James Wesley Rawles
I’ve been in law enforcement for the past 18 years. I have attended a variety of training over those years. During the 1990s, most training I attended was community-oriented, sponsored by local agencies or private companies specializing in police training. Themes common to training of the past included topics such as Constitutional rights, community partnerships, youth-oriented programs and problem-oriented policing.
During the past several years, I have witnessed a dramatic shift in the focus of law enforcement training. Law enforcement courses have moved away from a local community focus to a federally dominated model of complete social control. Most training I have attended over the past two years have been sponsored by Department of Homeland Security (DHS), namely the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
No matter what topic the training session concerns, every DHS sponsored course I have attended over the past few years never fails to branch off into warnings about potential domestic terrorists in the community. While this may sound like a valid officer and community safety issue, you may be disturbed to learn how our Federal government describes a typical domestic terrorist.
These federal trainers describe the dangers of “extremists” and “militia groups” roaming the community and hiding in plain sight, ready to attack. Officers are instructed how to recognize these domestic terrorists by their behavior, views and common characteristics. State data bases are kept to track suspected domestic terrorists and officers are instructed on reporting procedures to state and federal agencies. The state I work in, like many others, have what is known as a “fusion center” that compiles a watch list of suspicious people.
So how does a person qualify as a potential domestic terrorist? Based on the training I have attended, here are characteristics that qualify:
•Expressions of libertarian philosophies (statements, bumper stickers)
•Second Amendment-oriented views (NRA or gun club membership, holding a CCW permit)
•Survivalist literature (fictional books such as "Patriots" and "One Second After" are mentioned by name)
•Self-sufficiency (stockpiling food, ammo, hand tools, medical supplies)
•Fear of economic collapse (buying gold and barter items)
•Religious views concerning the book of Revelation (apocalypse, anti-Christ)
•Expressed fears of Big Brother or big government
•Homeschooling
•Declarations of Constitutional rights and civil liberties
•Belief in a New World Order conspiracy
A recent training session I attended encouraged law enforcement agencies to work with business owners to alert police when customers appear to be stockpiling items. An example was given that a federal agent was monitoring customers at a well known hunting and fishing retail outlet and noting who was purchasing certain items. This is something to remember the next time you purchase a case of ammo at one of these popular outdoor sports retail stores.
Methods of developing evidence of terrorist activity from virtually any search have also been discussed. Various common materials which may be associated with homemade explosives are listed, such as lengths of pipe, gunpowder, matches, flammable liquids and fireworks. Officers are told when these items are found, they can be listed as “bomb making materials”. The training even goes so far as to instruct officers that the items are cleverly disguised as legitimate, such as gasoline stored near a lawn mower, pipes stored in a shop building or gunpowder stored with reloading materials.
One course I attended used the example of a person employed as a plumber being the target of a search warrant. In this example, the officers were told how to use his employment as a plumber as further evidence of terrorism. The suspect’s employment would be described as an elaborate scheme to justify possessing pipes and chemicals so as to have bomb making materials readily available. Based on this example, all plumbers are potential pipe bomb makers. All gun dealers are plotting to provide arms to gangs or terrorists. All pest control companies are preparing mass poisonings. By using this logic, simply having the ability to do something criminal automatically makes the person guilty of plotting the crime. With all the various methods of manufacturing methamphetamine, it would also be easy to claim that a disassembled clandestine drug lab was located during the search. In other words, it is easy to frame anyone for possessing bomb making materials (or other crimes) if the officer knows what items to list in the report and how to link these items to terrorism.
Another common tactic used in DHS sponsored training is the slander of certain ideologies by linking an erroneous characteristic to a particular group. Here are some examples:
•These groups hold the anniversaries of certain dates as significant such a Ruby Ridge, Waco and Hitler’s birthday
•They oppose abortion, support gun rights and are affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan
•They are fearful of big government, espouse support for the Constitution and want to kill police officers
•These groups collect firearms, survivalist books and explosives
•These extremists read books such as Patriots, One Second After and The Anarchist Cookbook
•They are religious zealots, reading the book of Revelation, speak of the second coming of Christ and plan mass murders to summon the end of the world
•These people grow their own food, raise livestock and plot attacks on commercial food production facilities
Do you see how this tactic works? List common characteristics of libertarian/conservative minded people, then throw in a slanderous accusation. If A and B apply, then you should automatically presume C applies as well. If they were disturbed by the incidents at Ruby Ridge and Waco, then obviously they must celebrate Hitler’s birthday. Officers are being conditioned to assume criminal and terroristic views when politically-incorrect views are observed. As simple-minded and ridiculous as this line of thinking is, there are some officers who unfortunately buy into this.
Another training session I attended two years ago discussed the dangerous of people who have strong views of the U.S. Constitution. One trainer made the statement that “these people actually believe the Second Amendment gives them the personal right to own a gun.” Of course, the trainer failed to mention that our Founding Fathers, as well as recent Supreme Court rulings, verify this view as being completely accurate. The obvious attempt here was to suggest to officers that the Second Amendment does not apply to individual gun ownership and to be suspicious of anyone who holds such a view. It was also stressed to be cautious of anyone who quotes the Constitution and even worse, actually possesses a copy of this radical document. Incredibly, in the United States of America today belief in our founding legal principles is now grounds for being labeled a domestic terrorism. Imagine how they would respond to some of the known statements of Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry or George Mason concerning the issue of individual liberty and limited government. It is true that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
There are several things that we, the patriotic, self-sufficient defenders of liberty can do to counter this effort. First, get involved in local elections. Elect county sheriffs who will not fall for such propaganda nor go along with oppressive federal agendas. Elect city council members who will not tolerate such behavior by their city police department. Elect state representatives who will hold state agencies accountable for participating in such tactics. Bring these issues up during elections, demand a public statement on their position on such propaganda and a promise to stand against these efforts while in office.
Second, get to know your local law enforcement officers. It is much more difficult for DHS to brainwash officers against people they personally know. When you are viewed as a neighbor, friend or fellow Christian, these officers are far less likely to submit your name to a terrorist watch list or view you as a potential terrorist. We want local officers to be personally offended when they hear members of their community slandered in such ways.
Third, always be friendly and courteous when speaking to your local officers. Even if that officer has fallen for this propaganda, be sure not to resemble the negative stereotypes labeled to us. After the fifth, sixth or maybe tenth time he deals with one of us, he or she may come to realize we are of no threat to law enforcement or anyone for that matter. Eventually, the officer may attend one of these training sessions, hear the propaganda and say to himself, “This isn’t true, I’ve dealt with many people like this, they are God-fearing, liberty loving Americans, they are not the enemy!”
I hope you find this information useful. Please remember that there are many people in law enforcement that have not, and will never, fall for DHS propaganda. Some of the most patriotic defenders of liberty and believers in self-sufficiency can be found in law enforcement. Officers like me will continue to do our part to fight tyranny from within while the general public can do its part by electing liberty-minded candidates to office and educating their friends and neighbors about issues important to all of us.
Source: SurvivalBlog.com
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Going the Way of Commies and Nazis
Mac Slavo
When the TSA introduced its policy of enhanced pat downs prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday last year we noted that it was only a matter of time before such security measures were introduced throughout public venues and transportation infrastructure throughout the country.
In the last year, we’ve seen exactly that happen. As we speak the police state is expanding its monitoring and control across ever public access point in the country, including train stations, bus terminals, sporting events, digital social networks and, most recently, our roadway systems.
We warned of the spread of rapid response Visual Intermodal Protection and Response (VIPR) checkpoints in 2010 when they were first used at Greyhound bus terminals, and now their use has been broadened to include impromptu stops of motorists on a state-wide level, starting first in Tennessee:
Via The Intel Hub
The full scale Department of Homeland Security takeover of America shifted into high gear Tuesday with an army of TSA agents conducting illegal, 4th amendment killing, random searches throughout Tennessee.
The Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program was put into motion at 2 public bus stations as well as at 5 weigh stations throughout the state.
The program is billed as a must have anti terrorism measure when in reality no terrorists have ever been arrested by TSA and all the supposed terrorists who have been arrested in America since 9/11 have literally been run by the FBI.
In East Germany Stasi fashion, DHS officials are also recruiting multiple truck drivers in the area for their tell on your neighbors, see something say something program.
The underlying fact is that these random checkpoints and searches are NOT for terrorists, (they essentially do not exist without the help of the FBI) they are for everyday American people.
This is far from “fighting” terrorism, this is about complete control of our once free society as staged terror plot after staged terror plot is splashed across the media in a move to get Americans to submit to a full scale police state all in the name of security.
Source: The Intel Hub
The purpose of this operation is not to respond to any particular terrorist threat. It is to desensitize the American people to what can only be described as nullification of our Constitutionally protected fourth amendment rights which explicitly protect our persons and property from unreasonable searches and seizure, and to clearly demonstrate to the American people who’s in charge by instilling a sense of authority and fear.
The hundreds of billions of dollars our government confiscates from honest, law abiding citizens each year are now being used to militarize and lock down the entire nation.
This is precisely what was done in Communist Russia and Nazi Germany.
Under Communist rule, Russians and eastern Europeans were regularly subjected to such checks when travelling from town to town. Prior to engaging in travel behind the iron curtain, now matter how mundane or innocent the purpose, travelers were first required to obtain permission from a local commissar who would determine if they were eligible. All of this was executed with extreme precision and effectiveness under a system that lacked modern day biometric identification and computerized tracking capabilities.
The attacks on September 11, 2011 proved that the country could be locked down within a few hours – airline travel, border crossings and all transportation pipelines. It can be done. Quickly. Efficiently. Effectively.
The next step, which is now progress, is to control the flow of traffic – be it digital or physical – within the borders of the United States.
Proponents of the new policies will often make the asinine and fallacious argument that we’ve heard all too often from ignorant myrmidons who have no concept of liberty and the purpose of Constitutional protection , “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.”
The counter argument, as pointed out by the ACLU, should be “”If I’m not doing anything wrong, why is the government snooping on me?”
Source: SHTFPlan
Related: TSA begins VIPR highway inspections in Tennessee
When the TSA introduced its policy of enhanced pat downs prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday last year we noted that it was only a matter of time before such security measures were introduced throughout public venues and transportation infrastructure throughout the country.
In the last year, we’ve seen exactly that happen. As we speak the police state is expanding its monitoring and control across ever public access point in the country, including train stations, bus terminals, sporting events, digital social networks and, most recently, our roadway systems.
We warned of the spread of rapid response Visual Intermodal Protection and Response (VIPR) checkpoints in 2010 when they were first used at Greyhound bus terminals, and now their use has been broadened to include impromptu stops of motorists on a state-wide level, starting first in Tennessee:
Via The Intel Hub
The full scale Department of Homeland Security takeover of America shifted into high gear Tuesday with an army of TSA agents conducting illegal, 4th amendment killing, random searches throughout Tennessee.
The Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program was put into motion at 2 public bus stations as well as at 5 weigh stations throughout the state.
The program is billed as a must have anti terrorism measure when in reality no terrorists have ever been arrested by TSA and all the supposed terrorists who have been arrested in America since 9/11 have literally been run by the FBI.
In East Germany Stasi fashion, DHS officials are also recruiting multiple truck drivers in the area for their tell on your neighbors, see something say something program.
The underlying fact is that these random checkpoints and searches are NOT for terrorists, (they essentially do not exist without the help of the FBI) they are for everyday American people.
This is far from “fighting” terrorism, this is about complete control of our once free society as staged terror plot after staged terror plot is splashed across the media in a move to get Americans to submit to a full scale police state all in the name of security.
Source: The Intel Hub
The purpose of this operation is not to respond to any particular terrorist threat. It is to desensitize the American people to what can only be described as nullification of our Constitutionally protected fourth amendment rights which explicitly protect our persons and property from unreasonable searches and seizure, and to clearly demonstrate to the American people who’s in charge by instilling a sense of authority and fear.
The hundreds of billions of dollars our government confiscates from honest, law abiding citizens each year are now being used to militarize and lock down the entire nation.
This is precisely what was done in Communist Russia and Nazi Germany.
Under Communist rule, Russians and eastern Europeans were regularly subjected to such checks when travelling from town to town. Prior to engaging in travel behind the iron curtain, now matter how mundane or innocent the purpose, travelers were first required to obtain permission from a local commissar who would determine if they were eligible. All of this was executed with extreme precision and effectiveness under a system that lacked modern day biometric identification and computerized tracking capabilities.
The attacks on September 11, 2011 proved that the country could be locked down within a few hours – airline travel, border crossings and all transportation pipelines. It can be done. Quickly. Efficiently. Effectively.
The next step, which is now progress, is to control the flow of traffic – be it digital or physical – within the borders of the United States.
Proponents of the new policies will often make the asinine and fallacious argument that we’ve heard all too often from ignorant myrmidons who have no concept of liberty and the purpose of Constitutional protection , “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.”
The counter argument, as pointed out by the ACLU, should be “”If I’m not doing anything wrong, why is the government snooping on me?”
Source: SHTFPlan
Related: TSA begins VIPR highway inspections in Tennessee
Monday, October 17, 2011
Big Banks Refuse to Let People Close Accounts
Washington's Blog
Big Banks Try to Stop Customers From Moving Their Money
I’ve long supported the campaign to “Move Your Money” from the giant, insolvent banks who take billions in bailouts and use the money to speculate and to corrupt the system to smaller banks. See this and this.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters have announced that November 5th is “Bank Transfer Day”, a targeted day to “Move Your Money”.
The big banks are trying to preempt the efforts of their customers to move their money to smaller banks.
This week, protesters were arrested when they tried to close their Citibank accounts:
And a Bank of American branch in Santa Cruz refused to let protesters close their accounts, saying they could not be protesters and customers at the same time:
In August, Bank of America used police (and reportedly swat teams) to stop St. Louis Bank of America customers from closing their accounts:
Source: Washington's Blog
Big Banks Try to Stop Customers From Moving Their Money
I’ve long supported the campaign to “Move Your Money” from the giant, insolvent banks who take billions in bailouts and use the money to speculate and to corrupt the system to smaller banks. See this and this.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters have announced that November 5th is “Bank Transfer Day”, a targeted day to “Move Your Money”.
The big banks are trying to preempt the efforts of their customers to move their money to smaller banks.
This week, protesters were arrested when they tried to close their Citibank accounts:
And a Bank of American branch in Santa Cruz refused to let protesters close their accounts, saying they could not be protesters and customers at the same time:
In August, Bank of America used police (and reportedly swat teams) to stop St. Louis Bank of America customers from closing their accounts:
Source: Washington's Blog
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Not a Single Christian Church Left in Afghanistan, Says State Department
Edwin Mora
There is not a single, public Christian church left in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. State Department.
This reflects the state of religious freedom in that country ten years after the United States first invaded it and overthrew its Islamist Taliban regime.
In the intervening decade, U.S. taxpayers have spent $440 billion to support Afghanistan's new government and more than 1,700 U.S. military personnel have died serving in that country.
The last public Christian church in Afghanistan was razed in March 2010, according to the State Department's latest International Religious Freedom Report. The report, which was released last month and covers the period of July 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010, also states that “there were no Christian schools in the country.”
“There is no longer a public Christian church; the courts have not upheld the church's claim to its 99-year lease, and the landowner destroyed the building in March [2010],” reads the State Department report on religious freedom. “[Private] chapels and churches for the international community of various faiths are located on several military bases, PRTs [Provincial Reconstruction Teams], and at the Italian embassy. Some citizens who converted to Christianity as refugees have returned.”
In recent times, freedom of religion has declined in Afghanistan, according to the State Department.
“The government’s level of respect for religious freedom in law and in practice declined during the reporting period, particularly for Christian groups and individuals,” reads the State Department report.
“Negative societal opinions and suspicion of Christian activities led to targeting of Christian groups and individuals, including Muslim converts to Christianity," said the report. "The lack of government responsiveness and protection for these groups and individuals contributed to the deterioration of religious freedom.”
Most Christians in the country refuse to “state their beliefs or gather openly to worship,” said the State Department.
More than 1,700 U.S. military personnel have died serving in the decade-old Afghanistan war, according to CNSNews.com’s database of all U.S. casualties in Afghanistan. A September audit released jointly by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the State Department’s Office of Inspector General, found that the U.S. government will spend at least $1.7 billion to support the civilian effort from 2009-2011.
According to that report, the $1.7 billion excludes additional security costs, which the report says the State Department priced at about $491 million.
A March 2011 report by the Congressional Research Service showed that overall the United States has spent more than $440 billion in the Afghanistan war. Christian aid from the international community has also gone to aid the Afghan government.
Nevertheless, according to the State Department, the lack of non-Muslim religious centers in Afghanistan can be blamed in part on a “strapped government budget,” which is primarily fueled by the U.S. aid.
“There were no explicit restrictions for religious minority groups to establish places of worship and training of clergy to serve their communities,” says the report, “however, very few public places of worship exist for minorities due to a strapped government budget.”
The report acknowledged that Afghanistan’s post-Taliban constitution, which was ratified with the help of U.S. mediation in 2004, can be contradictory when it comes to the free exercise of religion.
While the new constitution states that Islam is the “religion of the state” and that “no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam,” it also proclaims that “followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of the law.”
However, “the right to change one’s religion was not respected either in law or in practice,” according to the State Department.
“Muslims who converted away from Islam risked losing their marriages, rejection from their families and villages, and loss of jobs,” according to the report. “Legal aid for imprisoned converts away from Islam remains difficult due to the personal objection of Afghan lawyers to defend apostates.”
In this image made available from the Afghanistan Presidential Palace, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, shakes hand with new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, July 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Presidential Palace)
The report does note that “in recent years neither the national nor local authorities have imposed criminal penalties on coverts from Islam.” The report says that “conversion from Islam is considered apostasy and is punishable by death under some interpretations of Islamic rule in the country.”
Also, in recent years, the death punishment for blasphemy “has not been carried out,” according to the State Department.
According to the State Department report, the United States continues to promote religious freedom in Afghanistan--even though the country no longer has even one Christian church.
“The U.S. government regularly discusses religious freedom with government officials as part of its overall policy to promote human rights,” according to the report.
According to the State Department report, more than 99 percent of the population, estimated between 24 and 33 million people, is either Sunni (80 percent) or Shia (19 percent) Muslim. Non-Muslim religious groups, including the estimated 500 to 8,000 strong Christian community in the country, make up less than 1 percent of the population. Other non-Muslim groups in the country are Sikhs, Bahais, and Hindus.
Source: CNSNews.com
Note: So much for the FREEDOM we are supposed to be spreading around the world. Watchman57
There is not a single, public Christian church left in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. State Department.
This reflects the state of religious freedom in that country ten years after the United States first invaded it and overthrew its Islamist Taliban regime.
In the intervening decade, U.S. taxpayers have spent $440 billion to support Afghanistan's new government and more than 1,700 U.S. military personnel have died serving in that country.
The last public Christian church in Afghanistan was razed in March 2010, according to the State Department's latest International Religious Freedom Report. The report, which was released last month and covers the period of July 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010, also states that “there were no Christian schools in the country.”
“There is no longer a public Christian church; the courts have not upheld the church's claim to its 99-year lease, and the landowner destroyed the building in March [2010],” reads the State Department report on religious freedom. “[Private] chapels and churches for the international community of various faiths are located on several military bases, PRTs [Provincial Reconstruction Teams], and at the Italian embassy. Some citizens who converted to Christianity as refugees have returned.”
In recent times, freedom of religion has declined in Afghanistan, according to the State Department.
“The government’s level of respect for religious freedom in law and in practice declined during the reporting period, particularly for Christian groups and individuals,” reads the State Department report.
“Negative societal opinions and suspicion of Christian activities led to targeting of Christian groups and individuals, including Muslim converts to Christianity," said the report. "The lack of government responsiveness and protection for these groups and individuals contributed to the deterioration of religious freedom.”
Most Christians in the country refuse to “state their beliefs or gather openly to worship,” said the State Department.
More than 1,700 U.S. military personnel have died serving in the decade-old Afghanistan war, according to CNSNews.com’s database of all U.S. casualties in Afghanistan. A September audit released jointly by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the State Department’s Office of Inspector General, found that the U.S. government will spend at least $1.7 billion to support the civilian effort from 2009-2011.
According to that report, the $1.7 billion excludes additional security costs, which the report says the State Department priced at about $491 million.
A March 2011 report by the Congressional Research Service showed that overall the United States has spent more than $440 billion in the Afghanistan war. Christian aid from the international community has also gone to aid the Afghan government.
Nevertheless, according to the State Department, the lack of non-Muslim religious centers in Afghanistan can be blamed in part on a “strapped government budget,” which is primarily fueled by the U.S. aid.
“There were no explicit restrictions for religious minority groups to establish places of worship and training of clergy to serve their communities,” says the report, “however, very few public places of worship exist for minorities due to a strapped government budget.”
The report acknowledged that Afghanistan’s post-Taliban constitution, which was ratified with the help of U.S. mediation in 2004, can be contradictory when it comes to the free exercise of religion.
While the new constitution states that Islam is the “religion of the state” and that “no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam,” it also proclaims that “followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of the law.”
However, “the right to change one’s religion was not respected either in law or in practice,” according to the State Department.
“Muslims who converted away from Islam risked losing their marriages, rejection from their families and villages, and loss of jobs,” according to the report. “Legal aid for imprisoned converts away from Islam remains difficult due to the personal objection of Afghan lawyers to defend apostates.”
In this image made available from the Afghanistan Presidential Palace, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, shakes hand with new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, July 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Presidential Palace)
The report does note that “in recent years neither the national nor local authorities have imposed criminal penalties on coverts from Islam.” The report says that “conversion from Islam is considered apostasy and is punishable by death under some interpretations of Islamic rule in the country.”
Also, in recent years, the death punishment for blasphemy “has not been carried out,” according to the State Department.
According to the State Department report, the United States continues to promote religious freedom in Afghanistan--even though the country no longer has even one Christian church.
“The U.S. government regularly discusses religious freedom with government officials as part of its overall policy to promote human rights,” according to the report.
According to the State Department report, more than 99 percent of the population, estimated between 24 and 33 million people, is either Sunni (80 percent) or Shia (19 percent) Muslim. Non-Muslim religious groups, including the estimated 500 to 8,000 strong Christian community in the country, make up less than 1 percent of the population. Other non-Muslim groups in the country are Sikhs, Bahais, and Hindus.
Source: CNSNews.com
Note: So much for the FREEDOM we are supposed to be spreading around the world. Watchman57
DOJ: Feds Can Tell Church Who Its Ministers Will Be
Terence P. Jeffrey
In yet another stunning attack on freedom of religion, President Barack Obama's Justice Department asked the Supreme Court last week to give the federal government the power to tell a church who its ministers will be.
The case involves a former teacher at Lutheran school, who along with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is pushing a claim that a Lutheran congregation should be forced to restore her ministry position.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State and American Atheists, Inc. have filed briefs siding with the Obama administration against the church.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, and the American Center for Law and Justice are among those who have filed briefs supporting the Lutherans.
In 1999, the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Mich., hired Cheryl Perich to be a lay teacher on a one-year contract in its kindergarten.
The next year, Perich became a "called" teacher at the school after she became a commissioned minister in the church.
"To receive a call, a candidate must be selected by a local church congregation," said a brief the church submitted to the Supreme Court that was prepared by lawyers at the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty and Douglas Laycock of the University of Virginia Law School.
"At Hosanna-Tabor, the school board typically presents a choice of candidates to the congregation, and after prayerfully considering the candidates, the congregation extends a call via congregational vote," the brief said. "Once the call has been accepted, the candidate is installed in office via the public rite of 'commissioning,' and is recognized as a 'Minister of Religion, Commissioned' — also known as a 'commissioned minister.'"
As a minister in the school, Perich taught religious classes, led students in prayer and performed other religious tasks. She was also expected to integrate the teaching of the Lutheran faith into all so-called "secular" classes, including math, science, social studies and art.
In 2004, Perich was diagnosed with narcolepsy and was unable to teach the fall semester. In January 2005, when she could not return, the school hired another teacher to take her place during the spring.
Later that month, according to a brief filed by the Justice Department's Office of the Solicitor General, Perich informed the school's principal, Stacey Hoeft, via email that she would be able to return to work the following month.
The principal informed her they had already hired a replacement teacher for the rest of the year.
The congregation then voted to ask Perich for a "peaceful release from her call."
"'Peaceful release' is a religious act by which a congregation and a called minister agree to release one another from the mutual obligations of the call," says the brief submitted by the church.
"Peaceful releases are common, and they leave the called minister in good standing and eligible for a new call."
Perich declined to be peacefully released. In late February, she showed up at the school and met with Principal Hoeft.
"Later that day, Perich told Hoeft that if she were not reinstated, she would sue the church," said the church's brief. "Hoeft immediately asked Perich if that were what she really meant, because a lawsuit would clearly violate the church's conflict resolution policy applicable to called employees. Perich repeated the threat."
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod explained this teaching in its own brief: "St. Paul teaches in his first letter to the Corinthians that Christians should generally resolve their disputes internally without going to the secular courts for relief." For this reason, the church has developed procedures for settling internal disputes.
A few weeks after the meeting between Perich and Hoeft, the Hosanna-Tabor congregation voted to "rescind Perich's call" because she had threatened to sue the church contrary to the church's teaching.
"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against the church under the Americans With Disabilities Act, alleging a single count of retaliation," says the church's brief. "Perich intervened, alleging the same retaliation claim and adding a retaliation claim under state law. Neither complaint alleges disability discrimination. Both complaints request an order reinstating Perich to her former position as a commissioned minister, together with back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and injunctive relief ordering new 'policies, practices, and programs' at the church."
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod told the court in its brief that its views on the ministry and the settlement of disputes may not be "widely shared" or "widely understood." "But," the church said, "they have been the views of orthodox Lutherans for centuries."
Acting Deputy Solicitor General Leondra Kruger told the court, during oral arguments, that the federal government should be able to trump the church on these decisions.
"Their submission is that the hiring and firing decisions with respect to parochial school teachers and with respect to priests is categorically off limits," said Kruger. "And we think that that is a rule that is insufficiently attentive to the relative public and private interests at stake, interests that this court has repeatedly recognized are important in determining freedom of association claims."
Kruger contended this did not mean the government could order the Catholic Church to ordain female priests. But, even then, according to her argument, it would be a matter of the government weighing "the relative public and private interests at stake."
What is at stake is the First Amendment and the religious freedom of all Americans.
Source: CNSNews.com
In yet another stunning attack on freedom of religion, President Barack Obama's Justice Department asked the Supreme Court last week to give the federal government the power to tell a church who its ministers will be.
The case involves a former teacher at Lutheran school, who along with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is pushing a claim that a Lutheran congregation should be forced to restore her ministry position.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State and American Atheists, Inc. have filed briefs siding with the Obama administration against the church.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, and the American Center for Law and Justice are among those who have filed briefs supporting the Lutherans.
In 1999, the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Mich., hired Cheryl Perich to be a lay teacher on a one-year contract in its kindergarten.
The next year, Perich became a "called" teacher at the school after she became a commissioned minister in the church.
"To receive a call, a candidate must be selected by a local church congregation," said a brief the church submitted to the Supreme Court that was prepared by lawyers at the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty and Douglas Laycock of the University of Virginia Law School.
"At Hosanna-Tabor, the school board typically presents a choice of candidates to the congregation, and after prayerfully considering the candidates, the congregation extends a call via congregational vote," the brief said. "Once the call has been accepted, the candidate is installed in office via the public rite of 'commissioning,' and is recognized as a 'Minister of Religion, Commissioned' — also known as a 'commissioned minister.'"
As a minister in the school, Perich taught religious classes, led students in prayer and performed other religious tasks. She was also expected to integrate the teaching of the Lutheran faith into all so-called "secular" classes, including math, science, social studies and art.
In 2004, Perich was diagnosed with narcolepsy and was unable to teach the fall semester. In January 2005, when she could not return, the school hired another teacher to take her place during the spring.
Later that month, according to a brief filed by the Justice Department's Office of the Solicitor General, Perich informed the school's principal, Stacey Hoeft, via email that she would be able to return to work the following month.
The principal informed her they had already hired a replacement teacher for the rest of the year.
The congregation then voted to ask Perich for a "peaceful release from her call."
"'Peaceful release' is a religious act by which a congregation and a called minister agree to release one another from the mutual obligations of the call," says the brief submitted by the church.
"Peaceful releases are common, and they leave the called minister in good standing and eligible for a new call."
Perich declined to be peacefully released. In late February, she showed up at the school and met with Principal Hoeft.
"Later that day, Perich told Hoeft that if she were not reinstated, she would sue the church," said the church's brief. "Hoeft immediately asked Perich if that were what she really meant, because a lawsuit would clearly violate the church's conflict resolution policy applicable to called employees. Perich repeated the threat."
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod explained this teaching in its own brief: "St. Paul teaches in his first letter to the Corinthians that Christians should generally resolve their disputes internally without going to the secular courts for relief." For this reason, the church has developed procedures for settling internal disputes.
A few weeks after the meeting between Perich and Hoeft, the Hosanna-Tabor congregation voted to "rescind Perich's call" because she had threatened to sue the church contrary to the church's teaching.
"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against the church under the Americans With Disabilities Act, alleging a single count of retaliation," says the church's brief. "Perich intervened, alleging the same retaliation claim and adding a retaliation claim under state law. Neither complaint alleges disability discrimination. Both complaints request an order reinstating Perich to her former position as a commissioned minister, together with back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and injunctive relief ordering new 'policies, practices, and programs' at the church."
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod told the court in its brief that its views on the ministry and the settlement of disputes may not be "widely shared" or "widely understood." "But," the church said, "they have been the views of orthodox Lutherans for centuries."
Acting Deputy Solicitor General Leondra Kruger told the court, during oral arguments, that the federal government should be able to trump the church on these decisions.
"Their submission is that the hiring and firing decisions with respect to parochial school teachers and with respect to priests is categorically off limits," said Kruger. "And we think that that is a rule that is insufficiently attentive to the relative public and private interests at stake, interests that this court has repeatedly recognized are important in determining freedom of association claims."
Kruger contended this did not mean the government could order the Catholic Church to ordain female priests. But, even then, according to her argument, it would be a matter of the government weighing "the relative public and private interests at stake."
What is at stake is the First Amendment and the religious freedom of all Americans.
Source: CNSNews.com
Cash Transactions Banned by Louisiana
Thad D. Ackel, Jr. Esq.
This summer, the State Legislature and Governor of Louisiana passed a law that bans individuals and businesses from transacting in cash if they are considered a “secondhand dealer”. House Bill 195 of the 2011 Regular Session (Act 389) broadly defines a secondhand dealer to include “… Anyone, other than a non-profit entity, who buys, sells, trades in or otherwise acquires or disposes of junk or used or secondhand property more frequently than once per month from any other person, other than a non-profit entity, shall be deemed as being in the business of a secondhand dealer. ” The law then states that “A secondhand dealer shall not enter into any cash transactions in payment for the purchase of junk or used or secondhand property. Payment shall be made in the form of check, electronic transfers, or money order issued to the seller of the junk or used or secondhand property…” The broad scope of this definition can essentially encompass everyone; from your local flea market vendors and buyers to a housewife purchasing goods on ebay or craigslist, to a group of guys trading baseball cards, they could all be considered secondhand dealers. Lawmakers in Louisiana have effectively banned its citizens from freely using United States legal tender.
Read More HERE
This summer, the State Legislature and Governor of Louisiana passed a law that bans individuals and businesses from transacting in cash if they are considered a “secondhand dealer”. House Bill 195 of the 2011 Regular Session (Act 389) broadly defines a secondhand dealer to include “… Anyone, other than a non-profit entity, who buys, sells, trades in or otherwise acquires or disposes of junk or used or secondhand property more frequently than once per month from any other person, other than a non-profit entity, shall be deemed as being in the business of a secondhand dealer. ” The law then states that “A secondhand dealer shall not enter into any cash transactions in payment for the purchase of junk or used or secondhand property. Payment shall be made in the form of check, electronic transfers, or money order issued to the seller of the junk or used or secondhand property…” The broad scope of this definition can essentially encompass everyone; from your local flea market vendors and buyers to a housewife purchasing goods on ebay or craigslist, to a group of guys trading baseball cards, they could all be considered secondhand dealers. Lawmakers in Louisiana have effectively banned its citizens from freely using United States legal tender.
Read More HERE
Growing Trend: Thieves Raid Vegetable Gardens in Indianapolis, New York and Chicago
Mac Slavo
As the economy sours, food prices continue to rise, and more people find themselves out of work, it is becoming increasingly difficult to put food on the table. This is evidenced by the record numbers of Americans on food stamps with supplemental nutritional assistance program participation rates quickly approaching 50 million people.
As a result, those who have lost everything or can’t afford to buy their own food are now turning to theft to make ends meet. Reports from Chicago, Indianapolis, New York and other cities across the country indicate that organized teams of thieves are turning to a growing criminal trend:
Indianapolis:
After a summer of battling bugs, pulling weeds and digging dirt in the stifling hot weather, gardeners of the Grassroots Community Farm were nearly in tears over the latest insult.
They struggled several times recently for answers to an unexpected problem at their three-acre plot near 38th Street and Lafayette Road.
Who would steal their hard-won tomatoes right off the vine? Who cut the collard greens and swiped their sweet potatoes?
Apparently, the gardeners decided, it wasn’t deer from nearby Eagle Creek Park. Rather, it was the work of vegetable thieves who came equipped with shovels and plastic bags.
Their plot isn’t the only community garden in the city to suffer thefts and vandalism this summer.
“Thefts and vandalism are huge,” declared Kay Crimm of Grow Me gardens.
Last year, her group had a three-acre site near 46th Street and Arlington Avenue. It was plundered so badly that the gardeners left the site and moved to a plot at 46th Street and Post Road, she said, but it has “been ripped up, too.”
Source: WLS 890AM
Thefts of vegetables, fruits and herbs are not just isolated to the Indianapolis area. The New York Times reports that thefts are rising across the five boroughs, and similar reports have emerged from Chicago:
New York:
AT the 700 community gardens sprinkled through the city like little Edens, the first commandment should be obvious: Thou shalt not covet, much less steal, thy neighbor’s tomatoes, cucumbers or peppers. But people do.
By midsummer, the urban irritant of garden pilferage was in full bloom, right in sync with the crops, the heat and the mosquitoes.
But to hear urban farmers speak, no borough, and no garden devoted to edibles, whether sprawling or thimble-size, is immune to theft. “Food is more attractive than flowers, especially in this economy,” said Marjorie J. Clarke, a caretaker at the flowers-only Riverside-Inwood Neighborhood Garden, known as RING.
On the Upper West Side, cucumbers are tops for filching; in Harlem, the main draws are chilies and herbs; on the Lower East Side, green and red peppers; in Brooklyn and Queens, tomatoes and squash. But then, “tomatoes are universally enticing,” Ms. Bukowski said.
Chicago:
While not as expensive as rubies, diamonds and emeralds, these tomatoes, cucumbers and melons are just as tempting and pricey. Heirloom plants and seeds that are all the rage can be more expensive than recent cultivars. These plants that new community gardeners favor sell for top dollar at farmers markets around Chicago. Then there are also the costs associated with being a member of a community garden. In allotment-style community gardens, gardeners rent plots to plant in every year.
After a community garden has been plundered it is normal to feel everything from anger; to pitty at the thought of the thief perhaps not having food security.
Ironically, the “Please Do Not Steal the Vegetables” sign included at the top of this article was itself stolen!
An inability to afford food and the resale value of quality vegetables will certainly continue to drive this trend going forward. While securing a community garden plot may be difficult simply because the owners do not have the ability to continuously monitor the land, those growing personal gardens around their homes should take note and consider some external security preparedness measures.
When it comes to food, a hungry thief will stop at nothing to take what’s available, whether it’s vegetables, fruit, micro-livestock, or even gardening tools that he can resell. Today, while stores are fully stocked with goods that remain moderately affordable, having your vegetables stolen is more of an inconvenience than anything else.
But, if the economic situation were to ever deteriorate into something more serious, where one’s family was depending on their garden for daily sustenance, then it becomes life threatening. For this reason, we advise establishing food security procedures now and becoming familiar with how to secure your provisions from would-be thieves.
Hat tip Mike
Source: SHTFPlan
As the economy sours, food prices continue to rise, and more people find themselves out of work, it is becoming increasingly difficult to put food on the table. This is evidenced by the record numbers of Americans on food stamps with supplemental nutritional assistance program participation rates quickly approaching 50 million people.
As a result, those who have lost everything or can’t afford to buy their own food are now turning to theft to make ends meet. Reports from Chicago, Indianapolis, New York and other cities across the country indicate that organized teams of thieves are turning to a growing criminal trend:
Indianapolis:
After a summer of battling bugs, pulling weeds and digging dirt in the stifling hot weather, gardeners of the Grassroots Community Farm were nearly in tears over the latest insult.
They struggled several times recently for answers to an unexpected problem at their three-acre plot near 38th Street and Lafayette Road.
Who would steal their hard-won tomatoes right off the vine? Who cut the collard greens and swiped their sweet potatoes?
Apparently, the gardeners decided, it wasn’t deer from nearby Eagle Creek Park. Rather, it was the work of vegetable thieves who came equipped with shovels and plastic bags.
Their plot isn’t the only community garden in the city to suffer thefts and vandalism this summer.
“Thefts and vandalism are huge,” declared Kay Crimm of Grow Me gardens.
Last year, her group had a three-acre site near 46th Street and Arlington Avenue. It was plundered so badly that the gardeners left the site and moved to a plot at 46th Street and Post Road, she said, but it has “been ripped up, too.”
Source: WLS 890AM
Thefts of vegetables, fruits and herbs are not just isolated to the Indianapolis area. The New York Times reports that thefts are rising across the five boroughs, and similar reports have emerged from Chicago:
New York:
AT the 700 community gardens sprinkled through the city like little Edens, the first commandment should be obvious: Thou shalt not covet, much less steal, thy neighbor’s tomatoes, cucumbers or peppers. But people do.
By midsummer, the urban irritant of garden pilferage was in full bloom, right in sync with the crops, the heat and the mosquitoes.
But to hear urban farmers speak, no borough, and no garden devoted to edibles, whether sprawling or thimble-size, is immune to theft. “Food is more attractive than flowers, especially in this economy,” said Marjorie J. Clarke, a caretaker at the flowers-only Riverside-Inwood Neighborhood Garden, known as RING.
On the Upper West Side, cucumbers are tops for filching; in Harlem, the main draws are chilies and herbs; on the Lower East Side, green and red peppers; in Brooklyn and Queens, tomatoes and squash. But then, “tomatoes are universally enticing,” Ms. Bukowski said.
Chicago:
While not as expensive as rubies, diamonds and emeralds, these tomatoes, cucumbers and melons are just as tempting and pricey. Heirloom plants and seeds that are all the rage can be more expensive than recent cultivars. These plants that new community gardeners favor sell for top dollar at farmers markets around Chicago. Then there are also the costs associated with being a member of a community garden. In allotment-style community gardens, gardeners rent plots to plant in every year.
After a community garden has been plundered it is normal to feel everything from anger; to pitty at the thought of the thief perhaps not having food security.
Ironically, the “Please Do Not Steal the Vegetables” sign included at the top of this article was itself stolen!
An inability to afford food and the resale value of quality vegetables will certainly continue to drive this trend going forward. While securing a community garden plot may be difficult simply because the owners do not have the ability to continuously monitor the land, those growing personal gardens around their homes should take note and consider some external security preparedness measures.
When it comes to food, a hungry thief will stop at nothing to take what’s available, whether it’s vegetables, fruit, micro-livestock, or even gardening tools that he can resell. Today, while stores are fully stocked with goods that remain moderately affordable, having your vegetables stolen is more of an inconvenience than anything else.
But, if the economic situation were to ever deteriorate into something more serious, where one’s family was depending on their garden for daily sustenance, then it becomes life threatening. For this reason, we advise establishing food security procedures now and becoming familiar with how to secure your provisions from would-be thieves.
Hat tip Mike
Source: SHTFPlan
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