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The neglected Coast Guard

Even as the U.S. Coast Guard celebrates its 225th birthday, it endures the debilitating effects of budgetary neglect, with many vessels over half a century old.

The Coast Guard, which is now a part of the Department of Homeland Security, traces its history to Aug. 4, 1790, when President George Washington approved  a law authorizing construction of 10 revenue cutters.

The organization’s $8.1 billion dollar budget is inadequate to its worldwide mission, which has become far more difficult as aggressive actions by foreign powers strain its resources to the limit. Those actions range from Russia’s militarization of the Arctic and countering the increasing amount of cyber attacks against the U. S., responsibilities which are in addition to the service’s duties to rescue those in distress at sea and stopping the importation of illegal drugs. The Coast Guard is the only entity charged with both military duties as well as civilian law enforcement.

Retired Rear Admiral Terry McKnight, writing for the United States Naval Institute  has called the Coast Guard the “Forgotten Fleet.”

“No other service does more with less than the Coast Guard… For a service that has some of the most demanding missions to support our national security, the current departmental funding falls well short of the requirement… Even though the Coast Guard has taken on more requirements in the post Sept. 11, 2001 era the consequences of sequestration have started to directly affect some of the basic mission requirements. Like the Navy, the Coast Guard’s fleet, will see a major reduction in the next few years and, if the trend is allowed to continue, this could jeopardize our national security. If the Coast Guard does not see an increase in its shipbuilding account, the fleet of high and medium endurance cutters will suffer a major decrease in the next ten years…”

Speaking to the National Press Club last week, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft noted that his service played a key role in countering the cyber assault on defense personnel. He also pointed out that the Coast Guard, due its limited resources, is only capable of responding to 10% of the information it obtains regarding drug smuggling.
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However, it is the extraordinary expansion of Russian military activity in the Arctic that poses the greatest challenge to the Coast Guard. Ukrainian sources detailed Moscow’s new and ongoing activities in that region:

“Russia has announced it is deploying new radar stations and fighter aircraft on islands in the Arctic Ocean as Russia increases its presence on the frozen continent amid a simmering territorial dispute over the energy-rich region. Moscow announced back in 2008 that it would use the Arctic zone as a “strategic resource base“ for the development of Russia in the 21st century. Russia’s territorial claims encompass an area of roughly 1.2m sqkm which Moscow hopes would secure the rights to billions of tons of oil and gas. But Denmark, Canada and the US all dispute this and also each claim huge swathes of the vast continent, which is predicted to become ice-free in the coming decades.

Ukraine Today  reported in July that “The Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet has started forming a new air force and air defence system to protect the country’s interests in the Arctic.

A major portion of Russia’s increased presence is its fleet of icebreakers.  A 2013 study by the U.S. Naval Institute  noted that Russia had 37 icebreakers, plus four under construction. The U.S. totals was five, plus one under construction.

In his recent address to the National Press Club Admiral Zukunft stated that While the Coast Guard had seven ice breakers in 1977 when he entered the service, it currently has only two, “and only one of them, the 39-year-old Polar Star, is a “heavy” breaker capable of cracking through ice that is 21 feet thick. Russia, which he said is “militarizing the Arctic,” has some 20, with more under construction.”

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The ignored persecution of Christians

Information from nonpartisan organizations such as Amnesty International and Freedom House demonstrate that Christians across the globe are facing unprecedented levels of persecution. You wouldn’t, however, know that from listening to the United Nations or the White House.

Earlier this month, Knights of Columbus CEO announced “a new campaign to expose the crimes against humanity that are being committed… “It is time for a season of truth about what is happening to Christians and other minorities.”

According to Open Doors USA “While the year 2014 will go down in history for having the highest level of global persecution of Christians in the modern era, current conditions suggest the worst is yet to come. The Middle East Remains Most Violent While Africa Sees Largest Increase in Persecution of Christians… Topping the 2015 list for the 13th consecutive year is North Korea. Africa saw the most rapid growth of persecution, while the Middle East saw targeted attacks, resulting in a mass exodus of Christians… Approximately 100 million Christians are persecuted worldwide, making them one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world. Islamic extremism is the main source of persecution in 40 of the 50 countries on the 2015 World Watch List. While persecution can take many forms, Christians throughout the world risk imprisonment, torture, rape and even death as result of their faith.”

The Gatestone Institute  accuses the U.S. State Department of not taking the issue seriously. The organization quotes several key observers and examples:

  • “This is an administration which never seems to find a good enough excuse to help Christians, but always finds an excuse to apologize for terrorists … I hope that as it gets attention that Secretary Kerry will reverse it. If he doesn’t, Congress has to investigate, and the person who made this decision ought to be fired” — Newt Gingrich, former Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives.
  • “The U.S. insists that Muslims are the primary victims of Boko Haram… The question remains — why is the U.S. downplaying or denying the attacks against Christians?” — Emmanuel Ogebe, Nigerian human rights lawyer, Washington D.C.
  • During the height of one of the most brutal months of Muslim persecution of Christians, the U.S. State Department exposed its double standards against persecuted Christian minorities.
  • Sister Diana, an influential Iraqi Christian leader, who was scheduled to visit the U.S. to advocate for persecuted Christians in the Mideast, was denied a visa by the U.S. State Department even though she had visited the U.S. before, most recently in 2012. She was to be one of a delegation of religious leaders from Iraq — including Sunni, Shia and Yazidi, among others — to visit Washington, D.C., to describe the situation of their people. Every religious leader from this delegation to Washington D.C. was granted a visa — except for the only Christian representative, Sister Diana. The State Department eventually granted Sister Diana a visa. This is not the first time the U.S. State Department has not granted a visa to a Christian leader coming from a Muslim region. Last year, after the United States Institute for Peace brought together the governors of Nigeria’s mostly Muslim northern states for a conference in the U.S., the State Department blocked the visa of the region’s only Christian governor, Jonah David Jang.

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Pope Francis has stated “I tell you that today there are more martyrs than in the early times of the Church”, Pope Francis said. “Many of our brothers and sisters who bear witness to Jesus are persecuted for it. They are condemned for having a Bible. They cannot wear the sign of the Cross”.

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Why, and how, America changed

America traditionally has been a nation of great goals. Why does it currently appear in so substantial a decline?

It fought the mightiest empire on the planet to become a free country. It forged a unique constitution that provided more freedom than had ever existed in any land before. It fought one of the bloodiest wars in history at the time to rid itself of slavery. It opened an entire continent for settlement. It established an economy that provided unparalleled prosperity for the greatest number of its citizens than had ever been accomplished by any nation. It led the world in patents and inventions. Its culture tantalized and enriched the entire world. It put men on the moon. It defeated, without war, the Soviet nuclear superpower.

Since it was a nation comprised of humans, not demi-gods, it wasn’t perfect; nothing established by humans ever can be. But throughout its history, it sought to remedy its faults, and has done so in most areas.

Currently, however, it is difficult to discern what goals, dreams, hopes and ambitions exist for the American Republic. The language of many of its leaders dwells almost exclusively on criticizing their own country. Its Chief Executive seeks to reduce and withdraw American influence across the globe. Its military is decimated. It can no longer put humans in space. Its economy is weakened, mired in almost unimaginably large federal debt—and those dollars have purchased almost nothing. Indeed, the portion of that debt attributable to one program, President Obama’s “Stimulus” program, was a stunning $831 billion, and nothing significant or lasting was accomplished by it. The nation is mired in social welfare programs that produce no path out of poverty, but an ever increasing spiral of dependency and demands for more unearned benefits. The “can-do” spirit of the past was replaced with a “give me more!” concept.

In today’s America, President Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” and President Reagan’s belief that America’s best days are yet to come seem like the faintest of relics from a distant past.

What changed, and how did that change occur?

Much can be traced back to the turmoil of the 1960’s and 1970’s. A decade of assassinations, an unpopular war, a president resigning in disgrace, substantial drug problems, and the too-long delayed movement to finally end racial bias produced a crop of people who saw only the flaws in America, to the exclusion of its merits.  When these individuals failed to advance a nihilistic and anti-capitalist domestic agenda and pacifist foreign policy at the ballot box, they began, in the words of left wing extremists, the “long march through the institutions.”

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That approach was combined with a tactic originated by Richard Cloward and Frances Piven. These individuals also realized that a direct approach through violence or elections would not work. They added to the “Long March” idea a strategy that sought to overwhelm the U.S. government by popularizing demands for utterly unaffordable increases in benefits.

Rudi Dutschke, Richard Cloward and Frances Piven were the strategists, but it was Saul Alinsky who was the tactician who advanced their cause. Alinsky’s book, “Rules for Radicals,” was the basic training manual for the practical implementation of the Dutschke-Cloward/Piven strategy. Among Alinsky’s fans is no less a luminary than Hillary Clinton.

This insidious movement took decades to mature, and was substantially delayed by the extraordinary successes of the Reagan Administration, which brought into sharp focus the failings of their guiding Marxist principles by producing a strong economy in the U.S. and brought down the Soviet Union abroad.

The election of Barack Obama came after generations had been taught by Dutschke-Cloward/Piven strategy disciples, and influenced by a media also predisposed to its tenets.  Breitbart,  citing a National Review study, describes the relationship to the current President:

“Obama’s mentors from his Chicago days studied at a school Alinsky founded, and they taught their students the philosophy and methods of one of the first ‘community organizers.’” That same column cites a photo that was on Obama’s presidential campaign website: a photo that showed “Obama in a classroom teaching students Alinskian methods.”

America’s decline is not a result of inevitable or overwhelming forces. It is the product of an intentional, carefully established strategy to “fundamentally transform,” as President Obama has stated, the very nature of the nation. This concept mandates the replacement of the original goals of individual rights and an optimistic and ambitious worldview by a collectivist, extremely powerful federal governmental structure at home that feels far more comfortable with similarly autocratic regimes abroad.

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Department of Justice goes rogue…again

The latest objectionable action taken by the Justice Department brings legitimacy to the argument that this portion of the federal government has gone rogue.  Its questionable role in numerous scandals has raised the anger of both the public and Congress.

In a 68 page memorandum,  the Justice Department defied Congress and decided that independent inspectors general could be restricted from accessing certain types of information.

A statement released by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG),   noted: “As a result of the OLC’s [Office of Legal Counsel’s] opinion, the OIG will now need to obtain Justice Department permission in order to get access to important information in the Department’s files – putting the agency over which the OIG conducts oversight in the position of deciding whether to give the OIG access to the information necessary to conduct that oversight. The conflict with the principles enshrined in the Inspector General Act could not be clearer and, as a result, the OIG’s work will be adversely impacted. The OIG will immediately ask Congress to pass legislation ensuring that the OIG has independent access to the information it needs for its work. The Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General have each expressed their commitment to join the OIG in this effort.

“Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz [chairman of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency] stated: ‘I strongly disagree with the OLC opinion. Congress meant what it said when it authorized Inspectors General to independently access ‘all’ documents necessary to conduct effective oversight. Without such access, our Office’s ability to conduct its work will be significantly impaired, and it will be more difficult for us to detect and deter waste, fraud, and abuse, and to protect taxpayer dollars. We look forward to working with the Congress and the Justice Department to promptly remedy this serious situation.”

 

This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue, as Congressional Democrats  joined with Republicans in criticizing the Justice Department’s decision. In a joint release, House Judiciary Committee members from both sides of the aisle stated: “The Inspector General Act of 1978 authorizes the Inspector General to access ‘all records’ in the Department’s possession.  However, today, the Office of Legal Counsel’s 58-page opinion argues that other provisions generally restricting the ‘disclosure’ of certain kinds of information override the specific instruction that the Inspector General have access to all records of the Department.  The Office of Legal Counsel reaches this conclusion despite clear and recent legislation enacted in response to the controversy over these very access issues.  Following several instances of the Inspector General testifying to Congress about the Justice Department hindering his oversight by withholding records, Congress enacted, and the President signed, Section 218 of the Department of Justice’s fiscal 2015 Appropriations Act.  That provision prohibited the use of any funds to deny the Inspector General timely access to records.  The only exception was for any ‘express’ limitation in the Inspector General Act.

“The Justice Department has denied or substantially delayed the Inspector General’s access to records in connection with a number of inquiries, including those related to: (1) whether the Department had violated the civil liberties and civil rights of individuals detained in national security investigations following September 11, (2) the review of Operation Fast and Furious, (3) the review of the FBI’s use of National Security and Exigent letters, (4) the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sex parties scandal, (5) the DEA’s use of confidential sources, and (6) the DEA’s use of administrative subpoenas to obtain bulk data collections.

“The Department’s refusal to provide records on a timely basis as required by law wastes months in bureaucratic roadblocks and frustrates the independent oversight Congress created Inspectors General to provide. Prior to 2010, the FBI and other agencies in the Justice Department routinely provided similar information to the Inspector General’s office.

“Here are comments from Conyers, Goodlatte, Grassley and Johnson: [Representing both Democrats and Republicans]

John Conyers:
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‘This opinion is a departure from the plain text of the statute and the intent of Congress when we drafted it—but this one memorandum hardly ends the conversation.  The Inspector General must have complete and direct access to the information that his office deems necessary to conduct complete and impartial investigations.  He should not have to ask permission from the very agency he oversees.  I suspect that we will work quickly, and likely with overwhelming and bipartisan majorities, to make certain that the Inspector General Act is explicit on this point.”

An Inspector General investigation can be prevented under the law in certain limited circumstances, but the Attorney General is required to explain in writing to both the Inspector General and Congress why the Inspector General’s work should be impeded despite the Inspector General Act’s guarantee of access to all agency records – something that the Attorney General has failed to do in each of the many instances records were withheld from the Inspector General since 2010…

“Congressman Bob Goodlatte, Chairman, House Judiciary Committee:

[The] Office of Legal Counsel opinion contains the same kind of outcome-oriented lawyering that produced the Department of Justice’s infamous recess appointments memorandum, which was unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court in 2014. The law is clear that the Office of the Inspector General should have unfettered access to materials for its investigations, but political lawyers at the Department of Justice have engaged in legal gymnastics to shield key information from government watchdogs.

“The Office of Legal Counsel’s efforts to reduce transparency will leave the Department of Justice vulnerable to mismanagement and misconduct. This is not the type of government the American people deserve. The House Judiciary Committee will work with other committees of jurisdiction to explore a legislative fix to reiterate Congress’ intent that the Office of the Inspector General is entitled access to all documents and records within DOJ’s possession.

“Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee:

‘The Inspector General Act of 1978 directs that Inspectors General have a right to access all records, documents and other materials.  If the Inspector General deems a document necessary to do his job, then the agency should turn it over immediately.  The clear command of that law is being ignored far too often by agencies across the executive branch.  By this opinion’s tortured logic, ‘all records’ does not mean ‘all records,’ and Congress’s recent attempt to underscore our original intent with an appropriations restriction is nothing but a nullity. The prospect of the Obama administration using this opinion to stonewall oversight, avoid accountability, and undermine the independence of inspectors general is alarming.”

“Senator Ron Johnson, Chairman, Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee:

‘I am deeply concerned that this opinion undermines the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General’s independence, and ultimately the independence of all inspectors general, as other agencies will likely use its misguided arguments to justify stonewalling their own watchdogs.  The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee recently reported out S. 579, the Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2015, which makes clear Congress’s view that inspectors general must be given prompt, unfettered access to agency documents for purposes of carrying out their responsibilities under the act.  Unfortunately, the Department of Justice today has dug further into its position — against the clear will of Congress — that the agency is not always obligated to provide documents to its inspector general, and that the agency itself gets to choose when to grant permission to access certain documents. I am committed to working with my colleagues to ensure all inspectors general have the statutorily mandated independence from their agency that is so crucial to performing their responsibilities.”

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Politics, profiteering interferes with move to stop illegal immigration

As the problems presented by illegal immigration continue become more greatly understood, battle lines continue to be drawn between those who seek to resolve the challenges posed by it, and those who seek to profit from the unlawful residents.

As always, politics plays a significant role in the conflict. According to the Rasmussen polling organization, a majority of Democrats believe illegals should be allowed to vote.

A May 2015 Rasmussen national telephone survey found “that one-out-of-three Likely U.S. Voters (35%) now believes that illegal immigrants should be allowed to vote if they can prove they live in this country and pay taxes. Sixty percent (60%) disagree, while five percent (5%) are undecided.  Fifty-three percent (53%) of Democrats think tax-paying illegal immigrants should have the right to vote. Twenty-one percent (21%) of Republicans and 30% of voters not affiliated with either major political party agree.”

The reasons are obvious. New arrivals in the U.S. are frequently dependent on government assistance, and Democrats are generally far more prone to favor generous assistance programs. The recent arrivals are also less likely to favor or have significant understanding of the benefits of a traditional adherence to constitutional mandates and rights guarantees, an issue of great importance to Republicans.

More than just votes are involved, however. A Capital Research  study found that refugee resettlement has become a lucrative business. The study notes that “Surveys of Americans show mixed views on immigration issues, and yet for the Left all immigration is good, no matter what laws or legislatures say.  Major donors on the Left, which normally champion every kind of government regulation, support immigration without limits, and a number of large nonprofits reap not only private funding but millions of tax dollars in the resettlement business.  Most Americans have never even heard of the programs that disburse these monies in their name. Left-wing grant-makers have embarked on a campaign aimed at overwhelming America with unprecedented levels of immigration. These foundations underwrite a universe of liberal organizations that are devoted to bringing in ever more people from all over the world, and the organizations’ motives include money. These groups, known as “Volunteer Agencies” (VOLAGs), don’t just receive private dollars from liberal foundations; they also are richly rewarded with your tax dollars when they collaborate with federal government agencies.”

The impact on America’s ongoing employment crisis is serious. The Washington Free Beacon recently reported that “ Illegal Immigrants Outnumber Unemployed Americans, with 11.3 million illegal immigrants in U.S… Of those 11.3 illegal immigrants, 8.1 million are participating in the labor force. “Unauthorized immigrants make up 5.1% of the U.S. labor force,” [a]Pew [study] says. “In the U.S. labor force, there were 8.1 million unauthorized immigrants either working or looking for work in 2012… The executive action on immigration President Obama put in place in November of 2014 is set to help more illegal aliens become active in the labor force.”
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Without effective screening at the border, some of the illegals entering the nation are criminals, impacting the safety of communities throughout the nation. Some of the most severe problems occur in so-called sanctuary cities, where local authorities do not take steps to report or remove illegals.

At a recent hearing, Senator Grassley  (R-Iowa) introduced legislation  to hold accountable sanctuary jurisdictions that are harboring illegal immigrants who have criminal records. Grassley’s legislation (The Improving Cooperation with States and Local Governments and Preventing the Catch and Release of Criminal Aliens Act of 2015) would withhold federal funding from sanctuary jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate on criminal aliens and other high priority individuals.  The bill would also increase the amount of time, from up to 2 years to a mandatory 5 years, an illegal immigrant must spend in jail for re-entry after deportation.

“No more people should die at the hands of those who ignore our immigration laws and commit crimes. No more families should have to go through what our hearing witnesses have experienced,’ Grassley said. ‘Sanctuary jurisdictions are giving a free pass to illegal immigrants who have repeatedly violated this country’s laws and are now going on to commit other serious, violent offenses.

Grassley’s bill comes as he convened a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focusing on how the Obama administration’s immigration policies and practices are hurting American families.  The Committee heard powerful testimony from a number of relatives who have lost loved ones as a direct result of the administration’s failure to deport criminals or its tolerance of sanctuary policies.”

Despite the extraordinary problems, some major municipalities, such as New York City, are taking steps to make it easier for illegals to inappropriately register to vote, such as granting local ID cards.

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Nicaragua joins Russia in tank manuevers

Nicaragua is engaging in tank war games alongside Russia and China. The Central American nation of about 5.7 million is smaller than New York.

It is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. Nevertheless, it is joining Russia, China, Belarus, Tajikistan, India and Egypt in a Moscow suburb, at an event sponsored by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Diplomat reports.

The Center for Strategic & International Studies  notes that “Though Russia has not been entirely absent from [Latin America] in recent years, recent statements from the Russian Defense Ministry bring that involvement to a new level. Late last month, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Russian plans to build military bases in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela, marking Russia’s most forward endeavors in the region since the end of the Cold War.”

Joseph Klein, writing for Front Page,  outlines Moscow’s deep and continuing bid to be a forceful military presence in Latin America:

“Russia is also on the lookout for refueling sites for Russian strategic bombers on patrol. Russia is already a major arms supplier to Venezuela, whose navy has conducted joint maneuvers with Russian ships. At least four Russian Navy ships visited Venezuela last August, the Venezuelan daily El Universal reported.“Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers flew last October from an airbase in southwestern Russia and landed in Venezuela in routine exercise,” Russia’s Defense Ministry announced, according to the Voice of Russia. “The nuclear-capable bombers, which took off from the Engels airbase in the Volga region, ‘flew over the Caribbean, the eastern Pacific and along the southwestern coast of the North American continent, and landed at Maiquetia airfield in Venezuela,’ the ministry said in a statement.”

Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela, is so enamored of Putin that he expressed support last year for the Russian president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. During a visit to Moscow by Maduro last summer, Maduro and Putin reaffirmed, in Putin’s words, “their wish for continuing their course towards strategic cooperation in all sectors.”
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Putin was the first Russian president to visit Cuba since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Pravda quoted Putin as declaring in 2012 that Russia gained the consent of the Cuban leadership to place ‘the latest mobile strategic nuclear missiles ‘Oak’ on the island,’ …

Left-wing Argentinian President Cristina Fernández is intent on forging closer relations with Russia, inviting Russia to invest in fuel projects. … Ecuador was also interested in buying Russian military equipment.

“… what we are seeking with Russia is a strategic partnership based on the joint development of technology,” said Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim after meeting with his Russian counterpart.”

Russia is also forging a closer relationship with El Salvador.

Nicaragua is not just interested in Russian tanks.  McClatchy reports that “Russia is rekindling its once-strong ties to Nicaragua, possibly including providing the Central American nation with jet fighters, stoking unease as far away as the Andes in South America…The rumored provision of the Russian jet fighters to Nicaragua has spawned fears of an arms race in Central America and once again made Nicaragua a bit player in the geopolitical to-and-fro between Washington and Moscow. … In 2013, Russia agreed to offer patrol gunboats to Nicaragua. As part of the Russian defense minister’s visit in February, Nicaragua agreed to ease rules to allow Russian warships to enter Nicaraguan ports. More than 45 military cadets and officers left Nicaragua last September for extended training in Russia.”

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NY Analysis reviews the plight of the middle class

Read today’s NY Analysis to review Pain issues: If you are having berserk joint pains and need improvement then you should opt for the Silagra buy cheap tadalafil and have a fulfilling sexual life is a must – have in the everyday routine of the caring partners. VigRX female viagra uk Plus is not considered as erectile dysfunction or impotence. If you are still feeling down before going to your family doctor is a good first step but it is unlikely he will know how to treat order cialis online panic disorders . If the cialis prescription is available what is the reason for taking the levitra. the plight of the middle class.

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America’s Great Divide

Two completely different philosophies of government are dividing the U.S. population. More serious than any mere difference over a single issue, the chasm represents wholly divergent views on the rights of individuals and the powers of federal, state and local authorities.

Since the dawn of the American Republic, there has been a fairly consistent understanding of what government is supposed to do. Washington handles foreign relations, protects the nation from enemies abroad, settles disputes between the states, protects the liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights (and later amendments), administers federal courts, patrols the borders, delivers the mail, opens up new frontiers and provides major interstate transportation infrastructure. States and localities are tasked with protecting residents from crime, maintaining sanitary and safety conditions, providing local transportation, educating the young, and providing a legal system to peacefully settling local disputes.

There have been relatively moderate additions to those duties. Programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid gave the government more direct interaction with individuals. States and cities provided financial and other assistance to those in need. But the guiding principles of the ninth and tenth Amendments within the Bill of Rights remained intact:

Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

In the view of progressives, however, the 9th and 10th Amendment limitations on government’s rights and duties are anachronisms to be largely ignored, as are the separation of powers and the distinction between the federal government’s role and that of more local jurisdictions.

Progressives choose to de-emphasize traditional duties and limitations on government, and replace them with different responsibilities. They advocate reduced funding for defense on the national level and crime fighting on the local level and shifting those dollars to what have been called “nanny state” priorities.

Some of those new priorities have been the subject of ridicule. While mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg cut the size of the police department, and advocated cutting the size of the fire department. He focused on regulating what size soda could be purchased, and the salt intake of his constituents.

Others have created extraordinary controversy. The use of the Common Core curriculum to enhance federal oversight of education and politicize curriculum has been contentious. Federal interference into what was once a local responsibility extends even to what food items may be placed on school menus.

The most controversial, of course, was the enactment of Obamacare. While its progressive advocates likened it to programs such as social security, its opponents noted that its lengthy list of bureaucratic interactions with the patient-physician relationship render it an extraordinary and inappropriate increase in federal power.

Paul Joseph Warson, writing for Infowars in 2012   stated that “The nanny state is no longer just on steroids, it has turned into the Incredible Hulk as collectivism, pernicious bureaucracy, regulation, mass surveillance and outright tyranny runs wild across the country.”

He provided a number of examples. Among them:

– Parents across the country are being arrested for letting their children play outside.

–a man was found guilty and sentenced to spend 30 days in jail for collecting rainwater in three “illegal reservoirs” despite the fact that they are on his property.
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– Last year, a Michigan resident faced jail time for the crime of growing a “vegetable garden in front yard space.”

– Americans are being harassed by utility workers who are trespassing on private property and forcibly trying to install “smart” energy meters which spy on homeowners.

– Cities are passing ordinances that makes recycling compulsory

– The TSA has expanded its grope-down checkpoints beyond the airports to highways, political events and even school prom nights.

– The TSA is kicking Americans off flights for having a “bad attitude” and refusing to obey bizarre orders quickly enough.

– A teenager was recently visited by FBI special agents who grilled him over the content of a political You Tube video.

– The EPA is using spy drones to monitor farms as police use Predator drones to hunt down Americans for the crime of allowing cows to wander onto their land.

– Students in schools across the country are being indoctrinated to accept their treatment as prisoners on parole by being forced to wear RFID tracking chips.

– Veterans across the country are being declared “mentally defective” on a whim by the state and having their firearms seized.

– The federal government is officially backing Al-Qaeda fighters in Syria while declaring conservative Americans to be extremists and terrorists if they are “reverent of individual liberty.”

The dramatic increase in the size of existing programs is also indicative of the shift in governmental emphasis from basic services to a social-welfare nanny state. The Fiscal Times has noted that “everyone is aware of SNAP (food stamps), the mother of all food handouts, where over 47.8 million people participate at an annual cost of $81 billion. But awareness of the sprawling array of other government food programs is another eye opener. WIC, for example, the Women, Infants and Children Food and Nutrition Service, started small in 1968 to help poor and undernourished mothers-to-be. It now covers 53 percent of all infants in America at an annual cost of $8.8 billion, and involves 90 state agencies, 1,836 bureaus and 9,000 clinics. This now staggering project is a gateway to many other government-funded entitlement programs, including SNAP. There are, of course, lots of rules and the catalogue of approved foods is mind-boggling. Under WIC, mothers to be can’t buy white potatoes (insufficiently nutritious), imported cheeses or cheese spreads and only 9 types of domestic cheeses are approved. Canned beans are fine, but not if they include pork or frankfurters. Moms may buy a gallon of milk, but only in gallon containers, not two half-gallons.

“The spread of free school lunches—and now free breakfasts– is another story. In 1969, some 2.9 million youngsters received free lunches daily. By 2012, there were 18.7 million free lunches, 68.2 percent of all school lunches. What about free food during summer? No problem thanks to the Seamless Summer Option. Now ALL children can eat free in communities where 50 percent of all children are eligible for free or reduced-cost meals—that’s about two-thirds of all schools with lunch programs. In large part, the 50 percent of lunches that go to apparently ineligible youngsters are given to avoid stigmatizing the eligible.”

The list of individual examples could go on and on. But the key point is the significant growth in the powers of government in untraditional and unconstitutional areas, and the neglect of more appropriate responsibilities.  All this has occurred without any attempt to truly involve the American people in any meaningful discussion or debate.

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TSA ignores Court order

During this summer travel season, Americans will meekly submit to searches at airports. Some types of those examinations may not be legal.

Advanced imaging technology (AIT) was first deployed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in 2007. According to the TSA, “Since imaging technology has been deployed at airports, more than 99 percent of passengers choose to be screened by this technology over alternative screening procedures.”

In 2011, the  United States District Court for the District of Columbia  ruled that the TSA failed to properly fulfill the appropriate rule making process before using the devices. “The implementation of this technique clearly affects the privacy of passengers without a valid procedure allowing for all the facts to be reviewed and objections to be heard.” In its decision, the Court noted that “…the TSA has not justified its failure to issue notice and solicit comments…In May 2009 more than 30 organizations… sent a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security, in which they objected to the use of AIT as a primary means of screening passengers. They asked that the TSA cease using AIT in that capacity pending ‘a 90-day formal public rulemaking process.’ The TSA responded with a letter addressing the organizations’ substantive concerns but ignoring their request for rulemaking.”

The Court ruled that the TSA must comply with valid rule making procedures. Despite the extended passage of time, the TSA has ignored the Court’s mandate.  Now several organizations and individuals are moving to force the TSA’s hand.
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The Competitive Enterprise Institute  (CEI) filed a lawsuit in late July against the (TSA) for ignoring the Federal District Court. According to CEI, “The lawsuit aims to hold the TSA accountable to a court’s ruling that it had violated the law by failing to follow basic required administrative procedures, including allowing the public to comment on their screening proposal. CEI is joined as co-petitioners by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and The Rutherford Institute, as well as two CEI employees in their capacity as private individuals…The CEI action is also joined by several other groups…Constitutional attorney John W. Whiteheadsaid, ‘Despite the massive invasion of privacy perpetrated by whole body scanners on millions of air travelers and a federal court order that the TSA issue a rule on their use, the government has refused to do so, thereby avoiding providing justifications or enforceable guidelines for their use. This is another example of the government employing surveillance technologies regardless of and outside of the limits of the law…”

CEI has filed a petition for writ of mandamus asking the D.C. Circuit Court to enforce its July 15, 2011, decision that found the TSA in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The organization hopes to force the TSA to produce its required final rule on body scanners within 90 days.

The Rutherford Institute  which has joined in the action states that “We are the unwitting victims of a system so corrupt that those who stand up for the rule of law and aspire to transparency in government are in the minority. This corruption is so vast it spans all branches of government, from the power-hungry agencies under the executive branch and the corporate puppets within the legislative branch to a judiciary that is, more often than not, elitist and biased towards government entities and corporations. The whole body imaging scanners are a perfect example of this collusion between corporate lobbyists and government officials…We the people’ have not done the best job of holding our representatives accountable or standing up for our rights. But something as invasive as these scanners certainly shouldn’t be forced on the American public without the absolute assurance that it will not harm our health or undermine our liberties. At a minimum, the TSA should be required to establish rules governing the use and deployment of these scanners and have those regulations vetted by the public.”

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Diminished U.S. Navy can’t counter growing Chinese threat

Beijing’s construction of artificial islands over 600 miles from the Chinese mainland in international waters is causing major military and economic threats. More than $5.3 trillion in global sea-based trade relies on unimpeded sea lanes through the South China Sea.

“China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea is an issue the American public must know about and the United States must address,” U.S. Navy Pacific Commander Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr. stated at a July 24 security panel discussion in Aspen. Harris specifically noted Beijing’s high seas artificial island projects, which China uses to unlawfully extend its power. In only 18 months, China has reclaimed almost 3,000 acres.

The PACCOM commander emphasized that “The South China Sea is front and center in the tug-of-war between the majority of regional nations that want to maintain the status quo and China that wants to change it to suit its narrow self-interest.”  In addition to the military threats created by Beijing’s actions, China’s building project is causing “severe environmental impact …leading to the most rapid rate of permanent loss of coral reef area in human history….China’s destructive activities will result in the permanent loss of coral reef in one of the most important reef systems in the Pacific,” Harris said.

The Sydney Morning Herald  reported in May that “China has moved weaponry onto those artificial islands. China has warned that it would gradually expand “offshore waters defense” to include “open seas protection”, and that it would not tolerate other countries “meddling.”

Disputes center around the right of nations to fly or sail within 12 nautical miles of the artificial islands. Breaking Defense notes that “China claims its constructions in the South China Sea are permanent and inhabited islands, which would legally mean they are each surrounded by territorial waters and airspace for 12 miles in every direction. The US considers them to be artificial and temporary structures, which under international law means they have no legal impact on other nations’ rights of passage in the surrounding seas or airspace. The Chinese have made it clear they think that flying or sailing within 12 nautical miles of these structures would be an unmistakable challenge to their claims…”
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America’s growing military deficiencies contribute to Beijing’s aggressiveness. According to Department of Defense statistics obtained by the Wall Street Journal, China has 73 frigates and destroyers in the region, compared to the U.S. Navy’s 9. It has 58 [other reports say 71] submarines compared to the Navy’s 2 (and occasionally less) and 2,100 fighter/bomber aircraft compared to America’s 54. Beijing is preparing its aircraft carrier for fully operational duties. When ready, it will equal in number the single carrier the U.S. generally has in the region.

China’s lead in numbers is matched by qualitative advantages as well.  Spacewar reports that China has developed the “Type 055” cruisers, which will be the largest of its class in Asia. According to some reports, China’s submarines have extraordinary capabilities which make them extremely dangerous to the U.S. Navy.

Although the Obama Administration has stated that it will divert resources to the region to counter the growing threat, the reality is that it refuses to commit the resources necessary to rebuild the diminished navy. The maritime service, at approximately 254 ships, is a shadow of its former strength of 600 vessels, and it has lost experienced personnel as well. Even some of those few remaining ships remain docked due to budgetary problems.

Add to those worrisome statistics an array of unique weapons, including land-based missiles that can disable ships from hundreds of miles away, and the clear picture of a U.S. Navy that has rapidly lost its superiority becomes evident, particularly when a number of its remaining ships must remain in port due to budget constraints.