In America‘s dilapidated education system students rarely receive the history lessons required to place current events in a historical perspective. With American‘s talking about the wrongs of George W. Bush we first need to compare him too two of the men considered to be our countries greatest Presidents, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Executive Orders
During the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was criticized by the Copperheads, a Northern faction of the Democratic Party that opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement. The Copperheads criticized Lincoln for violating the Constitution, abusing executive power, refusing to compromise with the South on slavery, declaring martial law, suspending habeas corpus, ordering 18,000 rebel leaders, public officials, and reporters arrested and held in military prisons without trial, and they held Lincoln responsible for the deaths of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that lost their lives. Any of these criticisms sounds familiar today? In addition, Lincoln spent money without congressional authorization. No President in American history had ever wielded these expanded executive powers. Even during the Civil War era, many argued against these expansions in power through the use of executive orders. For those that argue against executive orders, without Lincoln‘s usage of an executive order, the Emancipation Proclamation would never have freed the slaves.
During World War II Roosevelt faced many of the same problems as Lincoln. Even with Germany conquering Europe and the fall of Paris. Isolationists bitterly denounced Roosevelt as an irresponsible, ruthless warmonger. Even though, many Americans did not fear the Axis nations but in a fireside chat Roosevelt said that the United States was the Arsenal of Democracy and we should defend the freedom‘s that were every man‘s right.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which established the Japanese internment camps which relocated 110,000 Japanese Americans. Additionally, from 1941 to 1944 Hawaii was placed under martial law. The government fingerprinted all residents over the age of six, imposed blackouts and curfews, rationed food and gasoline, censored the news and media, censored all mail, prohibited alcohol, assigned business hours, and administered traffic and special garbage collection. Violations meant punishment without appeal by military tribunals. No matter whether you agree or disagree with the methods the United States has a long history of precedents for the spying, holding, and jailing of its citizens during times of war.
Domestic Spying
On the topic of domestic spying. During the Civil War Lincoln instituted a program that eavesdropped on telegraph conversations. Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered domestic wiretaps and even opened the American public‘s mail. Kennedy monitored civil rights activists through wiretaps. Even before the NSA, government cryptologists jumped in the domestic spy hunt with Operation Shamrock. Operation Shamrock forced private telegraphic companies to turn over the telegraph correspondence of Americans to the government. Sound anything like a program today?
Former Clinton CIA director James Woolsey set off a firestorm of protest in Europe when he told the French newspaper Le Figaro that he was ordered by Clinton in 1993 to transform Echelon into a tool for gathering economic intelligence. These orders include President Clinton asking the CIA to spy on Japanese auto manufacturers that were designing zero-emission cars and to forward that information to the Big Three US car manufacturers. The New York Times reported that the NSA and the CIA‘s Tokyo station were involved in providing detailed information to US Trade Representatives facing Japanese car companies in a trade dispute.
President Clinton and Vice-President went even further by arguing that the president has “inherent authority” under the constitution to order physical searches that include government sanctioned break-ins at the homes of U.S. citizens without any warrant.
While Al Gore didn‘t invent the internet, he did try to invent a way to violate the privacy of every American using the Internet. Declassified documents show that Vice President Gore pressed to remove due process (4th Amendment) by forcing American companies to give the US Government the ability to read any encrypted file. According to a 1996 CIA report sent to Vice President Gore the Justice Department proposed an all-out federal takeover of the computer industry. The Justice Department, proposed legislation that would ban the import and domestic manufacture, sale or distribution of encryption that does not give the federal government the ability to intercept and read any document. So where were the politicians when President Clinton authorized his wiretap programs?
In Perspective
We as a people must constantly look for perspective in every situation. Looking at the Iraq war people often forget that our first Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, failed and it took 13 years to form our current Constitution. During the Civil War the Democratic Party‘s platform was heavily influenced by the Peace wing of the party, calling the Civil War a “failure”.
Please, before you criticize, complain, or consent to an action of a government or politician, pause for a second and ask yourself if it has ever happened before? In all likelihood it has.
Many Americans are aggravated at the high price of gasoline and are looking for someone to blame. The President, politicians, big oil, and gas stations are all favored choices in the blame game. But do they really have any control over current gas prices?
First let’s look at it this way; a barrel of oil even with current historical high prices ($75 per barrel) is still amazingly low. Consider this; an oil company must first negotiate and risk partnerships with unstable governments around the world (Iraq, Iran, Niger, etc.), employ costly exploration, drill the well, transport the crude to the United States and then to the refinery, refine crude into hundreds of different gasoline formulations, transport the gas around the country, add required additives, and transport the gasoline again for sale. At $3.00 a gallon oil companies do all that for about $0.80 a gallon. It’s pretty amazing when you look at other products we use everyday.
- Want to fill your car with bottled water? Try $21.19 a gallon or $890 a barrel.
- Fill up with Miller Lite? $26.66 a gallon or $1120 a barrel.
- Go to the extreme and use a Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino? Ready for prices of $34.40 a gallon or $1445 a barrel.
So who’s making all the money? Governments. The foreign governments who control the world’s oil supply receive the bulk of the price increase. At $75 a barrel, $1.78 a gallon goes to the producers of oil such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela. Why do they get $75? That’s what people are willing to pay, so that’s what they charge.
They next largest benefactor in gasoline sales is our own government. For every gallon sold in California the local, state, and federal governments take $0.56. In other words the government makes between 4 – 18 times more then the oil companies on each gallon of gas sold. So who’s gouging who? In the below graph you can see that big oil’s profits change week to week, some weeks they make money, and some weeks they lose money. But the government always makes money.
Our precious government also causes prices to increase because of antiquated environmental regulations. The regulations force refineries to produce different blends dependent on the city and season. Retooling production to create hundreds of different formulations requires time and money. These regulations raise prices and reduce available gasoline while negligibly improving the environment. In addition to antiquated environmental regulations the Congress and States have refused to allow oil companies to construct a new refinery in over 28 years, squeezing demand. Environmentalists took 1 – 1.5 million barrels a day of the market by halting drilling in ANWR because environmentalists worried about the Caribou even though the Prudhoe Bay Caribou population has soared because of the warmth given off by the pipelines. Those million barrels would double the world’s surplus capacity. No drilling in Alaska, no drilling off the coast, no drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, no drilling in Colorado, no drilling in Utah, what’s left?
If all else fails you could always move to Europe, Amsterdam residents only pay $7.13 a gallon.
California Government Breaks Down Gas Prices For Each Step
Global Gas Prices in 2005
So the question is what is Iran up to? Over the last year Iran has designed and tested a new high-speed torpedo, continued researching long-range missile technology, began designing its first submarine, and maintains its uranium enrichment program. To understand what these developments have in common you must first look at them individually.
The Fajr-3 missile is an underwater weapon capable of traveling at 223 miles per hour and contains a very powerful warhead designed to destroy large submarines. Even if an enemy warship identifies the missile, no warship can escape from the missile due to its speed.
According to Department of Defense Commission China has already “carried out extensive transfers to Iran‘s solid-fueled ballistic missile program.” In these transfers Iran received the guidance systems, computers, and testing equipment to design and construct long-range missiles.
Iran has begun producing its first locally-built submarine which is designed to remain undetected and fire missiles and torpedoes simultaneously. Iran‘s inventory of submarines currently includes up to six Russian-built SSK or SSI Kilo class diesel submarines. The vessel, a prototype of which is undergoing tests, is designed for rapid deployment, said the ministry, which gave no further details.
Iran continues to enrich uranium with indifference to United States, the European Union, and United Nations. Using current technology each Iranian centrifuge can only refine a few grams at a time. The isotope U-235 must be refined from naturally occurring levels of 0.72% to 3%-5% for reactor use and between 80%-90% for weapons grade material which takes time. To speed refinement Iran is constructing and designing new centrifuge facilities capable of enriching uranium faster and more efficiently.
Together these developments create an undetectable submarine capable of launching nuclear and non-nuclear missile attacks on the United States, Europe, and Israel. Armed with high speed underwater torpedoes, Iranian submarines would also be able to destroy American naval assets. With the ability to destroy American naval vessels, Iranian submarines could enter a country‘s coastal waters and launch a nuclear ballistic missile. The nuclear missile is not a standard missile designed to destroy cities and kill civilians. This missile would detonate 100 miles over the United States, killing no one. What a nuclear detonation 100 miles over the United States would emit a high-energy electromagnetic pulse. Such a pulse would damage and overload any electronic equipment, over thousands of miles, including the power grid, computers, automobiles, and any of the electronic devices used every day. Such an attack would cripple any nation attacked with such a weapon devastating its economy and infrastructure.
How Do You Enrich Uranium
How Do You Construct a Nuclear Warhead
How Do You Construct a EMP Bomb
It‘s laughable that environmentalists think that changing 5 light bulbs would be the equivalent removing 8 million cars from the road. The truth, about 3 million cars, while still quite a few cars, let‘s look at some comparisons.
-8 million cars produce 140 billion lbs CO2/yr
-Humans produce 1.2 trillion lb of CO2 each year, just by breathing
-You always hear about the Hollywood celebrities complaining about global warming and pollution. Well, just one trip from LA to New York in a G5 emits more CO2 then 3 cars emit in a year!
Want to look at the math? Well, we have it .
Illegal, Censure, Impeach
Russ Feingold, Wisconsin‘s Democratic Senator, continues to shout about censuring and impeaching President Bush about ”Domestic Wiretapping”. Russ Feingold and his Democratic followers believe that President Bush‘s authorization of the NSA to tap Americans linked to terrorists without warrants is illegal. Just one small problem it‘s not.
Just weeks ago three former FISA courts, one of which helped write the law, all testified in front of a Senate Committee. All three testified that what President Bush authorized was completely and entirely legal. Russ Feingold and his Democratic fans have short memories because Presidents Clinton and Carter both authorized expansive wiretap programs without the use of court orders. President Clinton‘s executive order can be found here; and President Carter‘s here. During the 1990‘s the NSA monitored millions of private phone calls, emails, and other communications placed by US citizens and citizens of other countries using the NSA‘s Echelon system. The Echelon system captures virtually every electronic conversation occurring around the world. The CIA director under Clinton set off a firestorm of protest in Europe when he told the French newspaper Le Figaro that Clinton ordered that Echelon be used for economic espionage against other countries.
President Clinton and Vice-President went even further by arguing that the president has inherent authority under the constitution to order physical searches that include break-ins at the homes of U.S. citizens without any warrant or permission from any outside body. So where were Democratic Senator Russ Feingold and his colleagues when President Clinton authorized his illegal wiretap program?
While Al Gore didn‘t invent the internet, he did try to invent a way to violate the privacy of every American using the Internet. Declassified documents show that Vice President Gore pressed to remove due process (4th Amendment) by forcing American companies to give the US Government the ability to read any encrypted file. According to a 1996 CIA report sent to Vice President Gore the Justice Department proposed an all-out federal takeover of the computer industry. The Justice Department, proposed legislation that would ban the import and domestic manufacture, sale or distribution of encryption that does not give the federal government the ability to intercept and read any document.
It‘s amazing how many people continue to shout that the war on terror and invasion of Iraq is illegal and unconstitutional. People forget that at the end of the first Persian Gulf War Iraq surrendered to the Allied Forces. The surrender demanded free access for weapons inspectors to all weapon facilities and the establishment of two ”No Fly Zones”. In 1998, weapon inspectors were thrown out of Iraq and since the surrender Iraqi air defenses unsuccessfully attempted to shoot down American and British planes. Both these violations by Iraq are acts of war and nullify the surrender. Adding even more wood to the fire Iraq attempted to assassinate former President Bush, an act of war.
Anyone that has taken any civics lessons knows that Congress must declare war. But what is a declaration of war? A declaration of war is nothing more than a public statement that normal diplomatic communications and rights that are usually extended to a foreign government are null and void. Any act passed through Congress that expressly authorizes the United States to use military force against another country is, in fact, a declaration of war. By declaring war Congress gives the President blanket powers to conduct the war as he sees fit. But Congress does have the power to reign in a wartime president. Congress can cut funding, impeach the president, decline any peace treaty, or just declare the war over.
Congress has passed multiple acts that give the blanket powers. The 1998 Iraq Regime Change Act explicitly declared United States policy to be the overthrow of the government of Iraq. The 2002 authorization of military force against Iraq declares war yet again. Finally post 9/11 the Congress authorized the President to use military force against any state or entity that may have been involved in the 9/11 attacks. This act is so general it gives the President the power to act anyone and everyone he sees fit.
So the next time someone says the Iraqi war is illegal and unconstitutional, just laugh and walk away…
American‘s are bombarded daily by the media about the threat of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. The main problem with all the talk is that the media has no clue about the differences and the threats. First and foremost a ‘weapon of mass destruction‘ constitutes any NBC (Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical) agent.
The deadliest and most destructive agents are not nuclear or chemical but simple biological bacteria and viruses. While chemical weapons could kill hundreds and possibly thousand, nuclear weapons could kill hundreds of thousand if not millions, a weaponized biological agent could potentially kill a hundred million or more. Almost all biological agents are extremely different to weaponize putting them beyond the grasp of a terrorist group. The exceptions are anthrax and smallpox which are easily distributed once obtained. Anthrax fortunately can not be spread by those infected which limits the number to potential deaths. Unfortunately individuals infected with anthrax have an 80% mortality rate.
Smallpox has killed more people over human history than any other disease or illness. Through vaccination smallpox was irradiated and all stocks of the virus destroyed with the exception of Russia and the United States. Both of which continue to hold samples of the virus. Highly infectious, the worst strains of smallpox kills 45%-50% of those infected which could result in hundreds of millions dead. Luckily all known sources of smallpox are secure and out of the hands of terrorists.
Left out but not forgotten, recently scientists have been able to recover and rebuild a sample of the 1918 Spanish Flu which killed 40 million. Every year, new viruses emerge from the animals in our environment. The worst carrier are not the birds and monkeys the media reports but bats. Bats located in South-Eastern Asia are believed to carry a few viruses everyone‘s familiar with such as rabies, SARS, HIV, and Ebola. And then a few people have never heard of Nipah and Hendra which are extremely deadly in their own right.
But remember, the most deadly biological weapons are extremely difficult to obtain, produce, and more importantly weaponize. So while the possibility exists and the price would be high the threat from a terrorist caused epidemic is low. Unknown to most Americans there exists an even greater threat very few people are familar with, EMP weapons, but we‘ll cover those another day….
Ronald Reagan would have never let illegal immigration get out of control and would have enforced the law. Politicians today actually want to let ‘illegal immigrants‘ break those laws, the key word illegal. If bank robbers and murders demanded few cops what would we say? Yes? What example are we setting if we allow people break our laws without punishment? Even Socialist Canada is deporting illegal immigrants, 10‘s of thousands, and only with a few days notice. But no the United States, a country of laws, can‘t deport them because America is a country of immigrants, but they were legal immigrants, people that stood in line and waited. Those that come to America, become Americans they don‘t wave any other as illegal immigrants do today. America is the melting pot of the world and allowing illegal immigration could very well destroy what made this country great.
Oh but the farmers, what are they to do… Easy, grow something else and let foreign countries supply the United States with the berries and fruits Americans demand. Yes, by stopping illegal immigration Americans actually develop the third world by driving demand for the products they can produce for less.
Oh but the poor Mexicans just want to leave the squalor of their country. It‘s their fault for continually electing corrupt socialist politicians. A third of all Mexican businesses have to pay bribes just to stay in business. It takes on average 52 days to start a business, craziness. Most major companies, gas, oil, telecommunications, transportation, construction, are government own or have strong ties. Mexico‘s solution: embrace capitalism.
America‘s Simple Solution:
Use supply and demand to reduce the demand of illegal immigrants to enter America. You do this by punishing employers for hiring illegal immigrants so they won‘t hire them and they will leave of their own accord. Additional actions would further reduce the problem by:
1) Secure the border by deploying 36,000 National Guard Troops (6 weeks)
2) Construct a barrier along the border at main infultration points (2-3 years)
3) Train border patrols agents to take over for the National Guard
4) Give businesses one year before fining them for hiring illegal immigrants
5) Increase the quanity of work visa‘s
6) Allow supply and demand to reequalize the economy so that America does not require illegal immigration
7) Deport illegal immigrants
8) Increase the number of legal immigrants entering the US annually
Welcome to the official launch of the Conservative Website that asks one single question, “What would Ronald Reagan Do?” If you have a question we have the answer, debunking and destroying society‘s myths. Over the next few weeks we will introduce articles that examine and make fun of the ideas people believe and fear.
