JEKYLL ISLAND, GEORGIA – This week we travel back to Jekyll Island, Georgia this time to look in on a group committed to rescuing and healing injured sea turtles. We also examine how a private charity such as this may be able to fully free themselves from the bureaucratic red tape an organization becomes entangled in, upon their acceptance of a government grant.
Source(s): LCL Report • The Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Dr. Tarrin Lupo contributor to “The Smoking Argus Daily” and host of the “LCL Report”, will be live on air for an interview with Kurt Wallace host of the “Wake Up America Show” Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The interview can be heard live on Florida’s Eagle FM104.3, via live internet stream at the Wake Up America-Liberty Works Radio Network, or via the live embedded audio player below.
(Note: Due to Broadcast regulations, some commercials are not broadcast over the internet, which may result in “dead” air, however the stream will return at the commercial’s conclusion)
Dear Readers:
This week past, some readers of “The Smoking Argus Daily” took offense and expressed outrage at two of our recent articles. The articles in question, “President Obama’s Secret Goon Squad Still Torturing Prisoners in Gitmo” and “Jekyll Island Project Media Blackout; Bob Schulz Refuses Press Coverage” stirred up controversy over our criteria for publishing and some questioned “our” loyalty to the liberty movement.
Our criterion for publishing content is based on our determination as to the reliability and overall credibility of the original source. Thus, in reference to the President Obama article we stand behind the reputations of award winning journalists Amy Goodman and Jeremy Scahill.
This is why when we launched SmArgus one of our main goals was to combat the tabloid stereotype of online blogs by offering sources and hyperlinks back to the original sources. Nevertheless, we nor any other journalist is not above reproach, and as such, if a previously stated claim within a post is found to be wholly unreliable, inaccurate, or needs further clarification, we shall, issue a statement of retraction or clarity.
Additionally, if you came to SmArgus with the misconception that this blog would shirk from its responsibility to report critically on one particular viewpoint solely because a contributor or contributors possess a certain ideology, then we suggest you look elsewhere. The internet is replete with blogs who shill endlessly for their point of view, operating under the assumption that their philosophy or leaders are akin to gospel. The Smoking Argus Daily” is not one of them. There are no sacred cows.
“Therefore, we at The Smoking Argus, will not pander or seek the approval of any particular ideology, character trait, politician, political party, religious persuasion, ethnicity, etcetera, etcetera. We welcome everyone irrelevant of their label, both as contributors and those who add to the conversation via the post comment forms.”
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In closing, the style in which my reporting and editorial is based upon, is in part an homage to the old Chicago style muckrake journalists who contrary to today, refused to let the subject of an interview slither their way out of answering a question. Like it or not we and all the other bloggers, YouTubers, etc, are the new-media, and we have a duty to provide answers and opinion to our readers. You may not like the answers or opinion you read, and are free to voice your opposition in the comment section below each and every post. However, sometimes getting to the bottom of a story can be messy business.
Respectfully,
Allison Bricker
Editor & Publisher
This past Thursday and Friday, Bob Schulz, Chairman of the “We the People Foundation” held a two-day gathering of pro-liberty activists off the coast of Georgia on Jekyll Island. Students of history, those with an interest in modern money mechanics, and political junkies will recall that Jekyll Island was the birthplace of the banker-crafted legislation, originally entitled the “Aldrich Plan”, which led to the rise of the 3rd Central Bank of the United States, more commonly known as the FEDERAL RESERVE.
One purpose of the meeting sought to retrace the steps of the original 1910 trip, which resulted in the greatest swindle and Constitutional usurpation in our history. In addition to the sheer historical significance, the ad hoc meeting’s main purpose was to try to hammer out the numerous logistical and practical problems plaguing the organization’s upcoming “Continental Congress”.
My initial interview with Mr. Schulz regarding his organization’s plans for a Continental Congress occurred on January 20th of this year. During that interview, Mr. Schulz indicated he had already been forced to reschedule the date of the meeting twice and was now looking towards July as the date in which formal proceedings would commence. The third shift in dates according to Mr. Schulz stemmed from the overall complexity of the event and the fact that his original venue of choice, the National Constitution Center, revoked the contract at the last minute. The National Park Service denies his claim in its entirety.
Fellow readers, it has been a struggle for me since speaking with Mr. Schulz and those in his employ last Tuesday by telephone whether to unleash my blistering criticism upon both an organization and endeavor of whose efforts initially had my support. However, in the end, my loyalty lies with the Constitution, reporting of the facts, a desire to see this Republic restored, and human liberty expanded, not to an organization. Moreover, many of those who attended have my utmost respect both for their own tireless work towards the pursuit of liberty and for the sacrifices for which they have endured up to this point.
Nevertheless and contrary to our January interview, whereby Mr. Schulz impressed upon me the importance of and his dedication to total transparency regarding his organization’s endeavor, the Jekyll Island caucus was closed to all press coverage, video and print, during the actual substantive meetings. Upon inquiring about this complete reversal regarding his previously stated principle, Mr. Schulz put me in contact with the Media Director for the event, Mr. Todd McGreevy. When asked about the reasoning behind the media blackout during the actual meeting, he replied almost instantaneously:
“It’s insider business, that’s why. Mr. Schulz wants it that way”
Todd McGreevy
Media Director
Hardly a satisfactory answer, perhaps he has taken lessons from the current crop of politicians and press secretaries whose modus operandi seems to be to obfuscate and dismiss any question they do not feel obliged to answer, ergo Gibbs, Fleischer & Company.
Therefore, and let me make this plainly clear. It is not my desire to exchange one secretive organization, vis-à-vis the Bilderberg Group who also mandates media blackouts regarding their actual proceedings, for another group, regardless of stated intent.
For this reason, acts in pursuit of liberty are not planned under the darkness and cover of secrecy. Those with pure intent are conducted under the Sunshine of openness and transparency. Please correct me if the facts are to the contrary, but this meeting, nor the upcoming Continental Congress are not tasked with the planning or implementation of declaring war on our current corrupt trough of plutocratic oligarchs. Again, according to the original motivations expressed by Mr. Schulz, the whole point is merely to draft a formal Redress of Grievances, ala “The Olive Branch Petition”. Have we not had enough of the philosophy and justification thereof the misguided sentiment of state-secrets?
Fortunately, as of today, we have had the pleasure of speaking with several individual attendees to the meetings. Some of whom have expressed a desire to remain anonymous in order to retain the ability to report the facts of future committee proceedings should Mr. Schulz choose not to rescind the media blackout.
As such, we can report that for the fourth time in less than a year, the call to order of the Continental Congress has been pushed back until November 2009. The meeting is now scheduled to begin on November 9th and adjourn two days prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. This provides organizers just under twenty-four weeks to move plans out of committee regarding finalizing a location at the head of the holiday season, conducting and ratifying delegate nominations from fifty separate states, conducting fundraising for delegate offset expense packages, reserving and negotiating lodging accommodations, etcetera.
As it relates to the offset expense packages, our sources confirmed the existence of a pay package for delegates to offset the estimated $7,000.00 in expenses incurred per delegate. Thereby bringing the estimated price tag for each state delegation to $30,000 resulting in a grand total of $1.5 Million Dollars in delegate offset packages alone. Our sources inside also indicated that the expense offset package proposal came as a hedge against electing delegates that either were all independently wealthy or unemployed “deadbeats”. As such, with the hefty price tag coupled with the relatively short time span, the group needs to raise at a minimum $62,500 Dollars per week. Perhaps wagering as to when the fifth delay in the call to order will be announced would be the safer bet at this point.
Likewise, if the hope was to see a cross-section of average Americans; what percentage of potential delegates have the ability to up and leave their place of employment or turn over their small business for a period of at least three weeks in this ever-weakening economy regardless of an offset of expenses directly related to the trip? The idea of assembling in person seems rather cost prohibitive with such a small planning window. Let alone the added logistics of determining whom, how and where the money will be deposited prior to disbursement to delegates.
Nonetheless, it is this blogger’s opinion that there is perhaps more to be gleaned by those who either turned down due to scheduling conflicts or were wholly omitted from receiving an invitation, than merely reporting on the efforts of those in attendance.
It is a sign of continual disorganization or at worst utter disregard, to have scheduled the Jekyll Island event capitalizing upon the renewed and growing interest in the FEDERAL RESERVE, i.e. H.R. 1207 and monetary policy in direct conflict with the widely publicized Campaign for Liberty Seattle conference. As a result, excluding the Champion of the Constitution and perhaps the greatest voice of the last thirty years regarding the outright failings of central banking practices and a wholly fiat currency, Dr. Ron Paul.
Additionally, the remaining list of those unable to attend due to such short-notice reads like a who’s who of the liberty movement and includes:
Likewise, those completely left off the invitation only event include:
Consequently, according to Catherine Bleisch whom attended, the group has broken off into several committees and plans to reach out to the “left”. One then has to wonder how successful this endeavor will be if the “Welcome Wagon” exists overwhelmingly of older white gentlemen?
Please do not misconstrue my intentions as no one is calling for an “affirmative-action” delegate selection program, however one needs not be a genius to understand the dynamics of modern day America. We are a diverse nation and as illustrated above by those wholly omitted from invitation, it seems the group is content to leave appearances as pancake battered as possible.
Case in point, the 2nd Continental Congress convened in May of 1775 and the “Committee of Five” was formed to begin drafting the formal Declaration of Independence. The committee knew one of the largest obstacles they faced in winning a wide swath of both domestic and international support for independence was one of appearances. The committee was acutely aware that the cause was doomed to fail if the document they drafted played into the Loyalist claim whatsoever of being nothing more than a group of disaffected wealthy colonists with an axe to grind against the king personally.
Therefore, Mr. Jefferson purposefully and carefully created the Declaration based solely on the actions, or long train of abuses, implemented by the king and British Parliament. Thereby steering clear of attacks on the king’s personality or character traits. This fact leads many historians to agree that this deliberate construction of the document succeeded in not only unifying large numbers of previously ambivalent colonists, but also helped rally French sentiment towards the cause for independence.
Similarly, the liberty movement must acknowledge and accept that regardless of the actual facts, the perception of our movement is white and male. Therefore, it behooves those attempting to rally as much of the American public as possible to the honorable cause of individual liberty and the Constitution, to guard against accusations of a being nothing more than a “good-ole boys club”.
On the whole, it is my feeling that the liberty movement is at a critical juncture of breaking through the false left/right paradigm, the abuses endured, and the unlawful loss of liberties at the hands of the corrupt central authority. For this reason, if an endeavor as momentous as the Continental Congress is to succeed, it must be planned more carefully and deliberately. The haphazard organization by the “We the People Foundation” coupled with unrealistic fundraising timetables does not leave one with a feeling of confidence. Even more so since Mr. Schulz’s organization has seen fit to claim the title of self-appointed “leader” of the liberty movement.
