The Rise of the American Oligarchy

Oligarchy - government by the few; a gov in which a small group exercises control, especially for corrupt and selfish purposes;  a group exercising such control.

This is the definition of Oligarchy, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  I think that it adequately describes today’s Federal Government.

An oligarchy is usually thought of as controlled by business owners.  This is what happened in Russia after the demise of the Soviet Union.  Friends of the new government officials were given everything while the average person, who had depended on government hand outs all his life, was given nothing.  This basically moved the base of power from the government to business owners who were beholden to the government.

While this is technically different from what is taking place in the United states, it still follows the same basic principles.  All of the power has been put in the hands of a very small group of people, and is done under the guise of “democracy,” which of course makes the people think that they have a say in what happens.  This, of course, is an illusion.

The Federal Government will not stop spending (which the people do not want).  They have slowly centralized power over the past 100 years (which the people do not want).  They create new administrations whenever they feel like it, even though there is nothing in the Constitution that gives them this power (which the people do not want).  They dictate who will run companies (which the people do not want).  They own companies (which the people do not want).  They have completely done away with the will of the people, and now rule by the will of the ruling.  This is the definition of an oligarchy.

The states can create whatever agencies whenever they want.  The Constitution does not expressly give them consent to do this, but it does give them permission to do things that are not involved in Interstate Commerce.  This means that as long as they follow the general guidelines of the Constitution (freedom of speech, etc), they can do anything that the citizens want.

This does not mean that the States can turn themselves into a Communist-style government, a Fascist-style government, or anything else that is at odds with the Constitution.  But, neither can the Federal Government.  And this is the exact same thing as an oligarchy style government.  It is wrong regardless of what you call it.  Communist, Fascist, Totalitarian, Leninist, Marxist, Oligarchic.  They all enslave the masses, and this is exactly what your Federal Government is in the process of doing to you and your family.

The Death of State’s Rights and the Founding Fathers’ Dream

        “The times they are a changin’.”  Bob Dylan may have been singing about different problems and different times, but his words are no less true today than they were when he first sang them 47 years ago.  1963 was a different world.  It pains me to admit that my ancestors were probably right there in the middle of the Civil Rights movement (and not on the good side).  Now, I don’t know that for sure, as this is not the type of thing that you brag to your grandchildren about, but it probably happened.  This was the culture of the time in the South.

If it were not for the brave souls who fought for what they knew was right, things may STILL be the way they were at that time.  The people of the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (MLK‘s group), and the Congress of Racial Equality are all heroes of the United States of America, and I personally look upon them with the same reverence that I hold the Founding Fathers, the soldiers that have fought and died for our freedoms, and the abolitionists who fought to end the abomination of slavery 100 years before.

Some people like to claim that JFK and LBJ were the “saviors” of the Civil Rights movement.  In truth, they only did the things that they did to increase their own power and move the country ever closer to Socialism.  Kennedy didn’t even want to do anything about Civil Rights until he was pushed into a corner by Martin Luther King and others.  Hell, he didn’t even like MLK (MLK was a Republican and was pushing Kennedy to do things that he felt he didn‘t have the power to do).

Lyndon Baines Johnson, on the other hand, DID want to help the Civil Rights movement move forward, but mainly because he knew that it would increase his power.  He had been one of the most powerful Congressman of his time, and some would argue that he was the most powerful Congressman of all time.  He knew everyone in the Senate and knew how to manipulate them, usually through intimidation, to do whatever he wanted.  When he lost the Democratic Primary to JFK, he was crushed (then surprised everyone by accepting the VP offer anyway).  He absolutely hated being Vice President since he had absolutely no power other than being the tie-breaker in the Senate.  He was even kept in the shadows during the little bit of time that JFK was in office.  As soon as he became President, he went back to what he did best,  which meant doing everything that he possibly could to gain power and control other people.  As President and former Senate Majority Leader he had already gained all of the power available through these offices, so he had to get the voters on his side.  What was the best way to do this?  Give the African Americans in the South the right to vote.  If you had never been able to vote before, and all of a sudden someone gave you this right (after generations of NOT being able to do so), who would you vote for?  He effectively increased his voter base by 10 million people, thus increasing his power.

On a side note, all of these are the reasons that the conspiracy nuts think LBJ was responsible for JFK’s assassination.  Oh you haven’t heard that one?  Google is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

Up until this time, the Federal Government was considered to be the paragon of truth and justice.  This view might not have been warranted since many things were going on behind the scenes and there was no CNN or Fox News to report it, but the actions taken were considered to be of the people, by the people, and for the people.  Maybe this has something to do with how the members of the Federal Government were able to continuously centralize more and more power throughout the years.

At the heights of the Great Depression, people were desperate for anything that would alleviate their suffering, and allowed the Progressives to start the slide towards the totalitarian democracy that we live under today.  The FDR Administration was, until the 21st Century, the most Socialist administration  to ever govern in the United States of America.  When the liberals in Congress saw the opportunity to take even more power from the people and the States in the form of Civil Rights legislation, they jumped at the chance.  They co-opted the movement, and used it as a way to increase their power.  The Republicans had briefly taken control of Congress, and this scared the liberals.  They needed a way to regain power, and there was a distinctly liberal flavor to the ideas of the American citizens of the time.  They jumped at the chance to take this power, and they held it for some 40 years.  This finally ended in the early 1990s when the Republicans took control of the House and Senate with their “Contract With America.”

At the turn of the 21st Century, we stood at a crossroads.  We didn’t know it yet, but our world would be for ever changed in two short years.  We would soon have to make a choice about the direction of our country, and the people that we elected to make those decisions  .  Most people could not fathom that we could be attacked by terrorists.  Sure, they had attacked the USS Cole and the Kenyan Embassy, but those happened in far off lands, and would not be possible here at home.

After September 11, 2001, our country DID change.  George W. Bush did the same thing that every war time President has ever done - he took more power for the Federal Government, at the expense of the States and us, the Citizens.  As always, the excuse was that the United states was under attack, and the Federal Government needed the power to do whatever had to be done in order to keep us safe.  “Sure, it will be temporary, just like every other time that the government has taken power for wartime purposes.”  Again, the liberties and freedoms of the citizens had been taken over by the power hungry politicians in Washington.

Things are no better today.  In fact, they are worse than they have ever been.  We have heard the same arguments that were used by the former Most-Socialist-Administration-Ever.

“Our country will collapse if we don’t do these things immediately.”
“We must take control of the private sector for the good of the people.”
“We must take from the rich and give to the poor.”

These are different variations of the same tired, worn out lines used throughout the history of Progressivism.  The power hungry on both sides use these as their excuse to gain more power, and they make no bones about it.  The Obama Administration has  nationalized more of our country than every other President in history combined.  They have spent more of OUR money in 1 ½ years than the previous administration did in eight years.  And now, they are admonishing individual states for passing laws saying that they will enforce the laws already on the books!  When did it become okay to do something illegal?  When did you get punished for enforcing the law?  Only when the power hungry in Washington gained enough power to do so.

It is time to do something about this abomination.  The 10th Amendment of the Bill of Rights was included with the Constitution because it was important enough to warrant special attention by the Founding Fathers.  We would never think about ignoring the 1st Amendment, so why the 10th?  Do you think the Progressives want us to do away with the Separation of Church and State?  I didn’t think so.  It was added because the Founding Fathers were students of the human mind.  They understood that every country since the beginning of time had started as or devolved into totalitarian rule.  They knew that if they did not do everything they could to protect our freedoms, we would lose those freedoms.  They understood that what they had created was a curiosity of history, and that the power hungry would do everything in their power to destroy the beauty of this creation.

Please, do whatever you can think of to enforce the 10th Amendment.  Write your State and National Congressman.  Start a petition.  Start a protest.  As long as it is done peaceably, it MUST be done.

The information listed here is common knowledge.  I do not know where to find it on the Internet, as most of  it (except the conspiracy theory) came from the text books that were used for my American History class at Louisiana State University (Geaux Tigers!).  As stated before, Google is a wonderful tool.  Please use it to help yourself become more educated on the history of our great country.  But not Wikipedia!   Read REAL history and learn the true story, please!  You’re old history professor will think you.

Balanced Budget Ammendment

The body of today's post was originally posted on www.biggovernment.com.   It makes great sense, and I highly recommend that you read it and take action.  We have probably gone too far to keep from falling over the edge, but a balanced budget is the best place to start getting our finances under control.

This is not Congress's money, it is ours.  We have had to cut back the budgets in our homes, and so now we must cut back the budget in our government.  It is not their money to spend.  It is ours, and we will no longer let the crooks in Washington blow through it like teenagers with Daddy's credit card!

A Balanced Budget Amendment…Before It’s Too Late!

by Timothy Mooney

This week, the US federal debt surpassed the $12 Trillion threshold.

Congress will vote in December to extend America’s indebtedness above $12,100,000,000,000, necessitated because our national debt grew last year by more than $1,400,000,000,000 and will grow this year by $1,400,000,000,000. According to the Obama White House estimates, the national debt will continue to grow by more than $1 trillion for the next nine years.  Except it won’t…because it can’t. There just isn’t $9 Trillion to borrow.

For years we’ve heard about the immorality of putting this debt on our grandkids. Forget the grandkids, our economy is at grave risk of collapse right now!

The dollar is in free-fall. The Ponzi scheme Congress calls Social Security is about to collapse. Foreigners are beginning to balk at loaning the US government more money. That grave economic turmoil our debt and deficit will cause in the future? It’s here now.

Beyond threatening our economic security, our national debt is imperiling our national independence. We now owe foreign entities $3.448 Trillion – 28.2% more than just 12 months ago!

Three of the five largest holders of US debt should cause you sleepless nights. We owe China the most, $797 billion  — 38.9% more than we did just 12 months ago. We owe Oil Exporting Countries $189.2 billion – 11.5% more than just 12 months ago. And we owe Caribbean Banking Centers (thought to hold billions in narco-terrorist money) $180.2 billion – 35.5% more than just 12 months ago. Japan and the United Kingdom round out the top five foreign debt holders, with our debt to the UK increasing an astonishing 173% in just the last 12 months.

Can we really expect China to increase its lending to the US by nearly 40% next year, and each of the next nine years? Even if it wanted to, the UK doesn’t have the cash to increase its lending to the US by another 173% next year.

Any one of these debt holders could put the US economy in collapse overnight by selling or even just threatening to sell off their US debt holdings.

We owe them…they own us! Clearly, our national independence is in grave risk.

The Federal government also owes Social Security and Medicare $4.5 Trillion. With the economic downturn, Social Security doled out more money than it took from employees’ paychecks for the first time this year. By 2016 – just seven years from now – according to the Social Security Trustees report, Social Security will move from surplus to permanent deficit as the baby boomers retire.

(That “lock-box” presidential candidates like to talk about has never existed. The Social Security ponzi scheme makes Bernie Madoff look like a wayward kid shoplifting a pack of gum.)

If we do not balance the budget by the time Social Security moves to permanent deficit in 2016, we almost assuredly will not without a cataclysmic economic crisis.

What’s the solution? A balanced budget constitutional amendment.

History has shown Congress simply won’t act responsibly unless the voters force them to balance the budget. With great voter pressure, Congress came within 1 Senate vote of passage of the balanced budget amendment in 1996 – and the Congress passed balanced budgets each of the next four years.

When support for the balanced budget amendment waned, Congress spent like crazy.

A balanced budget amendment is the only cure to a Congress unwilling to control spending. In fact, Germany passed the BBA just last year.

That’s why we launch this week DeficitFree.com – a national push for a Balanced Budget Amendment by July 4, 2013, and a balanced Federal budget by July 4, 2016. These would be the two best birthday gifts we could give our country!

Our first and immediate goal is to bring together 5 million Balanced Budget Amendment supporters by July 4, 2010, with a minimum of 5,000 from each Congressional district. You can join the movement atwww.DeficitFree.com. This non-partisan movement is being launched by some of America’s most successful grassroots activists – not Washington DC politicians.

We need 5 million voters to work together to ensure the Balanced Budget Amendment becomes the most prominent issue in the 2010 Congressional races and in the 2012 Presidential contest.

If we don’t, it won’t be our grandkids who will suffer the economic collapse of our country and our loss of national independence.

It will be us!