Nightmares anyone? Image courtesy of hdw.eweb4.com
While watching last week Senate hearings featuring, Dr. Fauci, CDC Director, Dr. Redfield, and FDA Director, Dr. Hahn, I realized we are living in an American Nightmare.
I never thought I would witness the erosion, in real time, of our Constitutional rights and liberties, one Article at a time.
I didn’t serve my country to see the freedoms I fought for, being taken away by politicians and bureaucrats over a virus. I get it, the virus is serious and people have died because of it, but people die in car accidents, people die of heart attacks, people die of the seasonal flu, people die of natural causes.
We don’t cease to exist because of it. We don’t stop working; businesses don’t go out of business. So why is this happening? Why is our government deliberately bankrupting our country, bankrupting our spirit, bankrupting our future, not only economically, but as a super power?
Why is the government purposely stripping us, the citizens, from our rights given to us by God and the United States Constitution? Why?
I’m embarrassed, insulted, saddened, at a loss, confused, and I feel betrayed by my country, the country I love and gave 29 years of my life defending.
When I look around and see empty streets, empty stores, people walking around like zombies, it pisses me off. This is not the America I know.
America today looks like Venezuela. No toilet paper, no hand sanitizer, no flour, no meat…The only difference is that we still have our 2nd amendment and most people are not dumpster diving for their food, yet.
Some governors are acting like third world dictators, with complete disregard towards the same people who put them in charge. Hugo Chavez would be proud of these miscreants and the way these State executives are suppressing their populations.
That’s exactly what Hugo Chavez did to his people under the promises of free stuff that didn’t exist. Hugo Chavez used to walk the streets and point out to a building or business and say, “That belongs to me”, meaning the State.
Today Americans in Blue States, and some Red States, are experiencing what Venezuelans have experienced for decades. Remember, Venezuelans voted for their misery.
How will this all end? I don’t know. I am afraid the American people have been scared to death by an irresponsible media and inaccurate predictions by those spewed by Dr. Anthony Fauci. I don’t know if the American people have the will to fight back for what is rightfully theirs. Freedom is not free! Our Founding Fathers knew this too well and we better not forget it.
You have to remember, once the government takes those first steps towards tyranny, without objections from the citizenry, every action afterwards becomes easier and easier.
It is up to us to tell our government how we want to be governed, that’s why we have elections. These politicians work for us, but many of them get into government for power and money. They forget why people voted for them in the first place. It is amazing to me how many of these shoddy politicians get elected time and time again.
It is time to take our country back, peacefully and constitutionally. It is important for us to show up on November 3rd and vote in person.
If you can stand in line at Home Depot, you can definitely stand in line to vote. Your future, your life, your freedom, may depend on it.
Watching television during this government created hysteria, it dawned on me the hypocrisy of politicians and the media regarding Social Distancing.
How is it politicians go on national television looking like they just walked out of the makeup trailer? I am sorry, but I know there’s no way in this world they can exercise Social Distancing, unless they are doing their own make up. We all know they are not.
This is another case of “Do as I say, not as I do”. This is absolute nonsense and an insult to the intelligence of the American people. But don’t be surprised, this is how these people think and feel about you and me. We are not citizens, we are peasants, we are to follow the rules or else.
Forget about the Constitution, forget human dignity. It is ok for us to look like crap, but God forbid the Speaker of the House goes on national television, or the comedy shows, looking like she just walked in from a homeless shelter. No, no, no, folks, her makeup needs to be perfect and her hair has to be nice.
The media talking heads? Oh boy! I saw a clip of Anderson Cooper and he looked like a poster boy for Maybelline. Is Cooper Anderson applying his own makeup? I don’t think so. Now, to be fair, on the other hand you have comedian Trevor Noah looking like he hasn’t taken a shower in three months. I guess we are supposed to feel sorry for him. Oh my!
I started to switch channels looking for other television personalities and politicians. They all looked fabulous. The Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia was complaining about Governor Kemp reopening the economy, but the lady didn’t look unkempt, she was wearing nice makeup and she looked fresh, unlike most of her unemployed constituency. Same thing with Michigan’s governor, she looked like she was ready to walk the Red Carpet.
Spare me! There’s no Social Distancing been practice by these hypocrites. They are using Social Distancing as a way to keep the population under control. If the citizens can’t assemble, they can’t effectively protest. Numbers are everything and they know it.
Social Distancing, or what I call government blatant violation of my 1st amendment right to freely assemble and associate, is good for you and me, but not for the elite or the political class. In their eyes, they are better than us, so the rules don’t apply to them.
Meanwhile, they go on television and use fear and misinformation in an attempt to control the people. The main culprit, Dr. Fauci, with his “Doom and Gloom” Ouija board predictions and faulty models, telling people the only way they can survive is by staying home indefinitely and keeping proper distance. I hate to brake it to the “Doc”, but when the virus carrying droplets can travel up to 26 feet in the air, that 6 ft. rule of separation and masks pretty much goes out of the window. You would actually have to dress like a serial killer out of the movie “Hostel” to feel kind of safe. People, this is just good old common sense!
The strength of the American people is our ability to unite in the face of adversity. Once the government takes that ability away from us, they can get away with pretty much anything they want.
This is done by design and this has created a government induced unemployment in turn creating a new government dependent class. There’s no more “Middle Class”, and politicians continue to feed that fantasy, that lie, into the minds of the American people.
Next time you are watching television and you see your favorite politician and television personality looking good, remember, they are not bound by the same set of rules as you and me, otherwise they would be looking and feeling like us.
Would Lady Liberty approve? I think not. Image courtesy of timesfreepress.com
These are the facts; the CDC and the President’s medical “Top Dog”, Dr. Anthony Fauci, have clearly stated wearing a mask would not prevent an individual from contracting the Covid-19 virus. Only those infected or under the suspicion of infection, are the ones who should be wearing the masks to avoid infecting those of us that are healthy. These are the facts and they are indisputable.
On March 2, 2020, the Surgeon General told people not to buy masks to combat the virus. He warned those buying the masks of the possibilities of accelerating the risk of infection by improperly wearing those masks.
He was absolutely correct. An incorrectly fitted mask does more harm than good. When I was a Lieutenant with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, part of my duties was the transportation of inmates between facilities. In several occasions I transported inmates with respiratory illnesses such as tuberculosis. In order to be able to do my job, I had to be properly fitted for a respirator. The fitting was documented by the Safety Manager as required by Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
If you think a bandana, a scarf, a piece of cloth, or Michael Myers rubber mask, is going to protect you, think again. Even a N95 mask, as good as it is, it is only effective for 8 hours of constant use. People wearing a N95 mask without proper fitting are wasting their time, money, and putting themselves and others at risk..
It seems the country has gone mad over wearing a mask and criminals are taking advantage of this to commit crimes. To bring this craziness into perspective, the following is a case demonstrating my point:
On April 7, 2020, it was reported on the N.Y. Daily News, “Two crooks smashed into a Brooklyn grocery store, stole a cash register, with three dozens of Red Bull. The crooks were wearing what appeared to be N95 masks”.
Then you have the public stigma of wearing a mask or not wearing a mask.
On February 5, 2020, the N.Y. Post reported a woman wearing a mask was attacked at the Chinatown subway station after allegedly been called a “diseased bitch”.
On March 11, 2020, an Asian woman was punched in the face in Midtown Manhattan, after a person asked her, “Where is your fucking mask?” She was entering a building when she was grabbed by the hair and punched in the face.
This is unacceptable in a civilized society and any person who engages in this type of behavior, be physical or otherwise, should be ashamed and criminally held liable. They should be prosecuted to the fullest. In my opinion, this is discriminatory behavior and should not be tolerated.
Many Americans don’t know or understand that in China, wearing a mask is a way of life due to the high levels of pollution. Several years ago I went to Beijing on business and as soon as I exited the airport, the smog hit me in the face. This is the main reason most people wear mask in mainland China.
In Japan, seen people wearing a mask are a common scene. They mostly wear them to help prevent the spread of the seasonal flu and against pollen in the spring. They have been doing this for over a decade.
I knew this type of barbaric behavior was going to surface after the “We are in this together” started to wear out. I’m not surprised; I saw this same thin after 9/11/2001. Everybody was waving their little American flags and six months later they were back to their usual selfish and obnoxious ways.
Which brings me to the following question: Who these people think they are to tell others what to do? To assault people at will?
This is America and people are free to do as they please as long as it is lawful. Choosing to wear or not to wear a mask is not unlawful! Healthy people, like me, should not be made to wear or shame into wearing a mask. Especially when we are within our rights, granted to us by God and the Constitution, to make those decisions as American citizens and human beings. Also, choosing not to wear a mask is within the guidelines issued by our own government, therefore legal.
I have been fortunate that not one person has dare to approach me or lecture me. Sure, they give me “the look”, but that’s as I far as they go.
My suggestion is this, if you are so scared to go out and you feel the need to dress like a serial killer to feel safe, stay home. When I see someone close to me wearing a mask, the first thing I think is “this person is infected”.
Most of the people are uninformed, or get their information from the main stream media, and think wearing a mask with their favorite NBA logo on it makes them better people or safer. Hello! That cheap mask is not going to do much when those droplets are landing in your eyes. Those droplets can travel up to 27 feet into the air. I guess the six feet of separation theory goes out of the window.
From a philosophical standpoint, to me the mask is a symbol of oppression and submission. It represents the government’s attempt to shut us down as a country, society, and human beings. It is one thing to wear the mask because I choose to do so; it is a different story when ordered by government.
This insanity is such, that many private businesses are refusing services to healthy individuals who have chosen not to wear a mask. Some of these businesses have been encouraged by our own politicians to do so. Shameful!
I, for one, will not patronize a business that requires me to wear a mask, period. One of the purposes of going out to a restaurant or a bar is to have a good time and socialize, and wearing a mask defeats that purpose. I would rather stay home, have a nice home cooked meal with my wife, than going to an establishment and feel like I am among a bunch of zombies.
I am going to suggest to my fellow Americans; mind your own business! Worry about you and your loved ones. If you want to wear a mask, wear it, but don’t go around lecturing other Americans on how to live their life’s as Americans.
Is wearing the mask or not the “new normal” discrimination? I believe it is and innocent people are going to get hurt in the process, as it has already happened.
Governors, Federalism or Socialism? The Choice is Yours. Image courtesy of Bing
The beauty, or curse, of a recession is that it exposes the fiscal irresponsibility of those living on borrowed money.
I reviewed four states, with information courtesy of www.mercatus.org, and the fiscal irresponsibility is astonishing. New York, New Jersey, California, and Illinois, none of the states ranked higher than 41 out of 50 states in fiscal health. The study done by the Mercatus Center was for a period of 10 years, from 2006 to 2016, and they issued their rankings in 2018.
These same states are currently asking the Federal government for a financial bailout using the Coronavirus as an excuse. Are they serious? These are the same governors who told President Trump he didn’t have the authority to tell them when to open their state economies. Under the Article X of the Constitution they are right, but the President could use the Commerce Clause to change that, but that’s a different discussion all together.
The bottom line is they can’t have it both ways, are they for Federalism all the way or none, it is that simple.
These governors are using the Coronavirus pandemic to ask the Federal government to “pay off” their state debts. In my opinion, this is in clear conflict with the tenets of the 10th amendment. Article X clearly defines Federalism which is the relationship between states and the Federal government.
The reality is these states were not ready for the Coronavirus pandemic or any other state emergency, despite the fact emergency preparedness it is the responsibility of each individual state or local jurisdiction. To blame the Trump administration for their lackluster response is short sided and wrong.
The Federal government stepped in and provided states with ventilators, masks, and Personal Protective Equipment. This equipment should have been already in the possesion of hospitals, but they were not ready and clinical directors care more about the bottom dollar than emergency readiness.
All of this at the expense of private companies like General Motors and 3M, who were told by the Federal government to drop their products in favor of producing medical equipment at a loss.
The federal government is not responsible for the emergency preparedness of states or local jurisdictions. The only time the Federal government is required to assist is in the event of a national emergency declaration, and it has to be approved by the President. Even then, states are to use the federal resources for the benefit of their citizens, not their state deficits and budgets.
Bailing out state governments is a bad idea. It will set a bad fiscal precedent and will encourage poorly managed state governments to continue with reckless spending and sky rocketing deficits.
From a constitutional stand point, it doesn’t make sense. I believe it would be in complete contradiction with Article X and the concept of Federalism.
Would states asking for this federal bailout be willing to give up their own sovereignty and accept the Federal government as their ruler? Only time will tell.
The following are the four states I reviewed and their fiscal health and rankings as of 2016. I only concentrated on long term liabilities, unfunded guaranteed pensions, and other post employment benefits.
41- New York
Long Term Liabilities: 58% of total assets which is lower than the national average.
Unfunded Guaranteed Pension Liabilities: $442.44 billion dollars or 35% of the state personal income. The National Average is $14.51 billion dollars.
Other Post Employment Benefits: $88.50 billion dollars of 7% of state personal income.
42- California
Long Term Liabilities: 92% of total assets which is higher than the national average.
Unfunded Guaranteed Pension Liabilities: $1, 190.84 billion dollars or 54% of the state personal income. The National Average is $14.51 billion dollars.
Other Post Employment Benefits: $106.06 billion dollars of 5% of state personal income.
48- New Jersey
Long Term Liabilities: 388% of total assets which is higher than the national average.
Unfunded Guaranteed Pension Liabilities: $272.54 billion dollars or 49% of state personal income. The National Average is $14.51 billion dollars.
Other Post Employment Benefits: $85.42 billion dollars of 15% of state personal income.
50-Illinois
Long Term Liabilities: 330% of total assets which is higher than the national average.
Unfunded Guaranteed Pension Liabilities: $445.79 billion dollars or 67% of state personal income. The National Average is $14.51 billion dollars.
Other Post Employment Benefits: $51.90 billion dollars of 8% of state personal income.
This is just a small sample of how states are running their jurisdictions with reckless disregard for tax payers. There are many other states that are in the same irresponsible boat, but these four are the major “town criers”.
At this very moment, Senate Leader McConnell and President Trump are considering giving states the bailout they are asking for, and I will tell them to stay resolute and say, no. This will only encourage more bad behavior and it will take the country into a recession and more debt.
As it is, I believe the country has already reached Stagflation as high inflation is almost unavoidable and high unemployment is already there.
The Constitution is worth saving and the people should defend it at all cost!
I remember 2009 and the H1N1 (Swine Flu) epidemic. How can I forget? I was working missions as a Federal Air Marshal, inside a confined space and exposing myself to thousands of people.
I never got sick, the country was never placed on lockdown, businesses were not bankrupted by the government, and the country didn’t spend over 10 trillion dollars (by the time this is over) of money we don’t have. But most importantly, Americans were not forced to abdicate their Constitutional Rights.
On April 15, 2009, the first case of H1N1 was reported in the state of California. By June 25, 2009, the Center for Disease Control announced an estimate of 1 million cases of H1N1had occurred in the United States. It wasn’t until August 11, 2010, when the World Health Organization declared the H1N1 pandemic as over.
These are the numbers from the CDC when everything was said and done.
From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (range: 195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (range: 8868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1) pdm09 virus.
When one puts everything into perspective, the H1N1 was a pretty serious pandemic. President Barack Obama waited six months to declare it a National Emergency and by then over 1,000 Americans had already died of the virus. Maybe not the best response expected from the government; nevertheless, the country continued to operate at a pretty normal pace.
Many people would think that President Obama and many Democratic Party governors would have taken this opportunity to assumed central control of American’s everyday life, but it didn’t happen. Life went on!
Fast forward to 2020:
From the CDC:
“In December 2019, an outbreak of a novel Coronavirus infection (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, China (1). Although China launched an emergency response early in the outbreak, the infection rapidly spread to metropolitan areas in China and around the world. The growing number of cases suggests that the epidemic has continued to spread. Several research articles have reported the epidemiologic characteristics of the outbreak in Wuhan and Hubei Province (1–4); however, to our knowledge, an analysis of the epidemic in metropolis areas around Wuhan has not yet been reported. To predict the epidemic trend and guide control measures, especially in similar metropolitan areas, outbreak investigations are needed.
Shenzhen, a modern and international metropolitan city, is located in southern China (Appendix Figure 1) and has a population of 13 million persons, among which >1 million are from Hubei Province and >70,000 from Wuhan. After the first cluster of COVID-19 cases was confirmed in Shenzhen in early January 2020 (5), other cases spread within the city, involving all districts. To summarize the epidemiologic characteristics and provide updated information to aid in the development of control measures, we analyzed data for the first 365 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Shenzhen”.
By January of 2020, the CDC and the United States government were well aware of the outbreak in Wuhan, China. On January 31, 2020, the Trump Administration immediately enacted major travel restrictions from China into the United Sates and issued a Quarantine order, the first one in over 50 years.
Some will argue it wasn’t fast enough, but I do believe these early actions by the administration were spot on. At the end they may prove to have saved lives. But at what price?
Sometimes the cure can be more deadly than the disease, and in this case I believe our Constitutional Rights have been violated in the name of safety. I am all for American’s well being, but giving the facts I have outline in the paragraphs above, this, in my opinion, has been a government manufactured crisis of unprecedented proportions.
This is my list of alleged Constitutional Rights violations and my reasoning behind them. Let me be clear, my argument is based on the lack of “Due Process” and moral grounds.
Article [I] (Amendment 1 – Freedom of expression and religion)13
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
If I am ordered by the government not to attend religious services, that’s a clear violation of my freedom to freely exercise my speech, my right to peacefully assemble and my right to exercise my religion as I wish.
Article [IV] (Amendment 4 – Search and Seizure)
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
How can I feel safe and secured in my own house when government has by defacto placed me under house arrest by ordering me to stay at home? This has been done without probable cause or a valid warrant. A “Stay at Home” order without due process is nothing more than home confinement and an unlawful seizure.
Article [V] (Amendment 5 – Rights of Persons)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
When I’m ordered to stay at home or otherwise I will face a fine or placed under arrest, that’s a clear deprivation of my right to life and liberty.
When government orders a private business to close their doors without proper compensation is, in a sense, taking illegal ownership of such business. By doing so, the government is depriving those owners of their private property.
Article [IX] (Amendment 9 – Unenumerated Rights)
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
“The enumerated powers in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”.
“Our privacy must be respected, unless forbidden by state law. Some rights are not in the Constitution, but are still protected. Equally, certain rights are in the Constitution and they should be protected”.
This is simple; the rights of the American people should be protected at all cost. When the government violates even one Article, the government, be Federal or State, are in violation of the principles enumerated in Article IX.
Article XIV (Amendment 14 – Rights Guaranteed: Privileges and Immunities of Citizenship, Due Process, and Equal Protection)
1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The government can’t deprive American citizens of life, liberty, or property without due process, period.
Governments, be at the Federal or State level, imposing unconstitutional “lockdowns” and involuntarily closing businesses without proper compensation, such acts seem, to me, a violation of the Constitution. By not been afforded the right to due process and equal protection under the law, citizens rights are not been equally protected under Article XIV.
I understand during a national emergency the government has constitutional flexibility as indicated by the Supreme Court of the United States. My argument in addition to be a constitutional argument; it is a moral argument. Just because the government can do it, does it make it right?
In 2002, John W. Dean, former counsel to the President, wrote an interesting article titled; Presidential Powers in Times of Emergency: Could Terrorism Result in a Constitutional Dictatorship.
His position was based on the presidential actions after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the military, but I think it can be used to analyze the actions today related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the reaction by federal and state governments.
Could the actions taken by many state governments across the country be construed as Constitutional Dictatorship? You can arrive at your own conclusions.
Throughout history, it has been a historical fact when government’s takes away citizen’s rights, even for a moment, they rarely give them back to the people.
What’s going to happen once the pandemic is over?
Are we going to back to “normal”? What’s normal? What normal will look like?
Is the government going to allow private businesses to go back to business as usual? Are they going to demand a piece of the private pie?
Is the government going to nationalize the airlines and the auto industries?
Will Americans be, once again, allowed to associate freely; will they be free to exercise their religious beliefs?
Are we going to have free elections come November 3, 2020, or are we going to be sent on a constitutional crisis rollercoaster?
