The following speech, delivered by Beth Chapman during a
"Stand Up for America Rally" hosted by the Shelby County Alabama Legislative Delegation, resulted in five standing ovations…

Tonight, I say we should support the President of the United States and the U.S. Military and tell the liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippy, tie-dyed liberals to go make their movies and music and whine somewhere else. After all, if they lived in Iraq, they wouldn't be allowed the freedom of speech they're being given here today. Ironically, they would be put to death at the hands of Sadam Husssein or Osama Bin Laden.

I want to know how the very people who are against war because of the loss of life, can possibly be the same people who are for abortion? They are the same people who are for animal rights but against the rights of the unborn. The movie stars say they want to go to Iraq and serve as "human shields" for the Iraqis. I say let them buy a one-way ticket and go. No one likes war. I hate war! But the one thing I hate more is the fact that this country has been forced into war- -innocent people have lost their lives – - and there but for the grace of God, it could have been my brother, my husband, or even worse my own son. On December 7, 1941, there are no records of movie stars treading the blazing waters of Pearl Harbor. On September 11, 2001; there are no photos of movie stars standing as "human shields" against the debris and falling bodies descending from the World Trade Center. There were only policemen and firemen – -underpaid civil servants who gave their all with nothing expected in return. When the USS Cole was bombed, there were no movie stars guarding the ship – - where were the human shields then?

If America's movie stars want to be human shields, let them shield the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, or New York City, let them shield the lives of the children of North Birmingham whose mothers lay them down to sleep on the floor each night to shelter them from stray bullets. If they want to be human shields, I say let them shield the men and women of honesty and integrity who epitomize courage and embody the spirit of freedom by wearing the proud uniforms of the United States Military. Those are the people who have earned and deserve shielding!

Throughout the course of history, this country has remained free, not because of movie stars and liberal activists, but because of brave men and women who hated war too. However, they lay down their lives so that we all may live in freedom. After all – "What greater love hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friend," or in this case a country. We should give our military honor and acknowledgement and not let their lives be in vain. If you want to see true human shields, walk through Arlington Cemetery. There lie human shields, heroes, and the BRAVE Americans who didn't get on television and talk about being a human shield – they were human shields. I thank God tonight for freedom – - those who bought and paid for it with their lives in the past – - those who will protect it in the present and defend it in the future.

America has remained silent too long! God-fearing people have remained silent too long! We must lift our voices united in a humble prayer to God for guidance and the strength and courage to sustain us throughout whatever the future may hold. After the tragic events of Sept. 11th, my then eleven -year-old son said terrorism is a war against us and them and if you're not one of us, then you're one of them. So in closing tonight, let us be of one accord, let us stand proud, and let us be the human shields of prayer, encouragement and support for the President, our troops and their families and our country. May God bless America, the land of the free, the home of the brave and the greatest country on the face of this earth!

© 2003, Beth Chapman

But why should Americans concern themselves with countries halfway across the globe adopting Chinese-style net censorship? Because under Senator Joe Lieberman’s 197-page Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, the United States would formally mimic China’s “great firewall” of web censorship.

When Lieberman himself attempted to debunk claims that the bill provides Obama, and any following President for that matter, with a figurative ‘kill switch’ to disable certain parts of the Internet, he explained that the government was merely seeking to emulate powers over the Internet already enjoyed by the Communist Chinese.

Firstly, despite Lieberman’s spin, the text of the bill clearly gives Obama the power to shut down the Internet for at least four months without Congressional oversight.

Secondly, and even more alarmingly, Lieberman’s acknowledgment that the United States is seeking to emulate China’s policies on Internet control confirm that the entire cybersecurity agenda is primarily concerned with silencing political opposition to the state, since this factor completely dominates the Chinese model which Lieberman openly invokes as the ultimate goal of cybersecurity.

China’s vice-like grip over its Internet systems has very little to do with “cybersecurity” and everything to do with silencing all dissent against the state.

Chinese Internet censorship is imposed via a centralized government blacklist of any websites that contain criticism of the state, porn, or any other content deemed unsuitable by the authorities. Every time you attempt to visit a website, you are re-routed through the government firewall, often making for long delays and crippling speeds.

China has exercised its power to shut down the Internet, something that Lieberman wants to introduce in the U.S., at politically sensitive times in order to stem the flow of information about government abuse and atrocities. During the anti-government riots which occurred in July 2009, the Chinese government completely shut down the Internet across the entire northwestern region of Xinjiang for days. In several regions, the authorities completely cut off the Internet for nearly a year, with many areas only now slowly starting to come back online. Major news and discussion portals used by the Muslim Uighurs in the area remain blocked. Similarly, Internet access in parts of Tibet is routinely restricted as part of government efforts to pre-empt and neutralize unrest.

Major websites like Twitter, Google and You Tube have also been shut down either temporarily or permanently by Chinese authorities.

News websites in China now require users to register their true identities in order to leave comments. This abolition of anonymity is used to chill free speech in that it prevents the user from engaging in criticism of the state for fear that they would be tracked down by authorities.

Chinese authorities are now going further than merely maintaining a “blacklist” of banned websites by instituting a “whitelist” of allowed websites, a move that “could potentially place much of the Internet off-limits to Chinese readers”. Websites not pre-registered with the government would be completely blocked to all Internet users, meaning “millions of completely innocuous sites” would be banned. This equates to requiring government approval to set up a website, which would obviously not be granted if the person or organization making the application has a history of or is likely to engage in dissent against the state.

President Obama himself has criticized Chinese Internet censorship as a hindrance to the free flow of information and allowing citizens to hold their governments accountable, and yet Lieberman wants to hand Obama similar powers.

The model Lieberman has identified as the goal of cybersecurity is centered around keeping people oppressed by eliminating any means of widespread dissent and preventing people from organizing politically. It has nothing to do with providing security against foreign hackers and terrorists and everything to do with strangling free speech critical of the state.

However, this is not merely a war on free speech, it’s a war on Internet anonymity. Even if the government shuts down portions of the web, new networks are guaranteed to pop up to take their place. Indeed, as people who have attempted to downplay concerns about the ‘kill switch’ have rightly pointed out, Obama could already attempt to shut down the Internet using the Communications Act, the PCNAA legislation merely codifies this power formally into law.

The real threat posed by the wider cybersecurity agenda is the implementation of an individual identity system for all Internet users. This is what was proposed by Obama’s cybersecurity co-ordinator Howard Schmidt in a paper compiled with the aid of the National Security Council.

The strategy revolves around, “The creation of a system for identity management that would allow citizens to use additional authentication techniques, such as physical tokens or modules on mobile phones, to verify who they are before buying things online or accessing such sensitive information as health or banking records,” reports the Financial Times.

Only with this government-issued “token” will Internet users be allowed to “able to move from website to website,” a system not too far removed from what China proposed and rejected for being too authoritarian.

So in this sense, the cybersecurity agenda will ensure a world wide web even more draconian than the Chinese model, where the threat of the government identifying individuals, now that anonymity is removed, who engage in “hate speech” critical of the government and revoking their license to use the Internet, will inevitably chill free speech from the very outset.

To trust the federal government with the power to regulate free speech by means of a licensing system for the Internet and not expect the state to abuse such power is the height of stupidity. Cass Sunstein, Obama’s information czar, openly wrote in a 2008 paper of his desire to combat “conspiracy theories” (ie any information communicated primarily through the Internet which represents a threat to the image of the state) by empowering the government to tax or even ban outright opinions of which it disapproves. This is what cybersecurity is all about, eliminating the voices of the oppressed as big government seeks to quicken its takeover of America with the aid of silent obedience.

The cybersecurity assault on the Internet is also dovetailed with an attack from a slightly different angle. Numerous private networks, from transport hubs, to libraries, to universities, to federal government agencies have installed filters that censor political websites which engage in the “hate speech” of dissenting against the state. Since the entire Internet consists of a fusion of privately-owned networks controlled by corporations such as Verizon, AT&T and Qwest, how long before such filters are standardized?

Lieberman’s kill switch bill and the broader cybersecurity agenda has little to do with over hyped threats from foreign hackers and terrorists and everything to do with placing a muzzle on the last outpost of true free speech – the Internet. The state wants to turn the world wide web into a clone of cable television, a sterile medium controlled almost entirely by mega corporations and regulated by FCC bureaucracy and red tape. Your political blog, no matter how many millions of readers it has the potential to attract, has no place in this newly regulated Internet police state.

Take action – call your Senator and demand that they vote against Lieberman’s Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, or kiss your right to unrestricted, unregulated, and anonymous free speech on the Internet goodbye. The bill has already been approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and is now awaiting a vote by the full Senate.

Find your Senator from the list here or call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Tell your Senator’s office that you will vote them out of office if he/she votes in favor of PCNAA.

Article written by Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Tuesday, July 6, 2010

The mainstream media is running a 24 hour news cycle focusing purely on the BP oil spill, a disaster that is being intentionally hyped in order to sell cap and trade legislation and moves to nationalize big business.

In the wake of this, big important news stories are being overlooked. Here are just some of the stories, in no particular order, that you should be hearing on the nightly news, but of course, are not.

1. Israeli nuclear submarines positioned close to Iran:

Three German-built Israeli submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles are to be deployed in the Gulf near the Iranian coastline.

The first has been sent in response to Israeli fears that ballistic missiles developed by Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, a political and military organisation in Lebanon, could hit sites in Israel, including air bases and missile launchers.

The submarines of Flotilla 7 — Dolphin, Tekuma and Leviathan — have visited the Gulf before. But the decision has now been taken to ensure a permanent presence of at least one of the vessels.

**

2. Iran war propaganda:

US intelligence has shown Iran could launch an attack against Europe with “scores or hundreds” of missiles, prompting major changes to US missile defenses, Pentagon chief Robert Gates said on Thursday.

The anti-Iran rhetoric has amplified following the revelation that many Bilderberg members, including Zbigniew Brzezinski, are now in favor of U.S. air strikes on Iran and are “leaning towards war,”.

“Some of them in Europe are saying no we shouldn’t do it but most of them are in favor of American air strikes on Iran,” Bilderberg sluth Jim Tucker relayed from the recent meeting in Spain. “They’re tilting heavily towards green lighting a U.S. attack on Iran.”

**

3. The continuing economic slide:

The greatest bankster heist in history and the looming greatest depression rumbles on.

Gold has hit record highs as the dollar slumps and the Euro continues to face complete collapse. Unemployment figures in the U.S. are through the roof and U.S. consumer prices posted their largest fall in nearly 1-1/2 years in May.

Rumours in Europe persist regarding an impending bailout for spain, while Russia says it is ready to found a “new economic world order“.

**

4. FCC ready to restrict the Internet:

The federal government would have “absolute power” to shut down the Internet under the terms of a new US Senate bill being pushed by Joe Lieberman, legislation which would hand President Obama a figurative “kill switch” to seize control of the world wide web in response to a Homeland Security directive.

Lieberman has been pushing for government regulation of the Internet for years under the guise of cybersecurity, but this new bill goes even further in handing emergency powers over to the feds which could be used to silence free speech under the pretext of a national emergency.

5. Obama/Blagojevich story

As the Blagojevich trial continues and important details emerge, linking Obama to possible political corruption, Federal prosecutors are seeking a gag order to keep the ex-Governor and his lawyers from making public comments.

**

6. UN small arms treaty

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently announced that the Obama Administration would be working hand in glove with the U.N. to pass a new “Small Arms Treaty.”

Congressman Paul Broun warns that, “With willing one-world accomplices in Washington, D.C., gun-grabbers around the globe believe they have it made.” Broun characterizes the U.N.’s Small Arms Treaty as “nothing more than a massive, GLOBAL gun control scheme.”

The treaty would force national governments to acquiesce to a global gun registry, while strengthening licensing procedures so as to make it almost impossible for a citizen to legally purchase a gun. It would also ban the private sale of semi-automatic weapons and ultimately lead to the confiscation and destruction of all “unauthorized” firearms owned by citizens.

By encapsulating the gun grab within a treaty, the Obama administration could claim that no Senate approval is needed to authorize any such move against the right to bear arms – although whether a treaty trumps the Constitution is a very murky area of debate.

**

7. Mexicans riot in LA/Land given over to Mexico

Violent scenes following the LA Lakers’ championship-clinching win over the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals saw angry mobs smashing their way through the streets waving Mexican flags as they went.

Meanwhile, a massive stretch of Arizona has become effectively off limits to Americans, Prompting questions over whether the Obama administration is giving a major strip of the south-west back to Mexico.

**

8. Obama Plans To Sneak Through Carbon Tax By Stealth

President Obama is planning to sneak through his job-killing, economy wrecking carbon tax by stealth according to the Washington Post, by passing a weakened bill and then adding in cap and trade provisions after the heat is off following the November elections.

Described as the “lame duck climate strategy,” Obama is planning to secure enough votes in the Senate to pass a weakened energy bill and then drag out the conference long enough to ensure the stronger provisions contained in the original House version are added “after lawmakers have faced voters in November, thereby cushioning the vote’s political impact.”

**

9. Afghanistan Mineral Riches Story Is War Propaganda

News that the U.S. has suddenly discovered $1 trillion-worth of mineral deposits in Afghanistan, and descriptions of the bounty as a “game changer” by the corporate media, represent nothing more than crude war propaganda designed to reinvigorate public support for a failing and ever more pointless occupation.

The “newly discovered” riches have been known about since the 1970s and further revelations indicate that the Pentagon report cited by the New York Times as their source for the story did not even mention the untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan.

**

10. Free Speech Gag Bill Moving in House

H.R. 5175, The so-called DISCLOSE Act would severely limit the ability of political groups to communicate to their members and the general public.

Politico reports that , the NRA bargained for an exemption for itself and other large, established groups while trampling the rights of private citizens, new political groups, like Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, and other small organizations.

As John Bresnahan reports, “The proposal would exempt organizations that have more than 1 million members, have been in existence for more than 10 years, have members in all 50 states and raise 15 percent or less of their funds from corporations… The NRA, with 4 million members, will not actively oppose the DISCLOSE Act, according to Democratic sources.”

“The Internal Revenue Service will function as the government’s chief enforcer for health care reform, should President Obama sign the bill into law as expected, monitoring both businesses and individuals to certify whether they have the insurance coverage the government requires,” writes Matt Cover of CNS News.

The penalties associated with defying mandatory health care are staggering. From 2014 onwards, for every month that individuals or businesses with over 50 employees fail to carry a minimum level of health insurance, they will be hit with fines of up to $750 a month for individuals and $750 per uncovered employee for businesses. For a family of four, this could amount to a whopping $27,000 a year ($2250 a month for each household).

“Because these new mandates and taxes are under the purview of the IRS, taxpayers and businesses could incur additional penalties normally reserved for normal income tax cheats, paying fees over and above those for not complying with Congress’ new mandates,” writes Cover.

The health care bill requires the IRS to monitor individuals and businesses via mandatory reporting on income tax returns. If you don’t pay up, the IRS will let loose one of their estimated 16,500 new agents, armed with shotguns and fresh “combat training,” to convince you otherwise.

The increasing transformation of tax collectors into heavily armed SWAT-like goons coincides with the passage of Obamacare, legislation which will rest entirely on its aggressive enforcement by thousands of new IRS agents sent out to harass individuals and small businesses.

Many people raised an eyebrow or two last month when the Drudge Report posted a request for quotes from suppliers for 12 gauge pump action shotguns to be submitted to the IRS. The request also mentioned the fact that IRS agents now receive “combat training”.

It seems that the increasing militarization of IRS agents isn’t simply to prepare for fleecing the many Americans who would undoubtedly stop paying their taxes should draconian austerity measures be imposed to deal with a deepening economic decline, but also to physically enforce the reality behind Obamacare – the fact that if you don’t comply with it then you’ll be treated as a tax cheat and a criminal.

When Obama’s own policy czars, people like Ron Bloom, say things like, “We kinda agree with Mao (Tse Tung) that political power comes largely from a gun,” as the federal government – even the Department of Education – arms itself to the teeth in order to enforce blatantly unconstitutional policies – is it any wonder that American citizens are purchasing firearms at record levels to defend their families from a government gone wild?

Not only will the IRS be tasked with enforcing penalties against Obamacare resistors, but they’ll also be kept busy monitoring over a dozen new taxes that will be created by the bill.

“The bill is littered with tax increases in order to fund the expansion of health coverage for Americans,” points out Business Insider, who identified 15 such increases, things like an excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health coverage, tax surcharges on people making over $350,000 a year, as well as control freak measures like a 10% tax on payments for indoor tanning treatments.

Article written by Paul Joseph Watson
PrisonPlanet.com
Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Just the thought of it all probably makes you want to go and do something distractive to forget about it, because you have been conditioned to do that for so long. But that is what they want you to do. They want you to plant yourself in front of the TV and watch the government controlled news. They want you to grab the junk food for `comfort. They want you addicted to nicotine, caffeine, pharmaceuticals, and risky behaviors. They want your mind to turn off and go to sleep when you are presented with something that is trying to wake you from your state of altered reality.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson

This site was a featured "Ditto" Site for the week August 8, 1999

Youll hear the term "slippery-slope" used a lot as an excuse why something is bad, because it may or will inevitably lead to things obviously bad. Sometimes thats a valid argument.

But there are other slippery slopes, just as obvious, that arent necessarily a danger inasmuch as we can guard against that first step into the downward slope. Take for example freedom.

Freedom, as we know it in the west, leads to license or the attitude that we can do things considered immoral, because we have the right to choose to do so. But license leads to debauchery which leads to corruption which leads to the removal of your freedom either by jail or excessive government regulation. But that slope is avoided by the simple act of self-control. Self-control is the act of surrendering your freedom to a higher, moral law, so that that freedom can remain and be strong. Sort of like the idea of putting your money in a bank, so it can be protected. Jim Eliot once said, "he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

Complete freedom is an illusion because ultimately youll either be a slave to your own self-control or a slave to the consequences of your immorality.

The most powerful tool for sustaining a free society is capitalism. But capitalism also becomes a pathway toward a slippery-slope. If company A can increase their profits or market share with unethical shortcuts, then eventually most if not all its competitors will be forced to also adopt those same tactics unless the government steps in. And when the government steps in, it brings big problems with it. Short term profits at the expense of long term bureaucratic headaches.

As Ive been exploring ways of making money with Googles AdSense, I see the same pattern, over and over again. The White-Hat AdSense people try to stay consistent with Googles policies and general philosophy, but have to continually adjust their methodology to keep up with new regulations Google implements to counter the unethical tactics of the Black-Hat AdSense people. The Black-Hats make quick money exploiting holes in Googles system, holes that exist because Google relies so heavily on computers to determine the way it treats sites listed in its search engine, and displayed in its ads.

Im also seeing that when businesses get large enough, the personal touch vanishes. Not because it cant be done, it can, but because they dont see the need for it. When facing the choice of a quality product and a quality service at an average price or a cheap product and a bland, cookie-cutter service for a lower price, people gravitate toward the bargains, driving businesses also toward lower quality and impersonal service. Which also means the low quality and low price become the new standards. If the company can compensate with marketing, so much the better. Too few people can or are willing to discern that crap in a fancy package is still crap. What happens when the crap becomes really bad? Government regulation. Thus economic freedom becomes economic license which becomes economic chaos which leads to government controls which stifle economic freedom. All because so many abandoned self-control for a few extra bucks.

Whirlpool Corporation is in a constant fight with unions, trying to keep them out of the plants not unionized, trying to keep them in check in plants that are unionized. One solution has been to simply open plants in other countries where they not only dont have to worry about unions, but can pay workers there based on the local, impoverished economy, thereby also becoming a contributor to the mess that drives many of those foreigners to the US as illegal aliens. A reasonable tactic would be to treat their non-union employees decently and fairly, but as weve seen, they dont and apparently have little interest in doing so. They seem to care only about appearances.

While the Whirlpool Corporation may appear to be an American company it has manufacturing plants in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico; Monterrey, Mexico; Puebla, Mexico; Reynosa, Mexico; Joinville, Brazil; Manaus, Brazil; Rio Claro, Brazil; São Paulo, Brazil; Beijing, China; Shanghai, China; Shunde, China; Faridabad, India; Pondicherry, India; Pune, India; Ranjangaon, India and Spisska Nová Ves, Slovakia. Only 10 of its 39 manufacturing plants are actually in the United States. (the Whirlpool Corporation also seems to think that Italy and Slovakia are in "Latin America") Yet according to Motley Fool, North America accounts for 60% of its roughly $18 billion in annual sales. If Americans cant get decent jobs, Americans cant buy things like washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves, yet for some reason the Whirlpool Corporation opts for short term profits at the expense of the long term economic stability of its primary market. Does that make sense?

The Whirlpool Corporations myopic business model will eventually cost them sales, but for now, like so many other businesses, they rush to the low side of the boat because its easier to slide down than climb up, and simply ignore the logic that would tell anyone that by doing so they help capsize the very boat that keeps them afloat.

Article written by Danny Carlton
Danny Carlton has been doing freelance web design and scripting for over 10 years. You can see his work at http://DannyCarlton.com. He also blogs at http://JackLewis.net.

We are all American citizens.

That statement means something different to each and every one of us who call these great United States of America our home. We are all different in some ways while we are so similar in our love of our country and its’ emblems like our anthems and flags. It is imperative that we reunite under our common flag, sing our anthems and get back to being the best and most respected country in the world.

Take a look around the world. Even in countries that would do us harm, there are individuals who want what we have. They sense our freedoms and our liberties. These people envy what we take for granted. Are we willing to throw away what we have because we are divided along political lines?

What we need to do now is concentrate on a new kind of patriotism.

"A new kind of patriotism" What does that mean? Perhaps it is time that the citizens of our great country agree to put our differences aside for the good of the country. We need to forge a common view of where American is heading. It is up to us to work for an American that we can all feel proud of.

What will be our legacy? History has seen us as a kind and generous nation. Strength and prosperity are required for us to afford the luxury of kindness and generosity. To maintain this strength and prosperity, we will have to unite and become one nation again. The backbone of this unification will be our patriotism.

Our patriotism has always been strong. It has fortified us in many battles both military and spiritual. Our founding fathers knew what patriotism was. It has always been a great insult to question publicly another mans patriotism. We must look deep inside of ourselves to raise a new kind of patriotic feeling that all Americans can feel as one. A patriotism that Americans will once again hold high and question only in the darkest of times and situation.

Who knows where patriotism grows?

Our next battleground will require some new heroes and heroines to show themselves. Each and every one of us has the power to effect change in those around us. A simple display of your American pride may not convince someone to change his or her convictions but it may very well plant the seed that blossoms week or months later. Our troops know where patriotism grows. It grows in every hard fought battle for liberty and justice. It casts a shadow on every country that we help around the world. Our troops know it. Shouldn’t we?

How do you show your American pride?

We should not feel ashamed of our love of country. We should feel free and comfortable to express it. Is that not the spirit of what America was founded upon?

American patriots display their pride in many different ways. Some patriots where red, white and blue. Some patriotic souls where old glory flag as pins, hats, t-shirts and even bake flag shaped cookies. The point is, if you feel patriotic pride then show it! It is not hard to find plenty of great patriotic gifts and patriotic gift ideas. There are many patriotic Web sites and store. Some of these Web sites even offer free patriotic stuff. Now that’s showing patriotic pride. What ever you do, showing your pride is just the first step. Sharing your pride is next. Try encouraging friends and neighbors to show their American patriotism by buying a bunch of American flag lapel pins and passing them out to everyone that you see in a day.

Others may not understand or approve your displaying pride. This will provide a great opportunity for the patriotic "bridge-building" that we so desperately need in this country. If someone gives you a hard time for wearing a star and stripes jacket or playing basketball with a red, white and blue, basketball, then just remind them that no matter who you voted for in the last election, or even who your parents voted for in past elections, we are all still American citizens today and will be tomorrow.

http://www.Patriot-Mall.com

Written by Jim Wilson
Jim Wilkson is an author and born again patriot who lives and works in northern Washington state.

Article Source: http://www.bigarticles.com