"...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of 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."-- The Declaration of Independence
www.archives.gov
Recently Congressman Pete Stark made news with his fiery speech about Bush wanting to blow up innocent kids for Bush's personal amusement. Unfortunately, Stark caved in through pressure from Bush's appeasers on both sides of the aisle (and probably a barrage of phone calls stoked by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck). In his apology speech he said that he hoped his mea culpa would allow him to “become as insignificant as [he] should be.”
Now, I ask you, how does Congressman Stark being "insignificant" in congress serve his constituents and the nation? Do we want our representatives to just go through the motions of pretending to be working for the people and thus serving to help legitimize this illegal government? That is called enabling and reflects a similar time when in Nazi Germany the Reichstag passed a law called the Enabling Act, which gave Hitler dictatorial powers and made Germany's legislators obsolete. Is this what Stark and the Democrats are doing?
Many of us have already figured out that the democrats are acting as co-conspirators against the American people and the Constitution. As proof we just can look at the recently passed bill (HR 1955) titled the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, sponsored by Democrat Jane Harmon. The vote for passage in the House of Representatives was 404 ayes to 6 nays and 22 representatives not voting. Eleven of the fifteen sponsors of this bill are Democrats. There are three main components to defining who is a homegrown terrorist in this bill:
VIOLENT RADICALIZATION- the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.
HOMEGROWN TERRORISM- the use, planned use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group or individual born, raised, or based and operating primarily within the United States or any possession of the United States to intimidate or coerce the United States government, the civilian population of the United States, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
IDEOLOGICALLY BASED VIOLENCE- the use, planned use, or threatened use of force or violence by a group or individual to promote the group or individual's political, religious, or social beliefs.
www.govtrack.us
Why is this so scary? Well, if I help to promote an anti-war or 9/11 Truth event in front of the White House and someone (a provocateur?) shoves and injures a police officer, I could be liable for prosecution under this new law.
And, who gets to define what is an "extremist belief system"? The President? Jane Harmon's new committee? What about Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter or Bill O'Reilly?
Already Glenn Beck has called 9/11 Truthers "Timothy McVeigh" types, and Bill O'Reilly has called anti-war activists "America Haters" and dangerous (see videos below), even though there is no evidence that either of the groups are violently inclined.
No doubt there will now be agent provocateurs who will align themselves with Truthers or anti-war activists to implicate them in some future violent incidences. Let us not forget that Donald Rumsfeld advocated (created?) for an elite "counter-terrorism" group called P2OG that would provoke terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens in order to save U.S. citizens from terrorist attacks. According to sourcewatch.org:
"The Los Angeles Times has revealed the creation of an organisation by US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld called the 'Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group.' Its purpose is to 'bring together CIA and military covert action, information warfare, intelligence, and cover and deception'. The PPOG's role is to manufacture the terrorism that is to be combatted.It doesn't get any more Orwellian --and more self-fullfilling -- then this.
www.sourcewatch.org
So, let's thank the Democrats for helping to destroy the First Amendment and our rights to free speech. And, while we are at it, we can also thank them for refusing to investigate massive vote fraud in the last two presidential elections; refusing to consider impeachment of the President and Vice President, men who have committed gross international and domestic crimes; refusing to support a truly independent investigation into the crime of 9/11; refusing to stop financing the phony "War on Terror"; refusing to hold the President accountable for spying on the American people; refusing to insist that torture be stopped by this government; refusal to hold the President accountable for calling the Constitution "just a goddamn piece of paper; refusal to uphold their oaths of office to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
We are effectively at a time when we should all be reading the Declaration of Independence for inspiration as to where we are in history and what we need to do next.
And here is Bill O'Reilly who says "9/11 Truthers hate America"
8 comments:
what we need to do next...
hack the networks
who'd a thunk that computer geeks would save the world, but that's our best shot- a nerdy teenager hacks cnn or fox or even hbo and gets 911 truth out to millions overnight. This would make headline news and force 9/11 truth to the forefront.
The first commenter hits on a real solution because America is running out of choices now and the above solution is a million times better than an armed uprising.
And the chinese use these to great efficiency as does the CIA so why not?
There are some of us here, that can see the plan forward, step by step, the triggering of a war with Iran, the dirty bomb, the lead up to the next election and Bush seizing power indefinetly and completing what his forefathers set out to do in the 1933 failed coup of America and place America under a fascist military dictatorship.
There are hackers out there, true hackers and not some script kiddie who may feel the same way, that can make a difference and all they have to do is steal ten minutes of airtime during prime viewing or an event.
Heck, even the next POTUS national address would be good.
Imagine ten minutes during superbowl... and how many people would see that.
So interesting, this government of ours. They operate like common thieves who prey upon the unfortunate, and then pretend they want to help, and never do. That's called fucking people over for no good reason, and it must make them feel good which is the scary part. Its too bad that more than 50% (my conservative guess) of U.S. citizens are actually "clueless" about the life that hangs around them. The recent bill Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 really is the New Law of this Land. It is sharp and pointed, and could poke you right in the eye, so avoid even thinking of tempting the New World Order. What should we do. Let's take this bill, and SWITCH the words like "individual, group, community" with the word U.S. Government. With this change, it then tells me that the U.S. gov has already assaulted us, and they are forcing their beliefs, socioeconomic remedies and idealogy on us. With force I might add. I would also state that the U.S. government is the "homegrown" (more like mutant) terrorist with their assault on our liberties and, our safety and happiness. So who will save us from this awful demise....? I'll let you know if I come across someone who will. Otherwise, enjoy for the present!
Cheers, there, Redpill8
Let me restate that...bravo on a fine post! This is not a Trojan Horse for another affair, but I find the following statement a fusion of a response to this post as well as an address to what I see as a related concern based upon observation of 9/11 movement events and actions. Disagreement may follow...
Just my two cents and a brief tangent to a good entry...feel free to erase, as I originally did to edit some typos and content.
While all this is true in your entry, and ridiculous that it is even so (from the USA PATRIOT Act to Dept. of Homeland Security, from suspension of Habeas Corpus to the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act), it has been obvious that 9/11 would be the blanket used to suffocate dissent and civil rights in America (and the impetus to commence wars of aggression and utilize torture). History shows that quite plainly from the Alien Sedition Acts to Lincoln's assault on due process and from the Espionage Act to Huac and COINTELPRO. War and false flags are used thusly. Your post is further evidence yet again. The Center for Constitutional Rights, the ACLU, the NLG, all have shown this as well in the wake of 9/11.
Of course, anyone that challenges the Grand Narrative throughout history and into the present has been and will be attacked and marginalized. That pattern is longstanding. However, I must suggest a side discussion related to tactics dealing with this post's theme and how 9/11 activists play into the troubles that result.
Some "truthers" may actually ask for such treatment in media with their dogmatic titles and actions, hero worship (evidenced in the last Grand Lake event in Oakland), and uncritical approaches to communicating. They play right in to the corporatist media propaganda at times (many examples leap to mind that I won't name here now). But, remember who watches these cable shows (and ignore many grassroot events)...and recall whom the hosts often invite on to ridicule. Naturally Beck and O'Really are pawns and rank amateur peddlers of smut. That's not new either, though (think James Callender and the Jefferson/Adams campaigns as an electoral example). It's to be expected. We should work around it, not dial into it. It's clearly a despotic measure, and I think I am merely stating the obvious to any objective or disinterested observer. But what to do about it? Some strategy that involves understanding media and propaganda is a place to start.
Further, while certainly a great notion, reading the Declaration doesn't mean people understand its implications or mythology, nor its historical context and varying interpretations. The New Brownshirts also use the founders for fodder and distort meanings willy nilly. I have students read these docs every semester and many of them have no idea what it means. I'm not kidding. Great advice to read them, but more will be required I'm afraid! And, the constitution doesn't enforce itself. We are living under a coup d'tat. Systemic changes and institutional action or reforms are cosmetic. Such is the genius of American fascism. Founding principles and resulting legislation look good to many, but often do little of what they claim without enforcement. Think house of cards on fire...we need to INVENT a new wheel, not reinvent the old flat tires.
I'd like to say- This was a great blog entry, I don't disagree with it at all. But I must again state that any movement (say, like 9/11) that claims to own the truth religiously and have people claim to be heroes is antithetical to the cause of truth pursuit as process to reveal the obvious unpretentiously to the rest of the world, not be wedded to conclusions, but illuminate alternate paths of consciousness. As many in the 9/11 scene have seen, the movement often begs to be attacked by corporatists if not ignored (that holds for progressives, too). You may find this a ranting tangent, but I find it to be all very connected to how we all handle current problems.
So- We need to be creative with our presentations, but, we need to be stealthy yet direct. We need to be less proselytizing and more to point out facts, fewer emotions and theater, more logic and disinterested factual argumentation. We need to be proactive, not reactive. We need to frame the debate, not be the victims outside the frame. We need to push the movement with civic virtue, not the cult of personalities. That's what media play into to obscure and co-opt. Your post shows that again and again. So what to do...shine light on hope through knowledge and action, I suppose. But individually every day as well as by other means.
As for the Dems, they are Repugnant light. They are good cop to bad cop. They are complicit in most things, save for a few voices. Maybe the Repug impeachment vote will backfire, but I doubt it. Kucinich will be sold out. Has already been, by party and media alike. More of the same...but what to do, again? Impeachment, torture, the scam war on terror- all lies against truth as process of seeking enlightenment and growth over the stagnation of the status quo. The Declaration is as important for the Establishment to use as ruse over the masses as it is for the rest of us to believe its message and fight for its universal application. As it was in the beginning, so it shall be.
Perhaps we can take solace...
"All truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."
-Arthur Schoepenhouer
We are in dire times. We do need to act and do so intelligently. We need to think several moves ahead, not organize more reactive protest.
IMHO a point the 9/11 movement may consider as proactive/reaction and counter ploy through self examination. Memo: claiming ownership of the self-evident is like abusing the privilege of private property. Truth is something that needs to be shared as process, not used as a stick to beat the senseless as landlords pummel serfs. We need a phalanx of facts in a post fact world to dig out of obscurity and reverse an Orwellian users manual reality back to its roots as dystopic warning long forgotten, yet realized presciently.
We can only hope it is so sooner than later...
Last but not least which I cannot resist-
Remember, remember the 5th of November, but remember it in context for the present action against myth, not as a brand of haughty cool and indignant branding...that goes for Ron Paul, too.
Thanks for a great post! Always a pleasure! Sad news, but good to spread. Cheers for now...
Last moment of solace in dark times...apply liberally and equally to all.
“Truth comes as conqueror only to those who have lost the art of receiving it as friend.”
- Rabindranath Tagore
Mythinfo
I have been working to make people aware of the importance of the Independence declaration now for some time, it is not jus some piece of paper it is the definition and soul of the US.
It defines why America seceded, it defines the groundwork for the creation of the independent nation.
But the DoI is far more than this, it is a legal document, a contract between person and state and it is a document of empowerment.
It empowers an American citizen to take control when government goes crazy, it empowers the American citizen to recover democracy at times when it is stolen, it empowers EVERY US citizen to pick up a gun and fight for their nation and it charges every one with not just an expectation but a DUTY to do so.
It is rumoured that those involved in the failed 1933 US coup including Bush's forebears used the Declaration in their defence in the secret hearings, so why is it only available to them?
It is a grey untested legal area but one day it seems it must be tested, that if a citizen attempts to remove the highly illegal, criminal and anti-American government, with so much evidence to prove so, could he not do it in the name of independence?
You can literally tick off every grievance lobbied at King George the III on the DoI with Bush, he has exceeded the excesses of the Crown and then some, so why was it unacceptable then and acceptable NOW?
In V for Vendetta Bush drove the US into civil war but as the forefathers won through with, is that it is better to live free fighting than to live as prisoners cowed.
Viva lá revolution...
Mythinfo...
Thanks for the cogent analysis of some of the serious issues facing the movement today. You are right to point out that "Truth" activists and some anti-war activists are in the process of getting demonized for a potential crackdown. According to the powers that be we are "thought criminals" as we refuse to along with untruths, especially untruths that are designed to limit our ability to think rationally. This I find intolerable, almost more so then the obvious lies themselves.
You write: "We need to be less proselytizing and more to point out facts, fewer emotions and theater, more logic and disinterested factual argumentation. We need to be proactive, not reactive. We need to frame the debate, not be the victims outside the frame. We need to push the movement with civic virtue, not the cult of personalities."
Having a solid understanding of the facts helps mitigate some of natural inclination by people to ignore "truthers". If you yell "9/11 was an inside job!" with out providing evidence you will alienate lot's of people, but if you are cool-headed and rely with provable facts, you go a long way with credibility factor.
Thanks for the insights!
...and anon #3, thanks for the reminder the DoI is a contract between the people and the state and as such binding, but as MythInfo points out it really has to be explained to today's generation who has always seen Government as their protective daddy. Unfortunately, it's not until you catch Daddy in the act of incest do you begin to see the ugly realities.
I didn't know that the coup plotters in '33 used the Declaration as a legal defence. That's pretty interesting. Do you have a link to article about it?
Annonymous,
I agree 110% with your statement that it is time for another revolution.
You made a mis-statement on your last entry, however. You described the Declaration of Independence (DOI) as a contract between the people and the state. I'm guessing that by 'state' you meant 'government'; there is a legal difference. 'State' is just another word for 'people', and does not include the concept of government. It is not true that the DOI is a contract between people and 'government': there was no government at the time; the DOI was a contract amoung the people; the same is true relative to a constitution.
More, may I add ammunition to your call? Most people haven't a clue as to the enormous power availble to us thru the right of revolution (some call it the right of petition). I discovered it almost by accident; please see, http://redressofgrievance.biz/default.html.
Sincerely, Anthony
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