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PERRIN LOVETT

~ Deo Vindice

PERRIN LOVETT

Tag Archives: Posse Comitatus

A Posse Comitatus Violation

06 Thursday Apr 2023

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

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crime, lgbtP, military, Posse Comitatus

The fake, gay US military is now actively at war with American parents.

On Nov. 23, 2023, the suit claims, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Christopher Schilling used his personal email account to criticize Reading’s Facebook post “in an email to parents and local school staff members, complaining (among other things) that, according to him, Mrs. Reading did not understand that the term ‘polysexual’ means ‘simply an attraction to many genders and identities’ — as if to say that impressionable young children should be acquainted with this bizarre and sexually freighted concept.”

The email was among several obtained in a public records request that was a “prelude to his use of his military email account and position to involve Joint Base personnel, including the Security Commander, Defendant Grimmett, in the censorship of, and retaliation against, Mrs. Reading’s protected speech.”

On Nov. 25, Schilling allegedly sent another email to parents and staffers calling for an “ethics complaint against Mrs. Reading because her Facebook post was supposedly ‘stirring up right wing extremists.'” Two days later, Schilling sent another email saying he was “reaching out to other resources in the area to gather support for this issue,” which the lawsuit surmises is “likely when he began involving military personnel in his vendetta.”

It’s good and well that the mother is suing, but Schilling belongs in jail. His, of course, would be the first ever (to my knowledge) prosecution under the PCA. So, don’t anyone hold his breath. And, for God’s sake, get over the notion that the queer military defends your freedom. They don’t. They’re your enemy. Whatever you do, do not serve them. And homeschool.

VP and the PCA: 21st Century Ponderances

23 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

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invasion, military, Posse Comitatus, Trump, Vox Day

Vox and his readers pondered the potential limitations of the Posse Comitatus Act regarding military repulsion of the invading hordes. In my expert opinion, there are none.

As a reader noted, yes, the NDAA’s and other laws have taken what teeth there were out of the PCA. And, even intact, it doesn’t apply here. The sole purpose of the US military is to defend America, particularly from outright and open invasion. The PCA is a criminal statute, unchanged and never prosecuted (even once) since its inception in 1878. So, Mr. Trump, use the army, use all necessary to secure our borders. Then drive out the existing hosts and their rabid supporters (to include meddling federal judges) herein.

This, here and at VP, is the thought simply prohibited at the circus of social media (the new mental concentration camps). Forego the stupidity.

Posse Comitatus

22 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

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Posse Comitatus, reruns

I love follow-up stories. The other day I did a piece about military drones killing Americans and mentioned the Posse Comitatus Act as a possible solution. I said I’d have more to say about the Act soon. Here it is:

On June 18th of this year we will all celebrate the 135th birthday of the Posse Comitatus Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1385. Happy Birthday, Pos-Com!!! Maybe you do not share my zeal? Perhaps you have never heard of this great Act or maybe you don’t know what it means. Allow me to educate you. The Posse Comitatus Act means absolutely nothing. Those who will celebrate the creation of this dead letter are those who should be prosecuted under it – namely those members of the various executive branches of the Federal and state governments.

…

Posse Comitatus

The Humanity of It All

29 Monday May 2017

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

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America, law, Posse Comitatus, terrorism, War

Two stories of late, slightly related:

First, a federal judge overturned Lee Boyd Malvo’s life sentences without parole. Malvo was one of the “D.C. Snipers” who reigned terror around the nation’s capital back in 2002. I remember this episode, one because it was in close proximity to 9/11 and, two because it figured slightly (perhaps notoriously) into my original white paper on Posse Comitatus (it certainly got John Anderson’s attention).

A federal judge threw out a convicted D.C. sniper’s four life sentences Friday because he was 17 when he was originally sentenced.

U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk, Virginia, ruled that Lee Boyd Malvo has a right to be re-sentenced in new sentencing hearings due to a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that made it unconstitutional for juveniles to receive mandatory life sentences in prison without parole, the Daily Mail reported.

He will likely be sentenced to life again – with the possibility of parole (which probably won’t ever happen). Malvo was the co-defendant with and likely catamite of John Allen Muhammad; both were Muslims with a bone to shoot with white, Christian America. The “better-than-that” mercy of the American justice [SIC] system.

Lee-Boyd-Malvo-ap-640x480

If Obama liked rifles…. Breitbart News.

Second, no such mercy was shown to the 28 Coptic Christians gunned down recently on a bus in Egypt. By some sort of odd coincidence the shooters in this case were also Muslims.

As many as 10 attackers in 3 SUVs stormed the bus dressed in military uniforms and wearing masks, before demanding that the passengers recite the Muslim profession of faith, according to witnesses. Then, the gunmen opened fire. Some 22 people were wounded.

Only three children survived the attack, the Copts United news portal reported. The victims were on their way to visit a monastery to pray.

Survivors claimed the killers left behind flyers about the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins Friday evening.

The religion of peace, leaving orphans to read pamphlets.

This is a war. It’s a war of annihilation directed at all the West. Little has changed in 15 years. When will come the awakening?

 

Tidbits, 3/22/2015

22 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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America, Arizona, crime, death row, freedom, government, justice, material witness, military, Oregon, police, Posse Comitatus, wrongful conviction

I’ve got a few new interesting items in the hopper as well as some old ends that need to be tied up.  For now, a few newsworthy tidbits:

A man in Oregon has been in jail for two and a half years even though he is not accused of committing a crime.  He is believed to be the longest held material witness in modern history.  I have directly encountered this phenomenon before though never to this extreme.

A woman in Arizona was recently released from prison after serves 22 years for a wrongful conviction – 22 years on death row – for a crime she didn’t commit.  I’m writing a chapter-length article on this one.  Stay tuned.  The Sword of God people are surely disappointed in this turn of events though not as disappointed as God is in them and their “swords.”

People everywhere are suffering similar tragedies.  Keep voting for all those liars and maniacs…  Based on these stories I may revise How to Interact With the Police.

Two months ago I wrote Police State America whereby I recounted the militarization of our police and the trappings of Program 1033.  Now, it seems those police agencies are no longer content with machine guns and tanks.  Now they want A-10 fighter bombers in their arsenal.  I hope this is a hoax but this is 21st Century Amerika… A-10s would do a great job stopping private drones over the National.  These and other Posse Comitatus violations continue unabated.

Feeling lucky?

(Essex County, MA SWAT Team.  Google.)

In real news … March Madness continues full swing!

 

 

 

Police State America: A Permanent Standing Army in Our Midst

28 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

ACLU, Alexander Hamilton, America, Anti-Federalists, Britain, Caesar, Congress, Federalist Papers, freedom, law, Natural Law, NDAA, police, Posse Comitatus, Robert Yates, Second Amendment, standing army, Thomas Jefferson

Sunday I re-posted a popular column on the Posse Comitatus Act, enacted in 1878 to deter a standing army.  It did not work, as I noted in that article.  That piece briefly examined the use of the actual, federal military to combat drugs, terror, churches, etc.  Here, I want to delve into a growing trend, the development of a psuedo-military, based entirely within our society.  I’m writing about the militarization of our domestic police force.

This trend has resulted in a paramilitary police as well-trained and equipped as our national army.  Barney Fife has been replaced by an armored, machine gun wielding storm-trooper.

Barney was a goofy, good-natured fellow with one bullet (in his pocket):

nip-it

(Then. Google Images.)

The new masked face of law enforcement more resembles Darth Vader than a peace officer:

swat

(Now.  Google Images.)

William Grigg is far and away the best chronicler of modern, martial law enforcement.  Just pick any one of his humorous and shocking articles on police state abuse: Article Archive at lewrockwell.com.  Be forewarned, like a Pringles, just one won’t be enough.

I too have written short news notes on this phenomenon, none as good as Will’s.

Here’s a picture of a platoon of “officers” on the hunt for Boston Bombing patsy Dzhokhar Tsarnaev:

SWAT teams enter a suburban neighborhood to search an apartment for the remaining suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings in Watertown

(Google Images.)

French police in similar fashion:

french swat

(Google, DailyMail, UK.)

The Pose Comitatus Act (“PCA”) reads, in its entirety: “Whoever, except in cases and circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.” 18 U.S.C. § 1385.

There has never been a prosecution under the PCA.  Considering the constant creation of exceptions to the Act and the fact that the police are not a direct portion of the Army nor the Air Force, the militarization trend will not run afoul of the watered-down letter of the law.  However, it violates the spirit of the law in horrific fashion.

At the end of the Roman Republic, more than twenty centuries ago, Gauis Curio attempted to disarm Caesar’s returning army in order to preserve domestic tranquility. See: Caesar, The Gallic War, Loeb Classical Library, 587 (Harvard U. Press, 2000). As you know, Caesar “crossed the Rubicon” and the Empire shortly thereafter commenced.

In early America the fear of armed military forces present in everyday life was of grave concern to our Founding Fathers.  Beginning the Declaration of Independence with a nod to Natural Law, Thomas Jefferson listed the first grievance against the King that “He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature. … He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power.” Dec. Independence, para. 13 – 14 (1776).

In The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, himself not the greatest proponent of freedom, railed against the standing army as “unsupported by any precise or intelligible designations of reasons.” The Federalist, No. 27 (Hamilton).  “Their existence, however, from the very terms of the proposition, is, at most, problematical and uncertain. ”  The Federalist, No. 8 (Hamilton).

A more concise explanation was set forth by Robert Yates: “The liberties of a people are in danger from a large standing army, not only because the rulers may employ them for the purposes of supporting themselves in any usurpations of power, which they may see proper to exercise, but there is great hazard, that an army will subvert the forms of the government, under whose authority, they are raised, and establish one, according to the pleasure of their leader.” The Anti-Federalist, No. 10 (Brutus [Yates]).

“Brutus” described the plight of both Rome and Britain under the rule of a standing army.  “Julius Cesar … changed [Rome] from a free republic, whose fame had sounded, and is still celebrated by all the world, into that of the most absolute despotism. A standing army effected this change, and a standing army supported it through a succession of ages, which are marked in the annals of history, with the most horrid cruelties, bloodshed, and carnage; — The most devilish, beastly, and unnatural vices, that ever punished or disgraced human nature.”  Anti-Federalist, No. 10 (Yates).

“The same army, that in Britain, vindicated the liberties of that people from the encroachments and despotism of a tyrant king, assisted Cromwell, their General, in wresting from the people, that liberty they had so dearly earned.”  Id.

The Forty-Fifth Congress considered several issues in developing the PCA: a standing army versus a militia; limited central government; and, the proper (if any) uses for an army within the confines of the territory of the Republic.  Rep. Abram S. Hewitt of New York commented on the subject: “If you want to fan communism, increase your standing army and you will have enough of it.” 7 Cong. Rec. H. 3538 (1878).

Numerous examples of Constitutional violations by federal troops aiding tax agents, governors, sheriffs, and district attorneys in Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, and New York were cited to Congress.  Other related troubles occurred all across the country. The problem was national in scope.

Senator Benjamin Hill of Georgia remarked, “A posse comitatus is a wholly different thing from an army; it is different in every respect from an army…” 7 Cong. Rec. 4246. He continued, “it never was lawful, it never shall be lawful, to employ the army as a posse comitatus until you destroy the distinction between civil power and the military power in this country.” Id.

Today we see the destruction of that distinction.  The police appear one and the same with the military – same tactics, same equipment.

The military equipment utilized by our police largely comes from the The Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) under the 1033 program (National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1997 (“NDAA”) (FY 1997)).  “This law allows transfer of excess Department of Defense property that might otherwise be destroyed to law enforcement agencies across the United States and its territories.”

Since 1997 the program has transferred over $5 BILLION worth of military equipment to the police agencies of America – $450 million in 2013 alone.  Again, the various, yearly NDAA provide Congressional cover which allows potential PCA violations to occur unabated.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently released a report which examined program 1033 and several examples of police militarization in the news.  Kara Dansky, An MRAP Is Not a Blanket, ACLU, (12/02/2014).

Ms. Dansky recounted the police responses in Ferguson, MO and the horrific maiming of baby Bou Bou Phonesavanh in rural Georgia.  The then 18 month old had “his chest ripped open and his face torn off by a flashbang grenade that police officers … threw into his crib during a paramilitary raid.”  Id.   The attack was part of a drug raid based on an erroneous tip from an informant – Bou Bou was not a suspect.

The Phonesavanh family faces over $1 Million in medical expenses as a result of this unnecessary, indefensible terror attack.  ABC News.  Look at the picture below (unpleasant).

Bou Bou is making a recovery but the police involved will not help with his recovery.  UK Daily Mail. And, of course, they will face no charges for their evil acts.  AJC.com.

bou bou

(The fears of the Founding Fathers realized.  ABC News.)

Baby Bou Bou’s ordeal blows apart the oft-repeated idiot’s argument that “if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.”  These SS-style atrocities are oft-repeated as well – in every corner of America.

Echoing the Founding Fathers, the ACLU piece ends: “Militarized policing is dangerous, and American communities deserve better.”  We’re not likely to get better any time soon.  In 1980 there were approximately 3,000 paramilitary SWAT team raids in America; now there are more than 80,000 per year. Michael Synder, 10 Facts About The Growing SWAT Team Raids In America….  Over one-third of those raids are erroneous.  Id.  Will Grigg has an endless supply of horror stories about the needless, often deadly attacks on innocent Americans.

Yes, there are circumstances which warrant overwhelming police force, but they are few and far between.  Anymore, SWAT teams are deployed for anything and everything – from traffic offenses to searches for teenagers.

The worst part of this is the near complete acceptance of these tactics by the American public.  In the immediate wake of the Boston False Flag Bombing the entire city of Bay Area dutifully sheltered in place while a veritable army combed the streets looking for one man.  Travel was restricted, homes were searched without warrants, businesses closed, and millions willingly surrendered their freedoms.

It is my theory that the bombing was conducted as part of a test – designed to gauge the public’s willingness to accept a police state.  If I am correct, the experiment was a total success.  This scenario could likely be played out anywhere.  Your local police department (certainly your State) likely has the resources – the tanks, guns, training – to carry out a similar invasion.  The odds are you will shelter and comply as told too.

As I have written previously, the Second Amendment was crafted to ensure the people’s ability to resist, with arms, martial tyranny.  In addition to our lack of adequate arms and lack of resolve, we now have in our midst a formidable adversary.  This mixture is very dangerous indeed.

copmorph

(Google.)

Waco: A Harbinger, 20 Years Later

19 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

1993, AR-15, army, ATF, Bill Clinton, children, church, citizens, Congress, Constitution, CS gas, David Koresh, due process, FBI, felony, FLIR, Fort Hood, freedom, George Roden, government, grenades, guns, JAG, Janet Reno, John Danforth, law, lies, media, methamphetamines, military, murder, Posse Comitatus, Seventh Day Adventists, sheriff, snipers, tanks, Texas, thugs, UPS, Waco, War, warrant

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the fiery end of the federal government’s siege on the Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventist Church in Waco, Texas.  April 19, 1993 was the end of a month and a half ordeal probably unlawfully initiated against a peaceful, if weird, group of Christians by the tyrannical Imperial federal government.  In addition to being a serious injustice in and of itself, it also stands as a critical warning to all of us free citizens currently enduring the 21st Century.

ruby21

(Separation of Church and State?  Google Images.)

I recall the media’s treatment of the story during the winter and spring of 1993.  Essentially, they reported the feds’ words verbatim and, in keeping with modern journalistic tact, did so with no critical analysis whatsoever.  The Clinton administration and their lamestream puppets said that David Koresh was a deranged and dangerous man who had brainwashed a large group of followers Jim Jones style and who had engaged in several serious criminal offenses.  All of this was based on lies.  Seventhy-six innocent civilians and four stormtroopers lost their lives because of these lies.  Numerous others, on both sides, were scarred, physically and mentally, as a result of the battle.

Twenty years later, there has never been an honest official review of the crimes committed by the government between February 28th and April 19th that fateful year.  Laws have been rendered obsolete, innocents have been imprisoned, criminals have been promoted and lionized, and the truth might have just as well burned in the terrible conflagration.

The Branch Davidians separated from the mainline Seventh Day Adventist Church in 1955.  Essentially, they believed they were living in the “end times” and ordered their lives accordingly.  There developed a power struggle within the group between David Koresh and George Roden.  During the 1980’s there was a violent confrontation between the factions which resulted in several prosecutions; there were no convictions and the matter faded away.  Following his conviction for a 1989 axe murder, Roden was imprisoned in a mental facility.  Koresh took command of the church.

Koresh believed himself the final prophet of the church and the man who would guide the group through the end of days, the rapture, or whatever.  His methods were odd to say the least.  His followers moved into his compound in Waco where Koresh lead a polygamist prophetly existence.  I have never understood why people ever allow themselves to come under the sway of such men.  At any rate, Koresh and his followers were largely isolated from the rest of the world, engaged in their final preparations. 

koresh_David_320x240

(David Koresh, born Vernon Wayne Howell.  Google.)

Those preparations, in part, lead to the government’s investigation and subsequent charges.  The charges were as follows: manufacture and possession of illegal weapons (machine guns), the manufacture of methamphetamines, and child abuse and statutory rape of young girls.  I seem to recall tax evasion charges as well but cannot locate definitive documentation.  The IRS can always bring tax charges or administrative actions against anyone due to the impossible nature of the tax code.

There was no evidence to support the meth charges.  Roden had allegedly run a meth lab at the church during the 80s.  However, the operation had ceased years before Koresh took over the group.  Not approving a drugs, Koresh dutifully turned over to local authorities the remains of lab.  That was the extent of the evidence – none.  Some FBI and ATF agents acknowledged the lack of evidence on these counts. 

The allegations of child abuse, etc. came from Koresh’s critics, both before and after the 1993 ordeal.  Such crimes, even when real, are not federal matters.  They are within the jurisdiction of the state.  Nevertheless, the accusations were included against Koresh and Co. in order to make them look as bad as possible to the grand jury and judge.  The government never lets the truth interfere with a case. 

Reports indicate that Texas child-protective authorities had previously visited the church and talked extensively with Koresh.  No charges resulted.  Koresh was also on relatively friendly speaking terms with the local Sheriff, who later expressed concern over federal actions. 

As for the “machine guns,” the charges stemmed from a report by a UPS delivery driver of weapons components being shipped to the group in Waco.  The driver relayed his information to the Sheriff’s Office.  A deputy then informed the BATF (BATFE or ATF).  Another Koresh detractor and former member provided hearsay of the illegal conversion of AR-15 rifles into automatic M-16s.  The Davidians ran a legitimate weapons business, the Mag Bag, in order to raise funds for their operation.  None of their wares and weapons were illegally obtained.  However, the ATF (again not concerned with the truth) mislead a federal judge by speculating that the mere existence of the legal weapons might suggest a crime. 

The ATF also informed the judge that a neighbor had previously reported the sound of automatic gun fire emanating from the church.  They failed to leave out the fact that, as with the child abuse charges, this sound was also reported to the Sheriff, who had investigated the matter and concluded there was no criminal activity. 

You may recall that during the siege and its aftermath, the media parrotted reports of a certain number of machine guns at the church.  The number continued to decline oddly as time passed until it reached th true number – zero.

As part of their speculative fishing trip the ATF set up surveillance from a nearby house and sent an unconvincing infiltrator to join the group.  Koresh became aware of both but said nothing.  Once their lies were neatly typed out, the ATF obtained search and arrest warrants and prepared to descend on the church on February 28, 1993.

A reported was tipped off about the impending raid and asked for directions to the church from a postman, who happened to be Koresh’s brother-in-law.  Thus was Koresh tipped off.  He then dismissed the ATF’s informant from the group.  The informant reported that, when he departed the church, the members were praying.

Having come to belive their own lies, the ATF geared for battle against the church members.  They illegally assembled at Fort Hood, a nearby Army installation (remember the Posse Comitatus Act, anyone?).  They were well armed and well armoured though their other preparations were unbelievably incompetent.  Rather than arriving in marked vehicles so as to identify themselves as lawmen, the agents rode up in cattle trailers pulled by several pick-up trucks (private models belonging to various agents).  They also neglected to carry communications equipment.  The first reports of a gun fight at the church came from the church itself; the members called 911 to report they were being attacked by a gang of heavily armed thugs.

Those thugs, once they disembarked their trailers, immediately opened fire on the church – in order to kill and silence the canine residents.  Normally, approaching officers identify themselves as such and attempt to serve their warrants peacefully.

Thus, with no indication of the agent’s legal intentions (if any), the Davidians responded as Americans typically do to violent intruders.  They shot back.  A lethal gun battle raged from around 45 minutes.  The local Sheriff, who said he was not apprised of the raid and knew nothing of it until the Davidians called for help, was unable to communicate with the ATF (dead radios don’t receive calls).  The Sheriff’s Office eventually negotiated a cease-fire.  Five Davidains and four agents were dead.  At this point, Koresh’s and his followers’ fates were sealed.  The government does not tolerate the killing of their own, even in cases of self-defense.

21320458_BG1

(“No-Knock” warrant entry.  Fox 4 Dallas.)

Following the ceasefire, one of the most infamous sieges in American history commenced.  The government dispensed with all vestiges of common sense and gradually increased tensions at the church.  Eventually, all the communications and utilities of the Davidians were cut off.  This left the members without running water and electricity.  The government apparently had lost interest in those abused children.

The FBI took over the operation.  Some within the agency favored negotiating a peaceful end to the ordeal.  Others, who views won out in the end, favored aggressive military action.  Koresh allowed eleven of his followers to depart – they were immediately arrested and some were prosecuted.  At least they survived.  As April passed the government prepared to end the confrontation violently.  As part of their campaign, the FBI mobilized military assets including, helicopters, light armoured vehicles, main battle tanks, and tactical advice from the military.

You may recall from my column, Posse Comitatus, that using the force of the military in domestic law enforcement is a felony.  Remember, no-one has ever been prosecuted under the Act.  However, some within the government remained honest and faithful to the law.  Before rendering illegal assistance to the FBI, the Army attempted to procedurally clear the matter internally.  The case was given to a JAG Attorney for analysis, particularly as to the FBI’s request for assistance.  The JAG Officer promptly reported the scheme was a Posse Comitatus violation.  He was told to stick his opinion in his ear.

The FBI, now armed for battle in an actual war, began to harass the Davidians intensely.  In addition to cutting off their utilities and treating those afore-mentioned children to high-decibel AC/DC music around the clock, the government constantly circled the church with their tanks.  They flattened everything outside, including the Davidians automobiles.  They also intentionally ran over grave sites repeatedly (a crime).

waco_texas_tanks_compound_fire

(We don’t need no stinking Posse Comitatus!  Google.)

At last, on April 19th, the government made its move.  President Clinton still desired a peaceful, negotiated end but was convinced by his chief-Nazi, Attorney General Janet Reno, to use violent force.  Reno’s justification for the use of overwhelming force varied and changed as time passed and the number of machine guns declined. 

The FBI used their tanks to smash holes through the walls of the church.  Into these they pumped CS gas, which as a chemistry major like Reno (“consulted” by the military) should have known, is delivered via a highly flammable powder.  The FBI also launched numerous flash-bang grenades into the building.  As normally happens when extreme heat and sparks are applied to a flammable substance, a fire erupted.  Of course, the government blamed the fire on the Davidians – why stop the lies, at this point.  You will surely recall the fire, it is engrained in my memory forever.  See the picture above.

They government continued to ram the building with tanks.  They drove one into the building at a point where they knew the children were likely gathered.  I have seen video of a Davidian crushed and shredded beneath the tracks of one of the 70-ton vehicles. 

The fire killed the Davidians.  Some attempted to escape only to be shot to death by FBI (or military) snipers.  I watched a video of a subsequent Congressional investigation of the event.  The Congressmen watched a video of the assault unfold that was filmed used FLIR (forward-looking infrared).  An expert identified various flashes as muzzle blasts directed toward fleeing, unarmed Davidians.  A member, indignant that anyone would question or accuse the government of murder, demanded to know what the expert’s expertise with FLIR.  The expert’s assertion he had invented the technology was insufficient for the panel.

All ensuing investigations, including that of Former Senator and Special Counsel John Danforth, exonerated the government.  We call this a whitewashing.  Following a criminal trial, eight Davidains were convicted of firearms charges.  Four were acquitted outright and all were cleared of murder charges.  Following numerous appeals the Davidans received much lighter sentences and all were freed from custody by 2007.  No criminal investigation or prosecution of the federal agents was ever conducted.  In another whitewashing, the survivors and the families of the deceased lost a civil lawsuit in the case of Andrade v. Chojnacki, 338 F.3d 448 (5th Cir. 2003).

This story is one of massive and complete injustice.  It should also serve as a dire warning to all Americans of the government’s boundless power and ability to get away with any crime, no matter the circumstances.  Remember Waco whenever you see or hear accusations from the government.  Remember who really abused children.  Remember who lied to initiate and to justify their actions.  Remember and do all you ever can to combat injustice.  We owe that much, at least, to our deceased citizens and to the Natural order of the law.

The Second Amendment

04 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

10th Amendment, 14th Amendment, 19th Century, 1st Amendment, Alexander Hamilton, America, Anti-Federalists, arms, Articles of Confederation, attorneys, Bill of Rights, blasphemy, British Empire, Brutus, CLE, collecting, collective rights theory, Congress, Constitution, Constitutional Convention, Constitutional Law, D.C., D.C. Court of Appeals, D.C. v. Heller, D.C. v. Parker, Declaration of Independence, District of Corruption, Dred Scott v. Sandford, duty, English common law, federal, Federalist Papers, forty-fifth Congress, Founders, free state, freedom, God, government, governor, gun control, Gun Control Act, Harvard, history, hunting, incorporation, King George, Laurence Silberman, Laurence Tribe, law, law school, legal profession, libertarians, Liberty, Lord Bacon, MacDonald v. Chicago, Mariens, militia, Miller, National Firearms Act, National Guardindividuals, Natural Law, organized, Pennsylvania Minority, politicians, Posse Comitatus, powers, professional military, rebellion, rifles, rights, Robert Yates, Roman Republic, Second Amendment, self-defense, shotgun, slavery, sports, States, Supreme Court, Tacitus, The People, Thomas Jefferson, ticks, trojan horse, Tudors, tyranny, unorganized, Vietnam, Virginia Convention, Washington, William Kimmel, worship

This is a follow-up to some of my recent columns, Posse Comitatus, A Short History of Gun Control in America, and others.  The Second Amendment and its subject matter have been in the news recently as part of the never-ending “debate” over gun control.  The Amendment has also received special attention from the U.S. Supreme Court twice in the past five years. 

My purpose here is to explain what the Amendment means and what most commentators (even pro-firearms authors) miss in their reading and application.  Even if you do not own guns or have an interest in them, this issue affects you and your Liberty.  Somewhere in the writing process I realized I should have divided this into several segments.  My apologies for the heft of the article.  Sadly, I didn’t even get to add in half of what I should – maybe a book is in order?  certainly a follow-up’s follow-up.

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”  Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1791)(entirety). 

minutemen-revolutionary-war-11

(Minutemen staring down British Regulars.  Google Images.)

The Second Amendment has absolutely NOTHING to do with hunting, sport shooting, and weapon collecting.  Those activities are important and are rights which derive from Natural Law.  However, they are ancillary to the purpose of the 2nd Amendment.  Ancillary also are the issues of self-defense and defense of others and of property from attacks by common criminals.  They to are the absolute rights of the People (absolute, under appropriate circumstances).  However, none of these things, which are commonly attributed to the true nature of the 2nd Amendment and gun ownership, fall under the actual purpose of the Amendment.

There are two primary reasons why the 2nd Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights.  First, the Founders wanted a heavily armed population so that the nation and the constituent States might be well defended from foreign or outside aggression and invasion.  Second, and most important, the Founders wanted the People heavily armed in order to overthrow or repel the State governments or the federal, national government in the event said government ever became tyrannical in nature and operation.  The true purpose of an armed people is to resist tyranny.  This is not only the right of the People, it is also their solemn duty.

Politicians do not like being reminded of this fact these days.  Perhaps their guilty consciences get the better of them given the nature of modern government – as close to tyrannical as just about any in history.  For reasons given herein and, those which I plan to elaborate on in a future column about arms, the ticks have little to fear.  As I have written elsewhere, most humans like to be controlled.  In the absence of fair masters, they will take any master that comes along.  I hope you, by your nature or by reading this article, are a member of the few who prefer freedom to slavery.  Your existence makes the tyrants sweat.

For the longest time the Second Amendment was largely written off by the legal “profession.”  When I was in law school I was told the Amendment (and a few others) didn’t really exist.  I found this strange.  The Amendment was there in the text of the Constitution and its plain language made perfect sense (the 10th Amendment was the same way).  Try as I could, I could never locate the provision which allowed for the murder of babies.  The law school community regards this right, in blasphemy, as if it had been written by God himself. 

Then again, law school has little to do with the law.  The one thing that was not required reading in my Constitutional law classes was the Constitution.  No mention was made of the natural underpinnings of the Constitution.  It’s no wonder most attorneys emerge from this environment without the slightest knowledge of whence our laws are derived.  I was different, I always am.  I read the old documents and inquired as to why certain things were included and excluded textually.  I read a lot.  At the time, the only legal textbook in print which even mentioned the 2nd Amendment was the one compiled by Laurence H. Tribe of Harvard law fame.  His mention was very brief, but at least he had the curtsey to include it at all. 

Most Consitutional law education focuses on two things: 1) the supreme power of the government and; 2) a few pet rights with plenty of case law material for professors to quote (the 1st Amendment, for instance).  I also have columns underway to explain both the Constitution (briefly) and the convoluted subject of Constitutional law.  You’ll have to wait for those.

As I said, the 2nd Amendment received little official attention for many years.  Early in our history and it that of our English forebears, the concept of a well armed population was well enshrined.  It was taken as a given that men would be armed.  The Founders went the brave extra step and set the armed people as defenders of their own Liberty against the heinous forces of organized government. 

Thomas Jefferson was rightly fearful of the problems posed by a standing government army.  The Declaration of Independence was full of accounts of the crimes committed by King George through his armies.  The mandate for a militia rather than a professional army found its way into the Articles of Confederation, Article 4.  While armies are allowed under the Constitution, they are supposed to be limited to a two-year duration, they were meant as an emergency measure.  U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8.

In the debates leading to the Constitutional Convention, both the Federalists (in favor of the Constitution) and the Anti-Federalists (fearful of a strong central government) denounced the practice of standing armies as grave threats to liberty. 

Writing for the Federalists Alexander Hamilton, himself not the greatest proponent of decentralized liberty, reiterated the common saying of the time that standing armies “ought not be kept up, in time of peace.”  Federalist, No. 26.  In No. 28 Hamilton asked mockingly, against the fact of armed State militias, when could the federal government ever amass a sufficiently threatening army?  As Monday morning’s historical quarterback, I suppose the answer was “in about 200 years.”  Hamilton also thought the two-year budgetary limitation placed on the army would render it ineffective for tyrannical purposes.  Federalist, No. 24.  Out of the pocket again, we now have a standing army fighting numerous “wars” despite the absence of a federal budget for four years.

The Anti-Federalists were equally fearful of a central army.  In his Tenth Letter, January 24, 1788, “Brutus” (most likely New York judge Robert Yates) warned of two dangers presented by a standing army.  First, it could be used by leaders against the people in order to usurp power.  Second, the armies themselves could “subvert the forms of government, under whose authority they were raised…”  As examples he cited the once free and constitutional Roman Republic and British Empire. 

Interestingly, the Second Amendment could have contained anti-army language.  The Virginia Convention proposed a Bill of Rights (June 27, 1788), which would have had the second amendment as seventeenth.  It would have read: “That the people have a right to keep and bear arms; that a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in times of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided, as far as circumstances and protection of the community will admit, and that, in all cases, the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.”  I rather like that.  The Pennsylvania Minority had put forth a similar proposal on December 18, 1787. 

During the forty-fifth Congress, Rep. William Kimmel of Maryland, author of the Posse Comitatus Act, echoed the sentiments of the Founders as he quoted Tacitus, “Is there any escape from a standing army but a well-disciplined militia?”  7 Cong. Rec. 3579.  He also quoted Lord Bacon, who remarked of the Tudor years of English history, a “mercenary army is fittest to invade a country but a militia to defend it.”  Id.  Many were the quotes from members of the House and Senate on similar points.

The issue faded as the 19th Century progressed because it was still taken for granted that free people should be armed.  As I noted in Gun Control, the States and the federal government from this period to the present, began to enact various illegal, and progressively worse restrictions on gun ownership.  The 2nd Amendment did make appearances in law and court cases though during this period of general dormancy.  I will discuss two such cases here.

In Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857), the Supreme Court ignobly affirmed black slaves were property as opposed to people.  However, the Court’s reasoning touched on the 2nd Amendment.  If slaves were considered human beings, then they would be entitled to human rights – such as the right to bear arms.  This case gave silent acknowledgment to the 2nd Amendment, which law professors somehow overlooked or wrote off.  It also slaps their Supreme Court worship in the face.  The fallibility of their god also seems lost on them. 

In United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939), the Supreme Court held the 2nd Amendment only protected firearms with militia “value.”  Mr. Miller was arrested for illegal possession of a short-barreled shotgun, one of the weapons regulated under the UnConstitutional 1934 National Firearms Act.  I always thought this case made some sense.  If the only guns protected are those of use to the militia or the military, then it would seem the people have a right to own those types of weapons.  And, if they are entitled to own those, why not allow them all lesser guns (like short-barreled shotguns).  Subsequently, shotguns of reduced length came in useful to the army GIs and Marines in Vietnam and other tight, uncomfortable places. 

The delusional legal community took Miller  to mean something else, something only a law professor could belive – that the 2nd Amendment protects a government’s “right” to keep arms.  The deliberate misinterpretation of Miller during the last half of the 20th Century gave rise to the idiotic “collective rights” theory, an impossibility in and of itself.  The theory lead to the belief of leftists and statists alike that the 2nd Amendment gave the government the “right” to organize a body such as the National Guard.  This was ludicrous.  Only individual persons have rights.  Individuals with rights can join together in the exercise of those rights, but the rights themselves never acquire group status.  The status certainly never transcends from the people, individually speaking, to the government.  Governments have powers, not rights. 

The point was finally clarified (as if such a plainly worded sentence needs clarification…) by the U.S. Supreme Court in two cases early in our current Century.  In District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) the high Court overturned D.C.’s illegal law restricting handgun ownership.  The Court also held the Second Amendment did in fact confer upon the people a fundamental right to keep and bear arms.  The collectivists were crushed.  The Court actually noted the Natural Law right of self-defense.  The law professors were confused.  The opinion limited its reach to federal laws and enclaves (like D.C.) and appended certain language regarding “traditional” uses of firearms.  The Court also made notable mention of the proper relationship between the people and the militia, but they did not reach my ultimate conclusion from Miller. 

In my humble but professional opinion (I are a Constitutional and firearms law litigator person, after all), the legal opinion rendered by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in its earlier hearing and decision of Heller, D.C. v. Parker, 478 F.3d 370 (2007)(Parker was then a co-plaintiff with Heller and several others), was a far better recitation of the 2nd Amendment, its meaning and origins.  Judge Laurence Silberman went to great lengths to explain the original meaning of the “militia” and its prerequisite condition of an armed people.  I will comment on this subject a little later, in my own words.

I met Judge Silberman at a legal education luncheon (CLE) in 2008, while Heller was pending the Supreme Court.  I thanked him for his contribution.  However, as is so often my way, I was disgruntled that afternoon and made my usual sarcastic comments to kick off the meeting.  CLE’s do that to me.  Imagine paying a good sum of money for a decent lunch which you can’t enjoy because some dude or dudette is babbling on about the law.  Anyway, I recall referring to D.C. as “the District of Corruption.”  I did this before a small gathering of government attorneys and government-dependent attorneys.  Judge Silberman gave me a nervous chuckle, the rest of the crowd was aghast at my … honesty.

Anyway, the 2008 opinion was good enough of a start.  Two years later the Court added to the new body of 2nd Amendment law.

In MacDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 3025 (2010) the Court, in striking down an illegal Chicago law, “incorporated” the effect of the Second Amendment to the States, via the 14th Amendment.  Many libertarian scholars are dubious of the theory of incorporation but I will not touch on that here other than to say the 2nd Amendment must be respected by the States.  This makes sense, as far as it goes, as no entity may legitimately violate fundamental human rights.  The Court also included some dangerous language in the decision, particularly regarding the possibility laws may place “reasonable restrictions” on firearms ownership.  The reference may prove a trojan horse for gun owners, especially in light of those restrictions already in place (NFA and GCA) which are now taken for granted.  I do not take them so and I have no faith in government to keep any additional restrictions “reasonable.”

Other, newer cases are working their way through the courts, generally with good success.  I think the Amendment is finally getting some of the respect it deserves.  I also don’t think Congress will act to rashly regarding new restrictions, yet, even in the face of the ridiculous hysteria raised of late. 

I began by stating the Second Amendment is about the people resisting government tyranny.  I do not advocate herein the violent overthrow of the government.  Such action, even if warranted, would likely end in disaster.  Besides, given the suicidal tendencies of the federal and most state governments, such action would seem pointless.  I said “even if warranted” because once any government exceeds its scope and purpose to the point it becomes a threat to, rather than a defender of, the Liberties of the People (the only real reason for the existence of government), then again, it is the right and duty of the people to shrug off such tyranny.  When such action is taken legitimately, it is not an act of rebellion.  In fact, at such point, it is the government which is in rebellion and deserving of correction.  This may be subject matter for another future column.

The Founders, being highly suspicious of standing armies in the service of a central government, determined to set up a militia as a proper alternative.  A “militia” is merely the organization to some degree of all the armed men in a jurisdiction.  Every State in the Union still maintains a militia, completely separate from the National Guard.  The militia of a given state is generally divided into two classes – the “organized” militia and the unorganized.  The organized consists of members of the State defense force, whatever it may be termed.  These are voluntary citizen forces under control of the Governor.  They are generally neutered these days but retain the ability to become a combat ready force.  The unorganized force consists of all able-bodied males (and certain females) between certain ages (adults, generally).  I am a proud member of the unorganized Georgia militia!

These militias are primarily at the disposal of the States and can only be utilized by the federal government in certain cases.  The main point of this system is that the weapons are supposed to be in the hands of the people, not the government.  This is specifically true regarding infantry weapons.  A militia member should, today, be able to report for duty with any weapons available to a modern infantryman.  This would include fully automatic rifles (including SAWs) and shoulder launcher systems (Stingers, etc.).

We currently are restricted from such weapons, illegally, by the NFA and the GCA and amendments.  Also, as a counter to my central premise of militia dominance, the federal government has done a terrible job regulating the militias.  The States have all but abdicated their independence and authority to Washington.  Washington has also taken advantage of this situation by raising and maintaining huge standing, professional military forces in perpetuity.  This is all contrary to the intent and the language of the Constitution.  The American people have also undergone a dramatic transformation.  Regarding these instant issues, the populace tends to regard militias as dangerous bands of domestic terrorists while literally worshipping the federal Imperial military.  How many yellow ribbon decals have you seen promoting the militia?

This leads me to my final point, the concept that so many people miss regarding the Second Amendment.  Most historical analysis has focused on the “militia” preface and the “right of the people” action clause, or both together (see Judge Silberman).  What everyone seems to miss is the “security of a free state.”  A state, according to the Founders and their wisdom could only be preserved by an armed people serving as the militia.  The key word here is – “FREE.”  Given the decline of liberty, seemingly demanded by the people, can we be said to live in a free state anymore?  If we do not, is anything else important?  I would, of course, answer affirmatively.  I’m not so sure about my fellow countrymen.  This may provide material for a future column.  Your thoughts?

A Short History of Gun Control In America

02 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

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Guns have been in the news again and again lately.  The guns I am writing about are the privately owned guns of our citizens.  Sadly, these patriotic men and women have not glorified for the millions of lives they save every year, usually without firing a shot.  Rather, the entire institution of gun-ownership has been demonized by the media and the lowlifes of the political class based on a tiny number of sensationalized murder cases.  This phenomenon happens from time to time and is always accompanied by a call for more gun control.

Before I get to control and its history, I want to address the most dangerous guns in America and elsewhere – publically owned or government guns.  These weapons pose a true threat to the health and security of our citizens and potentially pose a dire threat to our civil liberties and freedom.  Governments throughout history have proven themselves to be the least trustworthy possessors of weaponry.  In the 20th century alone governments murdered more than 200 million innocent victims with their military weapons.  I cannot speak for the rest of the world, but in America we need to seriously confront this lethal problem.

The Founder’s were naturally distrustful of an armed government, particularly a standing government army.  That is why they placed stringent restrictions on the army and, at the same time, embedded the right of the people to possess arms as a check against government tyranny.  I am  working on a series of columns along these lines which will compliment my previous article Posse Comitatus, https://perrinlovett.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/posse-comitatus/. 

Ultimately, I will reach the conclusions that we need to abolish all control laws which are directed against private citizens, we need to return to the militia model of defense, we should abolish our standing armies (this is a rather unpopular idea, for all the wrong reasons), and we need to disband or disarm the most of the police forces in America.  Those remaining law enforcement officers which might survive should return to their Natural Law function – protecting the rights of the people, as opposed to carrying out the edicts of the state.  For now, I will concern myself with giving you a brief education about gun control in the United States.

Where did the idea of gun control come from?  I’m not sure when and where it first originated, though I have an idea the concept has been around longer than firearms themselves.  A few gun control advocates are earnestly interested in stopping crime and helping people.  Most are not. Essentially, the majority of gun controllers are the same breed of would-be tyrants who have plagued mankind for eons.  First I imagine they demanded rock control, then sword control and now, gun control.  It is really all a scheme to deprive people of their natural rights of self-defense and self-preservation.  Tyrants do not like armed people.  Armed people are dangerous to tyrants.  Personally, I like the idea of endangered tyrants.  Perhaps we could, in the near future, save a couple and place them on display at zoos.  To hell with the rest.  “When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”  – Thomas Jefferson.

Gun control was present during the colonial period of American history.  White Europeans attempted to limit the availability of firearms to groups like slaves and native American indians.  Just before and during the Revolutionary War, the British attempted to disarm the entire rebellious population.  Their theory was that unarmed people would have a much harder time ousting the red-coat armies. 

Independent American gun control first began after the nation was freed of King George.  In early America gun control was first initiated in against blacks, both slaves and free men.  Racist tyrannical whites did not want the downtrodden slaves or free blacks to defend themselves.  Armed slaves might just free themselves, after all.  This process derived from various State laws which outright forbid blacks from owning guns.  The KKK was an early gun-control advocacy organization (a fomer-day Brady campaign, if you will).  The injustice was nominally cured by the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1868).  I say nominally, because the States found clever ways to circumvent the new Acts.  The favored trick was to tax gun sales so as to price the poor (which usually included blacks) out of the gun market.  As I will demonstrate shortly, rather than stamp out this hideous policy, the feds later adopted it.

So far in our history gun control has only affected “undesirable” populations – slaves, blacks, and the poor.  In the late 19th Century New York City enacted a ban on the concealed carry of firearms by just about everyone.  This new law was designed to protect pick-pockets and thieves, key constituents of Tammany Hall and the Democrats of the city (birds of a feather…).  It seems Boss Tweed’s cronies got too many complaints from their thieving electorate about people with concealed weapons thwarting robberies.  As far as I know, this was the first color-blind ban on concealed weapons.  New York has ever been a nest of nobility.

In the early 20th Century most Americans (except blacks and the poor here and there) were free to own whatever type of weapons they both desired and could afford to purchase.  I have read the true statement that any child who wanted one and had the money to pay for it, could mail-order a Browning .50-caliber machine gun and have it delivered to their home.  Yet, mysteriously, there was little crime in this far away “wild west” America.  Crime seemed to come along later with heavy federal regulation of firearms.  Numerous studies have definitively linked the two. 

As I noted earlier, the federal government enacted legislation which imposed a tax and registration on the ownership of certain types of firearms.  This first occurred with the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, 26 U.S.C. 53.  This law was part of the overall scheme to deprive Americans of fundamental civil liberties.  I have previously noted the dread year of 1913, with the creation of the Federal Reserve and the ratification of the 16th and 17th Amendments.  Like plantation slaves, tax slaves with weapons pose a risk to their masters.  Americans may have seen a rise in violent crime through the 20th Century because their “leaders” emulated the gun laws of well-known criminals. 

“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms.”  – Adolph Hitler.

adolf-hitler

(Adolph Hitler, gun control proponent.  Google Images.)

On November 11, 1938 Hitler and his government enacted sweeping gun-control legislation, the Weapons Act of 1938.  This Act was aimed at a particular subject “race” – jews.  “Jews … are prohibited from acquiring, possessing, and carrying firearms and ammunition, as well as truncheons or stabbing weapons. Those now possessing weapons and ammunition are at once to turn them over to the local police authority.”  1938 Nazi Act, Section One.  The rest of the Act made possession of weapons by jews criminal, with proscribed punishments. 

On October 22, 1968 President Lyndon “Bane of Freedom” Johnson signed into law the National Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968, 18 U.S.C. 44.  This Act imposed additional infringements on the ownership of guns.  It was allegedly imposed as a crime-fighting measure however, it was obviously intended to further limit the availability of weapons to the law-abiding members of society.  Crime exploded in tis aftermath.  Many scholars have properly analogized the GCA to the Nazi Act of 1938, with “Jews” being removed.  The GCA was also pushed into law by racists who wanted to further discriminate against blacks.  By this time, the bigots knew better than to simply switch the word “black” in place of “jew.”  The result was the same – more disarmed Americans.

Both the NFA and the GCA are policed by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (the AFT).  Both are blatant violations of the Second Amendment.  Every year, when not supplying military weapons to the Mexican drug cartels, the ATF wasted millions or billions of taxpayer dollars setting up sting operations in order to oppress otherwise innocent Americans through enforcement of these illegal laws.  I have represented several of these poor persons in court.

Of course, gun control has grown by leaps and bounds in and out of the federal government in the ensuing decades.  There has been a great deal of push-back against these laws, but the main pillars of disarmament still stand.  Things keep getting worse.  In 1986, arch-“conservative” Ronald Reagan signed into law a tax reform bill which, among other things, capped the supply of “class III” firearms.  Class III weapons are those such as fully automatic guns and destructive devises (military-grade weapons).  This, again, has had the effect of pricing these weapons beyond the means of most people.  It also deprives us access to modern weaponry.  It is virtually impossible to obtain a post-1986 weapon without spending hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars (one must become a dealer or a manufacturer to do so). 

Thus, Americans are denied access to the very weapons we need the most, those which can be effectively used to thwart government aggression, including mis-use of the standing army.  The Founders were on to something.

m4

(The Second Amendment is not about duck hunting.  Google Images.)

I could run on for another 1500 words or more with this subject.  Instead I will stop here and provide more information in my upcoming columns on the Second Amendment and related articles. In the meantime, do not heed the siren’s call for more gun controll, we need a good deal less.  Guns Up!

The Decline and Fall of Something…

28 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Uncategorized

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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

(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.

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Perrin Lovett

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