Devil in the Details: ‘Sinister’ $700-Billion Bailout == ‘There Goes Your Country’

Congressman Ron Paul: Time is running out

Whenever a Great Bipartisan Consensus is announced, and a compliant media assures everyone that the wondrous actions of our wise leaders are being taken for our own good, you can know with absolute certainty that disaster is about to strike.

…

Then there’s this: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.“ Translation: the Secretary can buy up whatever junk debt he wants to, burden the American people with it, and be subject to no one in the process.

…

There goes your country.

Finally, A New Pop Song I Can Relate To…

Can Oklahoma Save the Republic? (Message to the White House: You Must Serve States — Not Vice Versa)

[World Net Daily] Oklahoma to feds: Don’t tread on me: State House defends its sovereignty from D.C. intrusion

“The State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.” … The resolution resolves that Oklahoma will “serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.”

My 2-Bits: If most of the states can pass (and enforce) similar resolutions, then the nazification of our southern neighbour will become a sad blemish in its past–but at least it will be history. I urge all Americans interested in protecting their liberties and restoring the Constitution to its full powers once again to demand their respective state legislatures pass and enforce the same legislation reaffirming the 10th Amendment.

Does the US Government Have Watchlist and Detention Plans for 8-Million ‘Unfriendly’ Citizens?

Poem by Dachau Concentration Camp Survivor Pastor Martin Niemoeller

[ThinkProgress.org] Govt. May Have Massive Surveillance Program For Use In ‘National Emergency,’ 8 Million ‘Potential Suspects’

” ‘We are at the edge of a cliff and we’re about to fall off,’ said constitutional lawyer and former Reagan administration official Bruce Fein. “

Are Safe Deposit Boxes Not Only Useless but Dangerously Misleading?

This article is pegged to a current class-action lawsuit against the State of California. It appears state reps have admitted to seizing the contents of safe-deposit boxes under the excuse that the contents had been abandoned. The article also cites internal state memos that admit to wanting to reduce the time frame for abandonment from its current three years to only one (it used to be 15) and a desire to avoid alerting deposit-box owners lest they try to claim it. The article also shows how pervasive this problem is throughout other states within the union.

Stories of state seizures of safe-deposit boxes remind me of a blog post about a year back from someone who apparently resigned from a bank soon after attending a training course conducted by the Department of Homeland Security. According to the post: “At this point they were told that no weapons, cash, gold, or silver will be allowed to leave the bank – only various paperwork will be given to its owners. After discussing the matter with them at length, she and the other employees were then told not to discuss the subject with anyone.”

And two years ago there were also excerpts from a DHS memo circulating stating that DHS Agents:
” shall, at the discretion of the agent supervising the search, remove, photograph or seize as evidence” any of the following items”bar gold, gold coins, firearms of any kind unless manufactured prior to 1878, documents such as passports or foreign bank account records, pornography or any material that, in the opinion of the agent, shall be deemed of to be of a contraband nature. “

The posting goes on state that over 1500 seizures had already taken place within the state of California alone. That was over two years ago, so God knows how many more people have lost their nest eggs since then. Many may not even be aware of the loss yet since safe-deposit boxes are often left alone for years.

Perhaps the folks at DHS need to be sent back to school to learn the tenets of the United States Consitution, particularly when it comes to protection against search and seizure. After all, are they all not swearing an oath to preserve and protect this brilliant document?

Canadian Press Spotlights Over-zealous RCMP Censorship in Taser Report (Yay! Some of Canada’s Fourth Estate Is Still Doing Its Job)

[Toronto Star] Details of airport Tasering stripped from RCMP report

” The Mounties have stripped any new answers from a heavily censored report on the high-profile stun gun incident, obtained by The Canadian Press and CBC under the Access to Information Act. … Absent from the report is the name and rank of the officer who fired the Taser, the name of his supervisor, details about the duration of the firing, and the number of times the weapon was used in stun mode … A written summary of the incident has been blanked out along with assessments as to whether use of the Taser helped the RCMP … New information is scant. “

My 2-Bits: Cudos to Jim Bronskill, Sue Bailey, CBC and the Canadian Press for continuing to investigate this issue!

Washington D.C. Madame’s Greatest Service: Utter Destruction of Mainstream Media (Time, Washington Post & NY Times) Credibility By Indy Media (It’s Getting So Blatant Now that Should We Just Assume that Any Political “Suicide” is Really A Government Hit Unless Proven Otherwise?)

Contrived Media Ploy As DC Madam Tape Ignored

” The fact that the corporate media immediately accepted Moldea’s claim at face value and featured it front and center within hours of the announcement of Palfrey’s death, while completely ignoring her recorded intention never to commit suicide, smacks of a contrived ploy and underscores just how easy it would be to make murder look like suicide with the aid of a graciously compliant mass media to endlessly parrot the official story while blackballing clear evidence to the contrary. “

Los Angeles is Technically Now Considered Third-World: Which US City is Next?

[Telegraph - UK] Los Angeles ‘is a Third World city’

” Los Angeles is becoming a “Third World city” with immigrants making up half its workforce, says a new study. “

News Flash: Minority Governments Just as Productive as Majority Ones (i.e. Not Very)

[Paulitics Blog] The myth that minority parliaments are inefficient

” This evaluation shows that the 38th Parliament was no less efficient than its predecessors, featured greater legislative deliberation, and was better able to hold the executive accountable for its actions. As a result the paper concludes that while minority governments are by no means perfect, the example of 38th Parliament suggests that an electoral system which produced more minority governments could increase the quality of democracy in Canada. “

To the Entire World (EXCEPT the Bush Administration) Waterboarding is Torture

[The Independent - UK] Amnesty unveils shock ‘waterboarding’ film

” For a few seconds, our film-makers did it for real. Even for those few seconds, it’s horrifying to watch. The reality – in a secret prison with no one to stop it – is much, much worse. “

Chrysler Legend Lee Iacocca Delivers a Deliciously-Strong Rant

[Infowars] Lee Iacocca speaks out about America

” I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change? “