Heads Up

A Weekly edition of News from around our country

May 2, 1997 #33

by: Doug Fiedor fiedor19@eos.net

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Previous Editions at: http://mmc.cns.net/headsup.html

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ANOTHER WELFARE SCAM

Did you know that each and every American

taxpayer has invested an average of $70,000 in the LBJ

Great Society welfare programs? It's true. Because, to

date, the bill for the Johnson Administration's welfare

society is over $7-Trillion.

Worse, did you know that the real reason President

Johnson started the Great Society welfare programs was to

"lock in" the poor vote for the Democrats? Using very

explicit language that will not be quoted here, Johnson

admitted just that on more than one occasion.

That was a rather expensive taxpayer financed "get

out the vote" program! Any American worker over 40

probably has enough money invested in the Great Society

welfare system to buy a house.

And, what did we get for all that money? Our

inner-cities now look like bombed-out war zones. Teenage

out-of-wedlock births are up a few hundred percent, crime

is up a few hundred percent, ditto for drug addiction, and

the welfare rolls exploded as a result of all that free

money.

Yet, the number of "poor" in society increased,

rather than decreased. Clearly, something is not working.

That's because, simply put, government interference in our

personal lives does not work. It never has. Not

anywhere. Other than national defense, there is no

federal program that works better than private sector

efforts.

So . . . now Slick Willie wants to mobilize the

private sector as "paid" volunteers. Yeah. "Paid"

volunteers. He wants government to give tax breaks to

businesses that offer time off with pay to "volunteers."

Also, Slick wants state and local governments to do the

same.

Many of us watched part of that volunteer fiasco

in Philadelphia. That audience was made up primarily of

"paid" volunteers. Heck, you don't think for a moment

that Slick's security force would allow "normal" folks to

attend such a function, do you? Nope, these were

government workers and union people. Most were screened,

and paid to be there.

And, as for the people on welfare -- the ones who

already have plenty of time on their hands and very well

could volunteer? As Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. says, even

to make them clean up their own area would be involuntary

servitude.

Go figure. We working folk can take the time to

come clean up their neighborhoods for them. But we

cannot ask the ones sitting on their butts all day to do

something to benefit their own areas.

Something is definitely wrong with this picture,

folks.

FRAUD AND CORRUPTION

One would think that the function of the national

news media is to bring you the truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth. That's what they would like

us to think, anyway. It ain't so, though! Not with our

liberal media.

For instance, here's an obviously easy question:

Which vice-president of the Democratic National Committee

(DNC) actually fled the country because of his illegal

actions during the last election?

And yes, one DNC vice-president did flee the country

in fear of Congressional committee and FBI investigations.

But really, it's not in the news. Not the complete story,

anyway. The national media conveniently forgets to tell

us that John Huang was (is?) a DNC vice-president.

But there's even more to this story. John Huang

did not work in a vacuum. He had a boss, a leader, a

compatriot, a co-conspirator. Anyone remember who John

Huang's boss was over at the Democratic National Committee?

You will not hear it on the nightly news folks,

because Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) is a protected

liberal. Nevertheless, as National Chairman of the DNC,

Dodd was John Huang's direct supervisor and co-conspirator

in all the illegal fund-raising activities.

Slick Willie and his co-president directed much of

the show from the protection of their White House perch,

of course. But there is a whole cast of characters over

at the Democratic National Committee who are also

culpable. Under the direction of the Clintons, Gore and

Christopher Dodd, they broke the law. Worse, they

actively conspired to violate the law, and they did it

frequently.

Now that they're caught, their reply is to fervently

search for heretofore unconsidered dirt on the Republican

National Committee. The intention, apparently, is that

if they can show that the Republicans may have broken the

law occasionally, there will be cause to forgive the

Democrat's continued illegal money-laundering activities.

These are our national lawmakers, folks. They do

not respect the law. They do not obey the law. They are,

in a word, corrupt! Yet, they still expect us to honor

every word of the tripe they put out.

These are not honest people. Yet, they have

unlimited power over American citizens. Let's change

that. Through the bums out!

By the way: In the past, some politicians have

questioned our statement of the federal government

having "unlimited power" over the people of America. Our

return question has always been simple: "Name one

Constitutionally guaranteed right that has not recently

been severely limited."

They cannot. And that silence, folks, is the whole

of the story in a nutshell.

A LEGAL DICTATORSHIP

Federal law 50 USC 2251 should be studied by all

Americans. The law creates the Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA) and specifically gives it

dictatorial powers over American citizens during any type

of emergency. Worse, look how Section 2-203 defines

"emergency":

"For the purposes of this Order, 'civil emergency'

means any accidental, natural, man-caused, or wartime

emergency or threat thereof, which causes or may cause

substantial injury or harm to the population or

substantial damage to or loss of property."

Got it? That sure is rather vague and open ended!

It is an emergency because they say it is an emergency!

". . . any . . . or threat thereof. . . " No other

criteria are necessary. The rest are just excess words.

Under this law, an emergency gives FEMA powers to

do just about anything. They can take over all

communications, all medical establishments, all business,

relocate people as necessary, send citizens to work in

any place necessary and at any wage designated, pass any

and all rules and regulations, control all military and

civilian policing, limit travel, etc., etc. In other

words, they control your body, your labor, your property,

and under a related banking regulation, can even

confiscate your bank account. Neat, huh?

And by the way, Congress and the civilian courts

have no authority after a president declares an emergency.

Someone in Congress once said that only Stalin had

more power than the administration under the emergency

and war powers act. But that is not necessarily true.

Through FEMA, the administration can also declare martial

law and inflict strict curfews with shoot on sight

regulations. Or, they can try the offending citizens in

a quasi-military court and hang them -- without any right

of appeal.

The agency already has a large police force, complete

with SWAT teams. It also has the use of that marauding

Army unit that has been "practicing" live-fire military

attacks on metropolitan areas throughout the country.

Have you noticed that FEMA always brings lots of

guns to any natural disaster? That is not because guns

will help against floods or hurricanes, folks. The guns

are in case they want to shoot citizens.

Because federal agencies have the executive,

legislative and judicial branches rolled into one unit,

they are often said to operate like little Soviet

Politburos. FEMA is no different. In any type of major

emergency, FEMA actually becomes a real American

Politburo! It is responsible to no one, other than the

president. And, it has full authority to control

everything, other than the president.

Under the law, only the president may declare a

national emergency, and only the president may end it.

Remember that, the next time you vote. Also remember

that this same opportunity was allowed by Article 48 of

the German Constitution in the 1930's. Therefore, the

German President -- Hitler -- was also able to suspend

the Constitution by presidential decree alone. Shall we

also wait for a dictator before we attempt to change our

laws?

Some emergency and war powers are necessary. If

the United States is attacked, we would want the president

to have the power to take swift and decisive action. But,

that action is to be directed against the enemy, not

American citizens. And then, when the action is over, so

too must any emergency declarations end. These powers

are Constitutional, and could become necessary; but only

in time of war.

The law enacting FEMA is something other than

Constitutional. In fact, it is a clear and present danger

to the Constitution and our American way of life.

SERFS OR MODERN SHARE CROPPERS

Share-cropping became common in the United States

after the Civil War. Back then, many Southern plantations

had ample land, but little money to pay wages. At the

same time, a large segment of the population was left

impoverished, with little prospect of earning an adequate

living. So, it is was little surprise that the landed

people -- those with the means of producing a product --

contracted with the poor, who had labor to offer, to

produce a product from which both might profit.

Share croppers normally received a home, the

necessary tools, farm animals, and sometimes even some

education, for their labor. They also received a share

in the profit -- usually, about half -- from the fruits

of their labor.

This arrangement was somewhat similar to the

arrangement of the serfs of England. Both groups were

tied to the land owner. Both paid half of the product of

their labor for the privilege of living and working on

the land. And, with both, the amount of freedom allowed

to the workers by the landowners was often quite arbitrary.

Usually, the land owner told them what they will

do, how they are to do it and when they were expected to

do it. For instance, the land owners wished to insure

that everyone in the family would be available to work

the fields during the growing season. To that end, they

even suspended education every summer.

Today, few of us work the fields. Yet, are we less

of a share-cropper? Clearly, half of all the proceeds of

our labor is still paid to the ultimate landowner, the

government. Unlike serfs or share-croppers, we must now

purchase the land on which we live. Yet, the ultimate

landowner -- the government -- still instructs us on what

we may or may not do with that land.

There was a time in our common law when it was

taught that "Every man's house is his castle; and even

though the winds of heaven may blow through it, the King

may not enter." That was, of course, to include the

sheriff, the tax collector, and all other police officers

too. However, the Lords and Ladies of Congress did not

find this common law maxim expedient to the expressed

goals of modern government. Consequently, they found

ways to totally trash the concept.

Not to be outdone by the original land-barons of

old, today's government has decreed "servient estate"

over our property to itself. That is, federal, state and

local governments have passed laws allowing government

agents easement to our private property. Consequently,

not only can today's government place restrictions on the

use of private property, government agents may now search

and seize private property almost at will.

You think not? Violate some incomprehensible

wetland law and the Army (Corps of Engineers) comes after

you. Forget to pay property tax, or what the IRS says

you owe, and men with guns come to run you off of your

land. And, God forbid some farmer would grow a crop that

is not politically correct. . . .

A court trial is no longer usually necessary to

confiscate private property. But, even if there is cause

for trial, first you must relinquish possession of your

property to the applicable government agency. Then, you

may go to trial.

Adding insult to injury, the Supreme Court recently

approved government's taking of private property by

saying that forfeiture was different than punishment.

This opinion gave police, and most other government

agencies, cart blanche to confiscate private property for

a whole host of reasons. And they do. There is great

incentive for government agencies to confiscate private

property. By law, they then use the proceeds from

selling forfeited property to supplement the agency's

budget.

So too with the concept of privacy. Like the land

owner of old, today's government keeps very good records

on its citizens. Hundreds of citizen databases exist

throughout the country, containing everything from

education, criminal and medical to financial records.

Worse, all of these databases will soon all be connected,

allowing any bureaucrat to instantly compile a complete

dossier on any American citizen.

Today's government schools no longer teach much

about the relationship between the European serf and

Master. Nor do they teach much about the tenuous

relationship between the Southern share-croppers and land

owners. Perhaps there is good reason for that.

APRIL 19th MEDIA HYPE

Or: The Confrontation That Never Happened

By: Robert A. Ireland, Editor, Mad Dog

Today is April 22. It is now "Doomsday plus Two"

for those who were predicting, dare I say hoping for, a

violent confrontation between the militia and the Federal

Government. It is two days after the citizens of this

country had been told to be prepared to see the "angry

white men" attack all that is good and decent, the FBI or

the BATF. Maybe, if we were very lucky, we would get to

see both. At least that was what the talking heads from

the networks, and the teases disguised as news updates

each night, led us to believe.

Well folks, just like a bad "Geraldo" episode,

nothing happened. Nada! Zip! Zilch! The missing A-10

did not go ballistic. The revolution did not start. The

Bastille was not stormed. Life continues just as it did

yesterday and as it most likely will tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining that

nothing happened. I am relieved that this was all a

contrived feeding frenzy by our national media. Mad Dog

is getting too old for a full blown (un)civil war. This

old dog can still bite. It's just I would rather sun

myself on the porch.

My gripe is with the media. They fed this frenzy

to the point that the most powerful nation in the world

was portrayed cowering behind barricades in fear of its

own citizens. This is a picture not unfamiliar to

Europeans. They watch their respective governments hide

behind barriers after each new repressive law. However,

it was unfamiliar to Americans before the current

Administration came to power. It was unfamiliar before

it became popular for the media to portray anyone who

demands the government actually OBEY the Constitution,

as "angry white men."

This, of course, conveniently ignores the fact that

there are growing numbers of citizens from all ethnic and

economic backgrounds that now demand the very same thing.

The media, entrusted by the founding fathers with

the responsibility of watchdog over the actions of the

government, have come to the point where they now select

news on its ability to generate points in the ratings.

The constant litany of impending doom recited every

evening has led to the point where even the agencies of

the government believe the propaganda and hunker down

behind their barricades in fear.

This, in turn, leads to this damaging piece of film

footage on the evening news: All see the greatest nation

on earth's government hiding from its citizens, like

common tyrants afraid of the clamoring mob. Only in this

case there was NO clamoring mob. Only empty streets and

barricaded Federal buildings and the terrible theater they

provided.

Wait a minute! Has Mad Dog gone soft on the

government? Not a bit! I know the media did not cause

the problems that brought about the conditions that

allowed this to happen. The media has, however, failed

in its function as watchdog of the government. Opting

instead for the sensational, substituting fear mongering

for news gathering, they have provided a climate that

acts to provide that which could, and should, have been

avoided. When this happens those in our government that

would pervert our Constitution, and steal our birthright

as Americans, know that no one is watching them.

Politicians know that, without this oversight, they will

be able to accomplish that which they would never have

been able to if someone was watching their actions.

The media's pandering to sensationalism breeds fear

in the ordinary citizen. This in turn leads to the

citizen pleading with the very person the media was

supposed to be watching; the politician that knows no one

is watching.

The citizen asks for protection from the evil the

media sensationalism has created, instead of dealing with

the root causes of the problems. There's that media

watchdog thing again. The citizen pleads until the

politicians find a solution. The solution requires the

loss of a little bit of your Constitutionally guaranteed

liberty, but you are told you will be safer. The

politician never tells you that, in fact, you won't be

safer. This is due to the cumulative effect of the

gradual erosion of the Constitutional guarantees to

liberty. He just smiles for the camera, throws his arm

around the first available citizen, and pedals his or her lies.

The media hails the new legislation as insightful and

long overdue, failing to even grasp that they are now

becoming victims of their own sensationalism. Worse yet,

they have become the willing accomplice to the destruction

of our Constitutional guarantees. When they quit fawning

over this piece of "long overdue" legislation they get

busy and latch on to the next "flash-point." The talking

heads begin to milk it for all the rating points it will

generate, thus beginning, again, the loss of Liberty by

starting the three step process anew.

Has anyone forgotten the media hype about the "race

card" in the OJ trial and the resultant call for a change

in our 200 year old jury system? As we become more

accustomed to sound bite journalism, we demand more

"quick fix" solutions. We are failing to understand that

quick fix corrections based upon aberrations are not

corrections, but the beginning of new and greater

problems.

The media generates this kind of problem without

even giving it a thought. After all, they don't make the

laws, and they have long ago deluded themselves into

believing that what they are presenting is the news.

That's the sad part, people. The media has drifted so

far from its position as governmental watchdog (the so

called Fourth Estate) that it has forgotten its duty to

the public is to gather news, not titillate the viewers.

Because it provides entertainment in place of the

news, we have finally come to the point that we were able

to watch our government cowering in fear; afraid of the

media proclaimed hordes that were supposed to attack on

a given date. Because the media failed its duty to the

public, just as those cowering behind the barricades had

failed theirs, we were treated to this embarrassment.

All Americans should be ashamed of that film footage.

Remember those barricaded Federal buildings, and

the fear of the American Citizen they represented.

Remember those empty streets and the mob that never

clamored for the head of the tyrant. While you are

remembering, keep in mind that those expected to cause

trouble, the mob that never showed up, are the ones

demanding the government clean up its act and OBEY the

Constitution. A job the media discarded long ago.

Note: The above editorial is used with permission

from the Mad Dog Newsletter.

SHORTS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES

According to the EEOC, an employer may not ask

job applicants if they have a history of mental illness.

The employer must, however, make a whole host of special

provisions for such a worker. This can include extra

time off of work, altering work assignments and complete

physical changes in the workplace to accommodate the

person. Hostility to co-workers, chronic tardiness and

even full blown schizophrenia are now included in the

problems to be tolerated in the workplace. Thank

Congress. Again.

Tree-huggers recently invented another new term.

According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), old

growth forests and wilderness is now to be called

"frontier forests." WRI says that these frontier forests

are those which are undisturbed, and relatively unmanaged

by humans. And, of course, they say that these places

are in need of saving before they totally disappear.

Here's another environmental scam on the American

public: EPA intentionally funnels a lot of grant money

to groups, like the Natural Resources Defense Council and

the American Lung Association, that can be expected to

sue the agency. For instance, the American Lung

Association has sued EPA six times demanding tougher

air quality standards. EPA welcomes these lawsuits

because it ultimately wins by losing. The judges expand

the agency's power while insulating it from congressional

critics.

In a total assault on our right to liberty, the FAA

issued a call for comments on a FAA proposal to require

airlines to collect substantial personal information on

each passenger -- including full name, address, next of

kin, Social Security Number and date of birth. They say

that the purpose of this collection would be to facilitate

identification of victims of airplane crashes. The

proposal anticipates that passengers would have to provide

this information in order to board an aircraft. The

information will, of course, be computerized and

available to any and all government agencies.

Americans now spend 128 days each year-- this year,

until May 9 -- working to pay their taxes. That means

every penny earned by the average worker between January 1

and May 8 must go solely to pay government taxes. Put

another way, the average American must work 2 hours and

49 minutes every working day to pay all their taxes. In

fact, 1 hour and 53 minutes of every work day is devoted

specifically to paying federal taxes. On top of that, a

House Ways and Means Committee report says that the

Clinton/Gore budget contains 44 separate tax hikes adding

up to $150.6 billion over the next 10 years.

At the Capitol, members of a House bipartisan

ethics task force are discussing a proposal to ease the

restrictions on gifts that lawmakers imposed on themselves

only 16 months ago. The House's current rule prohibits

House members, officers and employees from accepting a

range of gifts, with exceptions provided for those from

relatives, personal friends and other members of the

House. In general, according to Republican and Democratic

staff aides, senior lawmakers tend to favor relaxing the

restriction on gifts while more junior House members, who

tend to be more reform-minded, generally oppose it.

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