Well, the newspapers reported over 600 people in attendance of the UN Day Protest in Lansing this year, although other people there counted more than 1000. This many people despite the horrible cold and rainy weather.
There was a partial success this year, the Mayor raised the flag at 6:00am, before anyone even got there. The official reason was to "avoid confrontation," so said one cop I met later while eating lunch.
You can check out pictures of the event at our UNDay '97 page at http://www.militia.gen.mi.us/unday97. UNDay will be on a Saturday next year, so let's start making plans to attend! We'lll have to get there even earlier if the mayor is going to wimp out again. Stay tuned!
I was part of a contingent of four patriots from Tennessee who traveled to Lansing, Michigan, for the protest of the raising of the un (U.N.) rag over that cities municipal building, across the street from the state capital where the protest was held.
We left the motel early Friday morning and after breakfast arrived at the capital at 7:30am. As we approached the capital I must admit my mind was on the weather report I had heard earlier that morning calling for rain and a high of only 47 degrees on a Friday ...a day when most
Americans would be working. I wondered to myself if enough Patriots would brave the elements, as well as sacrifice time off work to actually make a showing of our stance against this global socialist cabal. (Hint: look up definition of cabal).
My fears were immediately dashed as we drove past the capital. I was treated to the site of a large number already on hand waving "Old Glory", carrying signs of protest, a large banner proclaiming Un = socialism, and several "un" flags with the red circle/slash many of which were laying on the ground being trampled. My adrenalin began to pump and we couldn't get the car parked soon enough to please me.
Jerry, James, Mike as well as myself piled out of the car and began gathering a large volume of materials we had brought along to pass out, as well as the Tennessee flag Jerry had brought along to represent our state. We proceeded with our arms full to the walkway leading to the capital steps and noticed several people mixed among the patriots wearing yellow nylon vests with the word "peacemaker" on them. We were informed they were there to keep the peace between supporters of the Republic and supporters of the United Nothing.
I scanned the area looking for any brainwashed idiots from that cabal who might need educating in what a sovereign Republic was all about and I could find none yet, but I was sure they would appear whenever their ceremony would commence.
Though it was more than an hour before the program would start the time passed so quickly as we fellowshipped with like minded Patriots and passed out copies of Constitutional gun & driving permits, cards in support of HR 27 Citizens Self Defense Act, cards in opposition to S10 just another gun grab bill, my sets of documents pertaining to tyranny, as well as copies of the book Restore the Republic by Tom R. Henley
(http://www.sbacenter.com/proj-1.html).
Joe Pilchak took the podium and called forth a minister to open in prayer after which a young home-schooled girl led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to this great Republic for which we stand! Many home schooled children were present to witness this auspicious occasion.
Quite a few speakers took to the podium proclaiming American sovereignty. One of them a young Marine who was now fresh out of the service, wore his dress blues and spoke quit eloquently about America while denouncing the "un". Three others were men of the cloth and several others representing both militias and patriotic citizens.
It was announced by Joe Pilchak that the mayor of Lansing, Mr. Hollister, had the "un" flag raised at 6am that morning to avoid any confrontation.
Yet, as noted, these so-called peacemakers were on hand and again I scanned the area to look for supporters of the "un" and saw none.
The police were there w/o riot shields as in years past, although the flagpole was cordoned off with about 25 officers inside the contained area. (Let's call it a compound; City hall that is). Atop the compound was a robotic camera scanning both the compounds' protesters and their compatriots across the street at the capital building, which by this time was in a sea of patriotic citizens. We had passed so many cameras and towers on our way up from Tennessee, that I was little concerned that yet another was recording my presence at this patriotic event. Matter of fact it made me prouder than ever to be a Patriot. If that denotes me once again as a "Resister for the Cause of Liberty, I am indeed proud.
(Note: I was just up in Michigan in August and there were even additional cameras and towers since that trip).
The lack of un supporters reminded me of a protest a couple of years prior that my wife and I had attended in Dallas, Texas, which was touted as a great "un" seminar. Yet there were hardly any attendees, BUT quite a few protesters! What is the deal I thought to myself... where are all their supporters for this big global monster? Was there indeed a support rally planned by them?
I was truly proud of the honor guards for this demonstration of support for America as they held their flags at attention for such a long period of time in the cold weather. Some of this contingent held a large American flag behind the speaker's podium and after several hours I was honored to be able to relieve one of them.
I was truly amazed at how many people had stayed out in the cold for 6 and 7 hrs to proclaim the Republic and a cry rang out several times that day, loudly proclaiming, NO un, NO un, NO un!
I'm quite sure it reverberated thunderously throughout this American City.
I have never seen the desecration of so many of those ugly blue and white flags in all my life.
After the conclusion I was reunited with a friend from across the state whom I had met on my trip up in August, being the guest in her and her husband's home...socializing with other friends and Patriots of like mind. Jan had brought along a friend as well and the six of us made our way a few blocks down to a restaurant that many of the organizers were going to and we had a joyous celebration over dinner.
After dinner although it had begun raining. We all decided to walk on down to locate the "un" bookstore we heard was nearby. It turned out to be what was later determined to be 2 miles from where we had started out from the capital steps. Jan was a real trooper in spurring all of us on to continue the long walk. I found out that despite a current bout with pneumonia, this tough lady Patriot was not going to be denied the chance to gather some of the enemy's material.
We finally arrived at the store located at: 2010 East Michigan Avenue, the one with a phone # (517) 485-4324, in case you want to call them and say something obscene like: "GET the un out of the US" or "Socialist pigs, Go home..." Enough, fill in your own blank or select a
favorite phrase.
We gathered much info I will share in a moment, but first let me share with you this info gathered from their own flyer titled commUNAcator.
On page 2 it clearly says: The un and American flag raising on city hall plaza ceremony will be Friday Oct 24 at 10am, adults and school children are encouraged to attend. But where were they? Can it be this cabal's power comes strictly from the elitist powerbrokers? Can it be, they wish to project an image of mass support that isn't there? Can these people be defeated? They darn sure were on this day in Michigan. A battle was won and it's great to be able to proclaim it! Can we defeat them in this WAR to remain sovereign?
You better believe we can, as long as we don't sit back on our laurels and allow them to continue to put on the mask of peacekeeper and flex muscles they don't yet have. Let's continue on the offensive and run these tyrants back to their socio/communist homelands!
Some of the other literature we picked up includes their book
"Planethood" which asks: Do you want to reduce your tax burden?
Create Worldwide Prosperity? Eliminate International war? Rescue the Environment? Stop Terrorists and Hostaging? Preserve Liberty and Freedom? Give your Children a future? Reform the United Nations to
Enforce International Law?
To this we respond: Who needs you... communist? Get them OUT of the uSA!
In a membership pamphlet they make many claims of wonderful things they have done such as: moved the environment, sustainable development, and human rights to the top of the international agenda, forged agreement on 300 treaties, cooled hot wars etc. I note they didn't list roasting a Somali child over hot coals, or the many rapes and murders their people have committed over the past 50 years. This pamphlet is from United Nations Association of the United States of America or UNA-USA.
UNA-USA is an association whose programs include the model united nations program for high school and college students. These UNA-USA partnerships include the following partial listing. American Humanist
Assoc., American Federation of Teachers, NEA, American Baptist Churches, YMCA, YWCA, United Methodist, Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church, NOW, Planned Parenthood, Salvation Army, Sierra Club, IBEW, AFL-CIO, World Federalist Assoc., AARP, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Episcopal Church USA, Intn'l Catholic Child Bureau, United Steel Workers, Zonta International etc., etc., etc. until you want to puke. Leaders who have sold out their members and their Country. Better sit your pastor or union leader down and educate them, or run them out of town on a rail.
A UNAGRAM which states call your congressperson and have the USA pay the required dues and volunteer to the UN over 3 billion in total owed they claim. Let's save 3bil and send them packing instead. They owe us money, so lets call it even and send them home.
Exhausted, we climbed in the car for the long drive home, as we savored every memory of the day's victory over the un in Michigan. Support the Militiagan!
GET US OUT OF THE un, GET THE un OUT OF THE US!
You know that doctors and lawyers, as well as your stockbroker, have to be licensed. But have you gotten your license yet for Johnnie and little Sue to go trick-or-treating?
Yes, indeed, in the most recent of a long series of critical government steps to insure the public's welfare, some municipalities are now requiring trick-or-treaters to get a license before stumbling up to the neighbor's doorstep.
In Bridgeport, Ohio, the city council was nervous that out-of-town
trick-or-treaters might overwhelm the local penchant for generosity. Kids age 14 and under are required to register with the city and get an orange pass before they begin their rounds.
If the city really wanted to contribute to the spirit of Halloween, they could start jailing violators of the new rule. THAT would teach the little tykes who's boss.
Of course, Halloween in Bridgeport won't actually take place on Halloween Night. Traffic's pretty bad on Friday night, you see, so the town moved Halloween from Friday to Thursday night.
Of course we applaud the farsighted wisdom of Bridgeport, and we'd like to suggest similar improvements that could be instituted throughout the holiday season.
For instance, we hope that Bridgeport and other progressive enclaves will institute mandatory medical check-ups prior to the gorging that normally takes place on Thanksgiving Day. A "No Seconds" rule might be wise.
Furthermore, if Christmas celebrations were moved to early January it could enable Bridgeport's citizens to take better advantage of those excellent sales beginning on December 26. Some traffic rules for elves and reindeer are also long overdue. And is it really safe to have Saint Nick going down all those chimneys?
We all know what a hazard the roads are on New Year's Eve, what with all the drinking and driving. Sensible towns and cities will make sure that New Year's Day is celebrated on, say, January 7th.
Here at the Daily Outrage we've already begun our preparations for next year's Fourth of July celebrations, to be held sometime in late August.
Read more about today's Outrage in the CNN Story:
The Sept. 22 edition of the Washington Weekly ran this brief, Sept. 17 speech from the floor of Congress, by Rep. Ron Paul, one-time Libertarian presidential candidate, now Republican of Texas. For once, I can find nothing to add:
Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, another Member severely criticized me on the House floor for declaring on C-SPAN that indeed many Americans justifiably feared their own government. This fear has come from the police state mentality that prompted Ruby Ridge, Waco and many other episodes of an errant federal government.
Under the constitution, there was never meant to be a federal police force. Even an FBI limited only to investigations was not accepted until this century. Yet today, fueled by the federal government's misdirected war on drugs, radical environmentalism, and the aggressive behavior of the nanny state, we have witnessed the massive buildup of a virtual army of armed regulators prowling the States where they have no legal authority.
The sacrifice of individual responsibility and the concept of local government by the majority of American citizens has permitted the army of bureaucrats to thrive.
We have depended on government for so much for so long that we as people have become less vigilant of our liberties. As long as the government provides largesse for the majority, the special interest lobbyists will succeed in continuing the redistribution of welfare programs that occupies most of Congress's legislative time.
Wealth is limited, yet demands are unlimited. A welfare system inevitably diminishes production and shrinks the economic pie. As this occurs, anger among the competing special interests grows. While Congress and the people concentrate on material welfare and its equal redistribution, the principals of liberty are ignored, and freedom is undermined.
More immediate, the enforcement of the interventionist state requires a growing army of bureaucrats. Since groups demanding special favors from the federal government must abuse the rights and property of those who produce wealth and cherish liberty, real resentment is directed at the agents who come to eat out our substance. The natural consequence is for the intruders to arm themselves to protect against angry victims of government intrusion.
Thanks to a recent article by Joseph Farah, director of the Western Journalism Center of Sacramento, CA, appearing in the Houston Chronicle, the surge in the number of armed federal bureaucrats has been brought to our attention. Farah points out that in 1996 alone, at least 2,439 new federal cops were authorized to carry firearms. That takes the total up to nearly 60,000. Farah points out that these cops were not only in agencies like the FBI, but include the EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Even Bruce Babbitt, according to Farah, wants to arm the Bureau of Land Management. Farah logically asks, "When will the NEA have its armed art cops?" This is a dangerous trend.
It is ironic that the proliferation of guns in the hands of the bureaucrats is pushed by the antigun fanatics who hate the second amendment and would disarm every law-abiding American citizen. Yes, we need gun control. We need to disarm our bureaucrats, then abolish the agencies. If government bureaucrats like guns that much, let them seek work with the NRA.
Force and intimidation are the tools of tyrants. Intimidation with government guns, the threat of imprisonment, and the fear of harassment by government agents puts fear into the hearts of millions of Americans. Four days after Paula Jones refused a settlement in her celebrated suit, she received notice that she and her husband would be audited for 1995 taxes. Since 1994 is the current audit year for the IRS, the administration's denial that the audit is related to the suit is suspect, to say the least.
Even if it is coincidental, do not try to convince the American people. Most Americans, justifiably cynical and untrusting toward the federal government, know the evidence exists that since the1970s both Republican and Democratic administrations have not hesitated to intimidate their political enemies with IRS audits and regulatory harassment.
Even though the average IRS agent does not carry a gun, the threat of incarceration and seizure of property is backed up by many guns. All government power is ultimately gun power and serves the interests of those who despise or do not comprehend the principles of liberty. The gun in the hands of law-abiding citizens serves to hold in check arrogant and aggressive government. Guns in the hands of the bureaucrats do the opposite. The founders of this country fully understood this fact. -- Ron Paul, R-Texas
While whites and African Americans hold opposing views on whether or not discrimination still exists as deeply as in the past or whether set aside programs are still needed, there appears to be developing consensus on some key issues: Support for a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on race color, gender, or ethnicity.
Race should not be a factor in student admissions or government employment the need for extensive outreach to ensure that all qualified individuals are treated fairly on public sector contracts, jobs, and admissions government preference programs are tearing this nation apart.
Those were the highlights of a survey of 1212 likely voters nationwide was conducted from Sunday, June 1 through Wednesday, June 4, 1997.
To be sure, whites and African Americans arrive at their conclusions from two different world views. Nonetheless, their agreement on the language regarding the purpose and impact of non-discrimination policies and their impact allows for further efforts toward building bridges on the details.
Other highlights:
About four in five American voters, including the same percentage of African Americans, favor legislation that prohibits government discrimination and preferential treatment on the basis of race, color, gender, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, contracting, or public education.
The depth of support is equal in all regions, as well as among all political parties, all age groups, all religions, and both genders. Of special significance is the support of such legislative wording among 78.7% of African Americans.
Two in three support Presidential action that do the same thing. Support among African Americans (59.2%) is only slightly less than among whites.
African Americans and whites disagree on the degree of racial discrimination now as compared to a generation ago. Overall, 54.5% feel that there is less discrimination today, while 14.8% say there is more. About three in five whites but only 35.1% African Americans think there is less, and 12.3% of the whites and 26.6% of the African Americans say there is more.
Using the forum of the Detroit Economic Club, Governor John Engler unveiled an initiative to boost work preparation by school students that he said will help make Michigan's students ready for future jobs that require technical expertise but not necessarily a college degree.
The career preparation system would not be required of all school districts, Engler said, but in those districts establishing the program, it would better integrate academic, technical and real-world work-site experience for students. It is intended to build off the vocational education systems now in schools, but teach more appropriate lessons for future jobs, he said. Instead of just teaching student welding, which is no longer a major marketable skill, Engler said, a student in the career preparation program would learn the mathematics necessary to guide a robot that does welding.
Mindful of conservative critics of school-to-work programs who have argued that they are designed to direct children into labor, Engler said the program was not designed to stream children into occupations or to limit their options. Nothing in the program would prevent students from going to college, he said. But it would also provide them real work experience that would make them more marketable to future employers.
The career preparation program was first announced by Engler in his State of State Address in January and $10 million was allocated in the 1997-98 budget to begin the program. The program was established in an executive order signed by Engler.
Currently, much of general education is directed at guiding students to college, but only 25% of all high school graduates receive a bachelor's degree, Mr. Engler said, and 40% of all students do not go to college at all. In addition, it is getting more difficult for students to get jobs in their degree fields. He said, "the push towards college needs to be tempered with a recognition of other skills."
"I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace, two a law firm, and three or more become a congress." ---John Adams.
He accused President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore of being silent on the Chinese Communist government's abuses of its own citizens, including Catholic priests and Protestant pastors. Mr. Forbes challenged Mr. Clinton and Mr. Gore to use the "bully pulpit" to speak out before Chinese President Jiang Zemin's scheduled visit to Washington this week.
"We should be ready to impose sanctions against companies owned by the Chinese military," he told an enthusiastic audience of public policy experts at the Heritage Foundation.
He said Mr. Clinton should use the threat of sanctions "to our advantage and press [Mr. Jiang] on these issues."
Mr. Forbes -- who gave Bob Dole a scare in last year's GOP presidential contest -- took the occasion on Oct. 21 to rip the Chinese government for a long list of transgressions.
His list included slave labor camps, involuntary sterilization of women, forced abortions, execution of prisoners to get body parts for sale, "death-factory orphanages" and imprisonment of Catholic and Protestant clergymen.
"The Clinton-Gore 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' policy toward China is galling," Mr. Forbes said, reminding the audience, "I strongly support open trade, but we must not be blind to injustice." Mr. Forbes argued that selected trade sanctions are a reasonable and appropriate foreign policy weapon that doesn't turn a blind eye to abuses but stops short of all-out economic war against nations whose policies the United States opposes.
At a luncheon with reporters and Heritage officials after his speech, Mr. Forbes fielded questions about his emphasis on social and moral issues and the consistency of his pro-life position.
He agreed that it is "logical" to rule out exceptions for an abortion ban based on his belief that all life begins at conception. The right to life is "Creator-endowed," not "state-endowed," he said. "Government's role is to protect that right, not casually dismiss it. This is a matter where life trumps liberty."
But, Mr. Forbes pointed out, 99 percent of abortions have nothing to do with rape or incest, and getting general agreement on banning that 99 percent should be the first task for the pro-life movement. He added that the order in which the Declaration of Independence lists the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is no accident.
"It is the linchpin of Western civilization," Mr. Forbes said.
"Switch the order, putting happiness before liberty or liberty before life, and you end up with moral squalor. Deny the God-given nature of these rights and you open the door to tyranny."
He parted with much of the business community in endorsing legislation, sponsored by two Republicans, Rep. Frank R. Wolf of Virginia and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, that would apply a variety of sanctions to nations that oppress religious worshippers. "It is a good move, particularly if its language on trade is targeted to products used in torture or violence and if its sanctions focus on terminating aid," he said.
Keith A. Fournier, president of the Catholic Alliance, said, "What I heard three times in this speech today was that from conception to natural death, life is to be defended. It's the clearest I've heard, and I'll tell you, it brought joy to this Catholic's heart."
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A Federal Police Force is Unconstitutional
By Vin Suprynowicz
Americans Favor Race, Gender Free Laws
Americans as a whole oppose government programs based on racial preferences and they favor legislation that would make hiring, contracting, and college admissions in the public sector race and gender free.
Career prep system unveiled
Official Michigan, October 13, 1997 [emphasis added]
Steve Forbes on Chinese Atrocities
Steve Forbes departed from his strong support of open trade on Oct. 21 to urge that the Clinton administration threaten China with trade sanctions over its human rights "atrocities." The magazine publisher, widely expected once again to seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2000, also said he supports a constitutional amendment to outlaw abortion except for rape, incest and the life of the mother. But he acknowledged that the exceptions are inconsistent with his view that life begins at conception.
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