How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

During this past week, along with a handshake and a “You will like this book” statement I was handed a copy of How Do You Kill 11 Million People by Andy Andrews. Immediately intrigued and disturbed by the title, I found myself doing a quick overview aimed at trying to discover the true subject matter and reason for such a title. A little over 30 minutes or so later I put it down convinced that I needed to read it again more carefully. I have since read it not once but twice for good measure. This blog is not so much a review of the book as it is an exploration of the ideas Mr. Andrews carefully researched and cataloged. If you crave a review, I suggest that you turn to Amazon.com and read to your heart’s content. The following is as close to a “book review” as I will allow myself to write at this time.

If you are even remotely interested in any of the five discussion points shown below, you should read this book and consider the historical cautions it offers this nation and each of its citizens. Please note that we Americans do not live in a democracy. We live in a constitutional republic.

1.)  Living in a constitutional republic, we all must understand the power and necessity of truth in government.

2.)   Living in a constitutional republic, we all must help to reverse the direction that our nation has been taken during the last 100 years.

3.)   Living in a constitutional republic, we all must demand that our elected leadership in Washington be relentlessly measured in the ballot box against the backdrop of their attack on or support of the constitution.

4.)   Living in a constitutional republic, we all must learn to overcome our misguided trust in our elected and appointed leaders and reverse the rise in citizen apathy.

5.)   Living in a constitutional republic, we all must relearn our citizen responsibilities and then practice them.

The President, Immigration Law, Constitutional Law and the Supreme Court

As this article is being written our nation’s president is preparing to go before the nation to announce that he will unilaterally change the currently established immigration law and with the stroke of his pen, he will provide immediate amnesty to millions of people who have broken that immigration law. He has said that he is going to do this because he believes the law needs to be changed and congress has not responded to his personal values and beliefs. He will state, therefore, that he is justified in doing so. His sworn oath of office speaks to the contrary: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."  We are a nation of laws and I believe the actions of this president are, without question, the execution of a planned political power grab and I believe this action is constitutionally wrong and should not be permitted. 

This article is intended as a reminder to all of you that the design for this nation provides us with a safety net to be used to examine presidential actions and determine their validity. Our government exists only for the people not for political vanity, posturing or individual power. This is what we are. The teachers I experienced in my youth carefully described in great detail a government of written laws designed to make and keep us free.

The Preamble to our Constitution reads as follows: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, Insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence (sic), promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United states of America.”

The plan for this nation was not accidental. It was diligently studied, discussed and written. Our constitution established three equal branches of leadership. Each branch has specific written powers and responsibilities and each was designed to prevent the rise of absolute power in any of the other branches. If that horror were to happen then all of the efforts of the framers to secure freedom for them and us would have been in vain. These branches are: the Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial. I strongly urge, no, I demand that our nation’s Supreme Court, the third and often forgotten branch, to immediately exercise its appointed duty and powers and proceed to closely examine the stated goals and actions of our president in the light of constitutional law. The court’s justices must immediately determine for him and all of the members of the Legislative branch and all of the people of this nation that what he has chosen to do is either legal or not legal. Failure to act as they were intended runs the risk of a great tearing of the fabric of our constitution and a very large step toward the end of our days as a nation.

Immigration and the Rule of Law

There are two target audiences for your consideration in this posted article. The first audience is all who are citizens by birth. The second audience is those of you who will join us through the legal path known as naturalization.

Are we really a nation of laws? The correct answer is a resounding, yes! Can an American citizen or even its president  intentionally break a written law just because they believe or feel strongly that the law is wrong or unjust? The correct response is a resounding, no! These two questions are at the very heart of today’s newspaper, radio and television immigration arguments. The basic concepts in support of Immigration and Rule of  Law are clear. The fact that our current president is contemplating amnesty for an extremely large number of illegal foreign citizens already here flies in the face of our nation's laws and the 14^th Amendment to our Constitution. I believe our president is acting illegally in support of peoples who are here illegally. We have laws and we have an agreed upon method to change a law. Any other course of action should be impossible.

I am a citizen of the United States, by birth right. I want you to know that I want to extend to all peoples the right to pursue the American citizenship dream with me. I hold and demand only one requirement. Do not break the law of this great nation and live among us in deceit. If you follow the law and become a naturalized citizen, you will enjoy the same benefits of all who came before you. Carefully read Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to our Constitution below. Those words make it clear that the  freedom you seek is as close as naturalization and that citizenship by birth and by naturalization are equal and guaranteed to you by our Constitution. It should be obvious to you at this point that this is really what you are looking for and that all of the hard work you will face as you seek to become that naturalized citizen is worth it! 

14^th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

Section 1. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

So what is the basic law for immigration?  The following two paragraphs are direct quotes of information from a FindLaw's web site. The site  used in this article is for general illustration purposes only.

Basic Immigration law encompasses a wide range of situations that involve a person from a foreign country coming to the United States, whether for a temporary visit or with the intent to live permanently in the U.S. (as a citizen or as a legal permanent resident). FindLaw’s “Immigration Law Basics” section provides a bird’s eye view of the immigration process, including a glossary of immigration terms; an overview of immigration in general; and helpful primers to help you get started with your particular immigration needs. Also provided are links to primers on getting a green card; working in the U.S. as a foreign national; helping a family member adjust his or her status; and more. See more at: http://immigration.findlaw.com/immigration-overview/immigration-law-basics.html#sthash.ohfNVXry.dpuf

Crossing the border by land, sea or air can be a time-consuming and tedious process. But proper preparation, and knowing what to expect when crossing the border, can go a long way toward making the experience as swift and painless as possible. Tighter security screenings at border checkpoints were phased in following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. United States citizens, lawful permanent residents and citizens from other countries all must present a passport and/or some other approved travel document when entering the U.S. Border crossing checkpoints also involve a series of questions, baggage inspections and other security procedures. Most Canadian citizens (as well as those from Bermuda) do not need a visa to enter the U.S., but must present an approved travel document. Mexican citizens (including children) must present a passport and a visa for entry.

We are, indeed, a nation of laws.  It is only through our citizen's and our government's continuous and conscious belief and support of our laws that we will remain free. 

Nuclear Senate and Presidential Hubris Questions Remain

To all of the people who participated in the November 4 mid-term elections, Thank You! Without question, I am ecstatic with the results because I sense the beginning of a possible respite from the cancerous growth of the progressive movement in our nation.

However, this election begs for answers to two questions:

Question number one: Will the Republican Party take advantage of this opportunity to pronounce the Nuclear Senate established by Harry Reid and the Democratic Party dead in the water or leave it untouched and use it in vengeance against that party? I sincerely hope that it is destroyed. This is a golden opportunity for all elected Senators from both parties, not just the new majority party, to do the right thing. The right to filibuster is important to all of us because it is a protection against the abusive rule and tyranny of those who are a part of a majority. That is why democracies fail and why the United States of America is a republic.

Question number two: When will our president finally come to grips with his personal hubris and truly make an effort to be the leader that this nation needs and deserves? For this man to tell this nation that he has heard the one third who voted in this latest election and then state that he also heard the voices of the two thirds who didn't vote is classic hubris. A simple thesaurus search reveals hubris as arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, self importance, superiority and superciliousness. Clearly, he lives and breathes excessive pride and is on a path toward his own personal nemesis. From the Greek, nemesis is literally ‘retribution’. The antonym for hubris is humility. I hope that he chooses wisely. 

My Inner Voice

In 1887, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh stated: The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations have always progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;

From spiritual faith to great courage;

From courage to liberty;

From liberty to abundance;

From abundance to complacency;

From complacency to apathy;

From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage.

The sand in the clock of our history continues to drain. When the sand empties, the clock will stop. The clock only requires someone to turn it over to begin anew. Civilizations? That is a completely different story. My perception of human life and civilizations tells me that we, you and me, only get one chance to do it right irrespective of our age, color, sexual orientation, monetary worth, political or religious values or beliefs. No matter what happens in the future yet to come, we will all remain in the middle of our own personal caravans.  Our past has gone on ahead and the future we seek is trailing swiftly behind. We continue to live in the present. What has happened and what will happen are simply parts of now. During our lives we pass the creation back down the lines of the caravan through our presence and our actions.

The United States of America in which I have lived my entire life is fighting for its very existence. The war is being fought both from within and without. I cannot accept and refuse to accept the passing of this great nation. How do I confront it? Do I speak rationally and sadly or do I speak forthrightly and with feeling? My inner voice, the voice of the rational mind, speaks quietly to me and asks me to speak quietly in kind. The other voice I hear, my sometimes irrational voice, speaks of personal anger, fear, mistrust and, yes, even rage.

The rational, pensive voice I listen to daily speaks using the words and emotions as they are used in Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”:

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I---

I took the one less traveled by.

and that has made all the difference.”

My irrational voice urges me to listen and act with passion. It speaks through the voice and tearful emotion of Marc Antony as he spoke to the masses following Caesar's assassination in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. As Antony spoke in behalf of the fallen leader, he concluded his funeral soliloquy with:

“Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”

What course of action we have taken and what will remain of the United States of America after we are gone is what we wrought by our own hands. For our children and their children, the caravan will have moved on.  I hope for them we will have chosen wisely in our past.

I Know the Answer but…

I hope you enjoy this real life conundrum as much as I did.

Several days ago my wife looked up from a newspaper cartoon in which two children were at a dining room table eating something she did not recognize. Kindly treating me like her personal magic answer book, she asked me what it was. I was confident that I knew but I could not associate my belief with anything that I could put in front of her and proudly state this is “a “ or this is “an”. The little girl demonstrated clearly to her brother that you pull off the stem and then scrape the good stuff off with your teeth and throw the rest away.  The little boy did it. He then said: “Wow Talk about your sneaky vegetables!” Between giggles, I could clearly see it on the table between them and I understood what the children were saying. But my mind could not access the file which had the proper name for this vegetable. I searched high and low in my mind and in a couple of books. Alas, it was gone and my personal frustration didn’t help one darn bit. Time passed, as it always does, and this morning I saw an object with a shape that reminded me of the shape of the object I could not place and wonder of wonders, the answer to the question was solved!

 It was, of course, a relief but an even greater gift quickly followed. The finding was not as important as the gentle reminder that rarely do we really forget something we know or have heard or experienced. My laptop computer is a marvelous tool that sometimes functions slowly and incorrectly. When it malfunctions, I have found the best action is to turn it off and disconnect it from the power source. Wait a while and then turn it on and let it begin anew. The mind, like the machine, often cannot find what it is looking for, even those things which we profess to know. It is important for us to understand and appreciate the fact that sometimes our brain simply needs to be shut down and allowed to reset. For me, this is even more important than the finding of something lost.

Question: What is it that the children were eating?

Answer:  Be honest now.  Did you already know it was “an” artichoke?

A final question: How did you know?

America's Uncle Sam is Hospitalized Today

Following his admission to the hospital today, Uncle Sam quietly admitted he was experiencing painful health issues. He said: “The executive, legislative and judicial branches of my nation’s heart are failing its citizens. They lack initiative, strength of character and are irresponsible. In short, they are feckless. The dream carefully described in the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States is fading. Many citizens have no work, feel alone and have lost hope. My national currency is being devalued at home and in the world. My citizens feel increasingly dependent on government promises based on lies. My nation is accused of practicing racism and economic, social and geographical theft.”

Near tears, he blurted: “I lament the impact of the 17^th Amendment, the destruction of our health care system, the movement to adopt Common Core’s historical inaccuracies and child centered propaganda sold as education reform, unrestrained bureaucratic agencies with countless regulations and the growing acceptance of a dangerous progressive philosophy which is clearly destructive to self reliance while promoting the growth of personal entitlement.”

            He began coughing and his physician quietly added, “Uncle Sam is greatly weakened by rampant progressivism. His cancer is like a noxious weed which has deeply hidden roots. He will, however, recover and thrive when they are uprooted and destroyed.”

History confirms that on September 7, 1813 the nickname Uncle Sam was linked to Samuel Wilson (1766-1854) a meat packer from Troy, New York. Wilson supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812. He stamped his barrels with "U.S." for United States. Soldiers began referring to the grub as "Uncle Sam's." The local newspaper picked up on the story and Uncle Sam ultimately became the nickname for our government.
Printed in the Alpena News on Saturday, September 6, 2014

History of Uncle Sam

Looking for something else, I came across this information. I have placed it here because I thought you might find it interesting too.

Source: the History Channel for Uncle Sam

On this day (September 7) in 1813, the United States gets its nickname, Uncle Sam. The name is linked to Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York, who supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812. Wilson (1766-1854) stamped the barrels with "U.S." for United States, but soldiers began referring to the grub as "Uncle Sam's." The local newspaper picked up on the story and Uncle Sam eventually gained widespread acceptance as the nickname for the U.S. federal government.

In September 1961, the U.S. Congress recognized Samuel Wilson as "the progenitor of America's national symbol of Uncle Sam." Wilson died at age 88 in 1854, and was buried next to his wife Betsey Mann in the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, New York, the town that calls itself "The Home of Uncle Sam."

Perhaps the most famous image of Uncle Sam was created by artist James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960). In Flagg's version, Uncle Sam wears a tall top hat and blue jacket and is pointing straight ahead at the viewer. During World War I, this portrait of Sam with the words "I Want You For The U.S. Army" was used as a recruiting poster. The image, which became immensely popular, was first used on the cover of Leslie's Weekly in July 1916 with the title "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?" The poster was widely distributed and has subsequently been re-used numerous times with different captions.

In the late 1860s and 1870s, political cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902) began popularizing the image of Uncle Sam. Nast continued to evolve the image, eventually giving Sam the white beard and stars-and-stripes suit that are associated with the character today. The German-born Nast was also credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as well as coming up with the donkey as a symbol for the Democratic Party and the elephant as a symbol for the Republicans. Nast also famously lampooned the corruption of New York City's Tammany Hall in his editorial cartoons and was, in part, responsible for the downfall of Tammany leader William Tweed.

You and I Will Pay the Piper

Last week, I read the following: “What if we told you those dollar bills in your wallet were not money? Well, they are not. They are the national currency of the United States.” The bills in our wallets only have value because we believe there is also a corresponding value of gold stored in a safe place for each of the bills we possess. Our currency is really IOU’s distributed by our government!

I often purchase a common chocolate wafer snack bar. Recently, this bar doubled in price. Why did a twenty five cent snack suddenly become a fifty cent snack? Please tell me that you didn’t immediately scream: ‘Company Greed’. Wrong! It happened because the value of the national currency all Americans hold on faith in our wallets is declining. More unsecured “Federal Reserve Notes” in circulation equals less value. More currency in circulation results in higher prices for everything including the cost of doing business. You have noticed this trend, haven’t you?

Our government is daily stealing our currency’s value, stealing our future and stealing our faith and trust. We are continuously being sold the insane notion that our nation’s multiple trillions of dollars of debt is of no matter because we can simply print more. “How do you develop a strategy against insanity? How do you fight those who act against their own self interest? What weapons can penetrate the ignorance which our elected progressive leaders wrap around themselves like a proud mantle?” 
Understand this: Our faith in our elected progressive leaders will continue to be used against us and it is not them but us who will ultimately pay the piper his due.

The "We the People" Map

I remember when we had safety and trust and how it felt. We were proud. We believed. We were unique. We knew that if we followed our map all problems could and would be solved. Yet today, we seem to be losing that map piece by piece. We are also losing our national sense of direction and purpose. “We” is repeated and repeated here because “We” is followed by “the People” in our constitution. We are those people! This makes the events we view in today’s Washington even more frightening. The recent words and images on display in Washington present us as a country reduced to a war of words, name calling, labeling, posturing, clear ignorance of the Constitution and even lies by the President. These images provide the “We the people” a front and center slide show of a very rapidly changing constitutional map with a bleak future

“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” (September 17, 1787).

To these historic words we added The Bill of Rights. (December 15, 1791) The Bill of Rights extended the people’s confidence in the government and were created “in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers”.

The “Then” and “Now” comparisons used below paint two different pictures of “We the People”. The words above remain the same today but their meaning and their promise is changing.

Then: Our Framers specifically chose a limited executive, legislative and judiciary government. The creation of the Bill of Rights made it complete with specific checks and balances and limitations for each branch and very specific rights granted to people and states.

and Now: Our government grows larger and larger with each passing day. “We the People” are increasingly being taken care of much as a good farmer tends to his livestock and we demand more. States now have no choice except to bow to ever demanding “government can do it better” and “you are wrong” rules and mandates.

Then: Our Founders were either Federalist or Non Federalist. The Non Federalists feared a centralized and powerful government. To reduce Non Federalists’ fears, our first senators, were elected by state legislatures rather than by a direct citizen vote. Those senators served at the pleasure of the state and not the government and were expected to faithfully represent state desires and not his own or the desires of others. Centralized power was, indeed, limited with specific checks.

and Now: The 17^th Amendment was passed by Congress on May 13, 1912 and Ratified on April 8, 1913. We destroyed the Framers intent. Some senators clearly do not even try to protect the state from the government and they all seek continued status in its chambers. States’ rights are clearly being limited and, our government has now grown to those levels feared and rejected by the Non Federalists.

Then: The focus of the Supreme Court was specifically limited to “all Cases in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution”. The Court’s Justices had identified limited responsibilities.

and Now: Today, these judges experience lifelong appointments and function well beyond their intended purposes.  The court’s judges have chosen not to be limited to decisions to “support” and “protect” the Constitution and contribute to the expanding federal influence. I must admit I simply do not understand why five to four votes are as good and as permanent as nine to zero votes.

The “Then” and “Now “ guide above also reveals increased citizens, elected leaders and Supreme Court Judges claiming our Constitution and Bill of Rights are quaint and antiquated and are not representative or workable today. We call them Progressives and/or Liberals.  They propose the adoption of different beliefs. Since the 17^th Amendment became law in 1913, we can clearly trace the progress of these beliefs which change the purpose for and application of beliefs in the Framers Constitution. Read about their goals and the claimed benchmark achievements from President Woodrow Wilson through the 100 years to Barack Obama and you will reveal a planned piece by piece Constitutional Republic versus Utopia value struggle. Unlike our Framers secure and clear path the Utopian path is very steep, slippery and dangerous and has always failed.

It is possible, of course, that we may experience the emergence of a Founder’s type leader and the return to what “we” once believed a life time ago. In this spirit, I close with the words of Walt Kelly’s cartoon character, “Pogo”. 
“Sir, we have met the enemy and he is us.”

Published in The Alpena News on October 12, 2013

Liberty is most important word for country

This was written because of growing personal concerns about the dangerous places that our nation’s progressive elected leaders are taking this nation. I could avoid these concerns by saying and doing nothing or simply stating to others that I am only one person and can do nothing to prevent what is happening. However, the words of Martin Luther King keep blocking the possible paths leading to an escape from my personal responsibilities. He said: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” I choose, therefore, to share “Things That Matter” for your consideration.

Without question, The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights and Amendments numbered 11 through 27 all matter. Name a commonly overlooked word carrying the weight and promise of vast historical and personal importance that also matters.  No, that word is not democracy. Democracy does not appear in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution or its amendments. The word is Liberty.

Read your nation’s treasures and rediscover for yourself that Liberty is an “unalienable Right” and the government is merely the employee whom we have historically hired to “preserve and protect” this “Right”. Liberty is not a Supreme Court ruling, a Presidential exemption, a Congressional law or a governmental agency mandate.  Liberty was “endowed by your creator” and that really does matter. You are American citizens and you have responsibilities and voices. Remind yourself and others of what you and few others on this earth possess.  Always remember that Liberty can be taken away through stealth as well as by force. Those who follow progressive ideals are following paths which are designed to marginalize what was fought for, acquired and now taken for granted. I believe Liberty matters.

Printed in Alpena News on Saturday, March 15, 2014

Ten Cannots and Seven National Crimes

1913 was a turning point year for Progressives (now called Liberals) and President Woodrow Wilson. In one year they accomplished the following: On February 3, 1913 Congress ratified the 16^th Amendment allowing the government to lay and collect taxes. On April 8, 1913 Congress ratified the 17^th Amendment which changed the appointment of a state senator to a direct vote. On December 23, 1913, the Federal Reserve was born. It can print money anytime it deems necessary. Woodrow Wilson of 1913 and our Barack Obama are kindred liberal statist personas separated only by 100 years. “Statist” is the principle or policy of concentrating extensive economic, political and related controls in the state at the expense of individual liberties.”

Three years later, William John Henry Boetcker a German immigrant who had become a naturalized citizen and Presbyterian minister published his “The Ten Cannots”.

“You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.”

“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.”

“You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.”

“You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.”

“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.”

“You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.”

“You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.”

“You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.”

“You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.”

“You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.”

His “Seven National Crimes” came later.

“I don’t think.”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t care.”

“I’m too busy.”

“I leave well enough alone.”

“I have no time to read and find out.”

“I am not interested.”

            Read again Boetcker’s words written in defense of personal freedom and responsibility!

This appeared in The Alpena News on Saturday, February 22, 2014

Suicide Watch

There is no doubt that a democracy and a republic are different. Our Founders knew and understood this difference. This knowledge helped them to sculpt chip by chip the eventual guiding principles for the United States of America and to reveal those principles as more than mere words. Consider these two quotes from men who were there when it all began. At the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, a lady asked Dr. Benjamin Franklin “Well Dr. what have we got a republic or a monarchy?” “A republic”, replied the Dr. “if you can keep it.”  John Adams, our 2^nd President, also spoke clearly when he was asked about democracy. “Democracy while it lasts is more bloody (sic) than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that does not commit suicide.”

Chip, chip, chip and then it is gone. A nuclear senate is but another chip in the one hundred year assault on our republic’s foundations. While it may appear to you that our republic is still tightly within our grasp, it is, nevertheless, being assaulted by those individuals who would have it changed to a democracy or even a utopia for the greater good and political gain. Our Founders removed chip by chip to reveal a promised lasting beauty. Today’s elected men and their chosen party chip, chip, chip to deface that beauty and to enhance their liberal statist power. If they succeed “We, the People” lose. It really is as simple as that.

Note:  The Alpena News Used this headline: We keep chipping away at our republic.