Posted on 01/15/2012 2:32:16 PM PST by lechtellhavel
Chinese proverb: “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.” We seem as a country to be in denial as to the implications of these laws and policies. Whether we are viewed as a free country with authoritarian inclinations or an authoritarian nation with free aspirations (or some other hybrid definition), we are clearly not what we once were.
(Excerpt) Read more at jonathanturley.org ...
Thank Clinton in part for this. From Zero Hedge:
Can The Fed Salvage The Housing Market After Clinton’s “Great Leap Forward in Home Ownership”?
http://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com
TEN MORE REASONS:
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Lyndon B. Johnson
Jimmy Carter
George Bush
Bill Clinton
Al Gore
George W. Bush
Teddy Kennedy
Barack Obama
Eric Holder
Can a bankrupt and/or insolvent government afford the totalitarian state?
Let’s flush the toilet, so to speak, and society can agree in an open and honest manner exactly what we want out of government, and what we’re willing, and able, to pay for. The “elites” at every level have set up for themselves a pretty sweet gig over the years, but it’s over or nearly so, and they are not going to go away gently into the night. They are going to go away however, simply because the math won’t allow it. So, things will get a lot more local in nature - small business, for example, should flourish for those who want to make a go of it, and the myriad rules, laws, regulations and ordinances of the non-sensical kind foisted on the productive by the non-producers will go away or be ignored. This is as it should be, and it’s a wonder anyone thought otherwise or we allowed the silliness to continue as long as it did.
President Obama has claimed, as President George W. Bush did before him, the right to order the killing of any citizen considered a terrorist or an abettor of terrorism. Last year, he approved the killing of U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaqi and another citizen under this claimed inherent authority. Last month, administration officials affirmed that power, stating that the president can order the assassination of any citizen whom he considers allied with terrorists. (Nations such as Nigeria, Iran and Syria have been routinely criticized for extrajudicial killings of enemies of the state.)
Reasoning like this is why people hate lawyers. Anwar al-Awlaqi deserved to die in spades! Capturing him would be both much harder and more dangerous than a drone strike.
Thanks for posting this interesting article.
A basic question is why was 9-11 used as an excuse to install ever encroaching surveillance and abrogations of freedom in place of securing our borders and halting the flood of entrants, illegal and legal, from countries that hate us? The same could be asked about the war on drugs which began in the 1970’s.
The U.S. is a nation of lies and deception.
Not just the feds fixing the numbers and cooking the books.
A 5 lb bag of sugar has become a 4 lb bag for more money... an immediate 25% increase in price in just volume alone... right, there is no inflation.
The United States is dying, dying, dying.
Yup, it’s always the other guys who did it.
Sure we could reverse these things when we have power, but what the hey, it’s better to bitch about whats wrong and point fingers.
But we did pass the Homeland Security Act and other measures which increased our level of freedom...
Just curious - why did Richard M. Nixon not make your list??
After all, he was the one who geve us the EPA - the greatest clear-and-present danger to the American Way of Life since the Civil War....
An interesting question is how did Anwar al-Awlaqi get citizenship. Why after 9-11 have both Bush and Obama used executive authority to import more and more from countries infested with radical jihadis?
After all, he was the one who geve us the EPA - the greatest clear-and-present danger to the American Way of Life since the Civil War....
The worst thing Nixon did was take us off the gold standard. That has allowed all kinds of mischief to occur, and is why inflation is so bad.
You can’t be the Land of the Free when you’ve decided to become The Land of the Freeloaders. We’ve decided to become the Land of the Freeloaders.
Add to that the fact that the man was an “enemy combatant.” Or, the very least, an enemy support trooper.
You start providing aid and support to an enemy in wartime, in a foreign country, we can, and should kill you.
Too bad we didn’t kill Jane Fonda.
The rest of it makes good sense, though.
......The government now routinely uses secret evidence to detain individuals and employs secret evidence in federal and military courts...
This—and some of the other diminutions of rights under traditional Anglo-American jurisprudence mentioned in this article—started with the bogus International Criminal “Tribunal” for the “Former Yugoslavia” (ICTY). The ICTY, which is NOT a court, but a political instrument, was designed by the Chicago-area muslim fifth columnist Cherif Bassiouni and several other anti-Serb “human rightsers”.
Now the anti-liberty design of this “court” has metastasized to the International Criminal “Court”, and has leaked out into the judicial and political processes of our own America.
America lost her way when she embarked on her anti-Serb rampage, culminating in the funding and backing of the ICTY, and in the bombing of the Bosnian Serbs and Serbia herself in clinton’s war. Only when we reverse our course 180 degrees on Serbian issues—including defunding the ICTY—can we restore our own country and her traditional liberties!!!!
Extraordinary renditionsThe government now has the ability to transfer both citizens and noncitizens to another country under a system known as extraordinary rendition, ... The Obama administration says it is not continuing the abuses of this practice under Bush, but it insists on the unfettered right to order such transfers — including the possible transfer of U.S. citizens.
Just a little nit pick, Mr. Turley. The rendition program was begun under the Clinton administration.
can you spell suicide....The so called conservatives in this country have turned into wimps. When the Republicans lose, they act like losers, when they win, they still act like losers!!The current bunch running for president are patheticly beating up each other to the point that they, themselves, are pointing out why we shouldn't vote for any of them. Until we can, somehow, get the liberals out of power for an extended period of time, you are right, we are doomed!!
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Tangible Taxes
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
“Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago,
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the
world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What the heck happened? Can you spell “politicians!”
And I still have to “press 1”
for English.
I was convinced long ago, the Democrats and Republicans are all riding in the same limo.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.