Report: Obama Seeks to Circumvent Congress to Fix ‘Obamacare Glitch’

Here’s an idea: when the Supreme Court holds their five-hour long oral arguments on The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, perhaps they could discuss what Jonathan Adler and Michael Cannon of the Wall Street Journal refer to as ”a major glitch that threatens its basic functioning.”


The two authors even claim that the aforementioned “glitch” is so huge that the Obama administration is trying to fix it by rewriting the bill without involving Congress.

What’s the problem? Adler and Cannon explain:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act offers “premium assistance”—tax credits and subsidies—to households purchasing coverage through new health-insurance exchanges. This assistance was designed to hide a portion of the law’s cost to individuals by reducing the premium hikes that individuals will face after ObamaCare goes into effect in 2014. (If consumers face the law’s full cost, support for repeal will grow.)

The law encourages states to create health-insurance exchanges, but it permits Washington to create them if states decline. So far, only 17 states have passed legislation to create an exchange.

This is where the glitch comes in: ObamaCare authorizes premium assistance in state-run exchanges (Section 1311) but not federal ones (Section 1321). In other words, states that refuse to create an exchange can block much of ObamaCare’s spending and practically force Congress to reopen the law for revisions.

The Obama administration wants to avoid that legislative debacle, so this summer it proposed an IRS rule to offer premium assistance in all exchanges “whether established under section 1311 or 1321.” On Nov. 17 the IRS will hold a public hearing on that proposal. According to a Treasury Department spokeswoman, the administration is “confident” that offering premium assistance where Congress has not authorized it “is consistent with the intent of the law and our ability to interpret and implement it.”

CONTINUED:  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/report-obama-seeks-to-circumvent-congress-to-fix-obamacare-glitch/

OBAMA'S JOBS BILL

Obama's jobs bill: Section 376, subsection 2 - State Sovereign Immunity is waived, “after the date of enactment of this Act” for all States that receive "or use Federal financial assistance for any program or activity of a State".

American Jobs Act: “The Illegal Alien & Unemployed Civil Rights Act”

September 16, 2011

Okay, so I go to the White House web link for the “American Jobs Act,” http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/reports/american-jobs-act.pdf

(Please try to get a copy of the act, as when I posted this to the website, the indentation and such is lost). A friend pointed out that section 376 mentions that States lose their Sovereign Immunity under this section, and it appears this is true. First the relevant text, and please note that all emphasis hereinafter is mine (I'll be noting to you what I am drawing from this in Quick Summaries, with a final Conclusion at the end. If you wish to skip down to that, that's fine):

“SEC. 376. FEDERAL AND STATE IMMUNITY.

(a) Abrogation of State Immunity- A State shall not be immune under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution from a suit brought in a Federal court of competent jurisdiction for a violation of this Act.

(b) Waiver of State Immunity-
(1) IN GENERAL-


(A) WAIVER- A State's receipt or use of Federal financial assistance for any program or activity of a State shall constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity, under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution or otherwise, to a suit brought by an employee or applicant for employment of that program or activity under this Act for a remedy authorized under Section 375(c) of this Act.

(B) DEFINITION- In this paragraph, the term `program or activity' has the meaning given the term in section 606 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d-4a).

Here's a link to 42 USC 2000d-4a, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/usc_sec_42_00002000---d004a.html  which defines program or activity, in relevant portions:

“For the purposes of this subchapter, the term “program or activity” and the term “program” mean all of the operations of—

(1)

(A) a department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or of a local government; or

(B) the entity of such State or local government that distributes such assistance and each such department or agency (and each other State or local government entity) to which the assistance is extended, in the case of assistance to a State or local government;”

And also....(I am trying to keep this as easy as possible, believe me):

“any part of which is extended Federal financial assistance.” is said uncapitalized, and not as another sentence, but as an extension of the actual citation of the general section itself, unindented.

And now, continuing section 376 in the “American Jobs Act:”

“ (2) EFFECTIVE DATE- With respect to a particular program or activity, paragraph (1) applies to conduct occurring on or after the day, after the date of enactment of this Act, on which a State first receives or uses Federal financial assistance for that program or activity.”


First Quick Summary

Essentially, according to subsection 2, of Section 376, of the American Jobs Act, cited above, States who have received, according to subsection 1 (A), Federal Financial Assistance from the National Government for “any program or activity of a State” will immediately be subject to this section of the American Jobs Act, where State Sovereign Immunity is waived, “after the date of enactment of this Act.”

Again continuing section 376:

“(c) Remedies Against State Officials- An official of a State may be sued in the official capacity of the official by any employee or applicant for employment who has complied with the applicable procedures of this Act, for relief that is authorized under this Act.

“(d) Remedies Against the United States and the States- Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in an action or administrative proceeding against the United States or a State for a violation of this Act, remedies (including remedies at law and in equity) are available for the violation to the same extent as such remedies would be available against a non-governmental entity.”

Cumulative Second Quick Summary

An officer of the State of Arizona, for instance, is subject to lawsuit, according to subsection “c” above, on the basis of their State taking Federal Financial Assistance for any program. The same officer can be subject to criminal penalties, “including remedies at law and in equity”) and has no immunity, under subsection “d.”

So now we must know what this section is relating to, explain what a “violation of this act” is, and this is defined quite a bit more, so I'll post what gives the gist of it, from Section 374:


“SEC. 374. PROHIBITED ACTS.

(a) Employers- It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to--

(1) publish in print, on the Internet, or in any other medium, an advertisement or announcement for an employee for any job that includes-

(A) any provision stating or indicating that an individual's status as unemployed disqualifies the individual for any employment opportunity; or

(B) any provision stating or indicating that an employer will not consider or hire an individual for any employment opportunity based on that individual's status as unemployed; or

(2) fail or refuse to consider for employment, or fail or refuse to hire, an individual as an employee because of the individual's status as unemployed;

(3) direct or request that an employment agency take an individual's status as unemployed into account to disqualify an applicant for consideration, screening, or referral for employment as an employee. ”

Conclusion

So a State, nor any other employer, may use the current employment status of the employee as any criteria for their employment, and that includes the State Government as well (You'll notice no waiver of Federal Sovereign Immunity).

Now, what's a really fun thing to do when reading the document, press and hold the “Ctrl” key (“clover” key on Macs I believe), then tap the “F” key, and the search menu pops up in acrobat reader. Type in “Citizen,” “Illegal,” “Alien,” and “undocumented.” Isn't it fascinating that there's no provision to make sure those who are in this country illegally, and have no record of employment, and thus would only show up as unemployed, due to their illegal hiring even when they have worked, are not exempt from being able to impose the above legal provisions of this act.


And this is without mentioning how from section 371 to 376, the American Jobs Act, treats the States as vassals of the Federal Government, Noble Houses, whose Financial situation is to be exploited for the sake of the President of the United States' National Government & Political goals.

Abhorrent entirely to American government, ignoring entirely Our Constitution, except to make specific reference to losing ancient immunities that took an act of a Constitutional Amendment to secure, being assumed able to be undermined by a mere statutory act of Congress, while our nation and people are under economic duress.

Persistence it is to “never let a crisis go to waste,” our Illustrious leader puts out a plan in an appearance of moving toward bipartisanship, while assaulting the very fabric of American Government once more. The entire Democratic Party, at this point, is merely a charade, a feigned patriotism, a feigned concern for the American People, anything to be able to pass legislation that destroys the foundation of the American Republic.

Imagine illegal aliens going to a U.S. Attorney to file charges against Governor Brewer, or any other Governor who has signed an immigration law, on the grounds that the law was used to demonstrate that the applicant was unemployed, and unemployable, due to not being legally in the United States of America. The ACLU would grab these up by the bunch, suing every State, eventually with a class action lawsuit, totally breaking the bank. And that's just using illegal aliens.

Lawyers, at least this used to be the case, were required to do 2 pro bono (“for the public good” and thereby the client isn't charged) cases every year. I can see them grabbing every case where someone was unemployed and applied for a job, to make it into “how the poor are being kept poor,” and using this legislation as a “Worker's Civil Rights Act” (just look at how many times reference to the “Civil Rights Act of 1964” is found when searching the American Jobs Act.).


The American Jobs Act is a set-up, is something that is antecedent to the formation of this “Politburo” super Congress, and therefore should not be given ANY consideration in how or what they cut, either.

By the American Jobs Act, what you are witnessing, is that 4th Quarter “Hail Mary” football pass in trying to finally destroy the structure, as well as liquidate the body politic, of America and our individual resources to fight back, being carried on by the “Progressive-Terrorist-In-Chief,” to leverage our desire for jobs against our desire to keep our Freedom, hoping we'll be so desperate that we'll choose not to keep what is left of the check and balance power of the States.

As much as people need employment, I, for one, do not believe that sacrificing our form of government over a Progressive-created economic crisis, what appears to be the true purpose of the “American Jobs Act,” is in the best interest of America, and that we must weather this storm as best we can until we can remove Barack “Hugo Chavez Jr.” Obama from office.

Thank you for reading,
Toddy

TELL CONGRESS TO HALT OBAMACARE IMPLEMENTATION!

Friends,


I wanted to make sure you saw this important email from our President & CEO Heather Higgins about our best chance to halt ObamaCare: the newly launched petition in support of the "Save Our States" Act.

It is vitally important that Congress passes the "Save Our States" Act as soon as possible. We simply can't afford the cost — literally billions of dollars — that would be wasted implementing this unwanted and unpopular government take-over of our health care decisions when the Supreme Court is likely to find it unconstitutional and strike it down anyway.

Help us send a message to Congress loud and clear. If you haven't already, please sign the petition to put ObamaCare's implementation in a well-deserved time-out today.

http://www.therepealpledge.com/take-action/petition-to-halt-implementation

Thank you!
Carrie Lukas, Vice President
Independent Women's Voice

This is an incredible interview that ALL Americans need to watch “Nullification”

This is an incredible interview that ALL Americans need to watch “Nullification”

July 17, 2010 by randyedye

http://randysright.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/this-is-an-incredible-interview-that-all-americans-need-to-watch-nullification/

CHECK OUT: NULLIFY NOW!

Did you know that states don’t have to obey unconstitutional federal legislation forced upon them?


Virginia, Utah, Idaho, and other states are fighting the federal healthcare law. Arizona is protecting its borders. Washington State, Oklahoma, and Tennessee are fighting cap-and-trade legislation. Eight states are standing up for gun rights. Twenty-five states have effectively blocked the 2005 Real ID Act…

How? Through nullification.

When a state ‘nullifies’ a federal law, it is proclaiming that the law in question is void and inoperative, or ‘non-effective,’ within the boundaries of that state; or, in other words, not a law as far as that state is concerned.

Nullify Now! is a multi-city event tour focused on education and activism on a state level to say NO to unconstitutional federal “laws” – which, in reality, are not laws at all.

http://www.nullifynow.com/

John Hood's Daily Journal -- Life of the Party

CAROLINA JOURNAL ONLINE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Hood's Daily Journal

Life of the Party, By John Hood

March 30, 2010

RALEIGH – If the Tea Party movement consists of a bunch of extremists, prone to violence and potty mouths as Obama partisans and the clueless news media have been trying to assert over the past week, then I guess that means most Americans are extremists, too.

You see, most voters agree with the tenets and activism of the Tea Party movement. They think ObamaCare will be disastrous and want it repealed and replaced with a real reform plan. They think taxes are too high, not too low. They think the federal government’s massive operating deficits and its nearly $100 trillion in unfunded entitlement liabilities are not an economic stimulus, as liberals apparently believe, but represent a clear and present danger to American prosperity and to representative government itself.

Tea Party activists believe that members of Congress are secretive, corrupt, and out of touch. According to a new Rasmussen Research survey, the American public agrees. While only 30 percent of respondents believe that the average member of Congress has a better understanding of the issues facing the country than the average Tea Party activist, 52 percent of likely U.S. voters see it the other way – that the average Tea Party activist has a better understanding of the issues than the average member of Congress.

If you think that average Americans informing themselves, exercising their rights, and challenging the pretensions of an unpopular class of reckless politicians are properly thought of as extremists, that says more about you than it says about them. It suggest that you are the extremist.

As for the rest of us, we see the Tea Party movement as a grassroots explosion of righteous anger and resolute activism. We see it as a portent of the political future. We see it as a last, great hope for preventing America from abandoning its constitutional traditions of individual liberty and limited government – and descending into a European-style welfare state that will sap our economic vitality and curtail our freedom.

Whether you like the Tea Party movement or not, you’re going to hear more about it in the coming weeks. Last April, dozens of spontaneously organized Tea Party organizations held rallies in communities across North Carolina to protest the fiscal irresponsibility of their elected officials in Raleigh and Washington. This year, from what I’m hearing and seeing, there will be another round of Tea Party protests on or around April 15th – sending the message that ObamaCare is unacceptable, that spending America into bankruptcy is unacceptable, and that we will not let the political activism of millions of concerned Americans be smeared by biased and credulous news reporting.

Here in North Carolina, the steps necessary to restrain and reform our government aren’t hard to formulate:

• No more job-killing taxes. Policymakers need to balance state and local budgets by setting firm priorities and focusing scarce resources on government’s core responsibilities.

• No more job-killing regulations. North Carolina should impose new rules on private economic activity only when the expected health or safety benefits exceed the expected costs, and when there is no less-restrictive alternative that can accomplish the same goal.

• Subject services to competition. Rather than throwing more money into government education or health care monopolies, North Carolina should give its citizens more power to choose the services that best meet their needs – and private firms more freedom to compete for willing business without undue burdens and restrictions.

• Embrace innovation. Rather than assuming that North Carolina needs to do the same old things the same old way, we should welcome new technologies and organizational forms – including the consolidation of state agencies, the expansion of distance learning, and the use of new ways to design, build, operate, and pay for the infrastructure North Carolina needs to sustain growth.

Be it at the federal, state, or local levels, the problems that currently plague us cannot be solved simply by taxing more, spending more, and borrowing more. In the coming weeks, thousands of North Carolinians will take to the streets – both in their own communities and in their state and national capitals – to send this message clearly to the political class.

Perhaps this time the message will be heard.

Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation

http://www.carolinajournal.com/print/print_article.html?id=6262

American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/pravda.asp ://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/pravda.asp

From a Russian Newspaper

The irony of this article appearing in the English edition of Pravda (Russian on-line newspaper) defies description. Why can a Russian newspaper print the following yet the American media can't/won't see it?

American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper


It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.
First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas than the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a Burger King burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America .

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America 's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Weimar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, losses, and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties, and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more than a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motors) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self-given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK 's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "free man" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance, and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Frank, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest, and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin



© 1999-2009.. PRAVDA.Ru. When reproducing our materials in whole or in part, hyperlink to PRAVDA.Ru should be made. The opinions and views of the authors do not always coincide with the point of view of PRAVDA.Ru's editors.







27.04.2009



Source: Pravda.Ru



URL: http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/107459-american_capitalism-0

REPUBLIC vs. DEMOCRACY

REPUBLIC vs. DEMOCRACY


________________________________________



I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands,

one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."



SUMMARY

In the Pledge of Allegiance we all pledge allegiance to our Republic, not to a democracy. "Republic" is the proper description of our government, not "democracy." I invite you to join me in raising public awareness regarding that distinction.

A republic and a democracy are identical in every aspect except one. In a republic the sovereignty is in each individual person. In a democracy the sovereignty is in the group.

Republic. That form of government in which the powers of sovereignty are vested in the people and are exercised by the people, either directly, or through representatives chosen by the people, to whome those powers are specially delegated. [NOTE: The word "people" may be either plural or singular. In a republic the group only has advisory powers; the sovereign individual is free to reject the majority group-think. USA/exception: if 100% of a jury convicts, then the individual loses sovereignty and is subject to group-think as in a democracy.]

Democracy. That form of government in which the sovereign power resides in and is exercised by the whole body of free citizens directly or indirectly through a system of representation, as distinguished from a monarchy, aristocracy, or oligarchy. [NOTE: In a pure democracy, 51% beats 49%. In other words, the minority has no rights. The minority only has those privileges granted by the dictatorship of the majority.]

________________________________________

The distinction between our Republic and a democracy is not an idle one. It has great legal significance.

The Constitution guarantees to every state a Republican form of government (Art. 4, Sec. 4). No state may join the United States unless it is a Republic. Our Republic is one dedicated to "liberty and justice for all." Minority individual rights are the priority. The people have natural rights instead of civil rights. The people are protected by the Bill of Rights from the majority. One vote in a jury can stop all of the majority from depriving any one of the people of his rights; this would not be so if the United States were a democracy. (see People's rights vs Citizens' rights)

In a pure democracy 51 beats 49[%]. In a democracy there is no such thing as a significant minority: there are no minority rights except civil rights (privileges) granted by a condescending majority. Only five of the U.S. Constitution's first ten amendments apply to Citizens of the United States. Simply stated, a democracy is a dictatorship of the majority. Socrates was executed by a democracy: though he harmed no one, the majority found him intolerable.

SOME DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS

Government. ....the government is but an agency of the state, distinguished as it must be in accurate thought from its scheme and machinery of government. ....In a colloquial sense, the United States or its representatives, considered as the prosecutor in a criminal action; as in the phrase, "the government objects to the witness." [Black's Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, p. 625]

Government; Republican government. One in which the powers of sovereignty are vested in the people and are exercised by the people, either directly, or through representatives chosen by the people, to whome those powers are specially delegated. In re Duncan, 139 U.S. 449, 11 S.Ct. 573, 35 L.Ed. 219; Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. (21 Wall.) 162, 22 L.Ed. 627. [Black's Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, p. 626]

Democracy. That form of government in which the sovereign power resides in and is exercised by the whole body of free citizens directly or indirectly through a system of representation, as distinguished from a monarchy, aristocracy, or oligarchy. Black's Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, pp. 388-389.

Note: Black's Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, can be found in any law library and most law offices.

COMMENTS

Notice that in a Democracy, the sovereignty is in the whole body of the free citizens. The sovereignty is not divided to smaller units such as individual citizens. To solve a problem, only the whole body politic is authorized to act. Also, being citizens, individuals have duties and obligations to the government. The government's only obligations to the citizens are those legislatively pre-defined for it by the whole body politic.

In a Republic, the sovereignty resides in the people themselves, whether one or many. In a Republic, one may act on his own or through his representatives as he chooses to solve a problem. Further, the people have no obligation to the government; instead, the government being hired by the people, is obliged to its owner, the people.

The people own the government agencies. The government agencies own the citizens. In the United States we have a three-tiered cast system consisting of people ---> government agencies ---> and citizens.

The people did "ordain and establish this Constitution," not for themselves, but "for the United States of America." In delegating powers to the government agencies the people gave up none of their own. (See Preamble of U.S. Constitution). This adoption of this concept is why the U.S. has been called the "Great Experiment in self government." The People govern themselves, while their agents (government agencies) perform tasks listed in the Preamble for the benefit of the People. The experiment is to answer the question, "Can self-governing people coexist and prevail over government agencies that have no authority over the People?"

The citizens of the United States are totally subject to the laws of the United States (See 14th Amendment of U.S. Constitution). NOTE: U.S. citizenship did not exist until July 28, 1868.

Actually, the United States is a mixture of the two systems of government (Republican under Common Law, and democratic under statutory law). The People enjoy their God-given natural rights in the Republic. In a democracy, the Citizens enjoy only government granted privileges (also known as civil rights).

There was a great political division between two major philosophers, Hobbes and Locke. Hobbes was on the side of government. He believed that sovereignty was vested in the state. Locke was on the side of the People. He believed that the fountain of sovereignty was the People of the state. Statists prefer Hobbes. Populists choose Locke. In California, the Government Code sides with Locke. Sections 11120 and 54950 both say, "The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them." The preambles of the U.S. and California Constitutions also affirm the choice of Locke by the People.

It is my hope that the U.S. will always remain a Republic, because I value individual freedom.

Thomas Jefferson said that liberty and ignorance cannot coexist.* Will you help to preserve minority rights by fulfilling the promise in the Pledge of Allegiance to support the Republic? Will you help by raising public awareness of the difference between the Republic and a democracy?

________________________________________

* "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1816.

________________________________________

MORE LAWNOTES

http://www.1215.org/lawnotes/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm

The Income Tax, The Patriot Act, Obamacare

The Income Tax, The Patriot Act, Obamacare By Chuck Baldwin
3/26/10

Dates That Destroyed America

Passage of the so-called "health care reform" bill in the House of Representatives this past Sunday, March 21 (I won't even address the inferred unconstitutionality of Congress doing business on the Lord's Day. See Article. I. Section. 7. Paragraph. 2.) drove yet another stake into the heart of America. For all intents and purposes, it is the health of the United States that is in dire need of healing. In fact, the US has been on extended life-support for decades. With its condition being rendered critical, and absent major surgery, its days are numbered. The passage of this bill only serves to further weaken an already frail Constitution. In fact, this one may prove to be the fatal blow. Lady Liberty may never recover.

The decision by Congress to socialize medicine in the US ranks among the most draconian, most egregious, most horrific actions ever taken by the central government in Washington, D.C. This bill rocks the principles of liberty and constitutional government to the core. It changes fundamental foundations; it repudiates historical principle. Oh! The same flag may fly on our flagpoles, the same monuments may grace our landscape, and the same National Anthem may be sung during our public ceremonies, but it is not the same America. The Congress of the United States has now officially turned America into a socialist state.

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the health care bill into law, and as such, this date -- along with March 21 -- joins a list of dates that have each inflicted unconstitutional, socialistic, and sometimes even tyrannical action against the States United and have, therefore, contributed to the destruction of a free America.

April 9, 1865
This is the date when General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Regardless of where one comes down on the subject of the Civil War, one fact is undeniable: Abraham Lincoln forever destroyed the Jeffersonian model of federalism in America. Ever since, virtually every battle that free men have fought for the principles of limited government, State sovereignty, etc., have all stemmed directly from Lincoln's usurpation of power, which resulted in the subjugation and forced union of what used to be "Free and Independent States" (the Declaration of Independence). In fact, the philosophical battles being waged today regarding the recent health care debacle (and every other encroachment upon liberty and State power by the central government) have their roots in Lincoln's tyranny.

July 9, 1868
This is the date when the 14th Amendment was ratified. This amendment codified into law what Lincoln had forced at bayonet point. Until then, people were only deemed citizens of their respective states. The Constitution nowhere referred to people as "US citizens." It only recognized "the Citizens of each State." Notice also that citizenship was only recognized among the "several States," not among people living in non-State territories. Until the 14th Amendment, people were "Citizens of each State." (Article. IV. Section. 2. Paragraph. 1.) The 14th Amendment created a whole new class of persons: "citizens of the United States." This false notion of "one nation" overturned the Jeffersonian principle that our nation was a confederated republic, a voluntary union of states.

February 3, 1913
This is the date when the 16th Amendment was ratified, and the direct income tax and IRS were instituted. This was a flagrant repudiation of freedom principles! What began as a temporary measure to support the War of Northern Aggression became a permanent income revenue stream for an unconstitutional -- and ever-growing -- central government.

April 8, 1913
This is the date when the 17th Amendment was ratified. This amendment overturned the power of the State legislatures to elect their own senators and replaced it with a direct, popular vote. This was another serious blow against State sovereignty. The framers of the Constitution desired that the influence and power in Washington, D.C., be kept as close to the people and states as possible. For example, the number of representatives in the House of Representatives was to be decided by a limited number of voters. In the original Constitution, the ratio of "people of the several States" deciding their House member could not exceed "one for every thirty thousand." (Article. I. Section. 2. Paragraph. 3.) And when it came to the US Senate, the framers also recognized the authority of each State legislature to select its own senators, thereby keeping power and influence from aggregating in Washington, D.C. The 17th Amendment seriously damaged the influence and power of the states by forcing them to elect their US senators by popular vote. The bigger the State, the less influence the State legislature has in determining its US senator. Senators who answered to State legislators, each answering to a limited number of voters, are much more accountable to the "citizens of the several States" than those who are elected by a large number (many times numbering into the millions) of people. For all intents and purposes (at least in the larger states), US Senators are more like "mini-Presidents" than they are representatives of sovereign states.

December 23, 1913
This is the date when the Federal Reserve Act was passed. This Act placed oversight of America's financial matters into the hands of a cabal of private international bankers, who have completely destroyed the constitutional principles of sound money and (for the most part) free enterprise. No longer would the marketplace (private consumption, thrift, growth, etc.) be the determinant of the US economy (which is what freedom is all about), but now a private, unaccountable international banking cartel would have total power and authority to micromanage (for their own private, parochial purposes) America's financial sector. Virtually every recession, depression, and downturn (including the one we are now experiencing) has been the direct result of the Fed's manipulation (again, for its own purposes and with Washington's cooperation) of the market.

June 26, 1945
This is the date when the United Nations Charter was signed and America joined the push for global government. Ever since, US forces have spilled untold amounts of blood and sacrificed thousands of lives promoting the UN's agenda. Since the end of World War II, in virtually every war in which US military forces have been engaged, it has been at the behest of the UN. And it is also no accident that America has not fought a constitutionally declared war since we entered the UN -- and neither have we won one. Furthermore, it is America's involvement in the United Nations that has spearheaded this draconian push for a New World Order that George H. W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Tony Blair, Walter Cronkite, et al., have talked so much about. The United Nations is an evil institution that has completely co-opted our US State Department and much of our Defense Department. It is an anti-American institution that works aggressively and constantly against the interests and principles of the United States. But it is an institution that is ensconced in the American political infrastructure. Like a cancer, the UN eats away at our liberties and values, and both major political parties in Washington, D.C., are culpable in allowing it to exert so much influence upon our country.

June 25, 1962, and June 17, 1963
These are the dates when the US Supreme Court removed prayer (�62) and Bible reading (�63) from public schools. At this point, these two Supreme Court decisions were the most serious affront to the First Amendment in US history. Think of it: from before a union of states was established in 1787, children had been free to pray and read the Scriptures in school. We're talking about a period of more than 300 years! Of course, the various State legislatures -- and myriad city and county governmental meetings -- still open their sessions in prayer, as do the US House and Senate, and even the US Supreme Court. But this same liberty is denied the children of America. There is no question that America has not recovered from these two horrific Supreme Court decisions. In effect, the federal government has expelled God not only from our public schools, but also from our public life! And America has not been the same since.

October 22, 1968
This is the date when President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Gun Control Act of 1968. Before this Act, the 2nd Amendment was alive and well in the United States. The Gun Control Act of 1968 turned a right into a privilege and forever forced the American people to bow to the altar of government when seeking to arm themselves. Interestingly enough, this Gun Control Act mirrored Nazi Germany's Gun Control Act of 1938. In fact, the Gun Control Act of 1968 is almost a verbatim copy of Hitler's Gun Control Act of 1938.Our Founding Fathers could never have imagined that governments within the "several States" would ever be allowed to deny the people's right to keep and bear arms. In fact, it was the attempted confiscation of the firearms stored at Concord, Massachusetts, that triggered the War of Independence in 1775. That the people of Massachusetts would be denied their right to keep and bear arms, as they are today, could not have been foreseen -- and would never have been tolerated -- by America's founders.Yet, most of the hundreds of draconian gun control laws that have been inflicted upon the American people have all come about as a result of the Gun Control Act of 1968.

January 22, 1973
This is the date when the US Supreme Court issued the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, which, in effect, legalized abortion-on-demand. These two decisions expunged the Jeffersonian principle that all men are endowed by their Creator with the unalienable right to life (Declaration). Since then, more than 50 million unborn babies have been legally murdered in their mothers' wombs. Abortion is, without a doubt, America's national holocaust. It has opened the door to a host of Big Government programs and policies that have resulted in the wanton destruction of human life both in the United States and overseas. It has created an entire industry whose express purpose for existing is the destruction of human life. It has desensitized the conscience and soul of America. Furthermore, it has forced men of decency and good will to finance -- with their tax dollars -- the unconscionable act of killing unborn children.And once again, another Jeffersonian principle was eviscerated. He said, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." The Roe and Doe decisions violate this principle in the most egregious manner possible.

October 26, 2001
This is the date when President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act, and the federal government's war against individual liberty began in earnest. Most of the unconstitutional eavesdropping, snooping, wiretapping, phone call intercepting, email reading, prying, financial records tracking, travel watching, ad infinitum, ad nauseam, by federal police agencies began with the implementation of the Patriot Act. The Department of Homeland Security and the "war on terrorism," which have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people worldwide, and the usurpation of federal power at home, have all come about as an outgrowth of the Patriot Act. The USA Patriot Act has forever shifted the focus of American law and jurisprudence against constitutional government and individual liberty, toward a police-state mentality. The Patriot Act is even turning our local and State law enforcement agencies into military-style "Jackboots," where police officers see themselves not necessarily as guardians of the citizenry, but, as often as not, as adversaries, where citizens are deemed to be the "enemy."

October 17, 2006, and October 9, 2009
These are the dates when President G.W. Bush signed and re-signed the Military Commissions Act. This Act is the outgrowth of the Patriot Act but has, in effect, terminated the fundamental protections of individual liberty, which are found in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. For all intents and purposes, the Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act eviscerated the 4th and 5th Amendments, and do serious injury to several others. The Military Commissions Act also expunges the constitutional right of Habeas Corpus.

March 21 and 23, 2010
These are the dates when Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," the so-called "health care reform" bill that we spoke about at the beginning of this column. While Social Security and various Welfare programs have toyed with socialism in the United States, this bill is the largest and most expansive endorsement of socialism in American history. This bill socializes some 18% of the US economy by socializing the health care industry in America. The fallout and ramifications of this bill are going to be horrific. When future historians review the demise of our once-great republic, they will observe that the above dates, including March 21 and March 23, 2010, were the dates that destroyed America. The American people have been far too tolerant for far too long.People concerned about the future of freedom and prosperity in America should line up quickly and demand that their respective State legislatures and governors resist this new health care bill, even to the point of refusing to implement it in their states. More than 30 states are threatening to take the health care bill to court. But states must do more than that. They must follow the lead of the State of Virginia and pass legislation refusing to comply with it. Yes, I'm saying it: it is time for another State rebellion! If states do not stand up and draw their lines in the sand now, it will be forever too late.

© 2010 Chuck Baldwin
Also by Chuck Baldwin:John McCain's Attack on Liberty 03/17/10Hooray for Starbucks! 03/03/10Is America Becoming a Police State? 02/27/10It Is A Madhouse Out There 01/14/10Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson Were Anti-Slavery 01/11/10View all 17 articles by Chuck Baldwin

Reprinted from: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=717