Usurping control of the Tea Parties

Among the more interesting diversions these days is watching the Tea Party evolve, or devolve, depending on your point of view. It's no more than a couple of years old and yet "histories" of the origin of this movement are multiplying.

During the Mark Williams fiasco, we saw his version of the Party, i.e., the Tea Party Express, take a thrashing from leaders of something called the Tea Party Federation, which identified itself as a sort of "umbrella" group for all the Tea Parties.

Williams vigorously claimed that, as the co-founder of the Tea Party Express, he had never heard of the Tea Party Federation, and, further, the first time he heard of his group's membership in the "Federation" was when he was thrown out of said "Federation." He described the Tea Party movement as "millions of tea partiers involved in thousands of groups," and claimed that, "Every tea partier is a tea party leader." Translated this means that no group has power over another and certainly has no power to expel anyone from the movement.

But we all knew that nothing works that way for very long, didn't we? And it wasn't long before the proclaimed "leaders" began to emerge.

The Daily Bell offers an enlightening look at another maneuver to influence the direction of the Tea Parties. In Dick Armey's Tea-Party Coup, we learn of the recent activities of the former Congressman. Following are excerpts:
• • •
A number of months ago, we wrote a good many articles about the Tea Party movement. Along with everyone else we were trying to figure out what it was about and why there seemed to be several different movements and no real way of determining who was in charge or what the message was. ...

Fortunately, Dick Armey is willing to set us straight. Here is the history, as he recites it: "Today the ranks of this citizen rebellion can be counted in the millions. The rebellion's name derives from the glorious rant of CNBC commentator Rick Santelli, who in February 2009 called for a new 'tea party' from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. By doing so he reminded all of us that America was founded on the revolutionary principle of citizen participation, citizen activism and the primacy of the individual over the government. That's the tea party ethos."

Actually, as we understand it, the Tea Party phenomenon was inspired by the libertarian-republicanism of the Ron Paul presidential campaign that created small activist cells. Rick Santelli – and we have seen his "glorious rant" – had nothing to do with this spontaneous manifestation of anti-state protesting. Santelli's TV statement came much later. The reason we have concentrated on [Armey's] article is because it is a superb example of how the mainstream media reworks memes to make them palatable and useful to the powers-that-be.

The Tea Party, initially, was an amorphous and generalized uprising against the modern welfare/warfare state. It was libertarian in nature and fairly specific about its point of view. Today, that specificity has been mislaid (perhaps the movement is too big for one point of view) and the mythmaking has begun. Thus the Murdoch-controlled Wall Street Journal provides a vast platform for the appropriate tale. And Dick Armey provides it. (In fact Murdoch's media organization is also publisher of a book that Armey has written – Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto.)

Here is the insider's insider, a man who served as Majority Leader of the House of Representatives for a number of years and then as a $750,000 per annum lobbyist (a berth he has now vacated). Yet Armey, by dint of his connections, ability to raise funds and incessant ambition to shape the political horizon to his liking, has attempted to remake himself as political "outsider" and in the process has seemingly launched a takeover of the inchoate Tea Party. (He denies this of course and regularly emphasizes the Tea Party has no leadership – but certainly he is available to help.)

Not only has he somehow become a high profile, de facto leader of a movement and a definer of the history of a movement that deliberately has no organizational core, he has somehow managed to link himself to a Contract From America that many so-called Tea Party political candidates have "signed." The idea is that the Contract From America emerged out of the inchoate opinions of thousands of Tea Party activists and then were codified by Armey and his staff a the Tea-Party oriented Freedomworks, which he founded in the mid 2000s. ...

The military-industrial complex [whose expenditures are not mentioned in the Contract From America] is one of the largest appendages of the modern American warfare-welfare state. The lack of inclusion of central banking and military expenditures makes this Contract From America fairly useless in our humble opinion.

In fact, from our perspective, this article grants the opportunity to see clearly how a power elite dominant social theme is shaped in modern times. Murdoch provides the platform. Dick Armey poses as a radical Libertarian and rewrites history to his liking.

Read the Contract From America and the rest of this article here.
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Statistical differences as grievances

Did you know that baseball coaches of minority races are found more often coaching at first base than at third base? (Now what might this mean?!) And further, the third-base coaches become team Managers more often than first-base coaches. (Aha!) From the 1964 Civil Rights Act straight to the lunacy of today's quotas and discrimination lawsuits, one never knows what to expect next.

In Bean-Counters and Baloney, Thomas Sowell shows how the multiculturalists' relentless recitation of statistics is driven only by the desire to demonstrate "social injustices." No matter what! Nothing, of course, must suggest that there are genuine differences between and among ethnic and racial groups. Following are excerpts:
• • •
The bean-counters have struck again – this time in the sports pages. Two New York Times sport writers have discovered that baseball coaches from minority groups are found more often coaching at first base than at third base. Moreover, third-base coaches become managers more often than first-base coaches.

This may seem to be just another passing piece of silliness. But it is part of a more general bean-counting mentality that turns statistical differences into grievances. The time is long overdue to throw this race card out of the deck and start seeing it for the gross fallacy that it is.

At the heart of such statistics is the implicit assumption that different races, sexes and other subdivisions of the human species would be proportionately represented in institutions, occupations and income brackets if there was not something strange or sinister going on.

Although this notion has been repeated by all sorts of people, from local loudmouths on the street to the august chambers of the Supreme Court of the United States, there is not one speck of evidence behind it and a mountain of evidence against it.

Ask the bean-counters where in this wide world have different groups been proportionally represented. They can't tell you. In other words, something that nobody can demonstrate is taken as a norm, and any deviation from that norm is somebody's fault! ...

At our leading engineering schools – M.I.T., CalTech, etc. – whites are under-represented and Asians over-represented. Is this anti-white racism or pro-Asian racism? Or are different groups just different?

As for baseball, I have long noticed that there are more blacks playing centerfield than third-base. Since the same people hire centerfielders and third-basemen, it is hard to argue that racism explains the difference. No one says it is racism that explains why blacks are over-represented and whites under-represented in basketball. Bean-counters only make a fuss when there is a disparity that fits their vision or their agenda. ...

In countries around the world, all sorts of groups differ from each other in all sorts of ways, from rates of alcoholism to infant mortality, education and virtually everything that can be measured, as well as in some things that cannot be quantified. If black and white Americans were the same, they would be the only two groups on this planet who are the same. ...

The bean-counters are everywhere, pushing the idea that differences show injustices committed by society. As long as we keep buying it, they will keep selling it – and the polarization they create will sell this country down the river.

Read complete article here.
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Dr. Laura joins the ranks of the fainthearted

So, even the supposedly tough-minded talk show host Laura Schlessinger dissolves like putty when confronted with the noise of disapproval coming from the multicultural mob, for her use of the proscribed "Nigger" word. But what else could we expect on the heels of the black woman who telephoned the show, to get advice about her own "racist" white husband, his relatives and friends?

We've learned that even the take-no-prisoners Dr. Laura now accepts the notion that there is ONE word in the English language that is allowed to be spoken by members of only ONE group. Can we expect her to join with those insufferable whites who delight in telling of their disdain for the taboo word, and how they refuse to use it under any circumstances? "I won't even say it in private," they proudly prattle on, waiting for the pat of approval.

Dr. Laura might as well join in the campaign already underway to abolish the word "Nigger" from the lips of all non-blacks. Perhaps she will endorse a federal law to punish any non-black caught spewing it. This could sort of be an expansion of the New York City Council's Resolution of 2007, in which the public use of the word was symbolically "banned." Of course, this ban has meant nothing to those blacks who practice no restraint in their use of the prohibited term and are primarily responsible for extending its life, by keeping the epithet fresh in the popular lexicon.

Here are whites running from the accursed expression, while blacks fill New York City's air with it, and even sanctify the word. The gay website Queerty.com had fun by mocking the Council's ridiculous Resolution. Claiming that New York City was soon to be a "Nigger-free zone," the editor asked, "If the council's all about cleaning up people's politically incorrect potty mouths, where are the bans on spic, faggot, kike, chink and all those other nasties?"

Of course, those "other nasties" are generally terms well known to be spewed forth by blacks, more often than by members of any other group.

Most countries in Europe already have "word crime" laws, as part of their pernicious "hate crime" packages. Why not bring such innovation to these shores and join the Europeans? But, what am I thinking? All assaults on blacks (by non-blacks, of course) are first investigated to learn whether or not the "Nigger" word was hurled before the blows came. Then, thanks to "hate crime" statutes, the assaulter can be subject to extra penalties for the use of the term. Ooh, what he said! Since most assaults on blacks are perpetrated by fellow blacks, I wonder if there are any pre-assault verbiage investigations when the perp has an abundance of melanin. Want to guess?

By retreating on this issue of free speech, do whites really think that the cowardice they have displayed since the 1960s needs to be revealed any further? It is white cowardice that gave us those facets of that 1964 Civil Rights Act, that went over the top by stifling the movement for self-sufficiency and taking the wind out of the economic sails of blacks, while forcing whites to pick up the slack. It is white cowardice that made possible that outrageously unconstitutional Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. And how can we even keep count of the endless Affirmative Action and Quota laws around the land, that have undone any pretense at instilling fairness in society? All gifts of white cowardice.

Does Dr. Laura and her ilk really think the world needs any further evidence that whites are willing to submit to anything, but anything, to avoid offending black "sensitivities?" We get it. You will do anything, from overturning Articles in the Constitution, to denying free speech rights even to yourselves. We get it.

It is whites who fell to their knees in the 1960s, and have never gotten up. What fear of rioting and mayhem can do! And, even when a group declares, WE can do this, but YOU cannot, the whites' response isn't "That's what you think!" but, "Yes, Master, whatever you say." Dr. Laura confirms the three- to four-decade slide into docile obedience.

One of the games of the multiculturalists is to keep up front certain words and terminologies that are deemed off-limits to whites. In this way, whites can be raked over the coals whenever one strays. In 2005, black columnist Lovell Estell scorned the hypocrisy that he said envelops the word "Nigger," and offered his views on the forced resignation of a white baseball coach.

Estell suggested that in our PC-driven land, no white can be allowed exoneration, if he can be persecuted. Scoffing at the notion of the word "Nigger" as the "ultimate insult," he observed that "Most of the people who have called me one haven't been white folks." In defending the coach, Estell claimed that the man had never mistreated any of his black ballplayers, and was guilty only of "bad judgment" and an "idiotic faux pas," and, therefore, should be allowed to resume his career.

Did meaningful numbers of whites join in Estell's protest to reinstate the white coach? No, they ran, as usual, to hide under the bed or in a closet, abandoning the coach to his private hell. And, of course, like Dr. Laura, Senator Trent Lott, Doug Tracht (The Greaseman), and Don Imus, the coach apologized, and apologized, and apologized. But, hey, that's what white folks do.

In the early part of her dialogue with the black caller, who complained about whites making use of the Forbidden Word, Dr. Laura made an observation that would occur to anyone with common sense. She ruefully remarked, "Oh, I see. So, a word is restricted to race." But it was not too long afterward that she issued her initial apology, in which she whined that, after she realized she had "articulated the N-word all the way out," she was too upset to finish the show.

A final thought about the idiot black woman caller who spurred Dr. Laura's intemperate remarks. What kind of a dimwit, who marries out of her race, discovers that her white husband, his white relatives, and his white friends consider his black wife (namely, her) a daily punching bag for their humor, and then calls a stranger on the radio for advice? Is the husband trying to let the dense wife know that he's had enough of her, and desires to move on? Maybe it's time to take a hint, lady.
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The "anchor baby" loophole

In our 2008 post, Birthright citizenship is not constitutional, California State University Professor Edward Erler asks, "If the American Indians, who were certainly born in this country, were not considered automatic citizens by the Constitution's framers, how can it be that the offspring of foreigners who arrive here become automatic citizens?"

Erler debunks the fallacy of believing that anyone born within the geographical limits of the United States is automatically subject to its jurisdiction, and goes on to explain what the Constitution's 14th Amendment means by a person being "subject to the jurisdiction thereof."

Jurisdiction is understood as owing exclusive political allegiance, Erler explains, not simply subject to American laws or courts. A foreign child born in the US is subject to the same jurisdiction to which is parent[s] are subject – that of their native country to which they owe political allegiance.

From this, the question is raised, Why would the newborn baby of an American couple, whose company happened to assign them to the Beijing office, be considered a Chinese citizen? Why wouldn't such a baby, instead, be subject, as are his parents, to the jurisdiction of the United States?

Children's allegiance "should follow that of their parents during their minority," observes Erler. Further, he argues, it is difficult to fathom how any sovereign nation could allow any other policy.

In a Vdare article How Mexican Law Undercuts 'Anchor Baby' Interpretation of U.S. 14th Amendment, Allan Wall looks at the subject from another perspective – that is, Mexican law. He describes birthright citizenship as a "loophole" in American law, and tells of new bills introduced in Congress to rectify this misinterpretation, as well as actions now being taken on the state level.

As to Mexican illegals, Wall indicates that the key to resolution is proving that the children of aliens are not completely "subject to the jurisdiction of the United States." This can be done by using the laws of Mexico. He writes:

According to the Mexican Constitution, Capitulo II, Articulo 30, the child born to, or begotten by, a Mexican is a Mexican, regardless of where he is born.

The Mexicans by birth shall be…The individuals born abroad from Mexican parents who were born within national territory, from a Mexican father who was born within national territory or from a Mexican mother who was born within national territory…The Individuals born abroad from naturalized Mexican parents, from a naturalized Mexican father or from a naturalized Mexican mother…

Thus, any child born to a Mexican parent—either mother or father, regardless of whether that parent is a natural-born Mexican or naturalized Mexican—regardless of where he is born, is considered a Mexican.

And Mexican consulates have the authority to issue documentation to children born to Mexicans outside of Mexico, to confirm it.

Read the rest of Wall's discussion here.
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The Threat to liberty is not from Islamic gangbangers

Doug Newman at The Fountain of Truth is one of those rare practicing Christians one can truly admire. He has no truck with foolish believers in "My country, right or wrong" idolatry, or the immature ranters of USA! USA! Newman knows a warped Christian mind when he encounters one. That audacious warmongers invoke the name of Christ in their deathly causes angers him.

On his blog he reflects on this country's misguided actions centered around the 9/11 attacks, as well as the fall-out from the proposed Islamic center in lower Manhattan, and offers some provocative points:

• It has been centuries since a Muslim country conquered a non-Muslim country. The Islam world is militarily irrelevant. 911 was not a military invasion, but a suicide attack. The hijackers are all DEAD. You cannot take over a country, force everyone to speak Arabic, impose Islamic law, etc., when you are DEAD!
• A few thousand gangbangers who do not even control the government of Afghanistan are not going to come and take over the mightiest economic and military power on earth.
• When you station troops in 130 countries and throw your weight around militarily the way America does, don't complain when a lot of people hate you. And when you start wars with countries that haven't done anything to you and kill countless thousands of innocent people, don't complain when people hate you. You reap what you sow!
• Our liberty is not at all threatened by "radical Islam," but rather by the establishment that has ruled this country for close to a century. The greatest threat of all comes from the millions of Americans who have allowed this establishment so much power with no regard to the consequences.
• In the Great Commission - Matthew 28: 18-20 - Jesus tells us to "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He doesn't tell us to bomb the crap out of countries that have never done anything to us and kill countless thousands of innocent people!
• The proper, moral, constitutional response to 9/11 was a Letter of Marque and Reprisal, that is, a warrant to go after the specific perps. It was NOT to start wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, threaten war with Iran, attack Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia and - are you cluing in? - kill countless thousands of innocent people!
• Millions of Christians are so biblically illiterate that they are easy prey for the Falwells, Hagees, Robertsons, Dobsons, etc., and their promotion of aggressive war as Christian. You reap what you sow and when you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

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An afterthought
It sure doesn't take much to get those "easily led" evangelical types stirred up, does it? Just a few well-placed, inflammatory words from their trustworthy talk show host leaders and the stuff hits the fan – even to the point of suggesting the burning of another religion's holy book. Holy cow! Never mind the ethical issues here, how do you get this simpleminded?
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A depressing futuristic fantasy

In The Year America Dissolved, economist Paul Craig Roberts indulges in a dystopian fantasy of life in America in the not-so-distant year of 2017:

• • •
It was 2017. Clans were governing America.

The first clans organized around local police forces. The conservatives’ war on crime during the late 20th century and the Bush/Obama war on terror during the first decade of the 21st century had resulted in the police becoming militarized and unaccountable.

As society broke down, the police became warlords. The state police broke apart, and the officers were subsumed into the local forces of their communities. The newly formed tribes expanded to encompass the relatives and friends of the police.

The dollar had collapsed as world reserve currency in 2012 when the worsening economic depression made it clear to Washington’s creditors that the federal budget deficit was too large to be financed except by the printing of money.

With the dollar’s demise, import prices skyrocketed. As Americans were unable to afford foreign-made goods, the transnational corporations that were producing offshore for US markets were bankrupted, further eroding the government’s revenue base.

The government was forced to print money in order to pay its bills, causing domestic prices to rise rapidly. Faced with hyperinflation, Washington took recourse in terminating Social Security and Medicare and followed up by confiscating the remnants of private pensions. This provided a one-year respite, but with no more resources to confiscate, money creation and hyperinflation resumed.

Organized food deliveries broke down when the government fought hyperinflation with fixed prices and the mandate that all purchases and sales had to be in US paper currency. Unwilling to trade appreciating goods for depreciating paper, goods disappeared from stores.

Read the rest of this sad tale of prediction here.
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