FDA ASSAULTS CIGAR INDUSTRY

22 Sunday May 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

Tags

America, Amerika, cigars, Congress, Constitution, FDA, freedom, government, law, Patrick Vivalo, politicians, regulation, Ron Paul, Russell Wilder, The People, Thomas Jefferson, tyranny, Washington

I like cigars. I hate government. I really really hate when government interferes with cigars. As if the regulations, restrictions and taxes, taxes, and even more taxes aren’t enough, now the FDA is hell-bent on yet more dastardly regulation of the good leaf.

This issue has been on my radar for a while but it was brought back to my attention over the past few weeks via murmurs I hear in the shops I frequent. Then I saw this Facebook post/plea from my friend Patrick Vivalo:

nimbus-image-1463964608610

Thank you Patrick (and re-post of Russell Wilder).

I think I signed the petition some time back. And I’m not really into petitions (or remembering them).

The FDA’s new rules would wreak havoc on the cigar business through some of the strangest, communist bullshit imaginable. “New” cigars, meaning those crafted since 2007, would have to be inspected and approved by Big Brother. Older, pre-2007 sticks would be exempt. The approval process (GAWD only knows how that will work) will be both time-consuming and onerously expensive – I’ve heard estimates in the hundreds of thousands per cigar type. And more and worse is to come.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE!!!!! I have the first ever photograph of a prototype FDA cigar inspector. Yes, this dude (or someone like him) will regulate our smokes:

U.S. FDA Office of Idiocy.

I could care less what the stated reasons for this unnecessary intrusion into my hobby are. I suspect the FDA wants to protect all of those children one is constantly tripping over at the local cigar shop – every bit as common as honest politicians and useful regulators!

Reading through the Constitution I found no authority for cigar regulation. I double checked, doubting my own senses. Still not there. In fact the word”cigar” does not appear even once in the text. Believe it or not, the FDA isn’t mentioned either. A reading of what is in there would lead one to think the government does not have legal authority to regulate cigars – or much of anything else. Odd, that. Not to worry; what the feds lack in legality, they make up for with threats and sheer violence. Tyranny, I think they call it.

Patrick and Russell and many others signed the petition. Russell even went to Washington (an act of supreme bravery and sacrifice) on a mission with other industry leaders to protest this meddlesome evil in Congress. I hate to say they failed … but here we are back at the petition again. (Two petitions – one for the criminals in Congress and one for the chief criminal in the Whitehouse.) I fear none of this will work.

A better, more comprehensive approach would be to get an honest member of Congress to initiate legislation to abolish the FDA entirely. Somehow humanity survived without it up until 1906. Given the departure of Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, it might be just as worthwhile to consult the Wizard of Oz on this matter…

Petitions, Congress, the President, and the various apparati of the bureaucracy are all by-products of the Constitution which established this particular corrupt government in the first place. Like all systems, this one was destined to grow dangerously out of control. Working within the system to fix the system is insane and self-defeating. The Constitution created the government; government killed the Constitution; “let’s have the government follow the Constitution!” Get it? It’s kind of like trying to get to know the termites and reason with them so they won’t eat your house. That won’t work. Tents and gas work.

Thomas Jefferson said, “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.” The tree is all but dead in Amerika despite the copious amounts of unnatural manure lying about D.C. At any rate, our “patriots” are now completely preoccupied with television, chasing fake money, sports, and other triviality. “Ain’t nobody got time for revolution!”

So we humbly petition our masters to mind their own business. These regulatory measures, very likely to come to pass, will not kill the business just yet. Life will go on. Children will be safe. Voodoo, busybody inspectors will be well paid.

You, the non-cigar reader, might pause to wonder why you should care about this issue. It doesn’t concern you directly. Yet, you rest assured the ever-benevolent forces of the state have some new regulatory scheme in mind for what does concern you. “First they came for the cigar lovers…”

Google.

Falling Empire, Rising Hope

08 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

America, Amerika, collapse, corruption, decline, economy, Edward Gibbon, Federal Reserve, fiat money, government, lies, politicians, reform, Rome, society, The People, The West

Edward Gibbon listed various causes for the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Amidst his voluminous words one will discern the crippling effects of: military expansionism, currency debasement, massive public spending and debt, cultural contamination, and loss of character amongst the citizenry.

One who has lived long enough and with eyes open and awake will surely notice a similar trend in the United States over the past few decades. In 2015 levels of political or social excess which would have been considered a crisis in 1970 or 1980 don’t even raise eyebrows now.

In America today anything goes. Anything, except common sense, decency and responsibility. A huge percentage of the populace, probably a majority, has turned their lives over to the government and Bacchus. All of the deadly sins are on prominent display day after year after decade.

Leaving aside social decay, sloth, and criminality, the economic collapse is alarming enough. The old American dream of a home, a job, and improving stability is now just that – a dream. The new economy of debt, more debt and endless paper “money” is still wrapped in a semblance of the traditional America. However, the facade is beginning to crack and fall away.

Bill Bonner warns the funny money expansion has reached its end. The Fed and their employed fools in government have nothing left with which to prop up the ruins of the Superpower.

That flood of EZ money created the delta of plenty in which we live today.

Unfortunately, it’s not likely to continue, because funny things happen when you do funny things to money.

Former, honest officials in the know, like Paul Craig Roberts and David Stockman, warn the game is over.

In the last two days we posted the latest data on two crucial markers of global economic direction——-export shipments from Korea and export orders coming into the high performance machinery factories of Germany.

In a word, they were abysmal, and smoking gun evidence that the suzerains of Beijing have not stopped the implosion in China, and that their latest paddy wagon forays—–arresting the head of China’s third largest bank and hand-cuffing several hedge fund managers including the purported “Warren Buffett” of China—-are signs not of stabilization, but sheer desperation.

So it is not surprising that Korea’s October exports—–the first such data from anywhere in the world—were down by a whopping 16% from last year, and have now been down for 10 straight months. Needless to say, China is the number one destination for Korean exports.

Likewise, German export orders plummeted by 18% in September, and this was no one month blip.

The new American fiscal model depends on taxing profits and income to keep the funny money above water. It depends on sheer faith in a system of criminal corruption. There have to be incomes and profits. The system has to be faith worthy, at least at a basic level.

The rubber band of debt can only be stretched so far before it snaps. Families are mired in debt. So are businesses and the state. The phantom obligations of society have passed the point from which they could ever be satisfied.

The paid salesmen at CNBC and the idiot politicians still repeat the lie that everything is fine, improving even. Off camera they admit a tragedy is brewing. Thus, the occasional talk about reform. A reform keeps the underlying system in place, tweaking it slightly in order to artificially extend its days. A reform is temporary. We need something permanent.

Charles Hugh Smith hypothesizes that a collapse is much better than a reform. He provides plenty of evidence. A crisis which destroys the status quo works in our favor because it accelerates the inevitable. It moves us into a new and real rebuilding phase.

The reform quickly becomes “reform” –a simulacrum that maintains the facade of fixing what’s broken while maintaining the Status Quo. Another layer of costly bureaucracy is added, along with hundreds or thousands of pages of additional regulations, all of which add cost and friction without actually solving what was broken.

The added friction increases the system’s operating costs at multiple levels. Practitioners must stop doing actual work to fill out forms that are filed and forgotten; lobbyists milk the system to eradicate any tiny reductions in the flow of swag; attorneys probe the new regulations for weaknesses with lawsuits, and the enforcing agencies add staff to issue fines.

None of this actually fixes what was broken; all these fake-reforms add costs and reduce whatever efficiencies kept the system afloat.

The end of the Western Roman Empire brought turmoil only to a very few; it was largely ignored by the majority. And, it ushered in, or forced, the re-definition of the state, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the modern ages. It’s time again.

Morning is coming. Google.

The coming fall of post-modern Amerika, if allowed to follow its natural course, will bring a rebirth and happier times. A short time of shortage and confusion will really lead to better lives for good people, both here and across the West. Let the good times roll.

Guilty: Students, Professors, and the Public Get Schooled by Big Brother

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

America, Amerika, anarchy, bombs, Courts, crime, double jeopardy, drugs, due process, evidence, evil, freedom, government, injustice, Islam, justice, Justice Department, law, police, police state, prisons, probable cause, rights, schools, Sir. William Blackstone, State, statism, students, teachers, Temple University, terrorists, The People

Several years ago, when I was actively practicing law, I held a discussion with a class of highly motivated and intelligent high school students (mostly upperclassmen). My subject matter was the economic and cultural chaos wrought by the modern police state. To my joy the students, nearly every one of them, were not only aware of the issues I covered but were deeply concerned about the world they would soon enter as adults. Many embraced good old-fashioned anarchy as a positive response to the daily deluge of state-imposed evil.

Another thing which struck me, and which I mentioned to the young people, was how much their public, government high school resembled a prison – both in physical appearance and in operation. Of this too they were all to aware.

It was a nice, new, modern facility in one of the trendiest parts of town. It was where the money went when they didn’t want the private school bills. The halls were clean, the grounds attractive, the people were pleasant. However, I noticed things which seemed better suited for a correctional facility than a place of education.

Back then I regularly traveled around to various prisons and jails. Most have a familiar layout and feel. So too did this shiny new hall of academia. The building was made of interlaced concrete blocks, bare of ornamentation – like a prison. The rectangular halls, with classrooms on either side, were laid out in wings or pods, fanning from a central hub – like a prison. The central hub housed the administrative office in what looked like a tall glass control tower – like a prison. Near the doors were metal detectors (not in use that day) – like a prison. The building was patrolled by armed officers – like a prison.

I had met some of these officers, all certified in law enforcement, before in professional settings. I tried several cases stemming from “criminal” school misconduct. The cases usually involved drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or other earth-destroying calamities. Every single one of them was also devoid or things like probable cause, evidence, due process, and common sense. I beat every single case. And, it took quite the beating to win them.

Another ancient legal protection absent from modern Amerika, especially concerning students, is the prohibition against double jeopardy. The theory, best summarized by Sir William Blackstone in the late eighteenth century was the “universal maxim of the common law of England, that no man is to be brought into jeopardy of his life more than once for the same offence.” (Emphasis mine.) This theory is but legend now. Our children often face triple jeopardy over things that are not crimes in the first place. Here’s a real world example (possibly a combination of different cases, all real):

Johnny saw the school psychologist who suggested Johnny be prescribed mind-altering psychotropic drugs for his nonexistent attention deficit (in reality Johnny was just a boy). Johnny’s doctor prescribed the narcotics, which otherwise would be considered illegal under state and federal law. Johnny became semi-addicted. The drugs caused his brain to slow down. While giving him the appearance of being calm and receptive the dope also seriously impaired his health, to include his judgment. Johnny became a zombie.

Now, under the influence of these otherwise illegal drugs, practically mandated by his school, Johnny ran afoul of the school’s idiotic policy on otherwise illegal drugs. School regulations dictate that any and all medications prescribed to a student must be held for the student’s use in the keeping of the school nurse. Johnny so kept his medicine in the school’s care and keeping. Remember, the drugs in question diminished Johnny’s ability to rationalize and act appropriately.

One day, under the influence of these dangerous narcotics, Johnny forgot to drop off a few of his pills with the nurse. He kept them in his book bag. Mind you that Johnny never had any troubles whatsoever with his teachers, his classmates, or anyone else.

Out of the blue, without warning, probable cause, or a warrant, along came the local Sheriff’s department and their trusty drug-sniffing dog. My students told me periodic drug sweeps were common in the prison…er..school. The dog did his unlawful job well and promptly located Johnny’s pills. The pills he was forced to take. The pills that impaired his ability to reason. The pills that caused him to forget to follow the procedures of the school that forced him to take the pills. Johnny was in trouble.

Jeopardy the first: Johnny had to appear at an administrative school hearing and faced expulsion or a year at the “alternative” school – like the supermax prison of the school world. Jeopardy the second, under asinine state law, as a minor with a driver’s license, Johnny’s possession of “drugs” put his license at risk and necessitated another administrative hearing before a state officer. Third, and worst, Johnny faced a criminal proceeding and the possibility of jail time.

Luckily, Johnny had a good attorney and beat the triple threat. He was back in class, soon weened himself off the school dope, and became a college honors student. Others in the system are often not that lucky. Maybe you know one of them. Maybe you were one of them. Others have noticed this phenomenon and written about it.

Today John W. Whitehead wrote: Public School Students Are the New Inmates in the American Police State.

From the moment a child enters one of the nation’s 98,000 public schools to the moment she graduates, she will be exposed to a steady diet of draconian zero tolerance policies that criminalize childish behavior, overreaching anti-bullying statutes that criminalize speech, school resource officers (police) tasked with disciplining and/or arresting so-called “disorderly” students, standardized testing that emphasizes rote answers over critical thinking, politically correct mindsets that teach young people to censor themselves and those around them, and extensive biometric and surveillance systems that, coupled with the rest, acclimate young people to a world in which they have no freedom of thought, speech or movement.

If your child is fortunate enough to survive his encounter with the public schools, you should count yourself fortunate.

Most students are not so lucky.

By the time the average young person in America finishes their public school education, nearly one out of every three of them will have been arrested.

Whitehead.

Whitehead notes the utterly insane militarization of the school police, who shouldn’t even exist in the first place:

In their zeal to crack down on guns and lock down the schools, these cheerleaders for police state tactics in the schools might also fail to mention the lucrative, multi-million dollar deals being cut with military contractors such as Taser International to equip these school cops with tasers, tanks, rifles and $100,000 shooting detection systems.

Indeed, the transformation of hometown police departments into extensions of the military has been mirrored in the public schools, where school police have been gifted with high-powered M16 rifles, MRAP armored vehicles, grenade launchers, and other military gear. One Texas school district even boasts its own 12-member SWAT team.

As Whitehead states, the stories of abuse are “legion.” Students are being harassed, detained, and arrested for anything and everything. One student was recently arrested for showing off his homemade clock at school. Specifically, he was showing the clock off to his engineering teacher, who was duly impressed. Despite the fact the clock was obviously a time keeping device and impressed the shop teacher, its owner, a 14-year-old, was handcuffed and hauled away by police.

Child Arrested for Chronometer Possession. BBC.

The boy in question was a known Muslim and some feared his clock was a bomb. The criminal case was dismissed after the clock was verified to be a clock not a weapon. I imagine the boy still faces school discipline in addition to the trauma he suffered during the incident.

This story almost makes sense. Americans today face the threat of Islamic terror, largely because their government constantly stirs the Islamic world to the point of terrorism. The same government then trains, equips and funds the known terrorists. Worse, the government, almost out of malicious hate for the people, then import migrants from the areas where they have fostered hate and terror. You can see this is definitely a problem. But, it’s a problem with the state not with an aspiring young engineer.

Your government does not care, at all. Frequently neither does the media nor the television-numbed people themselves. Obey those laws! Trust the state! Arrested means guilty, period!

William L. Anderson today recounts the horror story of the arrest and unlawful prosecution by the U.S. “Justice” Department of Xiaoxing Xi, Chairman of the physics department of Temple University, on espionage charges: Paranoia and Pernicious Prosecutions: The Department of Injustice Continues its War Against the Innocent.

The once-glorious standard of American criminal law – guilty beyond a reasonable doubt – no longer exists de facto in U.S. courts, and especially in federal courts. Furthermore, federal intervention in certain legal areas – and especially when highly-politicized accusations of sexual assault are made – has made it extremely difficult for charged individuals to mount a defense, even when a charge is ludicrous on its face.

Let me further explain. Had there been a trial federal prosecutors would have presented their evidence and Dr. Xi would have had to then rebut with his evidence. However, as became painfully obvious, prosecutors had no evidence. Instead, they had “evidence” that on its face was untrue because they had the wrong material. One imagines that prosecutors and their “expert” witnesses would have given jurors a lot of scientific terminology that would have been confusing, and when jurors are confused, they usually end up siding with the prosecution, since most Americans believe that an indictment itself is “proof” of guilt.

It would have been up to Dr. Xi and his defense to prove that federal agents had presented the wrong set of blueprints. The feds would have falsely claimed that theirs was the correct set, even though by then they surely would have known they were presenting false claims. This last point is important, because it is a crime to knowingly present false information to a jury, but prosecutors never are disciplined for doing just that.

Anderson.

As Anderson notes, the feds dropped their case once it was obvious they had no evidence. Xi pretty much lost everything – his reputation, his position, his peace of mind as an innocent American – all because of groundless charges brought without evidence. Evidence is (or used to be) critical for a criminal case and conviction. In my career I had similar criminal cases in federal and state courts fall apart due to a complete lack of evidence. More on some of those in another column or two.

Many do not care about standards of evidence, due process or about the rights of people in general. See: here, and here, and here. That last “here” link is to a story I did about an innocent man shot by the police in Atlanta in his own home for no reason. That narrative has played out yet again:

Fearing for their lives, California deputies opened fire on a man who was recording them with a cell phone from the garage of his home Friday, claiming they thought it was a gun.

Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies then searched the man’s home, finding no guns, before they apologized and went on their way.

Fortunately, Danny Sanchez survived the shooting, ending up with only bullet fragments in his legs, which he was having removed through surgery on Friday.

And although deputies apologized to Sanchez, they are pretty much unapologetic for their actions because, you know, officer safety.

Carlos Miller, PINAC News.

Pitiful action by pitiful men. Scared of a cellphone. “Sorry we shot you. Well, have a good day, sir!” And the lemmings among you will still praise the deputies and chastise the victim. “He should have obeyed the law!” He did. “You have to respect the police!” No known disrespect even after they almost murdered him. Reality is doing a really poor job convincing the state-worshipers their’s is a false god.

For you, the sane, eye with distrust the machinations of government: its foreign policies; its immigration policies; all its policies; its schools; its courts; its police. All the laws and all the agents serve but the government and its owners. You and I are either obedient servants or criminal enemies of the state.

Note: This article was originally intended as two separate parts. As the subject matters – schools as prisons and more prosecutorial/police misconduct are related, I combined them, here. This also promotes reading economy. You’re welcome.

Secrets of the Trade (and other Bullsh*t)

14 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

America, Amerika, Boehner, CAFTA, Congress, Constitution, corporations, Democrats, economy, evil, freedom, government, H.R. 1314 (2015), jobs, Marcus Aurelius, money, NAFTA, Obama, politicians, President, Rand Paul, rats, Republicans, Rick Allen, Ron Paul, secrets, SHAFTA, The People, Thomas, TPA, trade, Trade Act, Wall Street, Washington, White House

Recently I wrote of the coming wave of destructive evil from Washington (the latest, as that tide ever brings the same). Courtesy of Barry Obama and John (the tan smoker) Boehner “your” federal government is moving towards new, secret, and purely ruinous foreign trade powers.

Frequently I deride the horrors of politicians and politics in general – see these links for details. The New York Times and NPR report that, as of Friday, the malicious train of ObamaTrade has been temporarily derailed. I say temporarily because things like this are usually a done deal once they start.

“Eighty-six Republicans voted for the program, more than double the 40 Democrats who supported it. But the trade adjustment assistance bill failed when 303 voted against it.

Republican leaders then passed, in a 219-to-211 vote, a stand-alone bill that would grant the president the trade negotiating authority he sought. But that measure cannot go to the president for his signature because the Senate version of the legislative package combined both trade adjustment and trade promotion.” New York Times.

I was pleased the popular press reported on this issue – they lacked the zeal these reserve for important stories (say, about Caitlyn Jenner) – but they did, at least, report. I was a little dismayed they left off important reference information for the inquisitive public. The Bill in question is H.R. 1314(EAS), the Trade Act of 2015.

This gem of K Street legalese would, among other things, amend the Tax Code of 1986 in order to help large organizations make more money at your expense. It would also grant the President new and unprecedented unilateral trade powers. Pay no heed to that Congressional consent nonsense in the Constitution.

Get a load of this:

(b) Principal Trade Negotiating Objectives-
(1) TRADE IN GOODS- The principal negotiating objectives of the United States regarding trade in goods are–
(A) to expand competitive market opportunities for exports of goods from the United States and to obtain fairer and more open conditions of trade, including through the utilization of global value chains, by reducing or eliminating tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and practices of foreign governments directly related to trade that decrease market opportunities for United States exports or otherwise distort United States trade; and
(B) to obtain reciprocal tariff and nontariff barrier elimination agreements, including with respect to those tariff categories covered in section 111(b) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3521(b)).
(2) TRADE IN SERVICES- (A) The principal negotiating objective of the United States regarding trade in services is to expand competitive market opportunities for United States services and to obtain fairer and more open conditions of trade, including through utilization of global value chains, by reducing or eliminating barriers to international trade in services, such as regulatory and other barriers that deny national treatment and market access or unreasonably restrict the establishment or operations of service suppliers.
(B) Recognizing that expansion of trade in services generates benefits for all sectors of the economy and facilitates trade, the objective described in subparagraph (A) should be pursued through all means, including through a plurilateral agreement with those countries willing and able to undertake high standard services commitments for both existing and new services.

– H.R. 1314, Sec. 102. TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.

(4) AGGREGATE REDUCTION; EXEMPTION FROM STAGING-
(A) AGGREGATE REDUCTION- Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the aggregate reduction in the rate of duty on any article which is in effect on any day pursuant to a trade agreement entered into under paragraph (1) shall not exceed the aggregate reduction which would have been in effect on such day if–
(i) a reduction of 3 percent ad valorem or a reduction of 1/10 of the total reduction, whichever is greater, had taken effect on the effective date of the first reduction proclaimed under paragraph (1) to carry out such agreement with respect to such article; and
(ii) a reduction equal to the amount applicable under clause (i) had taken effect at 1-year intervals after the effective date of such first reduction.
(B) EXEMPTION FROM STAGING- No staging is required under subparagraph (A) with respect to a duty reduction that is proclaimed under paragraph (1) for an article of a kind that is not produced in the United States. The United States International Trade Commission shall advise the President of the identity of articles that may be exempted from staging under this subparagraph.
(5) ROUNDING- If the President determines that such action will simplify the computation of reductions under paragraph (4), the President may round an annual reduction by an amount equal to the lesser of–
(A) the difference between the reduction without regard to this paragraph and the next lower whole number; or
(B) 1/2 of 1 percent ad valorem.

– H.R. 1314, Sec. 103, TRADE AGREEMENTS AUTHORITY.

Make any sense to you? Of course not. And, this is the part that is open for public inspection. A shadow bill, the real law, is still locked up and under armed guard in the Capital basement vault. What kind of government operates like this? Sadly, “ours’ does.

(Breitbart.)

Members of the respective houses of Congress can (allegedly) enter the vault to read the shadow text. Rand Paul did so. “’I think I am not supposed to reveal the details of it, but I can tell you it was about 800 pages long,’ Paul said.” Breitbart. “Paul said he thinks the secretive process makes it look like the government has “something to hide” and that he thinks if Obama opened up the process it’d make it easier for several Senators—and the American people—to truly understand what it is they’re voting on.” Id.

They do have something to hide. They always do. The details are in the vault, so to speak. The fact that a U.S. Senator has to keep mum about the text demonstrates this without question.

Another telling facet is the desperation among Republicans and the White House to pass this filth. “The fate of the trade legislation now depends on Obama’s ability, along with business-friendly interests, to persuade dozens of Democrats to switch their votes before a planned do-over vote early next week.” Washington Post.

The President is literally pleading with his own party to help him screw the American People. He’s already won over many of the “loyal opposition.” At a Washington Nationals ballgame last week “a bizarre scene unfolded as the crowd crammed inside Nationals Park lurched into a chant about the legislation. ‘TPA! TPA! TPA!’ chanted Republican congressional aides seated near the first base dugout when Obama stepped onto the field at the top of the fourth inning.” Fox News. “TPA” refers to Trade Prostitution Act.

Another telling feature is the desires of large U.S. corporate interests to pass the Bill. The more power their political puppets have, the more money they can make. You and your retirement plans be damned. “’Manufacturers will not back down in this fight for expanded trade, for the future of our industry and our country,’ the National Association of Manufacturers said in a statement.” Business Leaders React With Dismay to Defeat of Trade Bill, New York Times. Naturally, they have yachts to buy.

Some out here in the real country get it. “Do you remember back in the 1990s when the United States entered into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)? And the subsequent Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)? These trade agreements have not worked out well for American workers. American jobs went to Mexico. American workers were laid off and communities devastated. American companies, just to increase their profits, built their production plants in Mexico and paid their workers pennies on the dollar for their labor.” Remember NAFTA and CAFTA? Well, here comes SHAFTA, Economy in Crisis.

Unfortunately, we have not learned our lesson — even after two decades of failed trade agreements. Right now Congress is considering entering into another trade agreement with South Pacific countries named the Trans Pacific Partnership, otherwise known as TPP. However, this trade agreement is even more onerous than previous failed trade agreements.

* The TPP was constructed in secret by corporations. Congress and the public had no input. This is fundamentally undemocratic and undermines transparency in government.

* It is a trade deal that increases corporate power and CEO bonuses.

* Thousands of jobs out-sourced to countries that do not respect human rights or worker’s rights.

* It allows transnational corporations to sue countries if they believe they have been harmed (sometimes speculatively) in a trade agreement written by corporations and behind closed doors.

* Expands the deregulation of banks, hedge funds and insurance companies. Remember the Wall Street crash of 2008 due to deregulation? Regulations keep corporations honest and prevent them from harming us.

* Harms environmental regulations in counties that are part of the TPP.

The corporations are now done writing their secret trade agreement, and Congress now has to vote up or down on the law. The Obama administration is seeking “fast track” authority from Congress in order to complete the negotiations. This means there will be no committee hearings, expert testimony or amendments. The Obama administration is taking this anti-democratic approach because they know if this treaty was debated, it would never become law.

– SHAFTA, Id.

Read that again. Let it sink in.

Last week, prior to the vote and temporary corporate profit defeat, I called my Congress Critter, one Rick Allen, for his input. While I live in his District, he does not necessarily represent me. Since the departure of Ron Paul I have had no semblance of representation in Washington. So it goes.

Amerika being what it is these day I was unable to speak directly with my employee. Rather, I had a conversation with a polite young fellow named Eric. He laughed and admitted, yes, much of the Bill is secret. (F’ing hilarious!) He did note that I could read all about the public parts – see Thomas quotes, above. True to his position and the nature of his work he would not say definitively whether my boy Allen was in favor of sending more jobs oversees and more money to Wall Street.

As an aside, Allen did vote against the Bill. Then he immediately voted to keep it alive for future consideration. How very political of him.

Eric was well aware of the TPA chant at the baseball game. Though he was not present he did state that several of his office mates were. I warned him of what Marcus Aurelius said about this kind of thing. The Roman leader and philosopher was solidly against jingoistic public displays of partisan passion. My warning was likely lost – then and now.

If you care you may contact some staffer of your “representative,” whoever that may be. Just click this little link to locate your dedicated servant: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/.

You may be able to visually pick him/her out of the following picture. This photograph is of a general Congressional pow-wow over the Bill last week:

(They do all look the same. Google.)

Denny Slams His Victim

07 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

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ABC, Amerika, Congress, cowards, Democrats, Denny Hastert, Devil, evil, government, law, money, police, politicians, rape, Republicans, Steve Rieboldt, The People, Washington, women

Last week I brought you the disturbing news about one of our beloved political “leaders” – Rodentia Americanus Denny Hastert. Yes, I have already convicted the filth by way of opinion but, then again, I know these people – I have no doubts here. They possess an evil aura or force one can actually feel like a slap in the face. Long days I spent in the dreadful confines of the Dark City on the Potomac with them. I would rather not recount those experiences and I never want to go back there again. It is my mission to do what I can to disrupt their Satanic plans for you and yours.

I caught a little hell from the GOP peanut gallery. Yes, the Democrats do the same things. I never said they do not. As the RepubliCONS are held to some mythical standard of purity I find it much more interesting when they (always) fall from grace. The truth is they have no grace, no souls, no redeeming qualities. Keep your partisan political-centric idiocy to yourself.

More has emerged on the sordid life and times (crimes) of Denny “The Molester” Hastert – out of the closet, one might say. One victim of the former House Speaker has been identified as Steve Rieboldt (deceased).

I knew Denny had picked on one of the younger, lesser members of his available pool of victims. This is the way of the wolf; always going for the weak. The young man (and I know there were more) was the wrestling team manager (the towel boy) back in the 70’s in Illinois. He probably loved the sport and wanted to be around it while lacking the necessary physicality to compete. He probably, more than any other squad member, had to spend time with his demented teacher.

Rieboldt’s sister, Jolene, spent years trying to bring this horrible abuse to light. Her brother died in 1995 thanks in part to the lifestyle imparted by the Speaker. That rat, then a corpulent member of Congress, had the audacity to appear at the funeral. Jolene confronted him boldly:

“I was just there just trying to bite my tongue thinking that blood was coming out because I was just… So after he had gone through the line I followed him out into the parking lot of the funeral home,” Jolene said. “I said, ‘I want to know why you did what you did to my brother.’ And he just stood there and stared at me. He didn’t say, ‘What are you talking about?’ you know, [or], ‘What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ He just stood there and stared at me.

“Then I just continued to say, ‘I want you to know your secret didn’t die in there with my brother. And I want you to remember that I’m out here and that I know.’ And again, he just stood there and he did not say a word.”

Hastert got in his car and drove away. Jolene said Hastert’s non-response “said everything.”

– Jolene Rieboldt, ABC News.

God bless this strong and devoted sister.

Republicans are supposed to be the American tough guys. They stand for national defense, guns, and self-reliance. Bullshit, all of it. Note that this perverted freak didn’t have the nerve to confront or even murmur a response to a woman. Such it often is; those who prey on children are themselves the weakest, lowest bullies known to man. If confronted by an angry father or brother they will literally self destruct.

Hastert now stands accused by his own government of crimes against that government and the all-powerful banking lobby. Laws like this serve only the powerful elite; they are a plague on the rest of us. A real police entity, given to protecting people (not money), would go after this useless shit for what he did to children. But, so we have it in modern Amerika. Banks and money are protected at all costs. The weak and innocent are left to fend for themselves or rely on our vigilant women for protection.

Think about this case the next time some damned elected “servant” grovels on TV about his plans to help you. You’d be better off appealing directly to the assistance of the Devil himself. Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Trial By Jury, The Yellow Ribbon Myth and the Decline of an Ancient Institution

29 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 6 Comments

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alternative, America, Amerika, ancient, Arizona, Boston, case, Cicero, Courts, crime, English, freedom, greece, guilt, jury, justice, law, Magna Carta, men, Milke, Ninth Circuit, order, peers, people, rights, Rome, terror, trial, Tsarnev, U.S.

The ancient Greeks and Romans had the crazy idea that a man accused of a crime should have the benefit of a public trial. During this ordeal the accusing party (the State) would have the burden of presenting facts, which might establish a crime. The Sword of God crowd would hold these base allegations sufficient to show the underlying criminal act. Our ancient ansestores had other ideas. To them the issue was important enough to warrant consideration by an assembly of impartial justices – a jury.

Of old the jury consisted of various members of the accused’s peers. These were his friends whom knew him well. Why were such pre-disposed men considered impartial, as they were friends of the accused? The idea was that, being men of honor, they would hear the evidence and weigh it in their minds fairly regardless of their relation to the suspect. The fact that they were friends of the accused served as a check against an illicit prosecution.

If “X” was charged with a baseless crime, the jury might collectively judge that, “yes, X is given to bouts of indiscretion, but he would never do something like this. Or, they might find that X, while am affable fellow, might be the sort who would commit such an act as alleged.

The system, while not perfect, worked well. In Rome, such trials were reserved for the upper classes – for men of privilege. Commoners were generally tried by magistrates in shorter, more informal settings. These lessor citizens, being of lessor importance, faced lower burdens of proof and lower levels of punishment. Fair if not. Members of the elite classes, given to higher responsibilities, were treated to high levels of justice. See the defense of Milo (a murder suspect), presented by one Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of the greatest lawyers of antiquity.

This theoretical approach to justice lived on after the 5th Century, being embodied in the Magna Carta, a core right of Englishmen. Thus, the right to a jury came to America.

Today this right is practically non-existent. In modern Amerika a jury trial, while nominally “of one’s peers” is one assured not by your peers. The fact is that very few criminal prosecutions end with a trial. Most of those end with a conviction (the vast majority). This is due to the overwhelming influence of the State and the extremely limited powers of the accused to resist such influence. Every effort is made to ensure that the jury does not, in nay way, know of the accused on a personal level. Further, only those enslaved to the power and suggestion of the accusing State are favored or empaneled. The system has been turned on its head.

Lately, several high-profile trials have made the news; these illustrate my point that there is no right to a fair trial in Amerika.

In 1989 Debra Milke was tried for the murder of her four-year-old son, Christopher. A jury (not of her peers) found her guilty – based solely on the unsupported testimony of a rogue police detective. Despite all indications of innocence the State’s chosen jury found Milke guilty. Thus, for several decades Milke lived in the daily terror of Arizona’s death row – dimmed to die for a crime she did not commit. The guilty parties averred she had nothing to do with the crime. This did not matter to the State until the matter was finally (thankfully) reviewed by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court. See also: Arizona Supreme Court Won’t Allow Retrial of Debra Milke. The prosecutor is, naturally, frustrated by this untimely carriage of justice.

Milke was blessed by higher intervention. Too often the innocent in Amerika are executed for crimes they did not commit. A recent admission shows that the FBI and its crime lab have doomed at least a dozen innocents to death. You have probably never heard of these cases of injustice. So it goes.

Thus do the innocent, robbed of true justice, resort to filing pleadings in courts entitled, “F*ck this Court.” This one warrants reading and consideration.

Debra Milke faced execution because a heartless police officer lied under oath. The officer has since “taken the fifth” so as to avoid prosecution himself for his lies. The citizens of Arizona will pay millions of dollars to right this injustice.

A thousand miles away, in Boston, Dzhokhar Tsarnev has been found guilty of the Boston Marathon Bombings. His was one of the most bizarre trials I have ever heard of. See: Boston Marathon bombing trial: 18 jurors at a glance. The jury was selected based on their indifference toward the accused and their alliance with the state. Tsarnev was not allowed a defense. Rather, he, by way of his “counsel,” admitted guilt but relied on specious allegations of the undue influence of his older brother. His brother and other key witnesses were, conveniently, dead.

The case was tried backwards. The prosecutor first present victims of the bombing and their woeful statements – this usually comes after guilt has been established, during the penalty phase of the trial. Tsarnev’s counsel never even questioned these witnesses. The government then presented an unopposed fable of how Tsarnev constructed and utilized homemade bombs. Again, no challenge came from the “defense.” The lack of direct evidence was deafening.

Having admitted guilt and completely failing to challenge the government’s base allegations it was a given fact Tsarnev would be found guilty. They strategy (if any) of his counsel was that he would attempt to evade the death penalty by way of the supposed undue influence of his dead brother. Charming. Pathetic.

It is entirely likely that this young man played a part in the bombings. Thus, he deserves execution for his crimes. However, I have long suspected he was only a pawn in a false-flag operation designed to test America’s willingness to endure a police state (shelter in place, and all that). We will never know the truth here.

As a former criminal defense attorney I am well aware of the failings of the modern, American jury system of “justice.” Here follows the entire account of one of my trials in federal court, before a jury and bereft of justice. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, the guilty, and me. This story was originally designed for publication (never achieved) in a major news journal:

The Yellow Ribbon Myth: Amerikans Do Not Support The Troops, Nor Justice.

Do you “support the troops?” One sees countless bumper stickers proclaiming such support. I no longer believe the propaganda. When someone says, “I support the troops,” I hear, “I support the government.” This concept was made painfully obvious to me during a criminal trial last fall.

My client, “Donny’s” case, in a U.S. District Court, 2012:

I’m am calling my client “Donny” as I have not yet sought his permission to use his name; I also may be restrained from using certain facts due to Orders of Sealing/Impoundment.

Donny enlisted in the U.S. Army while in high school and completed basic training the summer before his senior year. Donny received an appointment to West Point though, after one year, he stopped his education and entered the Army as an enlisted man. He served with the 375th Ranger company in Afghanistan where he was forced to kill men, women, and children. The experience haunts him daily.

While in the field and during additional training he sustained major injuries, which necessitated his retirement on disability: I think his physical was 50%; his mental injuries (PTSD, psychosis, etc.) were 100%. During his tenure he rose to the rank of Sargent and was awarded so many medals and commendations that multiple forms DD-214 were necessary to list them all.

He received continuing physical and psychiatric treatment at the Augusta, GA VA hospital; they placed he on enough narcotics and psycho-tropic drugs to turn anyone into a zombie. His mental condition was initially rated as temporary. Throughout 2011 he pursued the status of “permanent and unemployable.” During this time he suffered marital and mental health-related troubles daily. Towards the end of his bureaucratic ordeal he made a phone call to the VA national “service” center.

During the (recorded) call he made statements which the VA took as terroristic threats – they alleged he said he was going to the regional VA office in Atlanta to kill the first 3,000 people he encountered using unspecified weaponry. My review of the call lead me to believe he was not sane during the call, that the government’s allegations were a wild, composite stretch of the words used, and that VA’s service isn’t. He was originally arrested on State charges. He was legally carrying a pistol at the time though the arrest was without incident. Damningly, his permanent status was approved the next day. He was released on bail only to be rearrested by the feds, charged with violating 18 USC 875, interstate terror threats (a 5-year maximum felony). Had he specified a “weapon of mass destruction” he would have faced 40 years in prison.

I was appointed as defense counsel and immediately moved for a psychiatric evaluation, thinking this would easily end the case. After several months I received a lengthy report from the MCC New York which exhaustively listed Donny’s chronic mental problems and concluded he was permanently psychotic. However, the good (government) doctor also stated he was obviously sane at the time of the call and competent to stand trial.

We elected to present the matter to a jury, figuring no twelve people could possibly convict a sick man for seeking help from the only source available. We were wrong. The government’s doctor explained the extent of Donny’s condition. The VA representative from the call stated she was not threatened by Donny’s language. The VA stated they did not take any defensive measures when faced with this 9/11 magnitude threat from a man they had trained to expertly kill other human beings. The VA storm-trooper in charge testified he lied under oath to the Grand Jury to obtain the indictment and that he, for no reason, held Donny’s elderly, disabled father at gunpoint AFTER the arrest. Despite all this the twelve morons returned a guilty verdict in less than half an hour. As an aside, at trial the government sandbagged me with thousands of pages of previously withheld discovery and they handed me the afore-referenced pistol LOADED in open court (I cleared it in disbelief).

Donny was sentenced to time served with the probationary condition that he continue his torture at the VA. When I walked into the hearing I was greeted by the AUSA and the VA goon who both suddenly agreed Donny was out of his mind during his “crime.” Donny accepted his sentence and declined both an appeal and a request for a Presidential pardon. I fear his condition will worsen, perhaps with morbid consequences. He is a delightful but pitiful and broken man. I was saddened and broken by this affair.

In modern Amerika Grand Juries, while supposedly independent in their deliberations, are little more than tools of State prosecutors. The defense is usually excluded entirely. The State has the free reign to present any “evidence” no matter how contrived.

The trial that follows (if any) is a showing of prosecutorial imagination and juridical ignorance. Less that 3% of defendants are acquitted under this system. The innocent are convicted and often executed. The lucky escape after years of torment. Life goes on and things are not likely to change any time soon.

I will, shortly, present an alternative, if primitive, alternative to this mad, fixed system of “justice.” Until then, be forewarned and prepared.

Leaks, Lies, and Laws; the Evening on June 10th, 2013…

10 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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Amerika, crime, DUI, Edward Snowden, Fourth Amendment, green space chickens, history, Liberty, NSA, sheep

Even as memory of the old American Republic fades away into the oblivion of history, the descendants of the Great Experiment have a hero. Edward Snowden has sacrified everything in the name of freedom. This should give modern Amerikans something to ponder come July 4th. Most probably will not. Read a little more: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-whistleblower-drops-sight-faces-legal-battle-192837160.html.

(Snowden has pledged his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor for Liberty. What have you done lately?)

The fascists nuts have already called for his head. Some want him executed, though this presumes a trial of some sort. They are living in the past. More up-to-date neo-con nuts are talking about “disappearing” Snowden. That means death by torture at some secret CIA prison or by Hellfire missile. No need to bother a judge or jury that way.

The revelations Mr. Snowden has bravely given us of late are disturbing or, at least, would disturb earlier Americans. However, the information is nothing new. The government has been intercepting, recording, and reviewing almost all electronic communications since the 1990s. Remember Echelon and Carnivore? The freedom-minded should. Most will not. Prism is just a newer, better system.

The system just keeps getting bigger and better and it will thus continue. As recently as three or four decades ago someone would have raised the Fourth Amendment amidst all the discussion. Not now. The Constitutional protections enjoyed by previous generations are gone. I imagine with all this rain the new grass on the Fourth’s grave (see: Swabbing the Fourth Amendment) must be very green. Hopefully someone will mow it from time to time.

Dianne Fienstink, Saxby Shameless, Lindsey Sham, and the Criminal in Chief say we have nothing to worry about and that we should be grateful the Empire is watching out for us (by watching us). Everything these people say is a lie. They’re quotes are irrelevant and will not appear on this site.

On to happier topics! Did you know in Arizona swimming at a gym qualifies one for a DUI?? Read on about the ordeal of one Jessie Thornton of Surprise, AZ (town seems to live up to the name…): http://cleveland.cbslocal.com/2013/06/10/man-charged-with-dui-despite-blowing-000-during-breathalyzer-test/. Like due process, evidence is a thing of the past in Amerika. At least Thornton was eventually released once the revenue farmers admitted they made a mistake. Increasingly, they just kill their victims instead. He was lucky. And, hey! It’s 2013. Let’s give the “driving while black” BS a rest. Snowden (or me or you) might be driving when the Predator locks on. It’s all of us nowadays, folks.

A while back I did a piece on Georgia’s Operation Rolling Plunder – a systematic raping of the rights of the motoring public. Today, the local fish-wrapper ran a story of their own about the issue: http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2013-06-09/operation-thunder-pinpoints-traffic-problems?v=1370829896. If you bother to read the “article,” you’ll notice the complete deference to the lies of the government and the total absence of any opposing view. Half of the comments after the article are from government worshipers who “would gladly stop for more [illegal roadblocks].” They thank the stormtroopers for “making us safe.” Well, good on the other half, at least! Highway tip: avoid traveling in Georgia if you can. By the way, you might have noticed there were more citations for child seat “violations” than for DUIs. Keeping us safe – like sheep in a fence.

More to come soon. This post was brought to you by the NSA, the Illuminati, and the Governor’s Council for Sheep Safety.

(Keeping Ewe safe on the roads…)

Swabbing The Fourth Amendment

04 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 4 Comments

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Alito, Amerika, Antonin Scalia, Breyer, Constitution, crime, DNA, evidence, Fifith Amendment, Founders, Fourth Amendment, Ginsburg, government, Hagan, innocence, justice, Kennedy, King George, law, Liberty, Maryland, police state, Roberts, searches, slippery slope, Sotomayor, Supreme Court, The People, Thomas, Virginia Declaration of Rights

Yesterday, June 3, 2013, the Supreme Court neatly planted new, green sod over the grave of the late Fourth Amendment. In Maryland v. King, 569 U.S. ___, Slip Op. No. 12-207 (June 3, 2013), the Court held, 5 – 4, obtaining DNA samples from criminal suspects via oral swabbing in permissible under the Fourth Amendment. The high priests of the Temple of “Justice” divined the procedure analogous to fingerprinting and photographing.

The growth of government power knows no bounds; the ruling itself was not a surprise. The nature of the close vote was, itself, of slight interest. The opinion was penned by Justice Anthony “Swing Man” Kennedy. Joining him were the arch-“conservative” trio of Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Alito, and Justice Thomas. “Liberal” milk toast Justice Breyer joined in for grins and giggles.

Standing firm for the Constitution and Liberty were the Court’s three Divas, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan. The ladies backed the dissent of Antonin Scalia, the originalists’ originalist and the only Justice usually worth reading or quoting. Scalia read his dissent aloud in Court. I’ll examine that dissent in a second.

(Putting the “justice” in Justice. Google.)

First, in all fairness, let me paraphrase the majority opinion for you: The government can (as always) do whatever the hell it wants. Good enough? Good.

Scalia began: “The Fourth Amendment forbids searching a person for evidence of a crime when there is no basis for believing the person is guilty of the crime or is in possession of incriminating evidence.” Maryland v. King, supra, at Slip. Op. Scalia Dissent 1. Citing the Virgina Declaration of Rights, § 10 (1776), Scalia recalled the Founder’s distrust and hatred for “general warrants” whereby persons were searched by the King’s agents without regard to evidence or suspicion. These warrants were, rightly, considered “grievous and oppressive…” Id, at Scalia 2.

Like most of the Bill or Rights, the Fourth Amendment has been under continual assault from an ever-growing list of “exceptions.” Scalia notes these, including suspicionless searches in public prisons…er…schools, but notes that they all (purportedly) derive from some extra-law enforcement need of society. He goes on to detail how the DNA swabs are intended only for general law enforcement purposes – for the gathering of evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Id, at 3 -4.

As usual Scalia blasts the majority with its own lame arguments: “The Court hastens to clarify that it does not mean to approve invasive surgery on arrestees or warrantless searches of their homes. [Internal Cite]. That the Court feels the need to disclaim these consequences is as damning a criticism of its suspicionless-search regime as any I can muster.” Id, at 4. “Sensing (correctly) that it needs more, the Court elaborates at length the ways that the search here served the special purpose of ‘identifying’ King. But that seems to me quite wrong – unless what one means by ‘identifying’ someone is ‘searching for evidence that he has committed crimes unrelated to the crime of his arrest.'” Id, at 5.

The process of “identifying” Mr. King by his DNA took many, many months. During that time King moved through many stages of the court process on his original charges. Maryland knew, without a doubt, who they were dealing with. The DNA was unnecessary for identification; rather, it was critical for a fishing expedition aimed at discovering other potential crimes also committed by King. This is an affront to both the Fourth and the Fifth Amendments. By the way, for viewing purposes, the Fifth is buried conveniently next to the Fourth at Constitutional Memorial Gardens.

“King was not identified by his association with the sample; rather, the sample was identified by its association with King. The Court effectively destroys its own ‘identification’ theory when it acknowledges that the object of this search was ‘to see what [was] already known about [King].'” Id, at 9. Both the Governor and the Attorney General of Maryland are on record praising DNA collection, not as a suspect identification, but as one designed to fight unsolved crimes.

Scalia knocked the assertion that DNA swabbing is no different, Fourth Amendment wise, than fingerprinting: “The Court asserts that the taking of fingerprints was constitutional for generations prior to the introduction’ of the FBI’s rapid computer-matching system. This bold assertion is bereft of citation to authority because there is none for it. The great expansion in fingerprinting came before the modern era of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, and so we were never asked to decide the legitimacy of the practice.” Id, at 15.

I love the following quote: “Solving unsolved crimes is a noble objective, but it occupies a lower place in the American pantheon of noble objectives than the protection of our people from suspicionless law-enforcement searches. The Fourth Amendment must prevail.” Id, at 17. Sadly, it did not prevail.

The following is also memorable and, in Scalia’s estimate, “most regrettable”: “All parties concede that it would have been entirely permissible, as far as the Fourth Amendment is concerned, for Maryland to take a sample of King’s DNA as a consequence of his conviction for second-degree assault. So the ironic result of the Court’s error is this: The only arrestees to whom the outcome here will ever make a difference are those who have been acquitted (so that their DNA could not have been taken upon conviction). In other words, this Act manages to burden uniquely the sole group for whom the Fourth Amendment’s protections ought to be most jealously guarded: people who are innocent of the State’s accusations.” Id, at 18.

Classic Scalia: “I doubt that the proud men who wrote the charter of our liberties would have been so eager to open their mouths for royal inspection. I therefore dissent…” Id, at 18.

(Say Ahhhhhh…for the children and such. Google.)

This ruling pushes us all a bit further down the slippery slope of the modern Amerikan police state. Scalia noted as much: “Searching every lawfully stopped car, for example, might turn up information about unsolved crimes the driver had committed…” Id, at 5. The King case concerned (nominally) serious cases, felonies. However, the next time you’re stopped for speeding or blowing through a stop sign, don’t be surprised if the officer demands you open your mouth for a good old swabbing. “If one believes that DNA will ‘identify’ someone arrested for assault, he must believe that it will ‘identify’ someone arrested for a traffic offense.” Id, at 17. It’s all for the children or something, you know…

The Decline and Fall of Something…

28 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Uncategorized

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16th Amendment, 17th Amendment, America, Amerika, Augustus Caesar, Brutus, Caesar, Casca, Cassius, Cato, Cicero, Cincinnatus, civil liberties, Congress, Constitution, Consul, debt, decline, dictator, drones, due process, economics, emergency, Emperor, Federal Reserve, government, history, humility, lawlessness, Marius, Mark Anthony, murder, National Guard, Plutarch, politics, Posse Comitatus, President, republics, Roman Empire, Roman Republic, Ron Paul, Senate, serfdom, slavery, States, Sulla, Tacitus, Triumvirates, War, Washington

In my popular Posse Comitatus column, https://perrinlovett.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/posse-comitatus/, I made a possibly confusing and unfair allusion to Caesar bringing about the demise of the Roman Republic and ushering in the Empire. It seems that “crossing the Rubicon” is too simply of an explanation for what really happened. The actual process from republic to empire lasted for decades and involved many actors in addition to Caesar.

The Roman Republic existed from roughly 500 B.C. until 27 B.C. Most republics do not make it that long. Ours, if it can still be credibly called a republic, is coming apart at the seams after only 237 years. The Roman Republic replaced the line of monarchs who had ruled Rome for over two and a half centuries. It was succeeded by the Empire, which lasted from 27 B.C. until the German Odoacer set himself up as the first King of Italy in 476 A.D.

During the Republic the government was operated by a Senate (congress) and one or two Consuls (presidents). Most public officials were limited to one-year terms. Many of these public offices, including the Consuls, survived into the Empire, though with greatly reduced authority. There had been a tremendous amount of political strife for over 100 years before Augustus Caesar (Caesar Divi F. Augustus) became the First Emperor.

Caesar (Julius Caesar of the first Triumvirate) returned from war and was expected or feared to take dictatorial control of the Republic. He became a dictator of sorts, but he never got the chance to fully dominate the Senate, being assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C. His murder at the hands of Casca, Brutus, and Cassius is one of the better known events of ancient history. However, the conspiracy included dozens of Senators. Allegedly (according to Tacitus?), once Caesar was killed, the chief leaders of the conspiracy called out repeatedly to Cicero by name, as if to showcase their good works. It is also alleged Cicero waved off the acts and attention in disgust.

(Cicero, champion of Constitutional republicanism. Google Images).

Many have theorized Cicero was a co-conspirator. I don’t think so. Marcus Tullius Cicero was a lawyer, statesman, Senator, and former Consul (63 B.C.) and is widely considered one of antiquities foremost figures. His influence on Latin language is still felt with prominence today. I quote he frequently as he was one of the most critical opponents of the Constitutional demise and all dictatorial actions. He would be one of my two picks as the Ron Paul of his day, the other being the black-robed Cato. Despite his constant opposition to totalitarianism, I do not think he would have sanctioned murder as a means to eliminate the practice. I think his morals, nobility, and steadfast dedication to the law would have prevented his involvement.

Heedless of his own peril Cicero kept up his criticism of Mark Anthony and Company (the Second Triumvirate) and was, in 43 B.C., labeled an enemy of the state and hunted down mercilessly. He was captured on December 7, 43 B.C. and immediately murdered by Anthony’s troops. His last words (according to Plutarch?) were allegedly: “There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly.” He was decapitated and his head and hands displayed publicly in Rome.

This brutal display of lawlessness and savagery was formerly utilized by would-be or quasi dictators. Gauis Marius and Lucius Sulla had used similar tactics against their enemies. Such horrific treatment was the most high-tech form of intimidation at the time, drones were still more than 2000 years away.

Marius served seven terms (at intervals from 107 – 86 B.C.) as Consul despite laws enacting terms limits. His power was derived from constant warfare and the need for “emergency” powers from the Senate. War and “emergency” powers go hand in hand with dictatorship. If you haven’t watched the news in the past 12 years, perhaps you did, at least, see the three Star Wars prequel movies.

Sulla served two terms as Consul (82 – 81 B.C.) and, like Marius, gained much power as a petty dictator through war powers. Sulla’s wars were not confined to foreign enemies, marching on Rome itself in 82 B.C. The Senate foolishly conferred upon him dictatorial powers for life. These he immediately began to use, murdering 1,000s of enemies, with no semblance of Due Process. Previously, the Republic had prided itself on justice and faithful execution of the laws, rather than of citizens and nobles.

So, you see, Caesar has a product of his times as much as a dictator. His short reign came in the middle of a century marked by Constitutional decline. Caesar is the best remembered name from the period though his actual power differed little from that of his predecessors and successors. He could have done eternally great service to the Republic and perhaps changed centuries of history if he had followed in the footsteps of one of his ancient precursors.

History also remembers Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, mostly out of awe for his humility in power. Cincinnatus was Consul and was granted dictatorial powers during a time of war twice, in 458 B.C. and again in 439 B.C. Unlike 99% of historical figures granted such rare authority, Cincinnatus immediately abandoned his high position once crises abated. Perhaps Caesar had such intention but was not allowed time to exercise it. Perhaps not.

I hope you have seen, within this column, parallels to modern America. To me they seem both unmistakable and also unmistakably dire in their warnings to us.

We currently have a President who, unchallenged essentially, claims the right to murder American citizens without Due Process. At the same time, we have a craven opposition party which, rather than impeach and remove the usurper, propose to give him Constitutional powers beyond his office. All of this, consequently, stems from “emergencies” whether martial or economic. This has become an established pattern since 2001 though it has roots much older.

This year we mark the 100th anniversary of some of the most destructive Acts in our history. In 1913 the 16th and 17th Amendments killed the States’ fading power against the central government and the Federal Reserve began it’s mission to enslave the nation (publicly and privately) in debt while enabling Washington to potentially spend without limit. Around the same time the National Guard was formalized and strengthened, giving Washington military control over the entire nation.

The ensuing 100 years saw an exponential growth in government, the decline of civil liberties, constant foolish wars, and the nationalization of serfdom.

Having recently lost our Cicero and Cato figures to retirement, we can only pray for a latter-day Cincinnatus.

Politics

27 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

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academic, Alex P. Keating, America, Amerika, anarchist, budget, bullshit, Congress, conservative, Constitution, coroporations, D.C., debt, Debt Clock, democracy, Democrats, Dennis Kucinich, drones, due process, Emperor Palpatine, entertainment, evil, faction, Family Ties (TV show), Federal Reserve, finance, Founder's Almanac, George Washington, government, Greek, H.L. Mencken, Heritage Foundation, history, illegal, insurance, interest, libertarian, libertarians, Liberty, lies, media, Medicaid, Medicare, military-industrial complex, Minority Report, money, Obama, ObamaCare, office, P.J. O'Rourke, parasites, Parliament of Whores, political parties, political theory, politician, politics, poly, ponzi scheme, Presidency, Rand Paul, Republican, Ron Paul, Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, Social Security, special interests, States, stupidity, tariffs, taxes, television, terrorists, the children, The People, three branches, ticks, War, Washinton, welfare

“Politics” comes from ancient Greek roots. “Poly,” of course, means “many” and “Ticks” are little blood-sucking parasites. Thus, “politics” means: many little blood-sucking parasites. I really wish I could attribute that definition to my own genius but I feel overly honest today.

(Emperor Palpatine, the ultimate politician. Source: Google Images.)

Wikipedia says “politics” is “the art or science of influencing people on a civic, or individual level…” See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics.

I have studied politics (formally and informally) since around 1980. In those days, everyone in the South tended to be Democrats, party-wise. My parents were proud Democrats at the time and were horrified when Ronald Reagan won the Presidency. I watched on. As the years progressed, I decided I was a “conservative” and, therefore, a Republican, much like Reagan.

I watched Family Ties back then and might have been influenced by the antics of Alex P. Keating. Then came the Rush Limbaugh era; I listened everyday after high school while working as a runner for a local law firm. I knew Rush was right. Well, something in my subconscious had doubts. In college I drifted into libertarian thought and have remained there ever since. As the years pass I become closer and closer to a full-blown anarchist.

During this time, while I descended from a believer in minimal government to a dreamer about no government, reality took a turn for the worse. The whole of my dear country seems to have gone the other way! Whereas we had a big government when I was a child, now we have a GIGANTIC monstrosity of a government that seems to grow geometrically ever second.

Hence my disconnect from the world of practical politics. It is patently obvious that there is no discernible difference between the two major parties in America – they both lead to bigger and more controlling governance. Over the years I supported several politicians in various ways – both Republicans and Libertarians (I have Democrat friends too). My support usually faded away with my short, rambling attention span. I have never been a member of any party. I am proud of that; I hate political parties.

(Politicians soliciting contributions. Google Images.)

In his Farewell Address to the nation, President George Washington devoted nearly two pages to warning the people about party politics. He began: “Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the Spirit of Party, generally.” Thereupon he listed the many dangers of “faction” at the expense of Public Liberty. He closed with a thought on excessive party politics: “A fire not to be quenched; it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest instead of warming it should consume.” See: The Founder’s Almanac, pp. 309 – 310, The Heritage Foundation, Washington 2002. Given Washington’s fame and standing you would think more people would have listened; they did not and American “democracy” became an all-consuming conflagration.

H.L. Mencken wrote in the Minority Report (1956): “Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule – both commonly succeed, and are right.” Mencken defined “democracy” as “the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” Every election since has proved him right on both counts.

The most excited I ever got about any election(s) was in 2008 and 2012 supporting Ron Paul. I knew then Dr. Paul was an anomaly in American politics. My fellow citizens chose a different path and now Dr. Paul is retired. With him, at the end of 2012, went Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Washington is now devoid of any statesmen whatsoever and the only small impediments to Total Government are gone. I would like to believe Dr. Paul’s son, the other Dr. Paul, will follow in his father’s hallowed footsteps; I don’t think it will happen.

I have decided to waste no more time following the stupidity (which worsens daily) of field level politics. My personal academic concentration is now centered on political theory or philosophy and the history thereof. A good friend of mine says that America is finished, like a $500 car in need of $5000 worth of repairs. For our generation I fear he may be on to something. Still, I hold some hope for the future.

My fledgling professional academic career is and will be focused on educating younger persons about the mistakes of faith in politics and government, the evils resulting from such faith, and alternatives to the status quo.

Perhaps the most honest book ever written about American politics is Parliament of Whores by P.J. O’Rourke (1991). The title says it all. Inside the reader will discover, among many other witty things, a whole section of chapters entitled, The Three Branches of Government: Money, Television and Bullshit. Perfect.

Government and politics in general, particularly in America, really do center on O’Rourke’s three “branches.”

Money in politics is not necessarily the root of all evil, but it certainly is the tool of all evil in politics. It takes a lot of money to get elected to national or state office in the first place. Savy politicians set up campaign funds legally designed to break or sidestep any campaign finance laws in the way. Then the ticks turn around and suck blood from any source to fill their funds. Sometimes they contribute a little of their own money but most of it comes from “donors.” People all over give a little here and there to help some bozo get elected; once elected the bozo ignores the little people. The big bucks come from the special interest groups, they get the politician’s attention post-election.

Money flows into Washington, D.C. and the several State capitals by the dump truck load. Giant corporations and the super rich constantly brib ..er.. give to elected officials in all kinds of ways. Sometimes they support a pet project of the tick’s (charity, etc.), sometimes they provide booze and hookers, they give kickbacks and favors, and sometimes they just give plain old cash in brown- paper grocery bags. The amount of money flowing into the Capital is astounding, but it pales in comparison to the money flowing out.

This year, like last year, the federal government will spend something like 3.5 Trillion dollars per its official “budget.” I just put “budget” between quotation marks because Congress hasn’t put forth an actual budget, as required by the Constitution, in years. Alarmingly, the vast majority of federal spending is on UnConstitutional programs. The government spends a huge percentage of that money out of debt. Fully a third of the budget is borrowed these days. Check out the U.S. Debt Clock for a good fright: http://www.usdebtclock.org/. In fact, I believe the borrowed sum exceeds the amount paid by individual taxpayers. Corporations also pay for a larger portion of the budget than do the individual taxpayers. However, as with any business expense, corporations pass their taxes along to customers via higher prices for their goods and services. So the People ultimately pay those taxes as well. Aaaaand, guess who guarantees the huge debts run up by the ticks? Yes, taxpayers again. So, Ma and Pa America have to pay for all the illegal, unnecessary spending of the government, even when they receive no representation for their money.

Like I said, most government programs are not grounded in the Constitution and are therefore illegal. Of the $3.5 trillion spent, Medicare and Medicaid get about $800 billion. They are not in the Constitution. Social Security, the third rail of tick-dom, gets a similar amount. Not in the Constitution. Our never-ending, foreign, undeclared wars of aggression get a slightly smaller amount. Being undeclared and indefensible, they to are also illegal. The total of interest on the national debt, federal pension costs, and various welfare programs get a similar amount of funding. Like undeclared warfare, specific welfare is also illegal. As none of the programs are needed there is no need for all the federal employees vested in those pensions. If the government didn’t spend so damn much money there would be no debt and, thus, no interest. The “legitimate” functions of the federal government are mostly unnecessary anymore, and those that are should really only cost us a few hundred billion dollars per year at most. That could easily be covered by tariffs and import fees – as the government was supposed to be funded and was funded for years without trouble.

I could go on and on with the money stuff but we still have television and bullshit….

Television is really representative of all major media, both news and entertainment, in this nation. Whether you get your news on TV, from the radio, or from a print medium, it’s all the same. The government puts out a line of crap and the media runs with it. Very seldom in America are we treated to any critical reporting anymore. Remember those special interests? They own the media nearly completely. Towing the line is part of the overall scheme.

This scheme extends into non-news entertainment. Reality shows, pro sports, pop music and other trivial pursuits are the modern bread and circuses of Amerika. While you drunkenly watch 300-pound men decked out in pink play with a ball, the government is stealing you blind and destroying your country. The ticks laugh at you too.

Bullshit. It’s a crude term but it accurately describes everything I’ve been writing about. It’s also all you ever get from the government. Mostly everything you hear, see, or read from the government or its pet media are outright lies. Very little the ticks do is honest or important so they have to concoct wild stories to get you to go along – provided you even pay attention, most people do not. For instance, when Washington goes to war the ticks always say it’s over something noble like “keeping the world safe for democracy” or “fighting the ‘terrorists’.” Saying they want to keep profits high for the military-industrial complex (a special interest) doesn’t sound as good. When President Obama announced ObamaCare, he didn’t say he wanted windfall profits for the insurance and finance companies of America (special interests). He said it was all to help the children, or the less fortunate, or you and me. Bullshit!

And when the government and the ticks tell the truth, it’s truly frightening. The Whitehouse says it will use drones to kill Americans without Due Process. You better believe they will! When Congress authorizes an illegal ponzi scheme like Social Security or an illegal monopoly like the Federal Reserve (the biggest special interest of all), they do so openly and with impunity.

My point is … well, I’ve already made it – I do not like modern, practical politics and for good reason.

The next time you come into contact with a tick, instead of giving it money and voting it into office, get out the tweezers and the alcohol. I’m Perrin Lovett and I approve this message.