By Betty Freauf
October 28, 2009 NewsWithViews.com
I was cruising the radio dial one day and I ran into this guy called Glenn Beck and his assistant, Stu who had been given an assignment to follow presidential candidate Barack Obama around and report back to Glenn. The dialogue taking place this particular day found Stu following B.O. into the bathroom. He noticed him going into the stall, sitting down and “Wow,” absolutely euphoric Stu said, “This guy doesn’t even leave a stink.” I told my husband about it later and said maybe I should write an article. My wise husband of 54 years said it sounded like satire to him and Glenn Beck sounded like a jokester. Taking his wise counsel, I decided maybe I’d better not go out on a limb; however, after that encounter I became a regular radio listener and I, too, became impressed with Glenn Beck on the radio and when he was hired by FOX, I became a regular listener like so many of his followers and he’s to be commended for his leadership with the widely successful Tea Party and 9/12 movements. People are waking up. I bought about a dozen Common Sense books and gave them away.
However, some of my long-time astute networking research friends suggested I be “beware” of Beck and then about a month ago he praised Edward R. Murrow as being a terrific journalist for “exposing” Senator Joe McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) when McCarthy began accusing many in our government as being either communist sympathizers or outright communists. McCarthy died under suspicious circumstances at a government hospital in 1957 and many books and articles since have been written saying “McCarthy was right.” I talked to several other older friends from the McCarthy/Murrow era that love Glenn and his remark about Murrow went right over their heads. So, I wonder, how many other heads did it go over? Did I hear wrong? Certainly his remark wasn’t some sort of sick satire, or was it?
David Horowitz, a former Communist, said in his 1997 book, Radical Son, McCarthy was a latecomer to the anti-Communist crusade, which had begun in the early thirties when the rise of Hitler and Stalin first made the totalitarian threat real. The House Committee on Un-American Activities had already been created, and Congressional investigations launched. It was not until June 29, 1950, four days after the Communists invaded South Korea that McCarthy seized the national stage. In a series of famous speeches, he turned anti-communism into a weapon against the Democrats who had allowed that Party to infiltrate both its coalitions and the government itself. The liberals failed to appreciate the Communist threat. Most journalists are registered Democrats.
Glenn tells us to question everything so I took him seriously when he looks into the camera and says, “If I make a mistake, I will admit it” and I wrote him a $5 certified letter, return receipt requested and explained to him who Edward R. Murrow really was. I never got the card back and in the meantime I have misplaced the receipt.
On his October 23, 2009 TV program, Beck played a Chicago mafia thug with a baseball bat aimed at the alleged Marxist heads of the Obama administration and he played clips from the UNTOUCHABLES movie and then in the next breath once again praised Edward R. Murrow for his courage in exposing Senator Joe McCarthy but again failing to tell his audience that McCarthy was trying to call out the warning about the communist infiltration in America. Isn’t this a bit ironic when Beck appears to be doing the same thing with all the alleged Marxist mug shots pasted on his T.V. studio blackboard who surround the president? I don’t get it! Maybe some readers can help me understand. Did he not receive my letter? It was never returned. Is he not a man of his word, as he wants us to believe? He claims to read all the books on our Founding Fathers about how they gave their lives, their fortunes and sacred honor but why does he seem to be lacking in comprehension skills when it comes to a journalist such as Edward R. Murrow? Surely the Internet is filled with information about Murrow and his leftist ideology.
Perhaps he’s made his judgments from George Clooney’s movie Good Night and Good Luck that continued the smear campaign against Senator Joseph McCarthy while lionizing leftist reporter Edward R. Murrow. Beck wasn’t born in 1935, so perhaps he is unaware in that year the leftist National Education Association promoted a summer school held in Moscow, Russia, at which commissars (czars) were to teach and DID teach hundreds of American teachers. Some of the biggest names in American Education including now deceased John Dewey were sponsors of that school along with such members of the mass liberal media as Edward R. Murrow who later dispensed pro-Soviet disinformation.
On his October 23, 2009 Beck confused me more when he praised journalist Walter Conkite, a United Nations supporter and another one-worlder. Why would Beck belittle Senator Joe McCarthy and then turn around and expose Obama’s affiliations with known Marxists such as Van Jones, the “green jobs czar” who admitted he was a Communist? The descent into Marxism is happening with breathtaking speed, against the backdrop of a passive, hapless sheeple…(people) writes Stanislav Mishin in his article “From Pravda With Love.” (The Schwarz Report – October 2009)
Beck admitted Cronkite was a liberal but claimed he kept his ideology to himself. Oh really – McAlvany News reported in its July 2000 newsletter that Cronkite accepted the highest award of the World Federalist Association and the “most trusted man” in America declared his loyalty: “If we are to avoid the eventual catastrophic world conflict, we must strengthen the United Nations (controlled by the communists) as a first step toward a world government… We Americans will have to yield up some of our sovereignty. That would be a bitter pill. It would take a lot of courage…”
Cronkite went on to urge U.S. ratification of the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty rejected by Ronald Reagan, of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty rejected by the Senate, and of the Rome treaty for a permanent international war crimes tribunal. He urged America to surrender its veto power in the Security Council, and called for a standing United Nations Army to enforce the peace of the world - the internationalist’s version of world government and if President Barack Obama signs the United Nations Climate Treaty in the Copenhagen on December 7-18 and the Senate ratifies it, we will have come full circle to the Biblical prophesized one world government which the globalists have been dreaming about for more than a century. The Constitution means nothing to these traitors.
Recently I ran into an article from the Oct. 21, 1985 New American magazine entitled The USSR’s Spetsnaz: Special Forces Soviet Style about its plans to invade the West revealed that all the countries in the West had been penetrated by Soviet “sleepers” who came as tourists, merchant seamen, or members of visiting cultural missions. These agents then established safe houses for the day when Russia’s rapid-advance Spetsnaz forces arrived.
Members of the USSR’s Olympic team and the ZSKA sports group had been trained for reconnaissance missions, so that when Spetsnaz forces appeared behind the West’s lines, spreading disorder and sabotage, as well as planting mines and sapping Western defenses, they would not want for guides. Worse, the sleepers had not failed to contact Western revolutionaries who will aid an enemy incursion.
The Spetsnaz rapid invasion force elite was estimated at the time to number at least 30,000 men under direct control of the GRU (military intelligence), but would work in coordination with the parallel clandestine force organized and maintained by the KGB The Spetsnaz role is to soften up the West’s defenders. Infiltrating in small groups by sea and air, they are to disrupt defenses, mine seaports, destroy refineries and power stations, assassinate key leaders, and disrupt the communications system before the main Russian wave arrives.
Spetsnaz men are the cream of the USSR’s young army. Fluency in languages is emphasized and Spetsnaz methods are so secret that the entire force has been segregated from other troops. Midget submarines, known to be carried on the decks of the USSR’s India-class submarines, were specially designed to put Spetsnaz men ashore. NATO officials estimated that it would take ten regular troops to combat each Spetsnaz fighter- either a man or a woman – whom the Soviets planned to have in place and ready for action before the regular attack.
While all of the above may sound like fiction, in my 2001 Is Communism Dead article, I noted Khrushchev said some day the red flag would fly over the U.S. but the American people would raise it.
September 21, 2009 Pastor Chuck Baldwein reported “The flag of the Communist Chinese regime has been raised over festivities near the White House honoring the restrictive nation’s 60th anniversary.
Please, Glenn, stop the satire. You’re confusing me and explain why I shouldn’t be questioning your support for such leftist journalists like Murrow and Cronkite?
© 2009 Betty Freauf - All Rights Reserved
Betty is a former Oregon Republican party activist having served as state party secretary, county chairman, 5th congressional vice chairman and then elected chairman, and a precinct worker for many years but Betty gave up on the two-party system in 2004 and joined the Constitutional Party.
Betty is a researcher specializing in education, a freelance journalist and a regular contributor to www.NewsWithViews.com
E-Mail: bettyboot@countrycablevision.net
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING?
By Kelleigh Nelson
October 17, 2009 NewsWithViews.com
In the late 70s and early 80s, many grassroots Americans found out about the movement for a new Constitutional Convention (con-con). By 1986, 32 of the 34 states needed for a new constitutional convention had passed calls for a convention. The reason used for this call for a con-con was for a balanced budget amendment. Sounds great doesn’t it? However, it was a ruse used by those who want to radically change our constitution and basically destroy the founding fathers’ document. Many of the states and most of the legislators that called for a con-con did so without any public oversight or knowledge, basically because it was a good sounding conservative idea to require a balanced budget amendment.
Seven to ten of the 32 states have succeeded in recalling their calls for a con-con, including Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. The opportunity to change the constitution exists in Article V, which says the constitution can be changed in two ways, either by two-thirds of both houses of Congress sending an amendment to the states and three-quarters of the states ratifying it, (which is how we have ratified every amendment since the Bill of Rights). The other way is to have two-thirds of the states, that is, 34 states petitioning Congress for a Constitutional Convention. When the latter is used, the entire document is taken down and re-examined.
The proponents of a con-con under the guise of a balanced budget amendment still believe that if they get another two states who call for a balanced budget amendment that they can open a convention, despite the states that have recalled their calls. Con-con supporter James Dale Davidson of the National Taxpayers’ Union even stated that he didn’t care if the con-con couldn’t be limited to the Balanced Budget. As well, Henry Hazlitt (renowned conservative) was the NTU’s economic advisor wrote a book in 1974 entitled, “A New Constitution Now.” The book is extremely alarming because in the book he says, “an amendment could be proposed that would strike out everything after ‘We the people,’ “ and that of course includes the Bill of Rights.
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Warren Burger (no friend of conservatives) vigorously opposed convening a constitutional convention. He wrote in 1988, “I have also repeatedly given my opinion that there is no effective way to limit or muzzle the actions of a Constitutional Convention. The Convention could make its own rules and set its own agenda. Congress might try to limit the Convention to one amendment or to one issue, but there is no way to assure that the Convention would obey. After a Convention is convened, it will be too late to stop the Convention if we don’t like the agenda. The meeting in 1787 ignored the limit placed by the Confederation Congress ‘for the sole and express purpose.’ “
We also have a warning directly from the “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison when the states of New York and Virginia formally petitioned Congress in 1788 to call for a con-con to propose amendments to the Constitution, which had only been completed a year before. Madison wrote this letter,
I too tremble at the thought of a Constitutional Convention and unfortunately a new threat is on the horizon and comes from sources one would least expect. Judge Andrew Napolitano is often a guest on the Fox Network Glenn Beck Show. My first inkling that Judge Napolitano was pro-Constitutional Convention, was at the end of the Glenn Beck show on May 1st, 2009 when Glenn’s audience were tea party attendees from across the nation. At the end of this program, Judge Napolitano stated that we needed a Constitutional Convention to eliminate the 16th amendment (income taxes).
On April 23, 2009, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed piece by Professor Randy Barnett. Barnett is a law professor at Georgetown University, “The Case for a Federalism Amendment: How the Tea Partiers can make Washington Pay Attention.” Judge Napolitano has had Professor Barnett on his program several times to discuss the “necessity” for a Constitutional Convention.
At this point, one must remember that Fox News Channel is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who in May of 2007 also purchased Dow Jones who also owns The Wall Street Journal. As well, on May 8, 2006, the Financial Times reported that Murdoch would be hosting a fundraiser for Senator Hillary Clinton’s Senate reelection campaign. Murdoch also owns the New York Post and was asked in a 2008 interview with Walt Mossberg if he had anything to do with the New York Post’s endorsement of Barack Obama. Without hesitating, Murdoch replied, “Yeah. He is a rock star. It’s fantastic. I love what he is saying about education……”
On April 27th, Barnett also appeared as a guest on Michael Patrick Leahy’s show on PajamasTV. Michael Patrick Leahy is the co-founder of TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter) and through his heavy participation in the Tax Day Party Website as well as being an important organizer of the Tax Day Tea Parties, supports Barnett’s Constitutional Convention project to the hilt.
Professor Barnett has made several appearances on the Glenn Beck TV show in the last several months where he has promoted his con-con project with little or NO contradiction from Beck. How can constitutionalist attorney and judge, Andrew Napolitano vigorously support Barnett’s con-con project? Once again they are using various conservative techniques to draw in the grassroots who are uneducated as to the dangers of a con-con. Judge Napolitano well knows that we don’t need a Constitutional Convention to get rid of the 16th amendment. The 18th amendment prohibition of liquor was repealed in the 21st amendment without a Constitutional Convention.
So, we have Judge Napolitano, Professor Barnett, and the push for the tea parties, organized by Michael Patrick Leahy all appearing on the Fox News Network owned by Rupert Murdoch. Unfortunately, Glenn Beck has never made his anti con-con position known on TV. However, he’s expressed strong opposition in his “Notes From Glenn” at the bottom of an article on www.glennbeck.com, “How to Curtail the Federal Beast,” by Judge Napolitano, dated May 15, 2009. Barnett and Napolitano continue their strong pitches for a con-con on Beck’s show, despite Beck’s written opposition. Glenn Beck has championed so many wonderful exposes’, we need to let him know the devastation of a con-con and his strong opposition to one should be aired on TV and radio!
Waiting in the wings is the New States Constitution the New World Order needs and wants in order to succeed with the fulfillment of their plans. The Ford and Rockefeller tax-free foundations along with others paid 25 million to draw up this new constitution beginning in 1964 at the Center for Democratic Institutions. This model constitution took 10 years to write, and is in its 35th draft, drawing on the efforts of over 100 people. In 1974 an essentially final version was quietly published in a book entitled, “The Emerging Constitution,” by Rexford G. Tugwell (Harper & Row) the man who directed the formulation of the new constitution.
My prayer is that the grassroots folks who appreciate all that Fox News does to expose graft, corruption and communists in this administration, will become aware that a call for a Constitutional Convention is the total death Nell for America. There is no easy way to retake our beloved constitutional government and get it under control. The key as Jefferson advised in 1820 is the creation of an informed electorate. Freedom loving constitutionalists must rally around our Constitution and continue to take a stand for liberty and freedom.
A copy of the NEW STATES CONSTITUTION may be found here: http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/concon/newstates.htm
Reference:
1- Constitution in Crisis (Revised Edition) by Kenneth C. Hill and Joan Collins, copyright 1994 by Hearthstone Publishing Ltd., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (800) 580-2604\
2- Dangers of a Constitutional Convention by Larry Greenley, June 23, 2009, The New American
3- Constitution Threatened by New Constitutional Convention Initiative by Larry Greenley, May 29, 2009, The New American
4- Various news clippings and radio interviews.
© 2009 Kelleigh Nelson - All Rights Reserved
October 17, 2009 NewsWithViews.com
In the late 70s and early 80s, many grassroots Americans found out about the movement for a new Constitutional Convention (con-con). By 1986, 32 of the 34 states needed for a new constitutional convention had passed calls for a convention. The reason used for this call for a con-con was for a balanced budget amendment. Sounds great doesn’t it? However, it was a ruse used by those who want to radically change our constitution and basically destroy the founding fathers’ document. Many of the states and most of the legislators that called for a con-con did so without any public oversight or knowledge, basically because it was a good sounding conservative idea to require a balanced budget amendment.
Seven to ten of the 32 states have succeeded in recalling their calls for a con-con, including Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. The opportunity to change the constitution exists in Article V, which says the constitution can be changed in two ways, either by two-thirds of both houses of Congress sending an amendment to the states and three-quarters of the states ratifying it, (which is how we have ratified every amendment since the Bill of Rights). The other way is to have two-thirds of the states, that is, 34 states petitioning Congress for a Constitutional Convention. When the latter is used, the entire document is taken down and re-examined.
The proponents of a con-con under the guise of a balanced budget amendment still believe that if they get another two states who call for a balanced budget amendment that they can open a convention, despite the states that have recalled their calls. Con-con supporter James Dale Davidson of the National Taxpayers’ Union even stated that he didn’t care if the con-con couldn’t be limited to the Balanced Budget. As well, Henry Hazlitt (renowned conservative) was the NTU’s economic advisor wrote a book in 1974 entitled, “A New Constitution Now.” The book is extremely alarming because in the book he says, “an amendment could be proposed that would strike out everything after ‘We the people,’ “ and that of course includes the Bill of Rights.
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Warren Burger (no friend of conservatives) vigorously opposed convening a constitutional convention. He wrote in 1988, “I have also repeatedly given my opinion that there is no effective way to limit or muzzle the actions of a Constitutional Convention. The Convention could make its own rules and set its own agenda. Congress might try to limit the Convention to one amendment or to one issue, but there is no way to assure that the Convention would obey. After a Convention is convened, it will be too late to stop the Convention if we don’t like the agenda. The meeting in 1787 ignored the limit placed by the Confederation Congress ‘for the sole and express purpose.’ “
We also have a warning directly from the “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison when the states of New York and Virginia formally petitioned Congress in 1788 to call for a con-con to propose amendments to the Constitution, which had only been completed a year before. Madison wrote this letter,
“If a General Convention were to take place for the avowed and sole purpose of revising the Constitution, it would naturally consider itself as having a greater latitude than the congress…It would consequently give greater agitation to the public mind; an election into it would be courted by the most violent partisans on both sides…[and] would no doubt contain individuals of insidious views, who, under the mask of seeking alterations popular in some parts…might have the dangerous opportunity of sapping the very foundations of the fabric…Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by the first Convention, which assembled under every propitious circumstance, I should tremble for the result of a second, meeting in the present temper in America.”Just imagine a Constitutional Convention in today’s climate and sans the statesmen like our founding fathers.
I too tremble at the thought of a Constitutional Convention and unfortunately a new threat is on the horizon and comes from sources one would least expect. Judge Andrew Napolitano is often a guest on the Fox Network Glenn Beck Show. My first inkling that Judge Napolitano was pro-Constitutional Convention, was at the end of the Glenn Beck show on May 1st, 2009 when Glenn’s audience were tea party attendees from across the nation. At the end of this program, Judge Napolitano stated that we needed a Constitutional Convention to eliminate the 16th amendment (income taxes).
On April 23, 2009, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed piece by Professor Randy Barnett. Barnett is a law professor at Georgetown University, “The Case for a Federalism Amendment: How the Tea Partiers can make Washington Pay Attention.” Judge Napolitano has had Professor Barnett on his program several times to discuss the “necessity” for a Constitutional Convention.
At this point, one must remember that Fox News Channel is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who in May of 2007 also purchased Dow Jones who also owns The Wall Street Journal. As well, on May 8, 2006, the Financial Times reported that Murdoch would be hosting a fundraiser for Senator Hillary Clinton’s Senate reelection campaign. Murdoch also owns the New York Post and was asked in a 2008 interview with Walt Mossberg if he had anything to do with the New York Post’s endorsement of Barack Obama. Without hesitating, Murdoch replied, “Yeah. He is a rock star. It’s fantastic. I love what he is saying about education……”
On April 27th, Barnett also appeared as a guest on Michael Patrick Leahy’s show on PajamasTV. Michael Patrick Leahy is the co-founder of TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter) and through his heavy participation in the Tax Day Party Website as well as being an important organizer of the Tax Day Tea Parties, supports Barnett’s Constitutional Convention project to the hilt.
Professor Barnett has made several appearances on the Glenn Beck TV show in the last several months where he has promoted his con-con project with little or NO contradiction from Beck. How can constitutionalist attorney and judge, Andrew Napolitano vigorously support Barnett’s con-con project? Once again they are using various conservative techniques to draw in the grassroots who are uneducated as to the dangers of a con-con. Judge Napolitano well knows that we don’t need a Constitutional Convention to get rid of the 16th amendment. The 18th amendment prohibition of liquor was repealed in the 21st amendment without a Constitutional Convention.
So, we have Judge Napolitano, Professor Barnett, and the push for the tea parties, organized by Michael Patrick Leahy all appearing on the Fox News Network owned by Rupert Murdoch. Unfortunately, Glenn Beck has never made his anti con-con position known on TV. However, he’s expressed strong opposition in his “Notes From Glenn” at the bottom of an article on www.glennbeck.com, “How to Curtail the Federal Beast,” by Judge Napolitano, dated May 15, 2009. Barnett and Napolitano continue their strong pitches for a con-con on Beck’s show, despite Beck’s written opposition. Glenn Beck has championed so many wonderful exposes’, we need to let him know the devastation of a con-con and his strong opposition to one should be aired on TV and radio!
Waiting in the wings is the New States Constitution the New World Order needs and wants in order to succeed with the fulfillment of their plans. The Ford and Rockefeller tax-free foundations along with others paid 25 million to draw up this new constitution beginning in 1964 at the Center for Democratic Institutions. This model constitution took 10 years to write, and is in its 35th draft, drawing on the efforts of over 100 people. In 1974 an essentially final version was quietly published in a book entitled, “The Emerging Constitution,” by Rexford G. Tugwell (Harper & Row) the man who directed the formulation of the new constitution.
My prayer is that the grassroots folks who appreciate all that Fox News does to expose graft, corruption and communists in this administration, will become aware that a call for a Constitutional Convention is the total death Nell for America. There is no easy way to retake our beloved constitutional government and get it under control. The key as Jefferson advised in 1820 is the creation of an informed electorate. Freedom loving constitutionalists must rally around our Constitution and continue to take a stand for liberty and freedom.
A copy of the NEW STATES CONSTITUTION may be found here: http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/concon/newstates.htm
Reference:
1- Constitution in Crisis (Revised Edition) by Kenneth C. Hill and Joan Collins, copyright 1994 by Hearthstone Publishing Ltd., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (800) 580-2604\
2- Dangers of a Constitutional Convention by Larry Greenley, June 23, 2009, The New American
3- Constitution Threatened by New Constitutional Convention Initiative by Larry Greenley, May 29, 2009, The New American
4- Various news clippings and radio interviews.
© 2009 Kelleigh Nelson - All Rights Reserved
Saturday, October 10, 2009
"Ravenwood" Comes To America
by Chuck Baldwin October 9, 2009
Fans of the CBS-terminated TV series JERICHO will recognize the name "Ravenwood." This was the ruthless mercenary force used by the illegitimate federal government at Cheyenne to subjugate the citizens of Kansas in the aftermath of a massive nuclear attack against two dozen American cities. As with much of JERICHO's superbly written story line, Ravenwood reflected real-world entities. Private mercenary forces have been used extensively throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as in many other theaters. And as JERICHO correctly depicted, these "private contractors" have largely operated without oversight or accountability. (Can anyone say, "Blackwater"?) For the most part, the American people are unfamiliar with these mercenary forces, because they normally operate in foreign theaters of war. JERICHO put them on the streets of U.S. cities. Now it looks like JERICHO was more prophecy than fiction.
An underreported (what's new?) story out of a little town in Montana has brought real-life drama to the CBS blockbuster TV series. Interestingly enough, CBS is the only major news network that has covered the Montana story.
In the little town of Hardin, Montana (which is about the same size as the fictitious town of Jericho, Kansas, in the TV series), a private security firm, American Police Force (APF), has been contracted to provide all police services and to manage the operation of the town's jail. According to local news reports out of Billings, Montana, "American Police Force officials showed up in Mercedes SUV's that had 'Hardin Police' stenciled on the vehicles. The twist, the city of Hardin doesn't have a police department.
"Two Rivers Authority [the city's economic development agency] officials say having APF patrol the streets was never part of their agenda." (Source: KULR-8 Television, Billings, Montana)
Until now, the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office was responsible for patrolling the city. However, numerous Hardin citizens have testified to APF mercenaries patrolling Hardin's streets.
The Hardin jail is an interesting situation, all by itself. Completed in September 2007, the 464-bed facility has sat totally empty (which begs an investigative analysis as to how and why the facility was built in the first place). APF promises to fill the jail (with whom is not clear) and also intends to build a 30,000-square-foot military-style training facility and a 75,000-square-foot dormitory for trainees. Costs are to be covered by Ravenwood's--excuse me--APF's "business activities," which includes security and training, weapons and equipment sales, surveillance, and investigations.
Of course, under our Constitution, there can be no such thing as an "American Police Force" in the United States. Any kind of national police force is not only unconstitutional; it is anathema to everything American law and jurisprudence is built upon. Law enforcement is clearly and plainly the responsibility of the states and local communities. That a mercenary organization would take the moniker American Police Force is, by itself, disconcerting. But there is much more.
APF touts itself as providing security and investigative work to clients in "all 50 States and most Countries." It boasts having "rapid response units awaiting our orders worldwide." It further brags that it can field a battalion-sized team of Special Forces soldiers "within 72 hours." APF states that it "plays a critical role in helping the U.S. government meet vital homeland security and national defense needs."
Yet, an Associated Press search of two comprehensive federal government contractor databases turned up no record of American Police Force. Representatives of security trade groups said they had never heard of APF. Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel for the Professional Services Council, said, "They're really invisible."
An attorney for APF, Maziar Mafi, said the company was a spin-off of a major security firm, but declined to name the parent company or give any other details.
But at least one source reports, "American Police Force, the paramilitary unit patrolling a small town in Montana, has been exposed as being a front group for the disgraced private military contractor Blackwater, now called 'Xe'."
Whoever is backing APF has deep pockets; that much is for sure. That APF might be connected to Blackwater makes this situation even more problematic. But there is still more.
According to numerous local news reports, APF's lead figure has a criminal history. APF's head is a man named Michael Hilton. And recent revelations have turned up the fact that Hilton has served several years in jail--along with being served several civil judgments--for fraud. In fact, Hilton is currently scheduled to appear in a California court over an outstanding judgment in a fraud case. This has caused the Two Rivers Authority (TRA) to step back from the APF deal. And at this writing, the future of the agreement between TRA and APF is uncertain.
Adding to the dubious image of APF is the accusation that their on-the-ground leaders seem to be Russians. According to Hardin residents, the APF officer in charge had a "thick Russian accent." (Of course, Hilton himself is Serbian, and it appears that many of his personnel are likewise Serbian.) Residents also state that they were told seventy-five percent of the security officers that were to be trained would be "international." Is this what we have to look forward to: foreign mercenaries--employed by international corporations and backed by the federal government--being used to police American cities?
Local protests against the introduction of APF mercenaries in Hardin have already caused APF to change its name. Late news reports state that the private contractor is now operating under the name of American Private Police Force.
In the meantime, Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock has launched an investigation into the Hardin matter. According to the AG's office, the investigation is predicated upon concerns that the company might be violating the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act.
The Hardin saga is both noteworthy and troublesome. It is the latest example--but certainly not the first--of how private security companies are being employed as law enforcement personnel.
Retired lawman Jim Kouri recently wrote a fascinating piece in which he chronicles the growing trend of private security companies exercising police powers. Kouri summarizes an American Society for Industrial Security report, saying, "There are more than one million contract security guards, with perhaps another million guards who are proprietary security officers who are hired directly by businesses and institutions. On the other hand, there are about 700,000 sworn law enforcement officers working for towns, cities, counties, states and the federal government."
Of course, most of these "private police" mercenaries are military-trained. And they are also the ones providing most of the military-style training to America's various law enforcement agencies.
Kouri goes on to point out that Lexington's (Kentucky) Police Department contracted Blackwater Security International to provide "homeland security training." And in New Orleans, Louisiana, mercenaries openly patrol city streets. Kouri notes Blackwater officials as saying they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority "to use lethal force if necessary."
See Kouri's column at http://newswithviews.com/BreakingNews/breaking168.htm
All of the above is disconcerting enough, but when one factors in President Barack Obama's desire to create a "Civilian Defense Force," potential problems only intensify. For example, in 1995, the United Nations' International Police Task Force (UNIPTF) was created. Ostensibly, the UNIPTF was formed to "carry out programs of police assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Then, in 2003 the Civilian Police International (CPI) was created. This was a joint venture between the U.S. State Department and such notable private companies as Wackenhut and Kellogg Brown & Root (a Halliburton company; and, by the way, so is Blackwater. But this is just a coincidence, right?). The stated purpose was for "international law enforcement and criminal justice programs." Inertia for mercenary-style (backed by the federal--or even international--government) law enforcement has been growing ever since.
The question must then be asked: "Could the whole APF and Hardin, Montana, affair be a test run for Obama's budding Civilian Defense Force?"
In the CBS TV series, JERICHO, residents resisted the federal government's mercenary force, Ravenwood, and fought ferociously for their freedom and independence. At the time the show aired, it all seemed like fantasy. But if you talk with the residents of Hardin, Montana, today, they might say that fantasy is fast becoming reality.
Stay alert, America: your town could be next.
P.S. I have posted a web page devoted to the Hardin, Montana, story for anyone that wants to review or keep abreast of this situation. Go here:
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/hardin-mt.html
*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php
© Chuck Baldwin
This column is archived as http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20091009.html
Fans of the CBS-terminated TV series JERICHO will recognize the name "Ravenwood." This was the ruthless mercenary force used by the illegitimate federal government at Cheyenne to subjugate the citizens of Kansas in the aftermath of a massive nuclear attack against two dozen American cities. As with much of JERICHO's superbly written story line, Ravenwood reflected real-world entities. Private mercenary forces have been used extensively throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as in many other theaters. And as JERICHO correctly depicted, these "private contractors" have largely operated without oversight or accountability. (Can anyone say, "Blackwater"?) For the most part, the American people are unfamiliar with these mercenary forces, because they normally operate in foreign theaters of war. JERICHO put them on the streets of U.S. cities. Now it looks like JERICHO was more prophecy than fiction.
An underreported (what's new?) story out of a little town in Montana has brought real-life drama to the CBS blockbuster TV series. Interestingly enough, CBS is the only major news network that has covered the Montana story.
In the little town of Hardin, Montana (which is about the same size as the fictitious town of Jericho, Kansas, in the TV series), a private security firm, American Police Force (APF), has been contracted to provide all police services and to manage the operation of the town's jail. According to local news reports out of Billings, Montana, "American Police Force officials showed up in Mercedes SUV's that had 'Hardin Police' stenciled on the vehicles. The twist, the city of Hardin doesn't have a police department.
"Two Rivers Authority [the city's economic development agency] officials say having APF patrol the streets was never part of their agenda." (Source: KULR-8 Television, Billings, Montana)
Until now, the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office was responsible for patrolling the city. However, numerous Hardin citizens have testified to APF mercenaries patrolling Hardin's streets.
The Hardin jail is an interesting situation, all by itself. Completed in September 2007, the 464-bed facility has sat totally empty (which begs an investigative analysis as to how and why the facility was built in the first place). APF promises to fill the jail (with whom is not clear) and also intends to build a 30,000-square-foot military-style training facility and a 75,000-square-foot dormitory for trainees. Costs are to be covered by Ravenwood's--excuse me--APF's "business activities," which includes security and training, weapons and equipment sales, surveillance, and investigations.
Of course, under our Constitution, there can be no such thing as an "American Police Force" in the United States. Any kind of national police force is not only unconstitutional; it is anathema to everything American law and jurisprudence is built upon. Law enforcement is clearly and plainly the responsibility of the states and local communities. That a mercenary organization would take the moniker American Police Force is, by itself, disconcerting. But there is much more.
APF touts itself as providing security and investigative work to clients in "all 50 States and most Countries." It boasts having "rapid response units awaiting our orders worldwide." It further brags that it can field a battalion-sized team of Special Forces soldiers "within 72 hours." APF states that it "plays a critical role in helping the U.S. government meet vital homeland security and national defense needs."
Yet, an Associated Press search of two comprehensive federal government contractor databases turned up no record of American Police Force. Representatives of security trade groups said they had never heard of APF. Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel for the Professional Services Council, said, "They're really invisible."
An attorney for APF, Maziar Mafi, said the company was a spin-off of a major security firm, but declined to name the parent company or give any other details.
But at least one source reports, "American Police Force, the paramilitary unit patrolling a small town in Montana, has been exposed as being a front group for the disgraced private military contractor Blackwater, now called 'Xe'."
Whoever is backing APF has deep pockets; that much is for sure. That APF might be connected to Blackwater makes this situation even more problematic. But there is still more.
According to numerous local news reports, APF's lead figure has a criminal history. APF's head is a man named Michael Hilton. And recent revelations have turned up the fact that Hilton has served several years in jail--along with being served several civil judgments--for fraud. In fact, Hilton is currently scheduled to appear in a California court over an outstanding judgment in a fraud case. This has caused the Two Rivers Authority (TRA) to step back from the APF deal. And at this writing, the future of the agreement between TRA and APF is uncertain.
Adding to the dubious image of APF is the accusation that their on-the-ground leaders seem to be Russians. According to Hardin residents, the APF officer in charge had a "thick Russian accent." (Of course, Hilton himself is Serbian, and it appears that many of his personnel are likewise Serbian.) Residents also state that they were told seventy-five percent of the security officers that were to be trained would be "international." Is this what we have to look forward to: foreign mercenaries--employed by international corporations and backed by the federal government--being used to police American cities?
Local protests against the introduction of APF mercenaries in Hardin have already caused APF to change its name. Late news reports state that the private contractor is now operating under the name of American Private Police Force.
In the meantime, Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock has launched an investigation into the Hardin matter. According to the AG's office, the investigation is predicated upon concerns that the company might be violating the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act.
The Hardin saga is both noteworthy and troublesome. It is the latest example--but certainly not the first--of how private security companies are being employed as law enforcement personnel.
Retired lawman Jim Kouri recently wrote a fascinating piece in which he chronicles the growing trend of private security companies exercising police powers. Kouri summarizes an American Society for Industrial Security report, saying, "There are more than one million contract security guards, with perhaps another million guards who are proprietary security officers who are hired directly by businesses and institutions. On the other hand, there are about 700,000 sworn law enforcement officers working for towns, cities, counties, states and the federal government."
Of course, most of these "private police" mercenaries are military-trained. And they are also the ones providing most of the military-style training to America's various law enforcement agencies.
Kouri goes on to point out that Lexington's (Kentucky) Police Department contracted Blackwater Security International to provide "homeland security training." And in New Orleans, Louisiana, mercenaries openly patrol city streets. Kouri notes Blackwater officials as saying they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority "to use lethal force if necessary."
See Kouri's column at http://newswithviews.com/BreakingNews/breaking168.htm
All of the above is disconcerting enough, but when one factors in President Barack Obama's desire to create a "Civilian Defense Force," potential problems only intensify. For example, in 1995, the United Nations' International Police Task Force (UNIPTF) was created. Ostensibly, the UNIPTF was formed to "carry out programs of police assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Then, in 2003 the Civilian Police International (CPI) was created. This was a joint venture between the U.S. State Department and such notable private companies as Wackenhut and Kellogg Brown & Root (a Halliburton company; and, by the way, so is Blackwater. But this is just a coincidence, right?). The stated purpose was for "international law enforcement and criminal justice programs." Inertia for mercenary-style (backed by the federal--or even international--government) law enforcement has been growing ever since.
The question must then be asked: "Could the whole APF and Hardin, Montana, affair be a test run for Obama's budding Civilian Defense Force?"
In the CBS TV series, JERICHO, residents resisted the federal government's mercenary force, Ravenwood, and fought ferociously for their freedom and independence. At the time the show aired, it all seemed like fantasy. But if you talk with the residents of Hardin, Montana, today, they might say that fantasy is fast becoming reality.
Stay alert, America: your town could be next.
P.S. I have posted a web page devoted to the Hardin, Montana, story for anyone that wants to review or keep abreast of this situation. Go here:
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/hardin-mt.html
*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php
© Chuck Baldwin
This column is archived as http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20091009.html
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