A Guide To The Loss Of Your Rights [Reader Post]

Loading

Once long ago the Colorado River was unimpressive. Over time it eroded the stone through which it coursed and the landscape was forever transformed.

Not long ago, Barack Obama was an unimpressive river. Now he erodes the Constitution as he courses through his Presidency. He promised to “fundamentally transform” this country from a Democratic Republic into something else.

Obama has surrounded himself with a cadre of czars- a shadow government. Cass Sunstein is one of them. Sunstein believes that a population can be “nudged” into doing the “right” thing. Barack Obama and his left wing czars are the arbiters of what’s “right.”

The meaning of “right” is unfolding in front of our eyes.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has drafted a new set of “rules” for the internet that some believe will end internet freedom as we know it. Genachowski has clothed the proposal as one promoting “net neutrality” but as the Washington Times’ editors noted:

Mr. Genachowski’s draft document has over 550 footnotes and is stamped “non-public, for internal use only” to ensure nobody outside the agency sees it until the rules are approved in a scheduled Dec. 21 vote. So much for “openness.”

It’s another one of those “We have to pass it to find out what’s in it” moments that have characterized virtually every piece of Obama legislation.

Genachowski’s scheme does have redistributionist (oh hell, Marxist) tones to it. It allows companies to spend countless millions and then promises to forcibly remove the ability of those companies to recoup their investments.

Given Obama’s penchant for lying and reneging on agreements one would be well served to by extremely cynical about this effort.

Barack Obama promised to end warrantless wiretapping and instead has expanded it. Now we learn that Barack is tracking US citizens through hotel reservations and their credit card usage, all without the benefit of court orders.

The document, obtained by security researcher Christopher Soghoian, explains how so-called “Hotwatch” orders allow for real-time tracking of individuals in a criminal investigation via credit card companies, rental car agencies, calling cards, and even grocery store loyalty programs. The revelation sheds a little more light on the Justice Department’s increasing power and willingness to surveil Americans with little to no judicial or Congressional oversight.

For credit cards, agents can get real-time information on a person’s purchases by writing their own subpoena, followed up by a order from a judge that the surveillance not be disclosed. Agents can also go the traditional route — going to a judge, proving probable cause and getting a search warrant — which means the target will eventually be notified they were spied on.

It’s becoming so expansive that even the ACLU has found it offensive:

The federal government has repeatedly violated legal limits governing the surveillance of U.S. citizens, according to previously secret internal documents obtained through a court battle by the American Civil Liberties Union.

In releasing 900 pages of documents, U.S. government agencies refused to say how many Americans’ telephone, e-mail or other communications have been intercepted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – or FISA – Amendments Act of 2008, or to discuss any specific abuses, the ACLU said. Most of the documents were heavily redacted.

However, semiannual internal oversight reports by the offices of the attorney general and director of national intelligence identify ongoing breaches of legal requirements that limit when Americans are targeted and minimize the amount of data collected.

That kind of information could come in really handy during are-election campaign.

Just sayin’.

Maniac Ray LaHood is working earnestly to have installed in all US cars devices that would disable the use of cell phones in cars.

The Transportation Department is looking into technology to disable cell phones in vehicles, according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

“There’s a lot of technology out there that can disable phones and we’re looking at that,” LaHood said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“A number of those people came to our distracted driving meeting here in Washington and that’s one way,” he said.

LaHood seemed to suggest that this technology has a good chance of making its way into cars.

“I think it will be done,” he said.

It would be real interesting to have LaHood testify at a hearing to explain why a someone’s child could not call for help after being trapped in a rollover. Presumably LaHood would expand his prohibition of “distracted driving” by requiring all passengers to be unconscious while being driven, or at least gagged. Or maybe everyone will have to have his or her own car.

No radios.

No CD players.

No distractions.

Mrs. LaHood: “Ray, are you freaking nuts?”

Not even Girl Scouts escape the Obama. It appears that their fundraisers, along with school fundraisers will fall under Federal Regulatory control.

“..the legislation would apply to all foods sold in schools during regular class hours, including in the cafeteria line, vending machines and at fundraisers. It wouldn’t apply to after-hours events or concession stands at sports events. Public health groups pushed for the language on fundraisers, which encourages the secretary of Agriculture to allow them only if they are infrequent.”

“Never” qualifies as “infrequent.”

Doug Ross has a delightful image showing you the role models for this legislation.

And Barack Obama wants to dispense with the nasty business of having Congress control spending. He wants to be able to move money around from account to account without account.

This is what’s known as “burying the lead” in journalism. A Republican House will have the “power of the purse” to put an end to executive branch overreach — for instance, the efforts at the EPA to create carbon caps outside of Congressional authorization, the FCC’s attempts to regulate the Internet, and so on. That power is a key part of the checks and balances in federal government, forcing agencies to account for themselves and their behavior to Congress, and putting limits on executive authority to issue orders for regulation without Congressional approval.

It’s really important that we all pay close attention to Wizard of O. I don’t buy for one second this “signalling” of cooperation from Obama. He is a not Clinton. He is not a pragmatist. He is a zealot. A Marxist zealot.

The man behind the curtain. He’s the one you watch.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
25 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Good Lord!! Comparing Obama to a river is an insult to all rivers (unimpressive river). And yes, what is it with all these czars? Are we now following the path of Russia.

Where is the outrage of all our freedoms being taken away from us by bureaucrats (TS) with rules & regulations instead of laws. It’s just wrong.

Little money this yr. for the holidays so I’m getting everyone a new book that’s about Americans who actually take a stand. It’s a thriller (and I can afford it).

http://www.booksbyoliver.com

With both political parties working against us, in their quest to take over the US Constitution, I don’t see much hope down the road (river). Good article for the December congress to ponder.

Obama and his ilk studied the Constitution, for the same reasons a bank robber will study locksmithing.

I was listening to a debate about extending unemployment benefits.
The Liberal was a female who kept going on and on about the horror cutting off people during the Christmas season.
Oh, my!
I bet she would also be upset if people were cut off during New Year’s season in Jan,
the Valentine’s season in Feb,
the St. Patrick’s season in March,
the Easter season in April,
the Mother’s season in May,
the Father’s season in June,
the Independence season in July,
the vacation season in August,
the back-to-school season in September,
the Halloween season in October, and
the Thanksgiving season in Nov.

I guess we’ll just have to support all non-workers forever, accoding to her ”logic.”

Of course they want that Nan. They’re willing to take smaller steps in their push to make us like Europe.

re: #3

I guess we’ll just have to support all non-workers forever, according to her ”logic.”

What we’re talking about here aren’t non-workers. They’re workers whose jobs vanished through no fault of their own, and for whom replacement jobs currently don’t exist.

What exactly are they and their families supposed to do?

Cutting their unemployment comensation off during the Christmas season just as the cold of winter is settling in does have a certain bleak, Dickensian element to it. Maybe we should cut their food stamps while we’re at it, as part of the push-back against all this “socialism”.

That’s just not the way I understand America. I guess some things that others think of as “socialism” are what I tend to think of as essential parts of America’s heart. It troubles me that we might have to cut a tax deal with the wealthiest 3% to keep others less fortunate from winding up out in the cold. But that’s where the negotiation is at, right at the moment.

Meanwhile, Federal Bureaucratic pay isn’t frozen as Obama pretends, . . . 1.1 million employees will receive more than $2.5 billion in raises in 2011/2012.

Add to that expected bonuses etc, and pretty soon taxpayers are enjoying a multi-billion dollar lie from the teleprompter.

Plagerizing from Michelle Malkin’s blog:

“Read my busted lip. Know new taxes.”

Nothing is more satisfying than stealing more treasure and more freedom.

Nan G (#3) (completely off topic)

Hallmark Holidays, I call them. Do you realize that Hallmark has managed to advertise/shame us into a holiday you “have to” buy cards for in nearly every month of the year???

Pretty cagey.

Have you rver seen a chart about when people find work in comparison to when their benefits run out?

Here’s one such chart:

The chart displays the fraction of persons (in Pittsburgh) receiving unemployment benefits who began working again, as a function of the number of weeks until their unemployment benefits were scheduled to be exhausted.

For example, a “hazard” value of “0.04″ for week “-14″ means that, among unemployed persons with 14 weeks remaining until their benefit exhaustion date, 4 percent of them either began working a new job or returned to their previous job.

Notice the VAST majority of unemployed persons got employed during their last week of benefits and the 1st week AFTER benefits ran out.

The rest of the NYTimes story (from MR 2010) about this chart is here:

And it is worth a read.

One more thing….and a chart to make the point.
Obama signed the extension of unemployment benefits into law in the 1st week of Nov of 2009.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/11/06/unemployment-extension-adds-up-to-99-weeks-of-benefits/

That was a full 12 months ago.

Now look at this chart.

http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-percent-job-losses-in-post-wwii-recessions-2010-12

We just got the Nov 2010 numbers and on this chart they are at month 11 in the RED.
12 months ago we were at -1 on the RED line of the chart.
We COULD have headed UP since we were slightly heading up from month -2 to month -1.
BUT, NO!
Instead we are in the deepest recession since WWII.
Everything Obama has done has contributed to making it worse instead of better.
Minus 13 was when the election took place.
It did not have to be this bad.

Obama just agreed to extend ALL of the Bush-era tax cuts for at least 2 years.
Goody, it is a start.

re: #9:

Have you ever seen a chart about when people find work in comparison to when their benefits run out?

How does the total number of unfilled jobs currently out there compare with the number of people receiving unemployment compensation? Even highly motivated people tend to have trouble finding jobs that don’t exist.

Greg, the US unemployment rate is 9.8/
The Pittsburgh study took place when there was a 16% unemployment rate there!
If they could do it then, so can people nowadays.

This regime will do whatever it takes to cut us off from each other. Being a computer novice, I fear the outcome.

@Greg: Greg: How can you say “thru no fault of their own”? If they bought anything imported in the past 25 years they were slowly and steadily sending their job(s) overseas and aiding in the erosion of their own employment.

Not to long ago I read about the little EPA gal’s intent to regulate cement, we lose, manufacturing goes to China and the cement gets shipped back to us, the estimate was a loss of 800,000 jobs in that little whim.

Here we go again, this time it gets even more expensive and many, many more jobs threatened due to regulation. Be sure to read the entire blog:

EPA Ozone Standard Would Destroy 7.3 Million Jobs, Study Estimates

A recent study by the Manufacturer’s Alliance/MAPI finds that EPA’s proposed revision of the “primary” (health-based) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for ozone (O3) would have devastating economic impacts.

http://www.openmarket.org/2010/10/18/epa-ozone-standard-would-destroy-73-million-jobs-study-estimates/

Why should anything this administration does surprise, they lie to us all the time. New study regarding the number of jobs created by the over $800 billion stimulus package…….0. The temporary jobs created cost us $400,000 each. And they balked at the suggestion last fall to use remaining funding on unemployment rather than increase the debt.

Net job impact of stimulus zero, from SF Federal Reserve study

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/12/net_job_impact_of_stimulus_zer.html

#15

I have a post coming that addresses a very similar subject. If you thought things were bad now, just wait.

We are now almost two years into the Obama administration. Please identify every right you have lost so far.

Free speech is just about dead. Political Correctness is killing it off day-by-day. Political Correctness is the brain child of the left. People lose jobs for speaking their mind. Obumble is of the left, ergo, he’s part of the problem.

Your right to choose and keep your own doctor has been compromised by Obamacare, an overarching, socialist nightmare that was foisted upon the people against their will.

Government no longer represents the people. Our elected officials only work to keep their cushy jobs at our expense.

The Constitution is being ignored on a daily basis by lawmakers and judges. All rights will be lost if we don’t take back the country and elect real Americans who revere the Constitution and the traditional foundations of our republic. Liberals want to throw it away without realizing what they will be losing.

Let’s not forget that little thing that’s been used by the left to allow abortions…your right to privacy. That’s almost non-existent anymore. Cameras all over the place and more being added all the time. They want to put a regulated thermostat in your house so you can’t decide how much to spend on your own comfort. You must eat what the left considers healthy because when you eat a hamburger, you attack the “common good”. No smoking…it might offend your neighbor in his back yard.

@Greg #5: You said:

Cutting their unemployment comensation off during the Christmas season just as the cold of winter is settling in does have a certain bleak, Dickensian element to it. Maybe we should cut their food stamps while we’re at it, as part of the push-back against all this “socialism”.

Okay, this may be a first, but as to the timing of the cutting off of the unemployment – yes, I agree it is a very bad time to do it.

But when the Democrats extended this last round of unemployment, they knew very well when it would expire. They also knew this was to be their bargaining chip for more extensions – Christmas time, Holidays, winter heating season, etc…

I feel that the unemployment benefits should never have been extended in the first place. I was against it when G. H. W. Bush did it and I am against it now.

You get what you pay for, and when you pay folks to be unemployed, you get more unemployment.

In my adult life any time I was out of a job, I considered looking for work to be my job until I found employment. That meant that I got up at 7 am, and was out looking for work by 8:30 am. I looked each day for 6-8 hours. Never in my life was I out of work for very long, with the exception of when I was getting my first college degree. At that time, I did not look as earnestly for work – instead focusing on my education.

This thread is featured in today’s Doug Ross Journal, how nice!

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2010/12/larwyns-linx-guide-to-loss-of-your.html