Bailout Song

Great job by Ron and Kay Rivoli!
Catchy Tune too!


(H/T Angela S.)

Glenn Beck Destroys CT Attorney General Blumenthal On National TV

Part 1



Part 2




Ouch!
"You are an insult to George Washington!"
And Blumenthal deserved it! Every bit of it!
I watched it live and cheered.

Obviously Blumenthal needs to enforce the law - not what he thinks the law should be. And why hasn't he pressed charges against Chris Dodd?

Thank you Glenn Beck!!



Article in Business Media

Homeschooling Works! The Girl is Off To College In The Fall

She has been homeschooled since birth.
Never even did preschool.

She's already got 15 credits of college under her belt and has been accepted by 3 of the 4 colleges that she applied to: Syracuse University, SUNY Oneonta and University of New Haven.

Why those schools?
They have the major she wanted.
Music Industry.

She's chosen University of New Haven, because they have a terrific program and she was awarded a really great scholarship from them too.

We went to accepted students day on Friday and she enrolled.

We are of course excited and proud, and this is bittersweet as she is the last out of the nest.
Meanwhile son number two is graduating from Wentworth Institute of Technology in August with a degree in Computer Networking and he already has a job offer.
Our oldest graduated from Boston University and is happily living and working in CT.

Yes, homeschooling works.

Stamford Tea Party - A Great Success

The Tea parties are growing in size.
People are fed up with the government bailouts, and another is coming along for the automakers again!

But checkout some video:






The protest was also picked up by the newspapers
Stamford Advocate
Hartford Courant

I had to laugh that the Courant's reporter, Daniela Altimari had this to say:

Participants — including home-schooling moms, Libertarians and Rush Limbaugh Republicans — compare themselves to the 18th century patriots who dumped tea into Boston Harbor to protest taxation without representation.

This home-schooling mom was not there - but if there were others there then that is a very good thing. And while Altimari likes to pigeon-hole participants, it's a good thing that she also printed this:

[Pam] Fowler, the movement's Connecticut coordinator, said the protests aren't directed at a particular political party. "The goal, first and foremost, is to raise awareness and put our politicians of all stripes on notice that we've got an intelligent population who's frightened, frustrated and angry about what's going on.

"And not just conservatives," Fowler added, but "all people who value our Constitution."

The Courant tries to paint a picture that this is just some sort of gathering of exiled and frustrated Rush Limbaugh Conservatives - and they couldn't be further from the truth. These are people of all backgrounds who are just sick and tired of a government gone wild, and that includes what the Bush administration handed us. Obama's insane spending and Socialist policies are the last straw.

More Tea Parties are on the horizon and the crowds are growing.

Campaign For Liberty

We have seen already that the Founders would be on some sort of terrorist watch list today.
That is disturbing.

(Thankfully a response has been prepared by the Liberty movement)- talk about turning the tables....

Freedom and Liberty do not come from Hope and Change.
We have God given rights, and our government under the US Constitution is supposed to protect those rights and not restrict them for government's own purposes. We are seeing laws and executive orders being enacted every day that restrict our freedoms, assault our rights and meddle in the way in which we can conduct business with one another. Our government is stealing our wealth through excessive taxation. Our government is instituting unconstitutional legislation. Their are numerous violations to the intentions of our Founders in the name of handling our financial "crisis". This cannot go on.

Fight back against tyranny.
Restore the Constitution and our Republic.

Campaign for Liberty - the time is now.

Saturday Humor - Obama's Address To Congress - Short Version

Well, that was what he said.... o.k. maybe not in that order ;>)

Overseas Contingency Operation

You gotta be kidding me..
and it's a phrase that doesn't even make any sense.

It's brought to you by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano...
And we aren't supposed to use the word "enemy combatant" anymore either.

Also "man caused disasters" is to be used instead of "terrorism".

Juggling with semantics and euphemisms, that is a well known tactic used to confuse people and to try to reframe the conversation. Just change the name on a failed project or policy, or change it to take on different ownership, or to make it sound more pleasant, or it can be just plain 1984-esque "double speak".

What a load of rubbish aimed to ameliorate the Jihadists, or whoever is our enemy of the week in the Middle East.

Mr. Obama and his administration can't really be serious.
Oh I see - that was also part of the Change part of Hope and Change (changing names)

I guess since we are changing monikers, "incompetent in the White House" has been changed to "Barack Obama" instead.

Tea Party Update

Connecticut - You Have A Voice!

More "Tea Parties" are planned in CT!

Stamford: Saturday, March 28th, 96 Broad Street (Starbucks/Library location), the corner of Broad and Bedford.
Email: mttaylor1959(at)gmail.com

Norwich: Wednesday, April 15th, Time and Place TBA very SOON
Email: freenorwich(at)hotmail.cm / jenmorezz(at)yahoo.com

New Haven: Wednesday, April 15th, Long Wharf 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Email: newhaventeaparty(at)gmail.com / winningathome(at)yahoo.com

Hartford: Wednesday, April 15th, STAY TUNED….!
Email: Hartfordteaparty414(at)gmail.com / mattjacksdesign(at)att.net / hartfordteaparty(at)gmail.com

Woodbury: Saturday, April 23th, Time and Place TBA

Clinton: Saturday, May 9th Time and Place TBA
Email: pfmdresources(at)sbcglobal.net

If you are outraged at the level of government deficit spending, the power grab of the Treasury Department, the loss of liberty and freedom, and the continued destruction of free market and private business in this country then come out and make your voice heard.

Tent City In Sacramento

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest [the U.S.] become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance." -- Cicero, 55 BC and the brackets should actually read "Rome."

"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt." -- John Adams

This is truly an American tragedy

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said a make-shift tent city for the homeless that sprang up in the capital city of Sacramento will be shut down and its residents allowed to stay at the state fairgrounds.

Schwarzenegger said he ordered the state facility known as Cal-Expo to be used for three months to serve the 125 tent city residents, some of them displaced by the economic recession. The encampment may be shut down within a month, said Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. The move comes after the Sacramento City Council last night agreed to spend $880,000 to expand homeless programs.

“Together with the local government and volunteers, we are taking a first step to ensure the people living in tent city have a safe place to stay, with fresh water, healthy conditions and access to the services they need,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement. “And I am committed to working with Mayor Johnson to find a permanent solution for those living in tent city.”

California, home to one of every eight Americans, has been particularly hard hit by the housing market collapse after many residents turned to exotic mortgages to afford homes. The tent city, which has long existed along the banks of the America River, gained national attention last month when some of its recently homeless residents were featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

The state has one of the highest rates of foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, California-based seller of real estate data. California home prices dropped 41 percent last month from a year earlier, more than double the U.S. decline, as surging foreclosures drove down values, the state Association of Realtors said today.

The state’s unemployment rate rose to 10.5 percent in February, as construction, financial and manufacturing companies eliminated jobs, leaving the most-populous U.S. state with one of the nation’s worst job markets.

The shelter at Cal-Exp currently houses about 150 people. It will be expanded by another 50 beds, and will include facilities for families with children.

This is shameful.

This is the direct result of American irresponsible monetary policy. This is not a result of corporate greed - it is a result of many decades of easy credit - and allowing people to use their homes as ATM machines. It is the result of the housing bubble and dot com bubble and every other bubble created by the Federal Reserve and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and every other useless government agency that failed to do its job (or shouldn't have been established in the first place).

It is a result of California creating an entitlement state and paying for services for people who do not pay into the system, all on the backs of hard working taxpayers. It is a result of so many restrictions on business that it chased good business out of the state, and even out of the country. It is a result of high taxation and destruction of wealth.

This is what Americans can look forward to if we continue along the path we have been traveling. This is what will cause an uprising of the people - and it is the face of Hope and Change also known as Socialist policy and dependency on government. It is leading us to a very dark and scary place.

That people have no jobs and no homes and are made to sleep in tents is a testament NOT to California's failing to provide for its people, but for its failure to let people provide for themselves.

Can all of our State and Federal legislators all please take a close look!!! California is reaping what it has sown. Stop the insanity and create the environment that will allow business to thrive and put people back to work, not just in California, but across the country!

We don't need bailouts.
We don't need handouts.
We don't need social programs and dependency.
We don't need more regulations and unenforceable laws.
We need business, we need jobs, and we need honest investment.
We need private business, not government jobs paid for by increased tax dollars.

Don't you get it?
Or has Atlas Shrugged?
Who is John Galt?

Gordon Brown Gets Told

Daniel Hannan, MEP for South East England, gives a speech during Gordon Brown´s visit to the European Parliament on 24th March, 2009.

Things are not much different across the pond, eh?

Can we bring Hannan here - replace Brown's name with Obama's and he can give the same speech in Congress... oh wait, I think Congressman Ron Paul has spoken similar words.

I am waiting for the video featuring Gordon Brown, Barack Obama and others - "Globalists Gone Wild" - it will feature insane spending policies, unbridled inflation and lots of booms and busts in the markets. In theaters soon.

You Are A Domestic Terrorist If You Love The Constitution

Last week, a leaked secret report was put on the Internet. The Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) put out a report that profiled Ron Paul/Chuck Baldwin/Bob Barr supporters, people who have knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, and people who display certain political bumper stickers as potential domestic terrorists. The report equated Ron Paul supporters, Libertarians, people who own gold, or even people who fly a U.S. flag and members of Campaign For Liberty, with radical race hate groups and terrorists!

Gee, that means me!
I have "End The Fed" AND "Ron Paul" stickers on my car.
Whodathunk I could be classified by these boneheads in Missouri as some sort of “militia” influenced possible domestic terrorist?
I am just a homeschooling mom who does laundry, blogs and goes to Tea Parties, and pays taxes, but MIAC believes that their law enforcement people should keep an eye out for folks like me.

The MIAC report instructs the Missouri police to be on the lookout for supporters displaying bumper stickers and other paraphernalia associated with the Constitutional, Campaign for Liberty, and Libertarian parties.

Talk about profiling! Whoa!

And now I honestly wonder if CT has such a report circulating among its law enforcement.

Now after they put out this report the good folks at MIAC have decided to apologize

The director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety has ordered certain portions of a controversial intelligence report excised after widespread backlash from the public.

In a letter dated March 23, Public Safety Director John Britt told third-party presidential candidates U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party and Bob Barr of the Libertarian Party that he was ordering the “Modern Militia Movement” report altered to delete their names and the names of their political parties as possible indicators of militia involvement.

Truth be told, the damage from this type of Homeland Security report is done. The profiling will go on in the way that they initially intended and it is more likely that they really aren't sorry for putting out this information. They are probably more sorry that the information leaked and that they got so many complaints and media backlash from it. (Here is Glenn Beck's piece)

All I can say is at least I am in good company with those who believe in Liberty and Freedom.
See you at the very next Tea Party in Connecticut! (Stamford March 28th and Hartford April 15)

I'll be sure to bring my Gadsden flag.




P.S. It is very interesting that this MIAC report was out a few weeks prior to the big Campaign For Liberty Convention in St. Louis., Missouri... now that wasn't really coincidence, was it?


UPDATE 03/27/09 - "The Missouri Highway Patrol this week retracted a controversial report on militia activity and will change how such reports are reviewed before being distributed to law enforcement agencies. The Highway Patrol also will open an investigation into the origin of the report, which linked conservative groups with domestic terrorism and named former presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin. "

Yes, well so much for the Missouri arm of Homeland Security.. can we expect more of this type of government trash reporting from the Department of Homeland Security? Maybe if they did more to chase down illegal aliens committing actual crimes and did less of this idiotic profiling, we'd be better off.

Peter Schiff - China And Our Debt

See the whole speech here.
Why The Meltdown Should Have Surprised No One.
The Henry Hazlitt Memorial Lecture. Recorded 13 March 2009 at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama. [1:15:31]

One World Currency - And You Thought I Was Crazy

"A global economy requires a global currency" - Paul Volcker, Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair

Hah!
So much for Conspiracy theories.
When does conspiracy theory become conspiracy fact?

From KAZAKH President Nursultan Nazarbayev to French President Sarkozy (back in 2008) to today's pronouncement by the Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan - many world leaders have had enough of playing follow the leader with American currency, especially as it is being beaten up by Congress and the Federal Reserve. Globalist Prime Minister of England Gordon Brown would also welcome a global currency.

World leaders are not oblivious to the monetization of our debt - since no one will buy our debt anymore we have to print up the money to pay ourselves (now there's a scheme!) They know what that spells - massive inflation of the American dollar. But I think that was the plan here. Destroy our currency and wealth and make people dependent on government so we can also usher in Socialist policy, add in a touch of class warfare to galvanize the masses to accept Socialism as an added bonus. Then go for it worldwide and create a global currency too. You can still think I am crazy, but isn't that exactly what is going on here?

Holders of American debt are starting to get extremely concerned over the insane spending spree going on in Washington. And well they should be. However, the notion of a global currency is not something they just cooked up for the upcoming G20 summit. Oh no, (and here comes that conspiracy thingy again) it's been in the works for many many years. Discussions and forums about it have been held. (Here is one such example) Even President Bush the mentioned this New World Order and the conversation of globalism.

I told you currency is even already being designed. The world bankers, which include member banks of the Federal Reserve and Bank of the European Union cannot wait to control the finances of the world together under one reserve currency. The Federal Reserve has done it on a smaller scale for the US, and now the International Monetary Fund is seeking to be the world's central banker; well at least the Chinese want it to be them.

What's crazy is that our elected leaders in Congress, are complicit and created this mess with their irresponsible behavior of passing legislation they haven't read, or agreeing to legislation after being bought off with earmarks and pork. They can still stop this if they act responsibly. Some have already been speaking about the destruction of the dollar and of the real possibility of America going bankrupt. Tea Parties are also growing in numbers as hardworking Americans are protesting this travesty.

Capitalism is not the culprit here - and neither is the free market. Both were misused, manipulated and abused and regulated by our government to bring us to this point. (Oh yeah, the market is up today - and this rally may last a while, but we will have to pay the piper at some point...it's coming baby)

Meanwhile, Turbo Tax Tim Geithner made it clear that he believes the US Treasury Secretary should be granted unprecedented power to take control of a major financial institution and run it. He wants new powers to regulate nonbank financial companies! The grab for power continues and what's worse it is done in a very shameless manner.

One global government under Socialist policies.. yeah it's possible. And that's the Hope and Change many voted for as the icing on the cake after the Bush Clinton Bush dynasty.

Swell.

Working Families Party Fueling Class Warfare

Poster from London, Soon To Be Seen In America?

I want to make one thing very clear -
The "AIG protesters" are NOT from, or part of, the Nationwide Tea Party Movement. (Read more about the nationwide tea party movement here and here)

The AIG protesters who are getting on buses and showing up at "lavish mansions" in CT to protest executive bonuses, are from the CT Working Families Party. My observation is that they hate rich people. They are steeped in envy and resentment.

They are Socialists, and they support the Unions like SEIU, and believe whole-heartedly in wealth re-distribution. They are very much Pro-Obama and his Socialist agenda. They are also joined by organizations like Code Pink.

They of course are "outraged" at the $218 million dollars that AIG is spending on bonuses.
-Never mind the trillions that our government is spending on pork and bailouts and placing into earmarks!
-Never mind that these clowns in Washington are passing Unconstitutional legislation!
-Never mind that Congress isn't even reading the bills that they pass!
-Never mind that the Feds are monetizing our debt (printing money out of thin air to pay for the debt) because no one will buy our debt - which will cause inflation in this country. And of course these 40 or so Working Families protesters who are fueling class warfare and showing up at people's private residences will get more coverage from Liberal newspapers and media! The media and Politicians looking for votes are making a big deal out of $165 million (now $218) in bonuses while the government is spending trillions!

Working Families are protesting AIG bonuses and executive pay. They wish they were making money like these executives, and they want their money. To the Working Families Party, wealth is unfair, unless it's theirs.

One report cites this:

Mary Huguley, of Hartford, said AIG executives should share their wealth with people like her sister, who is facing foreclosure.

That is the crux of the AIG protest and Working Families. Wealth Re-distribution.

What Working Families is trying to achieve is to pit the poor and middle class against the rich.
They are fueling hatred and resentment and envy.
This is a very dangerous thing.
Smart people won't buy into that.

What these people fail to comprehend is that these very same rich people pay the lion's share of taxes - they create jobs and they invest in this economy. They help charities and their communities. Rich people are not all evil or unethical - just as poor and middle class are not all evil and unethical. We cannot blame the mess of this economy solely on the CEO's and executives of big companies.

Clearly Congress has its share of millionaires and they are just as much to blame for the legislation and disastrous monetary policies that they have put into place that have wrecked our economy and stolen wealth from many middle class people. Why isn't Working Families Party doing bus tours of Chris Dodd's house? Fair question I think.

Do you want to know a secret? Working Families may sound like they are all against exploitation of the poor, but it looks to me like Working Families is exploiting the poor and middle class who envy the rich, in order to grow their own Socialist agenda in this country.

The Tea Party Movement has nothing to do with Class Warfare, rather it is a movement dedicated to preserving and restoring our Constitution which is the blueprint that our Government is supposed to adhere to. Legislators in Washington are ignoring what the Constitution says - they are eroding our rights. They have instituted and proposed policies that run counter to what our Founders laid down. The Tea Party Movement is about making our voices heard regarding sound monetary policy and the opposition that we hold regarding the institution of Socialism and wealth re-distribution in America. We must to stop the runaway spending that Congress is engaged in; spending that will bankrupt our country and put our children and their children into debt. Tea Party participants don't want the nationalization of banks and financial institutions that is going on. They don't want their tax dollars going to pay to keep failing businesses afloat. And if the taxpayer didn't give AIG or any other bank a bailout we would not be squabbling about those bonuses in the first place.

Thousands are turning out to Tea Party events because people are fed up with higher taxes and wasteful government spending, not because they hate and envy the rich and want to get a free ride by stealing from someone else's pocketbook.

Ridgefield Tea Party Draws A Huge Crowd

The Ridgefield Press Reported on it and so did News Times.

But here are some of my pictures...





Video that I took:




another Video with the whole song: "Take It Back"

The news reported that about 300 people gathered in Ridgefield, CT, to protest the enormous amount of money being spent by the Federal government - on pork spending bills and other wasteful legislation.

Some critics argue and say, where were these people when President Bush was spending gobs of taxpayer money? Well, perhaps this response is not about approval of Bush's policies, but it is more about what the American people are starting to learn - and maybe all of this current insane government spending is the straw that broke the camel's back.

People are waking up! They are beginning to read and learn about how the Federal Reserve works, how we have been hoodwinked and lied to. The truth is that the Obama administration and Congress, is spending way more than the Bush administration, and they are also implementing Socialist policies. The Obama administration is monetizing the debt and looking to "spread the wealth" in a way that makes hard working taxpayers pay for others to get a free ride - including illegal aliens! The American people are beginning to see what has been going on and they are finding out more and they are not happy especially as their rights are being assaulted!

The American Tea Party movement is a response to out of control government spending and unconstitutional legislation and actions by our government.

People are tired of yelling at the TV and now they want to act! They want their voices heard.
The movement is growing.

Saturday Humor - Deficit Spenda

Congress Is Obviously Insane

Ok, so first after creating the economic mess we are in by promoting easy credit and universal housing via Clinton's changes in 1993 to the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, (which resulted in the softening of banking and lending rules) and a host of other bad monetary policies since then, stimulus and bailout packages are promoted by the Bush and Obama Administrations.

The brains up in Washington DC decide to create a spending bill so large and so voluminous that no one could possibly read through it in any coherent manner or to even begin to understand what was in it before they voted to pass it. They only knew that they were told that it was urgent and necessary and had to be passed quickly.

An amendment is added in by that genius Chairman of the Banking Committee, and Countrywide sweetheart mortgage deal holder, Senator Chris Dodd, apparently at the behest of the Obama Administration, to protect and exempt bonuses of the AIG executives who have contracts for those bonuses before February 11, 2009. Mind you, Mr. Obama and Mr. Dodd both received lots of dough in campaign donations from AIG.

After passage of this ginormous spending bill which will be paid for by our children and their children, Mr. Obama signs it amid much fanfare, because of course it will save the nation from a "crisis". What a guy!

AIG ends up getting a tidy sum of multi-billions in bailout money and TaDah! The company that is too big to fail is saved from a horrible fate of bankruptcy. We are saved! (NOT)

And then of course Bonuses from AIG are paid out to the tune of $165 million dollars (give or take a million).

And oh my goodness, the public is outraged, legislators are outraged, the President is outraged, and everyone else who can be outraged is outraged. The CEO of AIG is given a verbal tongue lashing in a Congressional hearing and Barney Frank and his pals get to show their constituents how they are protecting the taxpayer because they get to do a lot of blaming and blustering and make demands that the bonuses be returned - Or else. Barney even wants to take names.

Aha - but We The People also begin to see that this was really all the fault of the insane Senator Dodd who turns around and tries to lay blame on the President, or Turbo Tax Tim Geithner, or Mr. Dodd's staffers or the janitor, or whoever else is around to take the blame for allowing hefty AIG bonuses on the taxpayers dime. But wait - then Mr. Obama uses this to create a Harry S. Truman "The Buck Stops Here" moment (because he wants to look ever so presidential) and he claims responsibility for it all. What a guy!

Despite the $165 million in bonuses, what about the billions more that were spent and continue to be spent by the Obama administration... (oh shut up and fuhgettaboutit! focus on those greedy AIG guys instead)

The Congress then decides to make even more unconstitutional legislation by taxing these bonuses at 90% (for those executives who have decided not to return it to AIG) and guess what? The AIG bailout money can be returned to the treasury for use on some other dopey spending programs that Congress will cook up. Wow! (as of this post only the House passed the 90% tax proposal, it awaits "cooler heads" in the Senate - wink wink)

I hope that I am not alone in seeing this as some sort of "Kafkaesque" version of the US Government that we all once knew... I should hope that at least someone would bring up the plain fact that what Congress is doing is not only insane - and unbelievably not well thought out - but it is also entirely unconstitutional. (Yeah - remember that old outdated document that our troops fight and die for to protect and uphold, and our elected officials take an oath to protect and defend?)

In a Bloomberg report:

Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, predicted Congress’s efforts to rescind the bonuses through higher taxes would be thrown out in court. He said the legislation violates the constitutional ban on bills of attainder, which restricts lawmakers’ ability to punish individual Americans.

“It’s basically targeted on a small group of people,” Gregg said. He also said the bill may exceed lawmakers’ power to rewrite existing contracts. He said “of course” the government ought to try to rescind the bonuses “but we’ve got to do it legally.”

Well, at least one other legislator in Washington D.C. besides Ron Paul understands the law.

One has got to ask - what in heavens name are these people in Congress drinking or smoking? There is no other explanation for their actions and the intentional destruction of our economy then collective insanity.

Meanwhile - back at the Fed - they are monetizing our debt (i.e. printing money out of thin air to pay the bills) to the tune of $300 billion dollars because no one else is buying our debt, not even China. The dollar begins to fall and lots of talk is circulating by other countries as part of the G20 Summit to create a world currency (so they can rid themselves of the dollar that will invariably crash and burn due to insane monetary policy coming out of Washington)

Yup - it's insanity - or complete idiocy - or a planned destruction of our sovereignty and our economy. Whatever it is, it isn't good.

Tea Bag DC - April 1

From Re-TeaParty:

Our founders have stopped rolling over in their graves. After months of tossing and turning, we have finally taken back the banner of hope that has been hijacked by the “do-good” saviors.

Statist sympathizers call us cynics; those who complain without answers of our own. They call us “selfish”, implying that funding failure is altruistic. While America was founded on those who do, they ask us to submit to those who can’t.

ENOUGH!

On December 16, 1773, the original Patriots put their lives on the line. With an envelope, a stamp, and a bag of tea, millions of Americans can send a peaceful message; our lives have value.

On April 1st, our establishment will know that our freedom to succeed can no longer be sacrificed at the risk of our future.

With sincerity and respect, we ask that you join us on April 1st, 2009, in sending the Oval Office a Tea Bag, in honor of the party in Boston on December 16, 1773, and in anticipation of its nationwide symbolic re-enactment in the summer of 2009.

Two first-class stamps should cover the weight of a typical tea bag.

President Obama's address is:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Military Policing The Public In Alabama And No One Will Say Who Called Them To Duty

Posse Comitatus...

Read this story - let me know if it is as disturbing to you as it is to me. It is being pooh-poohed as a non-issue and that people were generally happy to have the extra help on hand. The question remains - who called these 22 military troops to the scene and was it Constitutionally proper? Are we just being made used to the notion that it is o.k. to have military people performing policing functions? (Hey they were just being helpful and useful in a difficult situation). Some say a little bit of their presence can't be harmful, can it? What do you think?

Some excerpts:

The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command is investigating how and why 22 active duty MP’s from nearby Ft. Rucker, Ala., came to be placed on the streets of Samson during the night of a horrendous murder spree in the tiny South Alabama community – a possible violation of the federal Posse Comitatus Act.

Experts on the use of military troops for civilian purposes say it is becoming increasingly difficult to know where the line is drawn between proper use and improper use.

Civilian attorney Craig Trebilcock, a reserve colonel in the Army Judge Advocate General’s office, told CNSNews.com that in recent years, the president, Congress and the courts have all “muddied the waters” when it comes to civilian use of military force.

Trebilcock said the basic idea of the federal Posse Comitatus Act is very clear – the active use of the military as a police force within the borders of the U.S. is forbidden.

“The basic rule is, you don’t use the Army or Marine Corps to go out chasing criminals. When you have active duty Army troops, they are not supposed to go out and catch bank robbers, for example,” he told CNSNews.com.

Congress has approved a few exceptions to the ban on active use – but not many.

“One is called the Stafford Act,” he said. “During times of tremendous civil disturbance, the governor of a state can invite in federal troops by requesting them from the president. And the last we saw that was in the Los Angeles race riots back in the ‘90s.”

Another exception is in the case of civilian insurrection. But all active use of the military must originate from “very high sources,” Trebilcock pointed out.

“Individual unit commanders cannot authorize a violation of Posse Comitatus, nor can they invoke any of the exceptions,” he added. “That request must come from the governor of a state or ‘the national command authority’-- which is basically the military’s term for the president or secretary of defense.”

The problem, he said, is that court rulings over the last few years have made it “perfectly acceptable” to use military troops within U.S. borders for “logistical support” or “humanitarian relief” for civilian authorities -- and actions by Congress and the president have further complicated things.

“We increasingly see the military doing different types of logistical support at major civilian events like the Olympics or the Super Bowl,” he said. “This is where the line gets blurry.”

The courts have ruled that ‘passive’ use of the military does not violate the Posse Comitatus Act, he said. But the line between passive use and active use is “paper thin,” he added.

“But basically anytime you are putting military forces in control of civilians, you have a problem,” Trebilcock said. “Arresting people, detaining people, executing searches, knocking on somebody’s door and saying, ‘We’re looking for somebody’s gun’ or something like that – that’s pure law enforcement, and there’s no way of wiggling around that.”

I don't know, but I am just hearing too many instances lately of our military either being trained or being used in policing functions.

“Silent enim leges inter arma.” (In time of war the law falls silent) - Cicero's Pro Milone

RePost - Upcoming Tea Parties, Etc.

Tea Parties

You can spread the word to your friends that we are having TWO Tea Parties in CT in March...

Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 10:00am
Ballard Park
Ridgefield, CT

Saturday, March 28, 2009 from 10:00am - 12:00pm
Stamford, CT @ 96 Broad Street (Starbucks/Library location), the corner of Broad and Bedford.

All we ask is that folks RSVP to mttaylor1959(at)gmail (dot)com as to which (or both!) Parties they plan to attend. More is written here.

List of upcoming teaparties is here - look at the drop down box...

There will also be some CT tea parties on Tax Day - April 15 - in New Haven and Hartford
(plus there will be an enormous one in Boston!) - I'll post that when details become known.




We The People

We The People Continental Congress 2009
56 cities in 60 days!
And it is coming to Connecticut!
Bob Schulz will be speaking about the upcoming Continental Congress on April 28 at 7:00 pm at the Jewish Community Center, 360 Amity Road, in Woodbridge. We're also looking for two more delegates to the Congress.

Bob Schulz is traveling around the country to spread the word about redress of grievances. You can see his presentations live broadcast at www.mogulus.com/continentalcongress
The objective is to return America to its founding principles, from which the vast majority of our elected officials in both parties and all branches of our government have greatly strayed, further and further in recent years. From We The People's perspective, our Republic is in grave danger, our Constitution hangs by a thread. How has this happened? The people we have put in office are a reflection of our own consciousness. We cannot right what has happened to our government without first re-awakening our own commitment to our Freedom Documents and understanding the role each of us plays in holding our government accountable for their actions.” Continental Congress 2009 Later this year delegates representing the People of the fifty states will convene as a national assembly to publicly debate our Government's abuses of the Constitution and to consider practical strategies which can bring about compliance with our Freedom documents, not only in our government at all levels, but in our individual lives. The Continental Congress 2009 will be an undertaking of historical importance as we follow the example of our Founding Fathers, to gather together and discuss the state of our Nation to restore the Light of Liberty. For more information read this.


As always write to your Congressmen.

Bank Of America Wants To Lend ME My Money!

And you thought Bernie Madoff's business was the scam of the century!
Hah!

Bank of America is taking MY bailout tax dollars and is turning around and wanting to lend my money back to me at 8.99% APR! (and it can go up to 24.99%)

Incredible isn't it?

This is what is so incredibly wrong with this whole mess.
This is why tax dollars should not be used to fund these companies.

Shouldn't they be using the bailout money to settle debts that can't be paid?
Is anyone checking to see where these companies are with settling their toxic debt?

Here they are doling out more consumer credit! We the American people, are already up to our ears and eyeballs in debt. This mountain of debt that we have created in order to consume is eventually going to kill this economy. Yes I know that bank of America, et. al., are in the business of lending money, but gee whiz - sending out solicitations like this? It's like pouring gasoline on the fire.

That these companies take OUR tax dollars and lend them back to us for 8.99% is absolutely the icing on the cake!

To say I am annoyed is an understatement.

I tried to call Bank of America media relations at 302-456-8588 (they weren't taking calls) and then I located another number to call that directed me to two other numbers to call that were not working.
I finally found someone in Human Resources who promised someone would call me back.
So far - no response.

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro Seeks Total Governmental Regulation Of All Food Production In This Country

House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, was recently introduced by Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. It is worth noting that DeLauro's husband, Stanley Greenburg, works for Monsanto – the world's leading producer of herbicides and genetically engineered seed.

This legislation looks like a government grab to regulate smaller agri-business at the behest of larger more powerful agri-business interests.

According to this proposed legislation, Government inspectors would be required to visit and examine food production facilities, which is defined as "any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation". Government would review food safety records and conduct surveillance of animals, plants, products or the environment.

The Government would also "provide technical assistance to farmers and food establishments that are small business concerns (meeting the requirements of section 3(a) of the Small Business Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder) to assist with compliance with the requirements of this Act."

Michael Olson, author of "Metro Farm, said, "What the government will do is bring in industry experts to tell them how to manage all this stuff, It's industry that's telling government how to set these things up. What it always boils down to is who can afford to have the most influence over the government. It would be those companies that have sufficient economies of scale to be able to afford the influence – which is, of course, industrial agriculture."

According to the provisions of this bill, farms and other food producers would be forced to submit copies of all records to federal inspectors upon request, and refusal to register, permit inspector access or testing of food or equipment would be prohibited by law and a punishable offense.

So basically our local agricultural business, family farms and especially organic farmers and perhaps even small weekend farm-stand farmers will suffer under the weight of more government control and have to adhere to burdensome and onerous rules and regulations that are designed for bigger agri-business. In essence it is a means by which large industrial agriculture along with government will manage local agriculture.

Under this act, every food producer must have a written food safety plan and must adhere to standards related to fertilizer use, nutrients, hygiene, packaging, temperature controls, animal encroachment, and water. And guess who sets those standards?

The government is going to bring in big industry to establish the protocols which could very well help to eliminate their competition by establishing expensive reporting and other expensive associated guidelines for growing food. This could cripple small American farms.

The penalties are also stiff and each offense is considered a separate offense - "Any person that commits an act that violates the food safety law … may be assessed a civil penalty by the Administrator of not more than $1,000,000 for each such act."

Another "food safety" bill that has organic and small farmers worried is Senate Bill 425, or the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

The government wants to establish a "food database" and to track everything grown, prepared, handled, manufactured, processed, distributed, shipped, warehoused, imported, and conveyed under the premise that they want to ensure the safety of the food. Never mind the poisonous additives and crap that the FDA already allows in most food products in American grocery stores. Now it seems more important for government to hassle organic farmers and small food growers.

As this seems to be a knee jerk reaction to recent salmonella outbreak among consumers of peanut products, and since of course no crisis should go to waste - it is a great opportunity for more government control with the help of companies like Monsanto.

Really all that is necessary to ensure food safety is to update a few outdated regulations and add some more inspectors. The peanut debacle would not have happened if inspectors would have done their job properly and saw the filth in that peanut plant to begin with.


"Every day more and more legislation is being introduced to "protect" us. The Act cited in this article will give the government effective control of production of food" - Howard M.

Farm To Consumer says this:

The burdensome requirements the bill imposes on small farms and the intrusive federal control it creates over small farm operations threaten the future viability of sustainable agriculture and the local food movement. HR 875 has been assigned to both the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Agriculture. It needs to be stopped. Anyone who values freedom of food choice and the rights and independence of small farmers should contact their elected representatives and the members of the two committees to ask that they oppose HR 875. Updates on the status of this bill will be provided on this site.

CSA Days blogger says this:

"Basically what the Bill aims to do (at least my understanding I am an farmer not a lawyer) is to create a new Agency "the Food Safety Amininistration" and give it control of regulating and policing our nations food supply.
.....
My reading of the bill seems to lead me to believe that it will make the "Home Produced" items allowed under Ohio law illegal. So say goodbye to breads, cookies, jams, jellies, and honey at your farmers market. In fact, you may have to say goodbye to the farmer's market itself.

and Metro Farm also has interesting comments on the bill. It is worth checking out.

Hey, Look At The Shiny Thing

Ah yes, the shiny thing.
It's a handy tool that the Obama administration is fond of using.
I use that tactic when I want to distract my cat away from something else.

The latest shiny thing for the Obama administration is the AIG bonuses.
$165 million dollars.
What an outrage!
Oh really?

Two things.

One...The administration wrote legislation for the bank bailout bill that allowed for this to happen, and in fact the bailout bill had no accountability for how AIG, or any other of the "bailoutees", spent their money. While everyone is all obsessing over the $165 million in bonuses, they are not telling you how many billions of bank bailout money from AIG went to foreign banks in Britain, France and Germany - which of course does absolutely nothing to stimulate OUR economy. $55 billion dollars went to foreign banks and we are supposed to get all riled up over $165 million in AIG bonuses? Are they serious? At least that money has a better possibility of being spent here on new automobiles and yachts and fine restaurants.

But of course if you really look below the surface of all of this, ultimately "outraged" Congressmen and Senators like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd are looking to be able to make legislation that would negate the contracts that AIG made with these executives, and our government already knew about those contracts before they gave AIG the money! They have been trying to negate mortgage contracts as well. Let's see, what does that do to our country if contracts are interfered with by government? You tell me.

So while we can be all upset about those "greedy AIG bonus recipients" and further the mission of the Obama administration's quest for class warfare, no one seems to mind that billions of taxpayer dollars have been funneled out of our country to foreign banks. But hey, beating up on the CEO of AIG in Congressional hearings today makes good theatre. Congressmen can look outraged and use all kinds of inflammatory rhetoric and even score points with their constituents by showing indignance and outrage. Oh please - what a farce. They shouldn't have given AIG the money in the first place. I really hope that the AIG Chief Executive, Edward Liddy, has a spine enough to tell those clowns in Congress that he was merely following the terms and rules that Congress handed him in the first place! But as good theatre goes, he'll most likely ask his employees to return their bonus money and everyone will be placated. No one will care about the billions that flew across the Atlantic.

You know it's almost like the folks who give money to the street bum so he can buy a decent meal and he blows it on booze or crack. The caring Samaritans get all upset and yet, they can be upset all they want but if they have no control over how the money is ultimately spent then they shouldn't whine about it, and they shouldn't give it out in the first place.

Second...The shiny thing is a really good diversion because while everyone is making such a big fuss over AIG bonuses, no one is really paying much attention over the rape of the American people with Obama's new budget proposals and his multi-trillion dollar budget deficits. As long as they can whip people up into a frenzy over a paltry $156 million, no one will notice the trillions being spent on a budget that grows government exponentially and puts our children and their children into incredible perpetual debt.

$165 million dollars is surely a lot of money - but really folks we need to keep our eyes focused on the larger shenanigans going on in Washington DC.

Don't be distracted by "the shiny thing", and please let's stop buying into the whole class warfare ideology that is being perpetrated by this manipulative administration.

We ought to be more outraged by the spending spree going on by Obama's Congress rather than directing our anger at $165 million being spent on AIG bonuses.


BTW - Glenn Beck was great regarding the AIG bonuses.


"Dodd is like the guy who steals your wallet and then helps you look for it" - MadOne

Oath Keepers

Military, Veterans, and peace officers who will honor their oaths to defend the Constitution, will NOT “just follow orders,” will stand for liberty, and will save the Republic, so help us God. Our motto is:

"Not on Our Watch!"

These people have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution - and NOT the politicians!

OATH KEEPERS: ORDERS WE WILL NOT OBEY

1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.

2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people

3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.

4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.

5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.

6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.

7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.

8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control.”

9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.

10.We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

Pretty interesting, and telling too, that military personnel are even having to make these oaths in the first place.

News From The Arons

A Blog Returns and a New One Emerges!

Capitalist League is back blogging and there is also a new blog on the block, Hamden Impact.
Both are authored by none other than David Aron.
Welcome back to the "blogosphere" David!



Benefit Concert!



Also:

Rachel Aron is busy working hard this week because her very own production company, Check Yes Productions,LLC, is producing a benefit concert for "To Write Love On Her Arms".

Saturday, March 21, 2009
6:00pm - 11:00pm
The Webster Underground
31 Webster Street
Hartford, CT

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.

Even if you don't know the bands, please come and support this great cause!

Tickets are $12 in advance and $14 at the door.

You can buy them online here or you can contact Rachel directly at CheckYesProductions(at)gmail(dot)com

Business sponsors for this event are encouraged and most welcome!

CT Public Hearing Monday 10 AM - SR353 - Microstamping Pistols

AN ACT CONCERNING THE MICROSTAMPING OF SEMIAUTOMATIC PISTOLS

Talk about assaults... this is an assault on gun ownership and gun production in CT, and it is an expensive and unproven technology.

This from the NRA Institute for Legislative Action:

On Monday, March 16, the Joint Committee on Judiciary will hold a public hearing on Senate Bill 353, a bill sponsored by State Senator Martin M. Looney (D-11) that would ban the sale of all semi-automatic pistols not equipped with so-called "micro-stamping" technology.

Micro-stamping is an unproven technology that would require unique identifying information from the firearm, including the make, model, and serial number to be etched into the firing pin and breech face in such a manner that those identifiers are imprinted on the cartridge case upon firing. The technology can easily be defeated with common household tools, has no public safety value, and adds substantially to the cost of the firearm.

If SB 353 is passed, it will become ILLEGAL to sell or transfer any semi-automatic pistol that is not capable of micro-stamping. This would mean that any semi-auto handgun that you currently own could never be sold or transferred in Connecticut. This would ban the sale of used semi-auto handguns without the technology and would prohibit estates from bequeathing semi-auto handguns that do not include micro-stamping technology.

Since no manufacturers currently incorporate micro-stamping in their firearms, this bill would result in a de facto ban on all semi-automatic handguns in Connecticut.

The hearing will be held on Monday, March 16 at 10:00 A.M. in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building (LOB) in Hartford and it is important that Connecticut gun owners attend this hearing. We encourage all of our members to attend this meeting and voice your opposition to SB353. If you would like to testify before the committee, you must submit 45 copies of your written/typed testimony to the Judiciary Committee staff in Room 2500 at least two hours prior to the start of the hearing.

This bill must be defeated! If you are unable to attend the hearing, please contact the members of the Joint Judiciary Committee TODAY and respectfully urge them to defend our Second Amendment rights by opposing SB353. Contact information for the members of the committee can be found here. Also, please contact your State Legislators and respectfully urge them to oppose SB353. Contact information for your State Representative can be found by clicking here. Please click here to find contact information for your State Senator.

also a new blog, Hamden Impact reports this:

The stated purposed of the bill is to “facilitate the linking of used cartridge cases to the firearm that fired them.” by requiring the microstamping of semiautomatic pistols. A semi-automatic pistol is a type of handgun that fires one cartridge for each pull of the trigger, with an automatic reloading mechanism. It is defined in the bill as “a pistol the operating mode of which uses the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge to extract a fired cartridge and chamber a fresh cartridge with each single pull of the trigger.”

Explaining his opposition to the bill, Ranking Judiciary Committee Member and Assistant Republican Leader Arthur O’Neill (House Dist. 69) noted several problems. First, the technology is relatively easy to defeat. The firing pin that imprints the microstamp on the shell casing could be defaced with a nail file or simply replaced. “This is really easy and can be done with a pair of pliers and a screw driver,” said O’Neill, “It’s almost as easy as switching out a light bulb and takes less than a minute.” This means that those interested in committing a crime can switch out the firing pins with blank ones or with firing pins imprinted with other microstamps. O’Neill also noted that smart criminals could just bring several guns to a crime scene and “scatter” a scene with different casings. All of these issues would cause complications in court if a prosecutor tried to use the microstamps as evidence.

“It is being presented as a ‘Magic Bullet’ that can help solve crimes,” said O’Neill, “Any reasonably competent attorney could use this to raise reasonable doubt… Far from helping to solve things, it could make things worse.” O’Neill noted that this legislation is “fraught with opportunities” to implicate others and confuse the evidence.

Cost was another issue raised by O’Neill. The bill does not exempt law enforcement officers. As a result, every state and local police officer in the state would have to be re-equipped with a compliant weapon. Currently, a new Glock semiautomatic pistol costs between $400 - $600. “It sounds great in theory… but it’s like so much else in the forensic science field: it has its limitations and to require this will be very expensive.”

O’Neill also pointed out that since Connecticut is a relatively small state, out of state criminals could easily circumvent the law. Additionally, since the law does not apply to revolvers, criminals could simply switch from pistols to revolvers and avoid the law all together.

A similar bill was raised last year and defeated based on the testimony against the effectiveness of the technology. O’Neill believes that SR353 will not fare that much better this year. “Just the fact that we would need to re-equip state police and municipal police,” said O’Neill, “Just the costs may be the death knell.”

Read more at Hamden Impact

Saturday Parody - Save Me Obama

Too Funny... sung by Robert Lund
Lyrics:

Save me, Obama
Stimulate my life
Please improve my credit, my job, my wife
Bail out my bar tab
Subsidize my rent
Isn't that the point of the government?

Bills and banks and Baghdad are a bummer
Please appoint a breast-enhancement czar
Tell GM I really need a Hummer
And a new car!

Save me, Obama
Fix my abs and hair
Buy my Frappucinos with Medicare
Spank all the bankers
Bring a lasting peace
To the Yanks and Red Sox and Middle East

Stop Shiites from settling fights the mob way
Find me jobs in Fiji and St Croix
Purge the graft from hell-holes like Zimbabwe
And Illinois!

Save me, Obama
Find a cure for gas
Leave your carbon footprint on OPEC's ass
Hug North Korea
Shoot hoops with Iran
Can we ask for everything? Yes we can!

Make each Christian, Muslim, Jew, and Mormon
All join hands and sing Give Peace a Chance
Ending death and spam and global warmin'
And menstrual cramps!

Save me, Obama
Left and Right agree
This is now the United States of Me!

...and I want a pony...and an iPhone...and a two-state solution in Gaza...and a reintroduction of the Dodo bird to its native habitat...and an end to hunger in sub-Saharan Africa...and a weekly six-figure allowance...


Here is the original by the Beatles - Lady Madonna

Homeschoolers - Let's Not Get Hysterical About Media Reports

With regard to the media making hay out of homeschooler divorce court case in North Carolina (also read it here), can we all just please calm down a bit? Let's examine this case. This is what was reported:

A judge in Wake County said three Raleigh children need switch from home school to public school. Judge Ned Mangum is presiding over divorce proceeding of the children's parents, Thomas and Venessa Mills.

Venessa Mills was in the fourth year of home schooling her children who are 10, 11 and 12 years old. They have tested two years above their grade levels, she said.

"We have math, reading; we have grammar, science, music,” Venessa Mills said.

Her lessons also have a religious slant, which the judge said was the root of the problem.

"My teaching is strictly out of the Bible, and it's very clear. It is very evident so I just choose to follow the Bible,” Venessa Mills said.

In an affidavit filed Friday in the divorce case, Thomas Mills stated that he "objected to the children being removed from public school." He said Venessa Mills decided to home school after getting involved with Sound Doctrine church "where all children are home schooled."

Thomas Mills also said he was "concerned about the children's religious-based science curriculum" and that he wants "the children to be exposed to mainstream science, even if they eventually choose to believe creationism over evolution."

In a verbal ruling, Mangum said the children should go to public school.

"He was upfront and said that, 'It's not about religion.' But yet when it came down to his ruling and reasons why, 'He said this would be a good opportunity for the children to be tested in the beliefs that I have taught them,'" Venessa Mills said.

All sides agree the children have thrived with home school, and Vanessa Mills thinks that should be reason enough to continue teaching at home.

"I cannot sit back and allow this to happen to other home schoolers. I don't want it happening to my children,” Venessa Mills said.

First of all, you have to understand that this is standard in divorce cases...it's so routine that Dad immediately decides homeschooling is not in the best interest of the child when it looks like his cost will increase if Mom stays home after the divorce. This is nothing new. I am sure if you are a homeschooler that you also know of such cases. I have personally known people involved in cases such as this here in CT, and even cases were reported (see below) where Mom was told to take the child out of parochial school and place the child in public school. Why? Because of course in both cases homeschooling and parochial school will cost more in child care/alimony payments.

In the North Carolina case, the dad is picking on the homeschooling aspect of the children's education, despite the fact that these kids are obviously bright and doing well in their current situation. So why change it? All psychologists and other folks who write about kids and divorce seem to state that during divorce kids need stability - they don't need more upheaval and change int heir life. Legal folks have told me that judges will usually want to keep the status quo of what the child was doing in order to minimize the number of changes in a child's life - that is a very big issue - to keep stability.

The dad is opposed to homeschooling and bottomline this judge doesn't think that a religious education will serve these children well, and yet the kids are doing fine. So why change it?

The key here is to educate the judge that it is in the best interest of the child to remain homeschooling. But educating judges can happen in many ways (including impeachment).

Maybe we ought not only concentrate on educating legislators about homeschooling, but we have to start talking to judges in our communities as well.

It's time we remind judges on the benefits of homeschooling and the importance of stability in a child's life amidst divorce. They also have to understand that no one curriculum is superior to another and there is no one right way to educate a child.

Here is one short article that stresses the importance of keeping stability in a child's life during divorce - Divorcing Parents Urged Not To Change Child's School by Honorable Anne Kass. Ann Kass is a District Judge in the Second Judicial District State of New Mexico.

Here was the other article - same issue different type of education - Back in 2004 there was an article in a CT paper, "Divorce Stirs School Debate Supreme Court Orders Review In Case Where Parents Disagreed About Child's Education" (Associated Press, September 16 2004) that read:

The state Supreme Court waded into a combustible parental-rights debate Wednesday by ordering a lower court to reconsider whether a boy whose parents are divorced should attend a public or Catholic school.

In a 4-1 ruling, the high court decided in favor of the child's father, Dennis R. Sweeney, who sued in 2002 to stop his former wife from enrolling their son, who was then 5, in a parochial school.

The technical decision found that an earlier lower court ruling in favor of the boy's mother may be appealed.

It sets up a potential precedent-setting decision by the Appellate Court that could establish a standard for Connecticut on how divorced parents with joint custody make educational decisions.

"The consequences of the enrollment of a minor child in an educational institution that a joint legal custodian believes to be academically inadequate and religiously objectionable are irreparable," the justices wrote. "The lost opportunity to have a child exposed only to academic and religious influences sanctioned by a joint legal custodian cannot be replaced by any subsequent court order."

Laura-Ann Simmons, a Stamford lawyer who represented Sweeney, said that the case could eventually expand the legal standard of what is in the best interests of the child.

Other rights "include the right to practice religion any way you deem fit," she said. "With joint custody, you have the right to dictate whether a child has religious instruction or not."

Mark Henderson, a court-appointed lawyer representing the child, said that the case "may very well break ground once it goes to the substance."

Sweeney had argued that the parochial school chosen by his former wife, Dale M. Sweeney, was "small, underfunded, lacked certification" and failed to provide information on standardized testing. He also had never agreed to religious instruction for his son, he said.

The Appellate Court rejected his appeal, ruling that the trial court's order did not fall within a category of appealable orders in family cases.

In August 2002, the Superior Court allowed Dale Sweeney to enroll the child in parochial school.

The parents, who have joint custody of the child, later agreed to place the youngster in a public school for one year. Dennis Sweeney told the Supreme Court that the schooling matter was the only remaining issue in the divorce proceedings, which both parents wanted to end quickly.

The lawyer for Dale Sweeney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

In his dissent, Justice Peter Zarella said the decision did not satisfy the requirements of established legal doctrine.

It is unfortunate that control, as well as financial control, becomes a bigger part of the issue as opposed to what is best for the child. All to often what is best for the child seems to really be more about the ego and power of the parent who wants to control the terms of the divorce. At least that is what I have observed. One merely has to ask, what problems will be created for the child if more change and instability is inserted into the child's life? As if having divorcing parents isn't traumatic enough.

Most important in the equation, as expressed in the North Carolina case, is to educate the judges as to the positive outcomes of homeschooling and if the children are already doing well then they ought to be allowed to continue, no matter the extra cost to the parent paying for their care.

CT Sovereignty Resolution

Rick commented on the post that I did on the State Sovereignty initiatives happening all over the country, and I wanted to make sure that this was not missed by anyone following the issue.

He writes:

Here is a completed resolution for Connecticut, ready to go. The New Hampshire one failed because it scared some people and was demonized in the press as being secessionist. This one has teeth without seeming secessionist:


A Joint Resolution declaring sovereign State authority as so prescribed by the Tenth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over certain powers; serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates; proclaiming that certain federal legislation is null and void; instructing the State legislature to enact appropriate legislation; and directing distribution.

Resolved by this assembly:

WHEREAS, the Tenth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States limits the total scope of federal power to that which is delegated specifically by the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, aforesaid limited scope of power clearly demonstrates that the federal government was created by the several States specifically as an agent of, and subservient to, the several States; and

WHEREAS, presently, the several States are demonstrably treated as agents of, and subservient to, the federal government; and

WHEREAS, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States assures that the several States respectively, and the people, are each and unto themselves sovereign and now and have always had rights the federal government may not usurp; and

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States, Article IV, Section 4 states that “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government”; and

WHEREAS, the Ninth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States further states that ”The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”; and

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court ruled in New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), that Congress may not commandeer the States' legislative processes; and

WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous federal administrations, and some now pending from the present federal administration, and from the Congress of the United States, further violate the Tenth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Connecticut General Assembly hereby declares sovereign authority as prescribed by the Tenth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise delegated to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this serve as Notice and Demand to the federal government to cease and desist, effective immediately, any and all mandates that are beyond the scope of those delegated powers as so prescribed by the Tenth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that any and all compulsory federal legislation that directs States to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions, or requires States to pass legislation under threat of losing federal funding, are null and void within the State of Connecticut, as per the Tenth Article in Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Connecticut General Assembly shall enact appropriate legislation necessary to assert its sovereign authority as so expounded in this resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate cause a copy of this resolution be sent to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of each of the several State's respective legislatures, and each member of the Connecticut delegation to the United States Congress.

You can reach me directly at sundiamond442 AT yahoo DOT com.

For starters, we should contact Representative John Piscopo (R), 76th District. Especially those of us in his district.

In 1995, he co-sponsored this same resolution and is the only sponsor who is still serving today:

His office numbers are: 800-842-1423 or 860-240-8700 or contact him online:

If you want to know what the status is of various state initiatives check out the Right Side of Life.
Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, South Dakota and others are moving sovereignty resolutions right along through their legislatures.