Who won, Our Freedom & Liberties or the Terrorists?

Ten Years Later...
We’re Still Paying the Price

What to say, on this tenth anniversary, about the horrible events that occurred on that beautiful, sunny autumn morning of September 11, 2001 - "9/11" as it is now universally known?

Listen to Edmund Burke, speaking in 1715: "No passion so effectively robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear."

Our second President, John Adams, warned: “Fear is the foundation of governments.” 

Yes, of course - most rational human beings want to feel safe and be secure. But with bipartisan agreement among the politicians, our fears have been exploited, dumping hundreds of billions of tax dollars into the bureaucratic maw under the banner of “homeland security.”

What has 9/11 wrought?

Over the past decade a new and alarming system of government mass surveillance has been erected, and we know very little about it.

The massive Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an unnecessary conglomeration of 22 agencies and nearly 200,000 employees, together with an out of control FBI and CIA, engage in massive surveillance of all of us, not just suspected terrorists or criminals.

Our phone calls, our emails and website visits, our financial records, our travel itineraries, and our digital images captured on powerful surveillance cameras are adding to the mountains of data being mined for suspicious patterns and associations.

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead...
But in Too Many Ways He Died Victorious

When Osama bin Laden caused those airplanes to kill civilians 10 years ago, he took a lot more from the United States of America than the lives of more than 3,000 of our fellow citizens and residents.

Within a matter of days, if not hours, eager American politicians adopted fear as their continuing motif, justifying the sacrifice of our constitutional rights and liberties as the price of alleged safety.

The centerpiece of their opportunistic politics is the grotesquely named PATRIOT Act that has destroyed personal and financial privacy in America, rendering meaningless much of the hard won Bill of Rights we had honored for the last 220 years.

Yet most Americans have been all too willing to purchase that illusive security without regard for its cost in terms of lost personal freedom and liberties.

In an interview on the National Geographic Channel last week, George W. Bush says his most painful memory of that day was seeing the horror of people falling or jumping to their deaths from the Twin Towers and knowing there was nothing he could do to help them.

It would be useless for an interviewer to ask Mr. Bush what he thinks about what he and his successor in the White House, the constitutional law professor, Barack Obama, have done to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 

In pursuit of both terrorists and common criminals, Obama has perpetuated so many of the Bush administration’s wrongful policies that their policies are indistinguishable in the destruction of civil liberties.

The inimitable Oscar Wilde wrote:

"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."

As we observe the 10th anniversary of 9/11 this Sunday, the people of the United States have every reason to question whether their "leaders" really have learned anything from those thousands of needless deaths and the events of ensuing years.

Yet our leaders have sacrificed the very principles that they claimed to be defending.

I was one of the millions of horrified Americans watching television when United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:02:59 a.m., on 9/11/2001. I remember calling my wife to turn on the TV because I thought a well done movie was being played on every channel! I so wish that was the case.

After my sensations of horror, disbelief, anger, sorrow for the victims,  U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, spoke for me in expressing my troubled thoughts:

"Times of tragedy and war naturally bring out strong emotions... Sometimes people are only too anxious to sacrifice their constitutional liberties during a crisis, hoping to gain some measure of security. Yet nothing would please terrorists more than if we willingly gave up our cherished liberties because of their actions."

Sad to say, Ron Paul's prediction has come to pass in too many ways. A short six weeks after the 9/11 attacks, a panicked U.S. Congress adopted the so-called “USA PATRIOT Act.”

In my view, that “law” is the single most egregious example of an unconstitutional law ever enacted by Congress. I have spent 10 years chronicling the offenses that have been committed by U.S. government agents in its name. Tags in previous Blogs include "Big Brother, Obamastan and Obamination" among others!

So Who Is Winning - Freedom or Terrorism?

This raises the question... just how far are Americans willing to go on surrendering their liberty and their privacy? How much are we willing to pay for this promised, illusory defense? Are we willing to become Fortress America with Big Brother watching and listening to all that we say and do?

Americans had better put aside politically inspired fears, and start asking and answering that question - before we enjoy neither safety nor liberty.

More than one million Americans have died in all our wars. To observe that so many have sacrificed down through the centuries only accentuates the meaning and importance of the greater cause for which they died.

They died before their time, their promise unrealized, in the service of the country.

Ten years removed from 9/11, while thinking of the thousands of souls who died, we should consider President Abraham Lincoln’s advice in closing his Gettysburg Address: “... that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

9/11 truly was, and continues to be, America's moment of truth. Whether we pass or fail this crucial test is yet to be determined.

Failure is what we should truly fear.

This 10th anniversary of 9/11 is a good time to ask questions and demand answers. We need concrete proof that those in power, and those who aspire to power, realize what America has lost and whether they are willing to restore our constitutional rights and liberties.

In America, Freedom isn't Free

Ronald McDonald is under attack. 


Corporate Accountability International – a watchdog group – wants McDonald’s to stop marketing junk food to kids. It also wants Ronald, the clown McDonald’s has used for decades in its advertising campaigns, to retire. 


Whether or not Ronald promotes unhealthy food isn’t the real issue. The issue is personal rights and responsibilities. Corporate Accountability has absolutely no right to impose its views on our lives. 


Watchdog groups often forget that America grew out of the pursuit of personal freedoms. We the People have a right to pursue our own version of life, liberty and happiness.

Liberty is the defining attribute of America. And yet, we kneel and unquestioningly accept the authority of the Nanny State – paying any tribute it demands and obeying all its edicts just because they come wrapped in an American flag.

Look no further than the inappropriately named PATRIOT Act, which hastily became law in the aftermath of 9/11. It gave the government sweeping authority to spy on individuals inside the United States. 

Bob Bauman called it the “greatest single assault on personal and financial privacy in U.S. history.” 

And yet, it’s a gross demonstration of just how far we are willing to go to surrender liberty and privacy.

But it doesn’t stop there.

More Signs that a Quasi-Police State Is
Taking Shape Here in America

The Nanny State recently threw a fit over dairy.

School officials in Washington, DC, and Fairfax, VA, both recently removed chocolate milk from their menus. They believe that it has too much high-fructose corn syrup and, therefore, is detrimental to the health of children.

Lost in this process is any common sense on the part of the Nannies. 
(They also removed table salt, chicken nuggets, corn dogs and syrup for pancakes.) 

As a mother, what a child does – or does not consume – is a parental issue. I am not sure when the state got a say in the matter. Of course, there are many examples of public officials stepping into our lives to impose their dictates.

In Arizona, officials want to impose a $50 a year fee on obese Medicaid recipients who don’t follow a doctor’s plan to slim down. It’s comical to think the equivalent of 14 cents a day is really going to incentivize a lifestyle change. 

Congress has debated a tax on fast food and sugary soft drinks. And New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in recent years has launched campaigns against salt, trans fat and excess calories in restaurant meals. 

I’m not saying the pursuit of a healthier lifestyle is wrong. And I understand government’s desire to offset the expenses of an unhealthy lifestyle by recouping some of the costs incurred by America’s heavy eaters, drug users and smokers – and now, chocolate-milk drinkers. 

But fundamentally, we have a right to eat, drink and smoke all that we want, so long as those habits don’t infringe on the rights, freedoms and wallets of others. 

Yet that’s exactly what a government-controlled healthcare system does. It imposes upon all of us the costs of caring for those who choose not to care for themselves. And it does little to help those who truly do not have the capacity to take care of themselves. 

If you choose to down a 12-pack of Coors Light every night, you have that freedom as a sovereign individual … just as I have the right not to pick up the medical costs for your dialysis when your liver fails. 

Unfortunately, America’s system does not promote self-reliance … it promotes reliance on government, at the expense of the governed. 
And it gets worse … the government has come up with a way to use the tax system to limit our freedom of movement.

A recent report released by the Government Accountability Office claims the IRS could collect billions in owed taxes by blocking delinquent Americans from getting or using U.S. passports until they settle their alleged IRS debts. 

Bob Bauman explains, “The GAO found that in fiscal 2008, Americans who received passports owed a collective $5.8 billion to the IRS and could owe much more, since that estimate only factored in one year’s worth of passport recipients.” 

While less than 30% of Americans have passports, this is another sign that a quasi-police state is taking shape in America.

Time for Reflection and Vigilance

We frequently speak of freedom and liberty … often in terms of very real threats posed to both these precious commodities.

To observe that many have died for the American cause over the centuries accentuates the meaning and importance of the cause for which they gave their "last full measure of devotion," as Lincoln said.

Guard against the destruction of our rights and freedoms – whether the threat is from abroad or from within – to ensure that they did not die in vain. 

World War 3-Started in 1979

This is not very long, but very informative you have to read the catalog of events in this brief piece. Then, ask yourself how anyone can take the position that all we have to do is bring
our troops home from Iraq, reset the snooze alarm, go back to sleep,and no one will ever bother us again. In case you missed it, World War III began in November 1979..

US Navy Captain Ouimette is the Executive Officer at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida.
 Here is a copy of the speech he gave last month. It is an accurate account of why we are in so much trouble today and why this action is so necessary.AMERICA NEEDS TO WAKE UP!
 That's what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 (When more than 3,000 Americans were killed) and maybe it was, but I think it should have been 'Get Out of Bed!' In fact, the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then.
 It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency The attack on this sovereign U. S. Embassy set the stage for events to follow for the next 25 years.
 America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Vietnam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then, President Carter, had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism.
 America's military had been decimated and down sized since the end of the Vietnam War. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start.
 Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued.
 In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more.
 Then just six short months later in 1983 a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more.
 Two months later in December1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continues her slumber.
 The following year, in September1984, another van was driven into the gate of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.
 Soon the terrorism spreads to Europe. In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid.
 Then in August 1985 a Volkswagen loaded with explosives is driven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rheine-Main, 22 are killed and the snooze alarm is buzzing louder and louder as US interests are continually attacked.
 Fifty-nine days later in 1985 a cruise ship, the Achille-Lauro is hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and executed.
 The terrorists then shift their tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259.
The wake up alarm is getting louder and louder.
 The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America. In January1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
 The following month, February1993, a group of terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured. Still this is a crime and not an act of war? The Snooze alarm is depressed again.
 Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a US military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women.
 A few months later in June of1996, another truck bomb explodes only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroys the Khobar-Towers, a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500. The terrorists are getting braver and smarter as they see that America does not respond decisively.
 They move to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.These attacks were planned with precision. They kill 224. America responds with cruise missile attacks and goes back to sleep.
 The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled alongside the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors. Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime and went back to sleep.
 And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 and we chose to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.
 In the news lately we have seen lots of finger pointing from every high official in government over what they knew and what they didn't know. But if you've read the papers and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew. You don't have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security Council to see the pattern that has been developing since 1979.
 I think we have been in a war for the past 25 years and it will continue until we as a people decide enough is enough. America needs to 'Get out of Bed' and act decisively now. America has been changed forever.  We have to be ready to pay the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues. We cannot afford to keep hitting the snooze button again and again and roll over and go back to sleep.
 After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto said '... it seems all we have done is awakened a sleeping
giant.' This is the message we need to disseminate to terrorists around the world.
 This is not a political thing to be hashed over in an election year, this is an AMERICAN thing. This is about our Freedom and the Freedom of our children in years to come.
 If you believe in this, send it to as many people as you can especially to the young people and all those who dozed off in history class and who seem so quick to protest such a necessary military action.

 

 

USA Obituary

Well we have some catching up to do people, but it is not just the end of the year, it might just be the end of the USA as we know it! Read below for something to think about:
Well folks, I have been telling people since I learnt it in school. The USA is NOT a democracy! We do NOT have 1 man, 1 vote and the very wise Scottish Professor wrote over 200 years ago that we will not last! Here is your thought of the day!

OBITUARY
Born 1776, Died 2008
It does not hurt to read this several times.

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota , points out some interesting facts concerning last November's Presidential election:
• Number of States won by: Obama: 19 McCain: 29
• Square miles of land won by: Obama: 580,000 McCain: 2,427,000
Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million McCain: 143 million
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Obama: 13.2 McCain: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory McCain won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country.
 Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low income tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..."Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegal’s and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.


Apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

France vs US/British troops

I'll bet that no one knew that we had a small war against the french in N. Africa in order to surround the Germans in WW2! We had to start somewhere. Although American Generals wanted to attack france proper, we would have lost. Hitler was so inflamed that we had a foothold in N. Africa he took spain to counter this action. They were with the Nazi's anyway, so no great deal there, but they are only 22 miles across from N. Africa, shorter than the Brit Channel! [D-Day]   


 Churchill & Roosevelt decided that by taking Morroco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, cutting off the Germans ability to protect Europe from the south was paramount! Great call! However in this month in 1942 the Americans had to beat off a mighty french navy in order to land. This was the first "combat" role the Americans played in WW2! Brits wore American flags to fool the french after landing. The YANKS decimated the french Naval Forces in weeks. This is why we were able to come up thru Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia [which we broke up and gave to the muslims in the 90's] and finally into Germany proper.The North African "campaign"{frenchword} cost many American lives from a country we would later save!
 This all happened 65 years ago this month. Turn to your family members and thank them for doing their part on a brilliant 1945 victory. Our VETERANS are living history, please listen and ask them "How it was" before they're gone. You will have NO idea and please publish them here as we will put them together for an "accurate" account of different battles. I did this as a softmore, via "Legions" in Canada and had several books removed for inaccuracies in our Universities! This is for Rememberance Day around the world! For anyone that wants stats and names of soldiers please contact me!