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by Russel D. Longcore, DumpDC

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence, 1776

Jefferson wrote that the People had a duty to “throw off” a despotic government.

“Throw off.”

That sounds to me like a somewhat unfriendly separation. It doesn’t sound particularly cordial. It also makes me think that the throwee ain’t exactly thrilled about getting thrown off and might take exception to the decision of the throwers.

The quote above is only once sentence from the Declaration of Independence. But it is one of the most seminal thoughts and principles of the document. Let’s take it apart and consider its words, their meanings, and the consequences.

“…A long train of abuses and usurpations…”
In 1776 that was the caprice of King George III as he and his Parliament created laws that affected the colonies in ways that did not affect any other Englishmen. Those laws included the Stamp Act, various taxes and tariffs, prohibitions on imports and exports, more and more taxes, Redcoats patrolling American streets, the suspension of habeas corpus, and requiring those charged with crimes to travel back to England for trial.

Today, Washington has ignored the strictures of the Constitution of the United States, and has done so for over a hundred years.

It violates the First Amendment. There are plenty of laws that abridge free speech, not the least of which is the Patriot Act.

It violates the Second Amendment by enacting laws and regulations infringing on the rights of the people to keep and bear arms, simultaneously destroying the militia and making citizens less safe and states less secure.

It violates the Fourth Amendment through internet surveillance, airport searches and warrantless searches.

It violates the Fifth Amendment by rendition of American citizens without due process and IRS double jeopardy prosecutions. You also are compelled to be a witness against yourself every time you sign your tax return.

It violates the Sixth Amendment as no one gets a speedy trial.

It violates the Seventh Amendment when it does not protect the right to jury trial, but allows judges or administrative bodies to adjudicate cases.

It violates the Eighth Amendment as excessive bails and fines are imposed regularly.

It violates the Ninth Amendment as it ignores certain rights retained by the People.

It violates the Tenth Amendment by accruing to itself powers not delegated to it, and others reserved to the States and the People.

Need I go on? There are seventeen more Amendments.

“…pursuing invariably the same object…” What was that object? The object was to milk the maximum revenue from the colonies as possible. England had won the Seven Years War from 1756 to 1763 and were heavily saddled with war debt. So the more taxes and tariffs that King George laid on the colonies, the more the colonists rebelled. Then, the King made still more laws to bring the rebels to heel.

Washington’s object today is much the same. It has a crushing war debt as well as a crushing domestic debt load. Then add the mind-boggling financial liabilities, like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae and the total comprises nearly 1000% more than the entire Gross Domestic Product of the USA. Then consider the ramifications of laws like The Patriot Act.

“…evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism…” To evince is to show clearly. Colonists could see clearly that King George’s taxes and laws, designed only for the colonies, were a design to reduce their rights as free Englishmen and confiscate their wealth without due process.

Today’s long train of abuses and usurpations coming from Washington evince a design to accomplish the same objects by turning the Constitution on its head. The Federal Government of the USA started with very limited roles and clear restrictions. Washington’s design has been to acknowledge no restrictions on its power and to accomplish anything it desires.

“…it is their right, it is their duty…” American citizens may have rights that they do not exercise. But that is different than duty. Many Americans consider that military service is a duty, and there is nothing in the Constitution that states anything of the sort. But find me a person who argues with the content of the Declaration of Independence. If you run into a person who is against secession, show them the Declaration and see what they do with fulfilling their duty.

“…to throw off such government…” The process of state nullification does not throw off government. It merely attempts to control the actions of the government, and to nullify its unconstitutional laws while staying a part of the whole. Throwing off such government can only mean secession, which is the act of withdrawing formally from the United States of America.

“…and to provide new guards for their future security.” To explain this, we return to the Declaration for another quote: “whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”

For the People to provide new guards for their future security can only mean to institute new government. That precludes and omits any continuing relationship with the old government.

That means secession.

State secession is the only reasonable, logical and pragmatic solution to overcome the absolute despotism and criminal tyranny pouring out of Washington, DC.

 
 
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by: Clifford F. Thies

"I am making a prediction right now that the Republican Party will take both houses of Congress" -- Dick Morris

Ten seats down, with the Vice President being a Democrat, it does not seem possible for the Republicans to take the U.S. in 2010. Yet, Dick Morris says they will.

Video of Morris on Hannity at FreedomsLighthouse.com

Morris names the seats he believes the GOP will take in the Senate: Six fairly easy pickups according to Morris - Dodd in Connecticut, Delaware, Reid in Nevada, Lincoln in Arkansas, Specter in Pennsylvania, and Colorado. He believes the Governor of North Dakota could run and beat Dorgan, and that Rudy Giuliani can run and beat Gillibrand in New York. Morris also thinks Kirk can win in Illinois to take that seat and that Fiorina can beat Boxer in California. That's a pickup of 10. He also mentioned three other seats that could be in play - Washington, New Jersey and Oregon.I have been looking at recent polling data for some of the contests, the tendency of the state in Presidential elections, and a summary of the opinions of the pundits (not including Morris).

I agree with Morris about the AR, CO, CT, DE, IL, NV, NY (if Giuliani runs), ND (if Hoeven runs) and PA. That's nine. More correctly, I should say 7 to 9, assuming Republicans win in every state in which they are at least a toss-up, including win in four states - KY, MO, NH and OH - where Republicans seats are in play.

So, how does Morris get to 11? First, he thinks Carly Fiorina can defeat Barbara Boxer in California. Second, he thinks Republicans could maybe win in one or more of: NJ, OR and WI. If we assume Morris meant to say OR, WA and WI, he would at least be making some sense. I think all four of these seats are a bit out of reach or, to use the expression Morris used, "second tier" opportunities. The difference between California and the other three states in this category is that we have a candidate with star power, who could maybe re-shuffle the deck.

On the other hand, winning the House and picking up at least 5 seats in the Senate would be a spectacular victory.

 
Defector Specter 04/29/2009
 

Wow! Is there anything that I could say that hasn't been repeated again and again in the news?  Arlen Specter- Good Riddance!  The man is part of the problem whether he is Republican or Democrat.  Anyone who thinks that spending 29 years in Congress is something to brag about is severely delusional to the state of this Nation.  I am and have always been an advocate for Congressional term limits and people like Specter are exactly the reason why.  Specter has switched to the Dem side because he believes that he DESERVES that Senate seat.  If Republicans won't vote for him, he'll get Democrats to.  Is he that dedicated to helping his constituents?  Of course not!  He thinks because he has been in Congress for 29 years, it is his right to return.  I personally would love to see the entire Republican Party unite as one and do everything within our power to make sure that Specter does not get re-elected.  Republicans from around the Country should travel to PA and campaign for Pat Toomey.  By defeating Specter, it would send a strong message to both Democrats as well as Opportunists everywhere. (Mike Bloomberg, are you listening?)  I don't think there are any Republicans shedding a tear about Specter.  The Senator has abandoned his principles and dignity long ago to appease special interests and lobbyists of all sorts just like all Politicians do when they serve for endless terms.  Specter has acquired money and power in his three decades of serving himself and he will do whatever is possible to hold on to the corrupt position which he has for so long served.  He has control over many things, but the People still have the last say and let's hope that they see this opportunist for what he is and make the right decision in the next election.

 
 

by Thomas Craig

Recently, a Bill by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) has proposed a "rescue" of American Newspapers.  His Bill would allow certain newspapers to restructure as a non-profit, allowing several tax breaks to help strengthen the industry at the cost of the taxpayers.  Obviously this was only a matter of time.  Every industry out there is in line for their own bailout.  I'm not opposed to this for the reason that many others are.  Lots of Conservatives fear this would cement these newspapers as Liberal mouthpieces.  This Bill would in fact stipulate that any newspapers receiving federal money would be restricted from making any political endorsements.  Why newspapers, which are supposed to be objective, endorse any candidate in the first place is another topic.  Every morning I read the newspaper on my way into work.  Every night I ride the train home and look at nothing but my blackberry and read the news from there.  Nine out of every ten people on my train also are reading from their phones, and most of them are doing that in the morning and the night.  Perhaps we can consider the fall of our newspapers as a sign of innovationa nd technology.  News up-to-the-minute is superior to news a day old.  Instead of going in depth on this, here is one of the greatest scripted speeches in movie history.  This is from the film "Other People's Money", and is spoken by Danny Devito to a room full of shareholders of a company he is trying to dissolve.  It rings true to Sen. Cardin's Bill.

"This company is dead.     
I didn't kill it. Don't blame me.             
It was dead when I got here. It's too late for prayers. For even if the prayers were answered and a miracle occurred . . . and the yen did this and the dollar did that . . . and the infrastructure did the other thing, we would still be dead.   
You know why?        
Fiber optics. New technologies. Obsolescence.          
We're dead, all right. We're just not broke.         
And do you know the surest way to go broke?              
Keep getting an increasing share of a shrinking market. Down the tubes. Slow but sure.                
You know, at one time there must have been dozens of companies making buggy whips. And I'll bet the last company around was the one that made the best goddamn buggy whip you ever saw.  Now, how would you have liked to have been a stockholder in that company?                  
You invested in a business, and this business is dead. Let's have the intelligence--let's have the decency--to sign the death certificate, collect the insurance, and invest in something with a future.
                  
"But we can't," goes the prayer. "We can't, because we have a responsibility, a responsibility to our employees, to our community. What will happen to them?"               
I got two words for that: who cares?                   
Care about them? Why? They didn't care about you. They sucked you dry. You have no responsibility to them. For the last ten years, this company bled your money. Did this community ever say, "We know times are tough. We'll lower taxes, reduce water and sewer"? Check it out. You're paying twice what you did ten years ago.          
And our devoted employees who have taken no increases for the past three years . . . are still making twice what they made ten years ago.   
And our stock, one-sixth what it was ten years ago.        
Who cares?       
I'll tell you.        
Me.   
I'm not your best friend. I'm your only friend.   
I don't make anything? I'm making you money.


And lest we forget, that's the only reason any of you became stockholders in the first place. You want to make money. You don't care if they manufacture wire and cable, fried chicken, or grow tangerines! You wanna make money!         
I'm the only friend you've got. I'm making you money.
Take the money. Invest it somewhere else. Maybe . . . maybe you'll get lucky, and it'll be used productively. And if it is, you'll create new jobs and provide a service for the economy and, God forbid, even make a few bucks for yourselves."



 
 

by Thomas Craig

The market is currently down almost 400 points.  Do you know why?  It's because of the clusterf*** on Capitol Hill.  Treasury Secretary Geithner is explaining his Plan about how they are forming a plan.  Its the Bank Plan about nothing!  Sen. Shelby (R-AL) seems to be the only one on the Senate Banking Committee who understands this.  Geithner is laying out an idea- an idea that the Banks need to be fixed.  How and when are not currently part of the plan.  This is unbelievable.  The market tanked today because the market has no clue what is going on.  Geithner wants to take troubled assets, sit on them like an egg, and then miraculously they are going to turn into gold.  Even if Geithners magic pixie dust does work, nobody in the private sector knows or understands what exactly is going on.  In the meantime, money is just going to keep being thrown at the problem.  The credit crisis and banking industry are in trouble and need help?  Well thank you Mr. Secretary.  America didn't realize that.  We do thank you for informing us that there is a plan to come up with a plan though.  It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.


 
 

I know the media is upset over the fact that Caroline Kennedy simply released a one line statement regarding her withdrawal as a candidate for New York Senator.  I for one believe it is to be expected.  Here is a woman who has never been elected to any public office, lacks the experience to serve in the Senate, and has proven to be so inarticulate that she could not convey one solid reason for the people of New York to support her.  Caroline, along with the rest of the Kennedy crew, actually believed that she should be appointed Senator merely because of her name.  Former Mayor Ed Koch went on television with his support and actually said "Think of the genetics!".  Is this what America has come to?  I would expect Germany circa 1930's-1940's to appoint leaders based on "genetics" but not the United States in 2009.  I did not get the memo that we are going to turn our back on over 200 years of history, and establish a royal family of America regardless of how much people like the Kennedys.  I recall a pundit also having the nerve to compare Caroline Kennedy with John Quincy Adams.  What drove me nuts was that NOBODY contradicted him.  John Quincy Adams was ELECTED to be President and later became a Senator.  Although I'm sure his name helped, he campaigned for the positions and was elected.  Let us not forget the fact that he had been playing active role's in our early government since he was a boy.  His credentials were significantly more impressive than Caroline's achievement of writing a book.

It is her royal attitude which made her believe she has a right to be the NY Junior Senator and it is that same royal attitude which makes her believe that she owes the people of New York no explanation to why she has withdrawn her name.  How dare the media expect her to lower herself so much as to speak to the commoners. 

 

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