[Peace-discuss] The Last Nail - upharsin.

["E. Wayne Johnson 朱稳森"]

(They poked fun at Dr. Paul in 2008 for being against the war and for 
warning of the economic collapse
that occurred in late 2008.  They poked fun at him in 1988 for being 
against the war on drugs.
They poked fun at him in the 90's for teaching Jury Nullification.)

Ron Paul - in congress 25 may 2011:  (full text)


The last nail is being driven into the coffin of the American Republic.

Yet, Congress remains in total denial as our liberties are rapidly 
fading before our eyes. The process is propelled by unwarranted fear and 
ignorance as to the true meaning of liberty. It is driven by economic 
myths, fallacies and irrational good intentions. The rule of law is 
constantly rejected and authoritarian answers are offered as panaceas 
for all our problems.

Runaway welfarism is used to benefit the rich at the expense of the 
middle class.

Who would have ever thought that the current generation and Congress 
would stand idly by and watch such a rapid disintegration of the 
American Republic? Characteristic of this epic event is the casual 
acceptance by the people and political leaders of the unitary 
presidency, which is equivalent to granting dictatorial powers to the 
President.

Our Presidents can now, on their own:
1. Order assassinations, including American citizens,
2. Operate secret military tribunals,
3. Engage in torture,
4. Enforce indefinite imprisonment without due process,
5. Order searches and seizures without proper warrants, gutting the 4th 
Amendment,
6. Ignore the 60 day rule for reporting to the Congress the nature of 
any military operations as required by the War Power Resolution,
7. Continue the Patriot Act abuses without oversight,
8. Wage war at will,
9. Treat all Americans as suspected terrorists at airports with TSA 
groping and nude x-raying.

And the Federal Reserve accommodates by counterfeiting the funds needed 
and not paid for by taxation and borrowing, permitting runaway spending, 
endless debt, and special interest bail-outs.

And all of this is not enough.
The abuses and usurpations of the war power are soon to be codified in 
the National Defense Authorization Act now rapidly moving its way 
through the Congress. Instead of repealing the 2001 Authorization for 
the Use of Military Force (AUMF), as we should, now that bin Laden is 
dead and gone, Congress is planning to massively increase the war power 
of the President. Though an opportunity presents itself to end the wars 
in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, Congress, with bipartisan support, 
obsesses on how to expand the unconstitutional war power the President 
already holds. The current proposal would allow a President to pursue 
war any time, any place, for any reason, without Congressional approval. 
Many believe this would even permit military activity against American 
suspects here at home. The proposed authority does not reference the 
9/11 attacks. It would be expanded to include the Taliban and 
"associated" forces—a dangerously vague and expansive definition of our 
potential enemies. There is no denial that the changes in s.1034 totally 
eliminate the hard-fought-for restraint on Presidential authority to go 
to war without Congressional approval achieved at the Constitutional 
Convention. Congress' war authority has been severely undermined since 
World War II beginning with the advent of the Korean War which was 
fought solely under a UN Resolution. Even today, we're waging war in 
Libya without even consulting with the Congress, similar to how we went 
to war in Bosnia in the 1990s under President Clinton.

The three major reasons for our Constitutional Convention were to:
1. Guarantee free trade and travel among the states.
2. Make gold and silver legal tender and abolish paper money.
3. Strictly limit the Executive Branch's authority to pursue war without 
Congressional approval.
But today:
1. Federal Reserve notes are legal tender, gold and silver are illegal.
2. The Interstate Commerce Clause is used to regulate all commerce at 
the expense of free trade among the states.
3. And now the final nail is placed in the coffin of Congressional 
responsibility for the war power, delivering this power completely to 
the President—a sharp and huge blow to the concept of our Republic.
\
In my view, it appears that the fate of the American Republic is now 
sealed—unless these recent trends are quickly reversed.
The saddest part of this tragedy is that all these horrible changes are 
being done in the name of patriotism and protecting freedom. They are 
justified by good intentions while believing the sacrifice of liberty is 
required for our safety. Nothing could be further from the truth.

More sadly is the conviction that our enemies are driven to attack us 
for our freedoms and prosperity, and not because of our deeply flawed 
foreign policy that has generated justifiable grievances and has 
inspired the radical violence against us. Without this understanding our 
endless, unnamed, and undeclared wars will continue and our wonderful 
experience with liberty will end.