A Publication Of News, Commentaries, And Various Topics Of Interest.
Volume II • August 2013
www.CommonSenseNewsUSA.com
The Lucrative Business of Raci$m Marijuana: Two Cents from Both Sides of the Coin Shylocks, Shysters and Shenanigans COMMON CORE… A Rotten Core
Cover by Max Aragó We invite local artists to submit work for our covers. Visit our home page on www.CommonSenseNewsUSA.com for details and submission guidelines. For advertising information, call 719-302-1900 or email info@intermountainmediallc.com. © 2013 Intermountain Media, LLC
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common
sense news 5555 Erindale Drive, Suite 102 Colorado Springs, CO 80918 Telephone: 719.302.1900 Facsimile Machine: 719.302.5900 www.CommonSenseNewsUSA.com
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In this issue: SECTION A Shylocks, Shysters, and Shenanigans Western Conservative Summit Recalls Send Strong Message How to Vote 9 Times Sheriff’s Lawsuit Against Colorado Constitutional Champions Camp People are not Labels Tyranny and the 2nd Amendment Obamacare Must Go The Safety Clause Virtuous Dysfunction
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editor-in-chief
Anne C. Vinnola Editor@CommonSenseNewsUSA.com
office manager Karl Jones
art director
graphic artists Max Aragó Elva Jeffries
Lana Fore-Warkocz Julie Naye Kelly Hoaglund
distribution manager Wayne Earp
writers
Mike Holler Harley Ihm Derrick Wilburn Cindy Lyons Richard Eleuterio Lyall Russell Tim Priebe Matt Arnold Senator Kevin Lundberg David Kelly Douglas Bruce Sarah Arnold Anil Mathai Carolyn Fairchild Dr. Mary Zennett Sheriff Terry Maketa Julie Naye Joshua Warren Jacqueline Cartier April Tumlinson
Election season is almost upon us again… (sigh). After the last legislative session I can’t wait to get rid of the elected officials who are undermining the Constitution and our rights as Americans. We are starting to hear the announcements and the rumors of who is running for what office. The excitement wears off fast however when I hear of the same ol’ elected officials running for different offices. When an elected official is term limited and they want/choose to run in another seat…I am fine with that, BUT to recycle an elected official with a horrible voting record is clearly dangerous. Pay attention friends….
Where are the citizen legislators? The ones who come forward and want to serve the people? Well, let’s take a look, shall we? Good, honest, God-loving patriots step up and decide to run for the district or state they love. Instead of the encouragement and using the resources available to them, they are isolated and branded as “unknowns.” Why? Because they aren’t a part of the good ol’ boy clubs? Their same party exposes them to the press and puts out hit pieces which destroy families and careers. Political consultants are hired to make up “group affiliations” and outright lie about the prospective servant leader. Their names become the goop at the bottom of the lake and for what; wanting to serve, wanting a better, more flourishing Colorado and Country for their children and grandchildren? Enough is enough. Folks, listen to me. Vet candidates with your mind, your heart and your faith. Call on these candidates who are stepping up to the plate. Meet with them, go to rallies and functions and ask the tough questions. Do not listen to the special interest groups as they spew lies and hatred. Listen to the end of the radio ads and then research who is paying for them. Read the return address information on the direct-mail pieces which will be flooding your mailboxes. In other words…READ THE FINE PRINT and do not believe what you hear. Remember, there are two sides to every story. I don’t know about you…but believe me; I will do my own research regarding candidates and will not be led around with a leash.
COPYRIGHT©2013: Intermountain Media LLC, dba Common Sense News. All Rights Reserved. Common Sense News is distributed in over 1500 locations statewide. This newspaper is for reading purposes only. Re-publication and/or reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Publisher. Common Sense News and Intermountain Media, LLC makes every effort to ensure accuracy in advertising and editorial content; however the staff, the owners and Intermountain Media, LLC and Common Sense News will accept no responsibility or liability for inaccurate information provided by the advertisers and editorial submissions.
Letters to the editor Dear Editor:
Thank you for your paper though, as I don’t agree with most of your writers, I do agree with this recall. I am a proud Democrat, I don’t want to switch affiliations, but I want my representative to represent me.
I too have followed politics ever since listening to Franklin Roosevelt on the radio. I too was too young to vote. I’m not anymore. I have been a Coloradoan most of my life and have hunted, fished and owned firearms since I was 14.I still do. It was never a crime to own a gun. It still isn’t and won’t be. Restrictions depend on the type. Machine guns are illegal-always will be. That’s common sense.
Sincerely, B. Rodriguez Pueblo, Colorado
You call your paper Common Sense- your remarks are anything but. The NRA, You and people that think your way have heard this before but won’t listen because of a lack of common sense. Background checks are common sense. The 2nd Amendment is not absolute.
Republican State Representative Amy Stephens of Monument has declared that she is giving a run for Mark Udall’s U.S. Senate seat “some consideration.” I would like to take the opportunity to throw some much needed cold water on a potentially catastrophic political firestorm.
I am not a Democrat or a Republican. As an Independent I feel I can vote for common sense legislation and write letters that do not contain vile language, racist overtones and uncalled for remarks toward legislators such as can be seen on the internet by many conservatives.
Plain and simple, Amy Stephens is a big-government, big-sending liberal that cannot be trusted to uphold the Constitution or vote any differently than the big-government, big-spending liberal currently occupying that U.S. Senate seat. Make no mistake: Amy Stephens is a Democrat in Republican’s clothing.
These legislators were voted into office. Nothing was crammed down our throats as you say The Democratic process is alive and well thank you. I don’t believe the natives are that restless (Well, maybe in Colorado Springs) and most people do have common sense. Your paper is ill named.
Rep. Stephens is most noted for her sponsorship and support of SB11-200, which established the Colorado healthcare exchange. One would think that actively supporting Barack Obama in his bid to federalize 1/6 of the nation’s economy would be enough to disqualify her from the Republican nomination. But there is more.
Sincerely, Wallace Gough Elbert, Colorado Dear Editor, In calling your office today, the office manager informed me that you have been receiving many calls on the Recall effort in both SD11 and SD3. As a resident in Pueblo, I hope that you print my letter. I have been a lifelong Democrat. I am however, very alarmed at the actions of Senate President John Morse and my own State Senator Angela Giron. They have ultimately overstepped the boundaries with our rights as Americans and I gladly signed the petition to recall Angela Giron. Volunteers stopped me and asked me to sign a petition to recall Angela Giron and after my own research, they were right. Both Giron and Morse are being recalled for ignoring the Constitution and the majority of the districts in which they live. This was a movement put on
Dear Editor:
Rep. Stephens has also voted for the following liberal programs just since 2011: expansion of the Medicaid roles in Colorado, diversion of state funds to “clean energy” programs, a tax on hospitals, a “green building” incentive program, a Medicaid pilot program, and various continued welfare programs. Rep. Stephens voted in favor of the budget busting annual “long bill” in 2012 that increased state spending by over one half billion dollars, or 7.3%. Rep. Stephens voted to force employers to recognize gay couples for purposes of the federal Family Medical Leave Act. And as an insult to injury, she voted to amend state healthcare laws to conform to the Obamacare exchange law she helped push through. Of course Rep. Stephens can run for whatever office she likes. But if she is going to use the Republican Party to gain access to the ballot, let’s hold her feet to the fire and encourage her to keep out! We have too many Democrats already. -Marc Zarlengo Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Get involved, pay attention and take your responsibility seriously. Watch for the way some of our legislators vote on bills which will ultimately affect our district, our State and our families. Visit our website for a scorecard prepared by some amazing patriots with the Principles of Liberty. Find out who voted for our freedoms and liberties and who voted for more government intrusion? Together, with an educated and informed voter, We The People can and will win again. - Lana Fore-Warkocz, Executive Director Disclaimer: Lana Fore-Warkocz is the Republican State Party Secretary, Vice-President of The Colorado Springs Republican Women, the Vice-Chair of Senate District 10, Secretary of House District 16 and Editor of Tusk Talk, the official publication for the Colorado Federation of Republican Women. This editorial in no way endorses supports or favors any candidates or candidate committees.
Subscriptions Available! You can subscribe to our newspaper for $49.99/ year. Just send a check or money order payable to Intermountain Media, LLC, along with your preferred delivery address to: Common Sense News 5555 Erindale Drive Suite 102 Colorado Springs, CO 80918
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Letters from the editor and executive director
Elva Jeffries
account executives
SECTION B Warrior for the Middle Class? Disturb the Status Quo From the Kitchen Table Citizen’s Guide to Health Reform Senate Bill 13-197 Sex Education Was Statehood Conferred? Point/Counterpoint: Marijuana The Republic Called America The Declaration Made Easy The Lucrative Business of Racism Just a Mom
by average citizens and not by a party. Party politics are corrupt on both sides. Angela also sponsored the voter fraud bill in which I did not agree with either. She does not represent me, my family or my community. So, not all Democrats agree with Giron or Morse.
Photo by Paul deBerjeois
Whew! Common Sense News hit the stands all over the state on July 15 and we have been going at full power since. We are so excited to hear the overwhelmingly positive and encouraging comments. Subscriptions are coming in steadily and we have dropped additional papers to many distribution points multiple times. People are so happy to have a news source that helps them wade through the political swamp ColoraAbout Our Content: Common Sense News provides a voice for do/U.S. has become. freedom-loving Americans who share Some really great candidates and well, some not so many common values, yet have differ- great candidates are beginning to announce their intentions ing opinions on certain subjects. This for the mid-term elections and beyond. Two unprecedented paper’s staff and writers possess diverse recalls are going on in Colorado and her citizens need to worldviews. The content of Common understand the reasons and ramifications. Do you really Sense News does not necessarily reflect know who is behind the curtain? People are taking notice the views of the employees of Intermore and more and doing their research. Legislators need to mountain Media, LLC. be on their toes; we are all watching closely. Colorado is at a crossroads and it will take strong, principled leaders to come forward to return this state to sanity. A-4
Common Sense is working hard to provide resources both in print and online in order to help get the word out and inform people about the issues facing us all. Please help us get the word out on events and happenings! Colorado conservatives have some really exciting things happening and we are watching more and more people come out to events such as the Western Conservative Summit where Common Sense News passed out over 1500 papers! The event was exciting and brought a surge of enthusiasm and political focus to attendees with speakers such as Senator Ted Cruz, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Allen West, Former Governor Mike Huckabee and many more. Larimer County’s GOP proudly hosted over 600 people at the largest Lincoln Day dinner in the state and this summer several Second Amendment parades have been held. There is something for everyone to get involved with to take Colorado back from liberal over reach and turn it COLO-RED-O again. - Anne Vinnola, Editor A-5
we the
PeoplE The Progressive Machine • Western Conservative Summit • Sheriff’s Lawsuit V. Colorado
Shylocks, Shysters, and Shenanigans: How the “Progressive” Machine Has Conquered Colorado (and what you can do about it)
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ver the last decade, Colorado has been “fundamentally transformed” from a state with majority-Republican representation in the legislature and all (or nearly all) statewide offices to a “progressive” stronghold with Democrats dominating all three branches of state government. This political shift was due mostly to long-term planning, careful organization, effective mobilization and targeting of resources, and a meticulous, strategic approach setting up “wins” several steps in advance. In other words – while our side has been playing checkers, the other side is playing chess. The key elements in the “progressive” plan – their “Blueprint” or “Colorado Model” (read the book and articles of the same name, respectively) have been the networked infrastructure of organizations with complementary capacities to shape the electoral battlefield, win elections, and implement “progressive” policies in all areas of state and local government. Among the many organizations funded by the “shylocks” of the Left are the “shysters” who complicate elections by manipulating and maneuvering the state’s byzantine campaign finance and election laws – to harass opposing
By Matt Arnold campaigns, set the conditions for manipulating electoral advantage, even challenging and overturning the results of elections, ballot initiatives, and (as we are now witnessing) petition drives to hold officials accountable. The Left’s “shylocks” provide the financial resources, and the “shysters” carry out, the “shenanigans” that have enabled their conquest of state government. How has the “Progressive” machine conquered Colorado? 1. Setting the conditions In what the military terms “preparing the battlefield”, the Colorado Left has consistently outmaneuvered their opponents by shaping the rules, regulations, and even boundaries of electoral contests – passing campaign finance “reforms” that favor their side’s approach to funding and organizing for elections, dominating the process (largely through the courts) of drawing legislative district boundaries to gain advantages in representation, and setting up the rules for voting (such as recent “provisional ballots” and “sameday registration” legislation).
Result?
nate the state legislature (search “Colorado Election Outcome” online).
citizen activists to pick up the slack. ANY citizen can:
2. Aggressively utilizing campaign & election laws to bludgeon opponents
• Monitor the other side’s campaign activities, including campaign financial reports (available online on the Secretary of State’s website): http://tracer.sos. colorado.gov/PublicSite/homepage.aspx
The Left employs legions of lawyers (“shysters”) and armies of advocacy groups to scrutinize opposing campaigns (candidates and ballot initiatives) for even the most trivial misstep, then file complaints or lawsuits in court. Even if unsuccessful, the complaints divert resources (time, attention, and money); if successful, complaints can result in substantial fines for minor errors (and, of course, provide fodder for attack ads and mailers either way). 3. Concentrate voter mobilization at key points to achieve critical mass Anecdotal reports of “busloads of voters” shifting between polling places, voters lacking proper ID casting provisional ballots, and unregistered (even out-of-state or noncitizen) voters casting ballots – these and other types of voting shenanigans will only become MORE likely due to “same-day” voter registration and “all-mail” ballot legislation (HB13-1303) enacted this year. What you can do about it
Despite being outnumbered in voter registration, and actually receiving FEWER votes, Democrats domi-
In the absence of organized efforts to monitor “progressive” voting and campaign shenanigans, it falls on
• Volunteer as an election judge or poll watcher – your local party organization and/or county clerk’s office are always seeking people to fill these important positions (which are often paid) • Report instances of fraud to appropriate authorities (county clerks, district attorney, Secretary of State, or the state Attorney General) • File administrative complaints against violations of campaign finance laws Basically, everyone can help by acting as a campaign “neighborhood watch” to help protect the integrity of our voting and elections processes. Yes, you can make a difference! Matt Arnold is a strong, principled leader and American patriot. He is a military veteran (currently a Captain in the Army Reserves), an active advocate for education reform and gun rights, but best known as the founder and director of Clear the Bench Colorado, a judicial accountability group providing independent analysis and commentary on our judicial system. (www. clearthebenchcolorado.org)
Western Conservative Summit
Freedom’s New Day By Anne Vinnola- Editor
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ommon Sense News had the good fortune to cover the Western Conservative Summit July 26 -28 at the Denver Hyatt Regency and to pass out almost two thousand of our first edition papers. We were warmly welcomed and we were very encouraged by the response we had. Western Conservative Summit enables conservatives to network with each other, see old friends, put faces to our Facebook buddies and focus our attention on the fight ahead to take back our government and protect our freedoms. WSC is put together through the efforts of the Centennial Institute and the Colorado Christian University.
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One of my favorite items was The Founders Bible. Co-written and co-edited by Brad Cummings,
with whom I had a nice chat about how God made it clear to him and the rest of the contributors of the need for the text in harmony with the Bible. It was highly researched and the signature historian was David Barton of Wallbuilders fame. The Founders Bible walks the student through 450 pages of embedded commentary highlighting biblical insight and wisdom from the Founders on a wide range of subjects. The complete New American Standard Bible includes a concordance, subject index and Bible maps. Stunningly illustrated by C. Michael Dudash this is an amazing study bible. It is available at www.TheFoundersBible.com or by calling 612-746-2900.
I just happened to bump into James ”Bo Snerdly” Golden (above) of the Rush Limbaugh show while I was in the Founders Bible Booth and he was nice enough to have a photo snapped of us. Continued on page b - 9
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How to Vote 9 Times in One Election Year—Legally! By Sarah Arnold
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any citizens have concerns that their votes don’t count. With evidence of rampant election fraud, and new voter registration laws that allow for same-day registration in Colorado, perhaps there is even more concern that “my one vote” just doesn’t matter. It certainly can feel that way when your vote is just one of tens or hundreds of thousands, or even millions, but that couldn’t be more wrong.
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Judicial District Assembly (fifth vote)
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Congressional District Assembly (sixth vote)
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State Assembly (seventh vote)
Did you know that, in Colorado, you have the opportunity to vote more than any other state? It’s true. Not even Chicago can top this—legitimately at least.
But what do these votes mean? It means you get to help control the candidates who make it to Colorado’s ballot. The way our caucus system is set up, it means those who get involved and vote more often get to have a say in where someone lands on the ballot, or if they make it to the ballot at all.
Certainly all states have a primary and general election each Presidential or “mid-term” election year, and in Colorado at least, you have municipal, school district, and tax initiative elections in the “off-year” or “odd-year” elections, but Colorado gives you more opportunities than just those. The Caucus system in Colorado gives you the chance to vote up to seven times more than any other system, and with so few who participate that way, it amplifies your voice and your vote hundreds of times over just a primary ballot. If you attend your local Caucus in February or March (look for more information on that in forthcoming editions), you get to vote to select delegates to represent you at higher assemblies, as well as for precinct committee people who represent you in your respective County Party Central Committees (your first vote). If you get elected to a higher assembly, you have the potential to vote at your: • County Assembly (second vote) •
House District Assembly (third vote) •
Senate District Assembly (fourth vote)
Then, of course, your eighth and ninth votes are in the primary and general elections. Pretty incredible, isn’t it?
That is a lot of responsibility. Maybe that’s why so few voters take advantage of it. Less than 10% of active registered voters in this state (with the Republican and Democrat Parties) participate in this system—often, it is closer to only 7-8% participation between both major parties. That means you have a real opportunity to actually make a huge difference in this state. The delegates who vote at each of these assemblies, ranging from mere dozens to a few thousand, help control the fate of Colorado’s ballots. If there is more than one candidate, you can help determine who is “top line” on the ballot, if a candidate has to petition on because of so little support at an assembly (less than 30%), or even prevent someone from being on a ballot (with less than 10% of the assembly vote). What excuse do you have to not get involved? Additionally, only between 25-30% of Colorado’s active registered voters participate in “off-year” elections. That means your vote counts that much more because it is part of a smaller group of votes. Protecting Colorado from massive tax increases, and ensuring your local government and school board have the right officials presiding is a duty often shirked by Colorado citizens. Don’t let that be you. Get involved. Get engaged. Amplify your vote. And take the opportunity to vote nine times in one election year.
Colorado Needs Common Sense Back, Recalls Send Strong Message!
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By Senator Kevin Lundberg- State Senate District 15
n September 10 voters in two Colorado state senate districts are scheduled to complete the recall elections for Senate President John Morse, in the Colorado Springs area, and Senator Angela Giron, in the Pueblo area. These elections are unprecedented for Colorado. Never before has any Colorado state legislator been called up for recall by the voters in their district. This is one more dramatic example of the radical agenda of the 69th Colorado General Assembly. I documented their extreme policies during the session on my Facebook page and the Freedom Watch page of my website: Kevin Lundberg.com. Here is a brief overview of what motivated many voters to make these recall elections a realty. Some news reports say the recalls are simply a reaction by gun rights activists to the gun control bills that Senators Morse and Giron supported, but to reduce the recalls to a referendum on gun control issues is to miss the main point. The attack on our Second Amendment rights did motivate many people, but it was just the final straw. The majority party, which Senate President Morse leads, put in place the most liberal, big government laws Colorado has ever seen. Amnesty is now on the fast track in Colorado. Illegal immigrants can get Colorado drivers licenses and in-state tuition rates for state colleges. The
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election law was changed to allow same day registration, requires no verifiable identification, and permanently mails all ballots to every registered voter. Colorado is implementing Obamacare as fast as possible and a team of legislators have been charged with developing a single-payer, $30-40 billion system for the state that will go way beyond the socialized system of Obamacare. These single payer proposals are scheduled to be considered in the 2014 session.
Rural electric associations face much higher renewable energy standards, which they predict will cost Colorado citizens billions to accomplish. And the list of tax, spend, and control goes on and on... These recall elections are not because of a single-issue, as many have tried to characterize them. The recalls are borne out of a frustration with just about every major policy change made by this year’s legislature.
The new school finance system will require a billion Meaningful school choice was rejected, but a new sex dollar tax increase, each year, education program was accepted, which will not which will be put before the voters this November, (but, if allow abstinence-only programs for any district that the voters reject the increase, takes these new program dollars. the promoters of the higher taxes will be back with more tax increase questions, The people of Colorado are not East or West until 2017). The new school finance law also requires Coast liberals. We do not take orders from all school districts go to the voters for higher property Bloomberg, Biden, or Obama. Senators Morse, Giron, taxes through more bond elections, and requires a and virtually all of their party, have gone way overhigher floor for mill levy rates in many school disboard with high tax, big government programs. tricts. Meaningful school choice was rejected, but a Colorado citizens, with common sense, limited new sex education program was accepted, which will government values, regardless of their party affiliation, not allow abstinence-only programs for any district have had enough. They are demanding their right to that takes these new program dollars. Public school reconsider these liberals who are now leading the preschool was promoted, as well as breakfast proColorado Senate. grams for students during academic school hours. Maybe the election on September 10 will put Small businesses are now subject to employment some of that common sense back into the Colorado lawsuits that far exceed Federal employment laws. legislature.
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Sheriff’s lawsuit against the State of Colorado - Round 1-
Ends in a compromise By Timothy J. Priebe, Esq.
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n July 10, 2013, the parties to the lawsuit against the State of Colorado were to have had a court hearing regarding the new Colorado gun laws. The Plaintiffs were set to ask the court for a temporary stay of the enforcement of the new gun laws until the matter could be resolved in court. However, the night before the hearing the parties negotiated a deal which made the need for a stay moot.
At this time, there has not been a written clarification of the laws as agreed to by the parties. The attorneys for the parties have stated that the verbal compromise clarifies some of the legal issues that the Plaintiffs are raising. Only two issues appear to have been dealt with in the compromise. One, whether a firearm magazine can be considered a “large capacity” magazine solely due to the ability to remove the base plate and add an “extender” to make the magazine capable of holding more than 15 cartridges. Two, defining what “continuous possession” means as it relates to the grandfather clause of the “large capacity” magazine law. The new law states that as of July 1, 2013, a “large capacity” magazine is illegal to sell, transfer or possess. The law defines a “large capacity” magazine as one that accepts or that is “readily converted” to accept more than 15 cartridges of ammunition. This poorly drafted definition of a firearm magazine left many gun owners to worry that any magazine could be defined as a large capacity magazine and therefore illegal. Under the compromise, the State has now agreed that just because a firearm magazine could be readily converted to accept more than 15 cartridges of ammunition, it, by itself, will not be considered illegal. However, if the magazine is converted to accept more than 15 cartridges of ammunition it will be illegal.
Also, per the new gun law, there is a conditional “grandfather” clause that provides some protection to those people who possessed such a large capacity magazine before the new laws were enacted. In order to utilize the grandfather clause provision, a person must assert that they owned the large capacity magazine before July 1, 2013 and that they maintained “continuous possession” of the magazine. This provision of the new gun laws was also poorly drafted. Due to this, the Plaintiff’s lawsuit cites the confusion that will occur when a party is trying to determine if he or she is following the law. The parties have now agreed that “continuous possession” will be broken only when the owner gives away or sells the magazine. It is not broken when a temporary lending of the magazine occurs while the owner is present or the owner is providing the magazine to a gunsmith for repairs. According to the verbal compromise, Attorney Jon Suther’s office will draft guidelines that will reflect this agreement. The next step in the process is for the court to set a trial date. At that trial, the outstanding issues, such as whether or not the news laws are a violation of the Second Amendment, will be tried. It is believed that the trial will occur before December of this year. When analyzing the compromise that was reached, I have a couple of filters in which I look at the information: Gun owner/2nd Amendment supporter: I am not real happy with the compromise. I am not sure how one can compromise on laws that I believe to be unconstitutional. I also do not think that the compromise does anything to advance our arguments regarding the laws. It certainly does not clear up all of the situations in which I could find myself where I am wondering if I am violating the
law or not. I also wonder if by compromising, do we appear weak in our defense of our arguments? Why get prepared for battle only to fizzle out right before the fight bell rings? Attorney/Litigator: There are and will always be things that happen behind the curtain that we may never know about. We read the stories but never get to know all of the factors that went into why a decision was made the way it was.
2013 Constitutional Champions Camp - Colorado Springs By Don Rodgers
While I do not know any of the attorneys involved personally, I have followed attorney David Kopel in the past. Mr. Kopel is the lead attorney on the case and is representing all of the Colorado Sheriffs in the suit. He is experienced, knowledgeable and has strongly supported our Constitutional rights in the past. So the bottom line for me is this; I will put trust in the Plaintiffs and their attorneys. I believe that the Plaintiffs have the best interests of all Colorado citizens in mind. Until I see otherwise, I will support their efforts. Timothy J. Priebe is an attorney licensed in Colorado and California. He maintains his practice in Colorado Springs. He has been practicing law for 18 years and focuses on business law and estate planning. He is an NRA certified instructor and provides NRA certified classes. He is married and has two children. He and his family enjoy all outdoor activities.
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his year’s Constitutional Champions Camp was held from June 17 thru 20 and can only be called a great success. The camp is sponsored by the 912 Project’s Pikes Peak Patriots and is our third year as part of Constitutional Champions. As an organization, we could not be more proud of our association with this outstanding program. Designed for children from grades 2 through 6, it has proven to be not only personally rewarding for everyone involved in putting on the camp, but for the kids it is a fun and exciting four days of learning about America’s true history and the values and principles which not only brought about her founding, but have made her the greatest nation on earth. Beginning in March, the volunteer staff of 40 adults and teenage assistants put in over 900 hours into refining the curriculum, lining up guests speakers for the parents program, coordinating with sponsors, and putting each piece of an extensive logistics puzzle into place. Surrounded by the historical early 1800’s setting of Rock Ledge Ranch, the camp location provided the perfect backdrop to the American Revolutionary period the curriculum is based upon. As the gates opened on June 17, 2013 one hundred children were greeted by the Mile High fife and Drum Corps and the first and the weeks “Founding Fathers.” For many, this was their second and even third year in attendance. Over the next four days, they were treated to lessons of our history which most public schools have forgotten. The lessons included the true history and significance of our Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the importance of Revolutionary War battles, the Boston Tea Party, the great historical figures of our founding, and the meaning of the Bill of Rights and how they apply directly to them. All taught by a staff that puts their love for America into each subject.
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It was not all classroom study as the kids participated in a variety of outdoor activities. Games included Patriot vs. Red Coat dodge ball, Tug of War, Continental Spy relay races and
sack races. Crafts played a big part in teaching the students about the history of the period as they learned to make their own marbles much as children of the period did. A highlight of this year’s camp was the 8 foot by 6 foot mural of the “American Minute Man” comprised of 100 individual squares painted by each student. Burt Hands, Director of the Northwood Art Studio assisted each child with their effort toward the final product. No one knew what the mural would be until at the closing ceremony the camp’s masterpiece was unveiled to the very audible, “WOWs” of parents, students and camp staff. The children were also treated to the expert historical teachings of Project Appleseed. This organization combines the rich history of the Revolutionary War period taught by incredible story tellers with the real lessons of marksmanship and how it helped forge America. This proved to be a camp favorite. The parents were also a part of the camp as they were given a rare opportunity to sit down with several of Colorado’s leaders. Speakers included State Senators Kent Lambert and Owen Hill, El Paso County Commissioner Peggy Littleton, Treon Goossen (Home Education Legislative Analyst/Liaison and Colorado Coordinator for ParentalRights.org), The 912 Project and Constitutional Champions National Chair Yvonne Donnelly, Author of “The Constitution Made Easy” Mike Holler, Laurie Bratten expert in the legislative process, Dwan Rager and Mark Braunlich both of the 912 Project. Like each previous year, the 2013 Constitutional Champions Camp was a great experience for the staff, the parents and most of all for the 100 Constitutional Champions of 2013. Constitutional Champions (CC) has as our mission and our responsibility to promote patriotism through American History Education. Learn more about Constitutional Champions at www. constitutionalchampions.org or contact Don Rodgers at www.912PikesPeakPatriots.com
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common
People are not Labels, they are People!
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By Anil Mathai
y family and I walked along with fellow Adams County Republicans in Commerce City last Memorial Day at what was billed as the largest Memorial Day parade in Colorado. Commerce City is heavily influenced by the Democrat party and Republicans are indeed a minority in a town full of minorities. As we walked down the parade route, a group of 10-15 people who are of Hispanic descent shouted something at me. Mind you, besides my wife of Puerto Rican descent, I was the only other minority (American of Indian descent) in the Adams County Republican delegation. What I heard was a man saying “I am proud to be a democrat” and some negative words against Republicans.
I looked at the man and asked “Are you a husband?” He said “Yes.” I said “So am I.”
I usually ignore petty comments but this instance; I stopped, turned around and walked to the group of people while our group continued walking forward. As I walked to the group, I heard the man’s wife say “No, he was just kidding.” I responded “No, I have to answer his comments.”
I said “On the ground level, we are not Democrats or Republicans; we are husbands, fathers and individuals given freedom by God to make decisions for ourselves and our loved ones, accordingly.” He shook his head and verbally stated his agreement and so did the crowd around him. Even better, the man’s wife agreed and smiled back in a thankful manner.
I asked “Are you a father?” He said “Yes.” I said “So am I.” Then I said, “You believe the government should lead you but I believe that you and I should be leaders of our homes and our families. The government has no say in your life. You are man not a slave unless you believe government is best to take care of you.” The man shook his head in the negative, that he is not a slave. I said, “Do you want to be in charge of your decisions that affect your family or do you want the government to make those decisions for you? Who would be best in making decisions for you?” He said that he was.
Our problems as Republicans are that we prostitute people by seeing them when we need a vote. Most often, they will not vote for us especially when we are coming to their door three months before an election. Our conservative principles are right but the establishment is running away from our principles because they believe in labels.
When we remove the labels and talk to people with truth and from the heart, we will win people over... Those of us who are conservatives with traditional values, believe in and talk to people not labels. When we remove the labels and talk to people with truth and from the heart, we will win people over to our conservative viewpoints. I view my fellow human beings as people created in the image of God and therefore they need to be valued, even when we disagree on issues. But if we continue to sell out our time tested, conservative principles
and continue with labels (racial, religious, economic class, gender, sexual, etc), we will continue to hemorrhage and lose as we are doing now. In Commerce City I saw precious people, not democrats. As I walked away the people saw me, a man that is no different from them who just erased their view in “labels” and reinvigorated their support of “people.” God bless! Anil Mathai lives with his wife Marisol and their three kids in Westminster, CO. Anil holds a BSChE, MBA, and MDiv and is an executive with an organization ensuring regulatory and quality assurance commitments are met and lean projects are enacted to bring cost savings to his organization. Anil is 1st Vice Chair of the Adams County Republican Party and was also a National Delegate from CO to the 2012 RNC in Tampa, FL. Anil loves talking about all issues that affect individuals & society, meeting families & people of all stripes, coaching youth basketball and other sports. He believes that our nation can indeed return back to success if we enact the conservative, moral and biblical principles valued and promoted by our Founding Fathers.”
On the Second Amendment • The “Safety Clause” • Chaos in the G.O.P.
Tyranny and the Right to
Keep and Bear Arms By Richard Eleuterio
Happiness--- That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.
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t has long been established in human civilization that self-defense is acceptable when the individual or his family is attacked. In the west from the Hammurabi Code of ancient Babylonia, to Aristotle and the ancient Greeks, to the Roman Republic and the patriot and orator Cicero the principle of self-defense was a basic tenet of civil law. The Old and New Testament of the Judeo-Christian bible both subscribe to the morality of self-defense, even including killing the attacker. There is another component to the “Right to Keep and Bear Arms”. While it is well established by over 3,000 years of legal precedent that the individual has the right of self-defense against an attack by “unauthorized” aggressor, what about an assault by an “authorized” agent of the government? Redefining the relationship between a government and its citizens had to transpire for a citizen to have the right to legally resist an “illegal” attack by agents of the State. This change evolved over the centuries in the country that gave our founders the foundation of our legal-constitutional system. In 1689, after the now largely Protestant England experienced an attempt by a tyrannical Catholic King James to disarm all the protestants, Parliament imposed a condition on King William and Queen Mary for them to assume the throne that no law abiding citizen could be disarmed. This was part of the British Bill of Rights. For the first time a King was forced to recognize an unalienable right held by its citizens. This concept of inherent, unalienable rights was adopted by our founders in the words of the American Declaration of Independence: …that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
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The sentiment of inherent individual rights to be protected by the Government was carried forth by the American founders more than 11 years later in the U. S. Constitution and the subsequent Bill of Rights amendments to it. The second Amendment refers not only to the Right of citizens to Keep and Bear Arms for purposes of hunting and traditional self-defense but even more significantly, as in the British Bill of Rights, the right of the individual to defend him or herself against the excesses of a tyrannical government.
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ithin the lifetimes of many of our citizens, occurred two events that illustrate the principle of an armed citizenry resisting
tyranny:
1. The local newspapers, on August 1-2, 1946 in McMinn County, Tennessee, reported that citizens, many recently returned veterans of World War II, used armed force as a last resort to redress the corruption in their county government. They wanted honest, open elections. The long term practice of the county political machine consisted of forged ballots, and nontransparent ballot counts. These policies had been enforced by armed sheriff deputies. When the incumbent sheriff took the ballot boxes to count the votes in secret again, the former GIs surrounded the jail, and by force of arms, demanded the return of the ballot boxes to a place where the citizens could observe the count. The ballot boxes were finally surrendered after a gun battle with several people on both sides being killed or wounded. Not surprisingly the reform candidates all won. 2. In 1964, during the height of the civil rights movement, a small group of African American men in Louisiana formed an organization they named Deacons for Defense and Justice. The KKK was quite influential in that area of the south particularly with state and local governments. With no government opposition, they
pressured white employers to lay off their black workers. During those days in the south daily humiliations were experienced by men and women of color. In this instance, many of the black men in Bogalusa, Louisiana, mostly members of the newly formed “Deacons for Defense and Justice”, decided not to accept these obviously race motivated firings and decided to take a stand against the KKK. A movie “Deacons for Defense” dramatized the moment when they (mostly veterans of WWII and Korea many with the arms they retained) stood up to the hooded terrorists in the center of the town square as the town sheriff and deputies fled. Moments later the tension dissipated as the intimidated Jim Crow law enforcers beat a disorderly retreat.
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ometimes Supreme Court decisions include important references to history. Such was the case on June 26th 2008 regarding Heller v. D. C. The author of the majority opinion was Antonin Scalia and the Court for the first time recognized the Individual right to arms. This opinion also included a reference to Alexander Hamilton’s essay in the federalist papers (number 29) that an armed populace is “…better able to resist tyranny”. The founders, given British history and their experience as Colonists, knew that besides hunting, and self-defense there was one concern that the 2nd Amendment must address: the right to keep and bear arms. It was, as they viewed it, imperative that a free country have an armed citizenry for that freedom to survive. Born in New York City, Richard Eleuterio lived most of his life in Southern California. He is now a retired commercial insurance broker living and writing for the last 5 years in beautiful Colorado Springs. In writing his goal is to impart his readers with new knowledge about the legacy of our great nation’s past and how it affects the present.
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The REAL Reason
Obamacare Must Go
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By Derrick Wilburn
ou, me and just about every conservative in the land has been in an uproar over the Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold the Healthcare Reform Act of 2010, and rightfully so. This thing has stunk to high heaven from the word go. From the way it was drafted, our elected representatives being forced to vote on it without having been allowed time to read it, to its far over-reaching “individual mandate” there is precious little to be excited about over this piece of legislation. The shouts for “REPEAL & REPLACE” are coming from every corner and in my opinion, rightfully so. But not for the reasons most are thinking. Not just because it’s a bad law and one that infringes on my personal liberties as a U.S. citizen; though that’s all true. Perhaps the greatest travesty of the Court’s decision has been lost in the noise. It can be summed up with a single word, “precedent.” A legal term familiar to most, the elephant in the room that seems to be going unnoticed in this Supreme Court/Obamacare uproar is how dangerous the Court’s decision is. Not just as it relates to the Healthcare Reform Act, but future over-reaches by the federal government of the same ilk, which, by the way is sure to happen. To over-simplify the court’s decision, it has basically said that the ‘mandate’ to purchase health insurance amounts to the posing of a tax and taxation is something that is within the federal government’s purview. The establishment of this particular precedent is monstrous, and established, it is. Once the Supreme Court has ruled, that’s it. As the highest court in the land, there is, of course, no court of remedy; nowhere to run to have decisions over-
Colorado Law Part 2, the “Safety Clause”
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By Douglas Bruce
gross example of our corrupt political system is the practice of attaching a “safety clause” to nearly all bills in the legislature. Whose safety is protected by that illegal loophole and lawyers’ lie? Hint: it’s
not yours.
turned. We now MUST get this law repealed and thoroughly trashed! Here’s why:
If, under the guise of taxation, the federal government can mandate purchases or other behaviors then what are the limitations?
For instance, say a president manages to get elected who is to the political left of Barack Obama (as if that were possible). In his or her quest to save the earth by implementing a radical “green” agenda, the federal government passes the “Save Mother Earth and the Polar Bears Act” which contains a mandate that all citizens purchase and install energy efficient windows in their private residences. You (citizen) would have to purchase and have installed; by a federally approved installer, government approved, Energy Star rated 5 or higher windows by 2018, or be subjected to a fine (now called a tax) of $60 per above ground window in your dwelling. Sound improbable in America? Sound impossible in America? Well, Skippy… WRONG! Not only is it possible, its now here. The President and the Supreme Court have set this stage through Obamacare. This isn’t a bad movie, this is the new reality of the nation we love and live in, and that is why we must work every waking hour of the day to get this law repealed in its entirety. It has to go and it’s just that simple. What’s your role? No matter whom your elected officials are Republican, Democrat or other; they need to be hearing from you in three ways; LOUD, CLEAR and NOW! Continued on page b - 9
The right to petition is in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article II of our state constitution, but it secures only organized begging to politicians. It allows sending letters and emails, making phone calls, and other acts that change nothing. In reality, you are allowed to beseech deaf officials and to talk to stones.
“The people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the general assembly...”
In 1910, state voters enacted a true constitutional right to petition the state and cities on legislative matters in two ways. In Article V, its first sentence asserts “the people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the general assembly and also reserve power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act or item, section, or part of any act of the general assembly.”
What does that mean? The first right is “initiative” petitions. We can deliver signatures (currently about 130,000 are needed) to propose new laws and vote on them, after enduring an insane obstacle course of barriers erected by petition-hating politicians, lawyers, and other parasites. All of them despise you and want to crush you. I am often called a “rabble rouser,” an epithet revealing contempt by elitists for people like you. I try to help Joe Citizen, who lacks a lobbyist. I wrote the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights to protect simple folks from blood-sucking bullies and bureaucrats. I believe people are God’s children. Politicians consider us resources; to be exploited until we break and die. If you recall “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells, you will recognize this ageless battle between the passive Eloi, who want only to be left alone, and the Morlochs, noted for slave-holding and cannibalism. The second right allows “referendum” petitions to reject laws already passed by politicians. The last time citizens exercised this right was 1932. Corrupt legislators aiding dairy farmers had passed a 10-cent per pound margarine tax to protect them from competition. It was roughly a 100% tax rate. Outraged consumers collected the signatures and repealed the tax in a landslide.
“...and also reserve power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act or item, section, or part of any act of the general assembly.”
Legislators were so furious at their public repudiation they conspired to block all petitions by calling their future laws emergencies. Nearly all bills end by saying they are “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety.” That is almost always a lie. To examine this scandalous practice, go to DouglasBruce.com. Click on the “General Assembly” menu link for “Emergency Laws.” It should make you sick. Calling a trout the “state fish” was a declared emergency. Bingo rules were declared emergencies. The total is over 30,000 lies.
This dirty secret continued for 60 years. Staff attorneys affixed the clause to 99% of bills. Finally, other reformers and I got some media attention on this theft of our constitutional rights and official lies dipped to 80% of all bills. As a legislator in 2008, I decried this abuse daily. Only a handful of bills were valid emergencies, like traffic safety rules. In 2008, the lie ratio dipped to 60%, still extreme but slow progress. (Old joke: “How can you tell a politician is lying? His lips are moving.”) When I became a representative, I held a press conference exposing this shameful conspiracy against our rights. Later that day, the lying legislators framed me by a phony charge I had “kicked a photographer.” What’s one more lie to chronic liars? Meanwhile, the legislative lies continued, and do so to this day. The liberal media still doesn’t realize they were diverted to shoot a fellow messenger. My favorite Bible verse remains John 8:32, which assures us, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” I’m still waiting.
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Douglas Bruce, a former prosecutor, legislator, and county commissioner, authored The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) constitutional amendment state voters approved in 1992. He can be reached at taxcutter@msn.com. A-15
Virtuous Dysfunction and Chaos
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By David L. Kelly
s there dysfunction within the Republican Party? Absolutely yes! Is this good for the party and for the people who support the party? That’s the uncomfortable question that haunts many a soul in the Republican Party. The geo-political paradigm that once seemed to be solidly in place is shifting; seeking its way to what we can only hope will be the Promised Land, the land of power house politics and the end of stagnant bi-partisan rhetoric. The time has come to be honest and sincere with sharing your beliefs with the party leadership and getting a seat at the table. The dysfunction that we witness, sometimes laced in vitriol is a dream come true for Democrats. Or is it their nightmare? Unlike the Democratic Party of today that is nothing more than a collective mentality focused on the entitlement state, the Republican Party stands out with a hodgepodge of political firebrands and statists to Constitutionalists and anarcho-capitalists. The Republicans have Status Quo Conservatives, Traditionalist Conservatives, Paleo-Conservatives, Free Market Conservatives, the Religious Right, little “L” Conservatives as well as big “L” Conservatives, and then some all mixed in-between making up today’s Republican Party. A growing number of Republicans have fled the party for various reasons which reinforce the dysfunctional appearance amongst the Right. Are the rats leaving the sinking ship? The party does not belong to the Moral Majority or the Reagan Conservatives anymore; thus the heightened fear of chaos and looming 3rd party status.
What’s missing? Quality leadership. A leader who can grasp the situation, react and pull the dysfunctional party sects together like a short order cook filling orders. Why do Republicans fight each other? They always have and always will. Most Conservatives and all Libertarian leaning Republicans respect individual rights and want their voices heard. With that said, we will never act or look like a cohesive well maintained political machine. Thank God.
The first Conservative, Edmund Burke thought of a political party as “a body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavors the national interest upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed.” If this is true for today’s Republicans, then what is the joint endeavor of national interest and principle of which those in the party can agree upon? There is plenty that divides the party, including hot button issues such as abortion, immigration, financial bail-outs, entitlements and defense. We know these issues all too well. So, what is it that we can rally behind and agree upon? What common core principle among Republicans is strong enough to overcome our political malaise? That’s the elephant in the room that the party chooses to ignore. That’s the answer to the dysfunctional chaos we have enjoyed for nearly a generation. The haunting dysfunction in the party is far from evil. The shifting of the political sphere of influence is changing and the party must change with it to survive. If the party heeds Burke’s advice the party will live on and be happy even with all its dysfunction. If the party chooses to silence the unique voices of individuals seeking liberties and freedom for a theme of replicating past Republican victories, then the Republicans deserve exactly what they fear most. David L. Kelly- Founder / President of Liberty First, advocates for liberty, individual freedoms, free markets, and limited government. David is also a Republican Candidate for El Paso County Treasurer contact: david@libertasprimoris.org
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NatioN Young Patriots • Common Core • The Citizen’s Guide to Health Reform
Obama: A Warrior for the Middle Class?
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while back (2011) President Obama said he would be honored to be called a warrior for the middle class. The middle class was prominent in this year’s State of the Union speech, in which he said it was our task to “re-ignite the true engine of America’s economic growth: a rising, thriving middle class.” Some of his recent radio addresses have also focused on the middle class. But are his policies really helping the middle class? A few observations indicate otherwise. To begin, Obamacare has already caused a number of problems for the middle class. Because of its uncertainty, many employers are not hiring, scaling back the number of employees, or are placing employees on part-time status, all to avoid the oppressive costs, fines and taxes of Obamacare. Health insurance rates have gone up, and are projected to really take off in 2014. Some insurance companies have decided to not provide coverage to individuals, leaving many in the middle
By Pat Francomano
class with fewer choices and higher premiums. This is just the beginning. Obamacare stands to be the most far reaching of the negative effects of the president’s policies on the middle class. Then there is Obama’s obsession with climate change, which is really a war on fossil fuels. While Obama has urged Congress to pursue a market-based solution to climate change, his executive orders and “actions,” which are anything but market-based solutions, have empowered the Environmental Protection Agency to require costly carbon regulations on coal producers. This has led to the closing of many coal-fired electric plants, coal mines, and the killing of jobs of middle-class coal industry workers. Plants that are able to remain open will be faced with higher regulation costs that will be passed on to the consumer. Since coal is the largest source of America’s electricity generation, a large part of the middle class will face a higher cost of living. The ripple effect will be huge.
During the 2008 campaign, candidate Obama predicted these things would happen. He said: “So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them ...” And, “Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” Finally, on the economy, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney recently told reporters that the Obama administration has created over 7.2 million private sector jobs since the height of the Great Recession. What wasn’t mentioned is that since February of 2009, Obama’s first full month as president, 9.5 million Americans have dropped out of the labor force altogether, and 15 million more Americans are on food stamps. A little arithmetic shows that for every one job the administration claims to have created, 1.3 Americans have dropped out of the labor force, and more than two Americans have been added to the food stamp rolls.
And there are 1.6 million more Americans collecting disability insurance, many because they can’t find a job. A recent lead editorial (The Inequality President July 25, 2013) in the Wall Street Journal points out that despite Obama’s focus on the middle class, median real household income has fallen 5%, even during the recovery from the recession. The article noted that “no president has done worse by the middle class in modern times.” If Obama would be a true warrior for the middle class, he would stop legislating by executive order, and start concentrating on wealth creation. The best way to do that is to get government’s overregulation out of the way of the free market, the best creator of middle-class jobs, and let it flourish. Pat Francomano is a freelance writer living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a retired software engineer and holds a master’s degree in mathematics. His writing interests are on political, economic and social issues as they affect individual liberties.
Getting Youth Involved - Disturb the Status Quo -
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e’re living in an era where we are coming to the realization that we need to actively get youth involved in the institution of politics. They’re the future; they are the ones that will hold all control and be the ones that will be left with all the mess and debt the older generation leaves behind. The sooner they get involved the sooner they can take control of their future. Getting youth, or anyone for that matter, involved is simple, all you need to do is disturb their status quo; just like any good film, television show or book. Let’s take the television show NCIS as an example. At the start of every episode we are introduced to the normal status quo of a specific person, seconds later the status quo is disturbed with the discovery of a dead body. They then spend the entirety of the show finding answers and serving justice to return the characters life back to normal, returning to their status quo with a wider knowledge and more respect. That is what we have to do, we need to get into the peoples status quo and cross strings, cut lines and play with their minds to disturb their way of life to get them thinking. It sounds easy, but not everyone is the same.
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Ultimately, you can pick a topic that is very broad, yet specific. Whilst some people may not care
By Lyall Russell
about the topic in hand, they should care about the overarching questions like fairness and justice. If you play on that, it should be easy to get people asking questions and raise their hackles a little.
Then BANG, you’ve got them involved.
It is easy, but you need to find the relevant topic for the group in hand. What is every teenager interested in? Easy: sex, drugs, alcohol, technology. Even if they haven’t been involved or used any of the substances mentioned, they have still put a great amount of time thinking about those situations. So they’re interested. If you’re still lost, point to their favourite television programmes. If you take a moment to watch the show yourself with an open mind looking for political relations, you are going to have a list a mile long. You can start displaying links to real life politics from representations from the popular culture examples.
Here, I’ll give you an example: Zombies.
Zombie films have been around for the best part of the 20th century, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that their message started becoming clearer. Zombies are Hollywood’s representation of bureaucracy. To make it clearer, what is a Zombie? A Zombie is a slow moving monster that has no soul and just wants to destroy the occupants in hand. They are
unstoppable and cannot be killed, they keep moving, but very slowly. What is a bureaucracy? A bureaucracy is an institution set up by the government to monitor, or control, a single aspect of our life. History has shown us that they only grow; they can never be removed and slowly become a burden on citizens’ lives. Here is the representation from Hollywood. Bureaucracies, like Zombies, move slowly, they take aim at your life for their satisfaction, and they can never been killed. And if you look at the change of Zombies out of Hollywood now, they are fast moving monsters with the same intent. Bureaucracies today, are moving faster and are becoming a greater burden on our lives than in the 1960s. Popular culture holds a lot of answers, they pull apart government in every way. If there isn’t a single element from popular culture that can’t get the uninterested, interested in politics, nothing will. Lyall Russell is a student of Politics and Media Studies at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. He has a passion for current events and wants to do his part to ensure the public are well informed and educated. To ensure that he understands the working of government, Lyall has given many hours volunteering in numerous government offices. B-1
Citizen’s Guide to Health Reform:
From the Kitchen Table
Common Core… a Rotten Core
-Obamacare-
By Carolyn Fairchild
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ou’ve been presented with a big red apple, cleaned and polished. Looks luscious… until you take a bite. Again you are reminded that things aren’t always as they seem…
“One can’t think critically in an intellectual vacuum.” Both asked for specific information regarding any international benchmarking but were not provided with any evidence. Three years later… each still waits for any such information.
During the summer of 2010 all fifty states were given the opportunity of their educational life! A total of $4.35 B from the stimulus package was tagged for education, packaged in Race for the Top. In order for a state to be eligible to compete for the additional funds, it must first sign their state up for Common Core – aka national standards – sight unseen and contract to set up a statewide longitudinal data system. Time frame: two months! With state legislatures out of session, the governor, state superintendent or state board of education signed their state up. All total… 45 states couldn’t resist the dangling money carrot.
At this point you’re a few bites into that apple… sensing a taste of rot yet? Couple the insufficient standards with the second part of that dangling money carrot that our 2010 Colorado State Board of Education signed us up for; data mining via a statewide longitudinal system and you have a recipe for one big putrid unconstitutional federal takeover of our K-12 educational system.
Those sight unseen standards were written primarily by the nonprofit, Achieve, Inc. in Washington D.C. A validation committee was organized for one purpose, to sign off on the standards as written. Of the 29 member committee, Dr. Sandra Stotsky was the only English/Language Arts expert and Dr. Jeff Milgram the sole Math expert. Neither would sign off on the standards as written. Each wrote a letter clarifying their concerns, only to find that their letters were never made part of the Common Core public record as promised. The math standards deemphasize content. Internationally, elementary students will be a year behind and secondary learners two years behind. Dr. Stotsky has yet to see examples of critical thinking.
Data Mining Techniques, this is the U.S. Department of Education’s words, not mine. A whopping total of 416 attributes will be collected and kept on each of our children. Among these digital DNA data points you will find: social security number, religious affiliation, a record of excused activities due to religious objections, voting status, behavioral data, health history and disciplinary records. Our state and 44 others signed on to help supply data to the “pipeline”. Data will be collected at the local level… to the state and other state agencies… all “necessary data” to the federal government and other federal agencies. “Hopefully, some day we can track children from preschool to high school and from high school to college and college to career.” U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, June 8, 2009 Speech Wait… parents have rights due to the privacy act! That, too, has been rewritten. The definition of
who qualifies as a school official has been changed to now include “teachers, administration, contractors, consultants, volunteers, or other parties to whom the education agency outsources may be considered, with legitimate education interest in students’ records.” In other words, all of the above can access each child’s records without parental consent.
Delays and Deception
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By Dr. Mary Zennett
n July 2, 2013, in a White House blog, the Administration announced that the Obamacare employer mandate would be postponed until 2015.
The reasons were given in a Treasury Department blog released on the same day. The blog post was titled “Continuing to Implement the ACA (Affordable Care Act) in a Careful, Thoughtful Manner.”
Now that you have more facts, I’m guessing that you no longer have a longing for even one more bite from what you once thought looked like a tasty apple. If you find rot near the surface, the apple generally tends to be rotten to the core.
Mark J. Mazur, the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy provides reasons for the delay: The first reason is, to allow time to consider ways to simplify the reporting requirements. Secondly, to allow time while “employers are moving towards making health care coverage affordable and accessible for their employees.”1
As a nation we have about a year to take action against Common Core or have yet another rotten apple shoved down our throats. Begin by learning as much as you can about Common Core. A great place to start: www.stopcommoncore.com. Contact your state senator and state representative, as it will take an act of state legislation to remove it from your state. If you would like to help with the effort here in Colorado, send an email to coloradoagainstcommoncore@ yahoo.com. We are looking for a point of contact in all 64 Colorado counties.
Employers are very likely breathing a sigh of relief with the delay in these oppressive regulatory requirements. But exactly what are employers expected to do to make health care coverage more affordable and more accessible to their employees?
Carolyn Fairchild is a retired teacher. She has 32 years of full time experience at the elementary level. After retiring, she has invested her time and talent into saving the last free beacon… this United States of America.
In a recent press conference, Nancy Pelosi was quoted as saying the business mandate was not delayed. She clarifies, “Certain reporting by businesses that could be perceived as onerous, could be delayed but, it was not a delay of the mandate for the businesses.”2
And what exactly does that mean?
Contrary to Nancy Pelosi’s proclamation, a delay in the employer mandate has been confirmed on both a White House blog and Dept. of Treasury blog. So, why the delay? If the administration needs more time, why not postpone implementation of all of Obamacare? There are many plausible hypotheses, including postponement until after the 2014 elections. Twila Brase’s insights also bear merit. Brase, President of Citizen’s Council for Health Freedom, believes the ultimate agenda of this employer mandate delay is to drive people into Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges even if they have employer coverage.3 Once the exchanges are up and running, it will be extremely difficult to repeal or reform them. It makes sense. Shortly before the announcement to postpone the employer mandate, Kathleen Sebelius actively tried to enlist players in the NFL and NBA to promote Obamacare enrollment. The NFL outright refused. So far, the primary organization enlisted to promote enrollment into Obamacare is the public library system.
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f enrolling in these exchanges was so great, why are people not clamoring to sign up? This is the key question that the administration has failed to answer. Maybe because so much effort and money has been spent crafting these complex regulations, bureaucracies and a federal data base but absolutely nothing has been done to promote simple, affordable, accessible, quality health care. Another key question the administration has failed to answer is where it derives the authority to change important provisions in the law which was passed by Congress. Congress has granted the administration no authority to delay any part of the ACA, including the employer mandate. Michael Cannon, Health Policy Director at CATO Institute aptly states, “The IRS’s unilateral decision to delay the employer mandate is the latest indication that we do not live under a Rule of Law, but under a Rule of Rulers who write and rewrite laws at whim, without legitimate authority, and otherwise compel behavior to suit their ends.”4 It is going to take large numbers of us telling our legislators we will not comply! First, we will not sign up for the exchanges, period. This refusal comes with sacrifice and is not to be taken lightly. Second, we will tell our friends, family and coworkers to beware the deception of these exchanges and to resist signing up. Third, if it is not constitutional, we have a duty, a responsibility, to resist. Only by standing on these principles can we hope to restore our nation to one of laws, more importantly righteous laws. We will not tolerate lawlessness and deception, not in our health care or in any aspect of our lives. And we will make our voices heard loud and clear to our legislators; most especially those who voted in these exchanges in Colorado against our will. If there is any doubt about the lack of quality in the health care administered through Obamacare, or any current government run health plan for that matter, it would be prudent to recall the words on the cover of the Lancet, a well-respected medical journal, Dec 5, 2009. It reads, “The health reform process exposes how
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corporate influence renders the U.S. Government incapable of making policy based on the basis of evidence and the public interest”. We expect swift action to repeal these exchanges in this next legislative session. We will remind legislators that our lives and healthcare is now in their hands. If adverse outcomes arise, they are responsible. We will also remind them that they need not assume responsibility for our health, each of us is highly qualified to manage our own health care decisions in conjunction with the health provider of our choice. We simply need our laws to protect our rights to make our own health care decisions. As for the delay in the employer mandate, let’s not stop there. We need to simply defund these exchanges and the deception of the people of Colorado that is about to ensue with this upcoming enrollment. When we start hearing protests from unelected bureaucrats, we will respectfully remind them that we intend to deal with our legislators directly in all matters related to our health care until the exchanges are defunded and repealed and we are once again free to purchase health care coverage of our choice. In doing so, let us remind our legislators, they work for us. (1) “Continuing to Implement the ACA in a Careful, Thoughtful Manner” by Mark J. Mazur, Treasury Notes Blog, U.S. Department of the Treasury, July 2, 2013 in http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/pages/continuing-to-implement-the-aca-ina-careful-thoughtful-manner-.aspx (2) “Pelosi: The Employer Mandate ‘Was Not Delayed’ by Elizabeth Harrington, July 11, 2013, in http://cnsnews.com/news/article/pelosi-employer-mandate-was-not-delayed (3) “Obama’s Dangerous Delay” by Twila Brase, July 10, 2013 in http://www. cchfreedom.org/cchf.php/786 (4) “Delaying the Employer Mandate Requires Delaying All of Obamacare” by Michael Cannon, CATO Institute, TAC Daily Updates, July 5,2013, in http:// blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2013/07/delaying-the-employer-mandate-requires-delaying-all-of-obamacare MD practicing psychiatrist, health reform advocate; her motto is “Patients First!” Author of Health For US All: The Transformation of US Healthcare, Dr. Mary writes and educates on principles of real health reform, including sound health freedom legislation. B-3
Can you find all the words?
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ScaffolD Sex Education - HB 1081 • Legislators in the News • Was Statehood Fully Conferred?
No Firearms for Domestic Violence Offenders, the Infringement on Rights - SB 13-197 By Sheriff Terry Maketa
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here are two key terms within our justice system that are common household phrases among all age groups, in nearly every home in America. The first and most famous is the term, “You have the right to remain silent…” and the second is, “You are innocent until proven guilty.” The first phrase directly relates to the 5th Amendment of our Bill of Rights and the second term represents the foundation of our criminal justice system as guided by the Bill of Rights. Both terms have been made famous through Hollywood and the media. It is concerning when legislators decide they may pick and choose what circumstances within law the presumption of innocence applies. On June 5, 2013, Governor Hickenlooper signed Senate Bill 13-197. In doing so he took it upon himself to strike down the presumption of innocence within our criminal justice system. This Bill took affect upon the Governor’s signature and now Colorado has a law that completely erodes the presumption of innocence until proven guilty regarding non-violent misdemeanor crimes. This law
even ignores the due process requirements under Federal law, 18 U.S.C. sec. 922 (d) (8). Federal law requires a specific hearing and a finding where there “exists a credible threat to the victim or a child”. SB-197 further chips away at the rights of citizens directly under the 4th, 5th, 8th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Senate Bill 13-197 requires an individual arrested under the “title” of domestic violence (DV) to relinquish all firearms and ammunition within their “immediate possession and control or subject to their immediate possession or control.” They must relinquish their property in one of three ways: First Option: They can permanently or temporarily transfer the property to a federal firearms license (FFL) holder and obtain receipts for
They are Teaching our Children What?!
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By Julie Naye
or the past several years my friends, family and anyone I could tie securely to a chair, have had to endure my often long winded need to inform them of the horrible injustices of the once, most just and free nation in the world. Surprisingly, I am met with incredulity and or apathy. If there is agreement with the problem, there is rarely agreement with the solution. We, here in America have a representative form of government. Therefore we elect those we can trust to have our voice when it comes to making crucial decisions affecting us and our families and our investments. Unfortunately, many of us elect candidates on single issues and forget or believe electing officials who KNOW, UNDERSTAND and will HONOR, UPHOLD, PROTECT and VOTE our Constitution, is unimportant. Well, because the vast majority of our population has no concept or sense of our beginnings as a nation, we are making Orwell’s 1984 a reality. One of my mother’s favorite sayings was “There are no victims, there are only volunteers.” In other words, we have put ourselves in the situation we’re in. Now for the issue of the moment, HB-1081. This bill was passed and signed by Governor Hickenlooper May 28th 2013 and will be taught to all children from grades 4-12 in public and charter schools in the state of Colorado beginning
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proof to the courts which will become part of the court record. This assumes all FFL dealers will offer this service, which they do not have to. Second Option: Store the firearms and ammunition with a law enforcement agency for a fee and again provide proof to the courts from that agency providing the storage. Third Option: They may permanently or temporarily transfer the firearms and ammunition to a private party after obtaining a background check and providing a receipt of inventory for submission to the courts. All of this must be accomplished within 24 hours of release from jail with a provision that an extension may be granted for up to 72 hours if the defendant could not meet the 24 hour relinquishment requirement. A simple example of this would be what we experienced in late 2012, when background checks were taking 9 to 11 days to process. Failure to follow this order from the courts may result in additional criminal charges and return to jail. This is the only law in Colorado that requires relinquishment of personal property before due process occurs or guilt is established. Most concerning is that it reverses the presumption of innocence and sets aside the protection of individual rights under the US Constitution. One must understand the “title” of DV and the true facts surrounding it to completely recognize the concerns with this law and its reckless approach. As we witnessed with the gun control
laws, the title misleads the public and this tactic was very deliberate. It insinuates actual violence when in reality no violence is required. The title was chosen to hold public support all while the facts and statistics were undisclosed. The underlying intent with this bill was to attack gun owners and further strip individual property rights prior to the proper application of due process. This is the only law in the State of Colorado that presumes “guilt until proven innocent.” It is the only law other than 1st Degree Murder which requires incarceration on a new charge with “No Bond” until advised by a judge which could be up to three days later. This is in direct violation of the 8th Amendment. Child molesters, rapists, robbers, violent drug dealers and even people who intentionally try to murder someone, are NOT held in jail without bond under a stipulation they have to been seen by a judge first. Even a criminal illegal alien arrested for rape can post a bond and even they are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Each of the offenders mentioned can post bond within hours of arrest and be back on the streets with no stipulation to surrender lawful property. Continued on page b - 6
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Was statehood fully conferred? What’s wrong with this picture?
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The term “domestic violence” is only a title that sets special conditions for release and sentencing. The DV title applies to any crime that occurs between two individuals that have been intimate or are in a current intimate relationship. Persons charged under the title of DV do not have to commit any type of assault or display violence. This new law is so poorly thought out that even the courts struggled to come into compliance when it took effect on June 5th because of the strict requirements, vagueness and conflict with existing laws. Only recently, our local courts have gained compliance with this law. This law is the outcome of a one sided agenda lacking any respect for individual rights. From July 12, 2013 through July 14, 2013, twenty individuals were arrested for DV in El Paso County and held without bond. 16 of them were misdemeanor offenses and 11 of the 16 had no assault charges. Of the 4 felony DV arrests, 2 involved no assaults and of the remaining two only 1 involved a felony assault with a weapon and the weapon was a knife. During this period of time, a person was arrested for aggravated robbery and was accused of pistol whipping the robbery victim. The accused was offered the opportunity to
post a $25,000.00 bond upon being booked into the jail; he since has posted and is back out on the streets. This offender was not required to surrender his personal firearms or ammunition. In contrast, the twenty people arrested over the previously mentioned weekend, were held without bond until seen by a judge on following Monday. All twenty will have to relinquish personal firearms and ammunition prior to a trial even though the property was not used in the offense or had any evidentiary value. In essence this law now allows the courts to apply sanctions based on what an offender “could do” yet that assumption is not supported with any risk based instrument or validated by previous history. All twenty will have to show proof they relinquished the property as ordered by the court under threat of arrest and prosecution again. The law ignores the fact that under Colorado marriage law the spouse, whether identified as the victim or not, is a 50% owner of those firearms and ammunition. The victim’s/spouse’s property rights are also violated, under due process, if the weapons are seized by order of the court. Additionally, it places a financial burden on the accused and the spouse of the accused to store these weapons and ammunition.
What does law enforcement do when called to the residence because the spouse tells the defendant they are not removing the guns from the house because she is partial owner and has a legal right to protect herself? The Governor, who signed this bill into law, cannot statistically defend this law nor could he answer the simple question posed with this scenario. The cost of this law in terms of liberty is the presumption of “guilt until proven innocent” and the application of punishment/consequences based on future assumptions or prediction of behavior without validation is wrong in every way. The erosion occurs under several Constitutional Amendments: 1. The 4th Amendment where this law undermines the person’s rights against illegal search and seizure by allowing the courts to order the accused or their agent to relinquish lawful property. 2. The 5th Amendment where the accused and their spouse are “deprived of property without due process of law.” 3. The 8th Amendment, which states “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor
cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.” Under DV nonviolent offenders, first time offenders are imprisoned without the right to bail. Finally, under the 14th Amendment people are set up to violate other laws and the vagueness and lack of clarity is such that the average citizen can not clearly understand where the line of lawful and unlawful actions exists.
By Amy Mitchell
The rights of citizens are being compromised and the foundation of our criminal justice system undermined. The underlying agenda of Hickenlooper and his band of gun grabbing tyrants is obvious and sadly enough the rights of the citizens come second to his agenda. Sheriff Maketa has served with the Sheriff’s Office since 1987. He was overwhelmingly elected in November of 2002 and reelected in 2006 and 2010. Sheriff Maketa is the twenty-seventh Sheriff of El Paso
County and is the first Sheriff’s Office employee to work his way up through the ranks and be elected Sheriff. He is currently serving the third year of his third term as Sheriff. He is responsible for operational issues involving a full-time work force of 786 employees and an annual operating budget of $63 million.
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he western states lands, including Colorado, are disproportionately owned by the Federal Government and managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forrest Service, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Parks Service as well as several other federal bureaus. Why?
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school year 2013-2014 as a sex-ed health class. Its aim is to reduce teen pregnancies and sexual organ and reproductive cancers and STD’s. I am the mother of four sons. This month they will re-enter Colorado Springs public school district 20 as a 2nd grader, 4th grader, 9th grader and 11th grader. I have read the entire bill from top to bottom and have read the proposed curriculum from top to bottom as well. I am aware we all have different belief systems and family dynamics. We will not agree on everything but I can assure you, we WILL agree the government should NOT be teaching our children about these very private and personal topics. The approved curriculum explains to our children, babies of nine (you can gasp as I did), how to avoid intercourse by doing other “playful things” like bathing together or touching each other until climax. Perhaps your school will edit this particular lesson until middle school. The idea here is to try and avoid STD’s and teen pregnancy by encouraging sex! These activities I described ARE still sex right? The writers of the bill want readers to believe this a list of sex alternatives. WHAT?
If intercourse does happen, the teacher will instruct your child on the proper way to put on a condom and what type of lubricant to use and how to hide all of this from you...the parents. Disgusted yet? Throughout the bill and the curriculum, parents’ opinions were interjected as to what they wanted their children taught. Am I missing something here? Why aren’t WE teaching this to our kids? How has this been taken out of our hands and twisted into such perversion? As interviewed parents and the polls prove, we would prefer our teens to wait and our elementary age children to stay in their footy pajamas, eating popcorn and watching the Disney channel! Abstinence gets the highest marks from Mom and Dad. Is that realistic? That’s up to you. I hear outrage as condoms are provided at schools. Why? Isn’t it up to us to raise our children with high self-esteem and a solid ground with morals and ethics that would make those condoms a non-issue to our sons? Certainly we have raised daughters who would not date a boy who would pressure her into sex too early or who would confidently walk away
from one she misjudged in the beginning. My point is, it is up to us, NOT the State to raise our children. How many of you were aware of this bill? The government counts on most of us being too busy to pay attention to them running our lives. As your children and grandchildren start the new school year this month, a letter will come home allowing you to “opt out” of this horrific Health Class...Sex Ed. Don’t be fooled by thinking that by having your child sit it out, he or she will be shielded. The children, whose parents allow them to participate, either because they are uninformed or otherwise, will share what they have been told with your child. Unfortunately, there is no way out of this one other than to talk with your children and keep the door and your heart open even wider.
Legislators
in the News!
Congratulations to our own Colorado Senators Kevin Lundberg and Kent Lambert, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Legislators of the year!
As soon as we have a pathway to fight back on this, we will let you know. Stay tuned. Julie Naye is a lifelong conservative and a freelance writer and blogger from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her background includes service as an elected 2012 El Paso County, Congressional and State delegate.
When Colorado and the rest of the Western states after 1828 each became a state and joined the Union, the federal government promised to “extinguish title” of public lands (transfer the land title to the State), leading to confirmation of Statehood. The same promise was granted to the 1828 “western states” of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida where the federal government owns an average of 4% of the State’s land. Why this difference? These 1828 “Western” States understood the federal government did not hold municipal sovereignty and worked collectively and persistently to secure their full rights and benefits of statehood. They understood the “solemn compact” rights of statehood (i.e. Enabling Act), the promise of land title transfer, and their right to be able to tax and control their lands once handed over to the state by the federal government. The states east of Colorado have the ability to manage their lands for self-reliance; to sell the land, utilize the resources of the land; water, agriculture, minerals, energy, and other business development; to generate a sound tax base to fund education, infrastructure and effectively manage the state’s resources and fiscal responsibilities. Colorado and the states west do not stand on equal footing with the eastern states; have not been conferred their sovereign right of the statehood agreement. The time has come for the post 1828 “western states” of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and yes, possibly California, to join together and demand the promise as granted when they joined the Union and own and manage their own lands. With the 1828 “western states” precedent of land transfer from the federal government to the states, as well as multiple Supreme Court rulings in 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously declared that Congress cannot change the “uniquely sovereign character of a State’s admission” into the Union, particularly “ where virtually all of a State’s public lands are at stake” (Hawaii v. OHA, 2009) and in 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court called these Enabling Acts “solemn compacts” and “bi-lateral [twoway] agreements” that are to be performed “in a timely fashion” (Andrus v. Utah, 1980), Colorado and the other states must stand now and finally obtain their full rights of statehood. Stay tuned to the next installment of “Was Statehood Fully Conferred?” to learn about the benefits of winning this fight.
This is the first time in ALEC history that the two winning legislators came from the same state. With more than 2,000 members, The Exchange Council is the country’s largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators. The organization fosters relationships between private and public sector members from around the country to develop the best solutions to various state issues. For more information on the award and ALEC go to www.alec.org B-6
Thank you to Utah State Representative Ken Ivory and Colorado Representative Kevin Grantham for bringing this issue to our attention. To help and to learn more visit www.AmericanLandsCouncil.org Amy Mitchell is a 5th generation Coloradoan with roots established in Colorado in 1846 before it was a State. She is a self-appointed activist and a leader in the Republican Revolution, a founding member of the El Paso County TEA Party, a true patriot and small business owner. B-7
Joshua Warren Continued
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CounterpoinT Two Cents From Both Sides of the Coin
The Issue: Marijuana April Tumlinson VERSUS Joshua Warren
What Does Marijuana Have To Do With The 2nd Amendment?
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ffective January 2014 you can purchase up to one ounce of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado – as much as some people would like to interject the word ‘legally’ into that sentence, we all know that is not the case from a federal perspective. Why bring the Feds into the equation here? Simple. Glossing over the fact that numerous MMJ dispensaries and ‘patients’ in states that have ‘legalized’ it for this purpose have been raided, their product confiscated, and in many cases destroyed (intentionally or unintentionally), anyone having a red card in the state of Colorado when applying to purchase a firearm must answer if they are engaging in the use of an illegal drug. Federally, marijuana is an illegal drug and this is a federal form. Thus, anyone applying should answer ‘yes’ if they possess and are taking advantage of the benefits of a red card. So, a medical doctor says you need marijuana as part of your treatment. Who is to say, that our lawmakers will not require something similar of a recreational user? Why wouldn’t they? Let’s face it – they are charging MMJ patients $35 to submit their paperwork to the as well as the physican referral of up to $100 – why wouldn’t they charge a recreational user and log them into some type of registry for, let’s say, a blue card (indicating recreational)? When Amendment 64 was en route to the ballot, many thought it silly when questioned about how it would be regulated in terms of driving under the influence. Clearly, this is coming into play and will happen because it generates revenue in fines, drug classes, and therapy; much as it has for alcohol. The hypothetical ‘blue’ cards could already be in the works for all we know and you don’t think that the gun grabbers in Denver would miss out on an opportunity to ask any would-be gun owner if they were using an illegal drug just for the purpose of denying them their 2nd Amendment right? Again, it is a federal form for a gun permit and federal law that prohibits the use of marijuana. Colorado lawmakers have been playing fast and loose with our 2nd Amendment rights in recent history. It would be rather arrogant of us as voters and constituents to think they wouldn’t take it a step further. We are a blue state right now, after all. A potentially bigger question is WHY anyone would think it is unsafe to mix firearms with marijuana. Maybe there is some proof out there that this is a harmful drug.
Counter to Joshua C. Warren: Prohibition of alcohol compared to marijuana is apples to oranges. First, personal consumption of alcohol was never against the law – only the sale and distribution of it. Personal consumption of marijuana is against federal law. Secondly, federal agencies did not exist for the sole purpose arresting offenders (especially with designated funds for that sole purpose). Less than 1/3 of the states even budgeted money for enforcing prohibition – quite contrary to the federal bucks fed into investigating possession/distribution of marijuana. And finally, TCH cannot be compared to any substance found in alcohol. TCH levels aside – we need to stop thinking a bud is a bud is a bud. No one is plucking it out of the ground and putting it directly into a pipe. It is processed with who knows what. Ever heard of “laced”? This is potentially what could lead to psychotic breaks. According to Peters, de Koning, Dingemans, Linszen, & De Haan (2009) a study was conducted and the data collected found that participants in the prodromal schizophrenic phase felt more suspicious, anxious, and depressed after using cannabis with recent-onset participants communicating an increase in auditory and visuals hallucinations as well as confusion after using the drug. Of patients with recent-onset, 37% reported that during a cannabis experience they experienced their first psychotic symptoms.
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Is the Prohibition of Marijuana Doomed to Fail as Badly Alcohol?
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he prohibition of the 1920’s and 30’s gave way to the rise of mobsters whose sole purpose was to make money. Since the United States government had a constitutional amendment that strictly banned alcohol in the country, those demanding the forbidden beverage turned to the black market. Bathtub gin and bootlegging became common practice for the mobs that grew out of the attempted ban, and subsequently, gave rise to criminal wars over territory and product supply. Among the most notorious being Al Capone and rival George ‘Bugs’ Moran. How does this tie in with marijuana? Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Alcohol was also considered legal is some cases – for medical purposes. Sound familiar? The war on drugs is not unlike the war on alcohol; numerous street gangs and drug dealers have given rise to violence for control territory and product today as it did back then. Despite the government’s best efforts, stopping marijuana sales has failed proving that history does repeat itself. The effects on society are immeasurable. Recruitment of desperate people willing to commit violence against others for money, innocent Americans caught in the crossfire of rival street gangs, wasted tax payer dollars, psychological trauma, incarceration that turns harmless marijuana users into hardened criminals and so forth. However, since its decriminalization, alcohol has all but disappeared in its’ underworld criminal significance. It no longer serves to waste tax payer dollars in trying to fight its existence; but rather generated revenue with many taxes and regulations. As most know, Colorado has become one of the first states to “legalize” recreational use of marijuana, by popular demand, the state has been forced to recognize the fact that the plant/drug (whichever you prefer) will not go away simply because a few want it to. We the People have spoken at the ballot box. If an individual has a drive and incentive to acquire a desired product, nothing can stop them - this is why the free market exists. Stereotypes aside, marijuana has been present for thousands of years and it even helped building the great country we live in today (being banned in 1937 and pushed under further control with the Controlled Substance Act of 1970). I would go into the holistic benefits of marijuana, but that will have to wait until the next article. For now, two simple questions from me to you: Is the ‘War on Drugs’ a winnable war? And if it’s not, why waste money fighting it’?
Rebuttal to April One of the arguments I’ve heard against the legalization of marijuana stunned me when I learned of it. As most know, in order to purchase MMJ, you are given what is called a “red card.” The relevance of this is that if you use marijuana, than you are forbidden from owning a firearm. Why? From a personal stand point, that has yet to be determined. Some could argue that the mind altering effects of the plant give rise to concerns to its mixing with firearms. Yet, between alcohol and marijuana, more studies (and common sense) have shown the former to induce more violent behavior than the latter. Talks of “psychotic breaks” and similar reactions are quite prevalent in this debate. However, our society is so heavily medicated on drugs who’s effects supersede that of this leaf (some of these pharmaceuticals are even untested) that it seems a tad illogical to allow those on the stronger medications to have firearms while denying it to those who smoke a naturally growing substance. (Continues)
Effects typically listed include pain relief, increased appetite, nausea suppressant, impaired drive to exercise, cardiovascular changes, impaired thinking/ judgment, heavy sedation/relation, decreased stress, and the controversial psychotic breaks I say “controversial” due to Professor Glyn Lewis, an internationally recognized leading expert on the causes of psychosis and a member of the team at Bristol and Cardiff universities, has claimed: “I think it is also important to note that we cannot be certain that there is a causal link between cannabis use and psychosis at present.” Professor Glyn Lewis, March 2011 It is impossible to determine one way or another if psychotic breaks are truly a repercussion of cannabis in and of itself. All effects listed are subject to the individual taking them (much like anti-depressants causing suicidal thoughts in some patients). If gun owners are allowed to maintain their Second Amendment rights while indulging in other drugs, of which the side effects are arguably far more potent and dangerous, why shouldn’t marijuana users enjoy the same rights? Especially if cannabis is used in medical treatments where other drugs have failed, is it truly fair to force someone to choose between their health and their access to means of self- protections? Or perhaps there needs to be more study into the effects of marijuana before such judgments are passed. April Tumlinson received her MS in 2012 from CTU and is pursuing her PhD in I/O Psychology. She has been active in the recruitment of new voters through Colorado Conservatives and VotingandAction.org. Her professional experience includes operations management, sales coaching, and is currently involved in helping the small business community prepare for the implementation of the PPACA. April is married, with two adult children and three granddaughters. Joshua C. Warren graduated from Doherty High School, Colorado Springs, CO in 2009. He has been active in local politics and was one of the youngest Republicans elected to the county convention in 2012, but shortly afterward, realized he had more Libertarian leanings. He was heavily involved with registering Colorado voters through Voting&Action.org and well as the education of D-11 students in the political process. obamacare Continued from page A - 14
Those folks are your employees. If you aren’t happy, let ‘em know! Let every single one of them know that you expect nothing less than the repeal of this law or they’re fired. There are a number of ways to communicate with your legislative employees; websites, visiting/calling local offices, D.C. office, Facebook, letters. Just do it! Plug into liberty groups that are fighting the good fight. Organizations like the American Center for Law & Justice are out there on the front lines and in court rooms across the country every day. The fight ain’t cheap. Send in five bucks if you’ve got it and most
importantly pray! Pray for the restoration of righteousness in our government. Remember, you’re either a part of the solution or of the problem. You choose. Derrick is the founder and chairman of the Board of the American Conservatives of Color and Rocky Mountain Black Conservatives (www.blackandconservative.com.) His organization’s and personal mission are to bridge the gap that has traditionally existed between conservative political causes, parties, elected officials and candidates for office and the minority communities throughout the USA.
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One booth I spent quite a bit of time at and with whom Common Sense News will be working extensively with was Principles of Liberty. Richard and Laurie Bratten and their contributors follow the legislative session daily. I have spoken to Laurie as she sits in the Colorado Capitol taking notes and making sure Colorado legislators are accountable in their voting. Items such as individual liberties, personal responsibility, property rights, free markets, limited government, fiscal responsibility and more are watched. Each legislator is graded on these principles and their scores are published yearly in the Principles of Liberty Legislative Summary and also online. Their service is incredibly valuable to Colorado voters. Contact them at www.principlesofliberty.org Notable speakers were in abundance and the attendees were truly blessed to have some of the biggest names in conservatism in attendance. The prevailing message was conservatives really do have a valuable message and that America needs to hear it. Sarasota Springs, Utah Mayor Mia Love, told an inspiring story about her immigrant parents coming to America and working to help her through school; her father telling her to never take a handout and to always give back to this great land. Senator Ted Cruz gave a rousing speech and brought down the house in Colorado as well as in a simulcast in Arizona where he had the crowd on its feet multiple times. Allen West was very inspiring and down to earth. Getting the crowd excited about the direction we need to go as conservatives. Western Conservative Summit 2014 should prove to be even more exciting! Please go to http://www.ccu.edu/centennial, for more information and to get involved!
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our proud
HeritagE The Declaration • Trayvon Martin and the Business of Racism • Just a Mom
The Foundation of the Republic Called
America By Dr. Harley Ihm
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ndrew Jackson said, “The Bible is the rock on which this Republic rests”. This seemed to be an idea that was the thought of the majority of our founding fathers. This concept of the success of the American Republic being dependent upon the Bible as the foundation of our laws, our courts and our fabric was the glue that held the new country together. Could it be that we have several ideas that are missing today from the belief that Andrew Jackson and other great leaders held? The first is the reality of the truth of the Bible that held the moral, ethics, and integrity of this new nation together. I believe these great men knew the reason for the hope we have. The Bible was written by the Holy Spirit using over forty authors from various parts of the world to write sixty-six letters over a period of fifteen hundred years to form the Holy Bible. Every single letter points toward God’s interaction with man through a promised Messiah. It is the only book supported by fulfilled prophecies written fifteen hundred years, one thousand years, seven hundred years, five hundred years and four hundred years before events take place that are described in great detail. Along with those foretold events in history, archaeology proves that the Holy Bible is the most accurate historical document ever written. Outside the Bible we discover both Jewish and Roman historians recording the life of a man named Jesus and his half-brother, James.
I find it very enlightening to know that people like Andrew Jackson understood the Holy Bible was filled with absolute truth and was the only rock suitable for the foundation of our Republic. The second idea that many Americans seem to misunderstand is that we were founded as a Republic. I would be willing to step out on a limb and say that I believe many people could not tell you the difference between a Republic and a Democracy. To better understand, let me quote “America is a Constitutional Republic . . . NOT a Democracy” by Daneen G. Peterson, Ph.D.
cy. This is of course completely untrue. The Founders were extremely knowledgeable about the issue of democracy and feared a democracy as much as a monarchy. They understood that the only entity that can take away the people’s freedom is their own government, either by being too weak to protect them from external threats or by becoming too powerful and taking over every aspect of life. They knew very well the meaning of the word “democracy” and the history of democracies; and they were deliberately doing everything in their power to prevent having a democracy.
Many people are under the false impression our form of government is a democracy, or representative democracy. This is of course completely untrue. How often have you heard people refer to America as a Democracy? When was the last time that you heard America referred to as a Republic? There is a very good reason that our Pledge of Allegiance refers to our country as a Republic and there is a very good reason that our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution do not even mention the word “democracy”. Many people are under the false impression our form of government is a democracy, or representative democra-
In a Republic, the sovereignty resides with the people themselves. In a Republic, one may act on his own or through his representatives when he chooses to solve a problem. The people have no obligation to the government; instead, the government is a servant of the people, and obliged to its owner, We the People. Many politicians have lost sight of that fact. A Constitutional Republic has some similarities to democracy in that it uses democratic processes to elect representatives and pass new laws, etc.
The critical difference lies in the fact that a Constitutional Republic has a Constitution that limits the powers of the government. It also spells out how the government is structured, creating checks on its power and balancing power between the different branches. The goal of a Constitutional Republic was to avoid the dangerous extreme of either tyranny or mobocracy but what exists in America today is a far cry from the Constitutional Republic our forefathers brought forth. Today we have DO have a mobocracy occurring in our streets all across America (http:// www.stopthenorthamericanunion.com/ NotDemocracy.html). Dr. Harley Ihm lives with his wife Dr. Dana Ihm, in Pueblo, Colorado where he is a writer, teacher, preacher and communicator. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, a master’s degree in New Testament Exegesis and Preaching from Johnson University, Knoxville, Tennessee, and a Doctor of Biblical Studies from Master’s International University in Evansville, Indiana. He is currently working on completing a Doctor of Theology from Master’s International as well. Dr. Ihm teaches Bible and Worldview classes for Colorado Christian University. Growing up in rural Missouri, he is a firm believer in the conservative lifestyle that brought our forefathers to this country in search of true freedom.
We believe that whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these purposes, that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it. They may then form a new government, using principles they choose as the foundation, and organizing their powers in a form that they believe will secure their safety and happiness. Careful judgment tells us that governments that have been in place for a long time should not be changed for minor or temporary reasons. Experience teaches us the same thing: that humans are more inclined to put up with evil as long as they can bear it; rather than to make things right by abolishing the form of government they are used to. But when a long string of abuses and power grabs consistently pursue the same goal, and reveal the government’s plan to place the people under absolute tyranny, it is their right and their duty to throw off that government, and put new protections in place to secure their rights for the future. This describes the patient suffering of these colonies, and now it is clearly necessary for them to alter their former systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and power grabs that reveal a clear goal of establishing of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, we submit these facts to a candid world. He has refused to let us make entirely proper laws that were necessary for the good of the public. He has refused to let his governors pass laws that were urgent and important unless the laws were placed on hold until they received his approval. Then he neglected to ever give his approval. He has refused to pass other laws to provide for large groups of people, unless those people gave up the right to be represented in the legislature. This right is of extremely high value to the people, and would only be dangerous to tyrants. He has called legislatures together at unusual places that were uncomfortable and a long distance from the place they kept their public records. He did this only for the purpose of wearing them out so that they would go along with his actions. He has repeatedly dissolved Houses of Representatives because they firmly opposed his invasions of the rights of the people. He has refused to allow new representatives to be elected for a long time after he dissolved them. Since legislative powers can never be completely done away with, they were returned to the people themselves. During this time the State was exposed to all sorts of dangers including invasion from the outside, and conflicts on the inside. He has tried to prevent the States from becoming populated. For that purpose he has prevented us from writing laws that would allow foreigners to become citizens. He has refused to pass laws that
would encourage immigration here, and made it more difficult for us to appropriate new lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing to consent to laws that establish judicial powers. He has made Judges entirely dependent upon his will by deciding how long they stay in office, the amount of their salaries, and when they are paid. He has created a great number of new offices, then sent that swarm of new officers here to harass our people and tax their earnings. He has kept standing armies among us in times of peace, and without the consent of our legislatures. He has tried to make the military independent of civilian power and superior to it. He has worked together with others to make us subject to ruling powers that are at odds with our constitution and inconsistent with our laws. He has given his consent to their make-believe laws: for housing large bodies of armed troops among us; for using sham trials to protect them from punishment for any murders they commit on the residents of these States; for cutting off our trade with all parts of the world; for imposing taxes on us without our consent; for depriving us of trial by jury in many cases; for taking us overseas to be tried for make-believe offenses; for abolishing the free system of English laws in a nearby province, and establishing an arbitrary government in it, and enlarging its borders. He made this province an example of how he might bring the same kind of absolute rule into these colonies, and how he could even use this province to help him do it; for taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and fundamentally changing the forms of our governments; for suspending our own legislatures and declaring that they have the power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abandoned his role in government here by declaring that we are no longer under his protection, and by waging war against us. He has robbed our ships at sea, wrecked our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. At this moment he is transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny that have already begun. He has exhibited a kind of cruelty and betrayal that were seldom seen in the most barbaric ages, and are totally unworthy of the head of a civilized nation.
He has forced our fellow citizens who were captured on the high seas to fight against their own country and to execute their friends and brothers, or to be executed themselves. He has incited riots among us, and worked to bring the merciless Indian savages against the inhabitants of our frontiers. The way these Indians are known to wage war is to kill everyone regardless of their age, their gender or other condition. At every stage of these oppressions we have sent petitions asking for change, and done so in the most humble way. As we repeated our petitions he has answered us only by repeated injury. This Prince, whose true character is revealed by every act that could define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. We have also made every effort to reach out to our British brothers. We have warned them several times about attempts by their legislature to exercise unjustifiable control over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances about our immigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their sense of justice and generosity and pleaded with them on the basis of the relatives we have in common. We have said that if they do not to speak out against these power grabs, that our connections and communication would certainly be interrupted. They have also been deaf to the voice of justice and of our common blood. We must therefore accept this deplorable separation as necessary. We regard them now, like we regard the rest of the world, as enemies if we are at war; and friends if we are at peace. We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, as we are assembled in General Congress, appeal to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rightness of our intentions. In the Name of, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, we solemnly make public and declare that these United Colonies are, and rightly should be, Free and Independent States. And that they are released from all loyalty to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and should be, totally dissolved. And that as Free and Independent States, they have full power to wage war, negotiate peace, agree to alliances, set up commerce, and to do all other acts and things that Independent States may rightly do. To show our support for this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. Mike Holler is the author of The Constitution Made Easy, available at Barnes and Noble stores or at TheConstitutionMadeEasy.com. He has recently published The Declaration Made Easy, available as a Kindle book at Amazon.com. He has spoken at over 400 events nationwide. Contact him through Editor@commonsensenewsusa.com.
The Declaration Made Easy Editor Note: The American language was written differently when the Declaration of Independence was created. The author has chosen to use the original language in parts of his article. The Thirteen united States of America, represented in Congress on July 4, 1776, unanimously make the following Declaration…
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By Mike Holler
here have been times in history when a group of people who were part of one country have found it necessary to separate from that country and form one of their own. Then the laws of God and nature entitle them to assume a status that is independent of, and equal to, the other nations of the earth. Out of proper respect for the opinions of people everywhere they should declare the reasons that compel them to separate.
We believe that the following facts should be obvious to everyone. One is that all humans are created equal and that their Creator placed certain rights within them that could never be taken away. These rights include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We also believe that humans create governments to make sure that these rights are protected, and that the righteous powers of government can only come from the consent of the people who are governed. Continues on next page B-11
The Lucrative Business of
Raci$m By Jacqueline Cartier
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rayvon Martin died in a tragedy. Little did he know that he would become the next meal ticket for certain high-profile Black leaders. The Trayvon gravy train has taken off.
While there are many truly inspirational Black role models, these guys are definitely not. At $20,000+ per speaking engagement, Al Sharpton, who calls himself a “Civil Rights Activist” is spreading his condescending, racially divisive message across the country, in the name of Trayvon Martin. Black Harvard Sociologist Orlando Patterson refers to Sharpton as a “Racial Arsonist.” Sharpton added 100 cities to his Trayvon rally schedule, pursuing this “until the end”… meaning, until his donors to the National Action Network, or rally organizers, go broke. Sharpton’s pursuit of a civil rights investigation with the Justice Department will increase his speaking engagements and advertising dollars, calling this a “Social Movement for Justice”, which is the high octane fuel that is needed to keep the Trayvon gravy train running. The promotion of racism is quite lucrative. The “Justice for Trayvon” rallies should be titled the “Bankroll for Sharpton” rallies or the “I need to pay the IRS” rally, or the “Get the National Action Network out of debt” rally… and oh yeah, a young Black man died. “Activist” is what you become when you continually loose political races ranging from the presidency to local mayor (1988, 1992, 1994, 1997, and 2004). Jessie Jackson has requested the United Nations Human Rights Council (Sierra Leone, Pakistan, UAE, etc.) to investigate the Zimmerman case, calling Florida an “Apartheid State.” He claims that Trayvon was “murdered and martyred.” Jackson, who could have taken the reins of leadership after the death of Martin Luther King, did not have the same leadership abilities to continue the civil rights legacy. He hopes to regain power and legacy within the Black community. Rev Louis Farrakhan: “Where there is no justice, there will be no peace. Soon and very soon, the law of retaliation may very well be applied.” Farrakhan is a known instigator of racial and religious tension. The greater the inference of conflict and victimization, he touts the stronger the platform for his Nation of Islam organization, thus increasing membership and donations. Rep Charles Rangel: “I have the upmost confidence that under Attorney General Holder’s leadership, the U.S. Department of Justice will conduct a thorough investigation.” On MSNBC, he said, “I think it’s possible if the police had got a black Zimmerman, the question would be whether they would have beat him to death and then threw handcuffs on him and dragged him into the precinct.” To the Daily Beast, Rangel said, “It is the same group (Tea Party) we faced in the South with those white crackers and the dogs and the police.” inferring
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The New Black Panthers... glorify the early days of the civil rights movement and have been known to provoke racial tension across the country. They are Civil Rights “wannabe” thugs.
that they are the new KKK. This racist statement is a political move that plays well to his constituency. Bobby Seale, Co-founder the original Black Panthers (1966-1982), followed Malcolm X who believed in Black superiority and advocated total separation of the races; in direct contrast to Martin Luther King Jrs. call for integration. Of the Zimmerman verdict, Seale calls the “Stand Your Ground Laws” the “Vigilante Profiling Laws.” Though, not affiliated with the New Black Panthers, there is a vested interest in keeping the cause of racism alive, thus retaining relevance and legacy. Julian Bond, former Chair of the NAACP (19982010); defended the IRS for targeting Tea Party groups, labeling them “The Taliban wing of American politics.” Bond enhances his credibility as a professor, with the increase of racial tensions, thus securing his professional income.
The New Black Panthers, formed in 1989, a Black militant group whose primary focus is in seeking/ instigating racism; offered a $10,000 reward, later increased to $1Million for the capture “Dead or Alive” of Zimmerman, saying “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Their power comes from the impression of oppression, so that they can emerge as the protectors. Most recently known for the 2008 voter intimidation case where they stood in front of polling place doorways, carrying batons. They glorify the early days of the civil rights movement and have been known to provoke racial tension across the country. They are Civil Rights “wannabe” thugs. Justice Department: Eric Holder, keeper of the Black race card, continually seeks racial inequality to justify the wealth redistribution agenda of this administration. Holder has tripled the number of racial investigations since 2008; but has ignored reverse racism, such Continued on page b-14
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as the Black Panther voter incident or their public bounty. Regardless of extraordinary evidence to the contrary, Holder called the incident minor and an exaggeration of Fox News, called “Fox Jews” by the New Black Panthers. Holder has threatened to reopen the investigation of civil racist charges on Zimmerman, despite a verdict of “Innocent.” President Obama remarked shortly after the Florida tragedy “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.” further inciting racial tensions. Just after the verdict, he said, “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35-years ago.” And, in a speech on July 24th, Obama, in a Saul Alinsky type move of divide and conquer, declared that “social tension will rise”; potentially inciting additional racial conflict. Critics of Obama are frequently labeled racists. This redirects the attention away from current controversies and silences the opposition. An example of the skillful implementation of this strategy was the Harvard professor arrest, where Obama claimed that his friend was racially profiled and the police “acted stupidly.” This conveniently deflected the media away from the Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, and Tony Rezko investigations; not to mention the transcripts and birth certificate questions and currently, Benghazi, NSA, IRS, Obamacare, media wiretaps. The race card provides a social crisis diversion per the “no crisis should go to waste” theory. It also reinforces his position as a black victim, allowing free reign with little criticism by media or opponents. The Zimmerman incident reaffirms the impression that all Blacks including himself, are under attack by Whites solely because of race. Congressional Black Caucus: Members have introduced a resolution that memorializes Trayvon and calls for the repeal of “controversial gun laws that allow shooters to claim self-defense.” The resolution states that the shooting of Martin “sets a horrific precedent of vigilante justice and compromises the integrity of the legal system.” It also says ‘assailant’ George Zimmerman’s “unfounded assumptions and racial bias led to the use of deadly force.” How convenient, to tie it neatly into a gun-control issue, their motivating factor. Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Shaun Donovan in speech to the NAACP, that they are setting up racial standards for all neighborhoods, requiring agencies to
The race-card is still the most valuable card in the deck to the highly-profitable grievance industry, specializing in victimization. Welcome aboard the Trayvon Express. “affirmatively further” the inclusion of minority residents in white neighborhoods (and not the reverse) thus targeting only whites. Donovan says that prospective minority buyers are not encouraged to move into predominantly white neighborhoods. In addition to punishing exclusion, they will now punish lack of inclusion. The new penalty will be the withholding of federal funds from local and state agencies (another form of “wealth” redistribution). They will use census data to score communities on their racial and ethnic concentrations, as well as income and community services. What happens if you live in a rural area of West Virginia and no blacks want to move there? Will this unfairly target farmers? Now, you MUST ask someone’s race prior to selling or renting to them. Isn’t that the definition of racism? NBC holds the race-card prize in their repackaging of the Zimmerman facts. Through careful editing, in pursuit of ratings, they edited Zimmerman’s 911 call and followed up with old photos of Trayvon Martin as a preteen and Zimmerman in his early 20s to back up their fact-challenged story. Even the use of Trayvons first name and Zimmermans last, reinforces that one is a child and the other an adult. While B-14
technically true, a 6’2”, 17-year-old is hardly a little boy. Perhaps they were initially motivated by the Zimmerman name, to frame the incident as a Jew killing a black, but oops… he was Hispanic, which led to their new classification of “White-Hispanic.” The descriptions of an unarmed black child walking home with candy, killed by a racist, gun-crazed “White-Hispanic” (providing additional “ammunition” for the anti-gun agenda) caused an emotional uproar across the nation. This was race-baiting for ratings. The entertainment industry loves to play up White guilt and Black rage… it sells. Jay-Z and nearly the entire Hip-Hop industry make millions off of glorifying the gang culture, which frames its message around Black ghetto victimization. A Trayvon rally provides tons of free advertising. Even Bruce Springsteen weighed in on Trayvon, dedicating to him “American Skin” which includes the lyrics “You can get killed just for living in your American skin.” We will soon be hearing about “Trayvon; The Movie”, as the film industry jumps on the Trayvon gravy train. Oh, and they will be “profiling” an appropriate Black for the lead. These are not tributes to honor the death of a young black man; these are people using this family’s grief and the death of their son just to make a buck. While these Black leaders have been taking advantage of tragedies and promoting racial division for personal gain; there are also a large number of inspirational black role models who believe that racism has no place in the American mosaic. Here are just a few. Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Clarence Thomas, Allen West, Herman Cain, Alan Keyes, Thomas Sowell, Dr. Ben Carson, Mia Love, Artur Davis, Tim Scott, J.C. Watts, Bill Cosby, T.D. Jakes, Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Sammy Davis Jr., George Washington Carver, Sojourner Truth, and most Blacks across the country. The previously mentioned “Civil Rights Leaders” promote a level of reverse discrimination under the guise of equality with money and power as their prime motivators. Perhaps our new black leaders can improve the content of their character by improving the content of their actions. The race-card is still the most valuable card in the deck to the highly-profitable grievance industry, specializing in victimization. Welcome aboard the Trayvon Express. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” NOTE: This article can be read in its entirety on CommonSenseNewsUSA.com Jacqueline Cartier, CEO of Winning Images, with over 25-years of communications experience in local to presidential campaigns, with a specialty in crisis communications and bipartisan messaging on conservative issues. Cartier is a regular contributor to the Vail Daily with offices in Vail, CO and Washington DC. Her website is: www.CartierWinningImages. com. Contact her at WinningImages.Cartier@gmail.com.
Just a Mom I By Kelly Jean Leggett
don’t know about you but I find politics to be, well… boring.
person on the side of the road requiring the attention of paramedics.
Who am I? My favorite answer to that question is I am “Just a mom.” In November my husband and I will have been married 25 years and we have three children. When our middle child was getting ready to go to college she was lamenting the fact that she didn’t know what she wanted to major in and told me she didn’t want to be “Just a mom.” like me. Of course, that statement felt like a sucker punch to the belly and caused me to wonder if we made the right choices while raising our family; including our 9 year stint homeschooling. Our trial and error parenting style would probably most accurately be summed up by handing out I SURVIVED buttons to all involved!
As with any discipline there needs to be consistency and I am consistently inconsistent. When I hear someone say their vote doesn’t matter so they don’t bother I always say that isn’t true. But, do my actions back that up?
Back to politics… I have to admit I am guilty of voter apathy and I am pretty sure I’m not alone. I won’t lie, keeping up with the who’s who and complicated issues isn’t much fun; it’s a lot of work! I go to the trouble every four years during the presidential elections but... the rest of the time, no. If you were to liken me to someone running a race I would not be the person that trained for it… I’d be the
How many times has a law been passed or a candidate been voted into office and you asked yourself how that could have possibly happened? It’s easy for things to slide through when people are not paying attention. On a local level I am often unaware. I know it is important to cast your vote wisely so a lot of times I have just skipped voting for those issues and candidates I didn’t feel I had enough knowledge of rather than risk making a mistake. I’ve also asked my husband who he thought I should vote for and why. The lazy lady way to feel like I’m doing my civic duty and get my I Voted flag sticker to proudly display on my chest as I leave the polling place. I am concerned about the direction our country is headed in. I don’t want my children and future grandchildren to lose the freedoms that we’ve known. It seems like people are lying down and unwilling to fight for what is
right in a reluctant acceptance of what they see as the inevitable. But, what can I do? I’m “Just a mom.” When I look in the mirror I don’t want to see the appearance of someone who is a good citizen. I want to see someone who truly lives out her convictions. My vote matters and I need to value that vote. Those big elections every four years are a reflection of the many battles fought and won across our nation during the years in between. I’m waking up and I smell coffee! Oh, and that daughter I was telling you about? She’s married now, working on her Masters of Education degree… and talking about the day when she can become a mom. I hope when she holds her baby for the first time she changes her mind and decides to be “Just a mom.” like me. Kelly Jean Leggett is the Director of Education & Events for a non-profit association after 22 years as a stay at home and 9 year homeschooling mom. She has been a resident of Colorado Springs for 11 years and will be celebrating her 25th Wedding Anniversary with her husband Sean in November. B-15
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