., provided financial planning for Alan Patricof, a New York venture capitalist and top Democratic donor who was finance chairman of Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, according to news reports.

The agents were known as "illegals," because they weren't operating out of Russian embassies or military missions. Instead, they led seemingly normal lives in the U.S.

Figliuzzi noted that one of the spies, Donald Heathfield of Cambridge, Mass., attended Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, which trains many senior government officials.

One of the photos released Monday showed Heathfield, who purportedly stole the identity of a Canadian infant who had died decades ago, graduating from Harvard in 2000. The university has revoked the degree.

One of Murphy's neighbors remarked: "How could she be a spy? Look at her hydrangeas," Figliuzzi said.

The FBI released the documents, many of them heavily redacted, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Associated Press.

After watching the Russian network for a decade, the FBI decided to wrap it up last year. "We had seen enough of the reporting going back to Moscow Center to trouble us," including a report about one of the agent's classmates who had joined the CIA, Figliuzzi said.

By early 2010, the FBI had penetrated the ring's communication. Investigators were able to record the Russians sending secret messages, and posing as Russian handlers they used the spy ring's own lingo to get members to incriminate themselves.

In one videotape, Anna Chapman, the former New York real estate agent whose youth and good looks made her the face of the spy saga when it became public knowledge, is shown shopping in a New York department store. She was also transmitting coded messages though a laptop to her Russian handler, Figliuzzi said.

Other agents sent information to their handlers by leaving it at a prearranged location (known as a dead drop) or by handing it off quickly while walking by a person (a brush pass).

Chapman, who has since become an international celebrity, was not as well-trained as most of the others, Figliuzzi said. She was sent to the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because she could operate in an era of greater scrutiny using her real name, he said.

Months later, in a Manhattan coffee shop, an undercover FBI agent got Chapman to acknowledge her affiliation with Moscow.

The U.S. government reportedly learned about the spy ring from Col. Alexander Poteyev, an American mole in Russian foreign intelligence who fled Moscow days before the FBI arrested the Russians. A Russian military court convicted him in absentia for high treason and desertion.
The U.S. ultimately arrested the 10 Russians and swapped them for four Russians who were serving time after being convicted of spying for the West.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev awarded the 10 freed spies Russia's highest honors at a Kremlin ceremony. Chapman, a diplomat's daughter, has kept a high profile in Russia, working as a model and doing paid celebrity endorsements.

An 11th suspect, Christopher Metsos, who delivered money and equipment to the sleeper agents, absconded after a court in Cyprus freed him on bail. The FBI released surveillance photos of Metsos, who reportedly claimed to be Canadian, on Monday.

The FBI documents, photos and videos can be found at http://www.fbi.gov.

PHOTOS: Russian sleeper agents in the U.S.
ken.dilanian@latimes.com

COMMENT: Russia, after a period of calling itself the primary republic (not a republic in reality) of the Soviet Union, demonstrates that it is still the enemy of the national security and interests of the United States. Eternal Vigilance!!!

Sowell: Nanny state perpetuates hunger hoax

2012-02-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

By Thomas Sowell
Columbian Syndicated Columnist

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Twenty years ago, hysteria swept through the media over “hunger in America.” Dan Rather opened a CBS Evening News broadcast in 1991 declaring, “one in eight American children is going hungry tonight.” Newsweek, the Associated Press and the Boston Globe repeated this statistic, and many others joined the media chorus, with or without that unsubstantiated statistic.

When the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Agriculture examined people from a variety of income levels, however, they found no evidence of malnutrition among those in the lowest income brackets. Nor was there any significant difference in the intake of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from one income level to another. That should have been the end of that hysteria. But the same “hunger in America” theme reappeared years later, when John Edwards was running for vice president. And others have resurrected that same claim, right up to the present day.

Ironically, the one demonstrable nutritional difference between the poor and others is that low-income women tend to be overweight more often than others. That may not seem like much to make a political issue, but politicians and the media have created hysteria over less.

The political left has turned obesity among low-income individuals into an argument that low-income people cannot afford nutritious food, and so have to resort to burgers and fries, pizzas and the like, which are more fattening and less healthful. But this attempt to salvage something from the “hunger in America” hoax collapses like a house of cards when you stop and think about it. Burgers, pizzas and the like cost more than food that you can buy at a store and cook yourself. If you can afford junk food, you can certainly afford healthier food. An article in the Sept. 25 New York Times by Mark Bittman showed that you can cook a meal for four at half the cost of a meal from a burger restaurant. So far, so good. But then Mr. Bittman says that the problem is “to get people to see cooking as a joy.” For this, he says, “we need action both cultural and political.” In other words, the nanny state to the rescue!

Debilitating dependency

Since when are adult human beings supposed to do only those things that are a joy? I don’t find any particular joy in putting on my shoes. But I do it rather than go barefoot. I don’t always find it a joy to drive a car, especially in bad weather, but I have to get from here to there. An arrogant elite’s condescension toward the people — treating them as children who have to be jollied along — is one of the poisonous problems of our time. It is at the heart of the nanny state and the promotion of a debilitating dependency that wins votes for politicians while weakening a society.

Those who see social problems as requiring high-minded people like themselves to come down from their Olympian heights to impose their superior wisdom on the rest of us, down in the valley, are behind such things as the hunger hoax, which is part of the larger poverty hoax.

We have now reached the point where the great majority of the people living below the official poverty level have such things as air conditioning, microwave ovens, either videocassette recorders or DVD players, and own either a car or a truck. Why are such people called “poor”? Because they meet the arbitrary criteria established by Washington bureaucrats. Depending on what criteria are used, you can have as much official poverty as you want, regardless of whether it bears any relationship to reality.

Those who believe in an expansive nanny state government need a large number of people in “poverty” to justify their programs. They also need a large number of people dependent on government to provide the votes needed to keep the big nanny state going. Politicians, welfare state bureaucrats and others have incentives to create or perpetuate hoaxes, whether about poverty in general or hunger in particular. The high cost to taxpayers is exceeded by the even higher cost of lost opportunities for fulfillment in their lives by those who succumb to the lure of a stagnant life of dependency.

Reference:

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/oct/25/nanny-state-perpetuates-hunger-hoax/

COMMENT: Interesting piece and lively discussion among commentators on the original publication at the link above.

Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social theorist, political philosopher, humanitarian and author. A National Humanities Medal winner, he advocates laissez-faire economics and writes from a libertarian perspective. He is currently a Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

How Sears Can Save Itself: Buy (and Sell) American

2012-02-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/12/30/how-sears-can-save-itself-buy-and-sell-american/

COMMENT:
Sears should become the AMERICAN store it used to be.

Samual Adams - Founding Father of the United States

2012-02-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

"A general dissolution of the principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy.... While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but once they lose their virtue, they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.... If virtue and knowledge are diffused among the people, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great security."

Reference: http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes_about/slavery

Oppose Enemy Expatriation Act That Strips Citizenship

2012-02-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

The most egregious legislation negatively affecting our once constitutionally guaranteed liberties lately seems to come via a “national security” rationale. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and its “indefinite detention” clause is a classic example of liberty-robbing legislation that ignores constitutional restraints put in place to protect against tyranny. Our current leaders seem content to cooperate with these assaults on freedoms, or haven’t the courage to stand up against the encroaching tyranny because they continue to offer excuses for voting for such abuses.

To quote The New American’s Joe Wolverton II, J.D., on the NDAA’s indefinite detention, “Under the provisions of Section 1021, the President is afforded the absolute power to arrest and detain citizens of the United States without their being informed of any criminal charges, without a trial on the merits of those charges, and without a scintilla of the due process safeguards protected by the Constitution of the United States.” This provision gives the President “absolute power to indefinitely detain American citizens suspected (by him) of being ‘belligerents,'” Wolverton added, for those who had any doubt about the effect of the bill.

To add insult to constitutional injury, along comes S. 1698, the Enemy Expatriation Act introduced by lame-duck Independent Senator Joe Lieberman (Conn.) and Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.). A companion bill, H.R. 3166, has been introduced in the House by Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.). The EEA is a blatant facilitator for new authority that would grant the president the ability to arbitrarily strip citizenship from Americans for “engaging in or supporting hostilities against the United States.” The term “hostilities” means, according to the text of the legislation, “any conflict subject to the laws of war.”
Notice there is no mention of a trial or conviction. A simple whim or accusation may suffice. Perhaps "bitter clingers,” those who don’t support the current regime, differing in their interpretation of the requisites of this Constitutional Republic, may soon find themselves atop a list of those considered hostile.

It simply must be pointed out that in Nazi Germany the second of the Nuremberg Laws stripped certain Germans of their citizenship. Next, eugenics laws were embraced, and from there on the floodgates of incarceration and extermination were let loose. A young German lawyer wrote in 1933 that many were helpless to stop the dictatorial advance as the people had “collectively and limply collapsed, yielded, and capitulated.” “The result of this millionfold nervous breakdown is the unified nation, ready for anything, that is today the nightmare of the rest of the world.” Is this what the United States is becoming?

If you’re not angered over this situation, you should be. If your Senators and Representative aren’t angered by this proposal for the destruction of so basic a founding principle of a free society, they should be. Remind them that this kind of legislative proposal was made possible by the passage of the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and the National Defense Authorization Act, a slippery slope many of these same elected officials failed to comprehend.

Thanks,

Your friends at The John Birch Society

Reference: The John Birch Society

Get the Keystone XL Pipeline Up and Running

2012-02-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), a division of the Library of Congress, has very recently given a bit of a boost to newly introduced legislation that would get the Keystone XL Pipeline project moving. A shovel-ready, jobs-creating project funded by TransCanada would bring crude oil safely and inexpensively from Alberta, Canada to Gulf Coast refineries. Senate Bill 2041 would “approve the Keystone XL pipeline project and provide for environmental protection and government oversight.” And respect for state and local laws, along with private property protection rights are built into the legislation.

President Obama denied a permit to implement the pipeline proposal on January 18 saying the White House and State Department didn’t have enough time to review all the material and make a decision. However, an earlier Keystone project was approved and up and running in less time than the three years Obama has taken to reject this one. He continues to insist that he is committed to “American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil.” Which, if evaluated on face value, is not exactly an endorsement of the Keystone project.

A January 20 legal analysis by CRS attorneys stated that “[I]f Congress chose to assert its authority in the area of border crossing facilities, this would likely be considered within its constitutionally enumerated authority to regulate foreign commerce,” despite the fact that traditionally and historically, the executive branch has always handled “foreign affairs” alone.
Whether 20,000 jobs or 100,000 jobs will be created or positively affected, this country needs to keep the crude oil, which is still what America runs on, flowing in abundance, especially given the mounting war-like tensions in the Middle East. Also, if TransCanada is put off for too long, they will likely take their wares elsewhere.

There is another bill in the House that has some support but takes a different approach. H.R. 3548, the North American Energy Access Act would turn the permitting process for Keystone over to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. If FERC can’t decide in 30 days, Congress would get a crack at it. A FERC official already testified that 30 days isn’t enough time to make a “defensible decision." Besides, as a federal agency with commission members appointed by the President, would approval be given via the FERC route anyway? Or would this be delaying the project further until TransCanada just gives up and moves on?

Naturally, many extreme environmental groups oppose the project and are very adept at vocalizing and demonstrating their minority stance. With 44 co-sponsors in the Senate, this important project needs a big push from the tax-paying, hard-working electorate to get the necessary 60 votes in the Senate.

Is not an increased supply of readily useable, reliable energy in this nation’s best security interests? Help support S. 2041 to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline project and get the crude oil flowing.

Thanks,

Your friends at The John Birch Society
COMMENT: Just passsing on the message. RB

From the ACLU -- What is the government hiding?

2012-02-04T22:24:00.000-05:00

It seems unbelievable: through a joint operation between the CIA and the military, three U.S. citizens are killed by unmanned predator drones, far from any battlefield. None of them were charged with a crime, and no court reviewed the government's decision to kill its own citizens.

Yet, it's true.

In September last year, American citizens Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan were killed when unmanned drones operated by the CIA and the U.S. military fired missiles at the car in which they were traveling.¹ Two weeks later, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a 16-year-old born in Colorado, was killed in a military drone strike.

Our government's killing of American citizens without charge or trial raises profound questions that ought to be the subject of public debate. That's why we filed a lawsuit yesterday to demand that the government release basic — and accurate — information about its targeted killing program.

Stand with us. Tell President Obama: We need transparency about the government's targeted killing program.
The Obama administration has released very little information about its targeted killing program. Its official position is that the program is a state secret — and some of the information it has released has been misleading. However, some officials, including President Obama, have spoken about the program. They have publicly claimed responsibility for killing al-Awlaki, and they have more generally defended the government's right to kill citizens after a secret non-judicial process.

Soon after the fall 2011 drone strikes, we submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the CIA, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice.² Three months later, we have yet to receive a single document in response.
Tell President Obama: We need transparency about the government's targeted killing program.

The government's attitude toward transparency and disclosure is unacceptable. Officials cannot be allowed to release bits of information about the targeted killing program when they think it will bolster their position, but refuse even to confirm the existence of the program when organizations like the ACLU file FOIA requests in the service of real transparency and accountability.

We must demand government transparency. Stand with us. Urge the Obama administration to release greater information about this program.

The public has a right to know the legal basis for the targeted killing of U.S. citizens.

Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director, ACLU

Spread the Word

Help by sharing this campaign with friends.

ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004

Counterpoint - to yesterday's post

2012-02-03T08:31:00.001-05:00

"Nothing is plainer than that, if the principles of the church of Rome prevail here, our Constitution would fall. The two cannot exist together. They are in open and direct antagonism with the fundamental theory of our government and of all popular government everywhere."
-- Richard Thompson

Source: The Papacy and the Civil Power, in Fifty Years in the Church of Rome (Chick Publications), p. 285

Reference:
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Richard.Thompson.Quote.E44E

Attack on Christianity - the method may have changed, but the goals are still the same

2012-02-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

"We will offer the Christian world unheard of peace overtures, and these nations, stupid and decadent, will leap at the chance to be our
friends; they will willingly cooperate in their own destruction. Then, when their guard is down, and they have gone to sleep, we will smash them with our clenched fist."

-- Dmitri Manuilsky

[Dmytro Zakharovych Manuilsky] (1883-1959) Bolshevik/Soviet Diplomat 1947

Reference:
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Dmitri.Manuilsky.Quote.8B59

Socialism marches on a century later - 1915 to 2012

2012-02-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

"Socialism is precisely the religion that must overwhelm Christianity. … In the new order, Socialism will triumph by first capturing the culture via infiltration of schools, universities, churches and the media by transforming the consciousness of society."

-- Antonio Gramsci, Italian communist and “class warrior”
Source: 1915

Reference:http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Antonio.Gramsci.Quote.E447

COMMENT:
The march of the secular humanism in the 'civilized west' under the banner of socialism.

*********************************

Share these quotes -- spread them around!
Many have sacrificed their lives for our Liberty.
Let us renew our commitment to Freedom.

Liberty Quotes - http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca

The Star-Spangled Banner

2012-01-31T08:30:00.002-05:00

Cover of sheet music for "The Star-Spangled Banner", transcribed for piano by Ch. Voss, Philadelphia: G. Andre & Co., 1862

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

’Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust;”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Armed Citizen from NRA-ILA

2012-01-30T08:00:00.004-05:00

<>A new publication by the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA):<><><> <>

Issue No. 3

January 2012

Okla. Woman Shoots, Kills Intruder: 911 Operators Say It's OK to Shoot
By Kevin Dolak and Ryan Owens, Good Morning America
A young Oklahoma mother shot and killed an intruder to protect her 3-month-old baby on New Year's Eve, less than a week after the baby's father died of cancer...

Syracuse police: Armed robber meets armed store clerk; clerk wins
By Robert A. Baker, Syracuse Post-Standard (NY)
A masked man armed with a knife was no match this afternoon for a Syracuse store employee armed with a rifle, Syracuse police said...

Armed pizza deliveryman shoots, wounds would-be robber
By Kevin McKenzie, Memphis Commercial Appeal (TN)
A Papa John's Pizza delivery driver told police that he drew his own handgun and shot a gunman who tried to rob him Thursday night in southeast Memphis...

Woman fires gun to ward off man trying to steal her car, Akron police say
By Phil Trexler, Akron Beacon Journal (OH)
Outside Shirley Bennett's home in Lakemore hangs a sign that reads: Forget about the dog, beware of the owner. She very well could make a similar sign for her SUV...

Rifle scares off would-be thief in garage Paris TN man's garage
By Ron Park, Paris Post-Intelligencer (TN)
A Paris man allegedly caught another Paris man breaking into his Depot Street garage early Sunday morning and managed to keep him at the scene until authorities arrived...

Self-defense shooting thwarts burglary, appears legal
By Jim Mustain, Columbus Ledger Enquirer (GA)
Aside from a 9 mm pistol and 16 years of military experience, Sgt. 1st Class Eddie Waiters was on his own in the wee hours of Tuesday morning when an intruder shattered his window and tried to open the front door of his house...

Convenience store clerks ready to shoot if necessary
By Brian Freskos, By Wilmington Star News (NC)
Two robberies and a near-death experience convinced Mark Headstrong that he needed to carry a gun. So he started packing a few months ago -- a black revolver with a brown handle, small enough to tuck into his front pants pocket...

Homeowner defends wife and children, avenges kicked dog
By David Castellon, Visalia Times-Delta (CA)
A Traver-area man reportedly confronted another man armed with a hammer breaking into his home early Friday and shot the intruder in the leg.

Liquor store owner defends himself against thieves who fired first
Bellville News Democrat (IL)
A robber shot at a Venice liquor store owner's head, missed and almost shot his accomplice just before the owner pulled a weapon and shot the accomplice, police said.

Reference:
http://graphics.nra.org/ac/armed_citizen_3.html

COMMENT:

Two things that the United States of America need to maintain:

Trust in God and keep your powder dry is a maxim attributed to Oliver Cromwell, but which first appeared in 1834 in the poem "Oliver's Advice" by Valentine Blacker with the words "Put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry!"The poem is a dramatic representation of Cromwell addressing his army during the invasion of Ireland. Edward Hayes, who edited the anthology in which the work first appeared, calls it a "well-authenticated anecdote of Cromwell."

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_in_God_and_keep_your_powder_dry

Dream of Universal Currency Just Won’t Die - WIRED Magazine

2012-01-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

By David Wolman
December 27, 2011 |
12:00 pm |
Wired January 2012

The euro zone maelstrom refuses to end. Thanks to the debt crisis, some Greek officials are contemplating dumping the common currency for the drachma. Meanwhile, Italy and Spain teeter. A decade after the shared currency was heralded as a 21st-century tool for peace and prosperity, it turns out that currency unions aren’t such a hot idea.

Not so fast, though. This is undeniably a period of epic turmoil, and many economists will tell you that sovereign states need sovereign currencies—full stop. But this notion ignores a fundamental truth: Countries with their own currency may have monetary independence, but in reality—as gun battles in Libya, CDOs in the US, and tsunamis in Japan have taught us—we are only becoming more economically intertwined, regardless of what our coins look like.

Step back from the current crisis to consider the long view, and currency unions—or even a single global currency—have a fair share of appeal. A universal medium of exchange could eliminate currency risk and jack up trade. It would mean speculators couldn’t short an individual country’s currency. Exporters wouldn’t have to fret over the gap between a price on a contract and the value of the payment. A single currency could halt spastic swings in prices and end conversion fees, leaving more of the pie for little stuff like R&D and employee health insurance. Oh—and it could put an end to international disputes over currency manipulation. Hello? China?

True, sovereign currencies afford the ability to manipulate the money supply, jiggle the handle of interest rates, and buy up piles of toxic assets. When a boom goes bust, devaluing currency is the least bad way for governments to rein in wages and prices that are suddenly too high. But if you use the same currency as another country that isn’t in dire straits, good luck convincing them to accept devaluation on your nation’s behalf. (This is part of the reason for the euro zone impasse.)

But does this mean we don’t see a global currency in our future? For many, the answer is no. A recent Pew Research poll reveals that 41 percent of Americans expect it by 2050. Maybe the idea has been planted in our heads by leftist utopians and science fiction authors: a system of “credits” is used in everything from Star Wars, Star Trek, and Babylon 5 to the Foundation book series. Yet the idea has also been touted by economics titans like John Maynard Keynes.

The fact is, the modern economy and monetary system are too damn precarious for us not to examine every possible way to protect against future shocks—including going all in on a universal currency. It’s a bit like geoengineering: radical and outrageous at first blush but, given humanity’s current predicament, not as outrageous as dismissing it out of hand.

Some pundits insist that gold could do the trick or that we could achieve many of the benefits of a global currency by tying the value of national ones to a set amount of the shiny stuff. But most economists view a return to gold as anachronistic, absurd, and even hazardous. Maybe, but it’s possible they’re saying so because reviving the gold standard is so incongruous with the present and not necessarily because reordaining gold would result in a system inferior to today’s tumultuous one.

Of course, the universal currency could be the US dollar, and in some ways that’s already the case. The greenback is what central banks hold the most of on reserve, and it’s the currency used for the vast majority of international transactions. But the dollar’s special status seems less stable than ever—and will worsen if Washington can’t overcome its paralysis to deal with the debt.

Perhaps the seed for that universal currency has already been planted. The International Monetary Fund uses something called Special Drawing Rights, a crossbreed of four of the world’s key currencies, to make certain kinds of settlements between IMF members. Could SDR someday morph into the One Coin to Rule Them All? If so, some lucky designer will have a field day mashing up $, ¥, £, and, yes, €.

A global currency may indeed prove to be a vision best left in the realm of fantasy. But it would behoove us to seriously analyze the pros and cons before ditching the idea in favor of today’s smorgasbord of euros, pesos, yuan, and Malawi kwacha.

Contributing editor David Wolman (@davidwolman) is the author of The End of Money, out in February.

COMMENT: If the EURO can not unite the participating nations in Europe then how can a global currency unite a fractured planet.

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition"

2012-01-20T07:45:00.004-05:00

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" is an American patriotic song written by Frank Loesser and published as sheet music in 1942 by Famous Music Corp. The song was a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor that marked United States involvement in World War II.

The song describes a chaplain ("sky pilot") being with some fighting men who are under attack from an enemy. He is asked to say a prayer for the men who were engaged in firing at the oncoming planes. The chaplain puts down his Bible, mans one of the ship's gun turrets and begins firing back, saying,

"Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition"

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praise_the_Lord_and_Pass_the_Ammunition

NOTE: This may not be 'PC' (Politically Correct) because it references religion, prayer, and the Lord but it is history. No child has been left behind because we don't teach such non-PC historical songs in school.

Who owns America? Hint: It's not China --- reprinting articles like this could close a website under new 'internet' piracy law

2012-01-19T08:30:00.001-05:00

The following piece comes from Global Post, which provides excellent coverage of world news - important, moving and odd.

By Tom Mucha, Global Post

Truth is elusive. But it's a good thing we have math.

Our friends at Business Insider know this, and put those two principles to work today in this excellent and highly informative little slideshow, made even more timely by the ongoing talks in Washington, D.C. aimed at staving off a U.S. debt default.

Here's the big idea:

Many people — politicians and pundits alike — prattle on that China and, to a lesser extent Japan, own most of America's $14.3 trillion in government debt.

But there's one little problem with that conventional wisdom: it's just not true. While the Chinese, Japanese and plenty of other foreigners own substantial amounts, it's really Americans who hold most of America's debt.

Here's a quick and fascinating breakdown by total amount held and percentage of total U.S. debt, according to Business Insider:

Hong Kong: $121.9 billion (0.9 percent)
Caribbean banking centers: $148.3 (1 percent)
Taiwan: $153.4 billion (1.1 percent)
Brazil: $211.4 billion (1.5 percent)
Oil exporting countries: $229.8 billion (1.6 percent)
Mutual funds: $300.5 billion (2 percent)
Commercial banks: $301.8 billion (2.1 percent)
State, local and federal retirement funds: $320.9 billion (2.2 percent)
Money market mutual funds: $337.7 billion (2.4 percent)
United Kingdom: $346.5 billion (2.4 percent)
Private pension funds: $504.7 billion (3.5 percent)
State and local governments: $506.1 billion (3.5 percent)
Japan: $912.4 billion (6.4 percent)
U.S. households: $959.4 billion (6.6 percent)
China: $1.16 trillion (8 percent)
The U.S. Treasury: $1.63 trillion (11.3 percent)
Social Security trust fund: $2.67 trillion (19 percent)

So America owes foreigners about $4.5 trillion in debt. But America owes America $9.8 trillion.

For a smart take on how President Obama and House Republicans should end gridlock over debt and deficits, see our new GlobalPost series The Negotiator, which features Wharton's negotiation guru Stuart Diamond.

And to bone up on China's debt — another potentially big global economic headache — check out this interview with brainy-yet-coherent Northwestern University economist Victor Shih, who spoke with GlobalPost's David Case.

NOTE: A bit dated but still applies - just add a few trillion dollars.....

Oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act

2012-01-18T22:15:00.000-05:00

As a consumer and user of the Internet, I oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act in its current form.
While I believe it's important to protect copyrighted material online, the language of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is flawed and will lead to the blocking of lawful content.

Unlike the Senate version of the bill, SOPA eliminates the concept of sites 'dedicated to infringing activity' and enables law enforcement to target all sites that contain some infringing content -- no matter how trivial. The potential for impact on non-infringing content is much greater under SOPA than under other versions of this bill. Sites with user-generated content, like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, would be especially vulnerable, as one small piece of infringing content could lead to blocking the entire site.

Even though proposed changes would narrow the amount of lawful content impacted, the changes don't go far enough. It is still likely that search engines will end up blocking access to perfectly legal online content.

Congress should focus not just on the goal of protecting copyright owners, but also protecting the speech rights of consumers and providers who are reading and producing wholly non-infringing content. Congress must eliminate the collateral damage to protected non-infringing content. Only in that way will Congress truly achieve its goal of protecting authors while respecting the constitutional right to free speech.

Please set aside this bill in its entirety, or reformulate the bill so it is narrowly focused on providing an effective and adequate remedy to those content producers whose copyright interests are infringed by the online activities of others, without impacting non-infringing content.

The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country
http://www.aclu.org/key-issues

?No Government Would Do This?

2012-01-16T10:00:00.001-05:00

"No government of the Centre would seek powers to imprison individuals who have committed no crime merely on the say-so of "experts" who believe they might commit a crime. No libertarian government would want to reduce our right to trial by jury, to curfew children, to place "anti-social behaviour orders" on citizens, to conduct compulsory DNA and drug tests on all offenders. No government that was concerned with freedom would seek to ban pursuits that harm no one, such as foxhunting, simply because they are unpopular. No government that has respect for its citizens would seek to interfere so intimately with so many of their private activities -- for instance, what right does a government have to tell me under what terms and conditions I may sell my house. The transaction should, quite simply, be none of their business."

-- George ThomasSource: Letter to Editor, London Times, October 13, 1999.

http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/George.Thomas.Quote.7FA8

What you can do right now for the Constitution and your Liberty - Posted by Michael Boldin

2012-01-15T09:35:00.004-05:00

TAC Memberships: Up to 50% Off. Limited Time. Get Info Here

From mandates to milk. From weed to war. And everything in between. Very little of what the federal government does is authorized by the Constitution.

While the Constitution is clear that the federal government is one of limited, delegated powers – in practice, without popular resistance, the federal government people do whatever they please. They tell us we have to buy a health insurance plan, what size toilet we can have, and what kind of light bulbs we can buy. They read your emails, listen to your phone calls, monitor your bank accounts – and even claim the power to arrest and detain you indefinitely, without due process.

For far too long, the United States Federal Government has deployed troops to every corner of the world, waged offensive wars without a declaration by Congress, silenced and kidnapped its enemies, authorized the torture of prisoners, engaged in espionage, imposed crippling embargoes, pillaged our resources, taken our property, and destroyed our economy and our environment.

On top of it all, these government people tell us – the sovereign people – what IT has the legal authority to do, instead of the other way around.

And it hasn’t mattered what political party has been in power or what individual has occupied the White House. Year in and year out – federal power always grows and your liberty is always worse off.

So for those of you who believe that the path to the Constitution and your liberty is not through the federal government – but instead through Jefferson, Madison…..and other state capitols around the country – here’s a few steps that you can take right now.

1. Contact your state legislators right now.

With state legislative sessions getting underway all over the country, the time to put pressure on your state to nullify unconstitutional federal acts is now. Not next year, and not sometime this summer. Not next month or next week. Today – not tomorrow – right now.

Think of one federal issue that’s extremely important to you. Focus on just one right now. Contact your state legislators and politely but firmly demand that they do what Thomas Jefferson and James Madison advised – stand up for the Constitution in your state today. And it’s easy for them to do this – by introducing a bill rejecting a particular federal act.

Let them know that they won’t be alone! Over the past few years, legislators around the country have been introducing bills to reject federal acts on issues across the political spectrum. Let them know that you’re watching what they do this year, and that while you recognize they have many legislative ideas on deck already, that you expect them to take action on at least one thing to push back against Washington DC.

Let them know that you can get them help with model legislation and even with talking points Let them know that we have proof that when enough people and enough states stand up and say NO to Washington DC, there’s not much the feds can do to force their unconstitutional federal laws, regulations and mandates down our throats.

And when you get responses by phone, mail or email – make sure to let us know about it here at the Tenth Amendment Center – info@tenthamendmentcenter.com.

2. Educate your friends and family

Share as much of this information as possible with friends, family, people you meet who express an interest in limiting federal power. Some of the most important articles and pages to send to others include:

Thomas Jefferson’s Other Declaration – by Derek Sheriff
The States’ Rights Tradition Nobody Knows – by Tom Woods
The Untold History of Nullification: Resisting Slavery – by Derek Sheriff
The Tenth Amendment Center’s legislative tracking page
Model Legislation from the TAC – to recommend bills for introduction in your state

3. Disobey. Seriously.

Whether it was the stamp act in the 1760s or the fugitive slave act in the 1850s, to nullify requires people defying government edicts. In the spirit of Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Samuel Adams – when enough people say NO, change can and will happen. So that’s why step # 3 is to Disobey….Seriously.

Now I’m not recommending that you go out and just start defying every law in existence. With resistance comes risk – and it’s your choice as to just how much risk you’re willing to take. And whether that risk is small or great, every bit is essential.

For decades, courageous pot smokers have been defying every law imaginable – on possession, cultivation, commerce and more. They’ve defied Congress, the Executive Branch the DEA and even the Supreme Court. And today, because so many people decided that they would make their own decisions about whether or not they could use a naturally-occurring plant – there are now 15 states that have backed them up by passing laws allowing such use.

I’ve asked this question in speeches around the country, and ask it again tonight – when the feds try to enforce a law restricting your right to keep and bear arms, or requiring you to purchase a particular health insurance plan – will you have as much courage as the pot smokers?

4. Rinse and Repeat

Doing these three steps once and going back to Facebook to look at some food pictures isn’t going to get the job done. With that, step #4 is simple – rinse and repeat. Within reason, these steps should become part of your life. Find time every week to do something – anything – that helps our growing movement succeed in nullifying every unconstitutional federal act.

5. A bonus action item for you – Join the TAC Team

If you really want to get active, here’s a bonus action item for you. Consider joining the Tenth Amendment Center team by applying for a role in our state and local coordinator program. You can do that online at www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/local-coordinators/

http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/donate/

Federal Court Upholds Obama/Holder Gun Registration Scheme

2012-01-13T13:15:00.008-05:00

NRA-ILA GRASSROOTS ALERT
Vol. 19, No. 02 01/13/12Moments before this alert was to go out, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that requires federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles. The case was brought by two NRA-backed firearms retailers and by the National Shooting Sports Foundation acting on behalf of its affected members. Plaintiffs plan to appeal immediately-but in the meantime, your help is urgently needed in seeking congressional action to end this illegal policy.

Devised by Attorney General Eric Holder's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the plan requires all of the 8,700 firearm dealers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to report all sales of two or more semi-automatic rifles within five consecutive business days, if the rifles are larger than .22 caliber and use detachable magazines. (The plaintiffs in the case pointed out that this was about 20 times more dealers than had been subject to any similar "demand letter" before, but in today's decision the court nonetheless found the new requirement "limited in scope.")

Patrick Henry:

"Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms under our own possession and under our own 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?"

http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/

George Washington

2012-01-13T07:30:00.001-05:00

"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."

Reference: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/georgewash386652.html

TSA - Transportation 'Safety' or 'Security' or 'So-So' Agency????

2012-01-12T21:08:00.000-05:00

TSA Screeners Confiscate "Suspicious" Cupcake But Apparently Overlook C-4-Carrying Serviceman on First Trip

While TSA screeners had no problem quickly confiscating a “suspicious” cupcake from a traveler in Las Vegas over the holiday break, screeners at another airport apparently overlooked a serviceman carrying something much more deadly on the first leg of a trip.

It took until a planned return flight home on New Year’s Eve for TSA screeners in Midland, Texas to spot Trey Scott Atwater’s carry-on bag that happened to have deadly C-4 explosives.

The North Carolina-based serviceman returned home from his third deployment in Afghanistan in April as a demolitions expert. Expressing surprise to officials in Midland, Atwater claimed that he didn’t remember that any C-4 was in the bag and that he hasn’t used it since returning from overseas.
But, according to the criminal complaint, Atwater didn’t initially mention his run-in with the TSA on his trip to Midland from Fayetteville, N.C.

Screeners at that airport found a military smoke grenade in Atwater’s bag , but only “admonished” him before sending him on his way, apparently missing the C-4 in the process. There was no word whether screeners in Midland found any blasting caps necessary to actually dentonate the explosive.
Atwater is still in custody in the Midland County Jail and is expected to have an initial court appearance today.

Let’s hope the U.S. military is keeping a better track of explosives in Afghanistan and that Atwater’s incident is a unique case.

Posted by Brent Dirks on Jan 03, 2012

Reference:
http://secprodonline.com/blogs/reaction/2012/01/tsa-screeners-confiscate-suspicious-cupcake.aspx

COMMENT: And 'how' does this agency's staff and procedures actually keep us safe? Nail clippers, cupcakes, knitting needles, breast milk, patting down toddlers, etc...

ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP) - Solar

2012-01-08T08:30:00.002-05:00

NASA TRACE Satellite images showing magnetic fields in the corona.

REFERENCE: NASA

REFERENCE: NOAA

Leaders, Virtue, and Liberty - Samual Adams

2012-01-07T07:30:00.002-05:00

"He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who, so far as his power and influence extend, will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man. We must not conclude merely upon a man's haranguing upon liberty, and using the charming sound, that he is fit to be trusted with the liberties of his country. It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may judge by the whole tenor of their actions, mean nothing else by it but their own liberty, - to oppress without control or the restraint of laws all who are poorer or weaker than themselves. It is not, I say, unfrequent to see such instances, though at the same time I esteem it a justice due to my country to say that it is not without shining examples of the contrary kind; - examples of men of a distinguished attachment to this same liberty I have been describing; whom no hopes could draw, no terrors could drive, from steadily pursuing, in their sphere, the true interests of their country; whose fidelity has been tried in the nicest and tenderest manner, and has been ever firm and unshaken. The sum of all is, if we would most truly enjoy this gift of Heaven, let us become a virtuous people."

- Loyalty and Sedition, essay in The Advertiser, 1748

Reference: http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/samuel-adams-quotes-1.html

ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP) - Soviet Test 184

2011-12-28T08:30:00.007-05:00

Main article: The K Project

In 1962, the Soviet Union also performed a series of three EMP-producing nuclear tests in space over Kazakhstan, which were the last in the series called "The K Project".^[11]

Although these weapons were much smaller (300 kilotons or 1.3 PJ) than the Starfish Prime test, since those tests were done over a populated large land mass (and also at a location where the Earth's magnetic field was greater), the damage caused by the resulting EMP was reportedly much greater than in the Starfish Prime nuclear test.

The geomagnetic storm–like E3 pulse (from the test designated as "Test 184") even induced an electric current surge in a long underground power line that caused a fire in the power plant in the city of Karaganda.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the level of this damage was communicated informally to scientists in the United States.^[12] Formal documentation of some of the EMP damage in Kazakhstan exists^[13]^[14] but is still sparse in the open scientific literature.

REFERENCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse#Soviet_Test_184

REFER TO A FOX NEWS REPORT (SEE VIDEO):

http://video.foxnews.com/v/1325670918001/is-us-prepared-for-electromagnetic-pulse-attack/?playlist_id=971425092001&intcmp=sem_outloud

COMMENT: See prior posts on this topic on 15 & 18 Dec 2011.

REFERENCE: http://real-agenda.com/2011/07/22/china-developing-electromagnetic-weapons/

NDAA -- From the ACLU on 16 Dec 2011

2011-12-26T09:08:00.003-05:00

Email sent out by Laura W. Murphy - Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office

There are moments in America when our freedoms depend on the willingness of a President to act firmly and decisively to sustain our fundamental values. This is one of those moments.

As I write this, the Defense Authorization bill is on its way to President Obama's desk. The bill contains dangerous, sweeping worldwide indefinite detention provisions.

Leading members of Congress have already indicated that they believe that these provisions could be used by this and any future president to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial — even American citizens and others picked up within the borders of the United States.

According to reports, the President's advisors are recommending that he not veto this legislation despite earlier promises to do so. We need to tell the President to listen to the American people.

The ACLU and countless supporters like you worked hard to prevent this indefinite detention provision from making it into the National Defense Authorization Act in the first place. But now that it has, we must do everything in our power to stop it.

If we fail, this great nation will become a place where no one will ever be completely safe. Because once America has flouted basic rights like due process and a fair trial, what's next? We can't let "innocent until proven guilty" become "innocent unless suspected otherwise."

We cannot allow our leaders to cross that dangerous line. The future of American freedom rests in President Obama's hands. Let's make sure he’s holding a veto stamp.
© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004

ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP)

2011-12-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

EMP can also come from the SUN! Another BLOGGER recently commented on this topic:

http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com/2011/12/for-2012-nasa-predicts-solar-superstorm.html

Second Amendment - A Founding Father's Words

2011-12-20T05:38:00.001-05:00

"The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."

James Madison

COMMENT: Why do certain elected leaders constantly try to disarm the PEOPLE? What do they fear the PEOPLE will do? Don't they work 'for the people' as elected representatives?

ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP) - Starfish Prime

2011-12-18T08:00:00.003-05:00

In July 1962, a 1.44 megaton (6.0 PJ) United States nuclear test in space, 400 kilometres (250 mi) above the mid-Pacific Ocean, called the Starfish Prime test, demonstrated to nuclear scientists that the magnitude and effects of a high altitude nuclear explosion were much larger than had been previously calculated.

Starfish Prime also made those effects known to the public by causing electrical damage in Hawaii, about 1,445 kilometres (898 mi) away from the detonation point, knocking out about 300 streetlights, setting off numerous burglar alarms and damaging a telephone company microwave link.^[7]

Starfish Prime was the first successful test in the series of United States high-altitude nuclear tests in 1962 known as Operation Fishbowl. The subsequent Operation Fishbowl tests gathered more data on the high-altitude EMP phenomenon.

The Bluegill Triple Prime and Kingfish high-altitude nuclear tests of October and November 1962 in Operation Fishbowl finally provided electromagnetic pulse data that was clear enough to enable physicists to accurately identify the physical mechanisms that were producing the electromagnetic pulses.^[8]

The EMP damage of the Starfish Prime test was quickly repaired because of the ruggedness (compared to today)^[9] of the electrical and electronic infrastructure of Hawaii in 1962.

The relatively small magnitude of the Starfish Prime EMP in Hawaii (about 5600 volts/metre) and the relatively small amount of damage done (for example, only 1 to 3 percent of streetlights extinguished)^[10] led some scientists to believe, in the early days of EMP research, that the problem might not be as significant as was later realized. Newer calculations^[9] showed that if the Starfish Prime warhead had been detonated over the northern continental United States, the magnitude of the EMP would have been much larger (22 to 30 kilovolts/metre) because of the greater strength of the Earth's magnetic field over the United States, as well as the different orientation of the Earth's magnetic field at high latitudes. These new calculations, combined with the accelerating reliance on EMP-sensitive microelectronics, heightened awareness that the EMP threat could be a very significant problem.

REFERENCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse#Soviet_Test_184

Civil Defense and Bomb Shelters

2011-12-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

COMMENTS: 1950's or 2012?

ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE (EMP)

2011-12-15T14:13:00.000-05:00

What Is EMP and How Is It Created?

The most important mechanism for Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) production from a nuclear detonation is the ionization of air molecules by gamma rays generated from the explosion. These gamma rays ionize the air molecules by interacting with the air molecules to produce positive ions and recoil electrons called Compton electrons. This pulse of energy, which produces a powerful electromagnetic field, particularly within the vicinity of the weapon burst, is called an electromagnetic pulse. EMP can also be produced from non-nuclear sources, such as electromagnetic bombs, or E-bombs.

High-altitude nuclear detonations and electromagnetic bombs can generate EMP that has the potential to damage or destroy electronic devices over widespread areas. Electric power systems would also be at risk from surges produced by such weapons. However, the EMP from a kiloton-range surface nuclear explosion would not be expected to produce serious damage outside the radius of severe destruction from blast.

A 1.4 Megaton bomb launched about 250 miles above Kansas would destroy most of the electronics that were not protected in the entire Continental United States. During the brief return to atmospheric testing in 1962, a 1.4 megaton nuclear weapon was detonated over Johnston Island at an altitude of about 250 miles. The effects of EMP were observed in Hawaii, 800 miles east of the detonation. Streetlights and fuses failed on Oahu and telephone service was disrupted on the Island of Kauai.

Is EMP Radioactive?

EMP is not radioactive, but a pulse of energy produced as a side effect of a nuclear detonation or electromagnetic bomb.

What Are the Health Effects?

EMP has no known effect on living organisms, but can temporarily or permanently disable electrical and electronic equipment.

What Are the Effects on Electronics and Cars?

When "detonated," an EMP weapon produces a pulse of energy that creates a powerful electromagnetic field capable of short-circuiting a wide range of electronic equipment, particularly computers, satellites, radios, radar receivers and even civilian traffic lights. Since EMP is electromagnetic energy traveling at the speed of light, all of the vulnerable electronic equipment in the detonation zone could be affected simultaneously.

Society has entered the information age and is dependent on electronic systems that work with components that are very susceptible to excessive electric currents and voltages. Many of these electronic systems are controlled in some way by semiconductors. Semiconductor devices fail when they encounter an EMP because of the local heating that occurs. Failure of semi-conductive chips could destroy industrial processes, railway networks, power and phone systems, and access to water supplies.

Commercial computer equipment is particularly vulnerable to EMP effects. Computers used in data processing systems, communications systems, displays, industrial control applications, including road and rail signaling, and those embedded in military equipment, such as signal processors, electronic flight controls and digital engine control systems, are all potentially vulnerable to the EMP effect.

Other electronic devices and electrical equipment may also be destroyed by the EMP effect. Telecommunications equipment can be highly vulnerable and receivers of all varieties are particularly sensitive to EMP. Therefore radar and electronic warfare equipment, satellite, microwave, UHF, VHF, HF and low band communications equipment and television equipment are all potentially vulnerable to the EMP effect. Cars with electronic ignition systems/ and ignition chips are also vulnerable.

Some other notable collectors of EMP include railroad tracks, large antennas, pipes, cables, wires in buildings, and metal fencing. Although materials underground are partially shielded by the ground, they are still collectors, and these collectors deliver the EMP energy to some larger facility. This produces surges that can destroy the connected device, such as, power generators or long distance telephone systems.

What Can Be Done to Protect Electronics

There are two basic ways to protect or harden items against EMP effects. The first method is metallic shielding. Shields are made of a continuous piece of metal such as steel or copper. A metal enclosure generally does not fully shield the interior because of the small holes that are likely to exist. Therefore, this type of shielding often contains additional elements to create the barrier. Commonly, only a fraction of a millimeter of a metal is needed to supply adequate protection. This shield must completely surround the item to be hardened.

The second method, tailored hardening, is a more cost-effective way of hardening. In this method, only the most vulnerable elements and circuits are redesigned to be more rugged. The more rugged elements will be able to withstand much higher currents. This method has shown unpredictable failures in testing, though it is thought it may be useful to make existing systems less vulnerable.

EMP As a Weapon

The non-lethal nature of electromagnetic weapons makes their use far less politically damaging than that of conventional munitions, and therefore broadens the range of military options available. For weapons purposes EMP producing sources other than nuclear detonations have been successfully developed. Several nations, with United States at the forefront, are reported to have developed non-nuclear bombs capable of generating EMPs. Electromagnetic bombs (E-bombs) are specialized, non-nuclear tools designed to destroy information systems. These devices are primarily intended for battlefield application, and their effects would be restricted to a relatively small area.

An EMP shock wave can be produced by a device small enough to fit in a briefcase. High Power Electromagnetic Pulse generation techniques and High Power Microwave technology have matured to the point where practical E-bombs are becoming technically feasible, with new applications in both Strategic and Tactical Information Warfare. Although much of this work is classified, it's believed that current efforts are based on using high-temperature superconductors to create intense magnetic fields. The development of conventional E-bomb devices allows their use in non-nuclear confrontations to defeat an enemy without causing loss of life.

Regardless of the method of delivery, experts agree that EMPs can be powerful enough to cripple electronic wiring and circuitry over a geographic area as large as several square miles, posing a real threat to the nation's critical infrastructure. In addition, the Defense Department's reliance on satellites and commercial computer equipment to conduct real-time command and control of forces around the world also puts military operations at risk, experts say. It is this aspect of the EMP effect which is of military significance, as it can result in irreversible damage to a wide range of electrical and electronic equipment, particularly computers and radio or radar receivers.

Sources

Glasstone, Samuel, ed., “The Effects of Nuclear Weapons”, USAEC, April 1962.

U.S. House of Representatives,

http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/security/has197010.000/has19701010.htm

Federation of American Scientists, Intelligence Resource Program, Weapons of Mass

Destruction, Intelligence Threat Assessments.

http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/mctl98-2/p2sec06.pdf

Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/emp/toc.htm

Popular Mechanics,

Links to external resources are provided as a public service and do not imply endorsement by the

Washington State Department of Health

REFERENCE:

http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/rp/factsheets/factsheets-htm/fs41elecpuls.htm

James Madison - Power to the People???? Or is it about taking power FROM the People???

2011-12-15T09:30:00.000-05:00

"Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power."
Comment: 'Privileges' of power - i.e. 'legal' insider trading, 'legal' use of confidential information to purchase & sell property before government 'approval' or 'award' of large projects,...

Air Force to extend mission of unmanned space plane

2011-12-14T08:45:00.001-05:00

By W.J. Hennigan

Los Angeles Times

Published: November 30, 2011

LOS ANGELES - The Air Force is extending the mission of an experimental robotic space plane that's been circling the Earth for the past nine months.

The pilotless X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, which looks like a miniature version of the space shuttle, was launched in March from Cape Canaveral, Fla. At the time, Air Force officials offered few details about the mission, saying that the space plane simply provided a way to test new technologies, such as satellite sensors and other components, in space.

The military did confirm that the 29-foot space plane was slated to land 270 days later, which would be Wednesday, on a 15,000-foot airstrip at Vandenberg Air Force Base, northwest of Santa Barbara, Calif. Now the Air Force has announced that the mission has been extended, but the exact landing date has not yet been set.

"We initially planned for a nine-month mission, which we are roughly at now, but we will continue to extend the mission as circumstances allow," Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre, the spacecraft's systems program director, said in a statement. "Keeping the X-37 in orbit will provide us with additional experimentation opportunities and allow us to extract the maximum value out of the mission."

The X-37B was built in tight secrecy by Boeing Co.'s Space and Intelligence Systems unit in Huntington Beach, Calif. Engineering work was done at the company's facilities in Huntington Beach and nearby Seal Beach. Other components were fabricated at its satellite-making plant in El Segundo, Calif.

Some industry analysts have theorized that - because of its clandestine nature - the X-37B could be a precursor to an orbiting weapon, capable of dropping bombs or disabling foreign satellites as it circles the globe. This has never been acknowledged by the Pentagon.

"We are learning new things about the vehicle every day, which makes the mission a very dynamic process," McIntyre said.
The X-37B now orbiting the Earth is the second launched by the military. The first X-37B was launched in April 2010 and it landed 224 days later its own - fully automated - at Vandenberg.
___

Distributed by MCT Information Services

George Washington

2011-12-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."

Reference: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/georgewash386652.html

James Madison - Arms and Men

2011-12-10T06:28:00.001-05:00

"A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained in arms, is the best most natural defense of a free country."

COMMENT: Militia composed of the body of the people - NOT the 'National Guard', NOT the standing 'Army - the body of the PEOPLE (all people, citizens, public, etc...)

Thomas Jefferson - Firearms

2011-12-08T07:00:00.005-05:00

REFERENCE: http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/firearms

In 1785 Thomas Jefferson wrote to his fifteen-year-old nephew, Peter Carr, regarding what he considered the best form of exercise: "...I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprize, and independance 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."[1]

Evidence exists to show that Jefferson was a fair marksman. At twenty-five he noted in his accounts:

"Won shooting 1/6."[2] In a later contest during a muster of Captain Jacob Moon's Albemarle County militia company he lost 2/6.[3] But as he grew older, Jefferson limited his exercise to horseback riding while restraining his attachment for firearms and hunting.

References to ownership of arms and accoutrements may be found throughout his manuscripts and accounts. A cursory compilation shows that he owned a shotgun called a "two shot-double barrel," purchased in France, a number of pistols and other shoulder weapons. Further evidence that he used these may be found in the columns of his account books. In 1775 he paid to have a pistol repaired; a year later he bought a "double barrel gun-lock" for £5-5; in 1799 he had Henry Yost, a Staunton, Virginia gunsmith, mend his pistols (possibly those he carried for protection when traveling) and, as late as 1817 he was charged eight dollars for having a gun put in order by a Charlottesville repairman.[4]

Unquestionably, the finest arms that Jefferson owned were a pair of Turkish pistols received from the estate of General Isaac Zane in place of a money bequest. He described them and, at the same time, modestly alluded to his ability as a pistol shot: "They are 20. inch barrels so well made that I never missed a squirrel at 30 yards with them..."[5]

- Text from James A. Bear, "Some Jefferson Ideas on Exercise, Guns and Game," Monticello Research Report, n.d.

Primary Source References

1785 August 19. (Jefferson to Peter Carr). "As to the species of exercise, I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprize, and independance 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."[6]

1790. Shipped back from France (Grevin list): one pair large pistolet in leather case, one pair plated pistolet, one fusil à deux coups, one pistol and its case, two pistol cases, one powder horn, one morocco ammo pouch.[7]

1798 January 30. (Thomas Mann Randolph to Jefferson). Referring to a gun found in the possession of an enslaved man at Belmont: "The gun I suspect to be yours but cannot positively decide being familiar only with the Pistoias."[8]

1803 October 9. (Jefferson to Verdier, innkeeper at Orange Courthouse). "I left at your house, the morning after I lodged there, a pistol in a locked case, which no doubt was found in your bar after my departure. I have written to [illegible] Mr. Randolph or Mr. Eppes to call on you for it, as they come on to Congress, to either of whom therefore be so good as to deliver it."[9]

1803 October 9. (Jefferson to Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr.). "I left at Orange C. H. one of my Turkish pistols, in it's hoster, locked. I shall be glad if either yourself or Mr. Eppes can let a servant take it on to this place. It will either bind up in a portmanteau flap, or sling over the back of the servant conveniently."[10]

1811 September 6. (Jefferson to Francis Wayles Eppes). "...it will then be a question for the consideration of your papa and yourself whether you shall not return with us & visit your cousins. this will be acceptable to us all, and only deprecated by the partridges & snow birds against which you may commence hostilities."[11]

1816 August 15. (Jefferson to Payne Todd.) "You must now accept a keep-sake from me, which may suit you as a sportsman, better than myself who have ceased to be one. I send by the stage, to be lodged for you at Orange C.H. a box containing a pair of Turkish pistols. They were originally with wheel-locks, which not being convenient, I had locks of the modern form substituted, but so that they can be changed for the former in a moment. They are 20. inch barrels so well made that I never missed a squirrel 30. yards with them. I fixed one in a wooden holster to hang in the loop of the pommel of [my saddle] to be handily taken out and in...I had other holsters also made for both [to] hang them at the side of my carriage for road use, and with locks and staples to secure them from being handled by curious people. One of the wheel locks is a little out of order, and will require a skilful gunsmith to put to rights."[12]

1816 December 17. "Note he [Thomas Jefferson Randolph] has paid Garner 8.D. for having had a gun of mine repaired."[13]

1817 January 20. "Pd. Davis for mending gun lock 1.D."[14]

1819 November 28. (Eliza Trist to Nicholas Trist). "Mr. Jefferson I hear takes his daily rides and some one told me that they saw him in Milton with a Gun on his shoulder in pursuit of Partridges..."[15]

1822 July 20. (Jefferson to Peter Minor) "...I ask the acceptance, by your son, of a keep-sake from me. It is an article of the tackle of a gun-man, offering the convenience of carrying the powder & shot together. I presume he is a gun-man, as I am sure he ought to be, and every American who wishes to protect his farm from the ravages of quadrupeds & his country from those of biped invaders."[16]

1823 July 15. "pd. Mr. Winn for a gun for Benjamin 18.D."[17]

1824 July 4. "Drew on Raphael in favr. J. Kelly for 17.D. for a gun."[18]

1825 September 1. (Jefferson to Louis Xaupi). "An application from young gentlemen of the University for the appropriation of a room wherein they might receive instruction in the use of the small sword having led me to the consideration of that subject previously to the receipt of your letter of yesterday, I inclose you my answer to them, which I pray you to receive as equally an answer to yourself. The other part of your request, for the use of a room for instructing them in the art of dancing, stands on more favorable ground. It's object is the embellishment, and not the destruction, of the lives of our young citizens, and the Visitors seem to have provided for it in the statute which enacts that one of the elliptical rooms on the middle floor of the Rotunda shall be used for 'schools of instruction in drawing, music, or any other of the innocent and ornamental accomplishments of life.' Dancing is generally, and justly I think, considered among innocent accomplishments; while we cannot so consider the art of stabbing and pistolling our friends, or dexterity in the practice of an instrument exclusively used for killing our fellow-citizens only and never against the public enemy."[19]

Further Sources

Halsey, Ashley Jr. "How Thomas Jefferson's Pistols Were Restored." American Rifleman November (1969): 21-22.
Halsey, Ashley Jr. and John M. Snyder. "Jefferson's Beloved Guns." American Rifleman November (1969): 17-20.

Footnotes

1. Jefferson to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785, in PTJ 8:407.
2. MB, 1:81.
3. Ibid., 1:150.
4. All references are from MB; see index under Miscellaneous Articles > Firearms.
5. Jefferson to John Payne Todd, August 15, 1816. Polygraph copy at the Library of Congress.
6. Jefferson to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785, in PTJ 8:407.
7. The Grevin Packing List is located in the William Short Papers at the Library of Congress. An explanation and summary of its contents is available in PTJ, 18:30-39.
8. PTJ, 30:69.
9. Letterpress copy at the Library of Congress.
10. Letterpress copy at the Library of Congress.
11. PTJ:RS, 4:131.
12. Massachusetts Historical Society.
13. MB, 2:1329.
14. Ibid., 2:1330.
15. Nicholas Philip Trist Papers, Library of Congress.
16. Massachusetts Historical Society.
17. MB, 2:1397. Benjamin Franklin Randolph's 15th birthday was July 14.
18. Ibid., 1404.
19. Polygraph copy at the Library of Congress.

REFERENCE: http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/firearms

COMMENT: Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, was not JUST a farmer.

Samual Adams - Founding Father of the United States

2011-12-07T07:30:00.001-05:00

"Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt."

- Essay in the Public Advertiser, 1749
Reference: http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/samuel-adams-quotes-1.html

Chinese Tunnels, Mutual Assured Destruction, Nuclear Stalemate, START Treaty???

2011-12-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

WantChinaTimes.com

Undergraduates dig into China's military secrets

Staff Reporter
2011-12-02
11:19 (GMT+8)

A former top Pentagon official has for three years led a small band of students at Georgetown University in the US studying China's secret military arsenal, according to Washington Post.
Professor Phillip Karber, 65, who was a top strategist reporting directly to the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Cold War era, has led his students in translating hundreds of documents, combing through satellite imagery, obtaining restricted Chinese military documents and wading through hundreds of gigabytes of online data.

Their study is yet to be released, but many are anticipating the study's conclusion. It is said that China's nuclear arsenal could be many times larger than earlier estimates.

The Chinese military admitted for the first time in December 2009 that the Second Artillery had indeed been building a network of tunnels that could house nuclear weapons.

According to a report by state-run CCTV, China has more than 3,000 miles of tunnels, including deep underground bases that could withstand multiple nuclear attacks. The news confirmed the direction of Karber's research, but it also highlighted how little attention the tunnels were garnering outside East Asia.

Based on the number of tunnels the Second Artillery is digging and its increasing deployment of missiles, the professor argues, China's nuclear warheads could number as many as 3,000.
Some find Karber's research ridiculous while others believe it could be very useful.

"One thing his report accomplishes, I think, is it highlights the uncertainty about what China has," said Mark Stokes, executive director of think thank Project 2049 Institute, according to Washington Post. "There's no question China's been investing in tunnels, and to look at those efforts and pose this question is worthwhile."

China's 'underground' wall?

For Karber, provoking such debate means that he and his small army of undergrads have succeeded.
"I don't have the slightest idea how many nuclear weapons China really has, but neither does anyone else in the arms-control community," he said. "That's the problem with China, no one really knows except them."

James Madison - The 'Federal Register'

2011-12-05T09:24:00.002-05:00

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood."
COMMENT: 20,000+ pages of federal laws -- too much of a 'good' thing?!?!

Submarines - power multiplication (low cost --> high impact)

2011-12-04T08:30:00.001-05:00

Philadelphia Inquirer -- November 28, 2011 --Pg. 6

Iran's Fleet Adds 3 Submarines

Image reference: covertshores.blogspot.com
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian state TV said Sunday that the country had added three more domestically built submarines to its naval fleet. The report said the vessels were delivered to the Iranian navy in the southern port of Bandar Abbas. The submarines were from the Ghadir class, of which Iran already has four, according to Iranian officials. This class of submarine can fire missiles and torpedoes and operate in the Persian Gulf's shallow waters. The move is seen as part of Iran's effort to upgrade its defense capabilities amid escalating tension over its nuclear program. The West suspects Iran is aiming to develop nuclear weapons, an allegation Iran denies. - AP

COMMENT: It doesn't take many low cost, diesel-electric, small submarines to close the Strait of Hormuz to traffic by very expensive, very large, slow and vulnerable tankers.

Freeman and Arms - Thomas Jefferson & The Virginia Constitution

2011-12-03T05:55:00.001-05:00

"No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms"

This sentence comes from Thomas Jefferson's three drafts of the Virginia Constitution. The text does vary slightly in each draft:

First Draft: "No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."^[1]

Second Draft: "No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms [within his own lands or tenements]."^[2]

Third Draft: "No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms [within his own lands or tenements]"^[3]

This sentence does not appear in the Virginia Constitution as adopted.

Note: This sentence is often seen paired with the following: "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." That sentence does not appear in the Virginia Constitution drafts or text as adopted, nor in any other Jefferson writings that we know of.

Footnotes

↑ PTJ, 1:344.
↑ Ibid., 353. Brackets appear in the original manuscript.
↑ Ibid., 363. Brackets appear in the original manuscript.

REFERENCE: http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/no-freeman-shall-be-debarred-use-arms-quotation

Checks and Balances - Constitution

2011-12-01T08:22:00.001-05:00

"What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."

James Madison

One of America's Founding Fathers

STOP Indefinite Detention of U.S. Citizens - National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1867)

2011-11-30T10:47:00.000-05:00

LETTER

"Whenever we take away the liberties of those whom we hate we are opening the way to loss of liberty for those we love."

-- Wendell L. Wilkie (1892-1944)

Hidden deep inside the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1867) that the Senate is currently considering is a dangerous and unconstitutional portion that needs to be stripped out. It is the concept of "indefinite detention" of American citizens, the details of which are contained in Section 1031 of this bill. Indefinite detention without due process leaves citizens without the legal protection of the Constitution and strikes at the heart of the essence of U.S. law. It is positively shameful that any elected representative would even consider voting for such an assault on so sacred a fundamental value as the right to due process. I completely reject the notion that indefinite detention of American citizens without due process is necessary for national security, and so should you, as a sworn defender of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and my elected representative.

Please support the Rand Paul amendment that would completely strike Section 1031 from S. 1867, or any other amendment that would accomplish the same purpose. You, my Senators, need to act immediately to strike out Section 1031 of S. 1867, while you, my Representative in the House must make sure you vote according to the Constitution and in favor of due process if and when the National Defense Authorization Act comes back to the House for a final vote.

"The one who throws the stone forgets; the one who is hit remembers forever."

SUPPORT - Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc - www.Monticello.org

2011-11-30T08:05:00.004-05:00

http://www.monticello.org/

For almost 90 years, Monticello has been maintained and kept open to the public by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc., which owns over 2,500 acres of Jefferson's 5,000-acre plantation. As a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation, the Foundation receives no ongoing federal, state, or local funding in support of its dual mission of preservation and education.

Mission Statement

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s plantation near Charlottesville, Va., was the center of his world. To understand Jefferson, one must understand Monticello; it can be seen as his autobiographical statement.

Monticello encompassed a house, an ornamental landscape, a farm, a plantation, a small mountain, and a large and diverse community. It encapsulated the interests, talents, ideals, ambitions, and realities of its creative and complex owner.

In 1923, Monticello was purchased by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, a private nonprofit corporation and was opened as a public attraction in 1924. Since then, the Foundation has instituted numerous research and educational programs and major restoration and renovation projects, and Monticello has attracted more than 27 million people.

Today, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation remains committed to a twofold mission:

preservation -- to conserve, protect, and maintain Monticello in a manner which leaves it enhanced and unimpaired for future generations -- and
education -- to interpret and present Thomas Jefferson to the widest possible audiences, including scholars and the general public.

Monticello is a National Historic Landmark and the only house in the United States designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Vision:

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation engages a global audience in a dialogue with Jefferson’s ideas.

The Foundation seeks to facilitate conversations and to use its extensive research and knowledge to stimulate interactions on a variety of topics that were of keen interest to Jefferson, the most powerful of which are liberty and self government. Through virtual, off-site and on-site engagement, the Foundation seeks to excite the world about Jefferson’s relevance today and ignite a passion for history.

Guide to citing sources found on this Web site.

For an introduction on citing Web sites please consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or sections 27 and 28 of this helpful guide by Professor Diana Hacker: http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/humanities/list.html#27.
Information specific to this Web site:

Author's Name: Noted on page, if available. May also be listed in meta tags, which are viewable by using your browser's "Reveal Codes" or "View Source" function.
Title: Printed in Green lettering just below breadcrumb trail and accessible in tags, which are viewable by using your browser's "Reveal Codes" or "View Source" function. </li><li>Site Name: Monticello, Home of Thomas Jefferson.</li><li>Date of publication or last update: If not otherwise noted on page, use February 2003. May also be listed in meta tags, which are viewable by using your browser's "Reveal Codes" or "View Source" function. </li><li>Sponsor of site: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.</li><li>URL: Accessible in your browser's address bar. Also, when this site's "Print this Page" is invoked, the page's URL is listed at bottom.</li></ul>An example:Stanton, Lucia C. "Was Jefferson a Vegetarian?" <a href="http://www.monticello.org/">Monticello, Home of Thomas Jefferson</a>. January 1998. Thomas Jefferson, Foundation, Inc. November 25, 2003 <<a href="http://www.monticello.org/reports/life/vegetarian.html">http://www.monticello.org/reports/life/vegetarian.htm</a>l>.</DIV></body>

James Madison

2011-11-29T06:15:00.001-05:00

"The loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or imagined, from abroad."

"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."

COMMENT: Patriot Act - how does it actually protect American 'Patriots'? It doesn't - it abridges the right of ALL Americans for the illusion of national security.

Thomas Jefferson - Liberty, Freedom, Servitude

2011-11-28T08:50:00.001-05:00

"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."

This is actually a translation of a Latin phrase that Thomas Jefferson used: Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem. It has also been translated as, "I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude."

Here is the sentence in context:

"Societies exist under three forms sufficiently distinguishable. 1. Without government, as among our Indians. 2. Under governments wherein the will of every one has a just influence, as is the case in England in a slight degree, and in our states in a great one. 3. Under governments of force: as is the case in all other monarchies and in most of the other republics. To have an idea of the curse of existence under these last, they must be seen. It is a government of wolves over sheep. It is a problem, not clear in my mind, that the 1st. condition is not the best. But I believe it to be inconsistent with any great degree of population. The second state has a great deal of good in it. The mass of mankind under that enjoys a precious degree of liberty and happiness. It has it's evils too: the principal of which is the turbulence to which it is subject. But weigh this against the oppressions of monarchy, and it becomes nothing. Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem. Even this evil is productive of good. It prevents the degeneracy of government, and nourishes a general attention to the public affairs. I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical." - Jefferson to James Madison, January 30, 1787^[1]

Footnotes

↑ In PTJ, 11:92-3. Letterpress copy available online from the Library of Congress.

REFERENCE: http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/i-prefer-dangerous-freedom-over-peaceful-slavery-quotation

James Madison

2011-11-27T13:15:00.000-05:00

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

COMMENT:
20,000 pages of laws in the Federal Register...every growing more restrictive (i.e. less freedom)

The Institute of Heraldry

2011-11-14T08:27:00.001-05:00

"The Institute of Heraldry has a long and distinguished record of support to the United States Army. Its roots were firmly planted in 1919 when President Woodrow Wilson directed the creation of the Heraldic Program Office under the War Department General Staff. Its purpose was to take responsibility for the coordination and approval of coats of arms and other insignia for Army organizations. By the end of World War II, its role expanded to include the other military services. In 1957 Public Law 85-263 directed the Secretary of the Army to furnish heraldic services to all branches of the federal government. The Institute's wide range of heraldic services include decorations, flags, streamers, agency seals, coats of arms, badges, and other forms of official emblems and insignia."
For more information go to:
http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/default.aspx

PLEASE NOTE: The images of all badges, insignia, decorations and medals on this web site are protected by Title 18, United States Code, Section 704 and the Code of Federal Regulations (32 CFR, Part 507). Permission to use these images for commercial purposes must be obtained from The Institute of Heraldry prior to their use.

Napoleon Bonaparte

2011-11-12T06:55:00.001-05:00

"A leader has the right to be beaten, but never the right to be surprised."

The American Legion

2011-11-10T06:18:00.001-05:00

"The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation's largest veterans service organization, committed to mentoring and sponsorship of youth programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting a strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow servicemembers and veterans."

Find out more about the American Legion at:

http://www.legion.org/

The Stars and Stripes Forever

2011-11-08T07:35:00.001-05:00

"This is a

patriotic American march

widely considered to be the

magnum opus

of composer

John Philip Sousa.

By act of Congress, it is the

National March

of the

United States of America."

Sousa's lyrics

Let martial note in triumph float
And liberty extend its mighty hand
A flag appears 'mid thunderous cheers,
The banner of the Western land.
The emblem of the brave and true
Its folds protect no tyrant crew;
The red and white and starry blue
Is freedom's shield and hope.

Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom's nation.

Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.

Let eagle shriek from lofty peak
The never-ending watchword of our land;
Let summer breeze waft through the trees
The echo of the chorus grand.
Sing out for liberty and light,
Sing out for freedom and the right.
Sing out for Union and its might,
O patriotic sons.

Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation,
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom's nation.

Hurrah for the flag of the free.
May it wave as our standard forever
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray,
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_and_Stripes_Forever

COMMENT: There are a lot of things children are mandated to learn in school so that 'No Child is Left Behind' but this patriotic and historic American march - the National March of the United States of America, is not one of them.

Reversal of Fortune - Afghanistan’s seat on top of a bonanza of rare earths might be just what is needed to rebuild the country.

2011-11-07T06:31:00.003-05:00

The American Legion Magazine - By Alan W. Dowd - October 1, 2011

China produces 97 percent of the world's rare-earth elements (REEs) - a family of metals and minerals critical to a range of technologies with commercial and military applications - and has begun to manipulate the global REE market by dramatically slowing, and in some cases even halting, export of these materials. In fact, after a maritime dispute with Japan last year, China stopped supplying REEs to Japanese customers and then reduced overall global exports by 72 percent in the second half of 2010, before cutting export quotas for the first half of 2011 by 35 percent. As a result, prices for some REEs jumped tenfold.

Although Beijing has resumed delivery of REEs and vowed that it will "not use rare earths as an instrument for bargaining," China's actions have prompted the United States, Japan and Europe to explore alternative sources.

The good news is that market forces are already at work diversifying the supply chains of this strategic resource. The better news is that one of those alternative sources happens to be a country that desperately needs an economic lifeline: Afghanistan.

Wake-Up Call. Before getting into what Afghanistan can contribute to the rare-earth solution, it's important to understand what rare earths are, and what role they play in fueling the global economy and even in defending the United States.

First: technically, the term "rare-earth element" is a misnomer. "Rare they aren't," says Ian London of Avalon Rare Metals. "If you took a shovel and dug a hole in your backyard, you'd probably find some rare earths. We have more than enough supply. What is rare is finding them in economic quantities."
Moreover, processing and refining rare earths can be complicated and messy.

With otherworldly names like neodymium, lanthanum, europium and thulium, rare earths are essential to the manufacture of a range of modern technologies, including cell phones, flat-panel televisions, microwave ovens, hybrid engines, computers, light bulbs, lasers, industrial magnets, batteries, X-ray and MRI equipment, fiber optics and superconductors.

Pending legislation in Congress calls rare earths "critical to national security," and understandably so. Studies conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Congressional Research Service (CRS) indicate that rare earths are essential to the production of the navigation system of the M1A2 Abrams tank, missile-guidance systems, fighter-jet engines, missile defenses, satellites, night-vision equipment and military-grade communications gear.

The active sources of REE-bearing materials are in China, Mongolia, Malaysia, Russia and India. California, Brazil, Canada and Australia could start producing by 2015, and Idaho, Montana and Florida could come on line sometime after that. Fully exploiting Afghanistan's REE wealth will take more time, given the country's inadequate economic and industrial infrastructure.

Recognizing the importance of rare earths to its own economic growth and military capabilities, China declared most REEs "strategic commodities" in 2007. As a consequence, the Department of Energy (DoE) notes that China has restricted foreign investment in REE development, raised export taxes on them, reduced their export quotas, started stockpiling them, and given priority to its own domestic demand.

China "has predominant control" over the mining and supply of the 17 REEs, according to CRS. That became painfully evident in 2010. Not only did Beijing block shipment of all rare earths to Japan; it also restricted the export of rare-earth oxide and metal to the United States and Europe.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called China's suspension of REE shipments "a wake-up call."
Not only is the REE supply chain dangerously undiversified, but global demand is far outpacing supply. CRS reports that the world consumes 134,000 tons of rare-earth minerals and metals annually, but produces only 124,000 tons.

After China's mini-embargo of REEs last year, Clinton called on the United States, Japan and their allies "to look for additional sources of supply ... to protect the important production needs that these materials serve. That is in our interests commercially and strategically."

Toward that end, Japan, which imports more REEs than any other country, is assisting Mongolia in developing its rare-earth mines. Thanks to its rare-earth deposits and openness to foreign investment - Mongolian president Elbegdorj Tsakhia recently reported that "Mongolia's GDP is set to triple over the next decade."

Indeed, rare earths are found in plenty of countries other than China - dependable, friendly countries. "At least 40 percent of the world's rare-earth reserves are located within the United States and its ally nations," according to congressional findings. The United States possesses 15 percent of the world's rare-earth reserves, and used to have a major presence in every segment of the REE supply chain. In fact, from 1965 to 1985, the United States performed all phases of REE processing, according to the GAO. A mine in California was one of the world's largest rare-earth producers before shutting down in 2002.

One of the main reasons the United States stopped producing rare earths was the environmental side effects of rare-earth mining, which can include toxic waste. This led to a host of regulations that had the effect of discouraging rare-earth production - and sending it to China.

Rare-Earth Rebirth. A recent DoE report concludes that rebuilding a diversified REE supply chain means "taking steps to facilitate extraction, processing and manufacturing here in the United States." U.S. firms are already taking those steps. One company plans to mine 20,000 tons of REEs from California annually.

In addition, new legislation would "re-establish a competitive domestic rare-earths minerals-production industry" by "reviewing laws and policies that discourage investment in, exploration for, and development of domestic rare earths."

Other proposals percolating in Congress would direct DoE to pave the way for exploration and recovery of rare-earth materials. Some would offer loan guarantees for research and exploration, others would carry out a "global rare-earth element-resource assessment," and still others would create a rare-earth stockpile.

That last item is crucial, given that the United States does not currently maintain a strategic reserve of rare-earth compounds, metals or alloys. That needs to change. As one key piece of pending rare-earth legislation observes, "Self-sufficiency requires an uninterrupted supply of strategic materials critical to national security and innovative commercial-product development, including rare earths."

A 2010 DoE report argues that rare earths and other strategic resources should be featured pieces of a revived National Defense Stockpile, large parts of which were liquidated beginning in the 1990s.

The United States is not alone in the rare-earth rebirth. Canada and Australia are gearing up REE-production efforts. "Australia stands ready to be a long-term, secure, reliable supplier of rare earths," foreign minister Kevin Rudd said after China closed off the REE supply lines last year.

The U.S. government reports that fully rebuilding America's rare-earth supply chain "may take up to 15 years."

A Big "If." Afghanistan can be part of the long-term solution to this problem. Given the growing disparity between REE production and consumption, along with China's lack of dependability, Afghanistan's mineral wealth could become a win-win situation both for the people of Afghanistan, and for the global market of producers and consumers of high-tech equipment.

But a note of caution is in order. If rebuilding the rare-earth mining and manufacturing base in the United States - among the richest, most developed and most stable countries on earth - is going to take a decade or more, then building a rare-earth mining system from scratch in one of the most broken countries on the planet is not going to happen overnight. The conditions in Afghanistan are anything but ideal: corruption is high; stability exists only in pockets, speaking to the country's overall instability; and the ingredients that encourage foreign investment - rule of law, human capital, public infrastructure - are in short supply.

But what Afghanistan lacks in economic and public infrastructure, it makes up for in rare-earth riches.

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Pentagon have found huge stores of natural-resource wealth in Afghanistan. In addition to niobium, aluminum, gold, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium cobalt and copper, Afghanistan's newfound riches include oil and an estimated $420 billion in iron. A Pentagon memo calls Afghanistan the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," which is technically not a rare earth. However, as a key component in batteries used in computers, cell phones and electric cars, it serves some of the same purposes as rare earths.

Citing these discoveries, retired Gen. David Petraeus believes Afghanistan has a "stunning potential" for development, growth and perhaps the most dramatic reversal of fortune in history. "Afghanistan is blessed with the presence of ...trillions of dollars worth of minerals," he observes.

Estimates range from $1 trillion to $3 trillion in mineral wealth. To underscore the impact such development could have, Afghanistan's entire GDP is just $27 billion. The Afghan government collects about $1 billion in tax revenue annually, but could increase that figure by as much as $3.5 billion with royalties, taxes and fees from the mining sector, according to Afghan officials. In short, after three decades of war, there may be a silver lining in this broken, battered land.

But those rare-earth resources that the world needs to fuel the 21st-century economy, those trillions in untapped wealth that could help turn Afghanistan around, can be accessed, as Petraeus cautions, "if, and only if, you can get the extractive technology, the human capital operated, the lines of communication to enable you to get it out of the country. A very big ‘if.'"

China appears ready to take that chance, no matter the cost. There are reports that Beijing won the rights to develop a copper mine south of Kabul by bribing mining officials with $30 million.

Given China's stranglehold on the rare-earth market - and America's commitment in blood and treasure to Afghanistan's future - allowing China to stroll in and harvest Afghanistan's rare-earth riches seems both unwise and unfair. The United States should use its considerable leverage with the Afghan government not to secure sweetheart deals for American investors and developers, but to ensure a level playing field for any firm willing to take a risk on Afghanistan's rare earths.

Some observers warn that if REE mining in Afghanistan really does take off, the country could succumb to the so-called resource curse - the notion that natural-resource wealth diverts investment away from other sectors and encourages high levels of government spending. Examples include Nigeria after oil discoveries, and the Netherlands after natural-gas discoveries.

But Stephen Haber and Victor Menaldo, political scientists specializing in the research of mineral booms, note that roughly twice as many countries have been blessed by resource booms as cursed by them. "Until its late-19th-century oil and mineral boom, Mexico was not a whole lot different from Afghanistan," they note, citing poor infrastructure, a largely illiterate population and a weak central government hampered by warlordism.

Oil and mineral discoveries did not cure all of Mexico's ills, of course, but they did help stabilize its political system and legitimize the state.

If something like that happens in Afghanistan - if its leaders can create a level playing field open and attractive to foreign investment, if its people can recognize that they have more to gain from compromise and cooperation than from cronyism and corruption, and if its disparate tribes can see themselves as part of one Afghan tribe - then the world can help solve Afghanistan's instability problem, and Afghanistan can help solve the world's rare-earth-supply problem.

But as Petraeus says, that's "a very big if."

Alan W. Dowd is a contributing editor for The American Legion Magazine. He writes the Landing Zone column at www.legion.org/landingzone.

Accessed at: http://www.legion.org/magazine/159050/reversal-fortune

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

2011-11-06T05:21:00.001-05:00

The VFW traces its roots back to 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American
War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local
organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service: Many arrived
home wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans' pension for
them,and they were left to care for themselves.

In their misery, some of these veterans banded together and formed
organizations with what would become known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars of
the United States. After chapters were formed in Ohio, Colorado and
Pennsylvania, the movement quickly gained momentum. By 1915, membership grew
to 5,000; by 1936, membership was almost 200,000.

Since then, the VFW's voice had been instrumental in establishing the Veterans
Administration, creating a GI bill for the 20th century, the development of
the national cemetery system and the fight for compensation for Vietnam vets
exposed to Agent Orange and for veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome. In
2008, VFW won a long-fought victory with the passing of a GI Bill for the 21st
Century, giving expanded educational benefits to America's active-duty
servicemembers, and members of the Guard and Reserves, fighting in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

The VFW also has fought for improving VA medical centers services for women
veterans.

Besides helping fund the creation of the Vietnam, Korean War, World War II and
Women in Military Service memorials, the VFW in 2005 became the first
veterans' organization to contribute to building the new Disabled Veterans for
Life Memorial, which opened in November, 2010.

Annually, the 2.1 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliary contribute more
than 11 million hours of volunteerism in the community, including
participation in Make A Difference Day and National Volunteer Week.

From providing $2.5 million in college scholarships and savings bonds to
students every year, to encouraging elevation of the Department of Veterans
Affairs to the president's cabinet, the VFW is there.

Find out more at:

http://www.vfw.org/

Patrick Henry and the Second Amendment of the Constitution

2011-11-05T14:25:00.001-05:00

"Have we the means of resisting disciplined armies, when our only defence, the militia, is put in the hands of Congress?"

COMMENT: Patrick Henry didn't interpret the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution as a clause that allows only the 'government' or 'states' to bear arms. The PEOPLE referred to exactly that, people.

Oath of Office

2011-11-04T07:14:00.001-05:00

I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

God Bless America

2011-11-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America, My home sweet home

God bless America, My home sweet home.

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Bless_America

COMMENT: Not required - the words say it all.

Venezuelan mayor pits mimes against motorists

2011-11-02T08:51:00.003-05:00

"Mayor Carlos Ocariz of Sucre, Venezuela, hired 120 mimes to enforce traffic laws. The gaudily dressed mimes issue silent rebukes to motorists who drive dangerously or jump red lights. "Many times, the mimes can achieve what traffic police cannot," says Alex Ojeda, head of a foundation that trained the mimes. FoxNews.com (10/9)"

COMMENT: Tax dollars of Venezuelan workers putting unemployed 'mimes' to work. It is really just fraud, waste and/or abuse. I hope none of our leaders get a similar 'great' idea.

The Tenth Amendment Prohibited the “Living Constitution” -- by Steve Palmer, Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center

2011-11-01T07:59:00.001-05:00

Usurpation:

The act of usurping, especially the wrongful seizure of royal sovereignty.
A wrongful seizure or exercise of authority or privilege belonging to another; an encroachment

As readers of this web site are doubtless aware, the Tenth Amendment says,

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.

Often when people paraphrase the Tenth Amendment, they will say something like this, “The federal government is only allowed to do certain specific things which are listed in the Constitution. The federal government is not allowed to do anything which isn’t listed in the Constitution”.
This is true as far as it goes, but I’d like to draw attention to the words “are reserved” and ask you to think carefully about them. “The powers not delegated… are reserved to the States… or to the people”.

What do those words really mean? On December 14, 1791, the Constitution existed without the Bill of Rights. Then, on December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified, including the Tenth Amendment. With that ratification, the People and the States established a set of powers, consisting of nearly all powers, and in effect, said, “As-of today, we claim authority for any power which we have not delegated to you”. Symbolically, this was the equivalent of planting a flag on a newly discovered piece of land. The states said, “We know about these powers, and they are ours; not yours.”

Do you see the distinction? It’s a matter of tense. We tend to think of the Tenth Amendment in the present tense (understandable, given that it’s written in the present tense), but in actuality, a reservation can only be made once, and once made, it is complete and permanent (unless relinquished). The Tenth Amendment reservation of powers was made on December 15, 1791 and the Tenth Amendment should now be applied in the past tense. The question we need to ask when evaluating the Tenth Amendment is, “Was this claimed power among the powers that were reserved for the States or for the People on December 15, 1791?”
In a recent Passing Thoughts blog post, I wrote,

The “living Constitution” necessarily encroaches on both the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. You can’t give the federal government new powers without carving them out of the reserved rights and powers. Hence, the idea of a “living Constitution” is prohibited by the Constitution itself. There is no theory of law that can change this fact.

This article is intended to elaborate on that thought. People who espouse the theory of the Living Constitution would have us think of the Tenth Amendment in the present tense, as protecting a constantly changing set of powers, delineated by their constantly changing definitions of the enumerated powers. For example, in describing the concept of a Living Constitution, Wikipedia says,

While the arguments for the Living Constitution vary, they can generally be broken into two categories. First, the pragmatist view contends that interpreting the Constitution in accordance with long outdated views is often unacceptable as a policy matter, and thus that an evolving interpretation is necessary. The second, relating to intent, contends that the constitutional framers specifically wrote the Constitution in broad and flexible terms to create such a dynamic, “living” document.

In this view, a power that was protected by the Tenth Amendment a century ago might not be protected today due to changing needs and interpretations. Wikipedia itself mentions two objections to this theory. First, that there’s a perfectly good amendment procedure built into the Constitution, so no need to reinterpret the meanings of the words; and second that the idea of a Living Constitution is prone to abuse by unelected judges. In this article, we provide another objection. In my view, this third objection is logically incontrovertible.

Before December 15, 1791, the idea of a Living Constitution may have been a plausible theory of law (Although, personally, I don’t think so). However, on December 15, 1791, with the ratification of the Tenth Amendment and the reservation of powers, the idea was firmly prohibited. On that day, the States and the People planted their stakes in the ground, claiming ownership of all undelegated powers as they existed on that date.

As noted earlier, once a reservation is made, it’s complete and permanent, unless relinquished. The proponents of the Living Constitution would have us believe that the Supreme Court can relinquish reserved powers on behalf of the states. This is not only wrong, it’s dangerous. Any effort by a branch of the federal government to move a power from the States’ reserved powers into the federal government’s delegated powers through reinterpretation exactly meets the definition of usurpation posted in this article’s heading, “A wrongful seizure or exercise of authority or privilege belonging to another; an encroachment.” Only the states or the people can relinquish any part of the reservation that was made on December 15, 1791.

Kevin Gutzman noted in a recent facebook comment that,

“A ‘living constitution’ is a dead constitution, because it does not do the one and only thing a written constitution is supposed to do: provide parameters around the power of officials.”

As owners of the reserved powers, it is the responsibility of the States and the People to keep the Constitution alive by staying true to it. To do this, we must resist usurpation of all forms, including usurpation which is founded on the illogical and dangerous idea of the Living Constitution.

Steve Palmer is the State Chapter Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Tenth Amendment Center

Accessed on 25 Oct 2011 at:
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2011/10/09/the-tenth-amendment-prohibited-the-living-constitution/

James Madison

2011-10-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood."

Charles Bukowski

2011-10-29T14:06:00.001-05:00

"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later, in a dictatorship you don't have to waste time voting."

COMMENT: Interesting quote especially taken in the context of the fall of Colonel Quadaffi and problems in Syria and other middle eastern nations over the last year.

Who was Charles Bukowski?

Henry Charles Bukowski (born Heinrich Karl Bukowski; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles. It is marked by an emphasis on the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women and the drudgery of work. Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over sixty books. In 1986 Time called Bukowski a "laureate of American lowlife".^[6] Regarding Bukowski's enduring popular appeal, Adam Kirsch of The New Yorker wrote, "the secret of Bukowski’s appeal. . . [is that] he combines the confessional poet’s promise of intimacy with the larger-than-life aplomb of a pulp-fiction hero."^[7]

^{For more informatin go to:}
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bukowski

FBI Director: Intelligence Will Have to Use 'Lone Wolf' Provision (CQ,10/6/11)

2011-10-28T13:47:00.001-05:00

"FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told Congress last week that two
controversial provisions in the 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the Patriot
Act will be especially important for adapting to the threat of domestic
radicalization and the challenges of a wireless communications world. Both
Mueller and Matthew G. Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism
Center, told the House Select Intelligence Committee that U.S. citizens and
residents, inspired by groups like al Qaeda but lacking any actual contacts
that intelligence agencies could track, present a serious national security
threat.

"That is probably the greatest challenge that we face," Olsen said. For such
instances of so-called lone wolf attackers, the Patriot Act included a
provision that allows investigators to apply to a special court for
surveillance orders on suspects who are not connected to any terrorism
organization. The language is one of three provisions within the law that lack
permanent authorization "
Accessed at:

http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20111006/pl_cq_politics/politics000003958086

Patrick Henry - clearly someone who would favor the right of the PEOPLE to bear arms!

2011-10-27T17:22:00.000-05:00

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people!"

Patrick Henry

Confucius

2011-10-26T13:45:00.000-05:00

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."

James Madison

2011-10-25T13:57:00.001-05:00

"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

Confucius

2011-10-22T13:45:00.001-05:00

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."

COMMENT: Some think they know it all.

Patriot Act, FBI.James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Barry Goldwater,

2011-10-21T07:49:00.003-05:00

FBI Director: Intelligence Will Have to Use 'Lone Wolf' Provision (CQ, 10/6/11)

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told Congress last week that two controversial provisions in the 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the Patriot Act will be especially important for adapting to the threat of domestic radicalization and the challenges of a wireless communications world. Both Mueller and Matthew G. Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told the House Select Intelligence Committee that U.S. citizens and residents, inspired by groups like al Qaeda but lacking any actual contacts that intelligence agencies could track, present a serious national security threat.

"That is probably the greatest challenge that we face," Olsen said.
For such instances of so-called lone wolf attackers, the Patriot Act included a provision that allows investigators to apply to a special court for surveillance orders on suspects who are not connected to any terrorism organization. The language is one of three provisions within the law that lack
permanent authorization Congress passed ( PL 112-3 ) a four-year extension for the language, which faced opposition from civil liberties groups, in May.

All men having power ought to be mistrusted.--James Madison

Mueller told the panel that the FBI hasn't used the lone-wolf provision, but predicted that will change.

I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. -- James Madison

"My expectation is that we will need it in the future," as Internet-driven radicalization grows, he said, adding that the provision would be instrumental for investigating foreigners -- not American citizens -- with no formal connections to terrorist groups.

The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home. - James Madison

The FBI director also said his agency has found the "roving wiretap" provision essential. The language allows investigators to obtain wiretap orders attached to particular individuals who may switch modes of communication, rather than specific phone lines.

"In this day and age where you can dispose of cell phones and SIM cards within a matter of minutes, change numbers and the like, it's essential to be able to swiftly move to the new number as opposed to having to draft another application and go back to a court," he said.

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.--James Madison

However, he said digital communications still present a challenge unmet by surveillance law, with iPhones, Android phones and other smart mobile devices that can communicate using e-mail and multiple texting formats that their communications carriers might not track. Court orders to obtain communications instruct carriers to turn over information from phones and other devices. But, Mueller said, given the proliferation of formats, carriers in some cases may simply lack the ability to respond to those orders.

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President Source: Letter, 23 December 1791 http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Thomas.Jefferson.Quote.58AC

"What we need to do is look at mechanisms to ensure that when a court issues an order directing that conversations or communications be collected by the carrier and turned over to the federal government, that there is the capability by that carrier to be responsive," he said.
Federal officials have been discussing legislative proposals for Congress, he said.

Rob Margetta can be reached at rmargetta@cq.com

Reference - accessed on 14 Oct 2011
More at http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20111006/pl_cq_politics/politics000003958086

* * * * * *

"How did it happen? How did our national government grow from a servant with sharply limited powers into a master with virtually unlimited power? In part, we were swindled. There are occasions when we have elevated men and political parties to power that promised to restore limited government and then proceeded, after their election, to expand the activities of government. But let us be honest with ourselves. Broken promises are not the major causes of our trouble. Kept promises are. All too often we have put men in office who have suggested spending a little more on this, a little more on that, who have proposed a new welfare program, who have thought of another variety of 'security.' We have taken the bait, preferring to put off to another day the recapture of freedom and the restoration of our constitutional system. We have gone the way of many a democratic society that has lost its freedom by persuading itself that if 'the people' rule, all is well."

-- Barry Goldwater
(1909-1998) US Senator (R-Arizona) http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Barry.Goldwater.Quote.4136

James Madison

2011-10-20T14:52:00.000-05:00

"Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government. [unverified]"

Rethinking Government: A Smarter Way to Put Out Fires

2011-10-19T12:11:00.007-05:00

The Atlantic

By Barry Greenfield Aug 19 2011, 8:00 AM ET

A full-time fire department can be expensive and, in many places, unnecessary. It's time to think about outsourcing services to the city next door.

Believe it or not, there was a time when government ran a surplus. Even
today, in this economy, there are municipalities that consistently close out
their annual budgets with a surplus. Somewhere along the road of good
government, the concept of a "profit" became a bad idea. Most taxpayers
would argue that government is not a business, but in the same vein they
would like to see government operated more like a business.

Successful businesses have a major advantage over government: They typically
provide a particular type of product or service. One of government's biggest
hurdles is the sheer number of services it must provide, often with very
limited resources.

Yet it is clear that some municipalities or counties are better suited than
others to provide a specific service. For instance, the city of Salem,
Massachusetts, has one of the fastest response times of any fire department
in Essex County. In the business world, that is known as a "competitive
advantage."

So why hasn't Salem offered its services to other neighboring communities?
Two reasons: 1) a lack of knowledge on how to market services and 2) the
strength of union officials in dictating how politicians will act.

Taxpayers should be demanding outsourced services as a means to
cost-efficient government. Why? Because outsourcing already plays a major
role in a taxpayer's daily life. Consider public education as a
cost-efficient alternative to self-educating your children. Grocery stores
enable people to not have to grow their own food. Sanitation workers save
residents a drive to the local landfill.

Let's go back to Salem. The city could identify how much it would cost to
fight a fire in a neighboring town. Based on the number of firefighters,
vehicles, equipment, time, and mileage, a price schedule could be developed
showing how much to charge a "client" for fighting a fire. Once the net cost
had been identified, Salem could "gross" it up to build in a profit. Maybe
the city could even charge a small retainer for being on-call.

Likewise, neighboring towns could look at how many annual fires there are
(often very few) and price out the difference between a full force of
firemen (often very high) and Salem's per-fire cost. It's a win-win. By
expanding coverage, Salem would be not only saving its neighbors the cost of
a full fire department but making more efficient use of its own
under-utilized personnel. (A similar concept is already in full use in
California, where CalFire, a state-run agency, not only protects the state's
forests but outsources its fire-fighting services to municipalities.)

So, why are taxpayers not hounding politicians to outsource services to the
city next door if it can offer a better product at a lower price? Because
taxpayers are consumers, and without awareness of a service, they have no
reason to request it. Without a progressive politician at the helm to guide
a city towards a new type of government, there is little chance new ideas
will be spawned. It's time for taxpayers to gather enough information to
push for change, bringing taxes down while improving services for everyone.

REFERENCE: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/08/rethinking-government-a-smarter-way-to-put-out-fires/243834
COMMENT: A 'progressive' politician in the progressive politics sense of meaning is not exactly what we needed. We need a conservative politician who is is committed to fiscal responsibility, i.e. cutting expenses in every way possible by eliminating 'nice' but not 'necessary' government services where they are not needed.

James Madison & The Patriot Act

2011-10-18T09:05:00.001-05:00

"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."

COMMENT:
Is the 'Patriot Act' patriotic or an unfettered abridgement of liberty?

Patrick Henry

2011-10-17T13:32:00.001-05:00

"It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and
fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.
Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving
offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my
country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven,
which I revere above all earthly kings. ... Are we disposed to be of
the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear
not, the things, which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For
my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know
the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. Let us not,
I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. ... Is life so dear, or peace
so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but
as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

Face of Communism - 8 - The Evil Empire - Katyn Forest Massacre

2011-10-17T06:04:00.004-05:00

NOTE: Mass murder by Soviet (communist) forces on the eve of World War II.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre

The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre (Polish: zbrodnia katyńska, mord katyński, 'Katyń crime'; Russian: Катынский расстрел Katynskij ra'sstrel 'Katyn shooting'), was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of the Polish Officer Corps, dated 5 March 1940. This official document was approved and signed by the Soviet Politburo, including its leader, Joseph Stalin. The number of victims is estimated at about 22,000, with 21,768 being a lower bound.^[1] The victims were murdered in the Katyn Forest in Russia, the Kalinin and Kharkiv prisons and elsewhere. Of the total killed, about 8,000 were officers taken prisoner during the 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland, another 6,000 were police officers, with the rest being Polish intelligentsia arrested for allegedly being "intelligence agents, gendarmes, landowners, saboteurs, factory owners, lawyers, officials and priests."^[1]

The term "Katyn massacre" originally referred specifically to the massacre at Katyn Forest, near the villages of Katyn and Gnezdovo (approximately 19 kilometers/12 miles west of Smolensk, Russia), of Polish military officers in the Kozelsk prisoner-of-war camp. This was the largest of several simultaneous executions of prisoners of war. Other executions occurred at the geographically distant Starobelsk and Ostashkov camps, at the NKVD headquarters in Smolensk, and at prisons in Kalinin (Tver), Kharkiv, Moscow, and other Soviet cities. Other executions took place at various locations in Belarus and Western Ukraine, based on special lists of Polish prisoners, prepared by the NKVD specifically for those regions. The modern Polish investigation of the killings covered not only the massacre at Katyn forest, but also the other mass murders mentioned above. Polish organisations, such as the Katyn Committee and the Federation of Katyn Families, consider the victims murdered at the locations other than Katyn as part of the overall massacre.^[1]

The government of Nazi Germany announced the discovery of mass graves in the Katyn Forest in 1943. The revelation led to the end of diplomatic relations between Moscow and the London-based Polish government-in-exile. The Soviet Union continued to deny responsibility for the massacres until 1990, when it officially acknowledged and condemned the perpetration of the killings by the NKVD.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[a]

An investigation conducted by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Soviet Union (1990–1991) and the Russian Federation (1991–2004), has confirmed Soviet responsibility for the massacres. It was able to confirm the deaths of 1,803 Polish citizens but refused to classify this action as a war crime or an act of genocide. The investigation was closed on grounds that the perpetrators of the massacre were already dead, and since the Russian government would not classify the dead as victims of Stalinist repression, formal posthumous rehabilitation was ruled out.^[4] The human rights society Memorial issued a statement which declared "this termination of investigation is inadmissible" and that their confirmation of only 1,803 people killed "requires explanation because it is common knowledge that more than 14,500 prisoners were killed."^[5] In November 2010, the Russian State Duma approved a declaration blaming Stalin and other Soviet officials for having personally ordered the massacre.^[6]

Reference - accessed on 13 Oct 2011 at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre

* * * * * * * * * *

From another source a good introductory summary:

Katyn Forest is a wooded area near Gneizdovo village, a short distance from Smolensk in Russia where, in 1940 on Stalin's orders, the NKVD shot and buried over 4000 Polish service personnel that had been taken prisoner when the Soviet Union invaded Poland in September 1939 in WW2 in support of the Nazis.

[NKVD- Narodny Kommisariat Vnutrennikh Del. If you are Polish NKVD means "Nie wiadomo kiedy wroce do domu. Impossible to tell when I will return home."]

In 1943 the Nazis exhumed the Polish dead and blamed the Soviets. In 1944, having retaken the Katyn area from the Nazis, the Soviets exhumed the Polish dead again and blamed the Nazis. The rest of the world took its usual sides in such arguments.

In 1989, with the collapse of Soviet Power, Premier Gorbachev finally admitted that the Soviet NKVD had executed the Poles, and confirmed two other burial sites similar to the site at Katyn. Stalin's order of March 1940 to execute by shooting some 25,700 Poles, including those found at the three sites, was also disclosed with the collapse of Soviet Power. This particular second world war slaughter of Poles is often referred to as the "Katyn Massacre" or the "Katyn Forest Massacre".

Reference - accessed on 13 Oct 2011 at:
http://katyn.org.au/
FYI: There are a lot of links to other Katyn Forest Massacre sites and information on this site.

NOTE: The NKVD became the KGB - former leader of the KGB - Putin.

Hong Kong again tops economic freedom rankings but economic freedom on the decline worldwide--Canada more economically free than the United States!

2011-10-16T10:22:00.002-05:00

September 20, 2011

For Immediate Release

VANCOUVER, CANADA—

Levels of economic freedom have decreased around the globe, according to according to a new report released today by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank.Economic Freedom of the World: 2011 Annual Report shows that the average economic

freedom score fell to 6.64 in 2009, the lowest in nearly three decades, from 6.67 in 2008.

“In response to the American and European debt crises, governments around the world are

embracing perverse regulations and this has huge, negative implications for economic freedom
and financial recovery,” said Fred McMahon, Fraser Institute vice-president of international
policy research.

Hong Kong again ranked number one for economic freedom, followed by Singapore and New

Zealand, Switzerland, and Australia.

The United States experienced one of the largest drops in economic freedom, falling to 10th

place overall from sixth in 2010. Much of this decline is a result of higher spending and

borrowing on the part of the U.S. government, and lower scores for legal structure and
property rights.

Zimbabwe once again received the worst score among the 141 jurisdictions included in the

study, followed by Myanmar, Venezuela, and Angola.

“The link between economic freedom and prosperity is undeniable: the countries that score
highly in terms of economic freedom also offer their people the best quality of life,” McMahon
said.

“The political uprisings sweeping across the Arab World are the result of people wanting the

outcomes of economic freedom – prosperity, job growth, political freedoms, and poverty
reduction.”

The annual peer-reviewed Economic Freedom of the World report is produced by the Fraser

Institute, Canada’s leading public policy think-tank, in cooperation with independent institutes

in 85 nations and territories. The report report uses 42 different measures to create an index
ranking of 141 countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic
freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange,
freedom to compete, and security of private property. Economic freedom is measured in five
different areas: (1) size of government, (2) legal structure and security of property rights, (3)
access to sound money, (4) freedom to trade internationally, and (5) regulation of credit, labor,
and business.

Research shows that individuals living in countries with high levels of economic freedom

enjoy higher levels of prosperity, greater individual freedoms, and longer life spans.
International Rankings

Hong Kong offers the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 9.01 out

of 10. The other top scorers are Singapore (8.68), New Zealand (8.20), Switzerland (8.03),
Australia (7.98), Canada (7.81), Chile (7.77), the United Kingdom (7.71), Mauritius (7.67),
and the United States (7.60).

The rankings and scores of other large economies include: Germany, 21st (7.45); Japan, 22nd

(7.44); France, 42nd (7.16); Italy, 70th (6.81); Mexico, 75th (6.74); Russia, 81st (6.55); China,

92nd (6.43); India, 94th (6.40); and Brazil, 102nd (6.19).

Zimbabwe maintains the lowest level of economic freedom among the 141 jurisdictions

measured. Myanmar, Venezuela, Angola, and Democratic Republic of Congo round out the
bottom five nations.

Several countries have substantially increased their economic freedom scores since 1990.

Uganda saw the biggest improvement, climbing to 7.10 this year from 3.00 in 1990, followed
by Zambia, which rose to 7.35 from 3.52; Nicaragua, which jumped to 6.76 from 2.96;
Albania, which climbed to 7.54 from 4.24; and Peru, which increased to 7.29 from 4.13.

Over the same period, economic freedom has steadily regressed in Venezuela, whose score fell

to 4.23 from 5.45; Zimbabwe, which dropped to 4.06 from 5.05; the United States, which
slipped to 7.58 from 8.43; and Malaysia, which fell to 6.68 from 7.49.

The report notes that among the highest-ranked countries, the average income of the poorest

10 per cent of people was $8,735 (in constant 2005 international dollars), compared to a
meagre $1,061 for those living in the least economically free countries. On average, the
poorest 10 per cent of people in the most economically free countries are nearly twice as rich
as the average population of the least economically free nations.About the Economic Freedom Index

Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of

countries are supportive of economic freedom. The 2011 report was prepared by James

Gwartney, Gus A. Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair at Florida State University; Robert A.
Lawson, Southern Methodist University; and Joshua Hall, Beloit College.

This year’s publication ranks 141 nations representing 95 per cent of the world’s population

for 2009, the most recent year for which data is available. The report also updates data in
earlier reports in instances where data have been revised.

For more information on the Economic Freedom Network, data sets, and previous

Economic Freedom of the World reports, visit www.freetheworld.com

COMMENT: The USA's economic freedom score FELL - so much for putting people back to work and stimulating the economy. This year we're in the same category as Hugo Chavez's Venezuela - falling economic freedom - socialism marches on....or does it?

International Relations and Security Network (ISN) - Thucydides, or Plato?

2011-10-15T08:40:00.005-05:00

COMMENT: This is a recommendation for a useful website and newsletter service will provide timely and critical information about the state of international politics and relationships.
International Relations and Security Network (ISN) - Managing information, sharing knowledge.
www.isn.ethz.ch
The ISN is a service of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich).

NOTE: This month in their blog the author goes all the way to ancient Greece and the Pelopponesian War nearly 2,500 years ago. International politcs between nation states haven't really changed at all - some new technology, bigger scale, same issues,....those with power rule, those without follow or are ruled.

Reference - accessed on 13 Oct 2011:
http://isnblog.ethz.ch/international-relations/thucydides-or-plato

Thucydides, or Plato?

Filed under: International Relations by William Rooke on Thursday, 13 October 2011 | No Comments
Tags: IR Theory, plato, Realism, thucydides

Most university courses in International Relations, if they have a theoretical or historical bent at all, tend to consider Thucydides to have been the first important contributor to ‘international’ thought. Though Herodotus is the “father of history” and it was Socrates that first brought philosophy down from the heavens and into the agora, Thucydides is usually considered the first to have dealt explicitly with the nature of the relations among and between political communities in what begins to resemble a theoretical manner.

Thucydides’ most important work is the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 27-year struggle in the 5th century BC between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta. Perhaps the most famous element of the book is its account of the war’s ultimate causes, which Thucydides describes as the “growth in power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Sparta.” What is immediately clear to students of international relations is the consonance of this explanation with what Kenneth Waltz would call “third image” theory. According to Thucydides, it was neither the malign nature of any of the human beings involved, nor the authoritarian character of the Spartan regime, but changes in the relative distribution of power in the ancient Greek international-political system (if you will), that caused the war. One begins to see why so many courses start here.

A map of the Athenian alliance (orange) and the Spartan Confederacy (green) at the start of the Pelopponesian War in 431 BC. Image: Wikimedia commons

A map of key actions in each phase of the war. Image: Wikimedia commons

As any classicist will tell you, of course, Thucydides is more complicated than this. But it is true that the most dramatic passages in the History lend themselves quite easily to realist hagiography. Consider the so-called ‘ Melian dialogue‘ — perhaps the book’s second most famous passage – in which the Athenian envoy to Melos, a much less powerful city-state, informs his counterpart: “you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must.”

This is one of earliest arguments for the primacy of power and security in international relations. Without question, it echoes one of the most important passages in political thought of any kind, the famous intrusion in Book 1 of Plato’s Republic by the sophist Thrasymachus, advancing the immoralist thesis that “justice is [merely] the advantage of the stronger”, and that “injustice, if it is on a large enough scale, is stronger, freer, and more masterly than justice’”. Ultimately, it is this challenge that motivates what takes up the vast majority of the Republic: the attempt by Socrates and his friends to construct an ideally just “city in speech.”

Largely on the merit of that attempt, Plato is widely considered the first important political thinker in the Western tradition. Many, however, are unaware of his ‘international’ thought, where he actually emerges as a rival to Thucydides. In the first Book of the Republic, Socrates begins to talk about matters of justice among city states, but is interrupted by Thrasymachus. The topic of war then re-surfaces in Books 2 and 3, where Socrates identifies its origins in the desire for “the customary luxuries” and appoints a warrior class of guardians whose profession is “the art of war.” But Socrates in the Republic never clarifies what this ‘art of war’ means in practice and how it serves justice (as it must, as part of the ideally just city). But, for that, there are the other dialogues: Timaeus, The Laws, and the mostly lost Critias.

Pietro Della Vecchia's "Socrates and Two Students," 17th century. Image: Wikimedia Commons

In these three dialogues, Plato turns directly to what looks to us like international relations. In Timaeus and Critias (which are set on the day after the conversations that appear in the Republic), Socrates expresses his dissatisfaction with the ideally just city that he and his friends constructed, complaining that it “is like seeing beautiful creatures at rest, and ignores the activities for which they appear to be formed.” As the discussion then immediately takes up the mythological war between an ideal-typical ur-Athens and Atlantis, it seems likely that, for Plato, international relations are precisely these activities for which city-states “appear to be formed.”* One prominent scholar has even argued that the theme of Critias (of which only fragments survive) was, in fact, “a theoretical discussion of international relations.” In any event, these arguments put the ‘international’ question very near the center of Plato’s project.

Though we will probably never know what the fragmentary Critias contained, Plato can still be as foundational a figure for international thought as Thucydides. In my opinion, this matters. While Thucydides is usually conscripted into the service of one school of thought in particular, Plato provides a much more pluralist point of departure. As 2000 years of classical philology will attest, conclusions about what Plato actually believed or recommended are often elusive, but the full gamut of contemporary approaches to international relations — and then some — are recognizable in his writings.

In Book 1 of The Laws, for example, realists will find an ally in Cleinias, who argues that “what most men call peace is really only a fiction, and that in cold fact states are by nature fighting an undeclared war against every other state.” Book 3, which is a speculative history of the development of ‘international’ norms among the Greek (but not other) city-states, is useful fodder for English School theorists, constructivists, and cultural realists alike. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.
Though starting with Plato instead of Thucydides may seem a petty academic matter, we should not underestimate the power of the idea — to which starting with Thucydides lends credence – that 2500 hundred years ago in radically different circumstances, the first ‘international’ thinker was already a realist, or a liberal, or whatever else. Plato is the perfect antidote to this.

*This contradicts the views of many classicists — including Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss — who believed that the individual city state was the highest concern of ancient Greek political thought.

Reference - accessed on 13 Oct 2011:
http://isnblog.ethz.ch/international-relations/thucydides-or-plato

International Relations and Security Network (ISN) - Managing information, sharing knowledge.
www.isn.ethz.ch

The ISN is a service of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich).

James Madison - Liberty

2011-10-14T08:46:00.002-05:00

"A pure democracy is a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person."

International Relations and Security Network (ISN)

2011-10-13T12:58:00.000-05:00

The International Relations and Security Network (ISN) is the world’s leading open access information service for international relations and security professionals.

Established in 1994, our mission is to promote greater knowledge sharing, learning and collaboration. We do this by building a portfolio of free, high-quality information services; providing e-Learning consulting, content and technology services and products; and offering technical, editorial and administrative support to a host of online communities.

We strive to meet the rapidly evolving information and educational needs of our users by working with the world’s leading think tanks, universities, research institutes, NGOs and international organizations. Our partner network continues to grow in tandem with the changing international agenda. This allows us to offer our users a broad selection of views and opinions on the major issues of our day.

The ISN is an online project of the Center for Security Studies (CSS), at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). It is jointly funded by the Swiss Department for Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) and ETH Zurich.

13-Year-Old Looks at Trees, Makes Solar Power Breakthrough

2011-10-13T09:44:00.003-05:00

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/08/13-year-old-looks-trees-makes-solar-power-breakthrough/41486/

Adam Martin --Aug 19, 2011

Aidan Dwyer did a much better job on his 7th grade science project than any of us. While on a wintertime hike in the Catskills, he noticed the branches of trees held a spiral pattern as they ascended. He wondered if that could possibly serve some purpose, looked into it, and learned about the Fibonacci sequence, which is a mathematical way of describing a spiral. Then he studied tree branches more closely and found their leaves adhered to the sequence. Then he figured out that if he arranged solar panels the way an oak tree arranged its leaves, they were 20 to 50 percent more efficient than the standard straight-line solar arrays. That is why the American Museum of Natural History gave him a Young Naturalist award, and published his findings on its website. His write-up concludes:

The tree design takes up less room than flat-panel arrays and works in spots that don't have a full southern view. It collects more sunlight in winter. Shade and bad weather like snow don't hurt it because the panels are not flat. It even looks nicer because it looks like a tree. A design like this may work better in urban areas where space and direct sunlight can be hard to find.

Not bad for a kid who hasn't started high school yet.

COMMENT: Interesting bit about the optimization of solar energy collection, BUT it still doesn't mean the country is ready for a significant portion of our energy to

ACORN Resurrection

2011-10-12T12:27:00.001-05:00

Rising from the Ashes of ACORN

The umbrella group ACORN may have been forced out of 'business last year but many of its chapters have been resurrected as new members of the the Black Institute.

http://www.theroot.com/views/bertha-lewis-life-after-acorn

ACORN - Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now

2011-10-11T14:06:00.001-05:00

ACORN appears to have gone 'out of business' as of November 2010 according to their official website. The scandals of the 2008 election cycles and their aftermath appear to have buried this organization.................
http://www.acorn.org/

2 November 2010

Bertha Lewis, CEO

"For over 40 years ACORN has fought the good fight. From a few initial neighborhoods in Little Rock, Arkansas, we grew to become a large, active, national organization of low- and moderate-income families, mostly people of color, working together to make their communities a better place. In working together, we helped families see that they can make a difference."

COMMENT:..........or have they?

Might is Right?

2011-10-10T07:18:00.002-05:00

"The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations."
--David Friedman,
American economist and writer

ATF - Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms

2011-10-09T12:14:00.000-05:00

COMMENT: Clever!

Regulatory Burden on Cement Industry

2011-10-07T07:16:00.001-05:00

Cement is vital to this nation’s infrastructure, the housing industry, and manufacturing and therefore to the economy and jobs, something high profile politicians and federal agency spokesmen continually say they are trying to protect and even expand. Therefore, it’s important that their words are not countered by their actions, and that we hold them accountable.

In the case of cement production, the EPA promulgated new air pollutant standards for the industry in late 2010. These Cement MACT (maximum achievable control technology) regulations call for reductions of 97 percent in acid gases, 92 percent in mercury, 83 percent in total hydrocarbons, 92 percent in particulate matter, 78 percent in sulfur dioxide, and 5 percent in nitrogen oxides, to be implemented by 2013.

Thunderstruck industry leaders say the overly-stringent rules are technologically unachievable at this time, and would send what’s left of America’s cement industry -- about 100 cement plants -- to foreign countries, with the loss of thousands of jobs -- estimates say at least 4,000 -- here at home. Some plants, approximately 18, would simply close; others would have to invest millions of dollars in order to comply with the new regulations.

The public sector accounts for 50 percent of the cement used in the nation. The industry has already invested tens of billions of dollars in new technologies and modernizing facilities besides recycling 12 million tons of urban and industrial byproducts such as tires, fly ash and wood chips per annum. These byproducts would have to be trucked to landfills if the cement industry would no longer be reusing them.

The former chairman of the Portland Cement Association, Dan Harrington said, “It is important to note that our industry is not averse to regulations.... If the Administration is serious about balancing environmental interests with growing jobs, then they will take serious steps toward curbing multiple EPA rules that create barriers to investment.”

Harrington added, “Disruptions to the availability of domestic cement supplies will have adverse impacts on the nation's beleaguered construction sector, which is currently suffering from an unemployment rate of nearly 20 percent.” He urged Congress do everything it can to protect existing jobs through more reasonable regulations, and rollback the EPA’s more onerous ones.

The Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011, H.R. 2681, does just that. Introduced by Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.) H.R. 2681, with 36 co-sponsors, is “To provide additional time for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue achievable standards for cement manufacturing facilities, and for other purposes.” In other words Congress would issue a stay for the EPA’s pollutant rules that went into effect last fall while requiring the EPA to come up with more sensible and technologically achievable proposals.

The stakes are just too high for the cement industry, jobs, the economy and for the nation’s infrastructure to let the EPA’s heavy-handedness wreak further destruction.

Contact your Representative and Senators and get them to act quickly on H.R. 2681. But also tell them that it’s even more important to rein in the unaccountable EPA altogether, rather than rolling back in piecemeal fashion every set of rules it imposes on various industries and businesses.

Thanks,

Your friends at The John Birch Society

COMMENT: YES - I support this initiative by The John Birch Society. Increasing the cost of producing cement as the government is proposing new 'investments' in public infrastructure does NOT benefit the American taxpayer by adding significant costs to the purchase of cement. Without a doubt, the costs of additional 'compliance' will be passed on to consumers (if you're pouring a slab to make a patio it won't be that much (MAYBE), but if building a new concrete parking garage increases in cost the consumer will have either higher parking prices to pay, smaller garages or smaller spaces for their vehicles to park in, or neither because the risk to the investor does not justify the expense. Sidewalks in your neighborhood -- they'll cost more, raising your PROPERTY TAXES. Sidewalks in major cities - probably covered by some 'earmark' and funded by the federal taxpayer -- a lot more expensive. Higher taxes and costs to the taxpaying public at a time when your nation CANNOT AFFORD IT.

EPA Sets First National Limits to Reduce Mercury and Other Toxic Emissions from Cement Plants

2011-10-06T10:07:00.001-05:00

COMMENT: It sounds like a 'good thing' - the government protecting us from toxins and saving taxpayer dollars for healthcare. But is it? Ask yourself -- so how many people or children have been linked to mercury poisoning from any particular cement plant? Good question....the EPA doesn't know or it is such a small number that probably wouldn't support all this additional regulation. If it was a substantial number they would have included it in the reasons for reducing these pollutants - but they didn't. Is this an error of omission? (i.e. they forgot to list it) or Is this an error of commission? (i.e. they deliberately left it out because it is so low or non-existant that they couldn't justify or rationalize these regulations using these facts).

***********************
Release date: 08/09/2010

Contact Information: Enesta Jones, jones.enesta@epa.gov,
WASHINGTON –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing final rules that will protect Americans’ health by cutting emissions of mercury, particle pollution and other harmful pollutants from Portland cement manufacturing, the third-largest source of mercury air emissions in the United States. The rules are expected to yield $7 to $19 in public health benefits for every dollar in costs. Mercury can damage children’s developing brains, and particle pollution is linked to a wide variety of serious health effects, including aggravated asthma, irregular heartbeat, heart attacks, and premature death in people with heart and lung disease.
"Americans throughout the country are suffering from the effects of pollutants in our air, especially our children who are more vulnerable to these chemicals," EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said. "This administration is committed to reducing pollution that is hurting the health of our communities. With this historic step, we are going a long way in accomplishing that goal. By reducing harmful pollutants in the air we breathe, we cut the risk of asthma attacks and save lives."

This action sets the nation’s first limits on mercury air emissions from existing cement kilns, strengthens the limits for new kilns, and sets emission limits that will reduce acid gases. This final action also limits particle pollution from new and existing kilns, and sets new-kiln limits for particle and smog-forming nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.

When fully implemented in 2013, EPA estimates the annual emissions will be reduced:

· Mercury – 16,600 pounds or 92 percent
· Total hydrocarbons – 10,600 tons or 83 percent
· Particulate Matter – 11,500 tons or 92 percent
· Acid gases – (measured as hydrochloric acid): 5,800 tons or 97 percent
· Sulfur dioxide (SO2)– 110,000 tons or 78 percent
· Nitrogen oxides (NOx) – 6,600 tons or 5 percent

Mercury in the air eventually deposits into water, where it changes into methylmercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish. People are primarily exposed to mercury by eating contaminated fish. Because the developing fetus is the most sensitive to the toxic effects of methylmercury, women of childbearing age and children are regarded as the populations of greatest concern.
EPA estimates that the rules will yield $6.7 billion to $18 billion in health and environmental benefits, with costs estimated at $926 million to $950 million annually in 2013. Another EPA analysis estimates emission reductions and costs will be lower, with costs projected to be $350 million annually.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3pfpr.html

SEE TOMORROW'S POSTING FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

Might is Right?

2011-10-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

"The most dangerous thing about power is to employ it where it is not applicable."
--David Halberstam, American journalist and author--

Who was he?

David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 – April 23, 2007) was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.
...
In 1991, Halberstam wrote The Next Century, in which he argued that, after the end of the Cold War, the United States was likely to fall behind economically to other countries such as Japan and Germany.
.
{COMMENT: 20 years later, not quite true, though Japan's economy has been sluggish for the last decade and Germany is bearing the weight of the EU (European Union) on its financial shoulders}
.
.
.
Reference - more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Halberstam

Truth

2011-10-04T14:59:00.000-05:00

"If you tell the truth, you have infinite power supporting you; but if not, you have infinite power against you."
--Charles Gordon,
British army officer

*****

British general Charles Gordon became a national hero for his exploits in China and his ill-fated defence of Khartoum against Sudanese rebels.

Charles Gordon was born on 28 January 1833, the son of a senior army officer. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852. He distinguished himself in the Crimean War (1853 - 1856) and in 1860 volunteered for the 'Arrow' war against the Chinese. In May 1862 Gordon's corps of engineers was assigned to strengthen the European trading centre of Shanghai, which was threatened by the insurgents of the Taiping Rebellion. A year later he became commander of the 3,500-man peasant force raised to defend the city. During the next 18 months Gordon's troops played an important role in suppressing the Taiping uprising.

He returned to England in January 1865, where an enthusiastic public had already dubbed him 'Chinese Gordon'. In 1873, he was appointed governor of the province of Equatoria in the Sudan. Between April 1874 and December 1876 he mapped the upper Nile and established a line of stations along the river as far south as present day Uganda. He was then promoted to governor general, where he asserted his authority, crushing rebellions and suppressing the slave trade. However, ill health forced him to resign and return to England in 1880 before travelling once more to places including India, China and South Africa.

In February 1884 Gordon returned to the Sudan to evacuate Egyptian forces from Khartoum threatened by Sudanese rebels led by Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi. Khartoum came under siege the next month and on 26 January 1885 the rebels broke into the city, killing Gordon (apparently against al-Mahdi's instructions) and the other defenders. The British relief force arrived two days later. The British public reacted to his death by acclaiming 'Gordon of Khartoum', who had had a strong Christian faith, a martyred warrior-saint and by blaming the government, particularly William Gladstone, for failing to relieve the siege. However, historians have since suggested that Gordon defied orders and refused to evacuate Khartoum even though it remained possible until late in the siege.

References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/gordon_general_charles.shtml
http://www.melik.org.uk/articles/soldiers-of-the-nile/

For history buffs - http://www.melik.org.uk/:

The aim of the Melik Society is to advance public awareness of Anglo-Sudanese history in the period 1883-1956 through the restoration and preservation of the river gunboat Melik and the paddle steamer Bordein.

***************

COMMENT: So what does this have to do with the USA and Defigo Postremo?

This summer the Sudan, one of the largest countries in Africa separated into TWO new countries - Northern Sudan and Southern Sudan. Divided in part because of differences between the Muslim north and the Christian south and even more by the $$$(money) associated with oil exploration and findings along what is now the border region between these two new countries. General Charles Gordon fought and died in the Sudan to end the slave trade but the slave trade still exists TODAY in this region and is one of the other factors involved in the division of Sudan into two new countries.

Those who don't know history are bound to repeat it.

Marshall Plan (1948)

2011-10-03T09:39:00.001-05:00

Assist recovery, but don't micromanage it......read our history for success stories like this one:
On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. It became known as the Marshall Plan, named for Secretary of State George Marshall, who in 1947 proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe.

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/

I need not tell you gentlemen that the world situation is very serious. That must be apparent to all intelligent people. I think one difficulty is that the problem is one of such enormous complexity that the very mass of facts presented to the public by press and radio make it exceedingly difficult for the man in the street to reach a clear appraisement of the situation. Furthermore, the people of this country are distant from the troubled areas of the earth and it is hard for them to comprehend the plight and consequent reaction of the long-suffering peoples, and the effect of those reactions on their governments in connection with our efforts to promote peace in the world.

In considering the requirements for the rehabilitation of Europe the physical loss of life, the visible destruction of cities, factories, mines, and railroads was correctly estimated, but it has become obvious during recent months that this visible destruction was probably less serious than the dislocation of the entire fabric of European economy. For the past 10 years conditions have been highly abnormal. The feverish maintenance of the war effort engulfed all aspects of national economics. Machinery has fallen into disrepair or is entirely obsolete. Under the arbitrary and destructive Nazi rule, virtually every possible enterprise was geared into the German war machine. Long-standing commercial ties, private institutions, banks, insurance companies and shipping companies disappeared, through the loss of capital, absorption through nationalization or by simple destruction. In many countries, confidence in the local currency has been severely shaken. The breakdown of the business structure of Europe during the war was complete. Recovery has been seriously retarded by the fact that 2 years after the close of hostilities a peace settlement with Germany and Austria has not been agreed upon. But even given a more prompt solution of these difficult problems, the rehabilitation of the economic structure of Europe quite evidently will require a much longer time and greater effort than had been foreseen.

There is a phase of this matter which is both interesting and serious. The farmer has always produced the foodstuffs to exchange with the city dweller for the other necessities of life. This division of labor is the basis of modern civilization. At the present time it is threatened with breakdown. The town and city industries are not producing adequate goods to exchange with the food-producing farmer. Raw materials and fuel are in short supply. Machinery is lacking or worn out. The farmer or the peasant cannot find the goods for sale which he desires to purchase. So the sale of his farm produce for money which he cannot use seems to him unprofitable transaction. He, therefore, has withdrawn many fields from crop cultivation and is using them for grazing. He feeds more grain to stock and finds for himself and his family an ample supply of food, however short he may be on clothing and the other ordinary gadgets of civilization. Meanwhile people in the cities are short of food and fuel. So the governments are forced to use their foreign money and credits to procure these necessities abroad. This process exhausts funds which are urgently needed for reconstruction. Thus a very serious situation is rapidly developing which bodes no good for the world. The modern system of the division of labor upon which the exchange of products is based is in danger of breaking down.

The truth of the matter is that Europe's requirements for the next 3 or 4 years of foreign food and other essential products -- principally from America -- are so much greater than her present ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help, or face economic, social, and political deterioration of a very grave character.

The remedy lies in breaking the vicious circle and restoring the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole. The manufacturer and the farmer throughout wide areas must be able and willing to exchange their products for currencies the continuing value of which is not open to question.

Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned, the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. Such assistance, I am convinced, must not be on a piecemeal basis as various crises develop. Any assistance that this Government may render in the future should provide a cure rather than a mere palliative. Any government that is willing to assist in the task of recovery will find full cooperation, I am sure, on the part of the United States Government. Any government which maneuvers to block the recovery of other countries cannot expect help from us. Furthermore, governments, political parties, or groups which seek to perpetuate human misery in order to profit therefrom politically or otherwise will encounter the opposition of the United States.

It is already evident that, before the United States Government can proceed much further in its efforts to alleviate the situation and help start the European world on its way to recovery, there must be some agreement among the countries of Europe as to the requirements of the situation and the part those countries themselves will take in order to give proper effect to whatever action might be undertaken by this Government. It would be neither fitting nor efficacious for this Government to undertake to draw up unilaterally a program designed to place Europe on its feet economically. This is the business of the Europeans. The initiative, I think, must come from Europe. The role of this country should consist of friendly aid in the drafting of a European program so far as it may be practical for us to do so. The program should be a joint one, agreed to by a number, if not all European nations.

An essential part of any successful action on the part of the United States is an understanding on the part of the people of America of the character of the problem and the remedies to be applied. Political passion and prejudice should have no part. With foresight, and a willingness on the part of our people to face up to the vast responsibilities which history has clearly placed upon our country, the difficulties I have outlined can and will be overcome.

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Transcription courtesy of the U.S. Department of State's Information USA website.

Abraham Lincoln

2011-10-02T07:27:00.001-05:00

"I walk slowly, but I never walk backward."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Transcript of Gettysburg Address (1863)

Executive Mansion,
Washington, , 186 .

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal"

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow, this ground-- The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

It is rather for us, the living, ~~to stand here,~~ we here be dedica-ted to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln, Draft of the Gettysburg Address: Nicolay Copy. Transcribed and annotated by the Lincoln Studies Center, Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois. Available at Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Washington, D.C.: American Memory Project, [2000-02]), http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/malhome.html.

NASA - October 1 Marks NASA's Anniversary

2011-10-01T07:32:00.006-05:00

COMMON SENSE - Thomas Paine

2011-09-30T06:08:00.000-05:00

"A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government; and government without a constitution is power without a right. All power exercised over a nation, must have some beginning. It must be either delegated, or assumed. There are not other sources. All delegated power is trust, and all assumed power is usurpation. Time does not alter the nature and quality of either."

Ronald Reagan

2011-09-29T13:52:00.000-05:00

"If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, the we will be a nation gone under."

Arab Spring

2011-09-29T13:28:00.001-05:00

"The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution."
--Hannah Arendt, German-American political theorist

What was there?.....WhatWasThere.com

2011-09-28T15:08:00.000-05:00

Google Street View is great for getting an instant look at what a specific location looks like now, but what if you wanted to see that same location 50 years ago, or 100?

The new site WhatWasThere.com aims to help do just that by letting users upload a tagged photograph of any building from any era to match its current location. The result is a remarkable view of our constantly evolving built environment.

Type in a geographic location on the site's main page, and you're then led to a map of that location with a column of photos on the left side that have their year and building name or site description listed. After selecting a photo, you're given the option of viewing the photograph layered over the same location today, via Google Street View. Adjusting the fade option one direction or the other helps you see how much the site has or has not changed.

The more users contribute photographs to the site, the better chance there is to fully experience what entire downtowns or even entire cities were like throughout their histories.

Sustainability - why do we have to legislate it if it is 'so' good and beneficial?

2011-09-28T08:50:00.000-05:00

There's a federal website that address sustainability issues:
http://www.fedcenter.gov/programs/sustainability/

The Sustainability Program Area includes the latest guidance, examples, and information resources to aid Federal facilities in developing and maintaining sustainable facilities and helping to develop and promote sustainable practices within their environmental programs or activities.
Both Executive Order (EO) 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management, dated 24 January 2007 and EO 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, dated 5 October 2009 include sustainable practices which Federal agencies are urged to implement. In addition, EO 13423 and 13514 established the following processes and management tools to aid in the implementation of the sustainable practices detailed in the EOs:

Identification of a Federal Environmental Executive;
Identification of an Agency Senior Sustainability Officer; and
Establishment of the interagency Steering Committee on Federal Sustainability which consists of the Federal Environmental Executive and the Agency Senior Suitability Officers.

Every Federal agency is required to develop and submit to the CEQ Chair and the OMB Director an agency-specific Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan on 2 June 2010. This plan is also required to be updated annually.
EO 13514, Section 19 provides the following definitions applicable to this Program Area:

Agency - an executive agency as defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code, excluding the Government Accountability Office (EO 13514, Section 19(b)).
Sustainability and Sustainable - to create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirement of present and future generations of Americans (EO 13423, Section 9 and EO 13514, Section 19(l)).

For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and procurement, please see the Acquisition Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and chemical management, please see the Chemical Management Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and electronics stewardship, please see the Electronics Stewardship Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and EMS, please see the EMS Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and energy, please see the Energy Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and greenhouse gases (GHG), please see the Greenhouse Gases Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and high performance buildings, please see the High Performance Buildings Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and natural resources, please see the Natural Resources Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and NEPA, please see the NEPA Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and pollution prevention, please see the Pollution Prevention Program Area.
For guidance pertaining to EO 13514 and transportation, please see the Transportation Program Area.

Please use the links above to quickly jump to the information area needed or scroll down to view all items.

Oppose UN Arms Trade Treaty - from The John Birch Society

2011-09-28T05:30:00.015-05:00

The United Nations is planning on its Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) being finalized in 2012, after this mid-July saw another session of talks of the Third Preparatory Committee on the ATT. The UN’s ATT final agreement negotiations set for four weeks next summer will be under slightly different rules of “consensus” rather than a majority vote. With over 100 arms-control organizations in attendance and lobbying hard this year, a consensus for the ATT will easily be reached.

Many of the arms-control groups like Amnesty International (AI) and Control Arms pushing for the ATT are blatant about their goals. A spokesman for Control Arms says all arms and all weapons deals must be controlled. AI insists the biggest arms suppliers are the United States, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, the UK and Italy. However they ignore the worst transgressors of illegal trafficking like Russia and Albania.

UN apologists keep insisting that the ATT will not affect Americans’ ability to purchase or use guns. Using terms like “inflammatory,” “rabble-rousing,” and “fear-mongering,” to describe any opposition to the ATT in the press, their own rhetoric has been debunked by more than one source. It is quite clear, then, that the UN’s propaganda machine may not be accomplishing its usual goals.

The National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre was able to deliver some rather pointed remarks at the UN meeting on the ATT. LaPierre detailed the objections of many Americans with the most notable being:

We are told "Trust us; an ATT will not ban possession of any civilian firearms." Yet, the proposals and statements presented to date have argued exactly the opposite, and - perhaps most importantly - proposals to ban civilian firearms ownership have not been rejected.

We are told "Trust us; an ATT will not interfere with state [a nation's] domestic regulation of firearms." Yet, there are constant calls for exactly such measures.
We are told "Trust us; an ATT will only affect the illegal trade in firearms." But then we're told that in order to control the illegal trade, all states [nations] must control the legal firearms trade.

We are told, "Trust us; an ATT will not require registration of civilian firearms." Yet, there are numerous calls for record-keeping, and firearms tracking from production to eventual destruction. That's nothing more than gun registration by a different name.

We are told, "Trust us; an ATT will not create a new international bureaucracy." Well, that's exactly what is now being proposed -- with a tongue-in-cheek assurance that it will just be a SMALL bureaucracy.

We are told, "Trust us; an ATT will not interfere with the lawful international commerce in civilian firearms." But a manufacturer of civilian shotguns would have to comply with the same regulatory process as a manufacturer of military attack helicopters.

Canada’s delegation tried to have civilian firearms exempted from the treaty with the very narrow clause “small arms have certain legitimate civilian uses, including sporting, hunting, and collecting purposes,” submitted for approval; but it wasn’t, proving once again the UN’s complete disarmament doctrine is at the core of the ATT.

A Second Amendment watchdog organization, the Second Amendment Foundation, has issued a warning that many of the details and definitions, requirements and regulations of the treaty have not yet been worked out, but will most likely be conducted behind closed doors.

It’s more than a little hypocritical that the Obama Administration is willing to cede control of private Americans’ small arms ownership and use to the United Nations under the guise of ending gun running, given the Obama Administration’s ATF and DOJ’s own alleged roles in the largest and most scandalous gun trafficking case ever. A simple reminder to our Senators about “Project Gunrunner” and “Operation Fast and Furious,” which saw guns trafficked to Mexico apparently with U.S. government approval and collusion and with disastrous results, should be enough to stop the Arms Trade Treaty. This could be a pivotal 2012 election issue; help make it one.

Contact your Senators, remind them that our hard won and vigilantly preserved constitutional protections should never be interpreted or submitted to the whims or the planned agenda of any global organization, much less the useless and untrustworthy UN. And get them to sign on to Senator Jerry Moran’s (R-Kansas) letter to President Obama that so aptly opposes the treaty: “We agree that sales and transfers to criminals and terrorists are unacceptable, but we will oppose any treaty that places the burden of controlling crime and terrorism on law-abiding Americans, instead of where it belongs: on the culpable member states of the United Nations who have failed to take the necessary steps to block trafficking that is already illegal under existing laws and agreements.”

Thanks,

Your friends at The John Birch Society

“The Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act”

2011-09-27T14:21:00.000-05:00

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=7105

Friday, September 23, 2011

On September 21, Senators Jim Webb (D-Va.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) introduced S. 1588 -- “The Recreational Land Self –Defense Act.” S. 1588 is the Senate companion bill to H.R. 1865, and is designed to protect the rights of gun owners on lands owned or managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Legislation that made it legal to possess firearms for self-defense on National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System lands greatly expanded the places where law-abiding Americans can legally carry firearms for self-defense. However, that change in the law did not include millions of acres of recreational land managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps owns or manages over 11.7 million acres, including 400 lakes and river projects, 90,000 campsites, and 4,000 miles of trails.
After passage of the change in carry regulations for National Parks, the Army Corps released a statement that read: “Public Law 111-024 does not apply to Corps projects of facilities . . . It [the Army Corps] will continue to prohibit loaded concealed weapons on Corps properties regardless of the new law and notwithstanding any contrary provisions of state law.”

S. 1588 will reverse this Army Corps policy and prohibit the Secretary of the Army from enforcing any regulation that prohibits gun possession in compliance with state law on Corps projects and lands. The legislation would not, however, allow firearms in federal facilities such as Army Corps headquarters, Corps research facilities, or lock and dam buildings.

This important legislation is another step in the removal of a patchwork of laws that prohibit or restrict where law-abiding people may legally carry a firearm for self-defense.

“Gun owners need to know that they can exercise their Second Amendment rights when they are legally camping, hiking or fishing in our nation’s parks and recreational lands,” said Senator Webb.

“This bipartisan bill would provide consistent rules for all federal lands rather than the current patchwork of regulations where the Army Corps has different rules than the Parks Service.”

"Gun owners must be allowed to defend themselves on federal lands. This is important to protecting our constitutional rights and we owe it to law abiding gun owners to address this national gun issue,” said Senator Boozman.

*************************

"Laws directed against opinions affect the generous-minded rather than the wicked, and are adapted less for coercing criminals than for irritating the upright."

-- Baruch Spinoza
(1632-1677)
Source: cited in Atlantic Monthly, January 1955 http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Baruch.Spinoza.Quote.30EB

Thomas Jefferson

2011-09-26T13:15:00.000-05:00

"Whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers....a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy."