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FR March For Justice II Grassroots Activism Toolkit
self & other FReeper help | 3/31/2005 | Blurblogger

Posted on 03/31/2005 6:20:55 AM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance

Join FR's Virtual March For Justice at your Desk!
Join the Local March For Justice in your Town!

Local Grassroots Activism Toolkit

If you CAN'T get to D.C. (and even if you CAN!) --

To ALL who stand for the American Republic,
One Nation, Under God, Subject to the Rule of Law,
which requires the execution of justice;
and the confirmation of judges for its execution:

Join FreeRepublic's VIRTUAL MARCH FOR JUSTICE II
April 6, 7 & 8 right in your community!

* at your Congressional Rep District Offices
* at media offices (especially talk show stations)
* at your keyboard, fax & phone!
* BACK at FR, create or join a MFJ II ACTIVISM THREAD for YOUR state!

CIVICS 101:
Government officials are our EMPLOYEES, let's TELL THEM what we want--Loud and Clear, Repeatedly, Continuously.  We must constantly, diligently WATCH to MAKE SURE they are representing US and not extreme special interest groups.  Our freedoms, taxes, safety and much more are direct results of good or bad choices at the polls....and between elections as
well.  Pray and ACT!  NOW IS THE TIME!

This nation is NOT of the judges, by the judges and for the judges!

And America MUST REMAIN SOVEREIGN, NOT SUBJECT to the whims of the Communist-supported United Nations/EU/International Law crowd.  Some of our EMPLOYEES have forgotten that.  Some of our EMPLOYEES are THE ENEMY WITHIN.  So, we are sending Delegates.  We need "AIR COVER" and "PRAYER COVER" for our mission's success.  PLEASE make three or more phone calls--and VISIT DISTRICT OFFICES IN PERSON if possible, to help promote the success of FreeRepublic's MFJ II.

FREEPERS: We need GRASSROOTS efforts IN ADVANCE and DURING the actual D.C. MFJ II event, to get local legislative and TALK RADIO and NEWSPAPER support, to maximize our impact.   Take at least ONE HALF HOUR at your computer and phone to help, whether or not you can get to D.C.,  using this "toolkit" for grassroots activism directed toward your Senators, Representatives and talk radio stations in your area.

NOTE TO ALL FREEPERS:  PULL TOGETHER!
FReepers, please post ABSOLUTELY NO remarks about Terri Schiavo or Judge Greer on this thread.  This is about the BIGGER PICTURE and is not the place for that.  Period.   It is high time we pull ourselves together.  Let's not be "divided and conquered" over the Terri Schiavo situation.  Consider I Corinthians 13, "The Love Chapter."  We must humbly choose to respect each other and refrain from namecalling and the broad-brush personal attacks.  For those who have been uncivilly treated, let us turn the other cheek and rise above, let us apologize, let us forgive, let us show a good example of how to disagree agreeably.  We must not eat our own.  We MUST focus on and effectively target the REAL enemy.  Remember, "When mud flies, everyone gets dirty."  There is a BIGGER PICTURE than just Terri and Florida.   Please LIMIT your posts to this thread to strictly: (1) Pinging (also FReepmail like crazy, especially your local activism stuff.)  (2) Posting additional resources of Nationwide relevance and (3) Prayers for the success of MFJ II and God's blessing on America.  Post STATE-SPECIFIC material on your State thread, see below.

NOTE RE: LOCAL (STATE) ACTIVISM INTELLIGENCE:
As we all know, there are lurkers who will be reading this thread and your STATE VIRTUAL MFJ threads.  For specific activism announcements, seriously consider using FReepmail and your State boards for the before-action information, to minimize disruptors and infiltrators.  Do post an After-Action report on your State MFJ thread.

HOW TO CREATE & FIND YOUR STATE MFJ THREAD:

Please use the SEARCH option if you don't spot your state thread.  If there isn't one, please ONE PERSON start a thread with Local March For Justice -- TX (or whatever state you are in)
PLEASE FILE AN AFTER ACTION REPORT under News/Activism, find that ONE thread for your STATE and everyone chime in on the first thread for your STATE.

NOTE TO PRAYER WARRIORS:
Those of you who are "Prayer Warriors," please pray for the success of this March, the open hearts and schedules of key leaders in Washington, and the safety of all who participate.  Those of you who are atheists among us, or agnostic, please bear with this request:  If there WAS no true God, if  the Bible was mere mythology, if there were not Divine authority in the Ten Commandments, and yes, if there was not forgiveness through Messiah, -- again IF--then why would there be such a obscessive-compulsive hatred of these by the radical Left?  Why would they be so dead set on quashing religious liberties that the ACLU version of the REWRITTEN Bill of Rights edits away our religious freedoms?  Truly there is absolute Good and those who strive for it--and Evil and those who revel in it.   

Who do you stand with? We must stand together with our Founding Fathers!   A big part of the judicial problem is that the ACLU is essentially a Congressionally subsidized EXTORTION RACKET using a loophole in Civil Rights legislation to file lawsuits anywhere they can dowse up some purported offense under their BIG LIE doctrine of "Separation of Church and State."  Thus there is a special section dealing with the ACLU/UN/Communism.  And be VERY aware that Hillary wants to restrict the Internet.  The U.N. wants control.  McCain-Feingold is already being used to attach free speech.  Read on....

IT'S TIME TO STAND UP AND FIGHT!
FReepers, please REMEMBER that our efforts, our protests are NOT insignificant. What people fail to acknowledge, though most know it down deep, is that taking a stand for something often means SACRIFICE. We must choose principle over convenience. Those who knowingly let our legislators sit around, unaccountable--or worse, support, even FUND! enterprises and organizations large or small that are hostile to God and Country -- aid and abet the Enemy Within.  We are going to INSIST our voices are heard--and insist that the WILL OF THE PEOPLE IS OBEYED.

One thing we CANNOT outsource:  Personally holding accountable our "Public Servants."  They talk nice, but DON'T turn your back on any of them!  Even the good ones can get sidetracked, while the bad ones get corrupted.   We cannot count on the traditional watchdog Fourth Estate, the Media, as we know that many among them  (but not all!) are PART of the problem and enemies within.

The Truth Is Marching On!

"It is time for us to act. Publicly and visibly. We each need to actively do whatever we can do. Posting here will gain us no more ground. We need to talk outside here, write letters, send emails, make phone calls, demonstrate, talk to our neighbors, and do other things. Whatever we can do.... Posting here is not enough. It is time to rattle the cage. A big rattle. Loud enough that it will get heard... I'm writing because I just heard about Philip Paulson and his court battle with the city of La Jolla, California concerning the display of a 29 foot cross that has stood since 1954. I cannot stand idly by with out making a comment...Folks we can't let these PC types get a hold on and strangle the very essence of this country. We were founded on a basis of religious freedom, we've fought for it, died for it and if we don't stand up to these PCers and Atheists, we're gonna lose it all..."  -- Recent post by FReeper Mathews


"People can blame the ACLU, the city council or the Supreme Court. The truth is, the people are at fault. They could easily exert themselves and stop this from happening, but they won't. They don't care enough about this country, or their heritage to make a stand...."  -- Recent post by FReeper jeremiah

"The frustrating thing is that those who are attacking religion claim they are doing it in the name of tolerance, freedom, and open mindedness. Question: Isn't the real truth that they are intolerant of religion? They refuse to tolerate its importance in our lives. If all the children of our country studied together all of the many religions in our country, wouldn't they learn greater tolerance of each other's beliefs? If children prayed together, would they not understand what they have in common, and would this not, indeed, bring them closer, and is this not to be desired? So, I submit to you that those who claim to be fighting for tolerance on this issue may not be tolerant at all. "  -- Former President Ronald Reagan

By the time our Delegates get to Washington D.C. on April 7, our mission is to have contacted every one of their District Offices and contacted every talk show host in the country! We need talk radio support from radio shows and the MAJOR support of friendly print media EVERYWHERE-to help make SURE we get the attention of-support of--and FOLLOW-THROUGH FROM-honest American legislators at all levels of government. By hitting the phones before, during and after the March For Justice II, we can enlarge and prolong the impact. Early publicity will help the actual MFJ event be larger, too.


PFAW Writes 5 Million Dollar Check To Obstruct Bush Nominees
People for the American Way (PFAW) -- the ultra left-wing group
founded by Norman Lear -- just wrote a $5 million check to
obstruct President Bush's judicial nominees.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg folks.

In addition to this $5 million nationwide television ad campaign,
PFAW has set up a huge 2,500 square foot "war room" in Washington
D.C. and they have deployed 75 of their 120 full-time Washington
D.C. staffers for this campaign of obstruction.

PFAW is also mobilizing 750,000 volunteers to man boiler-room
telephone banks.

And as if that were not enough, PFAW is leading a coalition of a
dozen of the heaviest-hitters -- a "murderers row" -- of the
liberal left to thwart our efforts to bring common sense, the
rule of law and justice back to our federal courts.

This "dirty dozen" of the left includes; Planned Parenthood,
NARAL, Moveon.org, the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights, the AFL-CIO and several other big labor unions.

I am not being melodramatic here folks -- to quote a line from
the movie The Godfather -- the left is "going to the mattresses!"
   from email sent from grasstopsusa.org

FReepers, are we going to go silently into oblivion?  NO !!!  Read on...

This Toolkit has a lot of information, so it is divided into SECTIONS as follows:
* CONGRESS
* JUDICIARY
* TALK RADIO, OTHER MEDIA/JOURNALISTS
* ACLU, the UN  & COMMUNISM
* GENERAL ACTIVISM RESOURCES

If you can get away from your desk or job--
Suggestion: Meet at your local courthouse or school flagpole at 7am your local time, or during your lunch hour or after work, whenever you can make it! Go to the "Boards" link and post messages to special threads that only FReepers in your state can see.

KEY DATES for COORDINATE ACTIONS: April 6,7 & 8 2005 -- Wednesday, Thursday and Friday  And keep dropping by and phoning those offices after that, forevermore!  "Out of sight, out of mind."  We've GOT to POLITELY focus their constant attention onto KEY ISSUES.  CONSTANTLY.

Local Activism MISSION: To pray for America, have coffee nearby, group into carpools and visit area Congressional Representatives (legislators (and optionally, governors, mayors, councilmen/women, media contacts etc.) Express support, insist on and support the Constitutional Option in the Senate and Congressional confirmation of Judicial Nominees....tort reform.....term limits....ENFORCING THE LAW....discipline or even close down activist Federal Courts, support public display of the Ten Commandments and all other instances of religious freedoms, etc. curb abuse of Judicial Activism....

STRATEGY: Visit your employees!  Start with the District Offices of your U.S. Senators!  (see below) -- every Congressional Office, especially GOP Senators, who need to KNOW we are URGING them.... On the way from the Congressional offices, stop at every possible radio station and newspaper. The more people who do this, especially at talk radio stations (visit key stations several times, talk to every host, get there an hour before they arrive and greet them and tell them where you've been! ) --- the more the grassroots wildfire will spread....note their exact response in writing and post an After-Action Thread for your state (one Thread per state, if someone else has done yours, please chime in on that one!)

NOTE: Meeting your Congressmen/Senator's STAFF especially IN PERSON and communicating with them by Fax, snail mail are all  good.  Take your talking points, be sure to cover as many as possible.  GET THEIR NAME.  If you are with them in person get their business card.  Keep it handy.


ACTION PLAN-- CONGRESS
Meeting your Congressmen/Senator's STAFF and communicating with them by Fax, snail mail is IMPORTANT. They keep track of things like this and give your Public Servant a summary of constituent concerns. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, the active constituents get the attention.
Plan of Action:
1. Go to the TownHall Web site and locate your Senators and Representatives
While you are there, ALSO sign up for the MegaVote weekly free email detailing your elected officials' votes that week, contact info and a heads-up about UPCOMING votes --
2. Note their Main District Office (not the D.C. one). If that office is too distant, find the small link below it and click for MORE DISTRICT OFFICES. Find the one closest to you.

3. Do this ESPECIALLY for both Senators, and also for the Representatives for your Congressional Districts.
4. Decide which are within driving distance. Allow time for traffic, parking etc. Use Mapquest, RandMcNalley or Google Maps (or a Thomas Guide, etc) to chart the office and figure out the best route
5. DEMAND RESULTS from your EMPLOYEE.  POLITELY FORCE YOUR WILL upon your PUBLIC SERVANT.  If your current Public Servant isn't willing to SERVE you, the Public, then we will hire somebody else.  TALKING POINTS for contacting CONGRESS to stop MoveOn and Liberal Senators from furthering Judicial Tyranny!
6. Start or join the After Action Report thread for your state.
7. KEEP IN TOUCH with your EMPLOYEES and post continuing information for your state on your state's thread.

Just to get you informed--and GOOD AND MAD, here are a few selected articles:
Pewgate: McCain-Feingold Lobbyists Bankrolled Fake Grassroots Movement

JURY POWER in the system of checks and balances (RELEVANT re: McCain-Feingold, our First Amendment and important historical perspective too): "...In a Constitutional system of justice, such as ours, there is a judicial body with more power than Congress, the President, or even the Supreme Court..."

What Congress Giveth, Congress Can Taketh Away -- Kay R. Daly

MOST IMPORTANT:  CONGRESS!  TAKE NOTES on what they SAY.  POST IT.  WATCH THEM 24/7.   Don't trust them out of your sight.  They have Attention Deficit Disorder.

SAMPLE TALKING POINTS:
  • I'm counting on the Senator to support the Senate Rule Change
  • I insist that the GOP use the Constitutional Option and get President Bush's judicial nominees confirmed without further delays.
  • If it means shutting down the whole Senate, let it happen.
  • Also, what is your position on ACLU and how they are extorting money under the Civil Rights code loophole?
  • What are you doing about it, specifically and when do you expect results?
  • What are you doing to protect our free speech and religious rights?
  • What are you doing about the huge problem of McCain-Feingold being used to quash free speech?

(Let them see you taking CAREFUL NOTES.  Phone them back every week forever, drop by their offices frequently.   READ THEIR QUOTES BACK TO THEM. -- These people suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder.)   HOLD THEIR FEET TO THE FIRE.  POST THE NOTES at FR on your state MFJ II thread!


ACTIVISM TOOLKIT--JUDICIARY

Stop MoveOn and Liberal Senators from establishing Judicial Tyranny!

The Judicial Confirmation Network - key group pushing hard to get President Bush's judicial nominees CONFIRMED and ONTO THE BENCH!

David Barton: Judicial Impeachment: Always an Option

WallBuilders | Resources | Impeachment of Federal Judges

Let's preserve the Constitution and start removing judges

JURY POWER in the system of checks and balances (RELEVANT re: McCain-Feingold, our First Amendment and important historical perspective too): "...In a Constitutional system of justice, such as ours, there is a judicial body with more power than Congress, the President, or even the Supreme Court..."

Rosen: Disdain for Constitution (re: judicial activism)

Rally against 50 years of judicial activism (recent PROPERTY RIGHTS protest)

What Is The Constitution? by Thomas Paine (Liberals, your so called judges are breaking the law)

Judicial audacity scales new heights

'Extreme' judicial activism

Its Time To End [THIS TYPE OF] Judicial Review (Ben Shapiro Agrees With Yours Truly Alert)

Evaluations Instituted For Judges Across Virginia Virginia is one of only two states in which only lawmakers select and reappoint judges-pros and cons...

Why Judicial Appointments Do NOT Matter

High Noon for Judges (Thomas Sowell)

The Supremacists-The Tyranny of Judges -- and How to Stop It--Phyllis Schlafly

MY IDEA RE: POPULAR LICENSING OF BAR/JUDGES if JUDICIAL REVIEW, BAR DISCIPLINE INSUFFICIENT:

Judicial Nominee Practiced Law Without License in Utah

Executing Juveniles:Judicial Train Wreck

Judicial Supremacists and the Despotic Branch...

The Dark Tower of Judicial Tyranny

Judicial Fiat Is Capital Punishment

Countries with Judicial Supremacy

The Judicial Fight against God and the People

Letter of Compaint to Florida's Judicial Qualifications Commission to investigate Judge Greer - consider it as a guideline for similar actions EVERYWHERE!

MOST IMPORTANT:  CONGRESS!    TAKE NOTES on what they SAY.  POST IT.  WATCH THEM 24/7.   Don't trust them out of your sight.  They have Attention Deficit Disorder.



ACTIVISM TOOLKIT--TALK RADIO, PRINT/MSM MEDIA
FReeper Tempest has a huge list of emails. write a note to as many as you can using the Talking Points.

Special Google News search that EXCLUDES CBS.com, MSNBC.com, ABC.com, CNN.com C-SPAN.com -- why give the MSM website hits to help support their advertising rates?

Get your phone book and turn to Newspapers in the Yellow Pages. Phone the News Desk, ask them to publish an announcement. Provide it to them as a typed letter or email, as they direct. Phone the newspaper Editorial Department. Speak with the Editor as a concerned citizen. Ask if they might run an Op-Ed column or Letter to the Editor from you. Follow through.

Do a Google or Teoma or Dogpile search for Talk Radio California or whatever state(s) you live in or near. Definitely look for Salem Communications, Clear Channel and independent stations as well as the MSM stations and affiliates.

Great advice for getting through--and staying ON, with talk show hosts!

US Newspaper List

Warp Radio MANY STATIONS contact info

Journalists need watchdogs too

WORST OF TIMES (NYT newspaper benefits fund faces "major financial shortfall")

When the Press becomes an Activist

Town takes revenge on (Dubya Hometown) paper that backed Kerry --Lone Star Iconoclast, Crawford, TX

Can Papers End the Free Ride Online?

News is bad all around for journalists [bemoaning pending demise of protected MSM monopoly]

Study: Craigslist Costs Bay Area Newspapers $50M/Year
 (note: Craigslist has long supported the Bay Area Progressive Directory, which is one of the biggest collections of Leftists available. DON'T support Craigslist!)

Tell the FCC to stop cutting deals with CBS (and EVERYONE!!!)

Punishing the Press [NY TIMES - EDITORIAL]

Support Builds for Shielding Reporters--Shield Law protecting source.  Used to be this was a good thing, when journalists were JOURNALISTS. Now, I'm not so sure....

MOST IMPORTANT:  CONGRESS!  TAKE NOTES on what they SAY.  POST IT.  WATCH THEM 24/7.   Don't trust them out of your sight.  They have Attention Deficit Disorder.



ACTIVISM TOOLKIT -- THE ACLU, THE UN & COMMUNISM

There is ABSOLUTELY NO QUESTION that the ACLU, the United Nations and Communism have common goals.  The question is, WHAT are we letting our Public Servants LET THE COMMIES get away with?!?

"In 1976, Congress passed the Civil Rights Attorneys Fee Awards Act, which was designed to encourage private lawyers to take on suits to protect civil and constitutional rights. The law provides that judges can order federal and state governments to pay legal fees to private lawyers who sued the government and won. The result has been a flood of civil rights cases in federal court. From The New American Feb. 2, 1987 FReepers can silence the ACLU with a bit of activism. We need to insist our Congressmen repeal this abusive law that allows the ACLU to get rich on harassing Christian America. Congress must repeal laws enabling the ACLU's Christian-hating activities. Cut off the ACLU's funds and watch them disappear. Here's what we can do. Under the aegis of the ACLU's Foundation---worth some $135 million---any number of financial travesties can be hidden. The IRS should determine whether the ACLU is properly accounting for all its tax-funded activities, whether it is inflating legal costs, and whether it is using tax dollars for the purposes stated. We need to know whether the ACLU is engaged in Enron-style accounting and spending practices. REFERENCE SOURCE FOR ARGUING REPEAL TO CONGRESS Apparently, when Congress contemplated the fee-shifting bill three decades ago, it never conceived that 42 U.S.C. §1988 would be used to secure fees in esoteric battles over the meaning of the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
    The statute gives a court "discretion" to award attorneys' fees to the prevailing party in civil rights cases. Study of the legislative history of the statute reveals that Congress intended this statute to apply to civil rights abuses, including certain race and sex discrimination cases, but not to arguments about whether Judge Roy Moore is allowed to display the Ten Commandments in the Alabama courthouse. During the deliberations on the bill, the Senate penned that "in many cases arising under our civil rights laws, the citizen who must sue to enforce the law has little or no money with which to hire a lawyer."[6] In the recent First Amendment lawsuits filed by the ACLU, the tables are turned. Small school districts and municipalities can either defend lawsuits and risk paying the ACLU's attorneys' fees if they lose, or they can voluntarily submit to the ACLU's view of the Constitution. Even if lawsuits over the establishment clause somehow fall within 42 U.S.C. §1988, the statute empowers courts with nothing more than "discretion" to award fees.
    In these cases, one would expect courts to withhold awarding fees. Since this is not happening, Congress must take immediate action to clarify 42 U.S.C. §1988 to explicitly exclude lawsuits related to the acknowledgement of God."
-- Recent post by FReeper Liz

JOE McCARTHY WAS RIGHT

Current Communist Goals (1958)

Psychiatrists devise 'depravity rating' to help courts decide on death sentences

In light of the 24 prior convictions and the repeated pleas for help, I have only one question: Why was John Couey walking the streets?!?.

U.N.-sponsored panel aims to settle a long-running tug of war for control of the Internet by July

HILLARY'S SECRET WAR (how she is trying to stifle FreeRepublic and other free speech--FOREWARD by Jim Robinson)

Men in Black by Mark Levin -- American judges who ignore the Constitution and dismantle the rights of American citizens in everyday court proceedings have an AGENDA.  This book exposes jaw-dropping examples of judicial power grabs and liberal power plays by judges who are TRASHING our Constitution.  (NOTE: CONGRESS has the power to fix most of this, again the first priority is CONGRESS)

Citizens Mobilized to Stop ACLU

Citizens mobilized to stop ACLU (seeks to consign group to 'ash heap of history')

Atheist Activists Look to Future During Easter Convention

$WEET CHARITY FOR EXECS AT NONPROFITS (IRS examining NPO salaries as illegal assets transfer)

ACLU finds pot of gold at the foot of the Cross

ACLU says 'No Thanks' The Ford Foundation says funding recipients must agree not to engage in activity that "promotes violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state." FEE ACCESS Chattanooga Times Free Press Archives

Nonprofits Fight Campaign Finance Plan (Leftist 527s)

Millions in grants, scant oversight State is auditing funds to nonprofits (how Dem's get money)

The Truth About The American Civil Liberties Union

EDITORIAL CARTOONS: ACLU

See how YOUR Senator or Representative ranks with the ACLU

San Diego Settles Boy Scout Suit-Gives ACLU $950,000   --  Center for Reclaiming America

Get ACLU off taxpayer dole--Legal group awarded $500,000.00 in tax dollars for ridding courthouse of 10 Commandments -- WorldNetDaily Petition

Blog of STOPTHEACLU.ORG

A.C.L.U.'s Search for Data on Donors Stirs Privacy Fears

Don't Retreat; Attack! (Joseph Farah Wants To See ACLU Perverts-Loving Gang Destroyed Alert)

Research Topic to suggest to Congress: IS THE ACLU A VEXATIOUS LITIGANT?

MOST IMPORTANT:  CONGRESS!   TAKE NOTES on what they SAY.  POST IT.  WATCH THEM 24/7.   Don't trust them out of your sight.  They have Attention Deficit Disorder.



GENERAL ACTIVISM RESOURCES

How to research front groups ("equal opportunity" -- opposition research resources for both Right and Leftists)

DiscoverThe Network: A Guide to the Political Left -- David Horowitz  AWESOME new site!

American Family Association -- Activism Resource downloads

Bloggers Go Big-Game Hunting ("CYBER-MCCARTHYISM")

THE QUESTION IS, "ARE THEY FOR US OR AGAINST US?" (thanks, FReeper CINDY!)

COVER LETTER FOR THE PROSECUTION OF JOHN F. KERRY

Right Wing News gives ad space to the UN (provocative Interview!)

Guidelines for Political Activities for Pastors and Churches (although the reference is to the 2004 election, the info is important--please pass this one ON for continuous activism in the Culture War!)

 The RenewAmerica Activism Handbook

Citizens In Charge -- in 24 states, so far, we have the citizen initiative process to overrule!

Local Grassroots Impact Made Easy!

1984 by George Orwell: searchable online version

Searchable Bible, many versions! (Turns Vampires and ACLU to DUST! )

An Open Letter to Conservatives by Morton C. Blackwell
in defense of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, under INTENSE DNC attack!



SEARCH ENGINES (Google gave 98% to DEMOCRATS LAST TIME!)
Vivisimo

Teoma

Dogpile

Alternative search engines to Google (FR thread)


Books to Read and Share, a few of MANY:
You Can Trust the Communists (To Be Communists) -- Fred C. Schwarz     (out of print)
None Dare Call It Treason -- John A. Stormer    (out of print)
Original Intent -- David Barton (Wallbuilders.com)
America: To Pray or Not To Pray?  -- David Barton (Wallbuilders.com)
Hell To Pay -- The unfolding story of Hillary Rodham Clinton -- Barbara Olson



Tried to balance "enough information" with "too much information" and this is what I came up with, with special THANKS to FReepers PilloryHillary, Kristinn, Liz, BD476 and Cindy...and thanks to Jim Robinson for Leading this March For Justice, and prayers,

Respectfully,

Blurblogger

Let's Roll !!!




TOPICS: Breaking News
KEYWORDS: activismtoolkit; cloture; constitution; constitutionoption; filibuster; judiciary; marchforjustice; marchforjusticeii; nuclearoption; scotus; senate; toolkit
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1 posted on 03/31/2005 6:20:56 AM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: PilloryHillary; kristinn; Liz; bd476; Cindy; Jim Robinson; Howlin; Southack; Peach; Alamo-Girl; ...

Please ping and let's ROLL!


2 posted on 03/31/2005 6:22:33 AM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance (ATTN. MARXIST RED MSM: I RESENT your "RED STATE" switcheroo using our ELECTORAL MAP as PROPAGANDA!)
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To: Blurblogger

Bumped and bookmarked. Thanks Blurblogger!


3 posted on 03/31/2005 6:27:03 AM PST by PilloryHillary (Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?)
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To: Liz; Do not dub me shapka broham; sauropod; Route101; ken5050; Mike Bates; Jhensy; yoe; ...

Ping lists, and ACTION! Let's ROLL!


4 posted on 03/31/2005 6:32:56 AM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance (ATTN. MARXIST RED MSM: I RESENT your "RED STATE" switcheroo using our ELECTORAL MAP as PROPAGANDA!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Blurblogger

Bump


5 posted on 03/31/2005 7:05:17 AM PST by PilloryHillary (Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?)
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To: Blurblogger; Alamo-Girl; onyx; ALOHA RONNIE; SpookBrat; Republican Wildcat; Howlin; ...
FR March For Justice II Grassroots Activism Toolkit


Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.


6 posted on 03/31/2005 7:13:03 AM PST by MeekOneGOP (There is only one GOOD 'RAT: one that has been voted OUT of POWER !! Straight ticket GOP!)
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To: PilloryHillary

Another suggestion to prevent "Persistent Judicial Vegetative Syndrome":

The Responsive Federal Judiciary Amendment

WHEREAS, especially at the federal level, we have seen all too many judges acting like little gods or at least absolute monarchs unbound by precedent, the plain language of the Constitution or statute, or indeed, much of anything but their own preferences,

WHEREAS, America was formed in order to throw off the shackles of absolute monarchs and will not tolerate their rule in any guise,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND PRESENTED TO THE LEGISLATURES OF THE SEVERAL STATES FOR RATIFICATION:

1. That the term of appointments of Federal Judges provided in Article III is hereby changed from "life or good behavior" to "not more than fifteen (15) years or good behavior".

2. [Option 1] This amendment shall not apply to the terms of Article III judges confirmed in their office [1a] at the time of the passage of this amendment by Congress [or] [1b] at the ratification of this amendment by the several States.

[Option 2] This amendment shall apply to limit the additional time in office of any Article III judge serving [2a] at the time of the passage of this amendment by Congress [or] [2b] at the ratification of this amendment by the several States, to fifteen years in that office from that said date.

[Option 3- the 'Nuclear Option'] Any Article III judge who, at the time of the ratification of this amendment by the several states, has served fifteen (15) or more years in that office, shall serve no more than one(1) year after the ratification of this amendment by the several States. [might create a logjam of confirmation proceedings in the Senate, use 2 years instead?] Any other Article III judge who is serving as such at the time of the ratification of this amendment by the several states, shall serve no more than the prescribed fifteen years from the date of their original confirmation. To the extent that this amendment might be inconsistent with the language prohibiting ex post facto laws, the latter language is amended to the extent inconsistent with this proposed amendment. [This last sentence might be unnecessary, I presume a later constitutional amendment overrides all existing inconsistent constitutional language by implication, e.g. 13th Amendment overrode all prior language regarding slavery by implication.]

3. Congress shall have the power to implement this amendment by all necessary legislation.


7 posted on 03/31/2005 7:35:22 AM PST by Rasker
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To: Blurblogger

Thanks for the ping!


8 posted on 03/31/2005 8:24:18 AM PST by Alamo-Girl
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To: Rasker
more articles on the proposed 15 year term for federal judges. Norm Ornstein makes the point that a limited term might help defuse the mounting controversies over each new Supreme Court appointment, since currently these amount to a lifetime appointment to a seven member House of Lords with the power to shake the nation to its core. A fifteen year term would reduce the importance of each appointment. (http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/articles_2004/life_tenure_judges.html) Rethinking Life Tenure for Judges Less-than life terms could help de-escalate nomination battles By Norman Ornstein First published by the American Enterprise Institute, November 2004 Could there be a more bitter stalemate in Washington right now than the Senate's standoff over judicial nominations? Democrats maintain that President Bush intends to use these lifetime appointments to create a conservative legacy that will outlast his administration by several decades. Republicans say that the Democrats' use of the filibuster to block Bush's nominees is minority rule gone wild and a finger in the eye of voters, who elected a GOP president and Senate. As matters now stand, nothing appears likely to break the deadlock. Senate Republicans have one weapon -- what Majority Leader Bill Frist and his colleagues have called the "nuclear option," because it would blow up the current rules requiring a 60-vote "supermajority" to end a filibuster. Essentially, Vice President Cheney would declare, in his role as president of the Senate, that judicial nominations can't be filibustered -- and then Senate Republicans would vote by simple majority to uphold his ruling. The Democrats would certainly challenge this tactic, saying that such rulings are themselves subject to Senate debate and therefore subject to filibuster and the 60-vote hurdle. New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer warned, "To implement the nuclear option would make the last Congress look like a bipartisan tea party." There is a better way to prevent this partisan warfare from going nuclear: Amend the Constitution to eliminate lifetime tenure in favor of single 15-year terms, at least for Supreme Court justices and federal appeals court judges. Whoa, you say. Lifetime appointments insulate the judicial branch from political influence, don't they? Not anymore. Is there anything more political than the Senate's unceasing battles over these nominations? Meanwhile, the nominees themselves have become politicized by the battles -- Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will always remain bitter over how the Senate treated him during his confirmation hearings. It's been 17 years since Senate Democrats blocked the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, and the ideological wars over the judiciary began in earnest. If the Senate can't figure out how to reach a truce in its battles over these all-important jobs, maybe the best solution is to make the jobs not quite so important. A 15-year term would still provide insulation from political pressure; that tenure is seven years longer than any president can serve. It would allow plenty of time for a judge or justice to make a substantial contribution while diluting the efforts of any president to project his views onto future generations. It has worked admirably well in other jobs that require independence to be effective -- for example, the Comptroller General of the United States. Lifetime tenure of judges is taken for granted and rarely discussed. That is understandable. It has been with us since the earliest days of the republic, when the framers embedded the concept in Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution. They viewed lifetime appointments not only as a necessary way to insulate judges from the other branches, but also as protection against undue influence from outside interests. They also saw a lifetime guaranteed income as a financial incentive that would attract and retain the most skilled and talented lawyers. The Federalist Papers provide a window onto their thinking. In Federalist 78, Alexander Hamilton eloquently argues that judges should remain in office as long as they exhibit "good behavior." In 1788, a year before the Constitution was adopted, he wrote: "The standard of good behavior . . . is certainly one of the most valuable of the modern improvements in the practice of government. In a monarchy it is an excellent barrier to the despotism of the prince; in a republic it is a no less excellent barrier to the encroachments and oppressions of the representative body. And it is the best expedient which can be devised in any government, to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws." The logic was impeccable -- at least for the 18th and 19th centuries. Now, though, lifetime tenure has serious drawbacks. It has created a powerful temptation to presidents to pick young ideologues, skewing the balance on the bench and leveraging a president's power for decades thereafter. And lifetime tenure ratchets up the stakes of each appointment, giving opposition parties more incentive to block as many presidential nominees as possible, whatever their ideology, to leave more lifetime slots for a future president of their own party. Moreover, lifetime tenure in the 21st century is no longer a financial incentive, but a financial drawback. Federal judicial salaries are currently barely more than a newly minted lawyer, just out of school, can earn at a major law firm. A 15-year term would limit the financial disincentive for serving on the courts -- for a younger person, there would still be plenty of time to build the nest egg to provide for a family and retirement; for an older person, it would become the final chapter of a career. Presidents would have a much wider array of talent to choose from if people in their sixties could be seriously considered for top judicial posts; many are now largely discounted because of the alternative lure of choosing younger nominees who can serve much longer. If these 15-year terms were staggered over time for Supreme Court positions, it would take away the variability that allows some presidents to fill several vacancies in one term, while other occupants of the Oval Office can go two terms without filling any. Presidents could have their say, but the luck of the draw or the actuaries would not be able to let them dominate policy into the next generation. It would also have another side benefit -- removing the motivation for justices to game the system, either by staying in office longer to await a compatible president, or retiring prematurely to ensure a like-minded replacement. Of course, going to 15-year terms would not eliminate rancor over nominations and, in the short term, neither side would see the change as being to their advantage. The Democrats, now facing a slew of nominations they view as ideologically unacceptable, wouldn't be terribly thrilled at the prospect of even 15 years of conservative influence. Republicans would be reluctant to give up the difference between 15 years and a lifetime. Moreover, it's hard to overestimate the resistance to changing the Constitution. But pushing for the change may be worth the effort, or at least the debate. The alternative is the nuclear option and its inevitable companion, mutually assured destruction. We have long accepted lifetime judicial appointments as a given. We shouldn't. The shift away from lifetime appointments just might bring the Senate back to a more conventional -- and constructive -- partisan conflict. Norman Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. November 15, 2004 Limited Terms for Federal Judges 2 Michael Williams Law & Justice http://www.mwilliams.info/archives/004911.php Clayton Cramer responds to my earlier post in which I argued that we should consider amending the Constitution to institute limited terms for federal judges of, say, 15 years, rather than give them lifetime appointments. This is a very tempting position to take, at least when conservatives seem to be in political ascendancy. I have a theory, however, that lifetime appointments for federal judges has a positive effect of buffering the rate of change--and this is actually a good thing, overall. Consider what happened when FDR tried to ram through the New Deal. A bunch of federal judges, including most of the Supreme Court, were appointed by Republicans, and had a view of the government's role that is often characterized (not entirely accurately) as "strict constructionism." They hindered substantially FDR's well-intentioned by foolish attempts at making the federal government master of the economy. They hindered FDR's efforts, but they could not delay them indefinitely. Still, without these delays, I suspect that FDR and Congress might have gone quite a bit farther down the road to government control than they did. My understanding is that "strict constuctionism" was coined by Richard Nixon and William Rehnquist during the former's 1968 presidential campaign, and I don't think any of the justices opposed to FDR closely aligned with the theory. (But Mr. Cramer is the historian, not I!) Anyway, I agree that long terms for judges are useful as a check on the other branches, but it's also important to remember that people lived much shorter lives in the 18th century when the Constitution was written. Who would have guessed, then, that in 2004 we'd have a Supreme Court with an average age of 70 years and not a single resignation in over a decade? Perhaps Mr. Cramer has some knowledge of the average amount of time served (before death or resignation) by federal judges in the 18th and 19th centuries as compared to the 20th and 21st. Update: Mr. Cramer responds via email, The term strict constructionist may be that young, but the theory it promotes--that judges should only use the explicit language of the Constitution in deciding what is Constitutional--goes back much earlier than that. I used the language that I did to emphasize that many of these judges didn't strictly follow their own theories on this. Take a look here for the duration of various chief justices of the Supreme Court. Marshall served for 35 years, from 1801 to 1836. That's a long time... probably too long, I say. According to the table, for whatever it's worth, Chief Justices nominated to the Chiefship in the 18th century served an average of four years, those nominated in the 19th century served 21.8 years, and those nominated in the 20th century served 11.75 years. This doesn't count time spent as a federal judge, if any, before being made Chief Justice. Really, these averages indicate nothing, other than the known fact that I like using Excel to play with numbers. I'd be very interested in a larger data set of federal judge tenures. Update 2: I just saw the earlierly-misposted comment by Tom Round who has some excellent data, quoting The New Republic: In 1787, the adult life expectancy was less than 39 years. Today the number is nearly double that. Stays on the Court have lengthened almost exactly in sync, the first nine justices… served an average of 8.6 years, while the last nine to leave… have presided an average of 16.7 years. With the median age of the population at 32 years, the median age on the Supreme Court is now 67.
9 posted on 03/31/2005 9:34:33 AM PST by Rasker
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Comment #10 Removed by Moderator

To: Rasker
. Norm Ornstein makes the point that a limited term might help defuse the mounting controversies over each new Supreme Court appointment, since currently these amount to a lifetime appointment to a seven member House of Lords with the power to shake the nation to its core.

Minor correction. There are 9, not 7 justices on the SCOTUS.

11 posted on 03/31/2005 10:35:21 AM PST by PAR35
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Comment #12 Removed by Moderator

To: Blurblogger

marking


13 posted on 03/31/2005 11:18:50 AM PST by djreece (May God grant us wisdom.)
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To: Blurblogger

BUMP!


14 posted on 03/31/2005 12:39:16 PM PST by potlatch (Does a clean house indicate that there is a broken computer in it?)
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To: Blurblogger

Bump


15 posted on 03/31/2005 3:31:52 PM PST by mdittmar (May God watch over those who serve,and have served, to keep us free.)
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To: Blurblogger

Bump


16 posted on 03/31/2005 4:41:12 PM PST by PilloryHillary (Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?)
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To: Prov3456

self-ping


17 posted on 03/31/2005 5:09:24 PM PST by Prov3456
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: MeekOneGOP

Thanks for the ping.


19 posted on 03/31/2005 9:29:09 PM PST by GOPJ (Liberals haven't had a new idea in 40 years.)
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To: Calpernia; All

Ping FYI


20 posted on 04/01/2005 5:17:30 AM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance (ATTN. MARXIST RED MSM: I RESENT your "RED STATE" switcheroo using our ELECTORAL MAP as PROPAGANDA!)
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