Sunday, May 20, 2012

Unto the Breach: Targeting the TSA

Needless to say, the federal government is increasingly radical and out-of-control, trampling our Constitution, and trampling us.

This is not a partisan issue. Politicians and Presidential Administrations from both sides of the aisle have greatly increased the infringements on our liberties.

It is time to counterattack.

Key features of this counterattack include these:

1) This counterattack must be peaceful and lawful. The time may come when things become violent, but let out-of-control federal authorities begin the violence, and let this happen despite the best, most honest efforts of the American people to fix this country's problems peacefully and lawfully.

2) The counterattack needs to be something Americans can do by themselves and in small groups, especially in informal, ad-hoc groups. Americans are their own leaders, and do not need some big, bureaucratic political party or political action committee to save them from a big, bureaucratic federal government.


Target: The Transportation Security Administration


The TSA presents a clear and present danger to our liberty, so we might as well begin with it.

The TSA is veering farther and farther outside the boundaries of legitimate, Constitutional conduct. Every day we hear new stories of TSA personnel committing crimes and violating our rights under the color of authority. Contrast these daily stories of TSA excesses with our rights under the Fourth Amendment:

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.

Here is a list of specific, actionable things anyone can do to begin this counterattack:


1) Contact President Obama (Note: use of the title "President" with Obama's name does not constitute acknowledgement that Mr. Obama lawfully occupies the office of President of the United States; use of this title merely acknowledges that he is acting in that role, whether Constitutionally or not).

Specifically, feedback to the White House can be made in accordance with guidelines and via addresses accessible from the White House contact page. Let Mr. Obama know that the TSA, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, is part of the Executive Branch of government, as outlined in Article II of our Constitution and that, ultimately, Mr. Obama will be held legally responsible for the excesses of TSA employees. Point out that these excesses represent a pattern of conduct; they are, specifically, "a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object" and their pattern "evinces a design to reduce [the American people] under absolute Despotism".

We will work to remove Mr. Obama from our White House. What is negotiable at this point is the question of how many crimes he will be prosecuted for. If he will exercise his power to end the TSA's violation of our rights, then we will consider an amnesty regarding crimes in this category.

It is important to keep in mind that an amnesty does not mean Mr. Obama will go free. It means that prosecutors representing the American people will consider any extenuating circumstances while deciding what charges to press and what punishments to seek. The more he does to end the unlawful oppressions of TSA personnel, the more consideration Obama will be given as we consider, in court, Obama's culpability.


2) Contact the Department of Homeland Security and let Secretary Janet Napolitano know that we will work to remove her from office, and we will work to hold her accountable for violations of our rights. Remind her that a defense in court that she was "just following orders" will not be adequate. Point out that if she immediately begins to rein in her TSA personnel, amnesty in her case will be considered, proportional to the extent with which she begins to reverse unconstitutional actions taken by her subordinates.


3) Contact the TSA itself. There is a contact page, which specifically allows for input regarding civil rights violations. Also, familiarize yourself with the TSA's senior management. Together with the routing information on the contact page, you can send letters to specific senior managers in the TSA. Make sure they understand that their organization is committing crimes as part of official policy. Consequently, following the precedents of the SS in the wake of World War II, all TSA personnel can be held to some degree accountable for the actions of what will surely be found to be a criminal organization. Mere membership in the TSA is at least suspicious; as senior management, these people are aware of the crimes. Ask them what they are doing to stop the crimes being committed under color of authority. Make sure they understand that persistence on the TSA's present course of action nearly guarantees them a prison term at some point, whereas efforts to acknowledge and correct the problems they have, efforts made immediately and with great zeal, will mitigate their situation.


The above people can be removed from office by Congress. Congress has the power to impeach not only the President, but other officeholders as well. This is spelled out in Article I of our Constitution.

And this brings us to our Legislative and then Judicial Branches.


4) Contact your Congressional Representatives. It is simple to figure out who your representative is: merely go to the House Website and type in your zip code. Alternatively, if you know what Congressional district you are in, you can go to the list of representatives. Let your representative know that you are unhappy with the TSA. Your representative needs to cut funding for the TSA, and introduce articles of impeachment against Obama, Napolitano and other officeholders. Your representatives need to understand that we will be removing some of them from office, whether or not they fight the TSA. But, what happens afterward is still negotiable. They are going to want their Congressional pensions; they will seek other elected offices; they will work in the business world after they leave Congress. For all these things, they will need the good will of the American people, and without our good will, pensions, votes and clients for their business activities might evaporate; they can become persona non grata to the American people, and any business activity with which they are associated can be boycotted. Warn them to do their job, or they will see how fast they can become so many walking stink magnets.


5) Contact your Senators. You can find out who they are from the Senate Webpage and from the Senate's List of Senators. Let them know they need to cut off funding for these violations of our rights, and that they need to vote in favor of impeaching Obama and his minions. Explain to them how our dissatisfaction with them will manifest itself if they fail to do so (loss of votes, loss of customers for any business with which they are associated once they leave the Senate, etc).


6) Any federal judge who rules that the TSA's activities are Constitutional needs to be removed by impeachment. Get the judge's name and the specifics of the ruling, then advertise the problem. Make sure your Representative knows that articles of impeachment are in order, and that your Senators understand which way they need to vote on the impeachment.


Farther down in the Executive Branch:


7) Consider contacting your FBI Field Office. Point out that, as federal agents, their duty is to protect your rights under the Constitution. Explain how the TSA routinely violates these rights, committing sexual assualt, theft and other crimes under color of federal authority. Keep in mind that, while there is a tremendous amount of corruption among the senior leadership and in the Washington area, the field agents tend to be hard-working and honest, and perhaps even still idealistic. There may not be much that they can do, as any actions they undertake will probably be undercut by higher-ups (such as our Attorney General Eric Holder, who likes to arm Mexican drug cartels), but remind our lower-level FBI agents of their duty. Most of them would risk their lives for America; let's see how many will risk their careers. And, perhaps this investment will pay off as honest agents get promoted in coming years.


Transitioning from federal to state government, we continue:


Contact your governors and state officers. You can find out who they are by visiting Politics 1. Specifically, go to the page for governors and statewide candidates, and from there click on your state. You will see links to official websites of state legislatures and governors' administrations, as well as to the campaign websites for candidates for statewide offices.


8) Contact your governor. Remind the governor that it is the duty of the states and their political subdivisions to provide equal protection under the law to all the states' citizens, per our Fourteenth Amendment:

Section 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.

Let your governor know that federal authorities, in this case TSA personnel, are out-of-control and are committing crimes under color of federal authority. It is the legal responsibility of state law enforcement authorities to arrest TSA personnel for their thefts, sexual assaults and methodical, warrantless searches and seizures. Your governor needs to understand that state law enforcement personnel should in no way be collaborating with illegitimate activities of TSA personnel, such as establishing checkpoints for systematic and warrantless searches and seizures along roadways.

If the Obama regime wants to play hardball, and threatens to make your state a no-fly zone because the governor refuses to allow TSA personnel to abuse decent, law-abiding citizens, remind the governor that intrastate travel is off-limits to federal authorities, and that federal authorities are Constitutionally prohibited from interfering with interstate travel. Interstate commerce can be regulated in manners other than gate-raping and porno-scanning innocent travelers. If Obama threatens to shoot down passenger aircraft that take off without his FAA's approval, state governors can mobilize Air National Guard fighters to escort those civilian aircraft safely to the border of their individual states, and Army National Guard air defense units on the ground can supplement the state's ability to target any federal fighter aircraft threatening a passenger jet; should that federal fighter open fire on a passenger plane, it, in turn, will be fired upon by aircraft and air defense systems loyal to state authorities and to the US Constitution.

As some added thoughts in this category, I should like to point out that the Constitutional crisis is already upon us. The question is, how are we going to respond? Also, during America's first Civil War, President Lincoln was determined to preserve our Union. Slavery was an abomination, and the Republican Party was formed to abolish it, but the war was actually sparked over states' rights issues, with rebel forces firing the first shot at Fort Sumter. To me, another question presents itself: Were Lincoln physically among the American people today, what would be his thoughts? I can't imagine he would be in favor of saving the Union at the cost of our Constitutional form of government. Rather, I think he would be on the side of our Constitution, hoping to preserve it against an out-of-control federal government. I also think he would insist that those Americans who seek to support our Constitution against domestic enemies in the halls of power in Washington move forward with peaceful, legal means, and only resort to armed force in self-defense, leaving it to the federal authorities to fire first. In the winter of 1860-1861, rebel states seceded, then fired the first shot at Fort Sumter. We are neither seceding, nor firing the first shot.


9) Contact your state legislators and candidates for state legislative offices. State legislatures should pass resolutions calling upon the US Representatives and Senators from their states to cut off funding for TSA activities and to impeach federal officers who are violating our laws. Legislatures should also resolve to call upon the governor to stand up to federal authorities who are violating our federal Constitution, and to call upon local law enforcement personnel to arrest TSA personnel who are committing crimes under the color of authority.


10) Contact your local mayor, and have the mayor direct municipal police to take TSA personnel into custody when those TSA personnel violate our rights and commit crimes. Contact your city council, and have them pass resolutions calling upon the mayor to do this. Contact your local sheriff, and have the sheriff arrest TSA personnel who execute unlawful searches and seizures and who otherwise violate our rights. Remind local law enforcement authorities that it is their duty under our Fourteenth Amendment to protect our Constitutional rights.



Other things you can do:

11) If you have to travel by air, get to the airport early. Depending upon your stomach for confrontation and your willingness to be unlawfully detained, you can choose to not cooperate with anything you deem to be excessive or a violation of your rights. While standing in line, talk to the people around you. Find someone you can pair up with, and if TSA personnel want to conduct an intimate search of you, insist that this person witness the activity. Exchange contact information with this person, make some notes about what happened and how, and get the name and identifying data of the TSA personnel who are searching you. File charges against this TSA person, and have your airport companion offer to be a witness in court.


12) Take pictures of your TSA handler. Your TSA handler is an official government employee in a public place performing official duties, so take a photo of that person, and then exercise your First Amendment right to write about the incident at a blog or on Facebook or wherever you hang out online. Let everyone know who this TSA employee was and how this government employee treated you. Have others in line take pictures of this employee for you. If someone who is not traveling with you can accompany you to the airport, have that person film, photograph or otherwise record your experience. Make sure your TSA handler knows that violations of the law will be prosecuted. Sooner or later, justice will be done, and their uniforms and their orders will not protect them from justice any more than uniforms and orders protected Nazi officials and SS men decades ago.



Please keep in mind that most TSA personnel are trying to be decent, law-abiding Americans, and are trying to ensure our safety. Most of them are being misled and victimized by those in power in Washington. When TSA personnel deliberately make an informed decision to abuse their power and violate our rights, that is when they cross a moral line, and deserve far less consideration; until then, help them see the error of their ways, and warn them of what will happen if they insist on conducting themselves in a criminal manner.



Other resources to determine who your government officials are include links at Common Cause and at USA.gov.



From our Declaration of Independence:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Whom Thy Right Hand Possesses, Part 1

We introduce this series with excerpts from Rochdale grooming gang victim: I was raped by 5 men a day, by Tariq Tahir, May 8th, 2012:

A victim of an Asian paedophile gang described how she was forced to have sex with up to five men a day.

She was 15 when she was targeted by the men and gang-raped at least four times a week.

Speaking after nine men were convicted of plying white girls as young as 13 with drink and drugs, she said her ordeal had ruined her life.

Notice the descriptions: an "Asian paedophile gang" victimized "white girls".


She was targeted by the gang in Rochdale, who at first seemed friendly as they gave her alcohol, cigarettes, food and taxi rides.

But her nightmare began when she was raped. 'He asked me to come upstairs and I didn't really think anything of it,' said the woman, now aged 20.

'He then was saying all the things he had bought for me and that he wanted something back for it.'

The abuse continued for months, until she was arrested for smashing the counter at the takeaway where the men met the girls. She told police about her ordeal but the Crown Prosecution Service decided she would not be viewed as a 'credible witness'.

It was then that the abuse continued with more men.

The comments to the article are enlightening.

First of all, one commentator points out that the expression "Asian" is misapplied, claiming the perpetrators are all from Pakistan.


The reality is that all but one are from Pakistan; the last guy is from Afghanistan.

But, anyone following UK news understands the politically-correct codeword here: the gang was comprised of Muslim men. Two commentators point out the connection to Islam.



Other commentators make the point that the issue here is criminal activity, not religion.


Indeed, one commentator goes so far as to point out that "if Islam meant anything to these men, they wouldnt provide anyone with drugs or alcohol" and that, under Islam, the penalty for rape is death.


Furthermore, members of the Islamic community there have denounced these crimes, and not just in front of TV cameras.

A discussion on Sunni Forum (Page 1, Page 2, Page 3) shows how angry Muslims are about what is happening, and how powerless they feel to stop it. Concerns are that the imams are not addressing the matter; the question arises whether the perpetrators even attend prayers at the mosques; one commentator advises that the perps know what they are doing is wrong; and there are fears that members of the Muslim community who take action will themselves be targeted by the gangs committing these crimes.

One Muslim leader has spoken out consistently and vocally. From Rochdale grooming trial: Split views on race issue, May 8, 2012:

The conviction of nine Asian men for grooming and abusing white girls has prompted strong, split opinions on whether race is an issue in such cases.

A Muslim community leader has said there is a "problem" of British Pakistani men thinking "white girls are worthless and can be abused".

[snip]

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of The Ramadhan Foundation, said grooming was "a significant problem for the British Pakistani community".

"There is an over-representation [of Asian men] amongst recent convictions in the crime of on-street grooming [and] there should be no silence in addressing the issue of race as this is central to the actions of these criminals," he said.

"They think that white teenage girls are worthless and can be abused without a second thought; it is this sort of behaviour that is bringing shame on our community."

'Vulnerable young children'

He said community elders were "burying their heads" over the issue and police and local councils should not "be frightened" to address the problem, as there was "a strong lesson that you cannot ignore race or be over-sensitive".

Mr Shafiq said Muslim leaders needed to "reject any attempt to silence the reaction from our community".


The UK is facing a rash of such cases, where Muslim men of Pakistani ethnicity are grooming underage white girls for sex. Mr. Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, and quoted in the passage above, has been vocal in condemning this activity. In a press release from last year, Mr. Shafiq stated:

The convictions yesterday of two ring leaders of a grooming gang sends a clear signal that these crimes are unacceptable and those engaged in such crimes will pay a heavy price.

I pay tribute to the girls and their families who have been brave in giving evidence against these evil men, they will now need all the support from the Authorities to rebuild their lives.

I have been clear in instigatating this debate that these are criminal matters and should be seen in this way, no community or faith ever sanctions these evil crimes and to suggest that this somehow engrained in the community is deeply offensive.

I urge all engaged in this debate to do so with tolerance, honesty and above all based on evidence and not prejudiced positions.

In another statement from last November, Mr. Shafiq had the following remarks:

There must be no hiding place for these criminals, regardless of race or background in our country and we must not shy away from speaking out. The reality is that the majority of child sex cases are carried out by white man but in areas with a large concentration of ethnic minorities there are significant number of abusers who are Asian. We know from many recent convictions that these men come from the Pakistani and Indian communities, to say that ethnicity is not a factor in these crimes is a lie and abject failure of authorities whose primary role is to protect these children. We have and will continue to never hide away from speaking on this issue and the positive feedback received from all sections of our society shows utter disgust at the crimes and also disgust at the authorities for their failure in protecting our children.

Sadly when a recent white gang were convicted in Portsmouth of grooming there was very little coverage in the media but when Asian gangs are convicted there was blanket coverage, some elements of the media are feeding division when we should all be uniting to ensure that there is no safe place for these criminals from any race or background. We would urge the media to responsibly report on these crimes and ensure that they do not tarnish all Asian communities where the overwhelmly majority are disgusted by these sick evil men.

Two things jump out at me: 1) Mr. Shafiq says that it is a lie to deny that ethnicity is a factor; and 2) Mr. Shafiq goes to great pains to point out that whites are more guilty than people of "Asian" descent.

And, the Coalition for the Removal of Pimping - CROP - seems to agree that the matter needs to be addressed regardless of ethnic sensitivities, going so far as to point out the connections to British Pakistani men, but still cautioning against overgeneralizatins; from CROP News Issue 14 Spring 2011

Race and ethnicity

CROP seeks to avoid any unwarranted generalisations or extrapolations in understanding child sexual exploitation and developing responses to it. CROP's practice and philosophy is evidence-based and CROP is aware that sexual exploiters come from various ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. However, much of the debate in the recent media coverage focused on the dominance of British Pakistani men involved in such criminal networks in the North and the Midlands. The media’s spotlight on a particular race and ethnicity of perpetrator in the context of child sexual exploitation has been controversial within the field and some might argue at odds with CROP's stance. As a parent-led charity which represents a cross-section of families, of which many have experienced the sexual exploitation of their children by British Pakistani men and who are pleased that this particularly sensitive issue is now in the public domain, engaging in the debate and accurately reflecting a diverse range of parents' experiences has been exceptionally challenging.

CROP recognises that there is clear condemnation of child sexual exploitation, as contrary to the values, beliefs and best practice of all religions and ethnicities. As such, the potential for cooperation across all communities and traditions is high. CROP is committed to sharing in and promoting this cooperation. This includes: working alongside the vast majority of the British Pakistani community who find the exploitation abhorrent; and addressing the issues which do exist within the small criminal minority within that community.

Of course, I question all this.

From Revealed: conspiracy of silence on UK sex gangs, January 5, 2011

The Times has identified 17 court prosecutions since 1997, 14 of them during the past three years, involving the on-street grooming of girls aged 11 to 16 by groups of men. The victims came from 13 towns and cities and in each case two or more men were convicted of offences.

In total, 56 people, with an average age of 28, were found guilty of crimes including rape, child abduction, indecent assault and sex with a child. Three of the 56 were white, 53 were Asian. Of those, 50 were Muslim and a majority were members of the British Pakistani community.

Several police sources have told The Times that those convicted represent only a small proportion of what one detective described as a "tidal wave" of offending that has been uncovered in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and some Midlands counties.

A senior West Mercia detective has now called for an end to the "damaging taboo" surrounding gang-led on-street grooming, which he blames on a fear among police and child protection workers of being branded racist. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards said: "These girls are being passed around and used as meat. To stop this type of crime you need to start talking about it, but everyone's been too scared to address the ethnicity factor. No one wants to stand up and say that Pakistani guys in some parts of the country are recruiting young white girls and passing them around their relatives for sex, but we need to stop being worried about the racial complication."

Race is not the issue here, and pointing out the ethnicity of the perpetrators is not racist.

The issue here is more cultural: what makes ethnic Pakistani men feel that they can do these things to girls from outside their community?