Blog - Constitution Party

Draft Judge Napolitano — But Not As A Republican

Draft Judge Napolitano — But Not As A Republican

~ 5 February 2014 ~

by Robert W. Peck (Chairman, Constitution Party of Washington) –

The other night I ran across a Facebook page titled “Draft Judge Andrew Napolitano for President.” I found that it is associated with a website devoted to the same purpose of convincing the judge to seek the Presidency in 2016. I like Judge Napolitano. I’m not aware of his having ever said anything that I disagree with and I would be pleased to have him as President. However, I have one problem with this effort.

The “Draft the Judge” petition concludes by calling on “Judge Andrew Napolitano to offer himself as a ‘Republican‘ candidate for President of the United States” (emphasis added). This despite the fact that after identifying numerous of our country’s ills, the petition rightly identifies both the Republican and Democrat Parties as the source of our problems, stating that they have “worked in tandem as an entrenched political duopoly to put the United States on this path, despite both parties’ claiming fundamental ideological differences.”The petition goes on to state that “both parties have done so because they are controlled by professional politicians and special interest groups that do not hold the best interests of the American people at heart,” to which I say, “oh how true.”Continuing, the petition says “the only way to transform a system riddled with such corruption and cronyism is to support groups and candidates currently outside the government and neither controlled by nor invested in such special interests.”

Excuse me, but how exactly is seeking the Republican nomination an act of going outside the controlled Establishment and special interests? The “R&D” duopoly are the epitome of controlled, insider, Establishment politics that’s bought and paid for by power brokers and special interests.

Have we learned nothing after twice watching the “R” party leadership lie, cheat, steal and do whatever it had to to prevent Ron Paul, a Constitutionally sound and courageous candidate that they cannot control, from getting the nomination? And have we learned nothing after watching the same party subvert the campaigns of similar men of principle at the state and local level?

Election cycle after election cycle I’ve watched as the “R” party Establishment leadership works to undermine the campaigns of any overtly God-honoring, Constitution-upholding, liberty-loving candidates in the primary election. I’ve heard story after story of the shenanigans pulled by the party leadership to push the Establishment choice through the nomination process, will of the membership be damned. When the occasional God honoring patriot makes it through the primary, the party has been known to actually undermine that candidate’s campaign in the general election, preferring a Democrat who will maintain the status quo over a man of courage and integrity who will uphold the Constitution and rock the Establishment’s boat. Even on the really rare occasion that a Constitutionist does get elected and goes to Congress, or the state legislature, they find their endeavors to honor God and uphold the Constitution opposed and thwarted by their own party’s leadership. They might as well have been elected and served as Democrats.

So what am I suggesting – that the judge run on a third party ticket, or as an independent? That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.

“Oh, but a third party or independent candidate can’t win” you might say. Well wake up – have any overtly God honoring, strict Constitutionists who are sincerely contending for liberty won as Republicans? Well, about a half dozen or so have won in Congress and the numbers are about the same in most state legislatures. But I expect that many of those candidates would have won as independents or third party candidates based on their local name recognition and reputation. If the local folks who agree with a candidate’s views would simply give them the same support without regard for party label, then I’m confident that most would have won even as third party or independent candidates.

But why not run as a Republican? Because every time a good man, with good values, who honors God, upholds the Constitution and contends for the real principles of liberty runs as a Republican, he lends his credibility as a Christian and a Constitutionist to a party that has become anything but Christian and Constitutional.

Now I realize that there are a lot of nice Christian people still trapped in the Republican Party and I know that people will point out that the Republican Party has a good platform. But did Jesus say we should know a tree by its leaves or by its fruit (Mat 7:15-20)? The Republican Party may have a lot of nice Christian leaves (members) and be cloaked in a quite conservative platform, but the only test that I’ve been instructed to judge a thing by is the fruit that it produces. So what fruit has the Republican Party produced?

Now before you say “oh, but those pesky Democrats won’t let the Republicans do anything good,” let’s stop and consider that over the last quarter century that I’ve been paying attention to the affairs of government, the “R” party has been in power about half the time. They have held the Presidency with a Democrat controlled Congress (1988-92), they have controlled Congress under a Democrat President (1994-2000), they had the whole enchilada from 2000-06 and even now they control the branch of the federal government responsible for all bills for revenue and thus have full control over the nation’s spending habits. The “R” party also controls fully half of the union states with 25 states having both an “R” majority in the legislature and an “R” governor.

Despite all this opportunity, can you name for me one time that the Republican Party produced even one piece of good, God honoring, Constitution upholding, liberty restoring fruit? Can you name one time that the budget has been balanced, the borders secured, Constitutional money restored, abortion ended, foreign aid eliminated, foreign interventionism and international meddling ended…? Can you name one “R” party controlled state that has exercised its 10^th Amendment rights and stood up to federal usurpation, nullified un-Constitutional federal acts or produced overtly God honoring, Constitution upholding fruits of liberty?

It’s time to judge the tree by its fruit and the fruit is corrupt.

But why not run as a Republican anyway per adventure the judge might have a little better chance of winning? Because every time that a good man associates himself with a corrupt entity, he lends his reputation to that entity and brings it credibility – credibility that causes well meaning Christians and conservatives to continue to be held hostage by a party that is only serving to shove toxic, bitter fruit down their throats.

Running Constitutional candidates under the banner of an un-Constitutional party is only helping to deceive people into thinking that party is Constitutional. Running sincerely Godly candidates under that banner is only misleading people to perceive that party as Godly.

It’s time to stop perpetuating the lie. It’s time to “Come out of her, my people” (Rev 18:4) and “Be ye not unequally yoked” (2 Cor 6:14) with an entity that is not even trying to go in the direction that Christians and conservatives claim to want to go.

Am I saying the judge could win as an independent or third party candidate? Probably not – not without a major change in the spiritual condition and general moral climate of “we the people.” However, I expect he would have about as good a chance as he does of winning the Republican nomination.

More importantly though, by refusing to associate himself with an entity that in truth does not represent Biblical values, Constitutional limits or the founding principles of liberty, the judge could help shake good people free from their dependency on, and captivity in, a party that truly is holding them hostage and exploiting them for nefarious purposes.

I believe much more good could be accomplished by Judge Napolitano’s choosing to only associate himself with people and organizations of like mind who are sincerely committed to the principles and values of the American founders. I would recommend for the judge’s consideration, the Constitution Party, an organization that from its inception has held the values of the Founding Fathers as its guide. Associating with such an organization would be an equal yoking and would help bring attention to the principles and values that need to be restored in America rather than wasting a good man’s reputation on bringing credibility to a corrupt entity.

Even running as an independent would help shake people loose from their political strain of Stockholm Syndrome that keeps them supporting their political captors. At a minimum, a high profile, Constitutionally credible candidate, running outside the Establishment duopoly would help shake the political powers that be and perhaps lessen their hold on power and their hold over the people.

As much as I appreciate Judge Napolitano, if he chooses to run as a Republican, I won’t be able to bring myself to expend my effort in support of his campaign. Spending time, money or the reputation of a good man on anything associated with the “R” party would be tantamount to giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

Let’s find courage – courage to stand and not bow to the power brokers and party bosses that tell us that we need them, their influence, their money or their party initial after our name. Let them be accursed along with their lust for power and their willingness to sell our American birthright of liberty to get it.

_______________________________

For more thoughts on this topic, please refer to my article on Whether to Run as a Republican

Bob Peck is the writer of the American Perspective blog – Politics, government and society from a Christian and Constitutional perspective. He is currently serving as Chairman of the Constitution Party of Washington, and is the Senior Coordinator of the national CP Multimedia Group, his specialties being videographing and podcasting. You can read more of his work at: bobpeck.wordpress.com.

Perils of A Porous Border

by Peter Gemma – National Executive Committee member, originally published at unz.com

Protecting the 1,954-mile Mexico-U.S. border, as some pundits assert, is not just an economic issue, or a problem of criminal drug trafficking and gun running. It threatens America’s national security. In an August 13, 2013 op/ed in The Washington Times, Retired Admiral James Lyons, who was senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations, stated, “Fixing our porous borders is one of combating the threat of terrorism that America faces. In the various efforts to reform the U.S. immigration system, often overlooked in the debate is its impact on national security.”

The statistics are alarming: according to an August 1, 2011 investigative report in the Columbus Dispatch, the United Nations estimates that 97 percent of the illegal immigrants who enter the U.S. clandestinely do so across the U.S.-Mexican border. However, only 20 percent of illegal aliens are caught. Smuggling illegal aliens across the border is now a $6.6 billion industry for Mexican crime syndicates.

In an interview with this writer, Penal County Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “Pinal County is roughly 70 miles north of the border. In 2010, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 212,202 illegal aliens were caught in the Tucson sector alone. The Border Patrol admits for everyone captured, another 2.7 make it into the United States undetected. Of the individuals who are apprehended, as many as 30 percent of them already have a criminal record in the United States.” Ongoing, even increasing, human trafficking and drug smuggling has a new wrinkle: Michael Braun, former Chief of Operations at the Drug Enforcement Agency, testified at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on February 2, 2012 that suspected terrorists have now formed alliances with Mexican drug lords, which allows them to “operate freely in our neighborhood.” Braun asserted, “I don’t want to sound too crude, but I think there’s going to be hell to pay in the not too distant future.”

On May 21, 2013, Rebecca Gambler, director of the Homeland Security and Justice for the Government Accountability Office (GAO), gave testimony before the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security and revealed that DHS identified 1,901 illegal overstays “of concern” in 2011. As of March 2013, 266 remain missing. The 1,901 cases were made a top priority for further investigation by DHS “because the subjects of the records could pose national security or public safety concerns.” Emphasis clearly mine.

Former National Intelligence Director Mike MConnell, in an interview with the El Paso Times, noted, “Are terrorists coming across the Southwest border? Not in great numbers [but] there are some. …” Later, he goes on to admit, “There were a significant number of Iraqis who came across last year. Smuggled across illegally … It’s significant numbers.”

In fact, thousands of illegals have been caught crossing the borders who are classified as “OTMs” (Other Than Mexicans). Records from a detention center near Phoenix show illegal aliens from Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan, and Yemen are in custody. And the trend line of illegals coming from those countries is worrisome. According to the Customs and Border Protection’s Immigration Yearbook 2011:

108 Syrians were apprehended at the border; 1,353 have been caught over the past ten years.
198 Sudanese were arrested, bringing the ten year total up to 1,207;
276 Iranians were nabbed in 2010; 2,310 were captured over the previous ten years;
525 Pakistanis were caught sneaking across the Mexican border, bringing their ten year total to 10,682.

These are not political refugees or those seeking green cards — they are illegal aliens who deliberately chart an expensive and secret course to the U.S. via our spongy border with Mexico.

Of course none of these statistics or even expert opinions mean we are under imminent attack from crazed jihadists. The vast majority of these Middle Easterners, like their Mexican counterparts, are crossing the border to find a better and safer life — quickly and without trace — and they know the U.S.-Mexican border is an easy route. But there should be more concern, more action, simply because some specific instances are unsettling.

For example, in 2010, federal prosecutors in San Antonio issued an indictment against a Somali human smuggler that was unusual in its detail. The government’s case divulged that the smuggler, Ahmed Mohammad Dhakane, was a member of Al-Ittihad Al-Islami (AIAI) and the money laundering front Al-Barakhat — both of which are affiliated with the Somali terrorist organization Al-Shabaab. Not only had Dhakane illegally entered the U.S. through Mexico, but prosecutors filed documents alleging that Dhakane smuggled at least several other AIAI operatives as well.

Then there is Abdallah Nafisi, who called on his comrades to bring weapons of mass destruction to America, specifically referring to the pedestrian entry tunnel at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. A Washington Times article (“Al Qaeda eyes bio attack from Mexico”), describes Nasfi’s recruiting video, posted on the internet in 2009, as carrying this message: “Four pounds of anthrax — in a suitcase this big — carried by a fighter through tunnels from Mexico into the U.S. are guaranteed to kill 330,000 Americans within a single hour if it is properly spread in population centers there. What a horrifying idea; 9/11 will be small change in comparison …There is no need for airplanes, conspiracies, timings and so on.” In 2001, Mahmoud Kourani (the brother of Hezbollah’s security chief in southern Lebanon) came through the San Ysidro Port of Entry in the trunk of a car, after bribing a Mexican embassy official in Beirut to get a visa.

And more. In December 2002, Salim Boughader Mucharrafille, a café owner in Tijuana, Mexico, was arrested for illegally smuggling more than two hundred Lebanese into the United States, including several believed to have ties to Hezbollah. In 2010, Muhammad Nazmul Hasan and Mirza Muhammad Saifuddin, were intercepted near Naco, Arizona, not long after they had crossed the border. During their interrogation, one of the men admitted that they were members of Harakat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami-Bangladesh, which was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in February 2008.

Bottom line? There’s no sure-bet solution, but let’s start by sealing off the border — it’s the promise of many politicians, but their delivery has gone from bad to worse. The Department of Homeland Security spends $4 billion annually deploying over 58,000 personnel with 16,875 vehicles, 269 aircraft, 300 watercraft, and 300 camera towers. It even uses aerial drones to enhance the scrutiny. In 2012, the Border Patrol apprehended about 357,000 people — a 78 percent drop since 2000. A February, 2013 GAO report found that just 44 percent of the border was under “operational control,” 37 percent was “monitored,” and the rest “low-level monitored.” In 2006, Congress passed a bill that called for a double-tier fence to be built along 700 miles of the border. But a year later, the U.S. Senate slipped language into a spending bill to water down that requirement, giving Homeland Security officials the leeway to determine how much and what type of fencing. As of early this year, the department had built just 36 miles of two-tier fencing, 316 miles of single-tier fence, and another 299 miles of vehicle barriers that still allow pedestrians to cross, but is meant to keep out smuggling vehicles. Commentator Charles Krauthammer explains the issue this way: “It’s not complicated. Build the damn fence.”

Even before the fence posts are driven into the ground, let’s put a sense of urgency into that job by further investigating the threat that the porous border poses to national security.

Peter B. Gemma is an award-winning writer who has been published in a variety of venues including USA Today (where more than 100 of his commentaries have appeared), Military History, the DailyCaller.com, The Washington Examiner, the EconomicPopulist.org, and Congressman Ron Paul’s CampaignForLiberty.org

Illegal Alien Crime and Violence by the Numbers: We’re All Victims

by Peter B. Gemma, National Executive Committee member

At first glance, the statistics are jolting. According to the United Nations, 97 percent of the illegal immigrants who enter the U.S. clandestinely do so across the almost 2,000-mile border between the U.S. and Mexico, but only 20 percent of those who cross the border illegally are caught.^[1]

The New York Times reports that about 4.5 million illegal aliens in the U.S. drive on a regular basis, many without licenses or insurance, or even the ability to read road signs written in English.^[2] (Meanwhile, the California legislature has just voted to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.) Yahoo.com writer J.C. Grant notes, “There is a statistically significant correlation between state per capita illegal immigration rates and car thefts. This correlation is particularly strong: the odds are less than two in one million that the correlation is a chance occurrence.”^[3]

If just car thievery were the main concern, it would be an important problem to address. However, the Office of Immigration Statistics reported that of the 188,382 deportations of illegal aliens in 2011, 23 percent had committed criminal traffic offenses (primarily driving under the influence). Congressman Steve King (R-IA) estimates that illegal alien drunk drivers kill 13 Americans every day — that’s a death toll of 4,745 per year.^[4]

The 23 percent criminal traffic offenders figure is only part of the overall picture. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, another 23 percent, more than 43,000 illegal aliens, were convicted of drug offenses. The violent crime category of assault, robbery, sexual assault, and family offenses comes to 12 percent. The non-violent crime grouping of larceny, fraud, and burglary totaled seven percent, and on the list goes — equaling 100 percent of illegal aliens who have been through the criminal justice system and inflicted thousands to millions in cost per alien on the system, for issues having nothing to do with their illegal entry into the country.^[5]

In an interview with this author, Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “Pinal County has followed the trend of the majority of counties across the United States, so we have seen most of our major crime statistics drop during the past few years. The one area we have not seen drop — which has seen dramatic increases in fact — is crimes tied to illegal immigration. Our high-speed vehicle pursuits have rapidly increased each year from 142 in 2007 to 340 such incidents in 2010. Marijuana seizures have spiked from a low in 2008 of about 19,600 pounds to over 45,500 pounds in 2010. My deputies are telling me more and more that they are apprehending guns and high tech communication equipment from cartel operatives.”

Sheriff Babeu went on to make this point:

Pinal County is roughly 70 miles north of the border. In 2010, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 212,202 illegal aliens were caught in the Tucson sector alone. The Border Patrol admits for everyone captured, another 2.7 make it into the United States undetected. Of the individuals who are apprehended, as many as 30% of them already have a criminal record in the United States.

The liberal Huffington Post writer Chris Kirkham recently noted that, “this year, more than 60 percent of all federal criminal convictions have been for immigration-related crimes, federal data show.” He went on to observe in his August 23 piece, “In Texas’ southern federal court district this year, where nearly 90 percent of all new prosecutions were for illegal entry and reentry into the United States, federal authorities are looking for more room to hold detainees, many of whom are charged with immigration crimes.”^[6]

The figures add up.

According to TracImmigration.com, the independent and nonpartisan resource site for information about federal immigration enforcement, illegal reentry under Title 8, Section 1326 of the United States Code was the most commonly recorded lead charge brought by federal prosecutors during the first half of FY 2011. It alone accounted for 47 percent of all criminal immigration prosecutions filed. The average prison sentence was 14 months for those convicted where illegal reentry was recorded as the lead charge^[7](at an estimated cost of $134 per day per inmate^[8]).

And the recidivism rate is on the rise. An April 19, 2013 story from the Miami Herald reveals that, “New figures show that the number of federal prosecution cases against previously deported immigrants is increasing nationwide.”^[9]

An investigative news piece in the Columbus Dispatch included this finding:

Nationwide, the number of people prosecuted for coming back illegally after being deported has increased by 175 percent since 2005, according to a report by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, which gathers and analyzes data from public agencies.

The Columbus Dispatch story goes on to report that locally, “illegal re-entry cases represent about a third of the caseload for the federal public-defender’s office, according to Gordon G. Hobson, a senior litigator for the federal public-defender’s office. Ten years ago, it was about five percent,’ he said. ‘Not everyone who comes back illegally and is caught a second time is prosecuted.’”^[10]

Recently there has been a surge of crossings as talks about new restrictions in trade for amnesty are taking place. “We’ve seen the number of illegal aliens double, maybe even triple since amnesty talk started happening,” one border agent who asked to remain unnamed due to fears of retaliation within Customs and Border Protection, something he said is common. “A lot of these people, although not the majority, are criminals or aggravated felons. This is a direct danger to our communities,” he warned.^[11]

A new study published by the Migration Policy Institute and the Wilson Center sheds light on the passage of Central Americans through Mexico, in a phenomenon called “transmigration”. Among the findings cited is the fact that arrests by the U.S. Border Patrol of individuals from countries other than Mexico have increased from 59,000 in FY 2010 to 99,000 in FY 2012.^[12]

Fox News, obtained reports by the House Judiciary Committee and nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. They are the result of the committee’s subpoena request for Department of Homeland Security records from October 2008 to July 2011. The information was analyzed by the CRS and show 276,412 reported charges against illegal and criminal immigrants over that three-year period as identified by Secure Communities, a federal program that essentially attempts to make best use of resources by identifying and prioritizing which illegal immigrants pose the biggest threat to public safety and should be arrested or deported. Fox News reports, “Of the 160,000 people in the database, more than 26,000 were re-arrested — accounting for nearly 58,000 crimes and violations. They allegedly committed nearly 8,500 drunken-driving offenses and more than 6,000 drug-related violations. The records also show major criminal offenses, which included murder, battery, rape, kidnapping and nearly 3,000 thefts. Roughly two percent of the crimes included child molestation, lynching, and torture, according to the 13-page Congressional Research Service report.”^[13]

Sheriff Paul Babeu observed, “The Mexican drug cartels have almost toppled the Mexican Government and they are crossing into Arizona at will. In Mexico, over 42,000 lives have been lost to their wars and that number is rising by the hour. Their illegal drug trade is a forty billion dollar a year industry. The stakes are so high and the competition so fierce, that Mexican warlords are sparing no expense. Pinal County has seen mass murders, execution-style slayings, sexual assaults, kidnappings, shootings, armed robberies, burglaries, and more — all tied to illegal immigration.”

Counting off face-to-face.

The overall perspective of the criminal behavior of illegal aliens is grim. In a 2007 Government Accountability Office study of 55,322 illegal aliens, analysts discovered that they were arrested at least a total of 459,614 times, averaging about eight arrests per illegal alien: 70 percent had between two and 10 arrests, and 26 percent (about 15,000) had 11 or more arrests. Drug or immigration offenses accounted for 45 percent of all offenses, and approximately 12 percent (over 6,600 illegal aliens) were arrested for violent offenses such as murder, robbery, assault, and sex-related crimes.^[14]

An FBI crime study also shows heavy illegal alien involvement in criminal activity revealed these statistics:

75 percent of those on the most wanted criminals list in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Albuquerque are illegal aliens.
One quarter of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals, as are more than 40 percent of all inmates in Arizona and 48 percent in New Mexico jails.
Over 53 percent of all investigated burglaries reported in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas are perpetrated by illegal aliens.
63 percent of cited drivers in Arizona have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that number, 97 percent are illegal aliens. 66 percent of cited drivers in New Mexico have no license, no insurance and no registration for the vehicle. Of that 66 percent, 98 percent are illegal aliens.^[15]

The numbers don’t show attitude or intent. “United States is stupid … I come back every time,” asserted Mexican national Rolando Mota-Campos to a Virginia-based immigration agent after his 11^th arrest — for crimes ranging from abduction, assault, four DUIs, vehicular assault, attempted robbery, and domestic violence. Mota-Campos has been deported three times and has vowed to return again.^[16]

And the numbers don’t show the depth of depravity of some illegal alien criminals. In Arizona, Mexican national Santana Batiz Aceves was charged with 47 counts of rape based on DNA evidence. He has already been deported twice for drug charges in California. Aceves also faces charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault, sexual abuse of a minor, giving police false information, providing false documents, and trespassing.^[17]

The statistics are traumatic, but the anecdotal stories are horrifying.

A year after Baltimore’s mayor signed an order officially converting the city into a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, federal authorities arrested an undocumented Ecuadorian national wanted for the brutal rape of a nine-year-old girl.^[18]

Carlos Martinelly-Montano, a Bolivian national who killed a Virginia nun in a drunk-driving accident, was on a new federal government supervised release program, allowing the illegal alien — who committed a series of crimes — to remain on the streets despite being subject to deportation. Rather than detaining Montano, authorities determined that he was a candidate for the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, which supposedly monitored his whereabouts.^[19]

Guatemalan illegal alien Juan Tzun killed California sheriff’s dispatcher Dominick Durden. In 2008, Tzun was charged with two felonies. He pled guilty to one felony and the other was dropped. Tzun was given 3 years probation but should have been deported. A year later he was caught driving drunk. Three more years probation, but again, no deportation. Another year later, Tzun was caught driving drunk a second time and was released — two months later he drove into Durden and instantly killed him. Finally, ICE detained Tzun until an immigration judge freed him on bond. Tzun spent all of 35 days in jail, and is now in detention pending deportation.^[20]

Politicians, lobbyists, and statistics.

During election season last year, a new initiative by the Obama Administration was described by Neil Munro, White House Correspondent for the dailycaller.com, in his story headlined, “Obama immigration policy opens work permit door to ID thieves, jailed illegals, uninsured drivers:”

The [new] White House immigration policy would not prevent illegal aliens who have committed identity theft or have been driving cars without licenses from obtaining work permits, an administration official told reporters during a press conference on Friday. It will also be extended to some illegals already in jail and to some who have already been approved for deportation by judges, he said … The presidential policy — which was pitched by officials as a large-scale exercise of ‘prosecutorial discretion’ — has been credited by Democrats with boosting Obama’s support among Hispanic voters into the 70 percent level.^[21]

The continuing — actually increasing^[22] — crime wave by illegal aliens can be linked to a series of policy actions taken by the Obama Administration as part of their open borders advocacy. The Heritage Foundation reports, “Congress has repeatedly considered, and rejected, a bill known as the Dream Act that would effectively grant amnesty to many illegal aliens. Yet in June 2012, six months before the election, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano issued a directive to immigration officials instructing them to defer deportation proceedings against an estimated 1.7 million illegal aliens. Oddly, this happened about a year after President Obama admitted that ‘the President doesn’t have the authority to simply ignore Congress and say we’re not going to enforce the laws you’ve passed.’”^[23]

Also last year, the Obama Justice Department announced it would stop deporting illegal immigrants who come to the country at a young age and meet certain requirements. The new rules apply to those who came to the United States before they were 16 and who are younger than 30, if they have lived here for five years, have no criminal history, graduated from a U.S. high school or served in the military. The change in policy could allow as many as 800,000 immigrants who came to the United States illegally not only to remain in the country without fear of being deported.

That new directive earned this remark from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA):

President Obama has once again abused his authority and unilaterally refused to enforce our current immigration laws by directing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to stop removing broad categories of unlawful immigrants. The primary reason why our immigration system is broken today is because our immigration laws have largely been ignored by past and present administrations. It’s imperative that we prevent this from happening again by taking away the enforcement ‘on/off’ switch from the President.^[24]

According to a statement by National Border Patrol Council, Local 2544, “This… [is] more of the ‘wait until they kill, rape, beat or molest someone here in America, then we’ll deport them’ logic. Any victims want to step up to the plate so they can make sure an illegal alien becomes a ‘felon’, making him deportable under the Obama and Napolitano rules? Brilliant strategy. They say they’ll deport ‘gang members’ as well. The illegal alien cheerleaders will love this new strategy. Those of us who actually have to put our lives on the line and enforce the laws? Not so much.”^[25]

In August of 2013, the Obama Administration issued the latest in a line of policy directives granting amnesty by default. This latest directive instructs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials not to enforce immigration laws in cases where an illegal alien is the primary provider for any minor child — regardless of the child’s immigration status — or the parent or guardian of a child who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.

Also in August, a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission news release (“EEOC’S Miami District Office and Mexican Consulate Offices Sign Historic Outreach Agreement”), hailed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) it signed with the Consulate General of Mexico in Miami and Consulate of Mexico. The pact “establishes an ongoing collaboration between these entities to provide Mexican nationals with information, guidance, and access to resources on the prevention of discrimination in the workplace regardless of immigration status … The EEOC’s Miami District Office is currently involved in plans for the agency’s participation in various ‘Labor Rights Week’ events scheduled throughout the state at the end of August by the Miami Consulate General and Orlando Consulate offices. ‘Labor Rights Week’ is an initiative to educate Mexican nationals and other Latinos about their civil rights, workplace safety, minimum wage laws, and human trafficking.”

Gangs add to the toll.

The invasion of illegal aliens has established a bloody battlefront in the form of street gangs.

What fuels the growth of gangs is money — easily obtainable via drug smuggling. A 2011 report from the National Gang Intelligence Center makes the connections between the Mexican drug cartels and various U.S.-based gangs, especially illegal alien rings such as Los Aztecas and MS-13.

US-based gangs have established strong working relationships with Central American and MDTOs (Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations) to perpetrate illicit cross-border activity, as well as with some organized crime groups in some regions of the United States. US-based gangs and MDTOs are establishing wide-reaching drug networks; assisting in the smuggling of drugs, weapons and illegal immigrants along the Southwest Border; and serving as enforcers of MDTOs interests on the US side of the border.^[26]

The report notes that, “Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials are observing a growing nexus between the Mexican drug cartels, illegal alien smuggling rings, and US-based gangs. It is estimated that criminals earn billions of dollars each year by smuggling aliens through Mexico into the United States.”^[27]

One of the better-known illegal alien gangs is the violent MS-13, the abbreviation for Mara Salvatrucha (loosely translated as “street smart clique”) — dubbed the “The World’s Most Dangerous Gang” by usually restrained National Geographic. Michael Sullivan, a former director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, says the Salvadoran gang’s use of brute force to keep control of its operations has kept MS-13 from being infiltrated. “MS-13’s foothold in the U.S. is expanding,” Sullivan says, with known affiliates in 42 states, up from 33 in 2005. The FBI believes that the gang’s L.A. members have a higher status among the group. The gang typically targets high school and even middle school students for recruitment. Aaron Escorza, chief of the FBI’s MS-13 National Gang Task Force says a “revolving door” on the border has kept the gang’s numbers steady even as many illegal immigrant members are deported.^[28] Reporter Dave Gibson notes that according to FBI records, there are at least 70,000 MS-13 gang members operating between Central America and the United States.^[29]

Another rapidly expanding gang, Florencia 13, works closely with the Mexican Mafia and is based out of South Los Angeles. Florencia 13 is part of a terrifying gang war scene that has turned L.A. into one of the most dangerous counties in the country. It also has members and influence in states like Virginia and Iowa. The gang has racked up charges ranging from piracy to conspiracy to sell drugs and murder over the last few years. They also have been cited for infiltrating the U.S. military.

Originally based out of El Paso, Los Aztecas have become a powerful paramilitary force on both sides of the Mexico border. Now many of the gang’s members are recruited from Texas prisons, and some of its work takes place inside prison walls, such as heroin production. Los Aztecas work with the Juarez and Los Zetas cartels running drugs, smuggling illegal aliens and murdering consulate officials. In March 2011, 35 members of the gang were charged with a variety of crimes, including 10 gangsters involved in the murder of the U.S. Consulate employee and several family members.

The ultra-violent Trinitarios has its roots in New York’s prison system in the 1980s, but quickly spread to the streets as inmates were released. Its influence is now felt in all five boroughs of New York and in at least 10 states covering all corners of the country. The predominantly Dominican gang, with deadly rivalries with other Hispanic gangs, is notorious for recruiting in high schools throughout New York and New Jersey, and is said to be behind a number of teen shootings and machete deaths.

A quick scan of the Internet finds sickening evidence of the carnage caused by illegal alien gangs on the prowl.

Police in the Sanctuary City of Austin, TX arrested two Mexican nationals who reportedly participated in the gang rape of a 13-year-old girl on June 29. As many as 13 men took turns sexually assaulting the girl. Many cheered and filmed the crime on their cell phones. Juan Lozano Ortega, 25, and Edgar Gerardo Guzman Perez, 26, were charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. Both men, Mexican nationals, are currently being held in the Travis County Jail on immigration detainers.^[30]

Pinal County Arizona Sheriff Babeu recounts this story: “On December 14th 2010, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was patrolling with three other members of his tactical team in Peck Canyon that is a notorious drug-smuggling corridor. At the same time five illegal aliens, all of whom were armed with weapons, were also patrolling in the same canyon. According to one of them who was later arrested, at least two of the illegal aliens carried their assault rifles “at the ready position.” After the Border Patrol agents identified themselves in Spanish as police officers, one of the illegal aliens opened fire striking Brian Terry in the back. The bullet pierced his aorta and he began to bleed profusely. He died at the scene. At the time of the shooting, Brian Terry was armed with a ‘less lethal’ beanbag shotgun [the weapon is designed to deliver a blow that will briefly render a violent suspect immobile]. Two of AK-47s recovered at the scene came from the failed ‘Fast and Furious’^[31] operation.”

What will be the tally?

The 2012 illegal alien population in the United States, based on Pew Research Center estimates, is an estimated 11.7 million U.S., up from a recent low of 11.3 million in 2009. Since 1990, the illegal alien population has more than tripled, and shows no sign of slowing.

Financial analyst and economics journalist, Edwin Rubenstein, Ph.D., noted in this journal that there “are the divergent trends [in criminal incarcerations] of the two most recent years for which we have data. From 2008 to 2009 the number of white male inmates declined by 15,000 (-2.6 percent); black male inmates declined by 5,000 (-0.6 percent); while the count of incarcerated Hispanic males rose by 15,000 (+3.5 percent.)” He also observed that, “Hispanic males were 37 percent more likely to be incarcerated than non-Hispanic males. More importantly, the gap is growing. From 2000 to 2009 non-Hispanic incarceration rates declined while Hispanic incarceration rates rose.”^[32] The only change seems to be a growing number of illegal alien criminals.

The Washington Times reports that, “14.7 percent of removal cases filed by the administration this year have alleged criminal violations. That figure has dropped steadily from 16.6 percent in 2010.”^[33] More illegal alien criminals, but fewer deportations.

Is immigration reform doomed? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel illegal aliens have burrowed in America? According to commentator Pat Buchanan, “The crisis of the West is a collapsing culture and vanishing peoples … mounts the greatest invasion in history of the world. If we do not shake off our paralysis, the West comes to an end.”^[34]

The answer may lie somewhere in these numbers: public approval of the way Congress is running the country hovers under 20 percent,^[35] and a remarkable 55 percent of registered voters disapprove of Obama’s handling of immigration policy.^[36] Add to that equation that approximately 53 percent of U.S. citizens believe that most or all illegal aliens should be deported. These numbers are encouraging.

However, approximately 42 percent of eligible voters did not go to the polls last year.^[37]

In this writer’s opinion, Buchanan’s wise advice to shake off our paralysis is crucial — vote and vote your convictions.

[1] www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2010/12/27/deported-illegal-immigrants-return-repeatedly.html

[2] “Some unlicensed drivers risk more than a fine,” by Julia Preston and Robert Gebeloff, December 9, 2010; www.nytimes.com/2010/12/10/us/10license.html?pagewanted=all

[3] “Illegal immigration rates strongly correlated with car thefts,” June 4, 2010; http://voices.yahoo.com/illegal-immigration-rates-strongly-correlated-with-6155000.html?cat=7

[4] www.wnd.com/2006/11/39031/#cjEhV0wE8KWZZZ5B.99

[5] www.cis.org/revolving-door-deportations-of-criminal-illegal-immigrants

[6] www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/23/undocumented-immigrants-prison_n_3792187.html

[7] http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/251/

[8] www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/investigations/122630554.html

[9] www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/29/3371655/feds-number-of-previously-deported.html#storylink=cpy

[10] http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/188382-criminal-illegal-aliens-deported-in-2011/

[11] http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2013/04/01/exclusive-illegal-border-crossings-double-as-beltway-gets-close-to-deal-on-immigration-reform-n1554148

[12] www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/RMSG-FinalReport.pdf

[13] www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/31/recidivism-rate-for-illegal-immigrants-nearly-20-percent-dhs-records-show-as/

[14] www.examiner.com/article/illegal-aliens-and-crime-statistics-not-on-obama-s-side

[15] www.examiner.com/article/illegal-aliens-and-crime-statistics-not-on-obama-s-side

[16] www.examiner.com/article/illegal-alien-being-deported-tells-reporter-i-ll-come-back-real-soon

[17] www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/2010/03/01/20100301chandler-serial-rapist-pleads-guilty01-ON.html?nclick_check=1

[18] www.ice.gov/news/releases/1305/130516baltimore.htm

[19] www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/jw-forces-release-of-dhs-report-on-illegal-alien-charged-with-killing-virginia-nun-in-august-2010-drunk-driving-incident/

[20] www.caps-blog.org/articles/2013/06/26/unlicensed-immigrant-killed-my-son-s-744-pardons-criminals/

[21] http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/03/obama-immigration-policy-loosens-work-permit-requirements/#ixzz2fkegvtlu

[22] It appears that more illegal aliens equal more crime. The Washington Times analyzed deportation numbers of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and found that of those deported this year, 55 percent had criminal records, up from 53 percent in 2012.

[23] http://blog.heritage.org/2013/09/17/morning-bell-5-ways-obama-has-trampled-the-constitution/

[24] http://goodlatte.house.gov/press_releases/444

[25] www.examiner.com/article/illegal-aliens-and-crime-statistics-not-on-obama-s-side

[26] www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/2011-national-gang-threat-assessment/2011-national-gang-threat-assessment-emerging-trends

[27] op. cit.

[28] http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-01-29-ms13_N.htm

[29] www.examiner.com/article/as-illegal-immigration-spreads-so-do-dangerous-gangs

[30] www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/23/texas-police-arrest-2-illegal-immigrants-gang-rape/

[31] The Department of Justice program distributed 2,000 weapons to gun-runners in the hopes of tracking them to drug gangs who would purchase the guns. However, the DOJ lost any trace of their shipments.

[32] www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc_21_4/tsc_21_4_rubenstein.shtml

[33] http://capoliticalnews.com/2013/07/09/supporters-of-criminals-upset-all-criminal-types-of-illegal-aliens-being-deported-not-just-the-violent-ones/

[34] Day of Reckoning: How Hubris, Ideology and Greed are Tearing America Apart, Thomas Dunn Books, New York; HB, 294 pages, $25.95

[35] www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/congressional_job_approval-903.html

[36] www.fairus.org/facts/illegal-immigration-and-amnesty-polls

[37] http://nonvotersinamerica.com

A Great Man Has Fallen

by Chuck Baldwin, April 25, 2013

There are five men who are called “great” in the Holy Scriptures.

One of them is a man by the name of Abner. Upon hearing the news of Abner’s death, King David said, “Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?”

My column today is dedicated to a great man. That man is Howard Phillips. Howard Phillips went to Heaven this past Saturday, April 20, 2013. I am so blessed to have gotten to know this remarkable man, and, more than that, to be able to call him my friend. I first met Howard some thirty years ago in the Bahamas. I attended a national meeting of conservative leaders and Howard was one of the principal speakers. I suppose the first thing that struck me about Howard was his remarkable intellect and deep conviction. It is no hyperbole to say that Howard Phillips was one of the most brilliant men I have ever met. A graduate of Harvard, Howard’s grasp of government, history, and law was unequalled.

Howard Phillips forgot more about those subjects than the vast majority of us will ever learn. He was literally a walking history encyclopedia. He might have been the keenest, sharpest mind that I have ever been exposed to. Howard Phillips was an intellectual giant. But as awesome as his mind was, Howard’s commitment to the principles of liberty was equally awesome. Liberty has never had a more ardent defender than Howard Phillips. And communism never had a more formidable adversary.

Howard Phillips was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and became a dynamic conservative leader from his youth. At Harvard, he was twice elected president of the Student Council. He was a GOP precinct worker, election warden, campaign manager, congressional aide, Boston municipal Republican chairman, and assistant to the Chairman of the National Republican Committee. He later became president of Policy Analysis, Inc., chairman of the Conservative Caucus, and founder of the U.S. Taxpayer’s Party, now named the Constitution Party. This is the third largest political party in the United States.

The Constitution Party nominated Howard three times as its Presidential candidate. Howard (“Howie” as he was known to his friends) served in President Richard Nixon’s cabinet and headed two federal agencies in the Nixon administration. He voluntarily resigned his post in the Nixon White House after Nixon reneged on his promise to defund the giant Welfare State, known as “The Great Society,” which had been created by President Lyndon Johnson. What many people do not realize is that Howard Phillips was the principal founder of what became known as the “Religious Right.” Howard was also the man who most influenced Jerry Falwell to start the Moral Majority.

Howard Phillips is as important to the rise of the modern conservative movement as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were to the rise of the independence movement in Colonial America. As a conservative and constitutionalist leader, Howard Phillips had no peer. One of the great honors of my life came when Howard asked me to seek the Constitution Party’s nomination for President in 2008. At his behest, and after much prayer and contemplation, I did this and was honored to have received that party’s nomination by an overwhelming vote from the party’s national delegates.

It was during that campaign that I received the endorsement of Congressman Ron Paul. During and after the 2008 campaign, Howard and I became very close. I found him to be among my dearest of friends and closest of confidants. Howard Phillips was raised as a Jew but became a staunch believer in Jesus Christ as an adult.

Howard and his wife Peggy have six children and many grandchildren, all of whom are among the finest people that anyone would ever meet. The entire Phillips family is an outstanding reflection of the character and commitment of both Howard and Peggy. Please pray for this wonderful family.

Now, I have one more honor that has been bestowed upon me: Peggy asked me to conduct Howard’s funeral service and preach the funeral message. To say that I am overwhelmed at being asked to perform such a task is an understatement. Nothing anyone could say is sufficient to honor a man the caliber of Howard Phillips. I covet your prayers. Howard’s viewing will take place at the Money and King Funeral Home in Vienna, Virginia, this Saturday, April 27, from 3:00-5:00pm, and Sunday, April 28, from 3:00-7:00pm local time. The funeral service will take place Monday, April 29, at 11:00am local time at the McLean Bible Church in Vienna.

As King David said of Abner, I say of Howard Phillips, “Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day?” The Phillips’ family has lost their patriarch, their loving and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. The Conservative Caucus has lost their beloved chairman. The Constitution Party has lost their courageous founder. Modern conservatives and constitutionalists nationwide have lost a Founding Father. Freedom fighters around the world have lost one of their truest allies. America has lost one of its greatest patriots. Liberty has lost one of its most ardent defenders. And I have lost one of my dearest friends.

(c) Chuck Baldwin www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com

Darrell L. Castle’s Tribute to Howard Phillips, the Constitution Party’s Founder

by Darrell L. Castle – Constitution Party Executive Committee and 2808 Constitution Party Vice-Presidential Candidate

Howard Phillips, founder of the Constitution Party, died at 3:50 PM, EST Saturday, April 20, 2013.

I met Howard in early 1992 when I was introduced to him by Don McIlvaney. Don asked my choice for the election that year and I said neither so he introduced me to Howard who was trying to start a new party. My wife, Joan and I became the Tennessee delegates to the first national convention.

Over time, Howard mentored me in politics and became a political father to me. Little by little he brought me along as I was able to accept more and more responsibility. Most of all he was my dear friend and I’ll miss him.

Howard enabled Joan and me to serve in the great cause of liberty and in the struggle for the soul of America. It will not be the same without his advice, wise counsel, and his eloquent speaker’s voice at every meeting. Listening to Howard’s stories and jokes were the highlights of every CP meeting. He knew so many different people in government that he could entertain endlessly with stories from his past. Howard had a great sense of humor and always appreciated a good joke. He loved theater, movies, and his family and never tired of talking about his children’s accomplishments. He never failed to inquire about family members not present and was intensely loyal and expected the same in return. He was always loyal to me and I like to think I was the same for him.

I remember Howard as being the best at speaking in front of a camera or just in front of a group. He had a matchless gift for the English language and was merciless as an editor. I learned a lot from him in that regard.

Howard Phillips was a lot more than I have been able to say with these few words. In the words of his son Doug he was the most principled and courageous statesman of his generation. He inspired many thousands of people with his courageous fight for liberty. He was a larger than life figure whose intellect towered over most of us.

I am honored to have known Howard and to have called him friend and brother. We were brothers in the fight for liberty and for western civilization, and we were brothers in Christ.

Rest in peace, Howard.

Education, Taxes & Government Schools

by Robert W. Peck – Chairman, Constitution Party of Washington

School levies will once again be on the ballot in various districts around my home state of Washington on February 14 (Valentine’s Day). The education establishment learned some time ago not to put bonds and levies on the regular November ballot as they often fail at elections where larger numbers of voters turn out. In recent years, such levies are nearly always voted on in a so-called “special election” at an off season when nothing else is on the ballot and few voters participate. If the education establishment can get its base of support to turn out, and if few voters participate overall, then an ever increasing flow of revenue for the bloated education bureaucracy will much more likely result. Never mind the waste of taxpayer dollars spent on a special election – “it’s for the kids!”

My friend Rick Kiesz, editor of the Palouse Patriot together with his wife Carolyn, has written a great article on the topic of government schools and why he will be voting “No” on ALL school levies. I wholeheartedly agree with Rick’s sentiments and encourage you to read his article. However, I have a few thoughts of my own that I’d like to add.

I’m sorry to have to say it, but those of us who identify ourselves as Christian, conservative or Constitutional, tend to spend more time complaining than taking action. We’ve become too preoccupied with talking about how big the education establishment is, how much money they have and how much power they have. We’ve convinced ourselves that there’s nothing we can do to stop the Godless, humanistic, socialistic brainwashing of a generation by the all-powerful government education establishment. But I beg to differ. In fact, I dare say that there are few if any problems facing America today that we couldn’t lick if we had the courage of our professed convictions and were willing to endure a little hardship and make some sacrifice.

For example, I’m persuaded that if Christians, conservatives and Constitutionists were to act on their professed values, we could demonstrate for all to see that there isn’t even a need for a government run education system. If the large percentage of the population that identifies as Christian were to place their children into Christian private schools, or homeschool (an equal or in some cases even better alternative), the government run schools would become virtual ghost towns. The injustice of taxing all the citizens in order to prop up the establishment bureaucracy that serves only a few, would become evident for all to see. The people would soon demand their tax dollars be returned to them to be used on the education option of their choice. The government education bureaucracy just might be put out of business altogether.

Now some will say “oh, but we can’t afford a private school tuition.” This is where putting our money where our mouth is comes in. If everyone who rails against the deplorable and depraved state of the government schools were to donate $5, $10, $25, or $50 per month to a private school (or a neighborhood homeschool family), that school could then reduce it’s tuition rate so that most any family could afford a private education. Those with successful businesses, or those who have finished raising a family and whose household expenses are now reduced, have no excuse.

If every Christian-conservative-Constitutionist were to act on their professed convictions, private Christian schools would become the new booming industry in America. They would be springing up in every neighborhood. They would be hiring teachers who would be set free from the bureaucracy of the government education establishment and turned loose to teach with all of their God given natural talent – free to honor their Creator as they educate children with all of the gifting that He has given them. And thanks to people like you giving to help support those private schools, they could offer assistance to families who truly cannot afford the tuition. The devotion of parents to their children in homeschooling or sacrificing to pay a tuition, and the sincere charity of others in assisting those who need it, would soon replace the bloated, bureaucracy ridden, government education establishment.

Gee, I’m getting myself all worked up here. Maybe I’ll just have to practice what I preach. Okay, I just stopped and wrote a check to the K-8 school at my church. Take that government schools!

This might sound like the lofty, idealistic vision of a dreamer, but the fulfilling of the dream is really only as far away as each of us giving up going to a movie once a month, or giving up a latte a couple times a week – a sacrifice alright, but much less sacrifice than those who laid down their lives and fortunes to give us this country. My point is that it is doable if we are willing to do what it takes. Therefore, whiling away my days complaining about the current state of affairs just isn’t an option for me, not while action can still be taken.

While the current government run education system remains, please don’t talk to me about the need for a levy or bond until the entire education system, from Washington DC, to Olympia, to the local school district, has undergone and implemented all of the recommendations of an independent performance audit and is running at the efficiency levels that would be expected and required in the private sector. You see, I’m persuaded that the problem isn’t that taxpayers aren’t taxed enough. I’m persuaded that the problem lies in a bureaucracy that consumes most of the funds before they ever make it to the classroom.

If it were up to me, I’d start by firing everyone in DC, Olympia and the local district except the teachers, the building maintenance staff, one principal and secretary per school and one administrator and secretary per district. I believe our teachers are smart enough to figure out how to properly educate children without an army of bureaucrats in far away places telling them how to do it. And if the district administrator isn’t capable of ordering the books requested by the teachers and assigning maintenance staff and funding in a manner that properly maintains the facilities, then we need to add hiring a new administrator to our to do list.

Perhaps this sounds excessively harsh, like I’m being too severe, I mean really, expecting a government bureaucracy to tighten its belt and live like those of us in the private sector, yea, that’s just plain unreasonable.

On this Valentine’s Day, or whatever day levies might be on your local ballot, let’s have a heart, show some love for the kids and vote “No” to heaping more debt, taxes and government bureaucracy on the backs of future generations.

Get more information about schools and levies at http://www.taxfacs.com/
(information is for Spokane County, but is indicative of the situation elsewhere)

If you agree with the content of this article, please forward, post and publish far and wide. If you don’t, who will?

Robert Peck lives in Spokane Valley, Washington where he owns and manages residential rental properties. He serves as the Chairman of the Constitution Party of Washington and as Western Area Co-Chairman for the Constitution Party National Committee.

Endowed or Entitled – Your Choice

by Peg Luksik

Once upon a time there were two brothers. The older would, by birthright, inherit all that his father owned. A day came when the older wanted something to eat. He had been outside all day, and was hungry. The younger had a meal already prepared. The older asked the younger to give him the dinner. The younger agreed, on the condition that the older would give up his birthright in return for the free meal. The older took the deal, gave up his birthright, and ate.

Most of us recognize the story. And we scratch our heads at a person who would give away an entire birthright for one meal.

We shouldn’t. We are just like him.

America was founded on the recognition that each of us has a birthright of endowed and unalienable rights. Like all birthrights, it brings the promise of opportunity and blessing, provided that we honor the responsibility of protecting and cherishing it. Our birthright cannot legitimately be taken from any of us, but each of us can choose to give it away. If enough of us make that choice, the birthright’s promise will be lost to all of us.

Sadly, many Americans are making that choice. They are selling their birthright of endowed rights for the free meal of government entitlements. And like the older brother in the story, they are convincing themselves that their immediate needs are so important that meeting them is worth what they are losing.

They may not even realize that they are selling one thing to get another. But they are.

It is not a coincidence that as the number of government entitlements increases, there is an equal increase in government’s assault on our endowed rights. The government is slowly changing its own job description from a protector of endowed rights to a grantor of entitlements. If it completes the transition, it will also have changed its status from a servant to a master of America’s citizens.

Let’s look at just one example. The government is marketing an entitlement to health care. Accepting it means allowing the government to determine who may receive what treatment at what cost under what conditions, effectively selling the endowed right of life. And, since the law creating the entitlement says the government’s power to make those treatment determinations is not limited to the individuals who have accepted the entitlement, the loss of the endowed right is more universal than the entitlement it has been traded for. Every American will be affected by the fact that some Americans have decided to sell their birthright.

The younger brother understood the value of the birthright, and he was willing to give something to get it. He understood that the meal would quickly end, while the birthright would last forever. His elder freely chose immediate satisfaction over long-term blessing.

Today’s government also understands the value of our birthright. To get us to trade it away, that government has created a whole system of enticements, hoping that we will act like the older brother -focus only on the meal and forget what we are selling. So far, the tactic is proving to be successful.

The reality is, we can either be endowed, or we can be entitled. An America where endowed rights are cherished will be free and prosperous forever, while an America full of entitlements will last about as long as the older brother’s meal. We all know what we think about that older brother. The question is, what do we want our children to think when they remember us?

_____________________________________
Peg Lutsik is a wife, mom, principled thinker, debater extraordinaire, and two-time Constitution Party candidate for Pennsylvania governor! A staunch pro-life leader, she authors the Internet blog, From the Kitchen Table, and is the founder of the Center for American Heritage. Please take time to visit her website, http://www.centerforamericanheritage.com . Peg has graciously given us permission to reprint her blog posts.

We Don’t Need Another George W. Bush

by Chuck Baldwin – Constitution Party 2008 Presidential Candidate

Last Saturday, Texas Governor Rick Perry unofficially launched his 2012 Presidential candidacy in Houston (in my opinion). Speculation is he will officially announce his intentions this weekend in South Carolina. If he does declare his candidacy, many election-watchers say Perry will become the GOP frontrunner, due to an extremely weak field of declared candidates. If Perry does declare his candidacy, everyone will know that the Houston event was staged for the purpose of launching his Presidential bid, rhetoric to the contrary notwithstanding.

If Perry declares his candidacy (and I’m confident he will), people should also realize that the Houston event was a precursor to the type of campaign that Perry will use throughout the Republican primary season. As a fellow Texan, it was not lost on Rick Perry how George W. Bush obtained the Republican nomination–and eventually the White House. In short, Rick Perry is going to use the G.W. Bush model to win a Presidential election.

Think about it: G.W. Bush won the White House after an extremely unpopular liberal Democrat had been President. Barack Obama’s popularity is even lower than Bill Clinton’s was–and Clinton was only the second President in US history to ever be impeached! Bush’s campaign boss, Karl Rove, brilliantly painted G.W. Bush as being a wholesome “born again Christian,” which played very well with a Christian electorate that was tired of being embarrassed by a lying, philandering reprobate living in the White House.

In 2012, the American electorate, especially the Christian electorate, is totally fed up with an incumbent President whom everyone knows to be extremely sympathetic to Muslim and Marxist ideologies. Plus, a sizeable percentage of the American people truly suspect that Obama was NOT born in the United States and is, therefore, not even qualified to be President. This is the stage upon which Rick Perry appears. It is a stage very similar to the one George W. Bush stepped onto in 2000. And just as Bush played the “born again Christian” card to the max in the 2000 Presidential campaign, so Rick Perry appears to be ready to do in 2012. That is what the Houston event was all about last Saturday.

Billed as “A Day of Prayer and Fasting,” the event solidified Perry’s preferred status among evangelical Christians. With the help of the American Family Association (which reportedly contributed up to a million dollars to the event), James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, and Cornerstone Church’s (San Antonio) Pastor John Hagee, Perry is all but assured of cornering the “born again” vote, just as G.W. Bush did in 2000.

One would like to think that America’s Christians learned something from the two GWB administrations, but it doesn’t appear that they have. I think it is safe to say that Dobson, Hagee, et al, would endorse ANYONE nominated by the Republican Party. They have already proven that, have they not? James Dobson went so far as to humiliate himself by endorsing big government John McCain in the 2008 general elections, even after vowing publicly that he would “NEVER” support McCain. During the primaries, however, the Republican candidate who can “talk the Bible” the best can expect the support of these clueless evangelical leaders. And this time around, it appears that Rick Perry is that man. You can rest assured if Perry doesn’t win the nomination, Dobson and Hagee will be right there for whoever does.

For the record, I invite anyone out there who still labors under the delusion that George W. Bush presided over some kind of “born again” Christian administration to check out the vast amounts of information I have compiled on my web site that exposes Bush as being just another big government elitist, who did as much (or more) to strip America of its God-given liberties as any other President in history. See the record here.

Furthermore, even cursory research will uncover the fact that the Bush and Clinton families have long collaborated together in criminal activity on a massive scale–activity that, in all likelihood, continues to this very day. (I still say, don’t be surprised if Obama dumps Joe Biden as his Vice President and puts Hillary Clinton on the ticket before next year’s elections.)

Of course, G.W. Bush was never held accountable by evangelical Christian voters for his unconstitutional conduct. All they cared about was Bush’s Christian rhetoric. And it does appear that is all they care about today. As a result, Rick Perry will prove to be a formidable candidate in the GOP primaries.

I have said over and over again that I would rather vote for an unbeliever who would preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, than vote for a believer who would NOT preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States! The pious rhetoric of political candidates means nothing!

If I hire a plumber to fix a drainage problem at my house, I am not interested so much in where he goes to church, or whether he teaches Sunday School, or what denomination he claims. I am hiring him to fix my plumbing! We sign a contract, he and I. I promise to pay him “X” amount of dollars, and he promises that when he’s finished, my toilets will flush. Christian or not, I expect him to honor the terms of his contract.

Ladies and gentlemen, when we elect a civil magistrate (at any level), we are entering into a contract with the one we elected. We gave them our support, which allowed them to obtain public office, and they promise (before Almighty God) to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. They do not promise to be “good Christians.” They do not promise to be “good Republicans.” They do not promise to be “good conservatives.” They take an oath before God (they sign a contract with the American people) to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. And it is our job as citizens to hold our civil magistrates to their oath! In fact, if any elected office holder were a TRUE Christian, he or she would take their oath even more seriously, would they not?

Instead of being excited about a candidate claiming to be a Christian, or claiming to pray and read his or her Bible, we need to get excited about a candidate who is serious about preserving the liberties of the American people, and who makes a commitment to protect and preserve the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and US Constitution!

Before we talk about Rick Perry’s commitment to prayer and fasting, let’s find out if Rick Perry believes that there must be a Declaration of War before America begins invading, bombing, and occupying foreign countries. Let’s find out if he believes he has the authority as President to use US military forces against American citizens. Let’s find out if he believes he has the authority to give billions and trillions of dollars away to foreign countries. Let’s find out if he plans to commit US military forces to the whims of the United Nations Security Council. Let’s find out if he supports the Military Commissions Act. Let’s find out if he supports the Patriot Act. Let’s find out if he believes the US government has the authority to use super-computers and advanced technology to continue to turn the United States into a giant surveillance-society. Let’s find out how serious he is about closing that southern border: speaking of which, what did Rick Perry do as governor of the border State of Texas to stop illegal immigration? And while we are on the subject of Border States, what did Rick Perry do to stop the NAFTA superhighway? Before we get excited about Rick Perry being a “good Christian,” let’s find out if he supports the Council of Governors, or the North American Union, or the Continuity of Government, or Agenda 21. Let’s find out if Perry will launch a Justice Department investigation into the ATF’s (under Barack Obama and Eric Holder) clandestine operation of providing firearms to Mexican drug gangs. We could go on and on with these kinds of questions.

The sad truth is, our illustrious evangelical leaders on the right are just as culpable in the dismantling and deterioration of the American republic as are those on the political or religious left! Both sides are willing to give their favored politicos a pass on constitutional governance. And ladies and gentlemen, that is why it hasn’t mattered to a tinker’s dam whether a Democrat or Republican, “liberal” or “conservative” is in the White House! And that’s why it won’t matter in 2012.

Besides, if James Dobson and John Hagee were truly interested in protecting and preserving the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and US Constitution, they would be promoting the candidacy of Ron Paul. But, unfortunately, they wouldn’t do it in 2008, and they won’t do it in 2012. They lack both the courage and the sagacity.

We don’t need another George W. Bush in the White House. For that matter, we don’t need another Jimmy Carter in the White House. What we need is a President (governor, mayor, sheriff, etc.) who will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States!

——————————————————————————–

Chuck Baldwin is a syndicated columnist, radio broadcaster, author, and pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which America was founded. He was the 2008 Presidential candidate for the Constitution Party. He and his wife, Connie, have 3 children and 8 grandchildren. Chuck and his family reside in the Flathead Valley of Montana.

The United States Should Withdraw From the International Monetary Fund

by Darrell Castle – Vice-Chairman Constitution Party National Committee

Currently headquartered in Washington DC, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was formed in 1944 and finalized in 1945 as part of the Bretton Woods agreement made by the victorious Allied Powers at the end of WWII.

The IMF’s stated purposes are as follows:

To promote exchange rate stability;
To facilitate and manage the growth and balance of international trade;
To provide resources to member countries experiencing balance of payments problems;
To help maintain a multilateral system of payments;
And finally, to promote international monetary cooperation.

Despite its stated purposes, many people believe that the real purpose of the IMF is to bring poorer, less-industrialized countries into the orbit of global government and multinational corporations.

According to John Perkins in his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, third world countries have been threatened with CIA destabilization and regime change unless they accept IMF loans. The loans are made with draconian repayment provisions like cutting social services, renegotiating union contracts and privatizing public services, which then allow foreign multinational corporations access to the country’s resources. Since these target countries often have their credit ratings downgraded, the loans also carry a very high interest rate.

Who funds the IMF or where does the “fund” in the IMF come from?

There are currently 187 IMF members, but the G-20 countries, meaning the top 20 economies, fund 71.21% of its revenue and the other 166 countries fund the other 28.79%. The United States share is 17.09% of the total. And Japan is second with 6.12%. Major decisions require an 85% super-majority to pass, and that makes the United States the only country that can block a super-majority on its own, because votes are commensurate with percentage of participation. The United States’ 17.09% allows it final veto over any major decision.

As most people know by now, the current head of the IMF – current at least until his recent resignation – French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was placed in a New York City jail after being charged with sexually assaulting a maid at his $3000 a night suite in the Midtown Manhattan Sofitel. Could DSK, as he is affectionately known by his friends, make do with a $600-per-night room at the Ritz? No way, nothing but the best will do for the head of the IMF and the most likely candidate to replace Nicholas Sarkozy as President of France.

The maid who has accused DSK of rape is a West African immigrant with a 15-year-old daughter. Perhaps DSK reasoned that since the IMF has been raping her former continent for decades, what difference could one more rape make?

This sordid mess is made worse by the fact that the IMF, like most of its member states, usually runs a negative balance sheet, leaving in doubt which party will pay for the damage. In 2009, the IMF sold 200 tons of gold to close a deficit in the amount of hundreds of millions of dollars. Who will pay for DSK’s latest (alleged) debauchery besides himself?

Who will pay for DSK’s legal defense? The IMF has announced that it will sell some gold to cover that. The maid has a lawyer in addition to the NYC prosecutor’s office. I trust it will also sell enough gold to cover the several million that a NYC jury is likely to eventually award his victim.

The taxpayers of the United States should not be on the hook for one penny of his defense, damages, or even his $3000 per night hotel suite. In fact, if the political leadership of the United States had an ounce of decency left, it would announce the immediate withdrawal of the United States from the IMF. Tragically, they do not and thus will not.