Sources of Corruption in Government: The Need for Checks and Balances

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=185 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="040b9c00dduajq.jpg"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="70" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 76 WIDTH="66"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="76" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="66" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <B>The International Commission on Nobility and Royalty</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Disclaimer: These articles are a public service. The author's opinions are their own. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The International Commission on Nobility and Royalty. But we highly recommend them in general as they promote what we feel is highly  valuable and wothwhile.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>© Copyright 2005</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>The International Commission on Nobility and Royalty</B></FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The International Commission on Nobility"><U>home</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Sources of Corruption in Government: The Need for Checks and Balances</B><B> <A NAME="balances"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B><IMG SRC="3d702a520.jpg" border=0 width="298" height="338" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="215" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 231 WIDTH="203"><div> <B><IMG SRC="38a5817c0.png" border=0 width="129" height="124" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">(Note: If the pictures do not align up on the right side of the screen, please enlarge the print by going to "View" or "Page" and then "Text Size" and choosing a larger text. Or, narrow the screen in one of several ways till the pictures are all on the right side.)</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Because we have offered free assistance to any nation desiring to institute constitutional monarchy. We felt the need to identify other protections needed to ensure government stability progress and success. </div> <bR> <div> If we fail to learn from the past, we are condemned to make the same mistakes over and over again. To grow and improve, we need to learn the some of the most valuable lessons of life and state craft. Democracies and/or Republics unfortunately promote a great deal of graft, corruption and secret crimes that could be eliminated and derailed merely by identifying the ways in which this kind of treachery normally takes place and instituting laws to correct them and/or prevent their development. </div> <bR> <div> The constant hidden threat of the misuse of power and corruption in government must be recognized as a real and persistent enemy. Government, after all, provides some of the greatest temptations known to mankind, which is the very reason why <B>checks and balances </B>are<IMG SRC="3d84b5020.gif" border=0 width="437" height="258" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> essential and fundamental to good government. And this includes instituting a <B>constitutional monarchy</B> with ultimate residual power in case of emergencies and a veto power over laws up to four years after they have been instituted in order to easily eliminate foolish or detrimental ideas that have proven to be harmful to the nation. (See the articles "<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="the_ideals_of_nobility_and_royalty.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="IDEALS"><U><B>Ideals</B></U></A></FONT>" and "<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="criticisms_and_benefits_of_monarchy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ADVANTAGES"><U><B>Advantages</B></U></A></FONT>" as well as the article "<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Briefly, the Benefits of Constitutional "><U><B>Briefly, the Benefits of Constitutional Monarchy.</B></U></A></FONT>"</div> <bR> <div> The following are areas of great concern, which have been identified because they have caused much harm, mischief and oppression through the years and should be thwarted by law or constitutional amendments to protect future generations and safeguard the precious principles of freedom and prosperity. Please do not consider the following to be in order of importance or severity. It is merely a list of important issues that promote, maintain and perpetuate the misuse<IMG SRC="3e81b6610.jpg" border=0 width="182" height="353" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> of government powers. Click on any one of the following that may interest you:</div> <bR> <div> <B>1.   </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#1_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Judicial Decrees</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>2.</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>   </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#2_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Executive Orders</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>3.</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>   </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#3_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Bureaucratic rules and regulations</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>4.  </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#4_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Raising Money for Elections</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>5. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>  </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#5_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Monopolies</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>6. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>  </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#6_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Money</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>7.   </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#7" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Deficit Spending</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>8.  </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#7_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Pork and Barrel Projects</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>9.</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>   </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#8_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Government Waste</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>10.</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#9_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Sovereign Immunity</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>11. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#10_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Justice</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>12. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#11" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Big Government</B></U></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>13. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#12_" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Income tax</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>14. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#14" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Limiting Government</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>15. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#14" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Welfarism</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>16. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#16" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Property</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>17.</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="#18" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>The Poor</B></U></A></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>18.</B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="#alcohol" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Alcohol and Drugs</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>19. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#17" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Vice</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="#conclusion" TITLE="Sources of Corruption in Government: The"><U><B>Conclusion and Summary</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="1_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>1. "Judicial Decrees" </B>usurping legislative law is called "<B>judicial imperialism.</B>" This is where the sovereignty of the people are undermined and taken over by a rouge court, which seeks to change policy or override the legislatures. A recent example, is where the Supreme Court of California declared that it was unconstitutional to deny gay marriages in May of 2008. The high court declared that the denial of gay marriages "<B>violates the Constitution.</B>" The problem here is that "<B>The Court ... has improperly set itself up as ... a superlegislature ... reading into the Constitution words and implications which are not there, and which were never<IMG SRC="3d8890170.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="279" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> intended to be there.</B>" This statement was made by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the Supreme Court in his day, but which applies to the current situation and is from an enlightening article by Stuart Taylor Jr. (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>www.nationaljournal.com</U></B></FONT></div> <div> <B><U>/njmagazine/or_20080524_</U></B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>4694.php</U></B></FONT>) It is inconceivable, but this abuse of legal authority used very "<B>. . . vague constitutional phrases such as ‘equal protection’ a right to judicial invalidation of the marriage laws of every state and nation in the history of civilization.</B> (Ibid.) To say that the denial of gay marriages "<B>violates the Constitution</B>" was "<B>a deeply disingenuous dodge, if not a bald-faced lie, to conceal from gullible voters the fact that the decision was a raw exercise in judicial policy-making with no connection to the words or intent of the state constitution </B>"(Ibid.) The author concluded that rules made by judicial fiat is an affront to democracy especially when they use "<B>made-up constitutional law.</B>" He wrote:<IMG SRC="3d8a20000.gif" border=0 width="288" height="256" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </div> <bR> <div> <B>Judicial power to override the deeply felt values of popular majorities should be used sparingly, to enforce clear constitutional commands or redress great injustices, not deployed whenever the judges think they can improve on the work of the elected branches. . . . I am concerned about the gradual, relentless strangulation of Abraham Lincoln's vision of ours as a ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people,’ by judges who see constitutions not as binding law but as invitations for judicial rule. </B>(Ibid.)</div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately, in the hands of the Supreme Court of the country or any other federal or state court, the Constitution simply does not exist anymore and can be ignored anytime the justices wish to apply the personal moral views to all American citizens. This abuse of power is called "judicial activism." It is usurpation and a criminal act.</div> <bR> <div> <B>An inside look at the Supreme Court </B><I><B>Closed Chambers</B></I><B> by one of its former law clerks Ed Lazarus came out in 1998. He writes: justices "resort to transparently deceitful and hypocritical arguments and factual distortions as they discard judicial philosophy . . . in favor of bottom-line results."</B> (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/law/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/l"><U><B><U>www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/law/index.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>) </div> <bR> <div> This is not the proper role of Courts, and laws need to be made to stop judicial usurpation and knavery. </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="2_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>2</B>. Presidential or "<B>Executive Orders</B>" override checks and balances and therefore subverts the separation of powers so needed to stop corruption. The president or prime minister simply<IMG SRC="3d8eb3180.jpg" border=0 width="179" height="280" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> declares, anything he is particularly interested in, an "<B>emergency</B>" and then issues orders bypassing the legislature. Using the words of Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755), James Madison warned that "<B>There can be no liberty [in the long-run] where the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or body of magistrates.</B>" (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>www.constitution.org/fed/federa47.htm</U></B></FONT>) In such a system there is nothing to stop breaches of justice, good faith and good common sense. And most importantly, "<B>if you compromise with evil, evil always wins," </B>and everything right and good must take a backseat to it in value and importance. The answer: By law allow nothing to be called an "<B>emergency</B>" unless it sustained by congress or parliament within 90 days. If it is not sustained, then the so-called <B>emergency</B> fails and the "<B>executive order</B>" would then become null and void. This could be established in law as binding on all parties unless the legislature cannot be consulted, because we are in the middle of a war or are under attack.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Executive power must have the necessary checks and balances to keep it from undermining freedom. Thomas Jefferson said it well when he wrote, "<B>What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body.</B>" (Works 6:543; P.P.N.S., p. 125) The executive branch must be curtailed and held in check like any other division of government. This is the safe and intelligent way to operate.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="3_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>3. Bureaucratic rules and regulations</B> or mandates present another very real threat. In fact, any scheme which allows or permits anyone other than the legislature to make laws is an act of<IMG SRC="3d92c4410.jpg" border=0 width="452" height="321" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> usurpation. No rule or mandate promulgated by a bureaucracy should be allowed to become law or have consequences similar to a law unless they are sustained and supported by a majority vote of the duly elected lawmakers in both houses. Otherwise, the safeguards to freedom are stifled, weakened and compromised. This is serious business, because the precious principle of freedom is at stake. </div> <bR> <div> Three hundred years ago, John Locke explained that, "<B>The end of law is not to abolish or restrain [so much], but to preserve and enlarge [and expand] freedom.</B>" (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>www.laissez-fairerepublic.com/benson.htm</U></B></FONT>) Every rule or law must be judged on that basis or on that standard—will this situation or mandate promote crime and corruption or will it enhance fairness, equity and safety. Special interest groups love for rules and laws to be created that favor them and their cause rather than others or the people as a whole. They crave the privilege of having monopolies set up by giving lavish contributions to legislators and gifts, sometimes through hidden means, to candidates or other power brokers who then owe them. In other words, they buy up legislators and others people in power to get their way through election contributions, which is why the following solution to one of the biggest sources of corruption and so important to the preservation of freedom. </div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3d98a8010.jpg" border=0 width="424" height="513" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="4_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>4</B>. "<B>Raising Money for Elections</B>" diverts huge amounts of time, energy and motivation from elected officials. Instead of becoming experts in the long-term impact, the fairness or inherent problems with proposed bills, they spend their time courting huge amonts of money, which are given with strings attached---subtle bribes for which they owe favors. This is done so they can be re-elected and/or become personally rich and well off. This corrupts the whole system and makes lobbyists the most powerful people in the nation, because they hold the purse strings and can disperse the wealthy of special interest groups, corporations and individuals who want to protect their craft or way of life at the expense of others. Corruption, monopolies, crime will never be curtailed or held back as long as legislators profit from them. The point here is, giant corporations and wealthy individuals buy political power and influence and politicians happily sell it to them. The result are that these corporations and the rich dominate the political process and leave most private citizens out in the cold without a voice and without influence. </div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3f0f26cd0.jpg" border=0 width="294" height="205" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B>Hence, a small budget should be set for every candidate and every election to stop this contaminating influence from draining an amazing amount of money and resources that could otherwise go to charities instead of power-hungry candidates. No elected official should be allowed to accept any money, gifts or emoluments for any reason either before, during or after their tour of duty as a public servant. Their chief motivation should be to serve their nation, not get rich by compromising values and voting for laws that hurt their fellow man and only benefit a few who would set up government sponsored trade monopolies or business or news syndicates, consortiums or cartels.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="5_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>5</B>. "<B>Monopolies</B>" destroy competition, which, 90% of the time, means that prices will go up and quality will go down. Monopolies are a conspiracy against the public in many ways. Making huge profits and effectively keeping others off of the gravy train is the ultimate goal of all monopolies. While competition creates better products, less cost to the consumer and shares the wealth<IMG SRC="3da0fda90.gif" border=0 width="253" height="425" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> more evenly and equitably. Everyone is benefited when monopoly is curtailed. </div> <bR> <div> For example, Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, declared:</div> <bR> <div> <B>Unless we put Medical Freedom into the Constitution, the time will come when medicine will organize into an undercover </B><B>dictatorship</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>.</B></FONT><B> . . . To restrict the art of healing to one class of men, and deny equal privilege to others, will be to constitute the </B><B>Bastille</B><B> of Medical Science. All such laws are un-American and despotic and have no place in a Republic . . . . The Constitution of this Republic should make special privilege for Medical Freedom as well as Religious Freedom.</B> (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>www.answers.com/topic/benjamin-rush?cat=health</U></B></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> In fulfillment of his warning, we now live in a largely monopolistic medical system that manages to kill at least 784,000 people per year and impoverishes millions, who must go bankrupt, because of the exorbitant costs for these services while the medical field, instead of being service oriented, is enriched and enlarged above 80% of the population in terms of riches. (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>www.newswithviews.com/Dean/carolyn12.htm</U></B></FONT>) Yet:</div> <bR> <div> <B>.</B><B> </B><B>. . </B><B>health care costs continue to increase rapidly. . . . Part of it is due to the increased monopoly power of physicians, insurance companies, and hospitals, as the health care sector undergoes reorganization and consolidation.</B>"<B> </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/HAAMAN.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/HAAMA"><U><B><U>www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/HAAMAN.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> Socialized medicine means waiting in lines, apathy of health-care workers, who are overworked, being herded here and there for testing and more waiting, lack of choice, poorer quality. less services and even the misdiagnosis or the denial of treatment. It isn't healthy.</div> <bR> <div> Another example of deceitful or detrimental monopoly is the press.  It is controlled. It is not free even though it is touted to be. One very important man who was certainly in the know about what is going on made the following remarkable disclosure. He was the former Chief of Staff for the New York Times and was one of New York's best loved newspapermen. This eminent man, John Swinton (1829-1901), called by his peers "<B>The Dean of his Profession</B>" was asked in 1953 to give a toast before the New York Press Club, and in so doing, made a monumentally important and revealing statement. He is quoted as follows:</div> <bR> <div> <B>There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dares to<IMG SRC="3dc3d83c0.jpg" border=0 width="216" height="316" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar weekly salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone. The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth; to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities, and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes. </B>(Richard O. Bayer & Herbert M. Moriais, <I>La</I><I>bor's Untold Story</I>, published by United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America, NY, 1955/1979: <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.constitution.org/pub/swinton_press.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.constitution.org/pub/swinton_"><U><B><U>www.constitution.org/pub/swinton_press.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> Robert McChesney a research professor in the Institute of Communications Research and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois wrote: </div> <bR> <div> <B>Democracy is premised on a free press, and freedom of the press is premised on the absence of public or private gatekeepers with monopolistic power. It is why the Supreme Court ruled in 1945 that antitrust was probably more appropriate in the</B><B><IMG SRC="3dec22800.gif" border=0 width="290" height="384" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> realm of media than in any other area. . . . A.J. Liebling's adage that "freedom of the press is limited to those who own one" is frightfully accurate. . . . </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>[There are four conglomerates or] giant companies [which] are the recipients of enormous direct and indirect subsidies and/or government-granted monopoly franchises. They include: monopoly licenses to radio and TV frequencies, cable and satellite TV monopoly franchises, magazine postal subsidies and copyright, to mention a few. . . . These policies, worth tens of billions annually, are generally made in our name but without our informed consent. That is the heart of the problem, and it points us to the solution: informed public participation on media policy-making. </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060703/mcchesney" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060703/mc"><U><B><U>www.thenation.com/doc/20060703/mcchesney</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> The well-known American-Swiss author and correspondent Robert Jungk said, "<B>The great sin of the West is that it constantly betrays its principles in its daily practice.</B>" He explained:</div> <bR> <div> <B>Concretely, I mean that today the freedom of opinion in Western newspapers or other Western avenues of public opinion is in a very clever way undermined and suppressed. </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/norden2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/n"><U><B><U>www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/norden2.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> Yet freedom of the press is one of the main engines of a free nation. Ruin it and you can lead a whole generation astray because the "<B>uniformed are easily misinformed</B>" and lead down the primrose path into believing in falsehoods by skillful manipulation and a propaganda campaign of lies. A good question is, how is it that ". . . <B>every really dissenting voice from the prevailing consensus is effectively denied access to the mass media and is silenced or marginalised?</B>"   (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/democracy_nature/vol5/chomsky_press.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.geocities.com/democracy_natur"><U><B><U>www.geocities.com/democracy_nature/vol5/chomsky_press.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>) This is not freedom, this is supression. Walter Lippmann, a well-known 20th-century American columnist, wrote, "<B>A free press is not a privilege, but an organic necessity in a great society.</B>" (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/rightsof/press.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/ri"><U><B><U>http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/rightsof/press.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> It has been written that "<B>the truth shall make you free</B>"---free from horrible mistakes, foolishness and misfortune. (John 8:32) But if you are denied that truth, you are denied that freedom---the power to do things, for "<B>knowledge [of the truth] is power</B>"---empowered to do things effectively and right. The opposite---lack of know-how and truth equals blindness and<IMG SRC="3fdd30d30.jpg" border=0 width="304" height="211" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> ignorance, and ignorance leads to nowhere except some form of diminishment. Truth is, therefore, one of the most precious things there is on this earth---it is a pearl of great price---it equals potential, power and infinite possibilities. It must be protected and vouchsafed as one of the most important things there is. Control of the press by the media giants---the huge corporations that surpress whatever they want to commit a crime against humanity and against freedom. To withhold the truth or twist and distort the truth is wrong---a wrong so serious as to be considered treasonous in its impact. One of the most important checks and balances must be instituted to protect this vital life-line---freedom of the press, internet, tv, radio, etc. From the above quotes, we must realize that this vital life-line has been compromised in a secretive and hidden way. Hence, greater safeguards must be initiated to preserve the truth and promote honesty and integrity in this basic field. A country built on falsehoods is blind, weak and blundering.  </div> <bR> <div> There are many other types of sinister and despicable monopolies that also betray freedom or suppress progress. Public education is one of them. It that has become another monopoly which promotes mediocrity instead of quality and lower costs through competition. That is:<IMG SRC="3ec7f1a00.jpg" border=0 width="241" height="160" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Prior to the Federal Department of Education, America had the finest schools in the world. Since this disastrous and unconstitutional grab for power, we can all see that a quadrillion dollars a year will not fix our schools, and they continue to decline faster than the feds or states can shovel money into them. </B>(Devvy Kidd: lecturer and popular author: <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.devvy.com/notax.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.devvy.com/notax.html"><U><B><U>www.devvy.com/notax.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> As the saying goes, "<B>Something is rotten in Denmark</B>" or "<B>There's [real] trouble in River City,</B>" because:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3ec355170.jpg" border=0 width="341" height="279" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><B>Public schools have become breeding grounds for violence [drugs] and sexual promiscuity; they often are outlets for socialist propaganda; they now constitute a formidable enemy of Christianity (by teaching evolution [denying any other view], by prohibiting prayer and Bible reading) and of the family (by teaching sex education [instead of sexual purity and family values] and deriding traditional [family] authority structures). </B>(David H. Chilton: "What's Really Wrong with Public Schools?:" <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://reformed-theology .org/html/issue08/whats_wrong _with_schools.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://reformed-theology .org/html/issue"><U><B><U>http://reformed-theology</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://reformed-theology .org/html/issue08/whats_wrong _with_schools.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://reformed-theology .org/html/issue"><U><B><U>.org/html/issue08/whats_wrong</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://reformed-theology .org/html/issue08/whats_wrong _with_schools.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://reformed-theology .org/html/issue"><U><B><U>_with_schools.htm</U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >)</FONT></div> <bR> <div> And on top of all this:</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Tenth Amendment contains a very important concept: anything not required of the government, is forbidden to the government.</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B> </B></FONT><B>Nowhere in the Constitution or any amendment does it require the government to educate the people. Therefore, it may not do it. In other words, the Department of Education is an illegal agency of the government. Doesn't that inspire your confidence [and make you feel good]?</B> (John “The<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" > </FONT>Gneech” Robey: <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm"><U><B><U>http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" >)</FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Ludwig von Mises (1818-1973), one of the notable economists and social philosophers of the Twentieth Century, wrote, "<B>There is no hope left for a civilization when the masses favor harmful policies.</B>" (reference unknown) Socialized medicine, socialized education, socialized anything is monopoly and one of the worst kind because it has the force of government behind it. But monopolies of any kind are a recipe for inferior, low-standard, second rate, performances. They do not bring good, rather monopolies all tend to do great harm and/or they prevent improvements from flourishing or taking root for the good of society. In other words, they get in the way of progress. This is why checks and balances must be instituted to protect and safeguard the people and society in general. David Ellner declared:<IMG SRC="3ec2ffff0.jpg" border=0 width="255" height="255" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Everything is backwards; everything is upside down. Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the major media destroy information and religions destroy spirituality. . . . </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>http://www.aidsmag.com</U></B></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> Monopolies are one of the most destructive forces on earth. It is corruption for the sake of money. While competitive systems, whether in banking, in the news, in education, in the legal system, or in medicine, would bring down costs, while encouraging greater quality in both products and services. There needs to be strong and powerful laws implemented to curtail and break up monopolies of any kind to promote a healthy environment for competition and fair play as well as for truth and honor. This is immensely important in the fight against corruption and to bless and protect or safeguard the future. No field or profession should be given a corner on the market---it promotes crime, deception and mediocrity. Licensing laws create and establish monopolies and are used to protect a trade or craft rather than protect the public for which the law is really intended. No licensing law or regulation should give any profession the exclusive right to use any particular word or phrase, such as, psychologist, medical doctor, cosmetologists, attorney, etc. This is an example of how legislators are used or manipulated into unwittingly creating monopolies. But there are also many other tricks and legal maneuvers used to subvert what is right into something that is unwholesome and unproductive of what is much better for everyone. Monopolies are an enemy to the people.<IMG SRC="3e80e1d10.jpg" border=0 width="225" height="209" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </div> <bR> <div> Adam Smith, one of the founding father in 1776 once observed that, "<B>People of the same trade seldom meet together . . . , but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.</B>"<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.newswithviews.com/Dean/carolyn12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newswithviews.com/Dean/caroly"><U><B><U>www.newswithviews</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.newswithviews.com/Dean/carolyn12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newswithviews.com/Dean/caroly"><U><B><U>.com/Dean/carolyn12.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>)<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>That is the real outcome of monopolies and cartels. In the best interests of society as a whole, rather than use licensing, each profession should establish their own private certification of practitioners. </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="6_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>6</B>. "<B>Money</B>" is an extremely powerful temptation. "<B>For the love of money is the root of all [not some, but all] evil. . . .</B>" (1 Timothy 6:10) In fact, nothing could be more true. Money is extremely powerful. President James A. Garfield wrote, "<B>Whoever controls the volume of money in any country [on earth] is [the] absolute master of all industry and commerce.</B>" (Ibid.) </div> <bR> <div> The following is how a terrible hidden government---a monopoly of immense power was<IMG SRC="3dc5d6d60.png" border=0 width="214" height="214" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> established in the United States of America and remains hidden and disguised to this day. It became more fully entrenched in the land when Woodrow Wilson took a bribe, a huge campaign contribution, so he could be elected President of the United States and in doing so he promised to sign the legislation to set up the Federal Reserve Bank, which was pushed through Congress two days before Christmas when most legislators were at home to celebrate the holidays. Thus i<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Trebuchet MS" >n 1913 members of Congress, who knew about this scheme, committed treason and violated their oath of office to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic by voting in the Federal Reserve Bank.</FONT> Charles A. Lindbergh, Sr. declared, "<B>When the President [Wilson} signs this bill, the invisible government of the monetary power will be legalized. . . . [It is] the worst legislative crime of the ages. . . .</B>" (Ibid.)<B> </B>Just before he died, President Wilson solemnly declared to his friends that he had been "<B>deceived</B>" and that "<B>I have betrayed my Country.</B>" He was referring to the Federal Reserve Act passed during his Presidency. (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.libertyforlife.com/banking/federal_reserve_bank.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.libertyforlife.com/banking/fe"><U><B><U>www.libertyforlife.com/banking/federal_reserve_bank.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>) Congressman Louis T. McFadden (Rep. Pa), who was the Chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency of the United States for twelve years, declared that:<IMG SRC="3dc862870.jpg" border=0 width="98" height="135" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Federal Reserve banks are one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever seen. There is not a man within the sound of my voice who does not know that this nation is run by the International bankers. </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2666_129/ai_67328791</U></B></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> <B>Some [Most] people think the Federal Reserve Banks are the United States government's institutions. They are not government institutions. They are private credit monopolies which prey upon the people of the United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign swindlers.</B>  (Congressional Record 12595-12603, June 10, 1932) (Ibid.) </div> <bR> <div> The Federal Reserve makes money out of nothing---out of the clear blue. There is nothing to back up the money they print. It is only paper. Paper that we put our trust in---paper that runs or<IMG SRC="3dd4657d0.jpg" border=0 width="101" height="125" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> controls all industry and all commerce---paper that literally runs our lives and determines our future for better or worse. They print this paper money, loan it to the United States Government and then on top of that charge the government interest on what they made out of nothing. It is a huge scam or con game involving the hidden theft of billions and billions of hard earn money. It is the biggest scam ever created on earth. On this huge amount of profits that they legally extort from the United States and its people, they have never paid any taxes, nor have they ever allowed anyone to audit them lest the public should find out about the monumental rip off that is taking place right under their noses. Thomas Jefferson wrote the following remarks on this serious threat that<IMG SRC="3dc7e2200.jpg" border=0 width="226" height="288" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> the private banks implemented in his day and which has grown to become an enormously entrenched monopoly that reigns triumphantly in our midst. He said: </div> <bR> <div> <B>I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs. </B>(Ibid.)</div> <bR> <div> The solution is easy, just make it law that no debt (the national debt) will be paid to this private sinister organization, which has already robbed us of far too much. In other words, as a nation create a law similar to a chapter 7 bankruptcy for private individuals and start over by disenfranchising them and their ill begotten money machine. The nation could then print its own money and not pay any interest on it whatsoever. This would free up billions of dollars annually so that taxes could be reduced motivating private enterprise and production, and this nation could begin to thrive again and be the economic giant it once was leading all the earth in wealth, esteem and status. Louis T. McFadden declared before congress in 1932:</div> <bR> <div> <B>Every effort has been made by the Federal Reserve Board to conceal its power but</B><B><IMG SRC="3dd171aa0.jpg" border=0 width="113" height="170" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> the truth is the Federal Reserve Board has usurped the government of the United States. It controls everything here and it controls all our foreign relations. It makes and breaks governments at will. No man and no body of men is more entrenched in power than the arrogant credit monopoly which operates the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve banks. These evil-doers have robbed this country of more than enough money to pay the national debt. What the Government has permitted the Federal Reserve Board to steal from the people should now be restored to the people. </B>(<I>Congressional Record</I>, Congressman Louis McFadden, June 10, 1932, House of Representatives, pages 12495-12605)</div> <bR> <div> International bankers have developed these monopolies all over the earth and the same basic scheme of creating wealth out of nothing and loaning it has controlled kingdoms and empires for centuries. Napoleon said:<IMG SRC="3dd3b8e70.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="231" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </div> <bR> <div> <B>When a government is dependent for money upon the bankers, they and not the government leaders control the nation. This is because the hand that gives is above the hand that takes. Financiers are without patriotism and without decency. </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=177" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=177"><U><B><U>www.realjewnews.com/?p=177</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> Phillip A. Benson, President of the American Bankers' Association, on June 8, 1939 wrote, "<B>There is no more direct way to capture control of a nation than through its credit (money) system.</B>"  (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.national-renewal.org.au/ModelCon/Task34/start.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.national-renewal.org.au/Model"><U><B><U>www.national-renewal.org.au/ModelCon/Task34/start.shtml</U></B></U></A></FONT>) Reginald McKenna, when Chairman of the Midland Bank in London, declared, "<B>. . . T</B><B>hey who control the credit [money system] of the nation . . . hold in the hollow of their hands the destiny of the people.</B>” (Ibid.)</div> <bR> <div> The international bankers are now more powerful than any king that ever lived. The scheme they created, which seems to operate most everywhere:<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="3ebb970c0.jpg" border=0 width="407" height="268" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>. . . has been engineered to benefit rich and powerful interests that get more rich and powerful every day as a result. These rich and powerful interests currently do everything in their power to make sure this topic rarely gets debated, much less resolved.</B>"  (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.national-renewal.org.au/ModelCon/Task34/start.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.national-renewal.org.au/Model"><U><B><U>www.national-renewal.org.au/Model</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.national-renewal.org.au/ModelCon/Task34/start.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.national-renewal.org.au/Model"><U><B><U>Con/Task34/start.shtml</U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >) </FONT></div> <bR> <div> It is a huge source of corruption that must be destroyed for governments to prosper and be free to thrive and make major headway in alleviating the ills of mankind and allowing countries to run their own nations. Yet, "<B>By this means [the private stock holders of the Federal Reserve Board] may secretly and unobserved, confiscate the </B><B>wealth</B><B> of the people, and not one man in a million will detect the theft.</B>" (Lord John Maynard Keynes, <I>Economic Consequences of Peace</I>, 1920 and Harry Kawilarang, <I>Quotations on Terrorism, </I>2004,<I> </I>p. 399) It is, in the words of Major L. L. B. Angus, "<B>. . . </B><B>the most astounding piece of sleight of hand that was ever invented.</B>" (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://political-resources.com/money/quotes.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://political-resources.com/money/quo"><U><B><U>http://political-resources.com/money/quotes.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> Today Americans are being fleeced to the tune of approximately 52% of every dollar going for local, state and federal taxes. And over $430 billion a year---all that the IRS receives from all the citizens of this country is given to the greedy Federal Reserve Board for doing nothing, that is,<IMG SRC="3ebd35810.jpg" border=0 width="309" height="385" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> something the government could do for itself for pennies on the dollar, that is, print money and run a specialized accounting firm. In all the annals of history, no greater fraud was ever perpetuated on any people. It is must worse than highway robbery. It has bilked and pilfered trillions from this country. In summary, Sir Josiah Stamp (1880-1941), President of the Bank of England and the 2nd richest man in the nation wrote:</div> <bR> <div> <B>Banking was conceived in iniquity and born in sin. Bankers own the Earth. </B><B>Take it [all the vast wealth of the banker] away from them but leave them the power to create money, and, with the flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again. Take this great power away from them and all great fortunes like mine will disappear, and they ought to disappear, for then this would be a better and happier world to live in. But, if you want to continue to be the slave of the bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, then let the bankers continue to create money and control credit. </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Banking" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Banking"><U><B><U>http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Banking</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> No country deserves such a revolting gang of robber barons in their midst. Robbery is wrong no matter who does it and for what reason. For example, to show how terribly wrong this really is note that, "<B>without the central bank siphoning off the wealth of our nation, there would be no need for a personal income tax.</B>" (Devvy Kidd: <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.devvy.com/notax.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.devvy.com/notax.html"><U><B><U>www.devvy.com/notax.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>) What a great boon that would be for the American people or the people of any land! </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="7"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>7. </B><B>D</B><B>e</B><B>ficit Spending </B>is spending more money than you actually have. There is an old saying that goes, "<B>If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall.</B>" That is, if you keep on spending too much, it will result in financial ruin. Government deficit spending means devaluing the dollar, which robs everyone. It is like diluting the milk supply—the milk—the value of our money is then watered down. It ends up being a hidden or disguised tax which secretly does damage to the economy and more importantly, it hurts people—our greatest resource. This is so serious that as reported in "<B>The Hill</B>" in December of 2007:<IMG SRC="3edf401a0.jpg" border=0 width="320" height="282" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said Congress’s deficit spending has become a moral issue surpassing abortion because it saddles future generations with massive debt before they’re born. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"The greatest moral issue of our time isn’t abortion, it’s robbing our next generation of opportunity," Coburn told reporters at a breakfast meeting Thursday at the National Press Club. "You’re going to save a child from being aborted so they can be born into a debtor’s prison?" </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>http://thehill.com/leading-the-news</U></B></FONT></div> <div> <B><U>/coburn-deficit-spending-is-bigger-moral-issue-than-abortion-2007-11-02.html</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >)</FONT></div> <bR> <div> This kind of spending is reckless and irresponsible to say the least, but it is all a part of the corruption that is so typical of out-of-control government and why more checks and balances are needed, not less, to curb the greed and avarice of politicians, rich special interest groups and other monopolies and their lobbies who instead of pushing for equality, push for special privileges at the expense and ruin of others. The unfairness, the injustice, the fraud, the waste, and the misconduct of big government is staggering. See below:</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="7_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>8</B>. <B>Pork and Barrel projects</B> and or <B>attachments</B> to bills waste billions of dollars are intended primarily to benefit particular constituents or campaign contributors. This is another example of a corrupt practice. Examples of pork-barrel spending in the past include:</div> <bR> <div> <B>$107,000 to study the sex life of the Japanese quail. </B></div> <div> <B>$1.2 million to study the breeding habits of the woodchuck.</B></div> <div> <B>$150,000 to study the Hatfield-McCoy feud.</B><IMG SRC="3dd8c2430.gif" border=0 width="450" height="323" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>$84,000 to find out why people fall in love. </B></div> <div> <B>$1 million to study why people don't ride bikes to work. </B></div> <div> <B>$19 million to examine gas emissions from cow flatulence.</B></div> <div> <B>$144,000 to see if pigeons follow human economic laws. </B></div> <div> <B>Funds to study the cause of rudeness on tennis courts and examine smiling patterns in bowling alleys. </B></div> <div> <B>$219,000 to teach college students how to watch television.</B></div> <div> <B>$2 million to construct an ancient Hawaiian canoe. </B></div> <div> <B>$20 million for a demonstration project to build wooden bridges.</B></div> <div> <B>$160,000 to study if you can hex an opponent by drawing an X on his chest.</B></div> <div> <B>$800,000 for a restroom on Mt. McKinley. </B></div> <div> <B>$100,000 to study how to avoid falling spacecraft.</B></div> <div> <B>$16,000 to study the operation of the komungo, a Korean stringed instrument. </B></div> <div> <B>$1 million to preserve a sewer in Trenton, NJ, as a historic monument.</B><B><IMG SRC="3ddcecd90.jpg" border=0 width="236" height="217" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> </B></div> <div> <B>$6,000 for a document on Worcestershire sauce. </B></div> <div> <B>$10,000 to study the effect of naval communications on a bull's potency. </B></div> <div> <B>$100,000 to research soybean-based ink.</B></div> <div> <B>$1 million for a Seafood Consumer Center. </B></div> <div> <B>$57,000 spent by the Executive Branch for gold-embossed playing cards on Air Force Two.</B> (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.areddy.net/mscott/porkabs.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.areddy.net/mscott/porkabs.htm"><U><B><U>www.areddy.net/mscott/porkabs.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> <B>Many dismiss pork as a drop in the bucket in relation to the size of the federal budget. The pro-porkers claim that the real problem is entitlement spending, so pork is insignificant. This dismissal of pork as "small potatoes" ignores the fact that pork is the root cause of some of our nation's most debilitating fiscal and political pathologies, and $100 billion shouldn't be considered insignificant in anyone's book.</B> (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_Pork_Barrel_Spending</U></B></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> The whole purpose of this article can be summarized by a statement made in December of 1998 by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican from Florida), when he said, "<B>The greatest challenge of free peoples is to restrain abuses of governmental power.</B>"  (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2666_129/ai_67328791</U></B></FONT>) This is certainly one of them.</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3ddf11fb0.jpg" border=0 width="273" height="251" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="8_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>9</B>. <B>Government waste</B> is a crying shame especially when serious problems abound. "<B>A real war on government waste could easily save over $100 billion annually without harming the legitimate operations and benefits of government programs.</B>" The following are three examples of serious neglect. (All the following is from the website of the Heritage Foundation on government waste: </div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.heritage.org/research/budget/bg1840.cfm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.heritage.org/research/budget/"><U><B><U>www.heritage.org/research/budget/bg1840.cfm</U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >)</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>(1) The government knows that $25 billion was spent by someone, somewhere, on something, but auditors do not know </B><B>who</B><B> spent it, </B><B>where</B><B> it was spent, or on </B><B>what</B><B> it was spent. It was lost. . . .  T</B><B>he unreconciled $25 billion could have funded the entire Department of Justice for an entire year.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>(2) A recent audit revealed that between 1997 and 2003, the Defense Department purchased and then left unused approximately 270,000 commercial airline tickets at a total cost of $100 million. Even worse, the Pentagon never bothered to get a refund for these </B><B>fully refundable</B><B> tickets. . . . </B><B>This $108 million could have purchased seven</B><B><IMG SRC="3de45de40.jpg" border=0 width="349" height="228" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> Blackhawk helicopters, 17 M1 Abrams tanks, or a large supply of additional body armor for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>(3) Government’s layering of new programs on top of old ones inherently creates duplication. Having several agencies perform similar duties is wasteful and confuses program beneficiaries who must navigate each program’s distinct rules and requirements.</B></div> <bR> <div> Instead of efficiently handling of problems, the Federal government has created and perpetuates a huge amount of duplication and redundancy:</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">342</B><B> economic development programs;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">130</B><B> programs serving the disabled;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">130</B><B> programs serving at-risk youth;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">90</B><B> early childhood development programs;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">75</B><B> programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">72</B><B> federal programs dedicated to assuring safe water;</B><IMG SRC="3de1e2ee0.jpg" border=0 width="226" height="238" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">50</B><B> homeless assistance programs;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">45</B><B> federal agencies conducting federal criminal investigations;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">40</B><B> separate employment and training programs;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">28</B><B> rural development programs;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">27</B><B> teen pregnancy programs;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">26</B><B> small, extraneous K–12 school grant programs;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">23</B><B> agencies providing aid to the former Soviet republics;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">19</B><B> programs fighting substance abuse;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">17</B><B> rural water and waste-water programs in eight agencies;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">17</B><B> trade agencies monitoring 400 international trade agreements;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">12</B><B> food safety agencies;</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">11</B><B> principal statistics agencies; and</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Four</B><B> overlapping land management agencies</B></div> <bR> <div> Efficient in government would save an amazing amount of money that could be used for good instead of throwing it away needlessly and foolishly. The government is notorious for being wasteful. This ought to be considered a crime against the people who work so hard to pay taxes only to have the government bungle everything and mismanage it.</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="9_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>10</B>. "<B>Sovereign immunity</B>" for legislators, judges, lawyers, international bankers, bureaucrats and a number of others creates an atmosphere in which subtle, hidden white-collar crime can thrive and prosper in the<B><IMG SRC="3de7f2d50.jpg" border=0 width="242" height="213" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B> sacred institutions of government. And if crime pays, crime expands and is enlarged, especially in government, where the temptations are far too compelling and insidious. Immunity for some also produces a privileged class instead of fairness and equality for all. In other words, the ideal of "<B>justice for all</B>" is flushed down the toilet and some people are above the law. This immunity has the power impact that it makes some people with higher morals, who won't become overtly involved in crime, become careless and indifferent to waste and the wrongs of others, because they cannot get into trouble for mediocrity. But if these same people were made to be accountable for their actions and responsible for what they did, they would be more careful, work much harder and their efforts would be far more efficient, contributing and beneficial.</div> <bR> <div> The point is, no one should be above the law. Every person, especially public servants, must be held to a standard of decency, honor and good faith; and if they fail, they must face the<B><IMG SRC="3e40c58f0.gif" border=0 width="197" height="143" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B> consequences like anyone else. If law makers, lawyers, judges, bureaucrats, etc. were no longer given immunity, the abuses and injustices of the legal system would be corrected very quickly. This is because when a person is immune, that person would naturally have little personal vested interest in the wrongs of the justice system, but if a person is subject to their failures, then a person would naturally worry about it and would work to fix it and make it safe to be a normal citizen, business man, legislator or whatever. The solution of making certain power holders immune to justice does not protect the people from judicial or civil travesties---it promotes it. The whole point is:<IMG SRC="3dd76d890.jpg" border=0 width="109" height="137" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>That the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when the government assumes other functions it is usurpation and oppression.</B> (Alabama Constitution Section I, Number 35)   </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="10_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>11</B>. <B>Justice </B>is one of the most precious things on earth, but it is unfairly denied to a majority of Americans, who end up being robbed and cheated by a system that is stacked up against them. Anacharsis, a well-known philosopher who lived in Athens about the 5th century BC, declared that, "<B>Laws are like spider webs: they hold the weak and vulnerable in their meshes and are torn . . . asunder by the rich and powerful.</B>"<B> </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/law/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/l"><U><B><U>www.geocities.com</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/law/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6315/l"><U><B><U>/Pentagon/6315/law/index.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>) Judicial reform is desperately needed. Estimates suggest that as much as "<B>6</B><B>0% of Americans are denied equal justice under law,</B>" which reflects the<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B><U><IMG SRC="3dfcf5400.jpg" border=0 width="245" height="320" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></B></FONT> fact that there is major corruption and sickness in the setup which has thus far defied all efforts to reform it. (Ibid.) It is like a cancer that needs radical surgery. But before the strong cure can be applied, one must first understand the breath and depth of the problem. There will always be offenders and victims, but the benefit of justice and a system that ensures that crime does not pay would be one of the greatest benefits a nation could ever have. </div> <bR> <div> First of all, there is an obvious built in conflict of interests. Lawyers are, in fact, part of the problem, not the answer. Robert J. Samuelson, a well-known journalist and contributing editor for <I>Newsweek</I> and the <I>Washington Post</I>, wrote:<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>[Lawyers] have an economic interest in cultivating and prolonging conflict. This means they are fundamentally at odds with the purposes of the legal system. Courts and lawyers exist only to explain and enforce the rules society sets for itself--and settle disputes arising from these rules. . . . The trouble is that lawyers' well-being runs in the opposite direction. The more conflict, the better. The more cumbersome and ambiguous society's rules, the better. </B>(Ibid.)</div> <bR> <div> The following are additional conflict of interest problems that get in the way of justice.<IMG SRC="3e0329bc0.jpg" border=0 width="297" height="444" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>1</B>. "<B>L</B><B>awyers tend to be dishonest and lie because they know the system --- they know that lying and cheating and perjury work. Lawyers know that perjury isn't prosecuted and they pass that on to their clients.</B>" (Ibid.) Thus they promote deception and deceitfulness rather than honesty and truth. </div> <bR> <div> <B>2</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >. </FONT>"<B>Lawyer/Judges do their utmost to damage </B><I><B>pro se</B></I><B> or self-represented litigants. With 60 percent of the population unable to afford lawyers, that means the majority of citizens cannot get [the] justice [they deserve] because there is a lawyer on the bench. Judges shill for lawyers because those are their buddies, [their] culture, and system which they [are] a part of [and] accept. . . .</B>"<B> </B>(Ibid.)</div> <bR> <div> <B>3</B>. "<B>Lawyers are not legal experts, they are not trained in many areas of law: tax judges/lawyers know a fraction of tax law that CPA's and tax-preparers that come before them do; family law lawyers/judges are not social workers; juvenile law judges are not psychologists; technical subjects like patents, copyrights, trade secrets, medical malpractice and psychiatry are well beyond the competence of [many] lawyer/judges.</B>" "<B>Bad decisions, which are endemic to the system [even thought they cost a fortune]. . . .</B>" (Ibid.)</div> <bR> <div> <B>4</B>. "<B>[Lawyers] </B><B>have an agenda [it is not justice, but] the furtherance [and promotion] of the interests of lawyers. . . . [All monopolies work this way.] That is simply their<IMG SRC="3e1efb3e0.jpg" border=0 width="251" height="318" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> modus operandi or nature. . . . [Such lawyer/judges, for example] </B><B>are [not] going to let a pro se person win no matter how right he is, because to allow justice in such a case would be the end of the cartel --- it would demonstrate that lawyers are superfluous.</B>"<B> </B>The craft, the monopoly, the status must be protected and defended at all costs to the point that they become more important than justice itself.  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>5</B>. "<B>Lawyer/judges favor high status law firms and lawyers because those are their reference group --- the people whose good opinion they seek; it advances the profession [and their personal careers and prestige]. So cases get decided [far too often] on how expensive your lawyer is, [not] on the merits of your case. . . . </B><B>You can imagine the abuse they would get from the fraternity, if they ruled against a lawyer in favor of a non-lawyer (because in the end, economic interests are involved). . . . </B><B>Law is a [huge] money-making machine --- [a monopoly].</B>"  Unearned and massively overcharged contingency fees [as much as 90% of the award] in cases of early settlements where lawyers did little or nothing is just an act of fleecing or cheating. He should not charge more than his hourly rate.<IMG SRC="3e0a7ce80.jpg" border=0 width="380" height="232" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  </div> <bR> <div> <B>6. </B>"<B>. . . T</B><B>he appeals Court is a greater farce than the trial --- the courts have a stated bias to uphold the lower court and a real bias to scratch their friends and colleagues' backs. Most appeals court rulings are written by law clerks who are 2nd year law students. Oral arguments are almost never heard, because the appeals court does not want to even know what the case is about --- they make form letter rulings without even reading the case.</B>"<B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>7</B>. Self-regulation doesn't work. It is like asking the fox to watch the chicken coop. Or, "<B>Having a lawyer judge ethics is like having a blind man judge The Miss America Pageant when his daughter is a contestant.</B>"<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>The lawyer protection racket is such that if a complaint is made to a proper lawyer-driven organization, no one, not even the complainant will know if the lawyer lied or produced false evidence, because this important information is not allowed to be made public. <B>A . . . national commission found that 95 percent of all complaints against federal judges were dismissed summarily by other federal judges put in place to review them. At the state level, NY is supposed to have the nation's top oversight organization. Over 85 percent of complaints are dismissed without investigation. Since they have a cartel and regulate themselves, you might expect that they would recognize the high responsibility [but instead they protect each other rather than promote justice]. . . . T</B><B>he CA Bar receives 140,000 hotline complaints a year and [only] 'investigates' 15,000 allegations of attorney misconduct. This shows how well licensing works [or how committed they are to policing their own profession].</B>"<IMG SRC="3e0110690.jpg" border=0 width="528" height="105" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> In conclusion, "[<B>Self-serving] Lawyers . . . [have often earned the] reputation of being low-lifes and [of being] as scummy [or as dishonest] as used-car salesmen.</B>" The author declared, "<B>We have a diseased system, which is rotten at the core and the core is lawyers.</B>" Rather, the core is more likely the corrupt monopoly created by the lawyers, which because of exorbitant prices and inherent corruption makes lawyer-craft similar to how a leech or parasite acts on its host. This malicious culture instead of being a blessing to mankind has become an unfortunate barrier to justice, fairness and equity. They sell their souls and sell out their clients for the almighty dollar.<IMG SRC="3e0c32cc0.jpg" border=0 width="306" height="204" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </div> <bR> <div> So how does this corrupt gravy train continue to be maintained? Why isn't it routed out? Well, look where the money goes. It goes into corrupting government to buy up legislators. The problem: "<B>Lawyers give more money to political campaigns than does any other industry. Approximately 75% of the lawyer's money goes to Democrats. Lawyers, and specifically trial lawyers, are the Democrats number one special interest group, and have been for years.</B>" Well, what do the Democrats do for the lawyers in return for huge amounts of campaign or bribery money?:</div> <bR> <div> <B>Dems block tort reform, block medical malpractice reform, block 'loser pays' lawsuit reform, and block damages award caps. Democrats are a trial lawyer's dream come true. Dems allow lawyers to continue to feed at the trough, uninhibited. Dems are money in the bank for trial lawyers.</B> (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.ohiomm.com/.../da_kings_men/category/ethics" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ohiomm.com/.../da_kings_men/c"><U><B><U>www.ohiomm.com/.../da_kings</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ohiomm.com/.../da_kings_men/category/ethics" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ohiomm.com/.../da_kings_men/c"><U><B><U>_men/category/ethics</U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >) </FONT></div> <bR> <div> So the system continues unabated ruining justice for all except the rich and famous. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Part of the Answer:<IMG SRC="3def99970.jpg" border=0 width="409" height="407" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>(1) Non-attorney judges: </B>"<B>. . . Good lawyers make too much money to accept the lower pay of judgeships. Therefore, only mediocre lawyers are in the pool to select from. By broadening the pool of candidates [to nonlawyers], we can have better judges.</B>" The author of this article recommended that lawyers be disallowed to serve as judges to break the back of their cartel and allow for greater objectivity and case expertise to be applied to individual cases by judges who are experts themselves in certain fields. (See #3 above) </div> <bR> <div> <B>(2) Elections: </B>It appears that a new corp of non-attorney judges might best be appointed by elections as they would be more impartial and be less influenced by politicians or special interest groups as long as no contributions were allowed and only a equitable election allowance was permitted to be used for each individual campaign. This would help stop the bribes or favors that circumvent justice.</div> <bR> <div> <B>(3) More attorneys:</B> "<B>. . . Consider the world flooded with lawyers - bad lawyers couldn't make a living, average lawyers would have to get by on modest salaries because of the competition. Only the good lawyers would be well paid and that is as it should be. The quality of legal services would go up, the prices would go down and even the poor would be able to get "justice" or at least legal advice. Break the cartel by deregulation, decertification and allowing paralegals to practice law.</B><B>"</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>(4)</B> Incompetents hide behind licensure and certification, and regulation only creates, maintains and perpetuates the insidious monopoly that is destructive rather than protective of justice one of the greatest things there is on earth.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Jury Reform:<IMG SRC="3df179800.jpg" border=0 width="377" height="384" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </B></div> <bR> <div> "<B>Some ideas: eliminate exemptions from jury duty, eliminate pre-emptory challenges --- just take the first 12 jurors; let the jurors ask questions of witnesses; let the jurors see the statute that they are judging on: the only notice the accused could have had is the statute and the jury has to factor that into consideration. This business of jury instructions is the primary way judges and lawyers subvert the jury process. The first instruction should be the statute and the second should be 'if any following instruction conflicts with the statute - ignore the instruction and base your decision on the statute.' Juries need to be informed of the ideas of jury nullification. Allow less than unanimous verdicts, but no less than 11-1. That will prevent one crazy person from holding up the system, but care must be taken not to lower standards too much because it would result in lots of false convictions. Probably a good way to handle it is to make unanimous verdicts inviolate but less than unanimous verdicts overturnable by judges.</B>"<B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Jury Rights:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"The jury has a right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy."</B></div> <div> John Jay, 1st Chief Justice</div> <div> United States supreme Court, 1789</div> <bR> <div> <B>"The jury has the right to determine both the law and the facts."</B></div> <div> Samuel Chase, U.S. supreme Court Justice,</div> <div> 1796, Signer of the unanimous Declaration</div> <bR> <div> <B>"The jury has the power to bring a verdict in the teeth of both law and fact."</B></div> <div> Oliver Wendell Holmes,</div> <div> U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 1902</div> <bR> <div> <B>"The law itself is on trial quite as much as the cause which is to be decided."</B></div> <div> Harlan F. Stone, 12th Chief Justice</div> <div> U.S. Supreme Court, 1941</div> <bR> <div> <B>"The pages of history shine on instance of the jury's exercise of its prerogative to disregard instructions of the judge..."</B></div> <div> U.S. vs Dougherty, 473 F 2nd 113, 1139, (1972)</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3e283c8e0.jpg" border=0 width="316" height="398" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="11"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><B>12. Big government</B> like any monopoly equals more and more infringements on State, Community and personal rights. Freedom is little by little taken away or lost by such. In fact, big government is against the constitution, therefore it is in violation of it. It rebellion against unauthorized and illegal regulations and mandates from the Federal Government, <B>the State of Oklahoma</B> passed the following resolution on 3/13/08: </div> <bR> <div> <B>WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"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."; and</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and Req. No. 9466 Page 2</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>WHEREAS, today, in 2008, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and<IMG SRC="3e2aed360.gif" border=0 width="237" height="310" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>WHEREAS, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE OF THE 2ND SESSION OF THE 51ST OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE: THAT the State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>THAT this serve as Notice and Demand to the federal government, as our agent, to</B><B><IMG SRC="3e2cd8170.jpg" border=0 width="216" height="279" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>THAT a copy of this resolution be distributed to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker Req. No. 9466 Page 3 of the House and the President of the Senate of each state's legislature of the United States of America, and each member of the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation.</B></div> <bR> <div> It is important that no part of the government be allowed to infringe on checks and balances designed to protect the people and preserve their inalienable rights to freedom. Big government is a threat and an encroachment that we must protect ourselves from. State and community shares of sovereignty are important safeguards to limit and preserve it.</div> <bR> <div> Power is dangerous especially in the hands of big government which can force and rob us. Hence the following salient warning by Harry Browne who wrote, "<B>It's important to realize that whenever you give power to politicians or bureaucrats, it will be used for what they want, not for what you want.</B>" In fact, "<B>it will be used in ways you never intended.</B>" (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm"><U><B><U>http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>)<IMG SRC="409145f40.jpg" border=0 width="325" height="244" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </div> <bR> <div> A good example of this was given by Neal Boortz in 2003. He said, "<B>Tell me please why this Patriot Act is being used for so many criminal investigations in this country, like petty drug cases, that have no connection with terrorism?  Lesson: If you give the government power . . . it will use that power. It will use 100% of that power, and more.</B>" (Ibid.) We are in jeaprody of becoming a police state if this trend continues. </div> <bR> <div> Paul M. Weyrich, President of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, writing in the December, 2001 issue of <I>Reason</I> observed:</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution is the most at risk. The government will challenge our right to be shielded from unreasonable search and seizure. . . . [They want] without a warrant from a judge [to be] able to read our e-mail and other documents. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ah, you say, I have nothing to hide, so why do I care? In this era of political correctness where the ordinary practices of today become the crimes of tomorrow, it is dangerous to have that view. Perhaps you may want the government to have access to your innermost views. But what do you suppose will happen when you determine that the government has become too repressive and it must be replaced?  What do you suppose will happen to you when government officials find out your views before you have had a chance to act upon them? </B>(Ibid.)</div> <bR> <div> We must realize that:<IMG SRC="408c0e3b0.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="315" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>As long as human beings are imperfect, there will always be arguments for extending the power of government to deal with these imperfections. The only logical stopping place is totalitarianism---unless we realize that tolerating imperfections is the price of freedom. </B>(Dr. Thomas Sowell: Ibid.)</div> <bR> <div> In other words, "<B>Freedom requires tolerance of foolishness. . . . Without this tolerance for the freedom of others, no one's freedoms are secure.</B>" (Dr. Donald J. Boudreaux: Ibid.) </div> <div> Henry Grady Weaver (1889-1949), who wrote the book <I>The Mainspring of Human Progress</I>, declared empathically that,</div> <bR> <div> <B>Most of the major ills of the world have been caused by well-meaning people who ignored the principle of individual freedom, except as applied to themselves, and who were obsessed with fanatical zeal to improve the lot of mankind- in-the-mass through some pet formula of their own. The harm done by ordinary criminals, murderers, gangsters, and thieves is negligible in comparison with the agony inflicted upon human beings by the professional do-gooders, who attempt to set themselves up as gods on earth and who would ruthlessly force their views on all others---with the abiding assurance that the end justifies the means. </B>(Ibid.)<IMG SRC="408fe62a0.jpg" border=0 width="230" height="298" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> "<B>Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of power,</B>" declared Daniel Webster. (Ibid.) The problem is, most people do not see any danger at all in this. Burt Rand wrote, "<B>People who think of government as the institution to entrust with enough power to right all the world's wrongs seem to never consider that the</B><B>y must thereby give it enough power to do wrong to all the world's rights.</B><B>"</B><B> </B>(Ibid.) </div> <bR> <div> Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., a political commentator declared on this subject, "<B>We're dealing with the oldest political error: the belief that because everyone wants something, government should or must provide it.</B>"<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Verdana" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Arial" >(</FONT>Ibid.) This false philosophy deceives people into giving more and more power to the Federal government. But the so-called free handouts are not free, but come with a heavy price considering big government waste, mismanagement and boondoggling. John S. Coleman wrote: "<B>The point to remember is that what the government gives, it must first take away.</B>" (Ibid.) And it will use legalized plunder or theft to do it. </div> <bR> <div> The safest road and the wisest thing to do is to reduce and limit the government and thus preserve our most priceless heritage of freedom for generations to come. To do otherwise is foolhardy or to stick one's head in the sand. It is to invite trouble, poverty and decline. "<B>Government should be our servant, not our master.</B>"<B> </B>(Doug Guetzloe: Ibid.) </div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3eb4f46a0.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="362" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B> <A NAME="12_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>13. Income Tax </B>in the original U. S. Constitution was forbidden as an important check against the Federal government getting too big. Because money is power, and an almighty government would end up being too big, too powerful and too dangerous to the freedom and liberty of its people, the United States government was, by design, created to receive its operating money mostly from the States in order to balance things out and limit what the Federal government could do. Their plan was to give the States a huge amount of power instead of crippling or diminishing them by making them beg money from the Federal government which then controls them through these purse strings. That is, if the States are obedient to the requirements---the strings they attach, then they get money, if not, they are denied.</div> <bR> <div> As a check to limit "<B>big brother</B>" or irresponsible, inefficient, wasteful and power-hungry politicians and corrupt bureaucrats, the founding fathers constitutionally denied the Federal government the power of instituting a personal income tax. The States could levy an income tax, but not the<B><IMG SRC="3eca31eb0.jpg" border=0 width="305" height="235" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B> Federal government. This was considered to be a great principle to stop government meddling and its infringement on rights as well as keep taxes down for everyone, because the states would naturally compete against one another to keep the rate low or risk losing individuals and business to other states with lower taxes. It must always be remembered in the words of Chief Justice John Marshall in the McCulloloch v. Stateplace Maryland ruling of 1819 that, "<B>The power to tax involves the power to destroy.</B>" (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm"><U><B><U>http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="14"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>14</B>. <B>Limiting government:</B> another way, besides forbidding a personal income tax to the Federal government, which was designed to keep the Federal government from getting too big, was to constitutionally limited what it could do or be involved in by the supreme law of the land. Article I(8) of the Constitution states:</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To borrow money on the credit of the United States;<IMG SRC="3ed3f1580.jpg" border=0 width="497" height="600" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To establish post offices and post roads; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To provide and maintain a navy; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress; </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;--And </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. (</B>From the US Constitution)<IMG SRC="3ed25c950.jpg" border=0 width="348" height="149" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> There is absolutely no authority or legal permission for the federal government to legislate in areas of the environment, education, FEMA, the NEA, the FDA, welfare and many others. This limit was to keep the Federal government from getting into all kinds of mischief that is better solved and dealt with on a local level where nationwide monopolies will not be created or perpetuated. To further prevent corruption and the confiscation of rights, a new supreme law was created by the founding fathers to protect freedom. The tenth amendment states that:</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3ed42cd00.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="208" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">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. </B>(From the US Constitution)</div> <bR> <div> If this wasn't enough, in addition, Article I(3) of the Constitution specified that Senators were to be chosen by the State legislators, not by State popular elections, in order to preserve State's rights and not have the Federal government assume the vast powers and authorities as it currently has. The problem is:</div> <bR> <div> <B>As the size of our gov has grown our capacity to manufacture our own goods, grow our own food and educate our children has decreased dramatically. And with each new session of Congress and each new Administration we somehow find the number of laws and regulations lacking [intelligence] - and [they] just keep adding more. </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://theroyalscam.com/2008/04/27/usn-get-ready-for-big-government-another-step-in-the-wrong-direction" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://theroyalscam.com/2008/04/27/usn-g"><U><B><U>http://theroyalscam.com/2008/04/27/usn-get-ready-for-big-government-another-step-in-the-wrong-direction</U></B></U></A></FONT>)<IMG SRC="3ecda73f0.jpg" border=0 width="167" height="319" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The point is, big government is invariably inefficient and bungling, costly, wasteful, creates huge new meddlesome and intrusive bureaucracies, spends money it doesn't have, and adds more and more regulations that drown people in red tape and ruins businesses, which are the backbone of all real progress. </div> <bR> <div> As a test of corruption for a nation, Tacitus (56 to 115 AD), a Roman senator and historian, wrote, <B>"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws." </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm"><U><B><U>http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>) Hence, it may be an indictment against the U.S. that, "<B>The American government creates 50,000 new laws each year, and over 2 million new regulations." </B>(Lorne Strider: Ibid.) He then added, sarcastically, "<B>Then we are told by the courts</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>that 'ignorance of the law is no excuse!</B><B>'</B>" The problem is most of these laws end up being enslaving, because little by little they rob us of freedom. The point is, power is inherently corrupting. It is dangerous and destructive and there must be safeguards and a strong determination to turn the tide of corruption from ruining the most precious thing we have in the whole world---our liberty.</div> <bR> <div> The founding fathers did their very best to give us a framework of freedom that would allow us to pursue anything we so desired, as long as one citizen’s pursuit did not hurt another’s ability to do the same. They were very suspicious of big government and rightly so. Big organizations with their big money use the power of government to enlarge themselves and become more and more powerful. They end up destroying all competition and transform themselves into monopolies that block any possible opportunities for others. Hence, they hedge up the way to a better life, better goods and services, and stifle the progress of mankind. Big government, like any other suffocating, crippling monopoly, is not user friendly for the little guy---the average man and his family. It is an enemy to mankind because it is an enemy to freedom and prosperity. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3ed5fae40.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="228" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A NAME="15"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A><B>15. Welfarism, </B>or government enforced redistribution of wealth<B>, </B>has been a colossal failure and creates weakness and vice instead of strengthening people into becoming greater human beings who can self-reliantly contribute and share the wealth they create for mankind. Congressman Ron Paul explained that:</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>It is time to recognize that government assistance over several generations did not eradicate poverty in New Orleans [or anywhere else for that matter], but rather created a deadly form of dependency on government.  </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul277.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul277."><U><B><U>www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul277.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> Rather than encouraging self-reliance, strength and self-sufficiency, they have promoted weakness, helplessness and dependence. The government programs do not follow the simple truth that "<B>if you give a man a fish, he may eat for a day, but if you teach him how to fish, he could eat for a lifetime.</B>" Beside, socialism:</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3e96bdbd0.jpg" border=0 width="189" height="189" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B>. . . b</B><B>y its very nature, is an inherently tyrannical ideology that uses force or the threat of force</B><B> to take from those who produce and redistribute to those who don't (after the ruling elites take their [big] cut). Under socialism, </B><B>all</B><B> power rests in the hands of the almighty State. </B><B>The failure of socialism and social engineering by "</B><B>the best and brightest</B><B>" of left-wing liberalism has been proven [time and time again, but liberals think if only I, being superior to all others, were in charge I could make it work].</B> </div> <bR> <div> The problem is fundamentally flawed chiefly because it destroys incentives to work and produce. The profit motive has proven to be the most powerful incentive on the face of the earth. Throw that incentive out and you have a mess on your hands. Note the following altered "<B>Modern Version of the Little Red Hen</B>" by Gaylord Sutherland:</div> <bR> <div> <B>Once upon a time there was a Little Red Hen who scratched about and uncovered</B></div> <div> <B>some grains of wheat. She called her barnyard neighbors and said, "If we work together and plant this wheat we will have some fine bread to eat. Who will help me plant the wheat?'</B><IMG SRC="3e85b4d60.png" border=0 width="180" height="214" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Not I," said the Cow. "Not I," said the Duck, "Not I," said the</B></div> <div> <B>Goose. "Then I will," said the Little Red Hen---and she did. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>After the wheat started growing the ground turned dry and</B></div> <div> <B>there was no rain in sight. "Who will help me water the wheat?" said the Little Red Hen.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Not I," said the Cow. "Not I," said the Duck. "Not I," said the</B></div> <div> <B>Pig. "Equal rights," said the Goose. "Then I will." said the Little Red Hen---and she did.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. "Who will help me reap the</B></div> <div> <B>wheat?" asked the Little Red Hen.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Not I," said the Cow, "Not I," said the Duck. "Out of my classification," said the</B></div> <div> <B>Pig. "I'd lose my welfare check," said the Goose.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen---and she did.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When it came time to grind the flour. "Not I," said the Cow. "I'd lose my</B></div> <div> <B>unemployment compensation," said the Duck.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When it came time to bake the bread, "That's overtime for me," said the Cow. "I'm</B></div> <div> <B>a dropout and never learned how," said the Duck. "I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the Pig. "If I'm the only one helping, that's discrimination," said the Goose.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen---and she did.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>She baked five loaves of fine bread and held them up for her neighbors to see.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"I want some," said the Cow. "I want some," said the Duck. "I want some," said the</B></div> <div> <B>Pig. "I want my share," said the Goose.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"No," said the Little Red Hen. "I can rest for a while and eat the five loaves myself.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Excess profits," cried the Cow. "Capitalist leech!" screemed the Duck. "Company</B></div> <div> <B>fink," grunted the Pig. "Equal rights," screemed the Goose.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And they hurriedly painted picket signs and marched around the Little Red Hen</B></div> <div> <B>signing, "We shall overcome." And they did.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>For when the Farmer came to investigate the commotion, he said. "You must not</B></div> <div> <B>be greedy, Little Red Hen. Look at the oppressed Cow. Look at the disadvantaged Duck. Look at the underprivileged Pig. Look at the less-fortunate Goose. You are guilty of making second-class citizens of them!"</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"But--but--but--I earned the bread," said the Little Red Hen.</B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <B>"Exactly," said the wise Farmer. "We will take what you rightfully earned, whether</B></div> <div> <B>you like it or not, and give it to your poor suffering neighbors." And he did.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And they lived happily ever after, including the Little Red Hen.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>But her neighbors wondered why she never baked any more bread. </B>(source unknown)<B><IMG SRC="3e9896d60.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="214" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> Sir Winston Churchill once quipped that "<B>The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings while the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.</B>"  (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.quoteworld.org/quotes/2840" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.quoteworld.org/quotes/2840"><U><B><U>www.quoteworld.org/quotes/2840</U></B></U></A></FONT>) Lose the profit motive and you lose everything of real importance. Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) noted that, "<B>Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. . . . while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in . . . servitude.</B>"  (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.bored.com/findquotes/cate_10_Equality.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bored.com/findquotes/cate_10_"><U><B><U>www.bored.com/findquotes/cate_10_Equality.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>) It is inherently wrong to rob and force people to give. To steal or extract, in the name of charity or any other name, from some to give to others is still an act of theft or larceny. Socialism, or the "<B>Robinhood</B>" mentality, has a lot of appeal for the have-nots, but it is always a farce and inevitably fails. In fact in all the annals of history it has not produced prosperity anywhere on earth. A newspaper article in South Africa hits the nail on the head when it stated:</div> <bR> <div> <B>As has been shown worldwide, when you eliminate private enterprise you remove the incentive to work, to improve, to excel. When the opportunity for personal gain is removed, so is motivation and the need to achieve. An unfortunate human trait, but a trait nevertheless and one that lies at the root of the failure of socialism. Indolence does not feed people [or create greatness,</B><IMG SRC="3e9b8eaa0.jpg" border=0 width="142" height="170" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><B> happiness or wealth.] </B>(reference unknown)</div> <bR> <div> For example, in all the years of communist rule in the once country called the USSR, it never produced a single invention, gadget, or service which has enhanced man's life in any way. Not so much as a new safety pin or paper clip ever come out of the once Soviet Union in all their years of so-called "<B>dynamic</B>" progress. The Soviet Union could not even feed its own people. Capitalism or free enterprise, on the other hand, has produced all the great and significant achievements in science, art, literature, economics---you name it. This is eminently clear, but once socialism has been established as a country's life blood, it is extremely difficult to root out and conquer, because it promises the moon. And the people are conditioned, instead of thinking what they can do for themselves, to think what the government should do for them. It is a kind of Santa Claus mentality and people feel entitled and angry at the government. It a pigs fly philosophy that is terribly out of sync with reality or the way people really function inside. Carried to the extreme, the results of the communes in Israel who tried to eliminate all private property was disastrous. Richard Pipes, a well-known American historian, wrote: </div> <bR> <div> <B>In those communes children had nothing of their own, not even socks or underwear; everything was shared. The results were terrible. When they grew up, those children could not establish normal human relations with other human beings because to them it was "selfish." They could not fall in love because love involves possessiveness. They could not write poetry because it was not something that the group enjoyed. They made wonderful army officers because they were very brave and would sacrifice themselves for the community. But they didn’t make normal human beings. </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.fee.org/publications/notes/notes/property.asp" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fee.org/publications/notes/no"><U><B><U>www.fee.org/publications/notes/notes/property.asp</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> On "<B>rights,</B>" Thomas Sowell taught:<B><IMG SRC="3ed85d110.jpg" border=0 width="349" height="273" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>For society as a whole, nothing comes as a 'right' to which we are 'entitled'[---nothing]. Even bare subsistence has to be produced. . . . The only way anyone can have a right to something that has to be produced is to force [or compel] someone else to produce it. . . . The more things are provided as rights, the less the [incentive the] recipients have to work and the more the providers have to carry the [full burden or unfair] load.</B> (quoted in Forbes and Reader's Digest: <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://wise-quotes.com/quotes/thomas-sowell" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://wise-quotes.com/quotes/thomas-sow"><U><B><U>http://wise-quotes.com/quotes/thomas-sowell</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> It is a system of legalized plunder. And as Ayn Rand, an American novelist and philosopher, declared, "<B>Whoever claims the right to redistribute the wealth produced by others is claiming the right to treat [other] human beings as chattel.</B>" (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm"><U><B><U>http://freedomkeys</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm"><U><B><U>.com/vigil.htm</U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >) To be treated as chattel means to be treated as though the people were the private property of the elites and like serfs they have no rights. Anything the elites want to take from them they can. </FONT></div> <div>  </div> <div> The problem with socialism is it starts with a basic contempt or disdain for mankind. It wants to use government power to force and control everything and be fathers to stupid, blind, blundering human kind. Socialism always means loss of freedom and an increase of servitude depending on how extreme it is implemented. It also perpetuates childhood. It doesn't help people grow and<IMG SRC="3f38e6fd0.jpg" border=0 width="486" height="253" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> become strong, self-reliant, determined, ambitious or self-sufficient. Socialism wants the people to be sheep and let the elites or big brother to rule everything. Those in charge will then be free to live high on the hog, but the people will be cattle who must do as they are told. It naturally creates and maintains poverty for the vast majority because it takes away the greatest incentive for progress the world has ever know---the profit motive.</div> <bR> <div> Now for the unfortunate truth about the United States: the largest budget of all is all the income redistribution or socialistic programs run or financed by the Federal government. In spite of the fact that socialism is fatally flawed and built of nonsense as a principle, in spite of the fact that it creates more problems than it solves, "<B>. . . </B><B>social spending is the largest item in our federal budget.</B>" (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.federalbudget.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.federalbudget.com"><U><B><U>www.federalbudget.com</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> William J. H. Boetcker wrote the following brilliant maxims or self-evident truths---the principles needed for responsible and realistic government, which unfortunately are rarely followed. He said:</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3f1d6da80.png" border=0 width="109" height="168" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.</B></div> <div> <B>You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.</B></div> <div> <B>You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.</B></div> <div> <B>You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.</B></div> <div> <B>You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.</B></div> <div> <B>You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.</B></div> <div> <B>You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.</B></div> <div> <B>You cannot build character and courage by taking away initiative and independence.</B></div> <div> <B>You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.  </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._H._Boetcker" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._"><U><B><U>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._H._Boetcker</U></B></U></A></FONT>) </div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="16"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B><IMG SRC="3f1cd35e0.jpg" border=0 width="467" height="350" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><B>16. Property: </B>James Madison wrote in <I>Federalist</I> No. 54 that "<B>Government is instituted no less for the protection of the property, than of . . . individuals.</B>" It is the foundation of all freedom. John Adams argued, "<B>Property must be secured, or liberty cannot exist.</B>"  </div> <div> (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.reason.org/commentaries/summers_20061017.sht" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reason.org/commentaries/summe"><U><B><U>www.reason.org/commentaries</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.reason.org/commentaries/summers_20061017.sht" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reason.org/commentaries/summe"><U><B><U>/summers_20061017.sht</U></B></U></A></FONT>) The point is, in the words of George Washington, "<B>Private property and freedom are inseparable.</B>" (Ibid.) Justice Joseph Story explained this, in <I><B>Wilkinson v. Leland</B></I> (1829), wherein he stated:</div> <bR> <div> <B>That government can scarcely be deemed to be free, where the rights of property are left solely dependent upon the will of a legislative body, without any restraint. The fundamental maxims of a free government seem to require that the rights of personal liberty and private property should be held sacred. </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/rightsof/property.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/ri"><U><B><U>http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/rightsof/property.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> In other words, property rights are the cornerstone of a free society. In fact, throughout human history the great advances of civilization have always taken place at a time when private property was considered to be a basic, fundamental right. Western civilization owes its progress in a great measure to the existence and high respect this important right had in the past.<IMG SRC="3f1a2b250.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="293" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>So, what is property? Well, first of all, you are your own property. Your body is your property. Your mind is your property. When you apply your mind to the creation of a physical good, that is your property. When you apply your mind and body to working for someone else, the money you receive in exchange for your effort is your property. When you buy something off someone else, it becomes your property.</B><B>  </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.strike-the-root.com/4/macgregor/macgregor1.html " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.strike-the-root.com/4/macgreg"><U><B><U>www.strike-the-root.com/4/macgregor/macgregor1.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> To go even further, it needs to be understood that property rights and other human rights are virtually indistinguishable from each other. For example, in the absence of private property, the exercise of whatever right you wish will be dependent upon who controls the property. There is no freedom to do things without the resources or the property to do them with. For, "<B>w</B><B>ithout real property, there is no place to stand, sit, lie, walk, ride, or do anything.</B>"  (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/rights/chap8.htm#8.4" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/ri"><U><B><U>www.ourcivilisation.com</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/rights/chap8.htm#8.4" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/ri"><U><B><U>/cooray/rights/chap8.htm#8.4</U></B></U></A></FONT>) This was well-illustrated in the old Soviet Union where freedom of religion was proclaimed as a constitutional right, but with a hostile government, no ability to print books or create anything, confiscated facilities, circumscribed missionary efforts, and no property to facilitate its free exercise, freedom of religion did not really exist. It was suppressed or nonexistent. The right of private property is power---an extremely important kind of power that can make a "<B>right</B>" enforceable and therefore real.</div> <bR> <div> Justice boils down to the enforcement of property rights. It is always connected with law. It is an inalienable or natural right, but to experience it depends on a nations court system. Richard Pipes, a specialist on Russian history, declared in a speech at “<B>Evenings at FEE</B>” in October 2004:<IMG SRC="3f17fd0d0.jpg" border=0 width="253" height="269" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Every year, billions of dollars move from Russia to foreign banks, or get invested in foreign businesses, foreign soccer teams, or what have you. Why would you invest money in Russia knowing that if the government is displeased, it will take your property, arrest you, and the prosecutor will tell the judge what kind of sentence to enforce? This is a tragedy for Russia, but it also emphasizes to what extent private property is vital for liberty and economic progress.  </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.fee.org/publications/notes/notes/property.asp" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fee.org/publications/notes/no"><U><B><U>www.fee.org/publications/notes/notes/property.asp</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately, there are enemies to property rights just as their are enemies to freedom. Many people think that the way to prosper is to use the apparatus of compulsion and coercion inherent in government to "<B>redistribute</B>" the wealth of those who earned it honestly in the market.  "<B>Property rights</B>" have been attacked incessantly by those with a vested interest in looting. But legalized or not, theft is always is robbery. It is piracy or legalized plunder. It is inherently wrong. But, "<B>Where an excess of power prevails, . . . No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties, or his possessions.</B>"  (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115088,00.html " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,1150"><U><B><U>www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,115088,00.html</U></B></U></A></FONT>) Or as Alexander Hamilton expressed it,  “<B>In the general course of human nature, a power over man's substance amounts to a power over his will.</B>”<B> </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm"><U><B><U>http://freedomkeys.com/vigil.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>) Private property must be considered untouchable and sacred to protect freedom, because as Chief Justice John Marshall (1755-1835) declared, "<B>. . .</B><B> all other rights would become worthless if the government possessed power over the private fortune of every citizen.</B>" (Ibid.) </div> <bR> <div> Big government is the enemy of freedom because too many work extremely hard to use government to force other people to do their biddings, set up their monopoly or favor their craft or profession above all others. In one way or another, it is the corrupting influence of big money and power.</div> <bR> <div> Hence, the writers of the Alabama State Constitution wrote:<B><IMG SRC="37f60b3e0.jpg" border=0 width="267" height="318" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>That the sole object and only legitimate end of government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, and when the government assumes other functions it is usurpation and oppression. </B>(<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.legislature.state.al.us/CodeofAlabama/Constitution/1901/Constitution1901_toc.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.legislature.state.al.us/Codeo"><U><B><U>www.legislature.state.al.us</U></B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.legislature.state.al.us/CodeofAlabama/Constitution/1901/Constitution1901_toc.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.legislature.state.al.us/Codeo"><U><B><U>/CodeofAlabama/Constitution/1901/Constitution</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.legislature.state.al.us/CodeofAlabama/Constitution/1901/Constitution1901_toc.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.legislature.state.al.us/Codeo"><U><B><U>1901_toc.htm</U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >)</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Private property is necessary for the most important and pervasive of all motivations to work effectively and successfully. History has shown that the profit motive is the greatest and most powerful incentive of all. Nothing can compare with it. When private property is protected, prosperity is enlarged and expanded by leaps and bounds creating the greatest success stories in the history of mankind. And with greater prosperity, there is more  for everyone. The point is, "<B>A growing economy is good for everyone,</B>" including the poor, because "<B>a rising tide lifts all boats in the harbor to a higher level,</B>" or "<B>when the pie grows everyone gets a bigger share.</B>" Growth helps everyone. Ronald Reagan taught this long ago. He said, "<B>. . . . Rather than talk about how to divide a smaller pie, let’s work and build and bake a bigger pie so everyone can have a bigger slice.</B>"  (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1079/is_v86/ai_4368756/pg_14" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1"><U><B><U>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1079/is_v86/ai_4368756/pg_14</U></B></U></A></FONT>) Infringing on property rights is to bite the hand that feeds the world.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="18"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT><B><IMG SRC="3fa440fb0.jpg" border=0 width="320" height="251" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">17. </B>The <B>Poor</B>: “<B>For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good. . . .</B>” (Mark 14:7) And "<B>. . . the poor shall never cease out of the land. . . .</B>" (Deuteronomy 15:11) There will never be a time when we will not have poor people—people who are in need. Since redistribution of wealth is morally and ethically wrong—a violation of freedom and a right to property, how will the poor be provided for? </div> <bR> <div> The following two paragraphs were quoted in the article “<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Benguiat Bk BT" ><A HREF="the_ideals_of_nobility_and_royalty.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="IDEALS"><U><B>Ideals</B></U></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Benguiat Bk BT" ><B>,</B></FONT>” and are repeated here to re-express some important principles that must not be violated:</div> <bR> <div> President Grover Cleveland taught that "<B>. . . though the people support the Government the Government should not support the people.</B>" (P.P.N.S., p. 345) We should also remember, as Frederic Bastiat reminded us, that "<B>Nothing can enter the public treasury for the benefit of one citizen or one class unless other citizens and other classes have been forced to send it in.</B>" (<I>THE LAW</I>, p. 30; P.P.N.S., p. 350) Frederic Bastiat also declared:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3f9ac8960.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="150" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><B>How is the legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime. . . .</B>" (<I>THE LAW</I>, p. 21, 26; P.P.N.S., p. 377) </div> <bR> <div> Bastiat concluded that, "<B>It is impossible, to introduce into society . . . a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder.</B>" (Ibid., p. 12)</div> <bR> <div> Dan Smoot, a former FBI agent in one of his radio broadcasts in 1968 said:</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="3f9de9af0.jpg" border=0 width="233" height="175" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">. . . the idea that the weak, indolent and profligate must be supported by the strong, industrious, and frugal - to the degree that tax-consumers will have a living standard comparable to that of taxpayers; the idea that government exists for the purpose of plundering those who work to give the product of their labor to those who do not work. The economic and social cannibalism produced by this communist-socialist idea will destroy any society which adopts it and clings to it as a basic principle - ANY society. </B>("The Proper Role of Government" by Ezra Taft Benson, former secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower:   <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.ldshea.org/pages/left_sidebar/Const%20proper_role_of_government.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ldshea.org/pages/left_sidebar"><U><B><U>www.ldshea.org/pages/left_sidebar/Const%20proper</U></B></U></A></FONT><A HREF="http://www.ldshea.org/pages/left_sidebar/Const%20proper_role_of_government.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ldshea.org/pages/left_sidebar"><U><B><U> </U></B></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.ldshea.org/pages/left_sidebar/Const%20proper_role_of_government.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ldshea.org/pages/left_sidebar"><U><B><U>_role_of_government.htm</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> These last two paragraphs re-enforce the need to follow correct principles, but the problem of the poor, the disabled, the sick and afflicted who cannot help themselves, is still an ever present problem. What is to be done?<IMG SRC="3fa1d86b0.gif" border=0 width="472" height="363" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>First </B>of all, the principle of “<B>Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime</B>” should not be forgotten and where applicable should be applied. Otherwise, dependence is created, maintained and perpetuated so that the problem of poverty is made worse rather than solved.<B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Second</B>, if government stopped foolishly flushing its money down the toilet and enriching the international bankers—all for nothing, but the most expensive accounting scam the world has ever known, plus stopped being the policeman of the world and shared responsibility, stopped inefficiency and waste and stupid pork and barrel spending, stop lobby money for re-elections and favors and myriads of failing socialized programs, the people would be rich with money and buying power. They would be empowered so much so that charity and contributions could thrive and be run with an effectiveness that the government has never known or ever conceived of. (Re-read this article on "<B>Sources of Corruption in Government</B>" to fully understand this paragraph)</div> <bR> <div> On these two major points, just elaborated in the above two paragraphs, the greatest good that has ever been done for the poor could be realized and wonderfully accomplished. And in spite of the evils and gross corruptions of the government, the people of the United States are the most generous people on earth. When people prosper, they contribute to others. (<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=130686" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/D"><U><B><U>www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default</U></B></U></A><A HREF="http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=130686" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/D"><U><B><U>.aspx?id=130686</U></B></U></A></FONT>)</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3fa26df30.jpg" border=0 width="365" height="243" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The point is, most of the problems of the poor can be laid at the feet of government corruption, waste and stupidity, and the belief that we should let big broth