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The Tip Of The Iceberg
ROAR ^ | Aug 10, 2007 | By Sterling H. Saunders

Posted on 08/12/2007 4:45:55 PM PDT by Jim Robinson

The Tip Of The Iceberg

By Sterling H. Saunders

A week ago Jim posted information from our web page pertinent to our plan to Repeal the 17th Amendment. In it we had stated our reasons to be centered on a government run amuck. The following examples are just the tip of the iceberg. For every one you see here there are hundreds more in the same category. In some instances, thousands. Therefore, we believe we have a sound basis for doing what we're doing. Some of the examples are simply stupid or ridiculous. At the other end of the spectrum some are teeth-gritting-pound-the-table-in-anger outrageous.

1. During renovation of a building at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona removal of old carpeting raised some old tile. Believing the tile probably contained asbestos, officials immediately halted the operation, sealed the building and notified the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality. Tests confirmed the presence of asbestos and a certified contractor cleaned it up so that Pima County, one year later, certified the hazard abated and forwarded it's findings to the EPA. Two years later, the EPA imposed a fine of $81.020 on Davis-Monthan, which took it to court. So, even though the exposure could not be anticipated, was inadvertent and Davis-Monthan followed prescribed procedures to the letter. two crews of attorney's and the courts were involved for more than three years to decide whether the United States Government (Air Force) should pay an $81,020 fine to the United States Government (EPA) Davis-Monthan lost.

2. An armed DEA agent followed all the procedures necessary to carry his loaded, concealed weapon aboard a domestic commercial airline flight. At the security check point, TSA agents dutifully honored his right to proceed with a loaded, concealed handgun, but took his fingernail clippers away from him.

3. At dusk, inside the house, a sheep rancher noticed a grizzly bear angling towards sheep he had penned up near the house. He grabbed his rifle, went outside and yelled at the bear, which changed course and charged him. He shot it. It turned and fled. In the morning, finding blood spots on the ground, he decided he better track the bear and dispose of it. Having a wounded grizzly in the neighborhood is not a comfortable situation. He wasn't even out of sight of the house when the bear charged him. He fired once, twice, three times. On the fourth shot the bear went down, just a few yards from him. He reported the incident to Fish & Wildlife. They came out, recovered the carcass and later confirmed this was a bear they had trapped and transplanted locally because it had been killing sheep in another area. Autopsy revealed sheep remains in its stomach. Fish & Wildlife fined him $10,000 for killing an animal on the endangered species list. He appealed. Fish & Wildlife reduced it to $4,000 but would not eliminate it, because "if you had not been where you were it would not have been necessary to kill the bear."

4. Having noticed yellow holes in the snow at the top of the chairlift, the new owner of Donner Ski Resort installed restrooms. But, because these are "Public" restrooms, as required by regulations written in response to the Americans with Disabilities Act, there are wheelchair access toilets in the restrooms at the top of the chairlift at Donner Ski Resort.

5. "Second hand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer," so said a report issued by the EPA, designating it as a Class A Carcinogen. This report has been used by anti-smoking activists to persuade and even bully City Councils, County Commissions and even State Legislatures to enact draconian smoking bans. Following a wave of statisticians and medical authorities protesting the report for faulty statistical analysis, it went to court, where a Judge, after examining the evidence, promptly saw how the EPA, instead of making policy dictated by the data, altered the data to fit policy. Eleven separate studies had been conducted to measure the incidence of lung cancer in spouses of patients. Ten of the studies showed no difference. One of them showed a 20% increase. The EPA combined them all and averaged. Based on that average, announced 3,000 annual deaths from lung cancer attributable to second hand smoke. Back-checking the sources, showed a higher incidence of exposure to asbestos in the one study

6. Sick and tired of the EPA's punitive policy of levying fines and bringing criminal charges, one by one, States started enacting laws allowing businesses to self audit emissions and make corrections without suffering Penalties. After all, the purpose of the clean water and clean air acts was to clean up the environment. Right. Not according to EPA actions. They went ballistic with bullying and threats of retaliation. A few Legislatures, rather than incur the wrath of the EPA caved to the pressure and did not pass the proposed legislation. After one Legislature caved in to the threats, one of the members said, "It always disturbs me when state law is dictated to us by the feds." Always?

7. In Massachusetts, the Salvation Army gave two Spanish Speaking employees one year to learn English or be fired. They didn't and were fired. EEOC filed suit against the Salvation Army claiming the employees had suffered "emotional pain, humiliation and embarrassment" as a result of the English-only policy.

8. How do you like the "Gun Free Zones" and "Zero Tolerance" in the public schools? An armed security guard at a nearby housing complex chased a burglar who ran into and through a school. When apprehended, the burglar was charged with misdemeanor possession of a knife. The Security Guard was charged with a felony, possession of a firearm on school property.

9. In 1993 the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers produced a record flood, inundating thousand of acres of fertile farmland. It just kept coming and then the rains came. There were no crops that year. When the floodwater finally receded the ground was so saturated that the low spots in the fields became ponds. Migrating waterfowl in the fall made good use of them. They froze over in the winter. When spring came the aquatic plants brought in by either the floodwaters or the waterfowl grew profusely in these ponds. The farmers were not allowed to plow or plant in the 40 and 80 acre fields containing those ponds because, now, they were protected wetlands.

10. William Pierce owned an Engineering Consulting firm with 40 employees billing an average of $1.7 million annually. Now, he has lost his home, is in debt for $100,000 worth of legal bills and his business is gone. What was his "crime"? He allowed his salaried employees to take time off to play golf, go fishing, go shopping, whatever they wanted to do providing they made up the time before payday. If they didn't and had not called the deficiency vacation time, he would deduct an hourly rate based on their salary. Department of Labor informed him that he had violated federal labor regulations, owed $3,100 reimbursement to employees and was being fned $50,000, because flextime was illegal. Made no difference that DOL had not notified employers of that critical fact.

11. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized a 4,346-acre ranch owned by the Jones family in Glades County, Florida for allegedly allowing their property to be used as an aircraft-landing site by cocaine smugglers. What was the evidence. An aircraft crashed a short distance from the ranch, killing both occupants. There were no drugs in the airplane, but DEA figured it had been headed for a landing at the Jones Ranch. The Ranch was seized and held for six years. Jones finally won and was awarded attorney fees, but no one is going to be required to pay for the deterioration damage done by six years of neglect. They were never charged with a crime, but it took that long to get their property back.

12. A $300,000 home was part of the estate left by George Gerhardt. As soon as the will was probated, the heir called the executor of the estate and informed her that U.S. Marshals had seized the house and rented it to a tenant. When the executor made an inquiry, she was told that a "confidential informant" who was in prison had said Gerhardt had taken a $10,000 payment to allow drugs to be unloaded on his property, but that's all they would tell her. Even at the trial, the government refused to offer any evidence other than the accusation made by the informant and continued to do so until the judge threatened some pretty severe sanctions unless they did. They couldn't. It took the judge about an hour to order the property returned to the heir, the rightful owner.

13. Billy Munnerlyn and his wife owned a prosperous Air Charter Service in Las Vegas. He had hauled movie stars, dignitaries and even U.S. Marshals transporting convicted terrorists to prison and was well thought of in Las Vegas for his willingness to donate his services for worthy, charitable causes. On a seemingly routine flight to Ontario, CA he was met by DEA agents who seized his Lear Jet and arrested him and his passenger who happened to be a drug dealer carrying $2.7 million in his luggage. It took him nearly three years to get his airplane back, but it was in such a state of disrepair that it would take $140,000 to refurbish it, money he no longer had. But his troubles didn't end there. The DEA had put him on a list of possible drug runners and money launderers which prevents him from getting a flying job. Now he's a truck driver.

14. Waco, Ruby Ridge, Richard Jewell, Steven Hatfill, Elian Gonzales, Joe Salvati

15. Scene, home of retired millionaire Donald Scott, Malibu, CA. at dawn. DEA agents cut a security chain, ran up the driveway with their dogs and burst into the Scott household with drawn guns, terrifying Mrs. Scott in her kitchen as she made her morning coffee. Mr Scott, awakened by his wife's screams of terror came rushing down the stairs only to be shot and killed by our civil servants. Why had they done this? They claimed to have seen "marijuana plants growing under the trees" while flying over in a helicopter. No marijuana plants or sign of any other drugs were found. Park Rangers who had tried to purchase the Scott property so it could be annexed to an adjoining park, only to be rebuffed, were also there.

ROAR (Restoring Our American Republic, Inc)
2975 Elizabeth Lane
Snellville, GA 30078
Voice: 770-978-1913
FAX: 770-978-1064
RepealThe17th@aol.com
http://hometown.aol.com/repealthe17th/ROAR.html


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 10thamendment; 17thamendment; 1913; abuse; constititution; repealthe17th; statesrights
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Received via email
1 posted on 08/12/2007 4:45:56 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
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To: Jim Robinson

This stuff makes me mad as hell!


2 posted on 08/12/2007 4:48:49 PM PDT by colorcountry (Silence isn't always golden.....Sometimes it's just yellow!)
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To: Jim Robinson

Bump


3 posted on 08/12/2007 4:50:48 PM PDT by Popman (I removed my Bushbot brain chip after he didn't veto the McCain Feingold election anti freedom bill)
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To: Jim Robinson

As per usual...

“Just Damn..”


4 posted on 08/12/2007 4:57:25 PM PDT by xcamel ("It's Talk Thompson Time!" >> irc://irc.freenode.net/fredthompson)
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To: Jim Robinson
The State is so concerned that after ten years with no problems I might not get my child support that they intercepted it and seized it, agreeing to turn it over to me only after I divulged to them enough of my personal, private, confidential, and privileged financial information for anyone to open a credit card in my name and go on a shopping spree. In fact, to date, the State of California has “inadvertently” released the information of 1,175 people to and “unknown” financial institution (Bank of America).
5 posted on 08/12/2007 4:59:24 PM PDT by Excellence (Three million years is enough! Stop cyclical climate change now!)
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To: Jim Robinson
I never gave much thought to the 17th Amendment until I saw your posts on it a few years ago. Now I can see it was a bad move - it undermines States' Rights.

But getting it repealed looks like a formidable task.

6 posted on 08/12/2007 4:59:58 PM PDT by HAL9000 (http://LinksToNewsSources.GooglePages.com)
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To: Jim Robinson
What was the final outcome of number 15, what became of the cockroaches from the parks department.

If this had been my parents they would be hanging from the gates.
No, try me.

7 posted on 08/12/2007 5:00:22 PM PDT by Rumplemeyer
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To: Rumplemeyer
Elect that warthog Hillary and these stories will become the norm.
8 posted on 08/12/2007 5:02:14 PM PDT by Rumplemeyer
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To: Excellence

Well, Bank of America can sure use that information so help an illegal alien get one of their credit cards!


9 posted on 08/12/2007 5:06:38 PM PDT by Emmett McCarthy
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To: Jim Robinson

bump!!


10 posted on 08/12/2007 5:08:58 PM PDT by spanalot
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To: Rumplemeyer

What was the final outcome of number 15

The courts ruled that DEA had not done anything improper.


11 posted on 08/12/2007 5:09:08 PM PDT by Sterling Saunders (The hardest job in the world is pushing a new idea through 1/2 inch of bone.)
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To: nnn0jeh

ping


12 posted on 08/12/2007 5:12:31 PM PDT by kalee (The offenses we give, we write in the dust; Those we take, we write in marble. JHuett)
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To: HAL9000

“But getting it repealed looks like a formidable task.”

Not really. Check out our webpage. All we need to get it done is some financial support.


13 posted on 08/12/2007 5:13:42 PM PDT by Sterling Saunders (The hardest job in the world is pushing a new idea through 1/2 inch of bone.)
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To: Rumplemeyer
Elect that warthog Hillary and these stories will become the norm.

Repealing the 17th amendment is really beyond Hillary, these stories ARE the norm regardless of what political party is in charge because of the federalsit mindset in the goverment

Having State rights represented again according to the 10th amendment as state representatives rather than the peoples representative is just about the only way to rein in the Federal government with the help of the SCOTUS

Tenth Amendment: “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

14 posted on 08/12/2007 5:18:39 PM PDT by Popman (I removed my Bushbot brain chip after he didn't veto the McCain Feingold election anti freedom bill)
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To: Jim Robinson

Lets stop talking and lets start voting in the people who will make the changes we need to get America back on track!


15 posted on 08/12/2007 5:21:53 PM PDT by ronnie raygun (I'd rather be hunting with dick than driving with ted)
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To: Sterling Saunders
I'd like to see the 17th repealed - but I think the current battle is to preserve the Electoral College.

It's outrageous to see that some states are trying to disenfranchise their own voters by casting their electoral votes based on the national popular vote, rather than their own state's vote.

16 posted on 08/12/2007 5:22:42 PM PDT by HAL9000 (http://LinksToNewsSources.GooglePages.com)
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To: Rumplemeyer

Who would be hanging? The rangers or your parents?


17 posted on 08/12/2007 5:27:15 PM PDT by mamelukesabre
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To: Rumplemeyer

“Elect that warthog Hillary and these stories will become the norm.”

They are now!


18 posted on 08/12/2007 5:28:01 PM PDT by Sterling Saunders (The hardest job in the world is pushing a new idea through 1/2 inch of bone.)
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To: HAL9000

“It’s outrageous to see that some states are trying to disenfranchise their own voters by casting their electoral votes based on the national popular vote, rather than their own state’s vote.”

That’s both political and futile because it’s unconstitutional. The State Legislatures have the absolute right to determine how the electors are chosen, but they do not have the right to tell them how to vote.


19 posted on 08/12/2007 5:33:16 PM PDT by Sterling Saunders (The hardest job in the world is pushing a new idea through 1/2 inch of bone.)
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To: Rumplemeyer
Elect that warthog Hillary and these stories will become the norm.

They are already the norm. That list is not fiction.

20 posted on 08/12/2007 5:38:58 PM PDT by ModelBreaker
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