Allison Bricker

During the remaining weeks of 2008 amidst the front page news about the worsening economic situation and the ever growing line of companies looking to stick their faux-Capitalist hands into the T.A.R.P. money, what seemed to be a sudden rash of violent crimes perpetrated against the queer community, commonly abbreviated as LGBT, began to make headlines.

• In San Francisco on December 12th, a woman was brutally gang raped by four men and left naked in the street. News reports stated, that the two adults and two teens began approaching her shouting anti-gay epithets after spotting the rainbow flag sticker on her car.¹




• In Memphis on December 23rd, a transsexual prostitute was shot at point bank range in the face and critically wounded as she attempted to exit the vehicle of her john. She is currently in critical condition.²




• In Indianapolis on December 26th, a transwoman and her partner were shot to death in their home while they slept. Police reports indicate that after several internet chats with the suspect in custody, he was invited over to the couple’s home for an as of yet undisclosed reason.³




• In New Orleans on December 29th, two men and a transgendered individual all originally from Mississippi were gunned down in their 7th Ward home by several suspects which police have thus far been unable to apprehend.⁴

The aforementioned crimes are each horrific for the utter disregard for human life and liberty. Moreover, these perpetrators all need to be held accountable for their crimes, and thus brought to justice by law enforcement. However, adding insult to injury of these horrific crimes, are those charlatans, hacks, and shills who claim to be LGBT activists and allies solely seeking to push their political agenda and their own self-aggrandizing interest by calling for additional “Hate” crime legislation.

It has been ten years since Matthew Shepard was beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die in rural Wyoming. Since then thirty-two states have added penalties for crimes motivated by sexual orientation and eleven of the thirty-two have also added criminal penalties for crimes motivated by a person’s gender-identity. Yet in California alone which has had a statute regarding crimes motivated by a sexual-orientation since 1989, crimes against homosexuals have increased 680% over the last ten years.⁵

It is obvious, that these legislatively granted protections do little to nothing in keeping us safer from those biased against us anymore so than the death penalty has prevented murder in general. Furthermore, as a lesbian, can someone please tell me how the gang rape of of a straight woman would be somehow less traumatic to her simply due to her sexuality not being a factor? It is a brutal crime regardless of motivation as are all crimes committed against another person.

Additionally, words on paper offer absolutely no protection to the victim during the actual commission of the crime. While concurrently, our over worked and underpaid law enforcement officers more often show up after the fact to begin the investigation, take statements, and pursue the suspect or suspects.

This violence is indeed a hateful act, but it is a hateful act regardless of motivation. Victims of crimes are individuals, they have a name, a family, a life. The crime is committed against them, not the loose collective of which they share some character trait. Furthermore, and most importantly, Americans already have the best defense against becoming a victim of a violent crime. This ability is not granted by law, it is ours from the moment we are born; our inherent right to self-defense. There is an immutable truth to the statement, “Armed Gays Don’t Get Bashed”. Moreover, armed individuals don’t get bashed.

Yet socialists and the media have done their best to make us fear guns and to label self-defense as an untenable option, again solely for their political agenda. A study conducted by the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy subsequently published in the New York Times⁶, showed that higher gun ownership in European countries equated to far lower rates of violent crimes. Secondly, ask yourself this, when was the last time you heard of someone attempting to shoot up a gun show. Fact is random mass shootings are always perpetrated against populations known to be completely disarmed such as in a school.

It baffles my mind, why those of us who do indeed find kinship within the LGBT community would turn to the state for our protection? The state; the same entity with such a long history of egregious crimes against us that after years of beatings, imprisonment, harassment, and draconian confinement in mental institutions led to the community rising up in the Stonewall⁷ and Compton Cafeteria Riots⁸. Yet now we turn to this same entity and beg like chattle for protection from their snake-oil pens and empty promises?

Source(s): ¹Daily News “Arrests made in gang rape of San Francisco lesbian” • ² ABC News 27 - Memphis “Transgendered Woman Shot in the Face” • ³ Bilerico “Transwoman and Her Boyfriend Murdered in Indianapolis” • ⁴ Out In New Orleans “Three Black Gay Men Murdered in New Orleans, Police Hunt for Suspects” • ⁵ Hate Crimes in California - 2007 • ⁶ Harvard Journal of Law and Public Police/New York Times “Murder and Guns” • ⁷ Stonewall and Byond: Lesbian and Gay Culture • ⁸ Screaming Queens - The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria

Allison Bricker

At the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 18th, 1787, as Mr. Benjamin Franklin emerged from “Independence Hall”, a Mrs. Powell approached and asked, “Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Dr. Franklin quickly replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

Unfortunately fellow readers, we did not heed Dr. Franklin’s warning, and in the distracted haste of modern life, we lost our beloved Republic to the plutocratic oligarchs and their brand of corporatist democracy.

It is not difficult to look around and conclude that we are living through some very strange and troubling times. We have become a nation that allowed President Bush & Company to successfully legalize torture¹. A nation which gave little to no pause as the Federal government expanded the surveillance apparatus, wholly gutting the remnants of the 4th Amendment². Moreover, by abdicating our responsibility to demand both a Declaration of War, and justification thereof, we have become a nation willing to embrace the perverse notion of preemptive war vis-a-vi, the Bush Doctrine³.

With every opening bell on Wall Street, we see a continuous line of failed pseudo-capitalists all too eager to stick their corrupt slime ridden hands into the T.A.R.P. bailout money. Money coerced from the paychecks of ‘We the People’, doled out as corporate welfare to the politically connected. We are bearing witness to the dawn of another economic depression, caused wholly by mismanagement of monetary policy and governance by the central planners of state.

However, even with the hand of oppression attempting to asphyxiate the natural sustenance of liberty, the answer my fellow readers is not anarchy. Both tyranny and anarchy are extreme belief structures residing on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Whereby tyrannical oligarchs demand absolute rule and control over every aspect of the people, anarchy proves to be no less tyrannical in its end result. Throughout history the ensuing chaos brought on by revolutionary anarchists always leads to the emergence of a new tyrant.

For example, immediately following the French Revolution, the lawlessness that ensued birthed what became to be known as “The Reign of Terror”. During this time between 20,000 and 40,000 French citizens were executed as “enemies of the revolution”. The bulk of the executions were exacted upon the working class, with many found guilty of hoarding food and supplies.⁴

As a secondary example, we can look to the Russian Revolutions of 1917. The first began in March of 1917, which saw Czar Nicolas the II resign after massive civil unrest. Shortly thereafter anarchy ensued, but by Summer the anarchists had formed factions and in turn set up a provisional government. However being self-appointed, power struggles between the factions led to continued violence. By October of the same year, the Bolshevik faction called for an open revolt, and again violence spread across Russia. The Bolsheviks emerged as the successful faction and with Lenin as their leader, immediately began implementing their philosophy of socialist communism on all of the people of Russia.⁵

It could also be said, that our own Republic, had it not been under the wise guidance of the Founding Fathers, could have easily disintegrated into anarchy following the Revolution. The debate which took place in Philadelphia during the sweltering Summer of 1787 resulted in the creation of a system of delicate checks and balances. A system of governance divided amongst a weak central authority and the constituent political units, i.e. the several states. The Founders knew all too well the natural tendency of government was to gain and encroach upon liberty, but they also knew that leaving the tenuous union under the sole guidance of the Articles of Confederation, would lead to disparate factions. Which in the end stood the good chance of wholly squandering the principles of the American Revolution.

We need not reinvent the wheel to save our country. We need not jettison the sacrifices of the Founding generation for utter lawlessness, only to then teeter-totter back into tyrannical despotism.  We need only restore the Constitution to its foundation upon Federalism, in order to set our Republic back onto the path towards a more perfect union.

Thus in conclusion, it can be said that anarchy is simply an antithetic knee jerk reaction to tyrannical oppression; or perhaps a transitional bridge from one dictator to another, but it cannot and should not be said to be a legitimate solution.

Source(s): ¹Working Group Report on Detainee Interrogations in the Global War on Terrorism: Assessment of Legal, Historical, Policy, and Operational Considerations • ² Washington Post “Obama Defends Compromise on New FISA Bill” • ³ New York Times “Editorial Observer; President Bush and the Middle East Axis of Ambiguity” • ⁴ “Reign of Terror - 1793-1794″ by: Wilfred Brenton Kerr (1985) London: Porcupine Press • ⁵ “The Class Struggle” Vol.I, No.4, November-December 1917

Allison Bricker

This past October I finished my video editorial entitled “A Long Train of Abuses” whereby the reasons listed by the Founding Fathers justifying separation in the Declaration of Independence are contrasted against current events taking place in our country.

Unfortunately, being new to uploading my own videos to YouTube, the quality was a bit off and as such some portions were unreadable and the audio spiked. As of this morning, both have been rectified and are now available on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

I would like to thank the readers and members of “The Daily Paul” and “Break the Matrix” for helping surge the overall views of my video editorial. However, since the video was originally uploaded in October, the surge in views was not enough to push the video to the front page and thus a wider audience.

Therefore, with this new video we have the opportunity before us to push this video to the front page and let more people be introduced to the ideas espoused by the Founding Generation.

In closing, I ask you, loyal readers of The Smoking Argus, to help spread this message by sharing, rating, favorite-ing, and DiGG-ing this video.

The video is available here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaZrO0RM-HM

Allison Bricker

NOTE: This is the second part in a 4 part series. Your questions and commentary are both welcomed and appreciated.

• Part 1 - How to Save the Republic
• Part 2 - Abolish the Income Tax
• Part 3 - Repeal the Direct Election of Senators
• Part 4 - Similarities Between the Great Depression and Our Current Crisis

Few things are more complicated and harder to understand than our income tax laws. Each year Americans lose 6.6 billion hours and spend approximately $265 Billion Dollars¹ just filing their taxes. Imagine what we as a people could accomplish, build, invent; if all this time, money, and resource were not lost slaving over tax forms or paying others to file the forms on our behalf. Moreover, the fear of the tax man consistently ranks as a top fear of Americans.² This fear is well placed, what group other than the Internal Revenue Service can freeze your bank accounts, seize your property, garnish your paycheck, and throw you in jail?

Further, we see the confusion over the tax code illustrated whenever abolition is even mentioned. People often say, “What about the roads?”, “What about Social Security?” or “What about our schools?” To many, it seems logical that the money coercively removed from their paychecks would go to support these types of projects. However, truth be told, the roads are paid for by the gas tax, a tax levied on each gallon pumped into your car, Social Security is a separate tax unto itself withdrawn from our paychecks altogether, and schools are funded by local tax revenues, most often in the form of property taxes.

This logical fallacy perpetuated by the tax code, scares people into thinking that having their incomes pilfered by the nanny state is their “duty” of living in a “free country”. Politicians, beneficiaries of this structure, routinely repeat this fear mongering via soundbites such as Vice-President-Elect, Joe Biden who pompously stated, “It’s time (for the well-off) to be patriotic (taxes).”³ Thus, in the previous eight years we were told speaking out against an imperial foreign policy was “unPatriotic” and now that “change” has come to town, bristling at an oppressive tax structure has also been added to the list of “unPatriotic” actions according to the pull-peddlers in Washington.

Truth be told, every last cent of revenue successfully collected through income taxation is already gone before Congress even convenes to support the bloated ship of state. Even if the Federal government were to tax 100% of all incomes over $75,000, the government would only receive approximately $33 Billion (adjusted for inflation) or enough to keep the government running for an additional 7 days. Thus, everything from waging the war in Iraq to simply keeping the lights on, must be put on the Republic’s credit card in the form of additional borrowing, i.e. debt.⁴ The creditor who lends all this additional “money’ to the Federal government? Why it is our friends at the FEDERAL RESERVE. The central bank who cannot trip over itself fast enough to supply more “money” to the Federal government, ergo the national debt. Furthermore, the private bankers who actually own the stock in the FEDERAL RESERVE do not simply loan the Federal government this “money” out of the kindness of their hearts, they charge a fee for these “necessary” loans in the form of interest.

At the end of the year after Treasury has received the interest negotiated back from the FEDERAL RESERVE, the FEDERAL RESERVE still walks away with about $4 Billion tax-dollars annually solely from payments received on the interest of the national debt.⁵

The sinister nature of this scheme was brought to light for the public to see in 1984 in the final report from the Grace Commission. In their final report they said the following:

Resistance to additional income taxes would be even more widespread if people were aware that:

• One-third of all their taxes is consumed by waste and inefficiency in the Federal Government as we identified in our survey.




• Another one-third of all their taxes escapes collection from others as the underground economy blossoms in direct proportion to tax increases and places even more pressure on law abiding taxpayers, promoting still more underground economy — a vicious circle that must be broken.




• With two-thirds of everyone’s personal income taxes wasted or not collected, 100 percent of what is collected is absorbed solely by interest on the Federal debt and by Federal Government contributions to transfer payments. In other words, all individual income tax revenues are gone before one nickel is spent on the services which taxpayers expect from their Government.

Source: Grace Commission Final Report⁴

We must take note that both a heavy “progressive” income tax as well as a centralized banking monopoly are two planks clearly espoused in the “Communist Manifesto”, points 2 and 5 respectively:

[From the English edition of 1888, edited by Friedrich Engels, Section II]

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

Source: Avalon Project - Yale Law School - Lillian Goldman Law Library⁶

It is no coincidence that our government grew exponentially upon the pyramid scheme thrust upon us by the Federal Reserve Act, 16th and 17th Amendments all coming into existence in 1913. These linchpins allowed the state to centralize power and funnel the wealth of our nation into a relatively small group of central bankers, special interests, and politicians while fostering, sustaining, and antagonizing a class war between the American people.

The income tax is nothing but an endless stream of stolen wages used to line the coffers of the plutocratic oligarchs while keeping the masses numb to the scam perpetrated upon them by offering confusing doublespeak and scraps of embezzled wealth via welfare programs. As these same central planners sought to lower tariffs, thereby allowing companies to dump their outsourced foreign products back on to our shores, they simultaneously raise taxes and fees on individuals. This serves two purposes:

1. Makes us as a nation, wholly dependent on multi-national corporations to supply us manufactured goods after they close down domestic factories, relocate offshore, and import their goods back onto American shores. Thereby replacing the American people as “producers” and thus relegating us the singular sad role of “consumer”.




2. Reduces wages and thus spending ability by undercutting good jobs and replaces them with a wholly service-based economy.

This state-sponsored corporatism also leads more into the welfare state as costs rise due to inflation from the deficit spending coupled with a loss of sustainable employment, thereby enticing them to make up their personal budget deficits with the pittance from government social programs. As this cycle continues the amount spent on what are called “transfer payments” to individuals balloons, which then leads to higher rates of borrowing from the FEDERAL RESERVE to the Federal government, which leads to a further erosion of the currency via inflation.

Finally after 95 years of this ponzi scheme, the cycle has spun so far out of control we are on the verge of collapse. In 2007 “transfer payments” to individuals, totaled $1.6 Trillion or 87.8% of all available tax revenues, the other 12.2% went to interest payments on the national debt, leaving a zero balance and thus requiring more borrowing from…you guessed it, the FEDERAL RESERVE.

Fellow readers, while many worry our standard of living would sharply decline without the income tax based wholly on the misconceptions of its actual uses, if we do not repeal the 16th Amendment-Income tax, the vast majority of Americans will become paupers lining the streets standing in bread lines, while the central bankers, criminal financiers, and their cronies revel in their stolen treasure and move on to the next nation to exploit, eviscerate and rob of its wealth.

But why take my word for it, when Chairman Bernake says it so succinctly:

Source(s): ¹Reprentative Michael Burgess (R-TX) Statistics based on figures from 2005 • ²BusinessWire “Americans Say Tax Duties among Most ”Loathesome” Tasks; One Third Fears IRS More Than In-Laws or Outlaws Published April 5, 2006 • ³ Los Angeles Times |Blog “Joe Biden calls it ‘patriotic’ for the wealthy to pay more taxes” • ⁴ 1984 (PPSS) The Grace Commission Report, pg14 • ⁵ 2007 - 94th Annual Report
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, pg371 • ⁶ Avalon Project - Yale Law School - Lillian Goldman Law Library

Allison Bricker

NOTE: This is the first part in a 4 part series. Your questions and commentary are both welcomed and appreciated.

• Part 1 - How to Save the Republic
• Part 2 - Abolish the Income Tax
• Part 3 - Repeal the Direct Election of Senators
• Part 4 - Similarities Between the Great Depression and Our Current Crisis

Albert Einstein once quipped that the definition of ‘insanity’ is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This then begs the question; why do so many of our fellow citizens think government intervention into our economy will stave off the coming economic depression? We need only look back to the last group of supreme central planners, ergo Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt & Company to see that government intervention/interference is both the root cause and sustaining force of large economic recessions and depressions.¹

It is imperative that we look to the not so distant past, educate ourselves to the actual history, and begin a candid discussion of the facts with our friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens. If we fail or refuse this effort, it is my analysis that the consequences which will reveal themselves in short, will be more disastrous than those of the 1930’s. However, where some predict and hope for the fracturing of our union, I see opportunity, regardless of the pending collapse or fracturing. It is my fervent belief that there are many amongst us who will not stand idly by and watch the greatest experiment in human liberty perish from this Earth.

While it most certainly will be an uphill battle, success in our endeavor will secure the blessing of debt free liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Furthermore, the path to reclaiming our Republic from the jaws of the central planners is illuminated before us; if we only take the time to look upon the lessons of history. It is my estimation that three crucial steps are needed in order to right the course of the Republic back onto its Constitutional governance and towards the path of a “more perfect Union”.

The first among these three steps is to seek the complete abolition of the 3rd Central Bank of the United States, better known as the FEDERAL RESERVE. Moreover, we must seek an amendment to our federal Constitution which prohibits the establishment of any future central banking schemes and requires the federal government only produce sound money backed either by silver, gold, or platinum; produced solely by the United States Department of the Treasury.

It is important to note that the three steps will not happen in rapid succession, as it would be naive to entertain such a notion. Instead, with each corrective action we will gain both time as well as more stability in which to continue the restoration of the Republic. It is inevitable that this deleveraging and short run into the FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE Dollar will cease. The FEDERAL RESERVE whether it knows it or not has sealed its fate, a “poison pill” due to its ability to print an endless supply of FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES. There is a reason that every “fiat” currency throughout history has collapsed onto itself.² Thus, it is my analysis that by the Spring of 2009, hyper-inflation will begin to set in and this will allow for the movement to abolish the FEDERAL RESERVE to begin in earnest.

In addition to abolishing the FEDERAL RESERVE and preventing a subsequent reincarnation, we will also examine why we need to repeal the 16th amendment, Income Tax, and the 17th Amendment, The Direct Election of Senators, steps two and three respectively. Finally, this series of posts will conclude with an examination of the parallels of government interference during the Great Depression, and our current economic crisis.

It is my hope that readers of this post will ask questions via the comment section, on their blogs, forums, etcetera. Through an honest and open dialog whereby the free exchange of ideas can take place, we just as those who came before us will see our Republic safely to the other side of this crisis.

Long Live the American Republic!

Source(s): ¹FDR’s Folly - How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression • ² The Financial Organization of Society, by Harold Glenn Moulton-1925, pg93, University of Chicago Press

Allison Bricker

As our Republic continues to swerve recklessly away from its Constitutional founding, the opportunity for us to salvage what so many have died for, slides further away from our grasp. Just as Winter has begun to set in across the nation, our Liberties seem to have fallen away like leaves lost into the breeze. Whether it be legalized torture or the Department of Homeland Security suspending the Constitution along the border, the country I fell in love with as a child, looks less and less like the land of the free.

Many amongst us are pinning their hopes of a better tomorrow on yet another politician who promises “change” from the status-quo and business as usual in Washington. However, within hours of the election, his “transition” website, laid out his and his enforcer’s vision of mandatory unpaid servitude for the youth of our nation. Shortly thereafter upon echoing criticism ringing across the blogosphere, they whitewashed the website and scurried their indentured labor force back under the rug. The Obama transition team decided to replace the compulsory service text with toned down verbiage so as not to cause a scandal prior to his formal coronation.

In this Winter of our discontent, there are a few sparks which seek to reignite our lost sense of self. It has for a long time now been my opinion that the planets must have aligned to have allowed such an assembly of thinkers such a Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and the rest of the founding generation to have known to each other in order to be able to hammer out Independence and beat back tyranny. Perhaps, we may be so fortunate yet again, to recapture that spirit of ‘76 with a new gathering of minds dedicated to reason and human liberty. One such intellect where parallels can be drawn is Naomi Wolf. Her latest works, “The End of America” and “Give Me Liberty” are written with such a dedication and sound resolve towards the virtues of freedom that the pages in her books seem to echo the spirit and tenacity of Thomas Paine.

In support of the ideas presented in, “The End of America”, and to help spread the word virally in the internet age, Ms. Wolf has released an online video where she covers the ten steps taken time and again, by all would-be tyrants in a closing society. The movie is available free for online viewing and is a must see for those in tune with our current state of affairs. Her content and tone is so well reasoned and articulated, even those who refuse to acknowledge the danger, must at least pause to question, what our Republic will resemble in two, five, or ten years from now.

The video can be viewed here, and please if you find her presentation to be a powerful arguement as to why we need to restore, preserve and defend our American Republic, please consider passing it along via DiGG, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, etcetrera.

Allison Bricker

Secretary Henry Paulson took to the podium this morning to announce that the government has decided not to offer homeowners facing foreclosure any assistance and will instead just use the taxpayer bailout money, via the T.A.R.P (Troubled Asset Relief Program) program exclusively to purchase stocks in ailing banks in order to bolster their cash liquidity.¹ This is in stark contrast to what Secretary of Paulson said was the biggest threat at the time the legislation passed, homes in foreclosure.

Meanwhile,investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are still paying out bonuses to their bankers totaling $6.8 Billion and $6.4 Billion respectively.² Additionally, as Secretary Paulson effectively moved the goal posts regarding T.A.R.P., credit-card giant American Express gained approval from the Federal Reserve to become a “commercial-bank” thus opening the door for the credit giant access to bailout money.³

Fellow readers the snowball effect of moral hazard has indeed begun to gather critical mass. As predicted other struggling industries from a lobbyist group representing Hispanic Plumbers and Heating specialists⁴ desiring to be hired by treasury to maintain the purchased foreclosed homes to the faltering American auto industry, the leeches now have their smarmy hands out begging to be recipients of our hard earned tax dollars.

Finally, while this blogger never supported the bailout; partly due to my philosophy and partly based on my ingrained cynicism, this action by former Goldman Sachs employee, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, is dispicable and wholly indefensible.

How dare this plutocrat testify before Congress begging for speedy Congressional approval of the bailout bill based on the lie of helping down on their luck homeowners, when in fact it was destined for fellow plutocratic investment bankers. Shame on Congress for not seeing through this transparent scheme to secure the fortunes of Paulson’s fellow plutocrats. Shame on Senator McCain and President-Elect Obama for their lack of principles, vision, or judgement which could have wholly halted this hastily arranged scheme.

Fellow readers, we must, for the sake of our Republic, remove the private bankers from their throne of power over the American economy. If we do not, they will continue to wholly plunder and bankrupt our Treasury with their crafty corrupt schemes. The time is now upon us, to take a stand and begin the process to End the FED and break the bailout.

Source(s): ¹ CBS MarketWatch - “Text of Paulson’s Remarks on TARP • ² CBS News - “Hard Times, But Big Wall Street Bonuses • ³ The Press Association - “American Express to become bank” • ⁴ New York TImes “Lobbyists Swarm the Treasury for Piece of Bailout Pie”

Allison Bricker

During the campaign, President-Elect Obama promised voters that if elected, he would get right to work on getting government to “fix” the environment.¹ You know, much in the same way that the government has “fixed” education, retirement, poverty, drug use, housing, etcetera. However, as they say, the devil is in the details.

In 1998, when President-Elect Obama was in the Illinois Senate, he voted ‘aye’ for a bill condemning “The Kyoto Treaty”, explaining in a campaign statement, [Kyoto] did not have “meaningful and achievable emissions targets.”² Additionally, President-Elect Obama routinely took electric utility and coal industry money during the campaign totaling $539,597. Previously, during his run for United States Senate in 2004, he was flanked by Illinois coal workers proclaiming “there’s always going to be a role for coal”. Even as recently as the West Virginia Primary, Illinois Representative Dan Reitz, original sponsor of the Illinois Anti-Kyoto bill stated:

“He [Obama] understands how important coal is to the state of Illinois and to the Midwest,”²

However after receiving the Democrat party nomination, President-Elect Obama stated in his election manifesto that he would set a goal of reducing US emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050, using a cap-and-trade system scheme and a 10-year program worth $150 billion Dollars in renewable energy research and development.³

This scheme when implemented, sets a ceiling on the total amount of gases allowed to escape into the atmosphere via assigned industry credits. If the industry goes over their allotment they are forced to purchase “credits” from a direct or indirect competitor which has not gone over their allotment. The end result, higher energy costs for Americans as the companies pass these “credit purchase” costs down onto the consumer. One then wonders exactly how he plans to “fix” the economy, when by proxy the government will help to increase American’s energy bills. As if the rising cost of groceries and durable goods was not enough, now we can look forward to Uncle Sam raising our energy bills.

Let us also not forget that once this “scheme” is in place, there will be an influx of speculators into the market, where just like with oil prices, the price of energy “credits” will swing wildly further destabilizing an already volitile market.

However, the saddest part of all this hot air (CO²) being expelled from King Obama, is the fact that while he is so concerned with pointing the finger at “we the people”, we have yet to hear him indicate his plans for tackling the biggest polluter of all. Yes fellow readers, the same group of scoundrels put in charge of “protecting the environment”, the United States Government⁴. From the gallons of jet and rocket fuel dumped into the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by NASA, the Air Force and Navy, to the radioactive waste shipped cross country, the American government continues to escape the line of sight, while they target us, for “environmentally conscious behavior modification”.

Finally, President-Elect Obama will send transition team members to the upcoming United Nations Climate Summit, December 1st through 12th in Poznan, Poland. While we will likely glean some insight into King Obama’s policies; whether he wishes to completely hand over American environmental sovereignty will have to wait until just before the Copenhagen talks begin in 2009. It is my opinion that he will indeed seek to erode American sovereignty further via either an expanded Kyoto type treaty or global version of the “North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation”⁵. Neither of which will help protect the environment and instead will only line the pockets of professional environmentalist robber barons.

Source(s): ¹Bloomberg.com WorldWide • ² USA Today via GreenChange “Obama embraced coal industry, condemned Kyoto treaty” by: Ken Dilanian • ³ AFP - “Climate talks: Obama victory offers hope, but Congress is key” • ⁴ CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-Extensions of Remarks October 28, 2000 • ⁵Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Allison Bricker

President-Elect Obama’s transition website “change.gov”¹ has now retracted and revised the page regarding mandatory civil service for American youth. The original page at the time of my initial post stated the following:

“Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year,”

However after quickly receiving mass criticism all over the blogosphere the website has altered the copy to read:

Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by setting a goal that all middle school and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year and by developing a plan so that all college students who conduct 100 hours of community service receive a universal and fully refundable tax credit ensuring that the first $4,000 of their college education is completely free.

Yes fellow readers, the Obama Administration is already trying to cover and spin their true intent by removing the word ‘require’ and thus replacing it with a $4,000.00 Dollar bribe. Regardless, we as Americans were given a brief insight to the true nature of this statist’s definition of “CHANGE”.

Mark my words fellow readers, neither King Obama, Rahm Emanuel, nor their “Civilian National Security Force” will get their hands on our two boys, so as to indoctrinate them into the centralized state’s definition of “community service”. Teaching our boys a sense of responsibility is our job, not the nanny state’s. The federal government has already demonstrated its inability to educate the public through their state run government schools; we will not be fooled again.

Finally, let us not forget the “Obama Youth - Junior Fraternity Regiment” video that made its way around YouTube featuring a group of brainwashed students conducted at the request of a Kansas City middle-school teacher. The students march in military garb chanting “Alpha-Omega” and “Yes we can”. History has shown that such blind allegiance is both dangerous and destructive to liberty.

Source(s):¹http://change.gov/americaserves/

Mandy Hyndman

Today I find myself wondering if the American people have suddenly taken leave of their ability to comprehend symbolism. I suppose I could find my answer by simply looking into the public education system and taking note of the number of art, music, and other creative programs being pared away to make room for Math, Science (insert derisive laughter here), and Army recruitment periods.

Perhaps I could dip into the glorious world of religion and take a poll to find out how many people think the Bible is an instruction manual for life that is to be taken literally word for word.

Maybe I have “Joe the Plumber” to blame. Is he just a plumber or is he the face of a political party ready to break up the nasty hairball of the economy and plunge the clogging turd of the war in Iraq? Is “Joe six-pack” really an allusion to Tom Cruise’s sexy body in Top Gun? Hey…Maverick! I finally understand! I simply need to buy more things from Wal-Mart and everything will be alright.

I really only need to look so far as West Hollywood, CA to prove my point, though. West Hollywood resident Chad Morrissette decided to exercise his first amendment muscle by hanging Sarah Palin in effigy (GASP!). Apparently, unlike Senator Obama whose likeness has been hanged all over the country, the spunky and adorable pit-bull…er hockey mom from Alaska is off limits for the kind of age-old message a hanging or burning effigy sends, i.e.: We are appalled and offended by your political leanings, be gone with you!

It wasn’t long before enraged protesters marched onto the scene and declared the effigy an act of hate and violence. The reaction was so impassioned that Chad decided it would be best to remove the dummy.

Well you know what protesters? I declare the effigy an act of symbolism much like burning a flag or lighting dog-poopy on a mean neighbor’s doorstep. It may be unpleasant, but it sure does get the point across, and I’ll be damned if Chad Morrissette of West Hollywood, CA doesn’t have the right to do it. I would venture to say that he is more patriotic than most Americans for having the guts to. I only wish that he had not allowed the angry taunts of an ignorant group of protesters to deter him from continuing to display his message–but it does speak volumes about the lack of individualism infecting our nation today.