America no longer the land of the free

 

"History is not static and it does not progress linearly. There was more free speech and unimpeded expression in 5th-century Athens than in Western Europe between 1934-45, or in Eastern Europe during 1946-1989. An American could speak his mind more freely in 1970 than now." -- Victor Davis Hanson

The president and all 535 members of Congress take oaths to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution. One has to wonder how many have ever read it. They certainly seem hell-bent on disregarding it.

Article 1, Section 1 says all legislative powers are vested in Congress, which consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. That's apparently no longer the case, although I can't find where that was legally changed through an Amendment.

The Environmental Protection Agency believes it holds legislative power. In June the EPA issued a "rule" limiting state authorities under the Clean Water Act and telling them how and when they can approve new energy projects. Yes, the Act was an act of congress. But there is no Constitutional authority for an EPA, nor is there Constitutional authority for the EPA to supersede states' rights, especially for a power not expressly given to the federal government in the first place. But apparently, Congress doesn't care.

The EPA is just one of dozens of Federal agencies that have taken it upon themselves to regulate and control the lives of Americans while Congress sits idly by. Many of the bureaucrats who run these regulatory agencies are appointed by the President, so they do his bidding. President Trump was vehemently criticized for trying to limit the EPA's overreach, without so much as a word from his so-called Republican supporters, who have been equally silent after the election. Trump tried to limit the influence of the State Department and the Deep State revolted in order to oust him. This election turmoil is the result.

Remember when Boeing decided to build 30 percent of its 737s in South Carolina? The National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint in an effort to force the company back into the unionized Washington plant. In effect, President Obama — through his politically appointed board — was telling a company where it could and could not conduct business. That was Third World thuggery. Thankfully it didn't work.

I wonder what non-legislative group will come forward now that Boeing is consolidating production to S. Carolina and out of the Seattle area?

We are currently in a state of undeclared war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria, not to mention the "war on terror" which sends U.S. troops and missiles anywhere and everywhere. Yet, aside from a few lone voices — Republicans Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, Todd Young of Indiana, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted to restrict President Trump's power to make war on Iran — Congress, which alone has the authority to declare war, does nothing.

The Department of Homeland Security and local police forces have vans and trucks patrolling our streets with the capability of looking inside passing cars and into homes. The Transportation Security Administration forces airline passengers into choosing between harmful naked body scanners or full-body groping sessions for the "crime" of buying an airline ticket. The grope-and-peek procedures will be expanded to include "Covid passes" for all activities outside one's own home — if you are even allowed to do what you want there — including attendance at sporting events and concerts. Technology is being developed to allow agents to funnel large crowds of people through mobile command centers so they can be questioned while computers monitor their physiology as they respond.

Law enforcement uses parabolic antennas to listen in on far-away conversations, video cameras to follow people's every move and face recognition software to identify them — even if they have not been charged or convicted of a crime.

These actions are blatant violations of the 4th Amendment. Congress does nothing... and says little. They are part of the "law and order" crowd... unless you are a "Black Lives Matter" looter or rioter, then you are free to run around lawlessly without order to destroy and burn as you choose.

Any time a State attempts to nullify a law or regulation that it deems unConstitutional, it is threatened by the Justice Department, sued or refused federal funds. Those funds, by the way, go to the Federal government after they are taken from workers who have no choice but to comply with the onerous tax code or go to prison.

The 4th Amendment, the one that guarantees Americans the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, was eviscerated by the Supreme Court ruling that gave police license to enter a home without first obtaining a warrant if they hear what they deem suspicious sounds inside.

The USA Patriot Act, passed while the rubble of the World Trade Center still smoldered following the false flag terrorist attack of 9/11, gave the Federal government license to create all sorts of reasons and excuses to surreptitiously listen in on electronic conversations, rifle through bank records and imprison people without trial.

Local police departments are becoming increasingly militarized. According to a report by the Cato Institute: "Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units (most commonly called Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT) for routine police work. The most common use of SWAT teams today is to serve narcotics warrants, usually with forced, unannounced entry into the home... The raids terrorize innocents when police mistakenly target the wrong residence. And they have resulted in dozens of needless deaths and injuries, not only of drug offenders, but also of police officers, children, bystanders, and innocent suspects."

We now have a quasi-military roaming the streets terrorizing citizens, a Congress neglecting its authority, a Supreme Corrupt disregarding the Bill of Rights and local politicians and state governors using "emergency" powers to act as dictators through the use of executive orders (only meant for government personnel activities and not citizens).

America, land of the free? Not anymore.

It should be apparent that the Deep State along with Big Tech and the lamestream media have cracked down on the information flow to citizens and between citizens. Ignorant people, after all, are easier to control.

These people in power are long-term planners. They absolutely understand human nature and how to channel it to the evolvement and refinement of the authoritarian state.

Remember, governments can stay in power if...

1. They can continue to deceive most of the people.
2. They have a method to steal the people's liberty without hostile awareness over a long period of time with gradualism ("We're just banning this one gun!")
3. They have a method to steal the people's wealth without hostile awareness over a long period of time with inflation and income tax.

The key to government power is gradualism. Anything can be accomplished over a long period of time. People accept their conditioning no matter what it is. I have found that the very first step toward awareness is to become suspicious of all politicians and people who claim to be "authorities."

Yours for the truth, 

Bob Livingston