American Citizens & Lawmen Association
"An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy to be called an idea at all." -- Elbert Hubbardand:
"I personally think all oaths of office should take place on a gallows, to kind-of impress the matter on their minds." -- Ken Holder
Mike Lukivich at Marc Brands Liberty - Bush Titanic - cartoon commentary on Bush'es response to being proven wrong. Hahahahaha! [smith2004]
# Paul Simms at The New Yorker - New Details Surface - more on the Senate floor exchange of epithets between Dick Cheney and Patrick Leahy. Fictional, but hilarious. [root]
# William Rivers Pitt at truthout - Torturing Children - your government at war. There's a From the Wilderness archive of this story here. [smith2004]
The biggest story of the Iraq war is not about missing weapons of mass destruction, or about deep-cover CIA officers getting their covers blown by vengeful White House agents, or even about 896 dead American soldiers. These have been covered to one degree or another, and then summarily dismissed, by the American mainstream news media. The biggest story of the Iraq war has not enjoyed any coverage in America, though it has been exploding across the international news media for several weeks now.
The biggest story of the Iraq war is about the torture of Iraqi children.
...
We took thousands of innocent civilians off the streets in Iraq and threw them into hellhole prisons, where they were beaten, raped, and killed. This story has faded from public view because no new pictures of the abuses have come out in the last several weeks. Those pictures are out there, and they show the rape and torture of children. The international media is reporting on it. Coalition ally Norway may be preparing to flee Iraq because of the allegations regarding these children.
Where is the American news media? Where are the pictures? Who is responsible for this abomination? Torturing children in the name of freedom? Is this what we have become?
# Paul Hein at LewRockwell.com - A Vote Note - an entertaining screed on why you shouldn't vote. [lew]
My friends react with horror to my remark that I do not intend to vote in any future national elections. Both offer the same objection: "If you don't vote, how can you complain about the actions of the government?"
I presume they make that complaint because it is the first thing which pops into their heads. It certainly seems, at first blush, to have validity. In fact, it is utterly vacuous. Since we are lunching together, I ask, "Did you vote for the cook?" Their puzzled look inspires my next question.
"Did you ever fly on an airliner?" I ask. "Sure," is the reply. "So what?"
"Did you vote for the pilot?" Furrowed brows, quizzical stares. "No, of course not. Why should we?"
"Exactly. You expected that the pilot, whoever he was, would be qualified to do the job, right?" "Of course."
"And if, for some reason, there had been no pilot, would voting on which passenger was to fly the plane have made any sense?" Impatient shakes of the head. "No!"
"Well, there you have it. The President's job is not complex. His duties are listed in the Constitution, and they are not difficult. If the man elected to the job were to fulfill those duties, and uphold his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, what difference would it make who he was? Did it matter who flew the plane, drove the bus, or delivered the milk? Similarly, if the man elected had no intention of fulfilling the duties of President, would that be OK if he had been elected by a landslide?"
# Richard M. Dolan at Phenomena Magazine - The Unveiling of the National Security State - Machiavelli told them how to do it, and they've done a masterful job. The institutions of American liberty still look mostly the same, but they've been turned into so much empty clothing, in the process of falling apart to reveal the monster inside. [root]
Thus we see, in the wake of 9/11, that the veil of the New State is being lifted. It is a State that has become so expansive and powerful, it is no longer possible to hide it with the fig leaf of the old, honorable ideology of republican virtue. Consider our era the "coming out party" of the National Security State.
The millions of bumper stickers that proudly proclaim "God Bless America" would be better expressed with a slight change:
"May God have mercy on the United States of America."
# Devvy Kidd at News with Views - A New, Effective Way to Educate Your Local Sheriff - your local sheriff may not know that he is the law enforcement authority in his county. He can overrule the feds and the state police (check local laws about the latter). Devvy recommended in an earlier article that you inform him. If you've hesitated to do so, she now has an easier way. Send $25 to The American Citizens and Lawmen Association (don't miss the products page), and they will send your local sheriff a video and a letter. [sierra]
A wonderful tool is now available that can assist in reaching every Sheriff in every county in this country. The Sheriff: Powers and Responsibilities of Elected Peace Officers is a video available from the American Citizens & Lawmen Association. This film contains discussions with former Sheriff and current candidate for Governor of Utah, Richard Mack. I know this honorable man who sacrificed everything to gut the so-called 'Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.' Few people realize that court battle cost Richie everything he owned financially and put him in debt to protect your rights. He and Sheriff Jay Printz stuck with it and prevailed in a court of law against all odds and gargantuan legal bills. That's the kind of man Richard Mack is and I'm proud to call him friend.
...
I receive no compensation for recommending this ACLA project. I seek only to let Americans know that these good folks have made it very easy to reach out and touch your local Sheriff with the truth and remind them, via presentations from Sheriffs and a former U.S. Congresswoman, about the history of freedom and about the oath they take once they're elected. There are 3,141 counties and county equivalents in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. That's not that many and since there are tens of millions of us who cherish our freedom, those 3,141 county Sheriffs could be covered in less than 30 days. Don't wait for someone else to do this - it's your responsibility to do your part and this ACLA project makes it a breeze.
For more information, contact ACLA at 1.208.935.7852. You can also send a donation of $25.00 to them directly ($20 for the video plus $5.00 for the letter to your Sheriff and mailing costs) at: American Citizens & Lawmen Association, HC 11 Box 357, Kamiah, Idaho, 83536.
