Dan Baum Quote

“The Supreme Court is steadily eroding the protections against police excess promised by the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.”

~ Dan Baum

his book, The Nation

Ratings and Comments


cal, lewisville, tx

We really have no written laws. Everything boils down to a judge's opinion. Even though they did not write the laws, they somehow can tell you the "intent" of the law

Anon
  • Reply
Anon    6/2/09

That ain't all they're eroding, not by a long shot.

Mike, Norwalk

cal, said well and, such is the case far more often than not. It is well understood that police would rather lie in court even when the truth would serve them better, all being supported by the court. The police are no longer We The People's peace officers but rather, corrupt executive enforcement. The executive and judicial are vying to see who can become the most corrupt the quickest. No one is secure in their person, papers, or property and warrants are becoming more of an occasional courtesy for tv shows. Grand juries and indictment on statute violations are becoming passe and over looked. Deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process is too frequently the norm. In many cases, one is assumed guilty (being drunk ..., taxes, etc. ). The compelled compliance of identifying one's self is now being used as a witness against one's self. I could go on and on and give specifics with cases (and have), needless to say further, the quote's essence is absolutely correct.

Waffler, Smith

Oh half baked BS. Prove it!

J Carlton, Calgary

Hey Waff...this should be right up your statist/communist alley...enjoy. :) ARE Americans practicing Communism? Read the 10 Planks of The Communist Manifesto to discover the truth and learn how to know your enemy... Karl Marx describes in his communist manifesto, the ten steps necessary to destroy a free enterprise system and replace it with a system of omnipotent government power, so as to effect a communist socialist state. Those ten steps are known as the Ten Planks of The Communist Manifesto… The following brief presents the original ten planks within the Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx in 1848, along with the American adopted counterpart for each of the planks. From comparison it's clear MOST Americans have by myths, fraud and deception under the color of law by their own politicians in both the Republican and Democratic and parties, been transformed into Communists. Another thing to remember, Karl Marx in creating the Communist Manifesto designed these planks AS A TEST to determine whether a society has become communist or not. If they are all in effect and in force, then the people ARE practicing communists. Communism, by any other name is still communism, and is VERY VERY destructive to the individual and to the society!! The 10 PLANKS stated in the Communist Manifesto and some of their American counterparts are... 1. Abolition of private property and the application of all rents of land to public purposes. Americans do these with actions such as the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (1868), and various zoning, school & property taxes. Also the Bureau of Land Management (Zoning laws are the first step to government property ownership) 2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. Americans know this as misapplication of the 16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 1913, The Social Security Act of 1936.; Joint House Resolution 192 of 1933; and various State "income" taxes. We call it "paying your fair share". 3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance. Americans call it Federal & State estate Tax (1916); or reformed Probate Laws, and limited inheritance via arbitrary inheritance tax statutes. 4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. Americans call it government seizures, tax liens, Public "law" 99-570 (1986); Executive order 11490, sections 1205, 2002 which gives private land to the Department of Urban Development; the imprisonment of "terrorists" and those who speak out or write against the "government" (1997 Crime/Terrorist Bill); or the IRS confiscation of property without due process. Asset forfeiture laws are used by DEA, IRS, ATF etc...). 5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. Americans call it the Federal Reserve which is a privately-owned credit/debt system allowed by the Federal Reserve act of 1913. All local banks are members of the Fed system, and are regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) another privately-owned corporation. The Federal Reserve Banks issue Fiat Paper Money and practice economically destructive fractional reserve banking. 6. Centralization of the means of communications and transportation in the hands of the State. Americans call it the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Transportation (DOT) mandated through the ICC act of 1887, the Commissions Act of 1934, The Interstate Commerce Commission established in 1938, The Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, and Executive orders 11490, 10999, as well as State mandated driver's licenses and Department of Transportation regulations. 7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. Americans call it corporate capacity, The Desert Entry Act and The Department of Agriculture… Thus read "controlled or subsidized" rather than "owned"… This is easily seen in these as well as the Department of Commerce and Labor, Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Mines, National Park Service, and the IRS control of business through corporate regulations. 8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. Americans call it Minimum Wage and slave labor like dealing with our Most Favored Nation trade partner; i.e. Communist China. We see it in practice via the Social Security Administration and The Department of Labor. The National debt and inflation caused by the communal bank has caused the need for a two "income" family. Woman in the workplace since the 1920's, the 19th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, assorted Socialist Unions, affirmative action, the Federal Public Works Program and of course Executive order 11000. 9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of population over the country. Americans call it the Planning Reorganization act of 1949 , zoning (Title 17 1910-1990) and Super Corporate Farms, as well as Executive orders 11647, 11731 (ten regions) and Public "law" 89-136. These provide for forced relocations and forced sterilization programs, like in China. 10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production. Americans are being taxed to support what we call 'public' schools, but are actually "government force-tax-funded schools " Even private schools are government regulated. The purpose is to train the young to work for the communal debt system. We also call it the Department of Education, the NEA and Outcome Based "Education" . These are used so that all children can be indoctrinated and inculcated with the government propaganda, like "majority rules", and "pay your fair share". WHERE are the words "fair share" in the Constitution, Bill of Rights or the Internal Revenue Code (Title 26)?? NO WHERE is "fair share" even suggested !! The philosophical concept of "fair share" comes from the Communist maxim, "From each according to their ability, to each according to their need! This concept is pure socialism. ... America was made the greatest society by its private initiative WORK ETHIC ... Teaching ourselves and others how to "fish" to be self sufficient and produce plenty of EXTRA commodities to if so desired could be shared with others who might be "needy"... Americans have always voluntarily been the MOST generous and charitable society on the planet. Do changing words, change the end result? ... By using different words, is it all of a sudden OK to ignore or violate the provisions or intent of the Constitution of the united States of America????? The people (politicians) who believe in the SOCIALISTIC and COMMUNISTIC concepts, especially those who pass more and more laws implementing these slavery ideas, are traitors to their oath of office and to the Constitution of the united States of America... KNOW YOUR ENEMY ...Remove the enemy from within and from among us. VOTE LIBERTARIAN, the only political party in America that still firmly supports and diligently abides by the Constitution of the united States of America. None are more hopelessly enslaved, as those who falsely believe they are free....

RBESRQ
  • Reply
RBESRQ    6/2/09

The intent of the law is not based on law but experience. With have seen many times when the courts including our veritable supreme courts that it is their intent and not that of Natural Law that takes the day. Yes, Carlton, if you want demagoguery bring on Democracy because in the end the people will cry for it. By the way, great post; though I'm not a libertarian a lot of what you say makes sense - do Libertarians have their own manifesto? love to see it. Would it have supreme power over our military, the CIA and the FedReserve? Please also tell me how a Libertarian government would care for those incapable of caring for themselves.

Mike, Norwalk

Robert, natural law would be the only manifesto I've heard of for libertarians. And, Because by definition, there is no federal common law, there can be no federal taking care of those incapable of caring for themselves. Each State, considering its unique circumstances and administrations, could take care of say, for example, the extreme mentally ill adult, through contributions, charitable organizations and / or non-mandatory taxes on the individual. Waffler, my posts today are proof enough. Police beatings of the defenseless or the compliant justified by the courts are more examples and proof. Your Obamunist gang's treatment of General Motors is another example and proof. A bond is a certificate or evidence of a debt on which the issuing company promises to pay the bondholder(s) a specified amount of interest and principle. The bond is collateralized by property and by law the bond holder is first to be paid back if any occurrence happens to the issuer, such as bankruptcy. By law, all debtors are to be paid back after the bond holders get their's. That is the lawful understanding before anyone buys stock, goes to work for the company, does construction work on the property, lends money for day to day operations, etc. A bond usually carries the least amount of interest because it is the most secure. The executive, in a policing action, has fired the corporate chief, defined an outcome contrary to bond law, and the courts are in support thereof.

E Archer, NYC

This is very true -- you are not permitted to even cite a Supreme Court case prior to 1935 in your own defense. Carlton, great post -- Waffler always says 'prove it' then just ignores the proof afterwards. As far as Libertarians go, they are not 'party men' which is why the party is so small, but there are many more libertarians than those in the Libertarian Party. The 'manifesto' of libertarians is the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution (the version prior to the Reconstruction Amendments), and the Golden Rule! We have still far to go to actually living up to our own charters, but the concentration of power in fewer and fewer hands is completely contrary to a republican form of government which distributes and checks power. Face it, as long as there is someone who can print their own money (and even have the gall to charge interest for it), they will eventually own/control everything, so the Fed would have to be the first thing to go -- you won't hear the GOP or Demos backing that plan -- and you can guess why! Everyone gets sick and everyone dies -- life is a risk, there are no guarantees but one. When our culture has learned to accept these trials and eventual death as essential parts of life, perhaps we will more easily see that bankrupting a nation to provide health care to all just isn't the way to go. Shouldn't those that aren't sick, that are producing, that are taking care of family and business keep doing that or should they become servants of the state who will distribute the fruits of their labors to others? And let me tell you, what is taken from us HARDLY reaches the lower ranks in need. You may have gotten a $600 stimulus check for voting for Obama but you also got an additional $50,000 in debt to pay for it. Don't be duped by guys claiming to have the solution to avoiding responsibilities -- the first to enroll are those that want 'their fair share' FROM the government which they take from you. Government does not have a heart -- you do! I would rather count on you to take care of the poor and downtrodden that are in front of you, rather than require you to pay me to take care of those I deem worthy of help, perhaps even far from the poor in front of you. Service, seva, charity, or whatever word you want to use, will ever remain our INDIVIDUAL responsibility and never the government's. When we turn over our responsibilities to government, we enslave ourselves.

J Carlton, Calgary

You're right Archer, Waffler will ignore it. That would be because its real, its true, and there's no refuting it with purley "emotional rhetoric", which is the only weapon in the statist arsenal.

RBESRQ
  • Reply
    RBESRQ    6/3/09

    Well said Archer - It takes millions and many organizations to rid the world of Polio - we are nearly there - collectively we can achieve this goal individually it would be impossible. I don't care what you call the organization I care about results. I should know as I belong to an organization that has 1.2 million members and our primary goal is to rid the world of polio.

    @

    Get a Quote-a-Day!

    Liberty Quotes sent to your mail box daily.