Heads Up A Weekly edition of News from around our country December 27, 1996 #15 by: Doug Fiedor fiedor19@eos.net ---------------------------------------------------------- Previous Editions at: http://mmc.cns.net/headsup.html ---------------------------------------------------------- THE DUTY OF THE PEOPLE In "American Communications Association v. Douds" (339 U.S. 382, 442), the U.S. Supreme Court said, "It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error." Abraham Lincoln instructed, "The people are the masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who would pervert it!" Thomas Jefferson asked: "Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master!" In The Federalist Papers No. 78, Alexander Hamilton writes: "There is no position which depends on clearer principles than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this would be to affirm that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid." There are many thousands of strong quotations that could be interjected here. But, these four seem to make the point nicely: We screwed up! And the operative word here is "We," as in "We the People." Because it is "We" who are the sovereigns in these United States of America. Not, as some would have us believe, the federal government. And it is "We" who have abdicated one of our most important duties as sovereigns. Our basic function as sovereigns is to oversee the servants: In this case, those in government. But, for the last 60 years, "We" did not pay attention. "We" did not fulfill our proper function as sovereigns. Now look! The servants are taking over. Power abhors a vacuum. When the sovereign's away, the servants will play. If the sovereign stays away too long, he's liable to find a totally different type of government in place when he returns -- one that does not necessarily include him. And, well folks, that's pretty much what we have. Bureaucrats are now the controllers. Starting with Roosevelt, there has been a quiet and gradual role reversal. We are now the servants and bureaucrats are now becoming the sovereigns. Think not? Quick! Name two rights the government does not control. . . . Right! You cannot think of even one. Well . . . can you? We are now the controlled. In fact, we are now the totally controlled. The basic human rights and Liberties our Founding Fathers once called "unalienable" are today no more than arbitrary permissions, temporarily granted (or forbidden) by those running a capricious central government. Do you think this is what was intended by the Founding Fathers when they wrote the Constitution? If not, what do you intend to do about it? What would the Founding Fathers say, were they to return to see what the federal government has mutated into? Old Ben Franklin would probably sigh and say that we gave you freedom but you could not keep it. Hamilton would probably seek out a George Washington to form an army. And Washington would surely demand that his name be removed from that city that so regularly debauches our Constitution. Clearly, not one person we celebrate as a "Founding Father" would sit back and capitulate. Yet, we do. Who's to blame for all this, if not the sovereigns? Who, then, shall be charged with correcting the problem, if not the sovereigns? Well folks, we're the sovereigns. That's us. Now what? Our direction for the new year should be clear. What is needed should not be a question. Our only question, in today's political climate, is what method we shall use to institute the change back to a Constitutional form of government. UNCONSTITUTIONAL General search warrants are unconstitutional. The Fourth Amendment clearly states that ". . . no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." So, police need a separate warrant describing each place to be searched, each person to be arrested, and the specific things for which they are searching. Clearly, no fishing expeditions were to be allowed. But heck, a little thing like the Constitution cannot stand in the way of our all-powerful Department of Justice while on a mission. Well, can it? It didn't! Some federal judge issued what amounts to a general search warrant allowing the FBI to conduct searches throughout the country. Fifty-six field offices participated on this nationwide search, as well as state and local police. And, as of the report of December 12, they had conducted 207 searches in 20 cities. In this case, the question is not "why" the investigation is in progress -- the transmission of child pornography by computer -- but the tactics used. Shall a government agency be able to blatantly violate both the spirit and intent of our Constitution? If so, for enforcement of which laws? How often? And, how widespread (local or national) may the violation become? Americans have relinquished hundreds of rights and liberties to government's heavy-handed quest of enforcing drug laws. Now comes terrorism and pornography laws. And, with these new enforcement missions, there go even more of our rights and liberties. When will this end? You have a right to know. Ask them. FOX IN THE HEN-HOUSE Last Friday, Hillary and/or Slick Willie picked homeless advocate Andrew Cuomo to head up the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Actually, the establishment press says Gore recommended him for the position. But, Ozone-Head never, ever, speaks without permission of the co-president. Anyway, Andrew Cuomo, as you might have guessed by the name, is the son of this country's premiere socialist propagandist, Mario Cuomo. And, to help insure his political career, Andy married one of Bobby Kennedy's daughters -- who just happens to be a human rights activist. Andy and his wife have been begging tax money to support bums and other assorted social misfits for well over a decade. So, the Clinton administration made him Secretary of HUD; which, in effect, gives him free reign over the public checkbook. How's that for an administration said to be putting on a conservative face? YOU PAY FOR D.C. Around the beginning of December, Hillary announced that the District of Columbia would get more attention from the White House this term. It did. And it's about to get quite a lot more political attention, too -- over $10,000 of our federal tax dollars for every man, woman and child in the city. Last Monday, the White House presented a proposal to the D.C. Council which "gives" the city $4.7-Billion -- that's about $50 from each and every American taxpayer. And that's just for starters. There's more! The White House also proposed that the federal government contribute $350-million a year to the city's teachers, police and firefighters pension fund. Of course, that's pay-back for political favors. The teachers union contributed heavily to the Clinton campaign, and the police supported the various gun-grab bills. The White House also offered to send local prisoners to other federal prisons, saving D.C. another $300-million a year -- and passing along the bill to the rest of the country. Isn't it nice how the unelected co-president can pass out political favors that easily? That's the Christmas spirit, big time! Still, all of this was not enough for the local powers that be in the nation's capitol city. They also want the federal government to pony up $400-million a year to pay Medicaid, and take over about $1-Billion in city services. The total package comes out to just over $60 a year for every American taxpayer. And by the way, that is over and above the hundreds of millions of dollars of federal money D.C. already receives annually. Who says corruption, patronage and mismanagement in government do not pay! BECAUSE TEACHERS DO NOT TEACH Slick Willie is starting his tutoring program. Sounds like a laudable goal, teaching people to read and write properly. Teach the parents, and they can help their kids. Heck, some of the parents might even be able to get a good job if they learned to speak, read and write properly. However, that is not the administration's objective. The $2.7-Billion "American Reads" campaign will field 100,000 tutors to help little kids learn to read. You know, the little kids already enrolled in public schools. Obviously, the Clinton administration is admitting, albeit indirectly, that many of our public schools do not teach. Else, why would we need to spend $2.7-Billion teaching reading skills to kids already in school? Anybody else see a problem here that is not being addressed? PREPARING FOR THE NEW YEAR Below are toll free numbers for Congress (not verified). Use them to let all three of your Members of Congress know what you think. 1-800-962-3524 1-800-972-3524 1-800-872-8513 1-800-444-1555 And don't forget to send letters to newspapers. Most will now accept e-mail letters to the editor. Many newspapers can be found on the Internet at: http://www.cybermart.net/Newspapers/US_News/index.html A FLASH FROM THE PAST History repeats itself. Or, so some people say. The quotation below is provided because these words are very close to the public statements of Bill Clinton, Sarah Brady, Frank Lautenberg, Dianne Feinstein, Charles Schumer, and others in government who fear the American people. No further comment is necessary. . . . "This Year Will Go Down In History. For The First Time, A Civilized Nation Has Full Gun Registration! Our Streets Will Be Safer, Our Police More Efficient, And The World Will Follow Our Lead Into The Future!" -- Adolph Hitler HAPPY NEW YEAR Some say that all is lost in the United States. They would have us believe that the only way we can regain our freedoms is through the muzzle of a gun. But, if all is lost, how then can you be reading this? In a completely controlled, totalitarian society, the words of this newsletter would be classed as sedition. But here, today, they are not. We may (with a permit) assemble to petition government. We may (with some limitations) write and/or speak whatever we wish. Therefore, while we can, we must begin to educate all other American citizens. And let's give credit where credit is due. Newt recommended we all read "The Federalist Papers." Well folks, no matter what you think of him personally, that's an amazing thing for a modern politician to recommend! More recently, California has actually mandated that all children study "The Federalist Papers" in school. Wow! What's going to happen if American citizens start demanding that type of government? Will the president call out the Army, or what? No, the president will not declare martial law. If enough Americans demand the government designed by the authors of our Constitution, we will have it. Or, something close to it, anyway. But first, enough American citizens must demand it. Hopefully, a citizen's campaign designed with just that goal in mind will begin in 1997. All is not lost. Not at all. But there is a good deal of work that needs to be done to get that engine of government back on the right track again. "We" can do it. -- End --