Are You Scared Yet?!

This article comes from the San Francisco Chronicle and scares the sh$t out of me! How many people actually think this is a good idea? I think that too many people are still "trusting" our government and need a wake up call. Maybe when the feds come looking for them or they end up on a watch list, they will listen. But, it will be too late.

Enjoy your freedoms while you still can, or at least the ones you think you have left.....

San Francisco Chronicle
Open Forum
Rule by fear or rule by law?

Lewis Seiler,Dan Hamburg

Monday, February 4, 2008


"The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist."

- Winston Churchill, Nov. 21, 1943

Since 9/11, and seemingly without the notice of most Americans, the federal government has assumed the authority to institute martial law, arrest a wide swath of dissidents (citizen and noncitizen alike), and detain people without legal or constitutional recourse in the event of "an emergency influx of immigrants in the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs."

Beginning in 1999, the government has entered into a series of single-bid contracts with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) to build detention camps at undisclosed locations within the United States. The government has also contracted with several companies to build thousands of railcars, some reportedly equipped with shackles, ostensibly to transport detainees.

According to diplomat and author Peter Dale Scott, the KBR contract is part of a Homeland Security plan titled ENDGAME, which sets as its goal the removal of "all removable aliens" and "potential terrorists."

Fraud-busters such as Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, have complained about these contracts, saying that more taxpayer dollars should not go to taxpayer-gouging Halliburton. But the real question is: What kind of "new programs" require the construction and refurbishment of detention facilities in nearly every state of the union with the capacity to house perhaps millions of people?

Sect. 1042 of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies," gives the executive the power to invoke martial law. For the first time in more than a century, the president is now authorized to use the military in response to "a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, a terrorist attack or any other condition in which the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to the extent that state officials cannot maintain public order."

The Military Commissions Act of 2006, rammed through Congress just before the 2006 midterm elections, allows for the indefinite imprisonment of anyone who donates money to a charity that turns up on a list of "terrorist" organizations, or who speaks out against the government's policies. The law calls for secret trials for citizens and noncitizens alike.

Also in 2007, the White House quietly issued National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD-51), to ensure "continuity of government" in the event of what the document vaguely calls a "catastrophic emergency." Should the president determine that such an emergency has occurred, he and he alone is empowered to do whatever he deems necessary to ensure "continuity of government." This could include everything from canceling elections to suspending the Constitution to launching a nuclear attack. Congress has yet to hold a single hearing on NSPD-51.

U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice (Los Angeles County) has come up with a new way to expand the domestic "war on terror." Her Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (HR1955), which passed the House by the lopsided vote of 404-6, would set up a commission to "examine and report upon the facts and causes" of so-called violent radicalism and extremist ideology, then make legislative recommendations on combatting it.

According to commentary in the Baltimore Sun, Rep. Harman and her colleagues from both sides of the aisle believe the country faces a native brand of terrorism, and needs a commission with sweeping investigative power to combat it.

A clue as to where Harman's commission might be aiming is the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, a law that labels those who "engage in sit-ins, civil disobedience, trespass, or any other crime in the name of animal rights" as terrorists. Other groups in the crosshairs could be anti-abortion protesters, anti-tax agitators, immigration activists, environmentalists, peace demonstrators, Second Amendment rights supporters ... the list goes on and on. According to author Naomi Wolf, the National Counterterrorism Center holds the names of roughly 775,000 "terror suspects" with the number increasing by 20,000 per month.

What could the government be contemplating that leads it to make contingency plans to detain without recourse millions of its own citizens?

The Constitution does not allow the executive to have unchecked power under any circumstances. The people must not allow the president to use the war on terrorism to rule by fear instead of by law.

Lewis Seiler is the president of Voice of the Environment, Inc. Dan Hamburg, a former congressman, is executive director.

ACLU

I am sure you have heard of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). I know I have heard there name in news as long as I can remember. I am not sure why I have never checked them out, but last night we went to one of their Young Professionals events. Wow, what an eye opener! We met 20 or so like minded young people who believe, like we do, that our civil liberties & rights are being eroded daily by the government.

The speaker was State Representative Terrance Carroll. What a great story he has. Hearing him speak and seeing all the other folks in attendance keeps me inspired to stay informed and not get too discouraged.

The local chapter is having an Advocacy Conference this Saturday. I will be attending and checking them out a little more. I feel this is an organization I may be able to stand behind.

NY(?) Giants

Yes, I am very upset at the Patriots. But, I kind of wondered if this was going to happen. The last part of the season they started looking tired and not winning like they did earlier in the season. But I will admit that it was a very good game and the NY(?) Giants had a great defense. It was a great ride and Tom Brady did have a phenomenal year. So, hats off to the New England Patriots!

Now, about those NY(?) Giants..... If they play in Rutherford New Jersey, how can they call themselves the New York Giants? My sister-in-law lives 1/2 block from the Hudson River on the Jersey side and If I say she lives in New York, people freak out. "No she doesn't, she lives in New Jersey." So based on Google Maps, Rutherford is 7 miles West of Weehawken. Our kids are confused enough with geography, so we need to make sure they understand who this team really is. I will be calling them the NJ Giants and starting a petition as well.

Road Trip

Kim had planned a surprise weekend getaway for us and it was AWESOME!

We left Denver Saturday and headed West. The drive wasn't too bad. The West side of Vail pass was a little sketchy in places, but not too dangerous. Once we got into Glenwood Canyon the roads were very icy, so I stayed safe and drove a little slow. It's only about 13 miles so it didn't take too long. Once we got into Glenwood Springs, we headed South towards Snowmass. Yes, that was our destination!

We pulled into Snowmass and checked in to the Stonebridge Inn.This hotel is in a great location; just a 4 minute walk to the slopes, not that we were going to ski but is right in the heart of the village. We had a quick lunch at Fuel and decided to head over to Aspen.

The bus to Aspen is a quick ride and $3 per person. Very good deal and we didn't have to worry about parking etc. We did a little window shopping and thought about going to a movie. So we headed to Isis and saw Juno. I have been wanting to see this movie for quite some time and so glad we did. I really enjoyed the movie and highly recommend it. I have to say it is one of my all time favorites. Then we had dinner at Blue Maize and took the bus back to the hotel.

We were 'supposed' to go snowshoeing, but Kim had other plans. The hotel van took us on a 5 minute ride and we arrived at the Krabloonik kennels. I have been talking about dogsledding for a few years and now we get to do it! What a fantastic wife I have!!!

Here are the pictures.



We had a wonderful lunch in their restaurant and then hauled ass back to Denver to watch the Super Bowl. Which has just ended and it did not go my way. Not much more to say anymore about the game. A great weekend overall though!

Got Snow!

Downtown Aspen Colorado

Dollars & Cents

Another excerpt taken from the following article:

New Study: Ron Paul is the only candidate who would cut spending
By James W. Harris
American Chronicle

....In fact, Paul´s proposals would cut the bloated federal budget by a whopping $150 billion.

The rest of the candidates might as well adopt the old hit song "Big Spender" ("Hey, big spender!") as their campaign theme.

The other Republicans strut around the campaign circuit, describing themselves as "fiscal conservatives" and boasting about cutting back government.

But the NTUF exposes them for what they are: advocates of an even bigger, even more bloated, even more intrusive federal government than we have today.

* John McCain´s proposals would result in a $6.9 billion spending hike.
* Mitt Romney´s programs would result in a $19.5 billion spending hike.
* Mike Huckabee´s proposals would result in a $54.2 billion spending hike.

As for the Democrats:

* Hillary Clinton´s proposals would result in a $218.2 billion spending hike.
* Barack Obama´s proposals would result in a $287.0 billion spending hike.

Ron Paul Visits Denver!!

I wish I was there!

RON PAUL 2008

I am kind of surprised that the Denver Post actually ran a decent article for Ron Paul, especially since they just endorsed one of the Republican war-mongers.

Denver Civic Center Park Update

This is GREAT news!

To: Friends and Supporters of the Coalition to Save Civic Center Park
From: The Coalition to Save Civic Center Park

Today the Board of the Colorado Historical Society voted to withdraw Civic Center Park as a possible site for the new Colorado History Museum!

In his press release, Mayor Hickenlooper characterizes the decision as one to "abandon" the Civic Center Park-Museum idea.

While we will continue to monitor the situation, it appears that the ill-conceived idea of putting a 4-story building (and a large underground museum gallery) in the open space of Civic Center Park has now gone away.

Some have already asked what will happen to our petition effort. At this point in time our intent is to suspend our efforts at gathering signatures (we had only gotten the final "green light" from the City to proceed on Monday, 1/28), but we will reserve our ability to start up again if the decision to go elsewhere with the Museum were to be reconsidered.

Also, this does not mean an end to the need to focus on Civic Center Park. Contrary to what some have said about our efforts, we do not accept the status quo. Civic Center Park is in need of our attention and efforts to make it better, including figuring out a way to renovate the Carnegie Library Building to return it to a more public function.

There will be a presentation on Tuesday, Feb. 5, to the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission regarding proposed "guidelines" to implement the Master Plan for Civic Center Park, and we intend to be there and provide input.

Thanks for all of your help and support! We will keep you posted as best we can regarding future development.

Follow Up Stories:
Rocky Mountain News
Denver Post