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Listing hard to port

By Henry Lamb
web posted October 29, 2007

The largest, most luxurious ship of state, steaming through unchartered waters toward an unknown future - is listing hard to port, and has been for more than a generation. The 1994 Republican sweep provided some ballast, but the 2006 tsunami sent a stampede of leftists to the helm. Once again, the ship of state is listing hard to port.

Congress is awash with bills that ignore the fundamental Constitutional principles of freedom. Under consideration right now are dozens of proposals to essentially take the use of private property away from the individuals who own it, and place the responsibility for the use of the land in the hands of appointed "stakeholder" councils.

Using names such as the "Celebrating America's Heritage Act," Congress is planning to draw lines on maps which, by designating certain segments as "Heritage Areas," strips the owners of their right to use their land as they choose, and gives that right to appointed individuals who are supposed to manage the land for the "collective" good of the community.

Where does the Constitution authorize Congress to strip private owners of the right to use their own land?

Congress is also rushing to deny Americans the right to use the land that is owned by the government for all the people. By designating more existing federal land as "wilderness," Congress is essentially building a wall around the land that was bought and paid for by the taxes from all Americans. Consequently, no Americans can benefit from the resources on, and beneath this land. Only the most robust individuals can even walk on it.

Congress can't wait to extract taxes from the people who have achieved financial success to award benefits to people who have not. The current crop of leftists who have overrun Congress want to go far beyond helping those who can't help themselves by extending the health benefits to children in families who earn as much as $83,000 per year. This kind of largess is nothing more than a reward for voting the "left" way.

Congress is not the only culprit. The administration is guilty of ignoring the Constitution as well. Every day, unelected government officials meet with officials from Canada and Mexico expressly to explore ways to integrate the economy and the culture of the three nations under the authority of an Executive Agreement - the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership.

Where does the Constitution authorize the President to grant rights and privileges of Americans to the citizens of other nations?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has spent more than $100 million hard-earned tax dollars to develop a computerized system that will identify every livestock animal at birth, its location, and its movements throughout its entire life. Government cannot identify, track, or even find 12 million illegal immigrants, but it claims that it can build a system to monitor hundreds of millions of cows, horses, goats, pigs, chickens, and the like. The USDA says the system is to identify the source of disease, and prevent an epidemic. The reality is that the current system of identification has worked wonderfully; there has been no significant outbreak of animal disease for several generations. Since there is no valid reason for this intrusion, there is speculation that the effort may be a trial run for a system that would identify and track humans.

Where does the Constitution authorize government to intrude into the "...houses, papers, and effects..." of private citizens without a warrant?

Both the Administration and the U.S. Senate are pulling hard to port by promoting the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The horrors of this treaty are legion. It requires that "...sovereignty over the territorial sea is exercised subject to this Convention and to other rules of international law."

Where does the Constitution authorize government to subject our sovereignty to an international body?

Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the others who met in Philadelphia to construct this magnificent ship of state, would not recognize what it has become. They built it; we must maintain it, and steer it into the future.

It is listing badly to port. If we do not correct the problem, the inevitable result will be a more severe turn to the left, circling, and sinking as she goes.

America will choose a new captain and crew next year. It is no longer sufficient to elect a "party;" it is absolutely necessary to know whether the candidate leans to port, or starboard, regardless of the label they wear. ESR

Henry Lamb is the executive vice president of the Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO), and chairman of Sovereignty International.

 

 

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