According to this article, we are in for some harsh times ahead. This deals mostly with global political conflict, and the possibility of the Euro replacing the US Dollar as the de facto world currency. This article also states that as the pie shrinks, an aggresive, militant black leadership is needed to make sure African Americans receive a piece. The international post-war order looks to be crumbling.

http://www.blackcommentator.com/71/7...redlining.html

Black America Must Prepare for the Long Deep Slide

The breathtaking saga of victory and defeat that has shaped Black America since Mississippi marked its first majority white census in 1950 has unfolded entirely within the context of relentless expansion of global U.S. power. The uneven yet generally ascendant trajectory of African American mobility ? geographic, social and economic ? was predicated on a never before imagined fluidity within U.S. society as a whole. This national dynamic opened more spaces, more quickly, than Jim Crow could possibly restrict, revealing portals to freedom through which heroic Black men and women marched. Today?s Atlanta, for example, could not have been possible under Jim Crow; however, absent the explosion of economic growth, Jim Crow might have stood his ground a lot longer.

The conditions that allowed Black people to stand on their feet were hitched to a larger reality: much of the globe lay at the feet of America, the post-World War Two superpower. Believing themselves to be super-smart but actually made invincible by super-weaponry and the super-dollar, which had become the world currency by default, American corporations penetrated every non-socialist region of the planet. A considerable portion of the riches gained through superpower advantage were repatriated to the home country, creating for a time the highest national living standard in all of human history. In the presence of such grand domestic possibilities, was it any wonder that African Americans would rise up to demand a piece of ?The Dream? ? or that white folks would grudgingly back off and allow Blacks room to breathe? After all, imperial prosperity had created lots more space for white people; they could afford it.

Never having really been more than cosmetically patriotic, corporate America put on world-class clothes and eventually began playing against the vibrant domestic economy that had given it birth. The old military-industrial/energy complex combined with predatory finance capital ? now the controlling faces in corporate boardrooms ? men who create nothing and hold allegiance to no nation, but rather, seek the ultimate advantage of world monopoly. In 2000 these Pirates captured Washington, DC with the plainly stated goal of subduing the globe by military force and intimidation.

It is at this point that the Dream Period ended, definitively, for Black America. There will be no return in the foreseeable future to the times of robust and general domestic growth. Instead, the era of American decline is well underway, and is likely to be punctuated by abrupt, dramatic, and extremely dangerous social dislocations, during which we will learn the fuller meaning of living ?in the belly of the beast.?

Global Public Enemy

As history will tell, and as events daily demonstrate, the piratical decision to upset the global game board in order to impose a New American Century without rules, has united the world in revulsion against the United States. Like a strange name called out in the bedroom, the specter of American madness cannot be erased from planetary memory; even if George Bush is ejected from the White House in November, this society has shown its horrific ass to the rest of the species. America writhes in flagrante (literally, ?in blazing crime?) in Iraq, caught in the global gaze like a rutting dog unable to disengage itself from the object of its lust. (Those who are offended by such images are simply unaware of how the U.S. appears to people outside the American corporate communications bubble that envelops the nation in narcissistic, racist delusions.)

Polls show that majorities of Europeans believe the U.S. is roughly as great a danger to world peace as North Korea and Israel ? an astounding result in the historical heartland of colonialism, among people who one would think had become inured to imperial excesses as practiced by some of their own governments. Much more ominous are the clear signals that global elites are quietly drawing red lines around the United States. These are the people who convene and attend the innumerable meetings on countless trade and finance issues that keep a wired planet in some semblance of stability. A general consensus has been reached that the U.S. is the primary source of global instability.

The world?s elites are seeking to position their institutions and nations as far from the American axis as is feasible, while carefully avoiding economic catastrophe in the process. It is like planning a divorce from an insane, violent spouse who also has a key to the safety deposit box. The divorce will unfold in stages ? or, under further provocation from the U.S., in earth-shaking spasms. But there is now no doubt that the U.S. is fated to shrink as the world withdraws from successive layers of entanglements with the madman. Black America must therefore prepare to marshal its collective assets for a long period of retrenchment.

The world is a very different place than it was in 1954 and 1955, when the U.S. Supreme Court and Rosa Parks, respectively, dealt fatal blows to Old Jim Crow and the U.S., then producer of nearly 30 percent of world output, positioned itself to assume neo-colonial control over disintegrating European empires. The era of American expansion is over.

?It had become clear by the late Nineties that America's artificial advantages were in danger of collapsing, and with them, the sources of nonproductive Pirate wealth.? (See , ?Conspiracy Theories,? April 17.) ?Now accounting for [only] 21 percent of world output, and with no Soviet Union to keep the other capitalists cowering under a U.S. umbrella?American rulers face the prospect of head-on competition from their former allies and a developing world that demands full rights as planetary citizens.?

Not only did the world outgrow any rational economic basis for U.S. hegemony, but Washington repeatedly abused its paramount position for narrow U.S. corporate and dollar-gaming ends, wreaking havoc on the development plans of emerging elites around the globe while disregarding the sovereignty of all other nations. As Bloomberg?s Tokyo bureau reported in April of this year, ?there's no ignoring Asia's desire to reduce U.S. influence in the region. Leaders here wonder if scrapping the dollar might expedite the process.? America and its local allies are viewed as politically bankrupt throughout the Middle East and the whole of Latin America. (Africa is another story, so drenched in misery that conventional political descriptions do not apply.)

Not so big and bad, after all

Long before 9/11 and Bush?s obscene 2002 ?with us or against us? speech, American parochialism and compulsive advantage-taking inflicted unbearable insult on nations already overburdened with the necessity to earn dollars to pay their bills on the international market. Oil, the (unfortunate) lifeblood of economic growth, has been priced entirely in dollars since 1974.

?More than two-thirds of national foreign exchange reserves are denominated in the U.S. dollar,? according to an April 12 article in The Hindu, of India. ?About 40 per cent of the dollars issued by the U.S. are held outside the country by non-U.S. nationals and entities. All this makes the U.S. currency the most powerful one in the world; the de facto international currency. This power is in part a reflection of U.S. economic supremacy during 1950-75. The global power of the dollar has continued for other reasons, a reflection, especially since 1990, of U.S. political and military supremacy.?

The American currency stranglehold, no longer based on economic but on military might, allows Washington to print megatons of currency to paper over an annual half-trillion dollar trade deficit. However, the artificiality of the dollar?s dominance makes the U.S. vulnerable to the political will of foreign governments and elites, most of which would welcome a way out of the dollar trap, if one could be found.

In the wake of the Iraq invasion, these elites are actively exploring strategies to expel the dollar from its central, dangerously destabilizing position in the world economy. The euro fits the bill, as we wrote on April 17.

Europe had taken a very different course than the U.S. in the postwar years. With Germany and France at the center, the European Union nurtured and protected its home economies while methodically creating the connective structures that would allow the EU to rival the continental-size United States. The euro currency represents a combined gross domestic product and population larger than the U.S. Europe dominates trade with the Middle East and other parts of the world.

The euro began 2003 at roughly the same value as the dollar, and now hovers around $1.25. But much more is at issue here than transient numbers. Modern currencies are backed by faith in the stability, responsibility and good judgment of the issuing nation. The United States spent decades squandering its store of good faith, and now relies as core policy on the threat of smart bombs and ?regime change? to enforce its undeserved dominance in the world economic system.

Staring into the chasm

International redlining is, like its domestic counterpart, a force of silent destruction, a negative phenomenon consisting of agreements not entered into, investments not made. It?s chickens not coming home, but going to roost elsewhere. The redlining of America is evident in the behavior of foreign investors, who are choosing to place their money elsewhere despite high rates of return in the U.S. Hussain Khan interpreted the data in the November 22 Asia Times piece, ?Impact of Declining US Capital Inflows.?

Although foreigners have been financing the [US] current-account deficit for more than a decade, the necessity for exorbitant inflows is finally catching up with the United States. The deteriorating trend in net US portfolio inflows suggests a growing reluctance by foreign private investors to shoulder this burden. Currency traders seized on September's sharp deterioration in capital flows, pushing the dollar to a record low against the euro. However, the trend has been clear for months. It is not particularly a pretty sight, and it is not particularly reassuring for the global financial system.

Despite all the ?recovery? hoopla from the American corporate media, foreigners are increasingly avoiding further cash entanglements with the U.S. ? a clear indication of the deeply political nature of the investment recoil. On December 2, Bloomberg.com quoted Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist in New York at Bank of New York: ?What's bedeviling the U.S. dollar now is the perception that the current-account deficit is not being adequately financed by inflows of foreign investment into U.S. securities.''

Foreign capital hangs back from U.S. capital markets despite returns on American stock investments of 12 percent ? three to four times what can be earned in a sluggish but sane Europe. That the euro rises to record heights (as has the British pound) in defiance of market ?fundamentals? is evidence of profound recoil from the U.S. by foreign elites.

?What if all the funds parked in the U.S. are pulled out? What if this flow of capital dries up?? asked The Hindu writer in his April commentary. ?The effect on the U.S. economy would be cataclysmic since the amounts involved are huge. Robert Brenner, [a] U.S. economist, estimated that in end 2000, foreign ownership of the U.S.' gross assets were equivalent to as much as 67 per cent of GDP and argued that ?any serious attempt to flee these assets would put enormous pressure on the dollar.??

No one wants an apocalyptic crash of the World Order that is currently so enmeshed with the dollar. But it is Bush?s Pirates who represent the greatest threat to the system as it now exists. And who can say that in the next year or during a second term in the White House Bush will not unleash another horror on humanity that provokes just such a disaster for the U.S. and the world? This is the nightmare that haunts the foreign elites on whom the U.S. economy depends.

Redlining is insidious, operating in the phantom world of things undone and, therefore, not subject to measurement. The lasting impact of the shock Bush?s Pirates have deliberately inflicted on the world psyche through their declaration of War on Order will be hidden in the realm of negatives: development projects launched in China, Indonesia or Brazil with little or no American participation; office towers in Baltimore or Chicago that fail to garner foreign investor backing.

For true catastrophic drama, one must ponder the effects of an OPEC switch to the euro. Russia, the world?s second largest energy producer, will almost certainly ease its way into euro-denominated oil and gas transactions in the relatively near future. As we wrote in our Cover Story, ?The Global Redlining of America,? October 16, ?A switch to the euro ?is really possible,? according to Russian economist and Putin advisor Yevgeny Gavrilenkov. ?Why not? More than half of Russia's oil trade is with Europe. But there will be great opposition to this from the United States.??

Middle East OPEC members also do a lot more business with Europe than with the United States, yet they fear the unknown. After considering discussions on the prospects of switching to the euro or a ?market basket? of currencies for oil sales, cartel President Abdullah al-Attiyah of Qatar announced on December 12, "I don't think we will discuss it. I don't think it is the right time to discuss it because we believe it is not easy to switch from currency to currency. Yes, I am concerned about the weaker dollar but we believe we should be pragmatic, that we cannot switch because it is very complicated."

Instead, OPEC continued its policy of keeping oil prices high to offset the fallen dollar ? an unsustainable strategy, according to United Arab Emirates economic analyst Dr. Mohammad Al Asoomi:

During the last two years, the US currency dipped by around 40 per cent against the euro which is rising strongly on the back of the strong performance of European economies compared with the weary US economy that is burdened with additional costs arising from military interventions in more than one region in the world.

Using a simple calculation, the average price of a barrel of crude oil this year amounting to $27 is not worth more than $17 per barrel in terms of purchasing power compared with the US currency's rate of exchange two years ago when the average price of crude was $22.

Therefore, the real value of oil revenues declined by a similar percentage in practice considering that the region's imports from Europe and Japan account for the biggest percentage of total imports of the oil-producing countries?.
However, the current pricing system does not reflect the new balance of economic powers in the world, particularly the emergence of united Europe as the biggest consumer market bringing together more than 350 million people enjoying an enormous purchasing power, high income levels and good growth rates representing a strong boost to their single currency.

The thrust of Dr. Al Asoomi?s Gulf News article is that, even absent additional unilateral strikes or other madness from the Bush regime, the energy producing nations of the world cannot continue to develop under a dollar denominated regime. Inevitably, a number of them will go euro, and the dollar will be toppled from its artificial position of world dominance. The shift will occur sooner if crazed George Bush remains in power, or sometime later under a Democratic administration. But it will come. Imperial currencies do not fit in ?market baskets? ? they morph into paper based on faith, like the rest.

No matter how phased or gentle the transition, the impact on the United States domestic economy will be ? difficult to imagine. What is certain is that the retrenchment will require a militant Black leadership that is willing to go toe-to-toe with corporate power, lest African Americans be overwhelmed in the scramble for scarcer resources.

No one, apparently, identified the mistake. The legendary House Speaker was called Uncle Joe Cannon, not "Iron Joe," and more importantly, he was a Republican, not a Democrat.

David K '47

Originally Posted by madscientist

According to this article, we are in for some harsh times ahead. This deals mostly with global political conflict, and the possibility of the Euro replacing the US Dollar as the de facto world currency. This article also states that as the pie shrinks, an aggresive, militant black leadership is needed to make sure African Americans receive a piece. The international post-war order looks to be crumbling.

http://www.blackcommentator.com/71/7...redlining.html

Black America Must Prepare for the Long Deep Slide

...

This screed doesn't mention the actual reason why the dollar is
falling so sharply against the Euro and the Yen: The Fed is trying to
stave off or postpone a major recession by setting the Fed funds rate
at 1%. With interest rates so low, the market is getting flooded
with dollars, making dollars cheaper because the supply is
increasing. Hence, the dollar is getting relatively cheaper,
compared to the scarcer Euro. This is the economic law of supply and
demand in action.

John

John J. Xenakis
john@GenerationalDynamics.com
http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com

Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis

Originally Posted by madscientist

According to this article, we are in for some harsh times ahead. This deals mostly with global political conflict, and the possibility of the Euro replacing the US Dollar as the de facto world currency. This article also states that as the pie shrinks, an aggresive, militant black leadership is needed to make sure African Americans receive a piece. The international post-war order looks to be crumbling. Black America Must Prepare for the Long Deep Slide

This screed doesn't mention the actual reason why the dollar is falling so sharply against the Euro and the Yen: The Fed is trying to stave off or postpone a major recession by setting the Fed funds rate at 1%. With interest rates so low, the market is getting flooded
with dollars, making dollars cheaper because the supply is increasing. Hence, the dollar is getting relatively cheaper, compared to the scarcer Euro. This is the economic law of supply and demand in action.

To some folks, even the law of gravity is a mere footnote. :wink:

Originally Posted by madscientist

According to this article, we are in for some harsh times ahead. This deals mostly with global political conflict, and the possibility of the Euro replacing the US Dollar as the de facto world currency. This article also states that as the pie shrinks, an aggresive, militant black leadership is needed to make sure African Americans receive a piece. The international post-war order looks to be crumbling.

http://www.blackcommentator.com/71/7...redlining.html

Black America Must Prepare for the Long Deep Slide


No matter how phased or gentle the transition, the impact on the United States domestic economy will be – difficult to imagine. What is certain is that the retrenchment will require a militant Black leadership that is willing to go toe-to-toe with corporate power, lest African Americans be overwhelmed in the scramble for scarcer resources.

The author of that article should realize, of course, that "Black America" aren't the only people threatened by corporate greed. All of us, as Americans, are-- poor, middle class, even some of the rich. What African Americans so concerned must do is form bonds of friendship and cooperation with others, regardless of their skin tone, who also recognize the danger posed by corporofascism. Ethnic militancy, whether exemplified by the lynchings and burnings of the KKK, or by the race rioters of the 1960s and their legacy of urban blight and death, have been discredited by most educated, thinking Americans as vile and evil. It isn't the answer.

I agree that Corporate America must be confronted, and be held accountable, for their treatment of their fellow Americans-- employees and customers alike-- and for jeopardizing the very future of our Nation by shipping our working knowledge of manufacturing overseas. However it has to be accomplished by Americans of all ethnicities working together. If "mililtants" confront Corporate America in the name of some near-arbitrary concept of "Blackness" they (and others who look somewhat like them) will be crushed like ants, for they cannot do it alone. Ethnic relations -- I loathe even the term "race"-- will be set back a hundred years (which I suspect is what many so-called Black militants really want). And the corporofascists will gain a new (though false) legitimacy to continue their march across the economic rights of all Americans, regardless of what they look like. America as we know it will be finished, and all of our hopes for the future will be dashed, perhaps permanently.

Think very carefully, Robert, before you endorse such people. You may not have seen the Second Turning but I most certainly have. And I can assure you that their motives are far, far from pure.

Originally Posted by Kevin Parker '59

Think very carefully, Robert, before you endorse such people. You may not have seen the Second Turning but I most certainly have. And I can assure you that their motives are far, far from pure.

I never stated that I am endorsing them. In fact, I only submitted the article as proof that the 4T is here. Keep in mind that I also post articles that go against my beliefs as proof as well. Besides, I agree that confronting the corporate oligarchy under the banner of "blackness" is wrong.

Let's hope Captain Morgan is aware of this law. Standard disclaimers apply.

Drunken Drivers To Get Red-Letter License Plates

New Law Takes Affect Thursday

POSTED: 10:24 AM EST December 30, 2003



COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio drivers caught driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol after midnight Wednesday could spend the first part of 2004 driving with special red-letter license plates.

The plate will be yellow and have red numbering.

The state's new drunken-driving law takes effect Thursday. It calls for all offenders who are permitted to keep driving to display special license plates until their normal driving privileges are restored.

Any other vehicles in the family will have to carry the special plates as well. Critics call it guilt by association, but supporters said it's not unreasonable.

"If he or she is not embarrassed enough to stop driving, the embarrassment of the rest of the family and the pressure that the rest of the family puts on them, that may change their behavior," Mothers Against Drunk Drivers spokeswoman Andrea Rehkamp said.

The special license plates have been available since 1967 but judges have rarely used them.

Lawmakers are still fine tuning the measure, which could include a provision for a one-time mistake made by some citizens.

It's Breakfast Time in America

and there is an Appetite for Destruction


Mr. Claes G. Ryn opines in the American Conservative

The ideology of benevolent American empire and global democracy dresses up a voracious appetite for power. It signifies the ascent to power of a new kind of American, one profoundly at odds with that older type who aspired to modesty and self-restraint. That former personality was inseparable from, indeed, the creator of, the notion of limited, decentralized government. Traditional, constitutionalist America derived its moral and political assumptions from the classical, Christian, and British traditions.

For Christians as for the Greeks, pride is the most dangerous human weakness as it threatens to unleash the desire for power and invites nemesis. The push for American empire is contemporaneous with a gargantuan accumulation and centralization of federal power and a precipitous erosion of traditional American checks on power. This should surprise no one. Those who assume that they know better than all others consider themselves entitled to power. As if by sheer coincidence, their every new declaration of human need, in America or the world, places more power in their hands and undermines the ability of others to shape their own lives.

The notion of benevolent American empire is made to order for individuals of great pride who desire great power. In recent memory, the only ideology to have provided a better justification for unchecked power was communism, whose assertion of a need completely to remake the world supported giving unlimited authority to leaders who knew what to do.

:arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

Originally Posted by Virgil K. Saari

It's Breakfast Time in America

and there is an Appetite for Destruction


Mr. Claes G. Ryn opines in the American Conservative

The notion of benevolent American empire is made to order for individuals of great pride who desire great power. In recent memory, the only ideology to have provided a better justification for unchecked power was communism, whose assertion of a need completely to remake the world supported giving unlimited authority to leaders who knew what to do.

This illustrates one of the flaws in the current liberal / conservative alignment. There are too many flavors of conservative. There are folks both left and right that would share the above opinion.

I don't think anyone in the US would really want the US to be the world's policeman, but without global prosperity and global self-policing, there would be significant security and economic problems if some U.S. isolationist party suddenly pulled away from our international commitments.

I don't think anyone wants overt imperialism to return, but everyone wants the oil, and an awful lot of companies seem to trade campaign contributions for various government interventions. Thus, the above concerns about neo-imperialism are valid.

There are well meaning idealists both left and right. It seems to me that ideals both left and right have been given more lip service than honor during the unraveling. Corruption creeps. Special interests have pushed us in the direction of imperialism. The mixed motivations of fighting terror and securing the oil don't mix well, but both are real, and the imperialism is part of the reason there is terror to fight.

Come the crisis, special interests might get submerged by the common interest. If we don't want to be the world's policemen, we will have to assure the rest of the world enough prosperity to police themselves. This will involve clearing out a lot of corruption, and not just in the Third World. Campaign finance reform here at home -- a return to government of, by and for The People -- may be the key to the crisis. Clearing out the corrupt and autocratic elite governments that are ruining the Third World will be hard when our own corrupt and autocratic elite government finds corruption abroad convenient when arranging profitable situations for campaign contributors.

Which is to say, the idealists on both left and right might have to unite to achieve common pragmatic goals. In a crisis, when there are real and urgent threats to the common good, idealism isn't just the pie in the sky dreams of innocent youth. Working for the common good is urgent, immediate and pragmatic. The opposition would be the corrupt -- those who put personal power and wealth ahead of the ideals -- those who would perpetuate division of wealth on the basis that it is fun to be on the wealthy side of the divide.

But things will have to get far worse before our politicians move away from the unraveling's business-as-usual approach. This is why I see us still on the 3T - 4T cusp. Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, the Balkans and other local foreign hot spots are illustrating the upcoming global crisis. Our awareness of the issues is rising, which is a way of saying the regeneracy is in progress, but the sense of urgency isn't there, and there is no general consensus on approach. It is not yet clear what the solutions have to be, that it is necessary to act, act now, and act in a big way.

Only then will we be past the cusp, and clearly into 4T.

http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%2...y%20Younge.htm

People Are Reasserting Their Political Power in US

Gary Younge

The Guardian, Arab News

IOWA CITY, 13 January 2004 ? At Tom?s restaurant in New Hampton, a small town in Iowa, a young, asthmatic staffer for Howard Dean?s campaign slides to the floor clutching her inhaler. She wears her dedication on her sweatshirt. Under the slogan ?C4C? (Commit for Change) come the words: ?Blog, write, donate, organize, volunteer.? Recently she has been doing most of these ? or encouraging others to do them ? around the clock in an effort to secure Dean the Democratic Party?s nomination for president. Earlier she admitted, with a mixture of weariness and pride, that she has not slept for two days. Now, while Dean is pressing flesh ahead of next week?s primary, she is panting for breath.

Fortunately, there is a doctor in the house. Dean was a physician before he went into politics ? after a quick diagnosis he sends her to the hospital before heading to the next campaign stop. But reinforcements are already on the way. At a Dean Meet Up in Brooklyn, organized through the internet, two strangers ? Paul Fitzgerald and Kaiser Sandwipi ? discuss how they are going to travel the more than1 , 000miles to Iowa next weekend to help campaign. They?ll be part of The Perfect Storm ? an influx of3 , 500volunteers to blanket the state ahead of the election to back Dean. Others at the Meet Up, most of whom have never been actively involved in politics before, are penning letters to registered Democrats in South Carolina, explaining why they are backing Dean and appealing for others to do the same. Dean?s bid for the Democratic nomination is more than just an electoral campaign. It has all the attributes of a movement ? a bottom-up surge of like-minded, motivated people who have discovered they all have something in common and are now mobilizing in order to act on it. Around the country strangers are meeting in towns and cities in their tens and twenties, donating money in $ 10and $ 20bills and coming away with not just posters and badges but ?to do? lists. ?Participation in politics is increasingly based on the checkbook, as money replaces time,? argued Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone. Dean has managed to get people giving time and money.

Most are young (under35 ), college educated and white .While Dean clearly benefits from all of this, he did not create it and at this point does not really control it. When his campaign manager suggested building a base of supporters through blogs, Dean asked: ?What?s a blog?? Nobody vets the letters volunteers send to fellow Democrats; the Meet Ups are rarely chaired by staffers. ?When I called head office to ask if I could do certain activities they said: ?You can do whatever you want?,? said Marystarr Hope, who organized the Brooklyn Meet Up. It is not democratic (these activists have no say in Dean?s platform), but it is chaotic and pluralistic enough that it could become so quite quickly.

None the less, the fact that Dean has become the focal point for this energy matters. His winning the nomination would be roughly the equivalent of Ken Livingstone taking over the Labour Party. Not that Dean has the same politics as Livingstone. But, broadly speaking, they stand a similar distance to the left of their party establishments and ? recent reconciliations notwithstanding ? are equally loathed by their party bosses.

Dean is not the most left-wing candidate in the race by any standard. He is pro-gun, pro-death penalty and a fiscal conservative. But he is the most left-wing candidate to prove sufficiently attractive to sufficient numbers of people to be pivotal in the process. However, in order to run against George Bush he must first run against the Democratic Party leadership. And in order to win that battle he has had to galvanize and energize entirely new constituencies that were either dormant or non-existent. As such, his insurgent candidacy marks the first electoral awakening of the growing ranks of the disaffected and disenfranchised ? a group not confined to America but spread over most of the Western world. Over the past decade, they have protested, petitioned or just grumbled in each other?s company. But the one thing they have not managed, until now, is to make a decisive difference at the ballot box. Instead, they have chosen between voting for parties they no longer believe in, or parties they know cannot win, or just not voting at all.

In the Dean campaign we are gaining a glimpse of the organizational methods that could bond the disparate and disenchanted at a local and a national level, whether in Germany against Schr?der?s economic reforms or in Britain against Blair?s foreign policy and tuition fees. It does not answer the question as to whether activists should stay in those parties, form new ones or join others. But it does indicate how, wherever they end up, they might mobilize large numbers of people effectively at the polls.

Whether this can be translated into electoral success within the Democratic Party, let alone in the presidential elections, is a moot point. It?s an uphill task, although given how steep a climb Dean has endured so far, anything is possible. But what happens to Dean, at this point, is less significant than what happens to the movement. In these early stages, it is vulnerable regardless. If he wins, it risks becoming coopted; if he loses, it risks being disbanded.

We have been here before. During Jesse Jackson?s campaigns in 1984 and 1988 the Rainbow Coalition made a huge impact. He didn?t win. But, as a result of his campaign, America saw the largest increase in black mayors since the civil rights movement, and black voter registration increased by over 30 percent in two years. But because the coalition remained an extension of Jackson?s electoral ego, when he lost it eventually foundered. ?The difference between Christian and Rainbow coalitions is that the Christian coalition actually exists,? says one of Jackson?s former aides. ?He squandered the possibility to build an organization or structure.?

With a week to go before the primary, Dean activists can be forgiven for not looking beyond his immediate electoral prospects. But, whether the next president is George Bush, Wesley Clark or Dean, their most valuable asset is not their candidate but the awakened awareness of their potential, as progressive citizens and voters, to make a difference. In the words of the late African-American poet and activist June Jordan, they have learned ? and are now teaching the rest of us ? that ?we are the ones we?ve been waiting for?.

Make of this what you will. Standard disclaimers apply.

Bruce Ramsey / Times editorial columnist
You do not need a helmet to read this column


The Tacoma/Pierce County Board of Health has banned
smoking inside bars, taverns, restaurants and bowling
alleys, and outside of these establishments within 25
feet of the door. The penalty for smoking is $100; for
an owner, $100 a day.

In August, the King County Board of Health banned
riding a bicycle without a helmet in Seattle. It was
banned outside the city already. The penalty: $30.

Seattle has just passed an ordinance banning any
recyclable paper, cardboard, glass and plastic bottles
in the ordinary garbage can, effective Jan. 1, 2005.
Enforcement begins in 2006.

After two warnings, if the garbage collector notices a
pop can, a cereal box, a milk bottle or a sheet of
paper in your trash, he will leave your entire week's
trash on the curb, and you can figure out what to do
with it.

What these measures have in common is their itch to
manage the citizen, to tell him what is good for him
and make him like it. Typically, such nannyism is
championed by liberals ? a group that once believed in
tolerance and personal freedom. They still believe in
tolerance in the matter of sex ? safe sex, anyway ?
but not in much else.

I am old enough to remember TV ads for the Marlboro
Man, and it was not long ago that we had billboards of
Joe Camel. Now my government protects me from the
sight of large cartoon camels, and subjects me instead
to revolting images of a man with gum cancer.

I prefer Joe Camel. Today's instructional billboards
treat us like sixth-graders in health class, or
citizens of the old communist China.

Decades ago, I rode a bicycle from Edmonds to
Wenatchee without a helmet. Bicycle helmets didn't
exist then. Things have changed, and to wear a helmet
today is a matter of common sense. But to require one
changes more than that; it is an assertion of
government power.

"But it saves lives," people say. "It lowers medical
costs."

So might interference in a lot of things that are none
of the government's business. Do we want mandatory
calisthenics? They had it in "1984."

Public health can go only so far into the private
realm in a civilized country. A government that
undertakes to manage the people's medical costs will
soon be instructing Dick and Jane in right living.
Matters of individual choice take on a social aspect,
and freedom is lost.

This is hardly new. Washington's liquor law, which
prohibits a teenager from having a glass of beer with
his dinner, even when accompanied by his parents, is
no less ridiculous because we are used to it. That is
the old Prohibitionist and Blue Law nannyism,
inherited from the progressives of the past century.

To this we add a nannyism in the name of the children,
under which adults are treated as kids. Other nannyism
comes in service of the environment ? mandatory
recycling, for instance.

Seattle is only the second U.S. city to do this. Why
do it? Because Seattle was acclaimed when it recycled
44 percent of its garbage. In 2001, that figure
slipped to 38 percent. Officials want to be acclaimed
again, so they have set a goal of 60 percent.

That is, our government set a goal that we will
recycle 60 percent of our garbage. No city has done
it, and we cannot be trusted to do it without
compulsion. Therefore, compulsion.

Similarly, city employees did a study of the tree
cover in Seattle. It was shrinking, they said, and
that was bad. It sent the wrong message about global
warming. In 2000, the City Council dutifully required
that anyone cutting down a tree of more than 6 inches
in diameter on a vacant lot must first ask the
bureaucracy for a permit.

All this nannyism is in the pursuit of some good ?
green trees, clean lungs, uncracked skulls and the
wise management of trash. What is lost is the idea of
people defining their own good ? a restaurant owner
deciding on his own smoking policy, a parent deciding
whether a child needs a bicycle helmet, a resident
deciding in what manner to empty his wastebasket.

Yesterday's liberals, who now call themselves
"progressives," do not trust us to define our own
good. They want to do it for us. They remind me of
Nurse Ratched.

Originally Posted by Vince Lamb '59

Make of this what you will. Standard disclaimers apply.

Bruce Ramsey / Times editorial columnist
You do not need a helmet to read this column

Bush is still Hitler.



Sieg whatever. 8)

Originally Posted by oy

Bush is still Hitler.

You must really want to start a fight, Sheep.

"Seattle has just passed an ordinance banning any
recyclable paper, cardboard, glass and plastic bottles
in the ordinary garbage can, effective Jan. 1, 2005.
Enforcement begins in 2006."

Oh, wow...I can just SEE this law being enforced! All you really have to do, then, is make sure that all your Hefty bags are neatly tie-wired shut just in case you accidentally toss a milk carton. The garbage collectors have far, far much work to do than bother checking each and every bag for "contraband".

Still, idiocy such as this reminds me of what someone once said (when I lived in Seattle, in fact) about certain extremists who are so liberal that they've actually become conservative...and that what they are trying to conserve is their own brand of hard-left liberalism. That person had a very good point, for it is almost eerie how the two extremes of each side are so similar to each other. Both seem hell-bent and determined to greatly increase their own power by undermining our freedom.

Apparently this silliness of garbage policing comes from our dear mayor, the Honorable Greg Nickels, who has pledged that he will personally dig through people's trash in order to discover evil-doers and punish them. Hizzoner is rather plump and fussy looking, the mental image of him trash-digging amuses me.
Ah, Seattle, Seattle!

I opened my e-mail today to find this headline among the NY Times headlines:

NEWS ANALYSIS
History Offers Reasons to Be Cautious on Bush's Space Plan
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
The history of bold visions for human spaceflight is littered with more failures, delays and cost overruns than clear successes.

I think if we compare this headline with the reactions to Kennedy's "We WILL go to the moon" speech. we can see that this is not anymore the time for grand and ambitious programs such as a new space innitiative.

Although I believe we will eventually put a colony on the moon and go to Mars, I suspect this will not happen until the next first turning.

This all sort of reminds me of those people, who in mid-1929 were dreaming of modern cities connected by paved highways and electric wires marching across the countryside. It was a good dream and eventually happened, but the crisis had to be dealt with first.

Originally Posted by elilevin

I opened my e-mail today to find this headline among the NY Times headlines:

NEWS ANALYSIS
History Offers Reasons to Be Cautious on Bush's Space Plan
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
The history of bold visions for human spaceflight is littered with more failures, delays and cost overruns than clear successes.

I think if we compare this headline with the reactions to Kennedy's "We WILL go to the moon" speech. we can see that this is not anymore the time for grand and ambitious programs such as a new space innitiative.

Although I believe we will eventually put a colony on the moon and go to Mars, I suspect this will not happen until the next first turning.

This all sort of reminds me of those people, who in mid-1929 were dreaming of modern cities connected by paved highways and electric wires marching across the countryside. It was a good dream and eventually happened, but the crisis had to be dealt with first.

I tend to agree with you about the next major space effort not taking place until the next 1T. However, part of me suspects that it may be China that undertakes said major space effort, and not a United States that, at best, will barely survive the next 4T, and will be far too exhausted and far too disillusioned for grand dreams or grand efforts (beyond picking up the pieces, and rebuilding our society, that is). And keep in mind, that's the best case scenario for America this time around, as I see it. Another one has our forces defeated, our country bombed back to the Stone Age by an enemy (or coalition of enemies) that ignores any attempts on our part to surrender, and afterwards, the rest of the world takes measures designed to make sure we stay there permanently. The absolute worst case? We are defeated, and then exterminated.

Of course, our nuclear deterrent does tend to tip the scales in favor of my 'best case scenario', as it would hopefully give our enemies plenty of reason to doubt the wisdom of finishing us off. In that case, we may succeed where Japan failed - by holding our enemies at arm's length until they bite the bullet and settle for a negotiated peace - and by the very same means that helped seal Japan's failure to achieve that outcome in 1945.

Originally Posted by Titus Sabinus Parthicus

I tend to agree with you about the next major space effort not taking place until the next 1T. However, part of me suspects that it may be China that undertakes said major space effort, and not a United States that, at best, will barely survive the next 4T, and will be far too exhausted and far too disillusioned for grand dreams or grand efforts (beyond picking up the pieces, and rebuilding our society, that is). And keep in mind, that's the best case scenario for America this time around, as I see it. Another one has our forces defeated, our country bombed back to the Stone Age by an enemy (or coalition of enemies) that ignores any attempts on our part to surrender, and afterwards, the rest of the world takes measures designed to make sure we stay there permanently. The absolute worst case? We are defeated, and then exterminated.

My, but you are gloomy today!

Actually, when I used the word "we", I meant humanity and not specifically the US. I think the endevour will cost too much.

However, since at this point in the saeculum, we cannot see what the climax events of the crisis will even be, we do not know for sure what will happen and how the United States will fare. I guess, we must all make our preparations for the winter so that we have the best outcome we can get for ourselves and our children.

In this circumstance, I believe that hope is truly a cardinal virtue since despair would not encourage us to do our best toward the good outcome.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=36605

Angry citizens back man who shot intruder

In the aftermath of a decision to prosecute a homeowner who shot an intruder, a feisty crowd of 200 citizens packed a town board meeting to voice opposition to a local ban on possession of handguns.

Hale DeMar, of the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, protected his family Dec. 29 by shooting Morio Billings, who is accused of entering the DeMar home twice within 24 hours, the Chicago Tribune reported.

But DeMar was charged with violating a local ordinance banning possession of handguns and breaking a state law by failing to renew his Illinois Firearm Owner's Identification card. He faces up to a year in jail, a $2,500 fine or court supervision or probation if convicted on the charge of owning a handgun without a valid firearms card. The village's handgun ordinance carries a separate fine of up to $750.

He is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 6 to face both charges.

On Tuesday night, many at the meeting of the Wilmette Village Board booed and jeered when trustees expressed support for the ban, the Chicago paper said. Several audience members loudly emphasized the words, "And justice for all," during the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter defended the handgun ban.

"My experience is handguns create a hazard in the home," he told the crowd, according to the Tribune. "My experience is that handguns are far more likely to be stolen, to be used or threatened to be used in domestic situations, or to be used or threatened to be used in suicides."

Wilmette resident Jim Szczepanik, 51, was one of many gun-rights advocates who argued no homeowner should be punished for defending his family.

"My Plan A is to call 911 and keep the family upstairs," he said, according to the Chicago paper. "But my Plan B is to have a loaded firearm and put a bullet in the intruder."

Another resident, Ralf Seiffe, called it "a matter of freedom."

Trustee Bernard Michna was among the minority who defended the ban.

"There could have been an outcome much more bleak for that family if more shots had been fired," Michna said, according to the Tribune. "I think it's close to unanimous there will be no change in the handgun ordinance."

DeMar said he had just tucked his two children into bed at about 10:30 p.m. when his home security alarm sounded, the Tribune reported. He found Billings in the kitchen and shot him four times, striking his left shoulder and left calf.

Prosecutors say Billings crashed through the home's front window after he was shot then drove himself to the hospital in the family's SUV, which he had stolen the night before.

Billings, convicted last year of a similar home burglary in an affluent Minneapolis suburb, is now in the Cook County Jail with bail set at $3 million.

The Cook County state's attorney's office decided not to file criminal charges against DeMar after determining he acted in self-defense, the Tribune said.

Carpenter said he could not condemn DeMar's actions, because the homeowner was in a "situation where he did what he thought was appropriate." But the police chief advised residents facing a similar situation to keep the family together, call 911 and not confront the intruder.

"The parent is the last line of defense for the family until the police arrive," Carpenter said, according to the Tribune.

The paper noted the city of Chicago and a number of other municipalities in the area also ban possession of handguns.

Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, told the Chicago daily he believes handgun bans are outrageous.

"The right to self-defense is the right that all creatures on this Earth have, including Wilmette," he said. "What they do is they make the citizens in these villages and towns fair game."

Originally Posted by elilevin

I opened my e-mail today to find this headline among the NY Times headlines:

NEWS ANALYSIS
History Offers Reasons to Be Cautious on Bush's Space Plan
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
The history of bold visions for human spaceflight is littered with more failures, delays and cost overruns than clear successes.

I think if we compare this headline with the reactions to Kennedy's "We WILL go to the moon" speech. we can see that this is not anymore the time for grand and ambitious programs such as a new space innitiative.

Although I believe we will eventually put a colony on the moon and go to Mars, I suspect this will not happen until the next first turning.

This all sort of reminds me of those people, who in mid-1929 were dreaming of modern cities connected by paved highways and electric wires marching across the countryside. It was a good dream and eventually happened, but the crisis had to be dealt with first.

On the other hand, I read another article on NASA's upcoming Project Kepler -- click on http://www.kepler.arc.nasa.gov. Kepler, scheduled for launch in Twenty-Oh-Seven, will be a helioorbital observatory whose five-year mission will be to discover Earth-type planets around other stars. Is that cool or what?

My prediction: we will indeed start setting up bases on the Moon and Mars during the next late High/early Awakening circa 2040, as Eli has suggested. These bases will not be ends in-and-of themselves, however, but mere preparation for the real adventure which will be colonization of other worlds beyond our solar system discovered by the Kepler Mission. Considering how scientific knowledge has exploded during the last two saeculae, the technology for interstellar travel might very well be available by the following Awakening in 2120.

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20...2447-9758r.htm

Conservative groups break with Republican leadership
National leaders of six conservative organizations yesterday broke with the Republican majorities in the House and Senate, accusing them of spending like "drunken sailors," and had some strong words for President Bush as well.
"The Republican Congress is spending at twice the rate as under Bill Clinton, and President Bush has yet to issue a single veto," Paul M. Weyrich, national chairman of Coalitions for America, said at a news briefing with the other five leaders. "I complained about profligate spending during the Clinton years but never thought I'd have to do so with a Republican in the White House and Republicans controlling the Congress."
Warning of adverse consequences in the November elections, the leaders said the Senate must reject the latest House-passed omnibus spending bill or Mr. Bush should veto the measure.
"The whole purpose of having a Republican president is to lead the Republican Congress," said Paul Beckner, president of Citizens for a Sound Economy, whose co-chairman is former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas. "The Constitution gives the president the power to veto legislation, and if Congress won't act in a fiscally responsible way, the president has to step in -- but he hasn't done that."
"If the president doesn't take a stand on this, there's a real chance the Republicans' voter base will not be enthusiastic about turning out in November, no matter who the Democrats nominate," Mr. Beckner said.
Mr. Weyrich warned that if the Senate passes the omnibus bill and the president fails to veto it, "in all probability the party's conservative-activist core voters aren't going to work to help win the election for Bush and the Republicans, and they may well not even vote."
The Heritage Foundation has projected that passage of the bill would "mark the third consecutive year of massive discretionary spending growth" following increases of 13 percent and 12 percent in the previous two years.
"Congress' continued fiscal irresponsibility is clearly exhibited in the thousands of pork projects contained in the bill," the Heritage report noted.
The Heritage report says the omnibus bill will set the stage for discretionary spending to increase by 9 percent in 2004 to $900 billion, not the 3 percent claimed by Congress.
Asked for comment, Christine Iverson, spokeswoman for Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie, said that while the last Clinton budget "proposed a 15 percent increase for spending unrelated to national defense, homeland security, entitlement programs and interest on the national debt," the first Bush budget "proposed lowering this increase to 6 percent, the second budget to below 5 percent and the latest to 2 percent for next year."
But conservative critics said that Congress opted to spend far more, and Mr. Bush didn't move to stop it.
Mr. Bush and the Republican lawmakers are expected to face another barrage of criticism next week, this time from some 4,000 activists at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, where Vice President Dick Cheney and Republican congressional leaders are slated to speak.
"A lot of Senate Republicans will be speaking at CPAC, and the grass-roots conservatives attending won't be shy about their displeasure," said Richard Lessner, executive director of the American Conservative Union.
Citizens Against Government Waste, the Club for Growth and National Taxpayers Union also joined yesterday's conservative protest of excessive spending.
For more than a year, a rebellion in Republican ranks has been brewing over the spending issue. Conservatives, including some House Republicans, finally revolted openly over the $400 billion prescription-drug benefit passed by Congress and signed by Mr. Bush last year -- which would expand the government with the largest new entitlement in a generation.

Robert:

I would ignore those useless tools like Michael Savage and Paul Weyrich cited in the articles you posted. They pull this stuff all the time. We have heard it all before, basically every election since Reagan, but they always fall in line, kneepads in hand, behind the Republican candidate in November. We heard the same thing when the current Anointed Puppet was first trotted out by the establishment in 1999, but they all voted for the moron in November 2000 while carefully stating that they were voting against Gore and not for Junior. Come November 2004, they will vote for the blatant imbecilic puppet again while carefully stating that they are voting against Dean (or whoever) and not for Junior. Just ignore their incessant oscillating cowardice and stupidity; it is all "sound and fury signifying nothing."

On the other hand, here is an interesting take from Robert Klassen. I do not see the "intensity" he sees but who knows:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/klassen/klassen52.html

(Standard disclaimers)



Turn Your Back

by Robert Klassen


I would like to thank Tom White for his excellent reminiscence and commentary on WWII. One little story he told tickled my imagination. The common Japanese folks at the time, he says, had the custom of turning their backs on the high and mighty folks, out of respect. I thought, isn?t that a curious custom?

Then I remembered the time that I went with my father-in-law to meet a plane at the Rapid City, South Dakota, airport, and there was the powerful Senator George McGovern casually entertaining an admiring crowd. My father-in- law wanted me to go over and shake his hand, but I turned around and went outdoors instead ? not out of respect. That was thirty years ago.

This year the eyes of the world are fearfully watching the most powerful man on Earth stumble through his script promising death and destruction to his enemies anywhere and everywhere on the planet, and everybody wonders who will be next in line for that evil puppet?s job? That is, for course, assuming that the elections aren?t cancelled in the name of national security.

I look at the roster of candidates, and I read what they do not say, and I think we?re in big trouble. For one thing, nobody is saying that they will renounce the usurped power of the office to make war. Nobody is saying that they will renounce the usurped power of the office to rule by executive order. Nobody is saying they will repeal the Patriot Act, or disband the office of Homeland Security. Nobody denounces our military occupation of dozens of foreign countries, or promises to bring our troops home. Nobody denounces the police state so carefully crafted over decades in the District of Criminals.

So the names may change in November, but nothing else will change, for no man will give up the power. I hear people speak of this in hushed tones. Common folks, working folks. They know. As a decorated Marine Corps veteran put it, "Look, get this straight, I love this country, but I hate this government."

In the election farce of 2000 roughly one-sixth of the US population put this guy into office, and nearly two-thirds of our population turned their backs on the whole business. I wonder how many will turn their backs in 2004?


January 19, 2004

We have read where hundreds of cities and municipalities around the country have voted to not enforce the Patriot Act(s) within their jurisdictions. But have we seen an actual state take up the matter yet? God bless New Hampshire because a bill is now before the state legislature that would "nullify" the Patriot Act(s) within the state's borders. You would think it would pass easily so it will be entertaining to see the specific resistance this bill meets in the legislature.

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legi...04/HB1246.html



HB 1246 - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-2084

08/09

HOUSE BILL 1246

AN ACT nullifying the USA Patriot Act.

SPONSORS: Rep. McElroy, Hills 61; Rep. Itse, Rock 80; Rep. Bicknell, Rock 73; Rep. Ingbretson, Graf 13

COMMITTEE: State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs

ANALYSIS

This bill states that the USA Patriot Act shall not be recognized in the state of New Hampshire.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-2084

08/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT nullifying the USA Patriot Act.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Purpose. New Hampshire supports the constitutions of New Hampshire and of the United States; therefore, New Hampshire is taking this position against the USA Patriot Act, along with other states and communities, because:

I. The USA Patriot Act blatantly violates both the constitutions of New Hampshire and of the United States. Because of this violation, the USA Patriot Act poses a greater threat to the security and freedom of the residents of both New Hampshire and of the United States.

II. It seems that the well being and security of the United States and of the sovereign states is not truly of paramount interest to the drafters of the USA Patriot Act since the drafters ignored concerns of the generals of our Joint Chiefs of Staff that our homeland security is at major risk because the federal government has relinquished its Article 1 Section 8 Clause 3 responsibilities by its actions of having given the United States production and supply capability to foreign powers and influences, as a result of treaties like GATT, NAFTA, treaties with the World Trade Organization, and other ill begotten commercial treaties and agreements; which means that if we or our allies are attacked we are in serious jeopardy of not being able to supply our troops or our allies, especially if we are attacked by the powers to whom we have given our production capability.

III. With this in mind and to resolve this very serious homeland security situation, New Hampshire is additionally insisting that the nation and all the states rebuild our manufacturing and production capabilities and accomplish this rebuilding with a similar philosophy and the strategies our nation used when putting a man on the moon.

2 Nullification of the USA Patriot Act. The state of New Hampshire shall no longer recognize the USA Patriot Act, including any subsequent rules, executive orders, or judicial interpretations to have effect or to be binding on the state or on the residents of this state.

3 Copies. The clerk of the house of representatives shall send copies of this act to the President of the United States, the New Hampshire Congressional delegation, and to the speakers of the house of representatives of the other 49 states.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2005.

Originally Posted by Seadog '66

We have read where hundreds of cities and municipalities around the country have voted to not enforce the Patriot Act(s) within their jurisdictions. But have we seen an actual state take up the matter yet? God bless New Hampshire because a bill is now before the state legislature that would "nullify" the Patriot Act(s) within the state's borders. You would think it would pass easily so it will be entertaining to see the specific resistance this bill meets in the legislature.

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legi...04/HB1246.html



HB 1246 - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-2084

08/09

HOUSE BILL 1246

AN ACT nullifying the USA Patriot Act.

SPONSORS: Rep. McElroy, Hills 61; Rep. Itse, Rock 80; Rep. Bicknell, Rock 73; Rep. Ingbretson, Graf 13

COMMITTEE: State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs

ANALYSIS

This bill states that the USA Patriot Act shall not be recognized in the state of New Hampshire.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-2084

08/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT nullifying the USA Patriot Act.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Purpose. New Hampshire supports the constitutions of New Hampshire and of the United States; therefore, New Hampshire is taking this position against the USA Patriot Act, along with other states and communities, because:

I. The USA Patriot Act blatantly violates both the constitutions of New Hampshire and of the United States. Because of this violation, the USA Patriot Act poses a greater threat to the security and freedom of the residents of both New Hampshire and of the United States.

II. It seems that the well being and security of the United States and of the sovereign states is not truly of paramount interest to the drafters of the USA Patriot Act since the drafters ignored concerns of the generals of our Joint Chiefs of Staff that our homeland security is at major risk because the federal government has relinquished its Article 1 Section 8 Clause 3 responsibilities by its actions of having given the United States production and supply capability to foreign powers and influences, as a result of treaties like GATT, NAFTA, treaties with the World Trade Organization, and other ill begotten commercial treaties and agreements; which means that if we or our allies are attacked we are in serious jeopardy of not being able to supply our troops or our allies, especially if we are attacked by the powers to whom we have given our production capability.

III. With this in mind and to resolve this very serious homeland security situation, New Hampshire is additionally insisting that the nation and all the states rebuild our manufacturing and production capabilities and accomplish this rebuilding with a similar philosophy and the strategies our nation used when putting a man on the moon.

2 Nullification of the USA Patriot Act. The state of New Hampshire shall no longer recognize the USA Patriot Act, including any subsequent rules, executive orders, or judicial interpretations to have effect or to be binding on the state or on the residents of this state.

3 Copies. The clerk of the house of representatives shall send copies of this act to the President of the United States, the New Hampshire Congressional delegation, and to the speakers of the house of representatives of the other 49 states.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2005.

That would be impressive if it was anything other than empty grandstanding.

I don't like the Patriot Act either. This sort of thing does nothing to improve the situation. Repeal of the Patriot Act will require Congress to act, not a State Legislature. Even if the Legislature passes it unanimously, it means nothing, since States cannot overturn Federal actions.

Though it is classic 3T.