From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #328 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Thursday, April 20 2000 Volume 02 : Number 328 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 16 Apr 00 08:09:15 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Heads Up #179 (fwd) On Apr 16, Doug Fiedor wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Heads Up A Weekly View from the Foothills of Appalachia April 16, 2000 #179 by: Doug Fiedor fiedor19@eos.net - --------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous Editions at: http://www.uhuh.com/reports/headsup/list-hu.htm - --------------------------------------------------------------------- GUNS, POLITICIANS AND AIRCRAFT Way back when, in the days when most commercial aircraft had propellers and a ride that would usually vibrate your dinner off of the tray if you weren't careful, it was very common for us to board a plane armed. In those days, many of us carried a 357 magnum which, because of its size, I always referred to as a "semi" concealed weapon. Nothing was ever said about guns on aircraft until some idiot calling himself D.B. Cooper managed to successfully hijack one. Just after a couple Cooper copycats tried something similar, the frequent flyers of the Congressional class got interested. Because, if a plane they were on was hijacked, they could actually be late for a fund-raiser luncheon, a lobbyist funded vacation, or something. Can't have that. So suddenly, most Americans could no longer carry a gun on a commercial aircraft. Gun-toting on busses and trains was fine, because Members of Congress do not normally use them. Packing heat on commercial aircraft became verboten. Ditto for bombs. No one knows of any American (except police officers) ever actually trying to board a commercial aircraft carrying a bomb. But, heck, better to be safe than sorry said the frequent flyers in the Congressional class. So, nowadays even the baggage that is checked is checked. Many airports, like the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, carry that trend one step further. They have money police there too. That is, if any of the airport employees see an aircraft passenger or airport visitor with a roll of cash, they call the special airport cops and the nice officers relieve that person of the burden of carrying so much cash. Then, they share part of the illicit cash with the airport employee who fingered the beleaguered person. It's all quite legal, too -- so they try to say. You see, they're looking for illegal drugs. And money, of course, may be used to purchase illegal drugs someday. So, they take the cash. The current drug cops at the Cincinnati Airport must really be doing a great job, too. They haven't found a lot of drugs, but they have relieved a whole lot of people of large stashes of personal cash. Apparently, the Cincinnati airport cops are not very good at finding guns, though. Kentucky State Rep. Pete Worthington (D-Ewing) tested that a while back. Worthington caught a flight to the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport with a .22-caliber handgun in his carry-on baggage. He made it to Dallas just fine. But when he tried to come back they noticed the gun. And not knowing that he was a member of the protected class, they stopped him. Worthington says he carries that handgun (without a permit) with him everywhere, and just "forgot" it was in the bag. Also, he didn't like being stopped and bothered. So, he called his buddy Kentucky House Speaker Jody Richards. Jody Richards, also a Democrat, then called his counterpart in Texas. The good old boy system worked, and Worthington came right home. As the story goes, the Kentucky prosecutor responsible for charging Worthington (the Cincinnati Airport is in Kentucky) said he can not charge Worthington cause no one saw him with a gun here -- no matter that Worthington admits he had it with him while boarding the aircraft. And, of course, the Texas prosecutor is not interested in pressing charges, either. Now . . . we do not really believe that Worthington, or anyone else for that matter, should be prosecuted for something as silly as taking a little handgun on a commercial aircraft. However, because he is a legislator -- a lawmaker -- and that is the law, we feel that the State House should censure him. And, as part of his punishment, he should be required to spend a year working to have many of these stupid laws repealed. Maybe he could do something to stop that crew with badges and guns from stealing people's money, too. Meanwhile, let this be just another example that there is no "equal justice" under the law. Congress gave us a class system. There's the elected ones and their friends, the bureaucrats, and then the normal citizens. And as we are seeing -- over and over again, and in all levels of government from the White House on down -- only the citizens are required to obey all laws. Yes, we still have something referred to as the "Rule of Law." It's just that the Lords and Ladies of the Hill rearranged it to fit their own personal needs more adequately. BUYING POLITICAL INFLUENCE Who was it recently that said campaign contributions do not buy political influence? All we have to say about that is that person is either a damn liar or an ignorant fool. Documents subpoenaed from the DNC and the White House by Congress show that the DNC provided the Clinton administration with a "must consider" list of names of major campaign contributors for posts in the administration. Yeah, you read that correctly. Major campaign contributors actually put their names on a "wish list" for the position of power each contributor sought within the administration. A memo the Democratic Party sent to the White House in December 1992 described the job candidates as "leading national fund-raisers." And, the new administration was expected to "pay off" with a cushy position of influence. And folks, the list contained "dozens" of names, most of whom did, in fact, get rewarded with positions of authority (over you) within the administration. For instance, John Huang (remember him?) was recommended by the DNC for a sub-Cabinet level job at the Commerce Department. Arthur Levitt wanted to be rewarded as ambassador to Germany or Mexico or a potential member of the National Economic Council, but ended up chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Erskine Bowles bought a position as administrator of the Small Business Administration -- then became White House chief of staff. Kenneth Brody bought an appointment as president of the Export-Import Bank. A few others bought ambassador positions. And so on. To these people, campaign contributions are an investment. Either they personally get in a position to "help" themselves and their friends make money, or they "buy" the influence of someone in a position to do it for them. Again, remember John Haung and all the money laundering connections to the evil communist Chinese and their big business interests? Contributing to Congress can only influence a few votes. Buying influence in the administrative branch can provide a whole host of immediately profitable advantages over business competitors. The cold hard fact is that the administrative branch can change and/or ignore any and all rules or regulations with only the stroke of a pen. We citizens do not have the bucks to pay to have that done. Multinational business executives and corrupt foreign governments like China, however, do. Of course, politicians euphemistically call these payments "campaign contributions." In practice, though, it is the direct purchase of political influence. In reality, contributors can actually "buy" laws, or positions, to control American citizens. That might sound a bit preposterous in the United States. But the fact is that the practice has been going on behind closed doors for years. This money exchange is the driving force behind many hundreds of the rules and regulations affecting our lives. From food processing to the Freon ban, regulations were all intentionally influenced by corporations purchasing political influence for monetary gain. The Clinton Administration, however, perfected that type of bribery to a political art form. FBI CONTROLS THE NEWS Those darn U-Hall trucks keep popping up all over the country. So, when the FBI released an all points bomb alert for two or more guys in a U-Hall a couple years ago, they were flooded with calls. It was a "terrorist threat advisory," the feds said. They had reports about two men seen in a small Texas town with a U-Haul rental truck hauling something. Wow! That sounds criminal to us on this end, too. Then -- gasp -- the men stopped to get 30 gallons of diesel fuel. Yeah, for sure they must be "terrorists." Hell, there couldn't be any other use for diesel fuel out there in the country now, could there? Nope. They must be up to no good. So, whatever the men were hauling in the back of the truck suddenly got upgraded to "thousands of pounds of fertilizer." Hence came the all points bulletin for the truck. Well, heck, that could be enough material to produce a bomb similar to the one that exploded in Oklahoma City. Yeah, must be terrorists, they said. The U-Hall officials said they were cooperating with the FBI. But, as they verified, there were thousands of trucks like that on the road, and there is no telling where that particular truck might be. Then CNN picked up the story, and the FBI had to back down a notch or two. After all, all it takes is one cop with a gun playing hero to really ruin someone's day, and thousands of people fit this profile. Yet another FBI advisory spiced up the story by saying the truck might be carrying 4,500 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and 30 gallons of diesel fuel. So, news accounts reported that the prosecutors in the Oklahoma City case say that Timothy McVeigh used that combination of material to fashion the bomb that destroyed the federal building. The FBI advisory asked people with any information to call in at a special toll-free number and agents urged the men who had been spotted to call the FBI or the local police "at once because of the possibility that the materials in the truck were meant only for innocent use." Oh? They guessed that, too? Wow, there may be some intelligent life in Washington after all. . . . We, on this end of the false news stories, laughed a lot while wondering which bright light in government -- with obviously not enough work to do -- made up the rumor about that "4,500 pounds of ammonium nitrate." That was, to say the least, rather irresponsible on the part of federal agents. And, it was certainly deserving of severe punishment. As it turned out, the two men lived in the area of Haltom City, outside Fort Worth, said Les Martz, ATF agent in charge of the Dallas division. Agents found the two men by canvassing U-Haul rental outlets and places throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area where fertilizer is sold. The men "were surprised and they were cooperative," an FBI spokeswoman said. Bet on it! All those FBI and ATF guns would get anyone's attention. Remember Waco? They were hauling "baking powder for use as an antiseptic in scrubbing floors and tiles," a federal law enforcement official in Washington said on condition of anonymity. But wait. . . . Hold on just a darn minute here! What if they really were hauling ammonium nitrate fertilizer in that truck? So what? That was the time of year we country folk start purchasing stuff like that. Because, the men were, by the way, in a rural area. And what would be wrong with bringing home a few gallons of diesel fuel too? It costs more to purchase it that way, but that's their business, not the FBI's. Are all of us to be suspects when we buy fertilizer nowadays? If so, watch for another alert sometime next week -- this time on a blue Plymouth Minivan -- because it's time to get busy here, too. And, yes, we may be getting some ammonium nitrate fertilizer. INTERESTING LEGAL TERMS Below are a few legal terms that seem to apply to the current news reports. These are provided only because they offer interesting insight into what some lawyers in the Department of Justice may (or should) be thinking if they read the same news reports we do. Just for kicks, we picked the oldest law dictionary on our shelf: "The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary" by James C. Cahill, dated 1922. This dictionary was chosen because it was published before American law was corrupted by the FDR administration. Conspiracy: "A combination of two or more persons by some concerted action to accomplish some criminal or unlawful purpose, or to accomplish some purpose, not itself criminal or unlawful, by criminal or unlawful means." Clinton, Clinton & Gore immediately come to mind when the term "conspiracy" is mentioned. Malfeasance: "The unjust performance of some act which the party had no right, or which he had contracted not, to do." When we consider the written words of the Constitution, the term malfeasance brings to mind many laws passed by Congress, many executive orders and most regulatory rules and regulations. Misfeasance: "The performance of an act which might lawfully be done, in an improper manner, by which another person receives an injury." Misfeasance seems to be the kissing cousin of malfeasance in that all the very same examples seem to fit perfectly. Most public servants continuously violate their oath of office. Nonfeasance: "The neglect or failure of a person to do some act which he ought to do. The term is not generally used to denote a breach of contract, but rather the failure to perform a duty towards the public whereby some individual sustains special damage, as where a sheriff fails to execute a writ. "When a legislative act requires a person to do a thing, its nonfeasance will subject the party to punishment; as, if a statute require the supervisors of the highways to repair such highways, the neglect to repair them may be punished." So, were "nonfeasance" enforced properly, lawmakers not strictly enforcing the Bill of Rights could be prosecuted and sent to prison. So could any police, prosecutor or judge enforcing an unconstitutional law. Last but not least comes a term from a thirty year old political dictionary of obviously liberal bent. We chose this book because we believe that, when the subject at hand is the behavior of liberal politicians, it is probably best to define the terms the way the liberal politicians understand them. And, this term was once a real favorite of the socialist reactionaries among us: Civil Disobedience: "Refusal to obey a law, usually on the ground that the law is morally reprehensible. Recent examples of civil disobedience include Negro refusals to obey segregation laws and actions of anti-Vietnam war groups in refusing to honor draft regulations. Civil disobedience ordinarily takes the form of nonviolent resistance and is aimed at arousing public opinion against the law." ~ End ~ [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Apr 00 14:11:32 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: McGehee's News & Comment - April 17,2000 (fwd) On Apr 16, The McGehee Zone wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] McGEHEE'S NEWS & COMMENT (c) 2000 KEVIN McGEHEE Newnan, Georgia mail@mcgeheezone.com http://www.mcgeheezone.com/ Permission granted to anyone wishing to forward, redistribute, or broadcast this article WITH FULL ATTRIBUTION. ================================================================ TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT? It's not often you find a juicy news item in *TV Guide,* but on Page 81 of the issue for the week of April 15-21 there's an item that caught my eye. Apparently, CNN and National Public Radio had to show a couple of interns the door after it was discovered that they were not journalism students, but personnel from the U.S. Army's Psychological Operations (PSYOP) unit. According to the article by J. Max Robins, PSYOP's people "are often trained in the production of videos as well as television and radio programming used to advance American policy abroad." In other words, the Army's PSYOP people are involved in disseminating propaganda overseas in support of whatever U.S. policy objectives may be active in a particular region. CNN and NPR were shocked -- SHOCKED! -- to discover that there were avowed propagandists working behind the scenes at their respective networks, and terminated the interns forthwith. Their press releases made it clear they didn't want anyone thinking they'd been used to disseminate propaganda in support of American policy objectives. They insisted that the interns were let in as a result of some low-level bureaucratic snafu and that the internships in question were never -- NEVER! -- approved by upper management. For his part, the Army officer interviewed for the article says the internships were part of the PSYOP unit's training program: "The programs were an opportunity for some of our people to learn at the feet of the masters." * * * WHAT IS BEST FOR THIS CHILD? To hear the U.S. Justice Department and its supporters tell it, the law is rigid and absolute when one of a child's parents dies: the other parent is guaranteed custody. For Elian Gonzalez, that interpretation of the law means being sent back to Cuba, a totalitarian country his mother died to get him out of, where he will be considered property of Fidel Castro. At age 11 (at the latest), Elian will be taken away from his foster parent (which, under Cuban law, is what a child's biological parents are) and put to work as an unpaid farmhand in order to finance his mandatory Communist education. And that's assuming he gets to lead what passes for a "normal" life in Cuba. Given his exposure to the material wealth his emigre relatives have amassed since escaping Castro's iron fist, it's unlikely Elian will have a smooth time unlearning freedom and capitalism in a Castro school. And they don't settle for holding such problem students back a grade. Given these facts, the question should not be whether prospective foster parent Juan Miguel Gonzalez is fit to raise a child -- it's whether Fidel Castro is. We who have never experienced the nightmare of life in a totalitarian hellhole should be listening to those who do know: the Cuban exiles in Miami who have mobilized to prevent Elian's deportation. Reports on television and in the print media telling how good life will be for Elian with his biological father, are the result of guided tours conducted by officials of the Castro regime. If such tours tell an accurate tale of life in today's Cuba, then we should be able to learn all we need to know about life in California by spending a weekend at Disneyland. * * * WANT TO KNOW WHO'S GOING TO WIN? Forget the polls, even Zogby. There's a far more reliable way to predict who's going to be the 43rd President of the United States. Now that the vast majority of votes cast in elections are virtually uninformed votes, the outcome no longer turns on issues or policy statements -- so long as neither major party candidate abandons his own base, at least. Part of the problem is that Big Media has misidentified the big "swing" voter bloc that often decides elections. If you really want to know who's got the best shot at winning, ignore the pundits. Instead, monitor Jay Leno and David Letterman. The caricatures applied to political candidates are what's going to decide the close races. That caricaturing is best determined by how the candidates are portrayed in late-night monologues. For example, once John McCain got labelled as a hothead, no amount of self-deprecating humor on his part could defuse that -- especially when he went ballistic after losing in South Carolina. So with George W. Bush being portrayed as an overgrown, good-timing frat boy, and Al Gore being widely seen as delusional (where once he was merely boring), you should be able to get an idea of which is more likely to be regarded by today's disengaged voter as the less dangerous choice. If the image applied to Bush bothers you, don't forget that Ronald Reagan was once widely portrayed in late-night monologues as an amiable dunce -- doddering, forgetful, and prone to nodding off at the drop of a hat. Yet the late-night audience helped give Reagan his high approval ratings and his 49-state re-election victory. It's been a long time since the voting bloc that we might call "The Ignoramus Vote" valued attentiveness to business in a President. This is not to say that the trends in pop-culture caricaturing are already set in stone. Either Bush or Gore could say or do something between now and Election Day that breaks him or his opponent out of the present mold and recasts the campaign for the ignoramus vote. But right now that bloc is Bush's to lose. - -30- April 17, 2000 ================================================================ This article can also be read online at http://www.mcgeheezone.com/news&comment/2000/0417.htm The views expressed herein are entirely those of the author(s), and do not reflect those of any person or group with whom the author(s) may be affiliated, unless explicitly labelled as doing so. - --... ...-- -.. . -.- .-.. ----- - -.-- [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 00 22:46:37 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Charley Reese on gun control (fwd) On Apr 19, RJK.Sr. wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] By Charley Reese Columnist If the homicide rate is falling, if the fatalities from firearms accidents are the lowest they've been since 1902, why do you suppose some people are so fiendishly insistent on more gun control? You ought to think about that. It's already against the law for a convicted felon to purchase or possess a firearm; it's already against the law for a minor to purchase or possess a handgun; there is already a law requiring background checks on gun buyers; gun dealers are already heavily regulated; many states have laws to punish adults for failure to store guns safely. Why then do people insist that more laws are needed? Why do they clamor for safer guns when firearm accidents account for only 1,400 of the 90,000 accidental deaths annually in the United States? Well, I personally think that their motive has nothing to do with fighting crime or with safety. After all, firearms are dead last as a cause of accidental fatalities among both children and adults. Doctors, we now know, kill three times as many Americans annually from mistakes than firearms kill, counting homicides, suicides and accidents. I think that the answer is both old and simple. Gun-control laws have always been elitist and racist. Elitists have always wanted to disarm the common folks while, of course, retaining the privileges of arms for themselves. And the right to keep and bear arms has always been a populist cause. James Madison boasted to a European critic that the new country of America, unlike his country, did not fear its own people and allowed them to own arms. In fact, that Second Amendment right to keep and own arms is one of the things that makes America unique. Many countries protect speech and assembly and so forth. Almost no other protects the right of its people to keep arms. You may, of course, think that the Second Amendment is obsolete. I would ask you to reconsider that. If you noticed in the last Los Angeles riot, neither the police nor the military was on hand initially to protect people's lives and property. The people had to protect themselves, and they did it with firearms. This is always true in a major disaster -- at least initially. Any honest cop will tell you that if you are attacked by a criminal, on the street or in your home, you are on your own. It's up to you to defend yourself and your family. If you think that you are physically fit enough to disarm armed intruders, then more power to you. But every martial artist I have known says there is no substitute for a handgun when it comes to serious self-defense. If the only things needed to prevent crimes were laws and policemen, then there wouldn't be any crime statistics. But every murder, every rape victim is testimony to the fact that neither the law nor the police can protect individuals from criminal attackers. On the other hand, very respectable studies have shown that firearms are used by Americans more than a million times a year to prevent crimes, usually without having to be fired. It used to be said in America that God created people but that Samuel Colt (inventor of the revolver) made them equal. Indeed, a firearm is an equalizer. With a gun, an elderly person or a woman or a small, sickly man can stand up to a young and large thug. It was the invention of firearms that ultimately ended the practice of professional warriors being the ruling class. It seems as self-evident to me as it was to the Founding Fathers that a people disarmed by their government cannot purport to be free. The bottom line remains: Force rules. Therefore, if you allow the government to have a monopoly on force, then you can never purport to be a free person. Published in The Orlando Sentinel on April 18, 2000 [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 19:30:29 -0500 From: larry ball Subject: [Fwd: Unite] This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --------------38D53243EF0D9B63D23761B5 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit What do you think, gang? Is it time to unite? Anyone for tennis, or ????? Larry Ball lball@inetnebr.com - --------------38D53243EF0D9B63D23761B5 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: Received: from unlinfo.unl.edu (unlinfo.unl.edu [129.93.1.11]) by pigeon.inebraska.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA04306 for ; Wed, 19 Apr 2000 11:34:37 -0500 (CDT) Received: from earth.electro-net.com ([199.44.160.5]) by unlinfo.unl.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA18922 for ; Wed, 19 Apr 2000 11:33:54 -0500 (CDT) Received: from fatman (Dlp-016.electro-net.com [199.44.160.51]) by earth.electro-net.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with SMTP id MAA12441 for ; Wed, 19 Apr 2000 12:23:50 -0400 From: "Rick Ainsworth" To: Subject: Unite Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 12:37:36 -0400 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6700 X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA Wednesday, April 19, 2000 Mr. Ball: Greetings on this infamous of days, April 19th. As you are well aware the unity among the militia's of this nation is something that is extremely lacking. We must unite against the monster of our present godless "federals" who wish to abolish individual and states rights. Larry, I would ask you and others to consider banding together with us in a truly united front against federal terrorism. Richard Ainsworth Confederate States of America Southern States Congress http://www.afn.org/~mpress/ - --------------38D53243EF0D9B63D23761B5-- - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Apr 00 23:39:40 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: [Fratrum] [Fwd: [Lis-LEAF] A proposal to make Congress accountable] (fwd) We should be pushing this on the State level, too! On Apr 19, Margi Crook wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 19:56:33 -0800 From: Jon Roland Subject: [Lis-LEAF] A proposal to make Congress accountable The following article presents the problem that a majority of members of Congress are now willing to pass legislation they know to be unconstitutional, passing the buck to the federal courts to declare it unconstitutional. The problem, of course, leaving aside the abdication of their sworn duty, is that there is no way the federal courts can keep up with the pace of legislation. The Supreme Court can handle only about 75 cases a year, and it has other cases to attend to besides reviewing new congressional acts. Following the article is a proposal to make Congress accountable. Urge your members to introduce and support it. - ------------------------ Scalia Criticizes Congress Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia chastised Congress on Tuesday for enacting provisions that allow quick court review of new laws that push "the edge of the constitutional envelope." "I think that is disturbing because it indicates that Congress is increasingly abdicating its independent responsibility to be sure that it is being faithful to the Constitution," the justice told a telecommunications symposium sponsored by Michigan State University. "My court is fond of saying that acts of Congress come to the court with the presumption of constitutionality," Scalia said. "But if Congress is going to take the attitude that it will do anything it can get away with and let the Supreme Court worry about the Constitution ... then perhaps that presumption is unwarranted." Two laws struck down by the Supreme Court in recent years provided speeded-up court review of their provisions. In 1997, the justices threw out a measure that sought to protect children from sexually explicit material on the Internet, and a year later the court threw out Congress' effort to enact a presidential line-item veto. "Congress has in recent years been pushing the edge of the constitutional envelope so aggressively that it has begun to include special review provisions in its more dubious offerings," Scalia said. "If you have a legislature that is eager to push the envelope you should expect a higher percentage of invalidations." - ---------------End of Original Message----------------- A proposal to make Congress accountable The following may be introduced as a constitutional amendment, and may also be introduced as ordinary legislation and as revisions to the rules of procedure of each House of Congress: ______ In the event that any act of Congress shall be held unconstitutional, in whole or in part, by the Supreme Court of the United States, each member of each House who voted for the act shall be penalized as follows: 1 - On the first such instance, the privilege of voting for legislation by that member shall be suspended for 2 legislative days; similarly, 2 - On the second such instance, the privilege of voting by that member shall be suspended for 5 legislative days; 3 - On the third such instance, the privilege of voting by that member shall be suspended for 10 legislative days; 4 - On the fourth such instance, the privilege of voting by that member shall be suspended for 20 legislative days; 5 - On the fifth such instance, the seat of that member shall be declared vacant, the member removed from the House and from his office, and his seat filled in accordance with law, except that he shall not be eligible to fill his vacancy, or to ever hold any office of trust of the United States, any State, or any territory of the United States, and to be removed from any such office he might then hold. The suspension shall begin on the first legislative day following the order of the Supreme Court. However, the member shall be counted as present for purpose of establishing a quorum. ______ Spread this proposal far and wide. - --Jon =================================================================== Constitution Society, 1731 Howe Av #370, Sacramento, CA 95825 916/568-1022, 916/450-7941VM Date: 04/19/00 Time: 19:56:33 http://www.constitution.org/ mailto:jon.roland@constitution.org =================================================================== - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Enjoy the award-winning journalism of The New York Times with convenient home delivery. And for a limited time, get 50% off for the first 8 weeks by subscribing. Pay by credit card and receive an additional 4 weeks at this low introductory rate. http://click.egroups.com/1/3102/5/_/655990/_/956199442/ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Liberty's Educational Advocacy Forum http://freedomlaw.com promotes "action that raises the cost of State violence for its perpetrators ... lay(ing) the basis for institutional change." [Noam Chomsky] Dr. Tavel's Self Help Clinic and Sovereign Law Library http://drtavel.com/selfhelp.htm Not a high-tech law firm brochure, "because a lawyer is only as smart as you make him" [Max Katz] and "the Law . . . should be accessible to every man and at all times." [Franz Kafka] For Liberty in Our Lifetime, R.J. Tavel, JD, managing partner, Tavel & Stewart, Public Interest Law Firm, Bringing you "a whole new boutique of wonderful First Amendment litigation." [J. Scalia] http://freedomlaw.com/T&S/ NEW: SUBSCRIBE TO Lis-LEAF the Learning Electronically About Freedom mailing service at http://freedomlaw.com/FORM.html Community email addresses: Unsubscribe: Lis-LEAF-unsubscribe@onelist.com List owner: Lis-LEAF-owner@onelist.com Shortcut URL to this page: http://www.onelist.com/community/Lis-LEAF [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Apr 00 23:40:36 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: CITIZENS OF AMERICA UPDATE (Fight For Gun Rights Successfully) (fwd) On Apr 19, Weldon Clark wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] CITIZENS OF AMERICA UPDATE (Fight For Gun Rights Successfully) Ladies and Gentlemen: In case you're new on our list, Citizens Of America (COA) is a new non-profit organization that produces, distributes, and runs NATIONAL PRO-FIREARM advertisements. To learn more, or to hear our radio ads, go to: http://www.citizensofamerica.org Now-- the COA UPDATE: ***NEW -- our COA Ad Coordinator Program is producing its first results, mulitiplying the effect of your donations: 1. CA/San Jose/Bay Area -- 30 COA radio ads run in prime drive time during one week period in a high-priority area. Thanks to activist Michael Pelletier and his pro-2A associates. 2. NY/Albany/Capitol District -- 10 COA radio ads run during prime drive time in a high-priority area. Thanks to activist Michael Zabriskie and his pro-2A associates. Other coordinators are reporting in with locally gathered funds to run COA ads. These ads were paid for DIRECTLY by citizens in the above areas. To find out about being a coordinator and helping us run ads in your area, (it's easy) go to: http://www.citizensofamerica.org/RunOurAds.htm and read down through the coordinator section. ***NEW -- COA supporter Rod Jacobs has provided us with an updated version of a videotape containing changing graphics and repeating audio of COA's radio ads. This tape is now available to run on ANY COMMUNITY ACCESS TELEVISION C|HANNEL. The tape is FREE and the cost of running it is ZERO. All you have to do is submit it to your CATV station--by law they MUST run it. For details go to the homepage and click the COA VIDEOTAPE button. ***NEW -- COA President Brian Puckett quoted in WND: the quote printed was not precise, but the sentiment surely is: the government of California lies, has no respect for the Bill of Rights, and is going forward with gun confiscation. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_dougherty/20000316_ xnjdo_senate_con.shtml ***NEW -- We have 2 print ads available to be run in local, weekly or daily publications. A third is on the way. The cost of running such ads is often quite small--and you can choose the size of the ad you want to run. Want to strike back at the "mainstream media" and this administrations lies about guns? Run these ads in your area! Go to the homepage and click the COA Ad Video Button. ***NEW -- In case you missed the last COA update, you should click the new "PRODUCTS and PROGRAMS Benefitting COA" button and see what is currently available. We expect this page to grow. Be sure to note the Springbok Holster offer. ***NEW -- Support COA's national media campaign every time you make a long distance phone call. COA urges you to consider signing up for long distance service from MARATHON LONG DISTANCE. This company was founded primarily to provide funds for pro-firearms rights, pro-self defense organizations. A portion of Marathon's revenues goes right back to the organization you designate as a beneficiary--and we hope you designate Citizens Of America. Marathon's link: http://www.2ndamendment.com/default.htm Click ENTER ***NEW -- We have a COA ad coordinator in WASHINGTON DC. That means he's currently taking contributions to run our ads in DC. While we don't favor one coordinator over another, we would really like to run a series of our ads in DC. Help him --and all of us-- if you can. From our homepage, click the "YOU CAN Run Our Ads" button and scroll to the very end, where coordinators are listed. Send checks to Keith Manne but make them out to "Citizens Of America" with "Deposit to First Federal Bank of California" on the back. VARIOUS ITEMS: ***Richard W. Stevens, not Freeman for 911 and Die, and this description of the book: Dial 911 and Die does more than "expose the facts behind emergency phone service" -- more to the point, it shows state by state that nearly everywhere in the U.S., the police owe no legal duty to protect citizens from crime ... and don't even have to answer 911 calls. We must preserve our right to keep and bear arms because we are ultimately responsible to protect ourselves -- it's the law. Dial 911 and Die is the perfect written proof of the truth of COA's "911 Hell" radio spot. ***Here's a website you might be interested in visiting for items of general interest in the fight to regain our firearms rights: www.gunfax.com ***Gun Owners of America has initiated a boycott of S&W for selling out the 2nd Amendment via caving in to the most corrupt administration in American history, and COA fully support this boycott. We urge you: DO NOT BUY S&W products! To sign a petition to S&W regarding their cave-in to government extortion, go to: http://www.i-charity.net/sw.cgi/ptn/30/tfref/3329 *** If you would like to hear COA President Brian Puckett's Feb 12 interview on the nationally-syndicated radio show, "Tim Kern, Talking Sense," tapes are available at 1-800-205- 6245. REMINDERS: 1. Our ads continue to run across the country as public service announcements and as ads directly paid for by COA supporters. To see where they have run or are running, go to the homepage and click the "STATIONS Where COA Ads Have Run" button. COA also pays to run ads itself, and contributes to Coordinator funds. It takes money to get the message out, but we can't think of a better way to reach the public regarding our right to bear arms than this. 2. Again -- Donate at least $75 to COA ---and get ANY Springbok Kydex CONCEALED CARRY or REGULAR CARRY HOLSTER (or choose any combination of Springbok items totaling less than $57 MSRP) for FREE, including shipping. To take advantage of this offer, go to: http://www.citizensofamerica.org/programs.htm 3. To our supporters: Thank you for your financial help. Producing our pro-firearm ads and keeping them before the public requires continual funding. We don't like asking for contributions, but it must be done. Help fight for our rights-- contribute when you can--and thanks again. 4. PLEASE -- Forward this email to those you think might be interested. ***Citizens Of America*** COA runs a national pro-firearm media campaign--and YOU can help! Support our national pro-gun media campaign Learn more at http://www.citizensofamerica.org - --You can now contribute to COAs campaign by CREDIT CARD. See bottom of homepage at http://www.citizensofamerica.org ************************************************************** What To Do If The Police Come To Confiscate Your Militia Weapons see www.2ndamendment.net For legislative updates contact www.nealknox.com and go to "Scripts from the Firearms Coalition Legislative Update Line" ************************************************************* >From The 2ndAmendmentNews Team If you received this as a forward and wish to join please send: E-MAil to listserver@frostbit.com with the following text in the message body: SUBSCRIBE 2nd-Amendment-News We have had a computer error. If you want to be removed send a message to the list administrator, send E-mail to whclark@bellsouth.net If you know anyone who would appreciate these alerts, please let us know and we'll enroll them on a trial basis. Also, feel free to forward our alerts. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #328 *************************