We’re not sure exactly when it became more important to our
political leaders to serve themselves and their party (not necessarily
in that order) instead of the country and their constituents, but that
is certain where we find ourselves in our current political environment.
And there is no better self-serving, selfish, self-centered cretin in Washington, D.C., than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The California Democrat has just admitted that
she purposely held up new coronavirus relief packages for millions of
Americans out of work or who were forced by local Democrat tyrants to
close their businesses…just for political gain.
They want to talk about President Trump somehow being liable for coronavirus deaths, well…how much blood does this POS have on her hands?
How many Americans died — either by their own hand or due to
any number of financially-related reasons — while this selfish
[censored] blocked new relief just to hurt President Trump?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that
Democrats would work with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on a
smaller coronavirus relief package.
‘What was then before was not more than this. This has
simplicity. It’s what we’ve had in our bills,’ Pelosi said, defending
her position. ‘It’s for a shorter period of time but that’s ok now because we have a new president.‘
[We’ll see about that, Nance]
For months, Pelosi has refused to negotiate anything beyond their
$2.2 trillion funding bill that included bailouts for Democrat-led
states. She said Friday that the development of an effective vaccine and
Biden’s election prompted her decision to cut a deal.
‘With a Democratic president, committed to a scientific solution
for this, with the idea, we will have a vaccine, it’s a complete
game-changer from them,’ she said.
House Democrats also felt additional pressure after a disastrous jobs report was released Friday morning.
Words cannot begin to describe what a despicable human being Nancy Pelosi is.
Nancy Pelosi admits it was her “decision” to block coronavirus relief for months pic.twitter.com/iHhVFTwrD1
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh slammed Michelle
Obama for blasting Donald Trump for his “locker room talk” and pointed
out that the rappers and other hip-hop stars that the Obama’s have had
to the White House are making millions of dollars degrading women, and
what these scumbags say in their songs is a thousand times more
offensive than ANYTHING Donald Trump said- believe me.
“It’s not locker room talk. I don’t know men who talk that way.
Decent men do not talk that way. What Trump was talking about was
sexual assault,” Michelle said.
Rush said, “Men brag, and she is
telling people that she doesn’t know men who brag. You know the people
that have been to the White House? How about some of the rappers that
talk about their b*tches and their hos have performed such lyrics in the
White House? But she doesn’t know men who talk and sing about sexual
assault. It’s all over hip-hop lyrics and has been for a while!”
Rush added that many of the lyrics in these songs also condone violence on law enforcement.
“So is assault on the police a feature of some hip-hop lyrics, and
it’s been performed at the White House. But she doesn’t know men who
talk that way. She doesn’t know decent guys who talk that way,” he
said.
Rush is spot on. Obama has had some of the biggest scumbags in the world come to the White House.
Then Rush brought up Obama’s pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Another major scumbag.
“Yeah, I guess Michelle Obama wasn’t there when the Reverend Wright
was talking about Bill Clinton,” Rush said. “You remember what Reverend
Wright said about Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky?”
“And Bill and Monica Lewinsky was riding dirty. Yeah, chickens have come home to roost, baby.” ‘Bill was riding dirty,’ and the population, the congregation went nuts!”
“Can you lick my Skittles, it’s the sweetest in the middle / Pink is the flavor, solve the riddle”
“I can’t wait till I get home so you can turn that cherry out / I want you to turn that cherry out, turn that cherry out”
“First both of my legs go back on your head, and whatever you want, yeah baby, I’m bad”
“Now my mascara running, red lipstick smudged / Yeah, he’s so h****
he wants to f*** / He popped all my buttons and he ripped my blouse/
He Monica Lewinsky-ed all on my gown / Oh daddy, daddy, he didn’t bring
the towel / Oh baby, baby, we better slow it down”
“Over there I swear I saw them cameras flash / Hand prints and footprints on my glass / Hand prints and good grips on my a**”
“Gimme that daddy long stroke”
The former first lady, meanwhile, calls her a role model.
Yeah, this is pretty insane.
The double standards are ridiculous.
I wonder what Michelle has to say about Barack parading around with an erection in front of females on an airplane back in 2007.
Roger Stone Asserts Fifth Amendment Rights in Jan 6 Probe, Citing Congressional Partisanship and a History of Leaks and Lies
by Jacob Engles
Roger Stone Asserts Fifth Amendment Rights in Jan 6 Probe, Citing Congressional Partisanship and a History of Leaks and Lies
Longtime political operative and Trump advisor Roger Stone has formally notified the secretive (and highly partisan) January
6th Committee of the United States House of Representatives that he
will not comply with their document request or demands for a deposition
asserting his Fifth Amendment Rights, according to a two-page letter Stone’s lawyer sent to the Committee which was obtained by The Gateway Pundit.
Stone has said repeatedly that he was
not on The Ellipse, did not march to the Capitol and was not present at
the Capitol on January 6th. Various fake news outlets have attempted to
utilize the technique of “Guilt by Association” in order to falsely
connect Stone to the illegal events of January 6th. In fact, Reuters
reported in August that senior FBI officials had investigated and found no evidence that Roger Stone was involved in the January 6th incidents at the Capitol.
Stone has also objected to broad
attempts by Democrats and those in the media to falsely claim that
Stone’s appearances at two legally-permitted events on January 5th
somehow led to the illegal actions of a handful on January 6th. “They are trying to criminalize perfectly legal and constitutionally protected political activity,” Stone has said. “On January 5th, I exercised my right to Free Speech, Free Assembly in petitioning the government for redress of grievances,” Stone said.
In the letter,
signed by longtime Stone attorney Grant Smith, he highlights his
clients constitutionally protected right to assert the Fifth Amendment,
citing first Watkins v. United States (1957) to
remind them of the longstanding legal precedent regarding the fifth
amendment, especially as it relates to testimonies before congress.
Additionally, Smith cites an additional case, Ohio vs. Reiner (2001).
When it comes to Ohio v. Reiner, the Supreme Court affirmed that the Fifth Amendment “protects innocent men who might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances”.
Here, given the current leaks
from the Select Committee regarding Mr. Stone surfacing in press, in
Congress, and, according to news reports, within the Department of
Justices’ offices, Mr. Stone certainly has a reasonable basis to protect
himself from the “ambiguous circumstances” that clearly exist and many
have embraced.
The letter slammed the document request of the January 6th Committee as a “fishing expedition” that is overbroad and overreaching, including requests that are “imprecise” and “undefined.” Smith argues that such requests, given the fact that the press has stated that Stone is “under investigation” by
the FBI and DOJ, would amount to a “testimonial act,” which would
defeat the purpose Mr. Stone asserted based on his constitutionally
protected Fifth Amendment rights.
The letter
goes on to discuss the January 6th Committee’s chief purpose, which
includes the investigation of the events leading up to January 6th, as a
false premise that legally protected free speech and the right to
petition the government for redress of grievances somehow lead to the
illegal acts of January 6th.
The letter
closes by reminding the January 6th Committee Chairman Bernie Thompson
of Mr. Stone’s previous interaction with the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), where Stone testified before in 2017.
In the weeks, months, and years
following his appearance, Mr. Stone was subjected to a torrent of leaks
regarding his classified testimony, in violation of House Rules.
At this point, a reference is made to Congressman Adam Schiff, who is a member of the HPSCI and the January 6th Committee, for “relentlessly misinterpreting” the evidence regarding Mr. Stone, including “wholly unsubstantiated allegations regarding alleged Russian collusion,” that
not even the Mueller team could substantiate. Stone specifically claims
that Schiff repeatedly violated both House Rules and the law by leaking
details of Stone’s testimony which were classified. Schiff openly
misrepresented Stone’s testimony in various media appearances, also a
flagrant violation of House Rules.
Rightfully so, Stone’s legal team also has concerns over the committee membership, which only includes two Republicans, notable Trump-hating lunatics Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. House Speaker Pelosi famously denied any Republican that was pro-Trump a seat on the committee.
Stone told this Gateway Pundit journalist.
Any claim,
assertion, or accusation that I knew about or was involved in any way in
the illegal acts of January 6th are categorically false. I have
asserted my Fifth Amendment right and the content of my letter to the
January 6th Committee speaks for itself. The attempt by the January 6th
Committee to criminalize and investigate perfectly legal
(constitutionally protected) political activity that preceded the
January 6th incidents is just another witch-hunt.”
States with Republican governors and
legislatures are leading Americans back to work quicker than those led
by Democrats, according to an analysis of the state-by-state
unemployment data from the Department of Labor.
The analysis of the Labor Department’s November unemployment data from the Republican National Committee (RNC) research team uncovered that the Republican-led states continued
to outperform Democrat-led states in job recovery for 17 of the top 20
states, and the lowest unemployment in 16 of the top 20 states.
“More jobs are being recovered and unemployment is lower in red states,” the RNC research team wrote.
Without interruption from a Democrat-led state, the top 13 states
leading in job growth as states across the country continue to end
the coronavirus restrictions as Americans get back in the states run by
a Republican governor.
Looking further into the data, the RNC analysis confirmed that 17 of
the top 20 states led by Republican governors are doing a better job
versus those led by Democrats governors. Plus, 18 of the top 20
recovering states have Republican-controlled legislatures. Both of these
are the ratio that the analysis of the October data revealed.
Republican-led states have proven to bring jobs
back faster than Democrat-led states as Americans get back to work,
according to new state-by-state unemployment data from the Department of
Labor. https://t.co/7v95vJ0HxF
Additionally, four Republican-led states — Utah, Idaho, Texas, and
Arizona — have produced more jobs than the state had before the
coronavirus pandemic started and any restrictions were put in place.
Since the pandemic, Utah has had 143.6 percent of its jobs
recovered, Idaho has had 118.2 percent, Texas has had 101.9 percent, and
Arizona has had 101.5 percent.
The RNC analysis also showed that 24 states that are Republican-led
recovered at least two-thirds of the jobs lost during the pandemic. On
average, Republican-led states have recovered 85 percent of their lost
jobs since the beginning of the pandemic. In comparison, only 73 percent
of the Democrat-led states have recovered their lost jobs since
the beginning of the pandemic.
“Republican leadership delivers. While Joe Biden and Democrats
continue to lie to the American people about their failed Build Back
Broke agenda, Republican-led states continue to lead our economic
recovery by getting Americans back to work,” said RNC Chairman Ronna
McDaniel on the analysis of the Labor Department’s November data.
Data from the U.S. Department of Labor, colorized analysis by the Republican National Committee.
Moreover, according to the RNC analysis, without interruption from a
Democrat-led state, the nine states with the lowest unemployment rates
are Republican-led.
Additionally, 16 of the top 20 states with the lowest unemployment
rates are led by Republicans governors, with 17
having Republican-controlled legislatures. Seven of the eight states
with the highest unemployment numbers in November — six percent or
higher — are led by Democrat governors.
The states with Democrat governors in order of unemployment
percentages are Connecticut (6 percent), Hawaii (6 percent), New Mexico
(6.2 percent), New Jersey (6.6 percent), New York (6.6 percent), Nevada
(6.8 percent), and California (6.9 percent).
Overall, Democrat-led states have an average unemployment rate of 1.4
percentage points higher than the Republican-led states. The 27 states
with the lowest unemployment rates are run by a Republican governor,
averaging 3.7 percent. In contrast to the Democrat-led states, which
have an average unemployment rate of 5.1 percent.
Nine Republican-led states had lower unemployment rates in November
than when the coronavirus pandemic began, according to the RNC analysis.
Those states, starting from lowest unemployment are Nebraska (1.8
percent), Utah (2.1 percent), Oklahoma (2.5 percent), Idaho (2.6
percent), Vermont (2.6 percent), New Hampshire (2.7 percent), South
Dakota (2.7 percent), Georgia (2.8 percent), and Montana (2.8 percent).
Data from the U.S. Department of Labor, colorized analysis by the Republican National Committee.
“Americans see through Biden’s empty promises for what they are – a
massive tax and spend spree that will raise taxes on the middle class
and continue to send prices skyrocketing,” McDaniel added. “In 2022,
voters will reject Democrats’ failed agenda and vote for Republican
leadership up and down the ballot.”
All of this is happening while President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.
and the Democrats have rammed bills through Congress that hurt
Americans, in addition to inflation rising and hurting the everyday
Americans.
The Democrats passed the disastrous $1.2 trillion,
2,702-page so-called bipartisan infrastructure bill earlier this year —
which Biden signed into law — and passed the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act (BBB) in the House.
However, while the BBB was considered to be the “marquee legislation” to Biden’s legislation agenda and would ultimately increase taxes on the middle class, expand and prolong the effects of inflation, and add hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. deficit, was effectively killed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). The senator on Sunday said, “I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation.”
BIDEN DISASTER: The U.S. economy only added 194,000 jobs in September, Labor Department reported Friday. https://t.co/w5sbHW1t6W
Nonetheless, inflation has still hit the highest level in nearly 40
years. “US consumer prices rose last month at a rate not seen in nearly
40 years… underscoring how inflation threatens the world’s largest
economy and President Joe Biden’s public support,” AFP reported.
Further, a recent University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School budget model showed
that inflation would cost families an additional $3,500 this year due
to the consumption from 2019 and 2020, impacting low-income families the
hardest. “Lower-income groups spent relatively more on food, energy,
and shelter, while higher-income groups spent relatively more on other
commodities and services,” the study states.
Since the founding of this great nation, a God-blessed America has
offered the hope of liberty to the world. In more recent years, we have
come to realize that should our experiment in self-governance fail,
there would be no other nation on Earth that could fill the void left in
its wake as the defender of such freedom.
Never before had any nation been founded to safeguard the rights of
the individual, which changed the course of human history from brute
force dictating propriety to recognition that every individual has
value. Our Declaration of Independence enshrined the truth that
individual rights come from the hand of our Creator, acknowledging them
to be established by the Almighty and therefore not defined by the brute
force realm of human power.
It took a Civil War and civil rights
movement for America to grow into the profound commitments of its
Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The Declaration has stood
the test of time to ensure liberty for all in our nation and as the
beacon of hope for the rest of the world. Our nation has continued to
move to right the wrongs of fallible human beings and build upon the
past.
We were getting exceedingly close.
Under Biden’s rule, for the first time in our history, normalizing
the denial of civil rights and civil liberties based on ideology, not
wrongdoing, is presented as a noble cause. Equal justice under the law
for the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken a giant leap
backward in embracing the medieval notion of might makes right in
glorifying the denial of civil rights for political opponents. It is
shameful and dangerous.
For months, elected officials representing the citizens of this
country have been seeking truthful, non-politicized answers from the
government about the events that unfolded on Jan. 6. We have been
continually stonewalled, belittled, ignored, and even demonized by the
DOJ, leadership at the Capitol Police, and the Bureau of Prisons. They
each ignore requests and questions, refusing to allow oversight of their
actions that gives every appearance of a cover-up of wrongdoing.
Think of the legal doctrine of spoliation. In court, if one party
holds evidence and destroys it or refuses to produce it, the judge may
instruct the jury to infer that the evidence is completely against the
party hiding it. This is exactly what they are doing.
Should ideology and abuse of power continue to drive this
administration’s actions, the Rule of Law will cease to exist. The only
safeguard against these obvious improprieties is transparency. Until
recent times, our country protected our individual freedoms by dragging
every ugly wart out into the light of day to examine the actions of our
government. We gave deference to individual rights. By its actions, the
Biden administration is shredding the foundations of our legal system
and the rights of the people’s representatives to protect them from
government abuse.
A number of Jan. 6 prisoners were held behind bars for months without
ever being charged with a crime, and some without ever seeing evidence
for or against them. Some have already accepted plea deals despite not
having access to all of the evidence involving their cases, which is a
civil rights violation and potential Brady violation. There also have
been reports of heinous mental and physical abuses against these
prisoners at the D.C. Central Detention Facility, although a recently
released prisoner said things got better after four members of Congress
attempted to tour the facility.
Now, imagine the outrage from Democrats and their accomplices in the
media had Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters been prosecuted with a
fraction of the vigor with which the DOJ has gone after the Jan.
6 defendants. Undoubtedly, there would be leftists, including elected
officials, chomping at the bit to call on their supporters to donate
funds to assist these terrorists, just as our now-vice president did
last year.
For reference, the riots in the summer of 2020 were reported, based
on insurance claims, to be the most destructive riots in U.S. history.
Those riotous individuals terrorized American cities for months, set
fires to federal and law enforcement buildings, and destroyed the
livelihoods of innocent Americans. More than 2,000 law enforcement officers were injured during these “mostly peaceful” protests. These groups even attempted to breach the White House in
May 2020, creating a threat so serious that Secret Service agents were
forced to rush then-President Donald Trump into a secure bunker.
Of course, most of them will never face a day of judgment in court
because, despite all of their criminal and terroristic actions, these
rioters didn’t express their support for Trump. In the mind of their
Democrat apologists, including quite a number of Biden administration
officials, they are absolved no matter the statutory offenses because
they worship at the altar of wokeness with the heartfelt belief that
America is evil and must endlessly be punished for its transgressions.
The apparent political revenge and retaliation against some of
the Jan. 6 detainees by the Biden administration’s DOJ should chill
every American to their core. Even the way many were arrested is more
reminiscent of Gestapo tactics, than those of a once-admired FBI. Those
on the left have made one thing perfectly clear: If you are a Trump
supporter facing prosecution, or even Donald Trump himself, you are
guilty until proven innocent and are undeserving of the basic civil
rights that all other Americans are supposed to be afforded under the
Constitution.
It appears that at least some of those treated so vilely for
suspected involvement in the Jan. 6 events are political prisoners of
the U.S. government. If we as a country continue to allow this abuse of
power to unfold and turn this nation into a banana republic, there is
nowhere left in the world to take refuge for lovers of liberty and
freedom.
COLORADO SECRETARY OF STATE JENA GRISWOLD SUED OVER DESTRUCTION OF
ELECTION RECORDS, FAILURE TO PROPERLY TEST VOTING EQUIPMENT, AND
OBSTRUCTION OF INDEPENDENT ELECTION AUDITS
Colorado citizens [Editor’s note, this suit is not a USEIP lawsuit. USEIP is only reporting onthe official court case filing]
sue Secretary of State Jena Griswold over election violations. Case
requests full forensic audit of Colorado voting systems and 2020
election to ensure free and fair elections for Colorado voters.
[Denver, Colorado, November 19, 2021] – Today an explosive case,
Hanks et al v. Griswold was filed in Denver District Court. The most
damning facts of the case claim that Colorado Secretary of State Jena
Griswold and her employees destroyed election records from the 2020
election. Griswold and other Colorado election officials are required by
state law to preserve those election records for twenty-five months,
and by federal law for twenty-two months. The relief sought in this case
is a full, independent forensic audit of Colorado voting systems and
the 2020 election in Colorado so citizens’ trust in their elections
might be restored.
When asked whether the deleted elections records were significant or
simply inconsequential extra files on election servers, or electronic
voting equipment, Col. (ret.) Shawn Smith USAF systems testing expert
stated, “The Federal Election Commission’s 2002 Voting System
Standards, which are a mandatory standard for Colorado voting systems,
require voting systems to maintain and produce ‘all audit trail
information,’ including operating system and hardware. The Department of
Justice has already confirmed that digital records ARE election
records. The federal and state statutes that require preservation of
election records were written for the EXACT purpose of ensuring the
availability of records EXACTLY like the those destroyed by the
Secretary of State.”
A second claim in the case states that Griswold “failed to employ a
federally accredited laboratory to test Colorado voting systems before
the 2020 election.” When investigating whether the claim is a mere
clerical oversight, the exhibits included in the case show otherwise.
Griswold’s selected testing lab’s, Pro V&V’s, accredited status
expired in 2017. The next time Pro V&V was officially accredited was
2021. However, in 2019, Griswold issued an official letter [exhibit 1]
approving Pro V&V’s test plans, and Griswold cited that testing in
her certification of Colorado voting systems used in November 2020.
Within the forty-seven months Pro V&V was unaccredited, meaning the
lab was not qualified to conduct proper electronic voting equipment
testing, Griswold repeatedly used the testing lab and cited its testing
reports.
Colorado voters shouldered all the risk when Griswold approved an
unaccredited lab to test voting systems. Every single Colorado county
used voting equipment during the 2020 election that was not properly
tested, and the lapsed lab accreditation likely affected the voting
systems used in the 2021 election, as well.
The final claim in the case against Griswold addresses what appears
to be Griswold’s attempt to cover-up potential wrongdoing. In June 2021,
Griswold issued emergency election rules limiting who can access
electronic voting equipment; “Defendant’s [Griswold’s] employees, County
Clerk’s employees, election judges, and voting system vendors. No
independent consultants are allowed.” Griswold’s emergency election
rules impact Colorado elections in two distinct ways.
First, the rules ensure that any independent forensic audits of
election equipment, which is exactly what Colorado citizens are asking
for, are forbidden. Secondly, none of the people or parties Griswold
identifies as being allowed to access voting equipment have adequate
technical expertise to verify the electronic voting equipment.
Here are 6 little known facts about the Bill of Rights to help you defend Liberty.
1.
The Bill of Rights is not an afterthought of the founders to "correct"
the Constitution. It was actually a negotiated condition for ratifying
the Constitution.
The
delegates of of 5 States were refusing to ratify the Constitution,
Virginia was one of those States. Virginia delegates agreed to ratify
the Constitution only if there would be a guarantee of debate on
provisions to add a Bill of Rights.
On 7 Mar. 1788 the Virginia Baptist General Committee discussed the Constitution:
"Whether
the new Federal Constitution which had now lately made its appearance in
public, made sufficient provision for the secure enjoyment of religious
liberty; on which it was agreed unanimously that, in the opinion of the
General Committee, it did not.”
Without
Virginia's consent there would be no Union, no Constitution, & no
federal government. In order to form the Union, the other 8 States
agreed to adding a Bill of Rights.
2. The Bill of Right was not established to “control” the federal government. It was written to “remind” the people to never let government control their inherent rights.
In the
debate of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, the argument was made
proving the intent and purpose of the Bill of Rights. Not a document to
control government, but a document to remind the people. In The Letter
From A Federal Farmer To The Republican #6 this truth is articulated:
“…Fortunate
it is for the body of a people, if they can continue attentive to their
liberties, long enough to erect for them a temple, and constitutional
barriers for their permanent security: when they are well fixed between
the powers of the rulers and the rights of the people, they become
visible boundaries, constantly seen by all, and any transgression of
them is immediately discovered: they serve as centinels for the people
at all times, and especially in those unavoidable intervals of
inattention.”
The Bill
of Rights was permanently placed within the Constitution to be a
“constant reminder” to the people to control the limited power of their
government. The Constitution is not a restraint on government, as it is
simply a paper with ink. Our founders said the Constitution was simply
a “parchment barrier” without the “true republican jealousy and
vigilance [of the people], the strongest guard against the abuses of
power.”
***Therefore,
the Bill of Rights did not "establish" or "grant" rigths to the
people. It recognized the rights of the people that already exist!***
3.
“You have the right to remain silent and everything you say can and
will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk
to an attorney and have him present during questioning. If you cannot
afford one, an attorney will be provided to you for your defense” is not
from a Supreme Court case, it is a summary of a few of the principles
in the 5th & 6th Amendments in the Bill of Rights.
The 5th Amendment reminds us: No person…shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.”
The 6th
Amendment reminds us: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right…to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.”
These are
not rights “bestowed” by judges in a courtroom. These are rights that
are essential to the protection of the inherent rights of all citizens.
4.
There is only one exception to the rights of the people to be secure in
their property & privacy and it is clearly outlined in the Bill of
Rights.
Today’s courts
have devised a laundry list of reasons why those in government and
their agents can search and seize all forms of property from the people
without a warrant or proper due process. These are all inventions by
those in government to increase the power of those in government
contrary to the explicit language of the 4th Amendment.
The 4th Amendment reads:
“The right
of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated,”
The 4th
Amendment then continues to outline the only exception to that right
that “shall not be violated” and that one exception contains five
elements that must be present, at the same time, for a search a seizure
to respect the rights of the people. Every search and seizure must
contain:
A Warrant
Based upon probable cause
Sworn by a supported by Oath or affirmation
That warrant must particularly describing the place to be searched
And that warrant must particularly describe the persons or things to be seized
Without
those five elements the search and seizure is a violation of the rights,
regardless of the excuse anyone in government can imagine.
5. The 9th & 10th
Amendments are the most important parts of the entire Constitution as
they establish the rules for the application of every article, section,
& clause of both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The 9th & 10th
Amendments look different from all the other Amendments in the Bill of
Rights and that is because they serve a different purpose. They are not
reminders of rights like the first eight, they are recitations of
powers.
In legal terms they are referred to as “rules of construction.” The 9th and 10th
Amendments provide the rules for the application of every term and
delegation of power in the Constitution & Bill of Rights. Rule #1
is the 9th Amendment which tells us that all the Rights in
the universe belong to the people. It doesn’t matter if they are
enumerated or not; all the right belong to the people. Rule #2 is the
10th Amendment that tells us all the powers of government
belong to the State and the People unless they are specifically listed
in the Constitution. That means if the power is not specifically
delegated to the federal government, then it is specifically reserved to
the States and the people. Rule #2 does not allow “plenary powers” or
“interpreted powers” to exist in the federal government. If it is not
in writing, it does not exist at the federal level.
6. The “Supremacy Clause” does not make all federal laws and regulations supreme to the States or the people. Watch & Share this short video on YouTube
Article 6
clause 2 is what we refer to as the Supremacy Clause. The Supremacy
Clause is titled so because it declares the Constitution to be the
“supreme law of the land.” It does NOT make all federal laws, federal
regulations, or Supreme Court opinions supreme laws of the land. The
Supremacy Clause very clearly declares that only laws made by Congress
that are made pursuant to the limited terms of the Constitution are
supreme over State laws. If Congress makes a law, if the executive
makes a regulation, if the Supreme Court issues an opinion an these acts
are not made consistent with the limited enumerations of the
Constitution, the Supremacy Clause actually declares these acts to be
not binding on the States, they are legally “null and void.” And the
drafters of the Constitution, made this principle more than clear in
their statements:
“No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid.” Federalist #78
“…the
power of the Constitution predominates. Any thing, therefore, that
shall be enacted by Congress contrary thereto, will not have the force
of law. ~ James Wilson, Madison’s Notes on the Convention
I will propose to you, that if these were widely known facts
about the Bill of Rights, rather than little known facts, America would
be a very different place today. Kindle the spirit of Liberty with
this education and watch as it spreads to ignite, unite, and activate
Americans to Make America Liberty Again!
I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas.
We did the chores early that night for some reason. I just figured Daddy wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible. After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Daddy to get down the old Bible.
I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much of a mood to read Scriptures. But Daddy didn't get the Bible instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.
Soon he came back in. It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight." I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now he was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see. We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this. But I knew he was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots back on and got my coat. Mommy gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house. Something was up, but I didn't know what..
Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled. Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job. I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load. Daddy was already up on the seat, reins in hand. I reluctantly climbed up beside him. The cold was already biting at me. I wasn't happy. When I was on, Daddy pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed. He got off and I followed.
"I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said. "Here, help me." The high sideboards! It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.
Then Daddy went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all Fall sawing into blocks and splitting. What was he doing? Finally I said something. I asked, "what are you doing?" You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. Mrs.Jensen lived about two miles down the road. Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight. Sure, I'd been by, but so what?
Yeah," I said, "Why?"
"I rode by just today," he said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt." That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him. We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it. Finally, he called a halt to our loading then we went to the smoke house and he took down a big ham and a side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait. When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand.
"What's in the little sack?" I asked. Shoes, they're out of shoes. Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning. I got the children a little candy too. It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."
We rode the two miles to Mrs.Jensen's pretty much in silence. I tried to think through what Daddy was doing. We didn't have much by worldly standards. Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it. We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was he buying them shoes and candy? Really, why was he doing any of this? Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.
We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door. We knocked. The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?" "Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?"
Mrs.Jensen opened the door and let us in. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all. Mrs.Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.
"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Daddy said and set down the sack of flour. I put the meat on the table. Then he handed her the sack that had the shoes in it. She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time. There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last. I watched her carefully. She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started running down her cheeks. She looked up at my Daddy like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't come out.
"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," he said. Then turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile. Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up." I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood. I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too. In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.
My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before filled my soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference. I could see we were literally saving the lives of these people.
I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared. The kids started giggling when Daddy handed them each a piece of candy and Mrs.Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face for a long time. She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord has sent you. The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."
In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again. I'd never thought of my Daddy in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true. I was sure that a better man than Daddy had never walked the earth. I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Mommy and me, and many others. The list seemed endless as I thought on it.
Daddy insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left. I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get. Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes.
Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave. My Daddy took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug. They clung to him and didn't want us to go. I could see that they missed their Daddy and I was glad that I still had mine.
At the door he turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow. The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals. We'll be by to get you about eleven. It'll be nice to have some little ones around again. Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell." I was the youngest. My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.
Mrs.Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles. I don't have to say, May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will."
Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold. When we had gone a ways, Daddy turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something. Your Mother and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough.
Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square. Your Mom and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do. Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."
I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again. I understood very well, and I was so glad Daddy had done it. Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities. He had given me a lot more. He had given me the look on Mrs. Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children. For the rest of my life, Whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside of my Daddy that night. He had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life..
At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021 -- and there's still three weeks to go in the year.
Of
the dozen cities that have already surpassed the grim milestones for
killings, five topped records that were set or tied just last year.
"It's
terrible to every morning get up and have to go look at the numbers and
then look at the news and see the stories. It's just crazy. It's just
crazy and this needs to stop," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said after
his city surpassed its annual homicide record of 500, which stood since
1990.
Philadelphia, a city of roughly 1.5 million people, has had
more homicides this year (521 as of Dec. 6) than the nation's two
largest cities, New York (443 as of Dec. 5) and Los Angeles (352 as of
Nov. 27). That's an increase of 13% from 2020, a year that nearly broke
the 1990 record.
Chicago,
the nation's third-largest city, leads the nation with 739 homicides as
of the end of November, up 3% from 2020, according to Chicago Police
Department crime data. Chicago's deadliest year remains 1970 when there
were 974 homicides.
Philadelphia's homicide record was broken in
the same week that Columbus, Indianapolis and Louisville eclipsed
records for slayings.
Experts say there are a number of reasons
possibly connected to the jump in homicides, including strained law
enforcement staffing, a pronounced decline in arrests and continuing
hardships from the pandemic, but that there is no clear answer across
the board.
5 cities surpass records set in 2020
Other
major cities that have surpassed yearly homicide records are St. Paul,
Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona; Toledo, Ohio; Baton Rouge,
Louisiana; Austin, Texas; Rochester, New York; and Albuquerque, New
Mexico, which broke its record back in August.
"The
community has to get fed up," Capt. Frank Umbrino, of the Rochester
Police Department, said at a news conference after the city of just over
200,000 people broke its 30-year-old record on Nov. 11. "We're
extremely frustrated. It has to stop. I mean, it's worse than a war zone
around here lately."
Indianapolis,
Columbus, Louisville, Toledo and Baton Rouge broke records set in 2020,
while St. Paul surpassed a record set in 1992.
Among the major
cities on the brink of setting new homicide records are Milwaukee, which
has 178 homicides, 12 short of a record set in 2020; and Minneapolis,
which has 91 homicides, six shy of a record set in 1995.
According to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report
released in September, the nation saw a 30% increase in murder in 2020,
the largest single-year jump since the bureau began recording crime
statistics 60 years ago.
'Nobody's getting arrested'
Robert
Boyce, retired chief of detectives for the New York Police Department
and an ABC News contributor, said that while there is no single reason
for the jump in slayings, one national crime statistic stands out to
him.
“Nobody’s getting arrested anymore," Boyce said. "People are
getting picked up for gun possession and they're just let out over and
over again."
The FBI crime data shows that the number of arrests
nationwide plummeted 24% in 2020, from the more than 10 million arrests
made in 2019. The number of 2020 arrests -- 7.63 million -- is the
lowest in 25 years, according to the data. FBI crime data is not yet
available for 2021.
Christopher
Herrmann, an assistant professor in the Department of Law & Police
Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, said
the decrease in arrests could be attributed to the large number of
police officers who retired or resigned in 2020 and 2021.
A workforce survey released in June by the Police Executive Research Forum
found the retirement rate in police departments nationwide jumped 45%
over 2020 and 2021. And another 18% of officers resigned, the survey
found, a development which coincided with nationwide social justice
protests and calls to defund law enforcement agencies following the
death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.
On
average, the survey found that law enforcement agencies are currently
filling only 93% of the authorized number of positions available and
Herrmann said many departments have been hampered in hiring because of
an inability to get large classes into police academies due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think, unfortunately, police departments are
just losing a lot of their best and experienced officers and then
because of the economic crisis, because of COVID, are having
difficulties in hiring or just delays in hirings," Herrmann said.
Herrmann
said he suspects that a confluence of other factors has also
contributed to the spike in lethal violence over the last two years. He
said the COVID-19 pandemic not only prompted a shutdown of courts and
reduction in jail population to slow the spread of the virus but also
derailed after-school programs and violence disruption programs.
Confluence of factors
"I
wish there was one good solid reason that I could give you for the
increases, but the reality is there is none," Herrmann, a former crime
analyst supervisor for the New York City Police Department, told ABC
News.
Herrmann said he was surprised to see the number of
homicides going up in major cities across the United States after an
overall 30% jump last year.
“I
knew 2020 was going to be a bad year because of the (COVID-19) pandemic
but I really thought that a lot of these numbers would come down in
2021 just because a lot of society reopened and reopened pretty
quickly," Herrmann said. “We don’t have the unemployment problem, we
don’t have a lot of the economic stresses, housing and food insecurities
aren't as much of an issue. A lot of those things were leading to the
mental health stressors that were plaguing the country."
As part of a recent ABC News series "Rethinking Gun Violence,"
Dr. Daniel Webster, the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun
Policy and Research, said 2020 was the "perfect storm" of conditions
where "everything bad happened at the same time -- you had the COVID
outbreak, huge economic disruption, people were scared."
Webster
added, "It's particularly challenging to know with certainty which of
these things independently is associated with the increased violence.
Rather it was the 'cascade' of events all unfolding in a similar time
frame."
Chief
LeRonne Armstrong of the Oakland, California, Police Department told
ABC News recently that the lack of resources to fight crime is one of
the reasons he suspects is why his city is seeing the highest number of
homicides in decades. Oakland police have investigated at least 127
homicides in 2021, up from 102 in all of 2020. The Bay Area city's
all-time high for homicides is 175 set in 1992.
Armstrong said his
department's 676 officers is the smallest staff his agency has had in
years, nearly 70 fewer officers than in 2020.
"To have 70, nearly
70 less officers a year later," Armstrong said, "is definitely going to
have an impact on our ability to address public safety."
Thank you Kevin McCarney for your historical analysis. I always appreciate your devotion to history. A must read:
"80 years ago at about this time, the 6 Japanese Carriers were steaming due South towards Oahu, the decks were spotted with Aircraft and they were preparing to launch.
Ahead of them, a screen of submarines had launched several midget subs, the one Japanese secret weapon. These subs were approaching Pearl Harbor, trying to penetrate the Submarine netting protecting the harbor.
The ready duty destroyer USS Ward had spotted one early in the morning.
Now as the Sun was coming up, the netting was open to allow a target towing ship to enter the harbor. Tracking behind the target, a look out spotted the periscope of a small sub following the target and towing ship. The Ward took immediate action to engage. Opening fire first with Guns and finally with Depth Charges.
The Ward sank the sub and made a contact report to Naval Headquarters. It was ignored.
At approximately 7:00, a new experimental radar station located on a Mountain at Opana Point, cranked up to operate. It picked up a strong blip of incoming planes approaching from the North. They reported to the Army Information Center and were told it was probably a flight of B-17 Bombers due in that morning.
If these two pieces of information had been acted upon, Pearl Harbor would have been alert and ready for the coming attack.
7:50 am the first Dive Bomber roared down on Ford Island and dropped a Bomb on the ramp. Two naval Officers were getting ready report the pilot and then realized is was an enemy plane. The men headed to the info center and wired a warning. Air Raid Pearl Harbor, this is no Drill.
Out in the harbor the senior Officer afloat sent the same warning along with an all ships sortie order.
It was too late. The first waves of Torpedo Bombers were making their runs down the Southeast Loch towards Battleship row. The US Navy thought an airborne Torpedo attack to be impossible, because the Harbor was too shallow. The Japanese innovated by attaching wooden fins to the torpedoes to keep them from diving too deep.
The Battleships West Virginia and Oklahoma were the Golden targets straight down the Loch. Oklahoma took six torpedoes and capsized in the First 15 minutes. The West Virginia was hit by 8 torpedoes and sank in the harbor. The in Board Battleships Tennessee and Maryland were bottled up. The California took two torpedoes, even though it was a poor target. It is bottom protective hatches were open in preparation to an inspection. California quickly flooded and sank. Arizona and Nevada both took multiple torpedo hits.
As the torpedo attacks continued Horizontal and Di9ve Bombers worked over the airfields and then began their runs on the ships in the harbor. Arizona took a bomb that penetrated the forward magazine and the ship blew up, killing 1100 sailors.
15 minutes in and the backbone of the Pacific Fleet Battleships were burning, sunk or bottled up. Of the 8 Battleships in the harbor, only the Nevada got underway, and it was beached later in the attack instead of sinking in the Channel and bottling up the whole harbor.
By 9:45 the attack was over. 2407 people were dead and the United States was at War.
80 years ago, December 7 1941." -Kevin McCarney
80 years ago Part 2
While the desperate fight was occurring at Pearl Harbor, Washington was a flurry of activity.
Naval and Army intelligence were busy decoding a fourteen part Japanese message. This message was due to be delivered to Secretary of State Cordell Hull at 1:00 pm December 7th. It was tantamount to a Declaration of War.
The American Intelligence Officers in Washington were swifter than their Japanese Counterparts in decoding and delivering the Message.
The Secretary of the Navy tried to send a warning in the Morning of December 7th, but the phone lines to Hawaii were down to solar storms, so the warning went by telegraph to Pearl Harbor, having to undergo it's own coding and decoding. The Message was delivered during the height of the Battle.
Meanwhile at the Japanese Embassy in Washington, the hunt and peck typist for the Ambassador was taking too much time to prepare the statement. The 1:00pm time frame came and went. By the time the document was prepared the bombs were already falling at Pearl.
When the Ambassadors presented their document, Mr. Hull was in no mood to respond to it and promptly dismissed the Japanese Ambassadors.
When Admiral Yamamoto found about the delay in Washington, he knew the Japanese attack would inflame the American people in a way that would not have happened had the message been delivered on time. He knew he had 6 months to defeat the US in the Pacific before the industrial might of the US would turn the tide of Battle in the Pacific.
In fact, it was only 4 months before the US launched an attack against the Japanese Homeland, the Doolittle raid. In May the US Carrier Fleet, stopped the Japanese advance South towards New Guinea by Fighting the Battle of Coral Sea, a statistical draw, but a tactical victory for the Allies.
One month later, in June, the US sank 4 of the Japanese Pearl Harbor Carriers at the Battle of Midway, ending any hopes of the Japanese advance in the Pacific. While the war would be fought for three more years, the Japanese were in essence defeated on June 5, 1942 6 months after Pearl Harbor.
Between the start of the War and the end, the US produced 24 Essex Class Carriers for the Navy. 24 Carriers. It took the Japanese years to produce one carrier.
WWII produced not just the greatest generation of Soldiers, but the industrial might was unparalleled and produced more material than the soldiers airmen and sailors would need.
As we enter this
troubled December, let us reach back eighty years. To another December,
and eight days that birthed the world of peril and promise we occupy
today.
In the first days of December 1941, the German Army was approaching Moscow from the north, west and south. The Wehrmacht steadily advanced despite
snow, bitter cold, and fanatical resistance. Everyone in Europe and
the United States braced for word that the Soviet capital had fallen.
The Soviet Union – a horrible entity to be sure – seemed doomed.
But General Georgy Zhukov had assembled a massive reserve of nearly sixty divisions. On Dec. 5 he unleashed a counterattack against
the German forces to the northwest of Moscow. The attack achieved
total surprise. The Germans reeled backwards. On Dec. 6 Zhukov
launched attacks to the west and southwest. Again the Germans were
driven back.
The counter-offense of Zhukov ended
Hitler's hope for a decisive victory in 1941. Hitler and his generals
now knew that they were locked in a war of attrition with the Soviet
Union. A war of attrition with an adversary possessing twice their population and a greater industrial base, augmented by Lend-Lease supply. The Germans also faced a regime – and a leader – even more ruthless and brutal than their own.
On Dec. 7, the Soviet offensive continued. But the eyes of the world shifted elsewhere, to the Pacific Ocean. That morning, hundreds of Japanese aircraft descended
on the airfields and naval berths of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands.
Over twenty-four hundred American servicemen were killed and an array of
warships and planes laid in wreckage. Seven hours after the attack,
Japan belatedly declared war on the United States and Great Britain.
Also that day (EST) the tentacles of Japan reached elsewhere.
Their troops invaded Thailand, Malaya (a British colony and a vital
source of rubber), and Hong Kong. Their warplanes struck Singapore,
the Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island.
Also that day, in Germany, Adolf Hitler issued the sinister Night and Fog Decree.
The secret decree allowed for the disappearance of political opponents
and resistance fighters. Most of the thousands of victims were
nocturnally seized and no word was given to families on their fate
(often death in concentration camps).
On Dec. 8, President Roosevelt delivered his famous “a date which will live in infamy” speech to a joint session of Congress. It is inspiring to watch video of
that speech, both the ringing call to arms by FDR (“the American people
in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory”) and the
roaring cheers of the united audience. Shortly after the speech,
Congress declared war on the Empire of Japan.
On Dec.
9, China declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy. Japan had already
inflicted great devastation and death on China. It is little noted in
the West that Japan killed nearly four million Chinese civilians (often marked by appalling atrocities) between 1937 and 1945. But China has not forgotten nor forgiven.
Dec. 10 brought the sinking off the Malayan coast of the British warships Repulse and Prince of Wales (the latter in May had traded shots with the German battleship Bismarck).
Japanese torpedo planes dealt the fatal blows. The sinking of the two
capital ships by aircraft shocked the world and announced the arrival of
a new age in naval warfare. The British should not have been
surprised, since six months earlier, their own torpedo bombers disabled the Bismarck.
Dec. 11 brought the decisive day of World War II: In the greatest blunder of that war, Adolf Hitler delivered a speech before Reichstag deputies in Berlin. Citing a long list of grievances, he declared war on the most powerful economic nation in the world. Over the next four years, that nation would also become the supreme military power.
In turn, the United States declared war on Germany. We must remember that prior to Dec. 7, the nation was vehemently split between
the interventionists and the isolationists. In the immediate days
after the Pearl Harbor attack, united support existed only for war with
Japan. William Shirer wrote1:
My own impression in Washington at that moment was that it might be difficult for President Roosevelt
to get Congress to declare war on Germany. There seemed to be a strong
feeling in both Houses as well as in the Army and Navy that the country
ought to concentrate its efforts on defeating Japan and not take on the
additional burden of fighting Germany at the same time.
Without the Unites States at war against
Nazi Germany, it is doubtful the British could have successfully invaded
France. Nor is it likely that the British alone could have expelled
the Germans from North Africa or landed in Sicily or Italy. Without
American involvement, the Nazis would perhaps to this day remain masters
of western Europe.
With the United States sidelined,
the Germans could have concentrated nearly full force against the
Soviets. Could the Wehrmacht have raised the price in blood high enough
to gain a stalemate in the East? Already it had achieved a six-to-one causality
ratio in battle. With forces not needed for a second front, at the
very least the Germans could have greatly slowed any Soviet advance.
We
must also consider that with America battling only in the Pacific and
the Soviets slowed, Germany would have had time to develop and field
impressive numbers of their advanced weapons.
To wit, jet fighters and bombers, ballistic and guided missiles,
fortress tanks, night vision equipment, and yes, eventually, nuclear
weapons.
All this Hitler negated by his astounding
error of Dec. 11. If Hitler had decided otherwise, the world today
could be profoundly different.
On the last of the
eight days, Dec. 12, Hitler made another decision -- one which still
haunts us many years after the destruction of his heinous regime.
In a meeting in
the Reich Chancellery with top subordinates, Hitler gave a green light
for the Holocaust. Prior to this meeting, SS death squads (Einstazgruppen)
had murdered many thousands of Jews in Poland and the USSR. But
annihilation of European Jewry was not yet an official policy. This
decision laid the foundation for the death factories which methodically consumed millions of Jews and others hated by Hitler.
Eight
days in December of 1941. Eighty years ago. Which wrenched the world
into total war and unleashed the worst of our demonic impulses.
Are
the leaders of the great powers of today wise enough to refrain from
initiating another global war? The present world, for all its troubles,
is on the verge of creating paradise. A world where want and disease
and perhaps death itself will fade away. Where humankind can achieve
Winston Churchill's vision of moving “forward into broad, sunlit uplands”.
As we move towards another Christmas, let us pray for the vision to become reality.
