Heads Up

THE JUST-US DEPARTMENT

"Mr. Lee not only believes in preferences based on race and sex, but believes that any attempt to outlaw them, such as California's Prop. 209, is unconstitutional," The Washington Times reports. "That puts him at odds with most Senate Republicans, some Senate Democrats and the federal courts on that issue."

True. And this appointment places this guy -- who already stated quite clearly that he does not want to obey U.S. Supreme Court rulings and Constitutional law -- in a very powerful Justice Department position. This is a man who promises to use the full force of the federal government to pit American man against American woman, American Black against American White, and so on. In other words, he seems to fit right in with the Clinton & Gore program of splintering the nation so as to have an excuse to exert even more federal control over the American people.

As an NAACP Legal Defense Fund lawyer, Lee has said he favors a return to forced busing for kids as well as mandatory sex and race-based hiring quotas for adults. And, of course, he supports the lowering of academic standards in colleges and universities for unqualified "minorities." So, Clinton gave him federal officers with guns to enforce these unconstitutional and un-American practices. Typical!

"There will be major political fallout as a result of this appointment," Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson said. "While the designation of Lee as an 'Acting Attorney General' may not be a 'finger in the eye' of the Senate, it was at least an elbow in the ribs -- and it will have significant political repercussions."

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said that, "Senators will very carefully watch the actions of the Justice Department regarding racial quotas, preferences and timetables to ensure that the department complies with all laws and federal court decisions."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said that Lee will be among "the most congressionally scrutinized bureaucrats in history."

Folks, that's all baloney! The fact is, the Republicans got snookered. And anyway, they do not want to do anything about it, will not do anything about it, and probably cannot do anything about it. Oh sure, they'll jump up and down and spout off for a couple days, but that will be the end of it.

Anyway, those Constitutional issues Lee promises to violate don't mean a hill of beans in Washington anymore. The only time our federal officials get interested in the Constitution is when it benefits them (sorry Mitch) personally, or sounds really good in a speech (sorry Newt). This Congressional crew even passed laws that the Supreme Court already specifically told them were unconstitutional. So, don't look for any hoopla made about one Justice Department lawyer violating citizen's rights.

Let's face it, any member of Congress getting too serious about the Department of Justice's violation of the Constitution will soon receive an off the record message. The message will remind that Member of Congress that Justice has thousands of FBI agents to field, and some of them are always available to look into campaign finance violations, income tax irregularities, and whatnot. That "hint" will pretty much end any Congressman's "concern" about what the Department of Justice is doing.

For instance, if we go back to the Wilson v. Arkansas case a couple years ago -- where the Supreme Court said that police serving a search warrant must knock, state their business and wait to be let in -- we will find that the Justice Department itself has quite a large number of unconstitutional acts to its credit.

The fact is, Justice has violated that opinion thousands of times since then. There have also been thousands of complaints to Congress. Yet, we never once heard one word about that matter from any of the Lords and Ladies on the Hill. It's the law of the land, but it is also inconvenient for government agents. Therefore, as with any inconvenient law pertaining to government officials, it is ignored. Worse, there is no one to enforce it.

The same goes for the Constitution as a whole. Effectively, the Constitution has been a dead issue in Washington for many years.

Bill Lann Lee was suddenly thrust in at Justice and given a team consisting of dozens of government lawyers and nearly an unlimited number of men with guns with which to back up his socialist mischief. That could ultimately spell big trouble for many thousands of unsuspecting American citizens; American citizens who want little more from the federal government than to be let alone.

Congress has allowed Clinton to get away with ruling the country by decree. It is probably too late to change that now. And unfortunately, there does not seem to be a damn thing anyone can do to countermand his orders, no matter how unconstitutional they may be.

TIME TO HELP AN OLD FRIEND

I first came to know Sam back in the 1950s. I was just a young teenager then. He was already a prosperous adult. It was a good relationship for all involved in those days. Once in a while he would come around the old neighborhood and quietly do nice things for people. He never bothered anyone, and so was always welcome. Actually, he was just quietly 'there,' and everyone kind of liked and respected him.

Of course, he also had a reputation on the street. People said that he was quite the scrapper in his younger years and wouldn't take any aggravation from anyone. They also said that he once had a major physical crisis as a young adult that almost did him in. But most people believe that problem just made him stronger and more energetic later. In fact, a lot of the older folks still claim that his ability to overcome adversity was the real reason he became so prosperous.

But lately Sam has changed. He's not very nice to people anymore. Some say that he's getting paranoid in his middle years. And it looks like there is probably some truth to that. It seems like Sam is suddenly finding conspiracies everywhere, and no longer wants to trust anyone anymore. First, he hired armed guards for his offices and other buildings. Then he put up walls, fences and gates. After that he installed fancy security equipment just about anyplace it would fit. And lately, he started hiring investigators to check on anyone he thinks may have the slightest disagreement with him.

Sam has changed many of his business practices, too. He used to be pleasant and helpful with everyone who worked with or for him. Now he always seems wracked with anxiety and tries to micromanage every little detail of every persons job -- even their personal lives. And where once he was congenial and respectful of competition, he now takes an aggressive steamroller approach and tries to stamp it out.

On top of this obsession with control of everything, Sam has started to develop a strange dirt fetish. Suddenly he sees pollution everywhere. A little dust in the air, the sweet smell of burning leaves or wood, or even the pluming smokestack of a power plant, sets him off on a rant about the impending dangers of air pollution. He's even taken to arguing against everyday things like gasoline powered lawnmowers and backyard barbecues.

And lately he goes nuts if he thinks someone around him might have a gun. Of course, that's a joke in the old neighborhood, where nearly everyone has guns. Even the old folks joke that Sam has all those armed guards around him, but still fears anyone else having even a little pocket gun.

Some say that Sam has schizophrenia. There may be some truth to that, because he obviously acts like he has a split personality sometimes. Sam can be outgoing and gracious one moment and mean and obnoxious the next -- often to the very same people. One moment he asks for community involvement in his current projects, the next he has delusions that half of the community is out to destroy him. Sometimes he demands public disclosure of everything. Other times he becomes withdrawn, secretive and extremely aggressive with anyone seeking information.

The fact is that we neighbors have not changed much over the years. Certainly, we watch Sam more now than we ever did in the past. But that's because it is Sam who has changed, not all of us. The unfortunate truth is, Sam is actually starting to scare people. More and more, folks are staying just as far away from him as they can possibly get.

Yes, it's sad but it's true. Sam has changed a great deal over these past forty years. And after considered thought, I must confess that I agree: Our Uncle Sam really does act like he is in need of intensive psychiatric help. The problem is, no one dares tell him.

FBI OFFICES SEARCHED

That happened many years ago. And that chief of detectives was probably one of the most honest men I have ever met in my life. Yet, even back then, the subject of his scorn was the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was exactly right then, and still would be today. Characteristically, the FBI does not often tell the truth to anyone. Unless, that is, their "truth" makes the Bureau look good.

A few years ago, some idiot shepherded a bill through Congress making lying to the FBI a crime. To my way of thinking, they got it exactly backwards. What we need is a federal law making it a crime for any public official to tell a citizen anything less than the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But, that's another story.

Anyway, as evidenced by recent accounts of the antics in their laboratory and whatnot, it's not uncommon for the FBI to "rearrange" evidence to fit their preconceived scenarios and to completely disregard information that may contradict their case. And sometimes, they just do not wish to tell anyone -- including their bosses in the Department of Justice and/or the White House -- certain things. So, they do not.

However, sometimes they also get caught covering up evidence of a crime. And so it was with the information concerning the espionage activities of the Chinese government, which included the laundering of money into the 1992 and 1996 Congressional and Presidential election campaigns.

Last week, the Justice Department announced that teams of Justice lawyers and FBI agents will be sent to FBI offices to search for any undisclosed intelligence information needed for the campaign fund-raising investigation. "Undisclosed" is the key word there. Because, for some reason the FBI chooses to hide information of espionage by the Chinese government.

Usually, that would indicate that the FBI came by that information by illegal means. More specifically, the FBI probably obtained much of the information through illegal wiretaps placed in conjunction with the National Security Agency. And, because this information was obtained illegally, they did not want to admit to having it. So, they simply "lost" it.

Dec. 18, Reuters reported that: "Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder said the effort, ordered after the FBI failed to pass along intelligence information on alleged Chinese efforts to buy U.S. political influence, would be led by federal prosecutor Eric Dubelier."

"He is putting together some teams that will be going out into the field to look at the records that are contained . . . at FBI offices to make sure that we have acquired all of that information and have shared it with the appropriate people,'' Holder said.

Of course, Holder announced that these teams will not be searching the FBI offices until next month. . . . Evidently, the Justice Department wants to be sure that the FBI offices have plenty of time to get their records in order before they are searched. Oh, and remember that Holder also said he will insure that all information is shared with the Justice Department task force investigating campaign fund-raising irregularities and other "appropriate people."

No doubt these other appropriate people will ultimately include Clinton's White House legal staff, Hillary and some DNC attorneys. And certainly, they will exclude the Congressional committees looking into breaches of campaign finance laws.

Dan Burton, call your office. It's subpoena time again!

THROW THE BUM OUT

Yeah, we're talking about Tom Lantos, the Representative from that West Coast Communist Headquarters at Berkley. We thought readers might get a kick out of the antics of this jerk.

Lantos has been full of silly rhetorical nonsense for years. In 1995, while he did not quite call Republicans Nazis, he did publicly accused them of "goose- stepping." And during a committee hearing last year, he felt free to tell former White House security director Craig Livingstone, "with an infinitely more distinguished record than yours, Admiral (Mike) Boorda committed suicide when he may have committed a minor mistake."

Then last week, Lantos again became infamous for comparing Independent Counsel Don Smaltz's Republican Party enrollment with Kurt Waldheim's participation in the Nazi Party during World War II. "You remind me of the late and unlamented secretary-general of the United Nations, Kurt Waldheim, who also had a lapse in memory," Lantos charged. "He conveniently forgot several years when he was a Nazi."

That was when the story started to get interesting:

Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson jumped on Lantos' case with: "If you don't temper yourself soon, you'll become a national laughingstock," and demanded that Lantos formally apologize. (Hey Jim; he already is a national laughingstock!)

So, Lantos evidently thought he would defend himself on friendly turf. Lantos told The San Francisco Chronicle, "My comparison is totally valid. The more I think about it, the more I think I was totally proper and correct. If you for 30 years are a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and someone says, 'What are your views about racial issues,' and you say, 'When I was 15 I had a black friend with whom I played basketball' . . . you are not being truthful. If you overlook your involvement in the KKK, or the Nazi Party, or the Republican Party, you are lying. You are deceitful."

Whew! That didn't sound like much of a defense on this end. Rather, it sounds like he dug himself in even deeper. But then, he's a liberal, and they seem to be able to get away with anything nowadays.

Then, in a demonstration of a total disconnect from reality, Lantos wrote to Jim Nicholson, demanding that Nicholson apologize to him! Nicholson, of course, is refusing to apologize. He did, however, tell Lantos that he "would be well-served to tone down your incendiary rhetoric."

We could all ask the good people of California's District 12 to send someone less than a first class jerk to Congress. But, based on the demographics of that district, that is not likely to happen anytime soon. District 12 includes many of the less affluent areas in and around San Francisco. Therein live a few hundred old- time hippie activists and a plethora of other hangers-on and transients.

By the way, you can tell Rep. Lantos what you think of his style of inflammatory rhetoric. His e-mail address is: talk2tom@mail.house.gov Be creative; he is.

TAKING BACK OUR RIGHTFUL POSITION

According to Norman Davis -- 263 River Bend Lane Clarkson, Kentucky 42726 (Telephone & fax: (502) 242-6497) the "Take Back" movement is a coalition of groups designed to give people a greater voice in today's fast paced world of laws, rules, regulations and ordinances. "By coming together we can pool our resources, share legislative contacts, share information, form common goals, objectives and strategies with greater chances of being successful in the quest to achieve our goals," their literature reads.

Each participating group remains independent, and is not required to participate in any issue it does not agree with. Yet, each organization shares information on issues of it's concern with the other groups. There are no officers, per se, rather members of each of the participating groups provide a volunteer to the various committees.

There are already committees on education, property rights, free speech and media, morality and decency, and the Second Amendment.

The Take Back Kentucky group has been successfully involved in the campaign for concealed weapons permits, as well as a number of property rights issues. The group has also developed a good working relationship with Members of the State Legislature, and Members of Congress.

Norm Davis spends a considerable about of time helping Take Back groups form in other states, so if you are interested, feel free to call or write him.

Take Back Kentucky meetings are held at the Temple Church on 1104 Woodland Drive, in Elizabethtown, the second Saturday of every month. The meetings begin at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

The next Take Back Tennessee meeting will be January 17, 1998 at 10 a.m. in Knoxville, TN.

Directions: Take I-640 to the Broadway Exit. Turn south toward Knoxville downtown. Go under RXR bridge and turn left at first red light - K-Mart shopping center. Go through four way stop. The street dog legs hard to the right. About 100 yards on left will be a large brick auditorium, the "Faith Home Mission Church" - 4312 Whittle Springs Road. Enter through the side entrance.

E-mail Joe at SBurton3@aol.com for more information.

More on these Take Back groups later.