An American Hero Named Martha

You may think of the 1970's as 'old history' and of little significance, but step back in time with me and review episodes from the life of an American hero named Martha.

Martha Beall was born in 1918 Arkansas, the daughter of a cotton broker and teacher.  Delightfully friendly and extremely talkative, Martha made friends easily.  After college, her outgoing nature led to a short stint as a teacher and then to an administrative position at Pine Bluff Arsenal.  Her boss was Brigadier General A.M. Prentiss.

While working for General Prentiss, she met and married a young Army officer.  That marriage lasted about ten years but is not what catapulted Martha to fame. That came about with her second marriage, to a New York attorney named John Mitchell. Twenty years after their marriage John Mitchell became a member of Richard Nixon's cabinet, and Martha's 'extremely talkative' nature had found its purpose.

As Nixon's chicanery and shenanigans became darker and more secretive, Martha began calling newspaper reporters with insider information.  Nixon would later admit, 'without Martha, there would have been no Watergate scandal.'  Visualize, if you will, the heartburn an honest and outspoken woman could cause within a corrupt administration.  That was Martha Mitchell's legacy.

After she told reporters of being attacked and drugged by five White House aides led by Lea Jablonsky (Mitchell's secretary), Martha was referred to as 'delusional'  and 'hallucinating' by the White House press corp; it occurred so often that the 'Martha Mitchell Effect' became a well known psychiatric diagnosis.  The Oval Office 'leaked' a story about a 'drinking problem' in an effort to discredit her.   She became a pariah on Capitol Hill, a social outcast.  Her husband filed for divorce and gave her no settlement, despite nearly 20 years of marriage with children.

Martha Beall Mitchell's integrity never waivered.

Of course, John Mitchell was eventually convicted in the Watergate scandal; Nixon was drop kicked out of office.

Martha Mitchell was vindicated, but somewhere along the way, toward the end of the scandal, Martha developed an extremely rare bone cancer that would take her life in less than two years.  She did not consider it an accident of nature.

Did I mention the head of the FBI, Patrick Gray, was appointed by Nixon after the death of J. Edgar Hoover? That Gray was an 'outsider' with no FBI experience?   Or that Gray was directed by Nixon to interfere with the FBI's investigation of Watergate?  Dirty politics, many felt,  was behind Martha's curious diagnosis.  


Is anyone else thinking of the Clinton-era Vincent Foster case?  Or the derision faced by Ted Kennedy's first wife, Joan?  How about B. Hussein Obama's administration and its tendency to label critics as racist, unpatriotic liars?  


Obama said his administration would bring change, but it sounds like the same dirty politics to me.  How about you?

Where's Your Grit?

It's a sorry state of affairs when America is pitied and chastised.   Paul Ibbetson, former police chief,  asks a question few Americans could answer:  where is your grit?

America, where is your character, your pluck, your grit? If that question seems overly harsh and needlessly aggressive, then you are staring directly at the problem. This nation sits at the precipice of a fundamental, irreversible transformation that will make all too visible a new country that is incontrovertibly "one nation under a spineless, politically correct, brow-beaten, emasculated bunch of sheep."

Is that too harsh? If you believe my words are too offensive, that I should tone it down, possibly give contemplation to all opposing views from every potential angle, if not every position within the cosmos, then, you're actually staring at the real problem.

At a time when the country is faced with an administration that wishes to transform this country into a completely socialistic nation, Americans appear to be dangerously low on grit. Some would counter the statements I have posited, as to the lack of American character in an obvious time of need, with the examples of the growing number of Americans that are participating in town halls, and the growing TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Parties. I applaud and participate in these events with great spirit and enthusiasm; however, they will not be the final weapon to defeat the forces that truly wish to destroy this nation.

I am not idealistic, nor need I be to understand the predicament this country is in and the chasm that divides where we have been as a nation, from where we are now. It is true that there have always been those within this great nation that carry within their heart desires that run counter to the betterment of the nation. We know them as the socialist, the communist, the anarchist, and all others that share similar desires that run counter to the best laid plans of our country and its founding fathers.

The presence (if not the appearance today) of these jackals within the echelons of power and influence is not a product of a sudden massive influx of anti-American cohorts, but of the effect of a slow, yet progressive, erosion of our true national character. The growing masses that make up the groups of opposition fighting for the survival of the nation today in the TEA Parties, among others, could double - if not triple - in time, and may ultimately be victorious against the current threat of the Barack Obama socialist machine. While you and I work and pray for this to come to reality, the matter of American character will still lie before us, as does our ultimate destiny.

In this struggle for the short term survival of the nation, as well as our place within history, I must admit a more than ample amount of animosity at the predicament we find ourselves in as a nation, including the timidity by many to provoke our enemies to anger - even while we are battling with these same foes for the future of all we hold dear.

Has the quest for individual character, moral value and spiritual salvation been permanently replaced with the need to acquiesce to moral relativism, atheism, and the will of the group collective? I pray that this is not so, while knowing full well that if we as a nation were in proper form, there would be little concern about the few who would be offended by a nation that quests for the divine while denying the alternative, socialist bonds.

I submit to you that as surely as an administration as unbelievably atrocious as that of Barack Obama could never have come to fruition in a country that carried the same national grit of the past, that we are equally destined to repeat the same calamitous scenario in the future - if we do not find this country's true American character - and firmly hold on to it.

Paul A. Ibbetson is a former Chief of Police, radio host, and author of the books 'Living Under The Patriot Act: Educating A Society,' and 'Feeding Lions: Sharing The Conservative Philosophy In A Politically Hostile World.'

Wars Do Not Simply End ...

 ...wars are WON or LOST.  Victory or Defeat.  There is no middle ground.

Here's To The Heroes

Let's re-energize our attempts to account for American prisoners of war and those missing in action.  It's time.

Contact your elected officials.   Ask them to renew
efforts to bring our lost heroes home.

Drive-Thru Citizenship?

I propose a Two Choice Plan for authors of the Amnesty Bill:  

1.  resign without benefits, or 

2.  be charged with treason.

We Don't Call 911

There is a lot of talk and some false information being spread about the Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act, also known as H.R. 45 and the Blair Holt Act.. Let's set the record straight.

First of all, the act will not require citizens to declare their firearms on the 2010 Income Tax form. That's the good news. It is the only good news about this act.

H.R. 45 is the brain ...ahh ..child of Illinois representative Bobby Rush, a man who went AWOL from the Army, formed the Chicago chapter of gun toting Black Panthers and did prison time on a weapons bust.  Some credentials.

The bill is named after Blair Holt--a Chicago honor student who stepped into a barrage of gang related gunfire to protect his friend, Tiarra Reed, from certain death. Tiarra survived; Blair Holt died on the tenth of May 2007. He was only sixteen years old.

I understand the terrible pain suffered by this teenager's family. Losing a child is the most horrific experience a parent can undergo; time will not ease the pain. I know. It's a lesson I learned 13, 550 days, 1 hour and 4 minutes ago--at the death of my daughter. Difficult as that experience was, I am comforted by the knowledge her loss did not become a political postiche.

H.R. 45 is just that: a shameful ploy to wrangle support for an anti-gun agenda. Of the 443 homicides in Chicago during 2007, how many rated the appearance of the congressman? Two, that I could find on record. Both were high profile murders of black teenagers: Blair Holt and Kiyanna Salter, who also attended Julian High and was also shot by a gun wielding maniac on a city bus.

As a point of reference, both children's funerals were attended by Jesse Jackson, an activist known for showing up if, and only if, television crews are there to record his outrage for posterity. But I digress...

The H.R. 45 Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act wants to place the following restrictions on firearm ownership:

• Require a permit to own any firearm with a detachable ammunition clip
• Require all sales of those firearms to go through licensed dealers
• Direct the Attorney General to build and maintain a database of all firearm sales
• Require all owners of firearms to store them securely

In order to get a permit to own or use a firearm the following conditions must be met:

• Provide current passport-like photograph
• Provide proof of name, address, date and place of birth
• Provide details on any alias or other name ever used
• Thumbprint
• Statement from applicant vowing all Federal requirements are met
• Statement from applicant regarding awareness of and ability to provide secure firearm storage
• Successful completion of knowledge and skill tests on the firearm and its operation
• Submit to testing on safe handling, reporting requirements, legal responsibilities
• Submit to testing on 'any other subjects the Attorney General deems appropriate'
• Authorize Attorney General or representative full access to the applicant's mental health records
• Payment of $25 fee

Allow me to digress once again, just long enough to point out 50,000,000 Americans own at least one firearm. In this area of Missouri, most everyone has a safe filled with handguns, rifles and shotguns. Like any good tool, they are taken out only when needed, then cleaned and return to the proper place.

Congressman Rush would have you think simple ownership equates to mischief and mayhem. Our kids are licensed hunters but not shooting their classmates; our neighbors are licensed hunters but not going postal. Still, Congressman Rush would have you believe that all our guns contribute to the crime in America. Not so. Local 'crime sprees' consist of teenagers bashing mailboxes. No graffiti. No murders. No home invasions. No gangs. One car theft a few years ago, by someone from out of state.

Why? We don't call 911.  Our peace of mind is provided by Smith & Wesson, Winchester and Glock ...not by triplicate forms and yearly fees.

It works for us as it worked for the Minute Men in 1774. It will work for you, too, unless Congress strips you of that right.

Think about it.









Resources:

Snopes
GovTrack
Open Congress
PoliceOne
State of Illinois
Chicago Tribune
Chicago Defender
The Capitol Fax Blog
WGN TV Chicago
Chicagoist
FBI

Unsung Hero - Jerry Berry

Welcome to the first of a series on neglected, forgotten
champions of America.  This unsung hero served on the side
of the Union during the Civil War,  and his name was Jerry Berry.

In a small rural cemetery, a very old graveyard dating to the early 1800's, there is a nondescript marker noting the final resting place of a United States Army veteran named Jerry Berry.

Not much is known about this man, just enough detail to drive a genealogist crazy with curiosity.  I will relate what little information is available.

'Ole Jerry Berry,' as he was known, was born on the 9th of September 1844 and died one day shy of his 95th birthday,  on 8 September 1939.   During his long and colorful life, Mr. Berry enlisted in the United States Army on the side of the Union and served as a bugler with Company 'E' of the 56th Infantry.   His unit saw quite a bit of action during 1864,  including Indian Bay on 13 April,  Muffleton Lodge on 29 June,  Wallace Ferry and  Big Creek on 26 July and various operations throughout Arkansas.

Somewhere along the line, Mr. Berry must have been wounded because he
mustered out as a private with a goodly pension that allowed him to return to civilian life as an independent man.

Mr. Berry settled in a tiny rural community on the banks of the Missouri River,  not far from a spot where Lewis & Clark camped on their historic journey.   In time, he married a girl named Octavia and produced one daughter they named Ollie.

Mr. Berry, his wife and daughter are buried close together on the edge of a rocky bluff overlooking the Missouri River.  Their markers rest, shaded by old oak and elm,  at the edge of peaceful meadow.  Curiously,  the area is devoid of monuments, ornate markers, benches or even flowers although many dozens of unmarked graves can be identified by depressions in the soft clay-based soil. At times, the  markers are overgrown with vegetation,  at least until groundskeepers on tractors mow over the top of them.  The minimum-wage workers couldn't care less about sharp steel blades slicing through soft, half-buried limestone.

This is not a Potters Field, set aside for use by indigent residents of the county, so why are the graves hidden and neglected?

Well, if you are a history buff, you know that the 56th Infantry was part of the United States Colored Troops.  Mr. Jerry Berry, veteran of the Civil War, was remanded to this least desirable and oft neglected tract simply because he was black.

There must be many hundreds of neglected burials of American veterans.  Such indifference is an insult to all veterans, past and present.  I'm open for suggestions on the best way to remedy this shameful situation.  Any ideas?

The truth is incontrovertible.

Panic may resent it,

Ignorance may deride it,

Malice may distort it,

But there it is.

--Winston Churchill

Resources:
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfmhttp://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/uncolinf3.htm
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~moandres/56th1.htm
http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/education/usct/usct_missouri.asp

Flag Burner Duct Taped To Flag Pole

Place:  Valley Falls, New York

Scene:  Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1938

A young man, obviously inebriated, stumbled into the VFW bar last Friday and tried to 
buy a couple drinks.  The bartender refused to serve him without proper identification.
The young man stumbles out the door and vows revenge.  "Ah HA! Their FLAG!  
That'll fix 'em!"  He wobbles over to the flag pole, yanks down the flag and 
sets it afire before wandering off in search of more booze.

He did not get far.  Nick Normile, a Vietnam combat veteran and commander of 
New York's VFW Post 1938, tracks down the rapidly sobering young fella and offers
him the Three Choice Plan:

   

1.  bring in the police;

2.  have his butt kicked;  or

3.  be duct taped to the

     flag pole with a sign

     detailing his transgression.

Not surprisingly, the young man agreed to the duct tape option. 
I reckon he wanted to avoid a police record almost as much as he wanted to avoid being pounded into oblivion by an old guy.  Along with the Three Choice Plan, the young man learned the significance of that particular flag--it had been flown over a foxhole in Iraq and likely
was the last thing some young American soldiers saw before dying in enemy gunfire. 
Not everyone made it out of that foxhole alive.


As you can see by the image, the perpetrator was duct taped to the flag pole, and he sat there
for six long hours pondering life  ...and death..  in a foxhole.  

A spiffy Navy salute to Mr. Normile and the combat veterans of Valley Falls.   
Bravo Zulu, gentlemen.  Well Done.

Resources: 

http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=5221

http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?S=11190850

Indoctrination? Obama Rap Song Taught To Grade School

Oh, sure ...the ACLU works to remove the the Bible from our schools, the Pledge of Allegiance from our classrooms and crosses from our memorials but adults teaching grade school children to sing about the virtues of Barack Hussein Obama goes under their radar?  Am I the only one that drew an immediate comparison to Hitler's Youth?

The website Politics In The Classroom provided a video and transcript of the lyrics.   Odd, the last stanza is reminiscent of the Sunday School song, 'Jesus Loves The Little Children'  while  the second song in the video brings to mind 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic.'



Obama Rap Song Video Transcript:


Mmm, mmm, mmm, 
Barack Hussein Obama
He said we all must lend a hand

To make this country strong again

Mmm, mmm, mmm,
 Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today

Equal work means equal pay,

Mmm, mmm, mmm,
 Barack Hussein Obama
He said we all must take a stand

To make sure everyone gets a chance

Mmm, mmm, mmm,
 Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black or white

All are equal in his sight

Mmm, mmm, mmm,
 Barack Hussein Obama
Yes!
Mmm, mmm, mmm,
 Barack Hussein Obama





As if that wasn't bad enough, students in Farmington, Utah were obligated to sit through another politically biased video about Obama called 'I Pledge.'

 YO~ ACLU!  CATCH THAT?

This video was chock full of Hollywood miscreants that kids seem to idolize including musicians from Black Eyed Peas, along with celebrities Ashton Kucher,  Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Dakota Fanning and others.  Why were impressionable children subjected to this?  Why were they forced to sit through a political message and hear some lame brain extolling the so-called virtues of Obama and stating "I pledge to be of service to Barack Obama!"  What the ...?!  


I am an American Navy veteran.  I swore allegiance to the United States of America and to the OFFICE of the President of the United States, thus my allegiance will transfer to the president's successor at the next election.  Only cults and dictatorships require allegiance to a single person.  These children are being indoctrinated to some teacher's cult-like philosophy.  Very disturbing.




RESOURCES:
http://www.politicsintheclassroom.com/

ACLU's Atomic Wedgie

Circa 1934:  They were heroes, old men that survived the unspeakable horrors of trench warfare.  Their faces carried memories that could not be put into words.  Their hearts carried images that could not be forgotten.  In sleep, their minds relived four terrifying years of pain, hunger and hand-to-hand combat.  Now, they have gathered to decide how best to memorialize the heroes that did not return from the Great War.   The men choose to erect a simple wooden cross in a remote corner of the vast 1.6 million acre Mojave desert, atop a rock that bears a resemblance to a Doughboy under certain lighting conditions.  The memorial displays a plaque noting it as a place to reflect and heal from the tragedy of war.

The eight foot cross stood a silent and solitary vigil for seventy five years until a former Park Service employee sued for its removal.  With their undies in a bundle and froth at the mouth, the American Civil Liberties Union joined the fray and demanded ...demanded! removal of the venerated Mojave Desert War Memorial.

Angered and insulted by this challenge, a new generation of heroes banded together in defense of the memorial.   Veterans of World War 2, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm formulated a land transfer alternative, where five acres of privately owned land elsewhere in the preserve would serve as ransom for one acre around the memorial.  Congress approves and both parties heave a sigh of relief.  Then, the haters catch wind of it.

Have you ever seen a hissy fit?  What a sight to behold.  I reckon the ACLU threw one liberally (no pun intended) punctuated with stomping,  screaming and gnashing of teeth before descending on the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals.   Why? Compromise would avoid destruction of the memorial.

Bribery?  Back room chicanery?  Perhaps a weary court hoping to silence fingernail-on-chalkboard harangues,  the self-described "hit-them-over-their-head" tactics favored by ACLU lawyer Peter Eliasberg?  Whatever his reason, an appeals court judge sympathizes with the Anarchy Chaos Lawlessness Union.

On October 7, 2009 the Supreme Court will determine the fate of the Mojave Desert War Memorial, which has been sheathed in plywood pending that decision.  If the veterans claim is denied, the memorial
will be destroyed.  

I bet the next target is Arlington National Cemetery, where thousands of pristine crosses mark the final resting place of American heroes.  If a single cross instigated an attack of vapors,  Arlington's 300,000 crosses must be akin to an atomic wedgie that threatens to rip the seams right out of the ACLU's meticulously starched tighty whities.

I would argue that 'civil liberties' should include those of military veterans and not just a select group of lobbyists hell bent on communism.  If you agree,  SPEAK UP!

Without your voice added to those of the veterans, every American memorial is in jeopardy.  Memorials heal.  Memorials comfort.  Memorials are cherished, carefully woven threads within the American veteran's tapestry of life. 

You can make a difference.   Write to your representatives, grab the Mojave Desert War Memorial widget and use it to pass the word.  If the haters succeed, how will future generations know of American contributions and sacrifices for the greater good?  History forgotten is history repeated.  Speak up!


Resources:


First Amendment Center
Save Our Memorials
Don't Tear Me Down
worldNet Daily
List of Targeted Memorials - PDF

This I Believe - An Invitation

How did you form your opinions on justice, discipline and compassion?  What events shaped your moral and ethical convictions?  In what way did a compassionate teacher, a political leader, philosopher or other individual impact your life and its direction?   Have you ever named your beliefs?

Answers to those questions are the framework for your personal philosophy.   Fifty years ago, a radio broadcast called 'This I Believe'  invited listeners to submit essays on the values that rule their thoughts and actions.  The host, Edward R. Murrow,  stated  “never has the need for personal philosophies ...been so urgent.”  National Public Radio  believes the need now is as great as it was fifty years ago and so teamed with This I Believe, Inc.  to challenge students and their parents to submit their own personal philosophies.

The original invitation defined a personal philosophy as events and relationships within those events that  helped to determine your life's course.  Simply phrased:

1.  Individuals and events create your learning experiences;
2.  From those experiences, you gain knowledge and insight;
3.  By trial and error (often error) you develop a guideline
     for future decisions;
4.  That guideline is your personal philosophy.

Why bother, you ask?  Because a well defined personal philosophy helps you take control of your thoughts and actions.  What you think, you become; so, once you have identified your values and principles, refuse to settle for less.   Your personal philosophy is a collaborative effort--the open source foundation for a successful life.

In the collaborative spirit of open source,   I would like you to join me in this event.   I will be happy to publish your essays here,  and those of school age may submit their essays to This I Believe. 

The challenge:  Using 500 words or less, define what you believe and why you believe it.  Instead of listing what you do not believe in, the Project asks that you include beliefs or insight about the significance of life, events that shaped your beliefs and relationships to those events.  In other words, make it positive and personal.

More information is available at This I Believe dot org.
 

Get this widget!

American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper

In sublime mockery of American media, the Russian newspaper Pravda posted an insightful view on American society by Stanislav Mishin, a columnist with excruciatingly sharp insight.  In 'American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper,' Mishin observes the decline and soon-to-be-fall of our society with a sympathetic view.  Surprisingly, his view is shared--for the most part--by America's military veterans and conservatives.  Read on.

Mishin states, in part:

"The American decent into Marxism is happening with breathtaking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people."     "...the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years."

"First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their 'right' to choke down a McDonald's burger or a Burger King burger than for their constitutional rights. "

Once upon a time, our schools  produced well-rounded and productive members of society via basic skills, classic literature, Latin, music and social demeanor.  Now, courses are dumbed down to allow non-English speaking illegal immigrants the freedom to become mediocre.  Occult studies and inflammatory rhetoric are acceptable, but not the Pledge of Allegiance.  Text message shorthand has replaced spelling and grammar.   Oh, we protest, Mr. Mishin, but  Lindsay Lohan's drunken escapades always trump legitimate news.  There is only so much air time available, you know.

Who the hell is Lindsay Lohan, anyway?

...but I digress..   read on:

"Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different 'branches and denominations' were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the 'winning' side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another."

Ahhh, yes ...the abysmal failure of the church.   Whoa! Put down the rotten tomatoes!  I am a Believer;  I just happen to think that the 'Western' view of Christianity is a turnoff,  forcing people to renounce their heritage and culture. Listen up, people:  you can be Hindi, Buddhist, Taoist, Protestant ...whatever.. and still follow Christ.  Yes, yes you can.  It comes down to Jesus + Nothing.  That was the heart of Jesus' message, so put your wallet back in your pocket and turn off the televangelists.  You're welcome.  Just don't get me started on gun control.

"The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world.  If this keeps up for more than another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe."

"These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, losses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more than ordinary street thugs in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in sheer volume. Should we congratulate them? "

Please, Mr. Mishin, do not congratulate us.  Our nation is suffering under the oppressive Democrats and your praise would only magnify our pain.  Even the delicious irony is hard to swallow.  Truth be known,  those of us with intact minds are considering a wall around the District of Columbia, much like its Berlin predecessor.  We are taking up a collection for mortar.  Care to chip in?

"Prime Minister Putin warned Obama and UK's Blair not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our 'wise' Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride."

Let's let bygones be bygones, shall we?  We will try to forgive the sinking of the USS Thresher if you will send someone to kick Nancy Pelosi's butt.  In fact, we'll throw in Senators Barney Frank,  Claire McCaskgill and her evil twin Barbara Boxer, and even Representative Maxine Waters.  Who?  Jane Fonda?  Pfffft.  She only shows up for photo ops.  Besides, Vietnam veteran Michael A. Smith settled her hash nicely.

"Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.  So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses?"

WHAT?  Why do I have to learn of this in a Russian newspaper? Note to self:  draft nastygram to American media oligarchy and update reading list.

"The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.   The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world how free he really is. The world will only snicker."

Snicker?  Yes, perhaps.  But they still whine, lobby and beg for our tax dollars for their destitute and starving populations.  Perhaps Russia and the rest of the world should consider coming to America's aid before their cash cow goes belly up?  After all,  what happens to America WILL affect the entire world. 

Treaty Overrides Our Constitution

Your parental authority has been revoked. You have not committed any crime, it is just that politicians decided your child's future was too important to be left in your hands. Surely you understand?

Oh, you don't?

In that case, you may want to let your senators know you object to ratification of the treaty known as United Nations 'Convention on the Rights of the Child.'

The CRC treaty is so carefully worded that most people will not see past the altruistic 'rights of the child' moniker, but ratification will allow eighteen specially chosen individuals to determine the future of America's children. It will take precedence over traditional American law, which states the government may not substitute its judgment for that of the parent until there is proof of harm. As a legal instrument with binding legal consequences, the treaty will give Congress jurisdiction over the regulation of family life.

Oddly, unborn children are excluded from this treaty as full abortion rights are granted, even to minors.

Ten things Americans need to know about the structure of the Convention on the Rights of the Child:

1. It is a treaty which creates binding rules of law.

2. Its effect would be binding on American families, courts and policymakers.

3. Children of other nations would not be impacted or helped in any direct way by our ratification.

4. The CRC would automatically override almost all American laws on children and families because of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause in Article VI.

5. The CRC has some elements that are self-executing, while others would require implementing legislation. Federal courts would have the power to determine which provisions were self-executing.

6. The courts would have the power to directly enforce the provisions that are self-executing.

7. Congress would have the power to directly legislate on all subjects necessary to comply with the treaty. This would constitute the most massive shift of power from the states to the federal government in American history.

8. A committee of 18 experts from other nations, sitting in Geneva, has the authority to issue official interpretations of the treaty which are entitled to binding weight in American courts and legislatures. This effectively transfers ultimate authority for all policies in this area to this foreign committee

9. Under international law, the treaty overrides even our Constitution.

10. Reservations, declarations, or understandings intended to modify our duty to comply with this treaty will be void if they are determined to be inconsistent with the object and purpose of the treaty.

Democrat, Republican, Independent, American Socialist, Communist, Libertarian--your political views are of no consequence.  If you are an American citizen, you will be bound to uphold this treaty if it becomes law.   For those of you thinking 'I'm not American, so this does not concern me,' I respectfully request your consideration of 'First They Came..':

When they came for the communists,

I remained silent;

I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,

I remained silent;

I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,

I did not speak out;

I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,

I remained silent;

I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,

there was no one left to speak out.

RESOURCES:

Parental Rights Organization
Child and Family Protection Organization
Canada Free Press
Coucoumellisms
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