The American Dream & Waking People Up And Getting Them To Realize That The American Dream Is Quickly Becoming The American Nightmare
Freedom Of Speech Is Dead!
Is freedom of speech dead in America? Well, if not, it is rapidly dying. The most recent example to illustrate this comes out of Dearborn, Michigan. On June 18th, two Christians decided that they would peacefully pass out copies of the gospel of John on a public sidewalk outside a public Arab festival in Dearborn, and within 3 minutes 8 policemen surrounded them and placed them under arrest. Remember, these Christians were on a public sidewalk and were only very quietly handing out literature. Even their cameraman was arrested for simply filming what was taking place. The cameraman was not even involved in handing out the literature. Yet the police arrested him. At least two people claim that some bystanders cried out "Allahu Akbar!" as the Christians were being led away in handcuffs. Later, the group was told that they would have to go at least five blocks away to hand out their copies of the gospel of John. Freedom of speech has always been a big part of the American Dream, but as this incident and many others like it demonstrate, freedom of speech is rapidly being destroyed in the United States.
And the American people are just standing around and letting it happen.
The video posted below tells the story of what just happened a few days ago in Dearborn. Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, Paul Rezkalla and Negeen Mayel attended the 15th annual Dearborn Arab International Festival on June 18th with the intent of peacefully passing out copies of the gospel of John outside the festival on a public sidewalk. The festival covers 14 blocks and was free and open to the public. Qureshi and Mayal are former Muslims who have now become Christians. Wood is a former atheist. All of them are from a group called Acts 17 Apologetics. What happened to them literally minutes after they started passing out copies of the gospel of John will have your jaw on the floor....
But this is far from the only example of free speech being trampled on in America. We have all heard about the "free speech zones" which law enforcement authorities set up wherever major politicians go. Often these "free speech zones" are so small and so enclosed that they resemble little more than jail cells. Apparently Americans still have freedom of speech as long as they do it in a little cage set up by authorities. The implication of these free speech zones is that everyone outside of the cage does not have the right to exercise free speech. How sick is that?
Brian and Doris Johnson were recently arrested for attempting to pass out free Bibles at the Twin Cities Pride Festival in Minnesota. The truth is that it is hard to even get police to come out to your house if it has been broken into these days, but if you try to pass out Bibles at a "pride" festival they will come down on you like rabid dogs.
Michael Anthony Marcavage, founder of Repent America ministries, was recently arrested for holding signs depicting graphic images of aborted babies and preaching to people waiting in line to enter the Liberty Bell Center in downtown Philadelphia. Apparently speaking out against abortion is not "politically correct" enough to be protected.
Authorities have even attempted to ban home Bible studies in some areas of the United States. That is just how bad things are getting out there.
Of course we all remember the University of Florida student who cried out "Don't taze me bro!" after he was tackled to the floor and manhandled by police simply for asking John Kerry the wrong question....
The most disgusting thing about that whole situation was when news "anchors" on some of the major networks actually applauded the tazering of that poor young student.
Whether you agree with that student or any of the other examples of free speech above, the truth is that we all need to stand together to protect it. If free speech is taken away from one of us, then it is taken away from all of us.
Without free speech it is very easy for a nation to turn into another Nazi Germany. In fact, a large number of nations around the globe are already headed down that path.
Someday websites such as this will be shut down because they are "offensive" to someone out there. Already, the FCC is pushing for tighter speech restrictions on the Internet because they say it has become more difficult for the public to separate "the facts" from "bigotry masquerading as news".
Of course the "facts" would be whatever they consider to be "politically correct" and "bigotry" would be anything that disagrees with them.
Do you see how that works?
The truth is that Americans are going to continue to be pushed into free speech zones, they are going to continue to be arrested for handing out literature on public sidewalks and the government is going to continue to place tighter and tighter controls on the Internet unless we stand up and say something.
Do not take freedom of speech for granted. We are rapidly losing it, and once it is gone it will be incredibly difficult to get back.
The West's separatist warning
Poll finds 35% of Westerners think splitting from Canada should be explored
Cathy Gulli
National Post
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
More than one-third of Westerners younger than 30 think their provinces should consider quitting Canada, showing the strongest support for sovereignty among all ages, a recent poll reveals. Fully 36.4% of people between 18 and 29 in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba agree "Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country."
The sentiment is not exclusive to youth. Across all age groups, 35.6% of Westerners favour debating sovereignty. Albertans lead with 41.9% support, compared to 31.9% in Saskatchewan, 30.8% in British Columbia, and 27.5% in Manitoba.
"Westerners are very frustrated with their position in Confederation," said Faron Ellis, a political science professor at Lethbridge Community College, who conducted the poll for Western Standard magazine. He warns that, at a time when Canada is facing a major national crisis, this level of dissatisfaction could be a sign of worse things to come.
''There's really nothing aside from the ongoing institutionalized grievances to be angry about, and for the most part in all four provinces the economy is going fairly well,'' Mr. Ellis said.
''Canadians across the country should be aware that if these are the bedrock levels of frustration without a crisis, the next crisis [will have] Westerners at least debating the concept,'' he added.
Even though most young people were not alive during divisive political crises such as the National Energy Program, "they register among the highest levels of support for discussing independence," Mr. Ellis said. Mr. Ellis believes young people are aware of both modern and historical difficulties affecting the West.
"They hear from their parents. They hear it daily on the streets. They know about current injustices. When federal issues come up, this group sees themselves outside of the debate, their opinions marginalized," Mr. Ellis said. Gerald Baier, a University of British Columbia professor of political science, said young people are more likely to support the idea of sovereignty because they are often more open-minded than older generations.
"The question doesn't ask them to state support for the idea of sovereignty but for the idea of exploring it. Why shouldn't you look into all ideas? It might even be a matter of idealism," Mr. Baier added. The poll also shows 64% of Westerners think Prime Minister Paul Martin is doing a poor job of ending Western alienation. Another 40.4% say that if the Liberal party wins the next election they will be more in favour of exploring independence.
Mr. Ellis believes these Westerners feel they have exhausted every possible solution to improve their standing in Ottawa, citing the failures of the Reform and Canadian Alliance parties to gain power. "It's hard for any new party in Canada to do well," Mr. Baier said.
The Western Canada Concept Party registered with Elections Canada 25 years ago with a platform calling for separation of the four Western provinces, but never came close to electing an MP. Neither have the Separation Party of Alberta or the Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan managed to win more than marginal popular votes in recent years.
Doug Christie, the free speech lawyer who co-founded the Western Canada Concept, announced in January
the formation of yet another separatist party, the Western Block. Anne McLellan, deputy prime minister at the time, disputed any hopes for this federal party, saying, "I don't think Mr. Christie will find a very welcoming audience in this province, in Newfoundland or anywhere else for his separatist rhetoric," she said.
Bruce Hutton, leader of the Alberta separatist party, told the Western Standard: "One of the things that makes separation a hard sell is that we have to get people to think of the future, not the present, to sell our message." Despite Western frustration, Mr. Baier said, to voters there "these parties have been perceived as fringe parties." Mr. Ellis said the dissatisfaction felt among residents of these provinces runs deep, and should be taken seriously.
The poll was conducted by telephone between June 29 and July 5, 2005, and involved 1,448 randomly selected Western residents. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.6%, 19 times out of 20.
National Post 2005
Poll: Westerners considering separation
CALGARY (CP) - More than one-third of western Canadians surveyed this summer thought it was time to consider separation from Canada, a poll suggests. In the survey, 35.6 per cent of respondents from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia agreed with the statement: Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country.
Albertans, at 42 per cent, were most apt to consider independence, followed by Saskatchewan at 31.9 per cent. Residents of B.C. and Manitoba were the least likely to consider separation, at 30.8 and 27.5 per cent respectively. The survey was commissioned by the Western Standard, a right-leaning bimonthly news and opinion magazine based in Calgary, to assess how well the federal government has been managing the issue of western alienation - something that Prime Minister Martin promised to reduce as part of his 2004 election campaign.
The research was conducted by pollster Faron Ellis, a political science professor at Lethbridge Community College, who surveyed 1,448 adult western Canadians between June 29 and July 5. The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.6 percentage point, 19 times out of 20. Ellis noted that surprisingly, separatist sentiment appeared to run highest among young people - 37 per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 were open to the notion of breaking away from Canada.
Support was lowest - 33.7 per cent - among the baby boom generation aged between 45 and 64.
In the poll's supplementary questions, 64 per cent of respondents said Martin had done a "poor job" at ending western alienation.
Taking free speech by the bullhorn, they face arrest Pointing to a plaque on the ground behind him that notes Union Sq. is a national historic landmark, Blank said, “This is an urban square. It’s cement — or whatever it is. It’s always been that way. This isn’t a monument to free speech — it’s living free speech.”
Taking free speech by the bullhorn, they face arrest
The Villager | May 25, 2005
By Lincoln Anderson
Last Saturday afternoon in Union Sq.’s south plaza there was the usual controlled chaos, with various groups staking out their space. On the east side, sitting in lotus position, were the Hare Krishnas, singing and chanting with their cymbals, drums and harmonium. On the west side was a jazz outfit, trying to play with some loud speakers for amplification, but being told by Park Enforcement officers they could not. There were some guys next to them kicking a Hackey Sack in the air. A breakdance crew called the Transformerz were set with their own small amps, waiting to start their show. Vendors ringed the edge of the plaza, hawking everything from anti-Bloomberg buttons to bootleg movie scripts. And, as usual, in the middle of it all with their inflammatory “The Bush Regime Engineered 9/11” banner — and being inflammatory, in general — was the No Police State Coalition.
The Coalition, which believes a sound permit shouldn’t be needed to use an electric megaphone, has helped set the tone in the plaza: Before they started their dance routine, the hip-hoppers, in a nod to the Coalition, announced what they were doing was all about “free expression.”
Geoffrey Blank, 30, one of the group’s leaders, has been arrested multiple times for using the bullhorn — as well as several times when he was just standing around without it, he claims. He patrols the plaza with a clipboard with Xeroxed copies of court decisions concerning the use of bullhorns and laminated newspaper articles and photos of them from The Villager and New York Times, and will readily engage anyone on the subject of free speech.
“Annoyance at ideas can be cloaked in annoyance at sound,” he read from one court case in favor of the use of bullhorns.
Pointing to a plaque on the ground behind him that notes Union Sq. is a national historic landmark, Blank said, “This is an urban square. It’s cement — or whatever it is. It’s always been that way. This isn’t a monument to free speech — it’s living free speech.”
He said, at first, the two-year-old group tried to apply for a sound permit, but were denied.
“After they didn’t give it to us, we decided we’re going to exercise our freedom of speech,” he said. “We’re not saying we want to stack up Marshalls like a Who concert. We want a reasonable amount of volume so we can be heard….. If you yell [without a bullhorn], how long can you yell for? Five minutes?”
Blank’s group routinely blasts the Bush administration and spins outlandish conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks. In their banner, a swastika replaces the “S” in Bush — which some people, including some police, have told them they find offensive. Former Mayor Ed Koch has called them “kooks.”
During the Republican National Convention, Blank’s and his cohorts’ mug shots were shown on a segment of “Nightline” in which they were reported as having been identified by police as “potentially dangerous anarchists” bent on disrupting the convention.
But he says he’s a socialist, and a Marxist, too, since, “Aren’t all socialists are Marxists?” In short, Blank says it’s not the bullhorn volume the powers that be object to, but their message.
Noting the Hare Krishnas’ singer was miked-up to a small amp, too, he said, “The police would gladly walk right over the Hare Krishnas to arrest us.”
Blank feels the sound ordinance is unfair, that a bullhorn at a certain level of loudness should be allowed. After all, no one can really hear it, anyway, with all the bus and truck traffic on 14th St., he said. And he’s sure no residents in apartments around the square can hear them. He said they don’t hold their speak-outs late into the night out of courtesy for residents, noting, “People have to get up and go to work the next day.” He’s a lifeguard in Rockaway himself when not on his soapbox.
Recently, however, police have been cracking down on them. There’s a new commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Michael McEnroy, at the 13th Precinct, and Blank says the C.O. personally told them he plans to be on them like white on rice. In the past two weeks, they’ve had four bullhorns confiscated and three members issued summonses, with one having to spend a few hours in jail.
But the Coalition isn’t about to back down.
“We’re getting these bullhorns bulk now,” Blank said. “We’re getting them off Craigslist for $30 apiece. This is expensive. We used to get it at Radio Shack for $100 — plus it takes eight ‘C’ batteries.”
“Go home! We don’t want to hear your conspiracy theories!” a young teen shouted at a Coalition member who was on the bullhorn. “The people are just sitting here on the steps — but they don’t want to listen to you!”
“Oh yes, you do need to hear it,” Blank retorted, then lamented about the political apathy of today’s youth.
“Freedom of speech isn’t to protect the speakers — we learn that in high school,” he said. “It’s to protect the listeners.”
An Attack on Liberty, 100-0
Harold E. Smith III | May 12, 2005
Tuesday marked an important day in the long history of the United States of America. The Senate unanimously approved the Iraq Supplemental Spending Bill as expected, passing along with it a very important rider: The REAL ID Act.
What is the REAL ID Act? Simply put it is an erosion of freedom, balance of powers, and states rights under the guise of safety.
The erosion of freedom is simple, your government will be able to track you with uninhibited ease compared to the past. Language within the bill gives the Department of Homeland Security unequivocal control over the implementation of the new national ID. One of the "security features" will be an identification method, it could be similar to the magnetic strip already contained on the back of your driver’s license. Don’t count on this being the technology that will be used.
The Department of Homeland Security has a strong inclination for RFID technology (which is also being used in future passports). Yes, tracking technology. This is the same technology Wal-Mart uses to track its billions of dollars in inventory as it moves through distribution centers and stores. Why on earth would the Department of Homeland Security want to use tracking technology in licenses?
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The Real ID card: the machine readable you
The question answers itself, why wouldn’t they. Mandating citizens to carry a card on their person that has a tracking chip isn’t as Orwellian and draconian as having an implant to keep tabs on citizens.
Don’t count on these cards being secure either. We all know how successful corporations have been at implementing secure digital media. Their failure rate has been immense, even given the unconstitutional Digital Millennium Copyright Act which was designed to severely punish those who "hack" and "crack" encryption technologies. One can only guess at how well a growing bureaucracy will do at ensuring our ID’s we have to carry with us will be secure. As the technology stands, you can "sniff" RFID tags from several hundred meters away, once cracked this is a dangerous proposition. Ignoring any Orwellian fears a minute, the simple fact it can be exploited for nefarious purposes by criminals is reason enough to cause alarm. The security of a system is only as strong as its weakest link. How many weak links can we find within the massive and ever growing federal government?
If you think using RFID’s is the end to this, you have another thing coming. RFID tags will only be the beginning of ever more control by the government. Government never stops growing and assuming powers it has no right to take.
Along with the RFID tags there will be extensive databases, all linked, to compile information on the citizens of the "free" United States. The new national ID must be used to open a new bank account, receive government benefits, and a host of other activities. They will track everything you do. But I guess the only people that have something to hide will worry, it isn’t like history repeats itself.
Section 102 of this bill should cause worry to all Americans, past and present:
IN GENERAL – Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.
NO JUDICIAL REVIEW – Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), no court, administrative agency, or other entity shall have jurisdiction – "(A) to hear any cause or claim arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph (1)"; or "(B) to order compensatory, declaratory, injunctive, equitable, or any other relief for damage alleged to arise from any such action or decision."
You read it right, Congress is attempting (this text has appeared in previous bills) to remove the Supreme Court from the balance of power. Giving the Department of Homeland Security unbridled power to legislate as they see fit is unacceptable from the standpoint of ensuring freedom for all Americans. Who are we to hold responsible in the Department of Homeland Security? They are not elected officials, yet they cannot be held in contempt of violating our Constitutional Rights as Americans, our God given rights to live free and not be held slaves of our own government.
A war is brewing between the Supreme Court and the other branches of power. One must ask, do you really think the Supreme Court will rule against itself having the power to declare laws unconstitutional? The Supreme Court deciding they don’t have that power has as much chance of happening as Congress cutting the size of government in half. Now you must ask yourself, how will this be implemented?
Implementation will take place through extortion. Let’s not forget extortion is illegal, unless you are the federal government. If a state refuses to implement the REAL ID Act it will not be a beneficiary of federal dollars or programs. The citizens of the state will not be purvey to federal programs, incentives, and even travel. Your tax dollars are taken away and held hostage in exchange for your rights. The federal behemoth has concocted the perfect system to ensure they can erode the rights of the states. Identification of citizens was never a right given to the federal government by the Constitution, yet the immense power it has become has declared it the right of the federal government. The rights for identifying citizens have been predicated to the states as explicitly laid out in the Tenth Amendment.
Let us not forget the gross perversion of power that has allowed this bill to pass as is. The simple fact this bill was attached to emergency spending to ensure our troops are safe while at war is despicable. All members of Congress should feel disgusted at their attempts to subjugate the freedoms we enjoy as Americans while not standing up against this bill. The fact not one member of the Senate had the courage to vote against this bill should be proof to all Americans that our representatives are not upholding the Constitution they swore to obey. The bill failed to pass on its own last year. It would have done the same this year. It was bad legislation, it is still bad legislation, and it will be bad legislation.
Congress needs to do away with riders and unrelated legislation to bills. If a bill cannot pass on its own merit we as free Americans don’t need it.
Our only hope is for the governors to refuse to honor this law, which National Governors Association is planning to oppose. Write your governor; tell him to fight this to the bloody end. Fight the blackmail; fight the erosion of your constitutional rights to be free within your country. There is still hope, do everything you can and get everyone you can to contact your elected officials.