(D) Representative John Murtha, Pennsylvania, a critic of the Iraq War, accuser of innocent Marines in Heditha, Iraq, a politician famous for pork barrel earmarks for his home district of Johnstown, Pa. and politician of questionable governmental ethics has died after gallbladder surgery.
He was 77.
Previous posts has discussed the problems of the 16th amendment. Today’s post addresses mostly the 17th amendment. The 16th, 17th, and 18th amendments were passed during Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. This weekend I committed to reading “American Progressivivism” by Ronand J. Pestritto and William J Atto and “Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism.” by Ronald J. Pestritto, associate professor of politics at the University of Dallas. After reading a few pages, I discovered my two day project would soon take many days. In the weeks ahead, while I internalize the thinking of Woodow Wilson, I will explain the three constitutional amendments he supported. The 16th amendment allowed government to tax income, the 17th amendment took away your states legislature voting on Senators and gave us direct, “democratic” popular election of Senators, and the 18th amendment prohibited alcohol consumption by individuals and manufacture of booze. Only the 18th amendment has been repealed, yet I think we would do well to repeal the 16th and 17th amendment to restore our freedom. Here are some videos which give background on our government and the 16th & 17th amendments.
The 16th Amendment gave the federal government the unlimited power to tax income. They institutionalized taking from the “rich” and giving to the poor” until all citizens are equally poor. An equal amount of revenue could be raised if the 16th amendment were repealed and a national consumption tax imposed, namely the FairTax.
The 17th Amendment removed the States right to check Federal government and their power to spend. A democratically elected Senator owes his allegiance directly to the to vote for bills they want, or to the wealthy corporate lobbyist who gave them cash for their campaign. Senators owe their allegiance to those interests for special protections in the law or special expenditures or deductions in tax law without regard for the “government’s” ability to spend that money. States once had the power to restrict federal spending when they had the power to appoint senators and say whether a senator maintained their appointment after their six year term expired. The national government began its exponential growth in power and influence over individuals and companies following the passage of the 17th Amendment, just as soon as there was no longer a competing interest that could stop it. Being a powerful Senator puts them on the gravy-train to personal wealth, witness the number of former Senators who become Washington lobbyists after they leave office.
A punishing winter storm will continue to blast an area from the eastern Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic coast today. Read More …
By Marc Sheppard
Unquestionably the world’s final authority on the subject, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s findings and recommendations have formed the bedrock of literally every climate-related initiative worldwide for more than a decade. Likewise, virtually all such future endeavors — be they Kyoto II, domestic cap-and-tax, or EPA carbon regulation, would inexorably be built upon the credibility of the same U.N. panel’s “expert” counsel. But a glut of ongoing recent discoveries of systemic fraud has rocked that foundation, and the entire man-made global warming house of cards is now teetering on the verge of complete collapse.
Kavoshgar 3 RocketIran has announced the successful test firing of a new satellite-carrying rocket containing an “experimental capsule” with live species inside that has raised the spectre of potential biological or chemical attacks.
The launch of the Kavoshgar 3 rocket has been condemned by the United States as a “provocative act,” and comes at a time when the U.S. has openly said that it was upgrading its missile defense systems in countries neighboring Iran.
Suspicions currently center on the test firing representing a potential test for a long-range nuclear, biological or chemical weapon. The Islamic regime in Iran denies that there is a link between its missile and nuclear programs.
The test launch also has raised fears as it comes only days before February 11, a date on which Iranian President Ahmadinejad said the Islamic Republican would deliver a blow to “global arrogance.”
The rocket’s experimental capsule, which allows animals to survive a space journey, can also carry a weaponized virus or chemical weapon, experts fear. The Iranian regime is presumed to possess such weapons and, with this new rocket, would be able to deliver them to the other side of the world.
Before such an event is possible, however, Iran would need to fine tune the rocket’s accuracy and munitions dispersal.
