If Bush Had Done That

It is hard to feel any sorrow for a man who was very much disliked by many. Murtha at times was a disgusting human being. He went on the record saying that our military men and women were murderers. How can anyone feel any pity or sorrow for this mans death. I don’t and here are a few reasons why;

* Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.), Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.) and James Moran (D-Va.), have been linked to the scandal surrounding the now defunct PMA Group, a once-powerful lobbying firm at the center of a Justice Department criminal probe.

* A Democratic congressional candidate in Florida returned a campaign check from House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha’s PAC, offering further evidence that Democrats in competitive races are worried about being linked to Murtha, who has come under intense scrutiny for his earmarking practices

* A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) cannot be sued for defamation or slander stemming from comments he made regarding the death of Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November 2005.
A Marine involved in that incident, Sgt. Frank Wuterich, sued Murtha for libel and defamation after the lawmaker said the civilian deaths were “cold-blooded murder and war crimes” in several public appearances.

* Over the course of the past decade, Rep. John P. Murtha has earmarked millions of dollars for the Electro-Optics Center at Penn State University — money that has, in turn, gone to clients of the PMA Group, the Murtha-linked lobbying shop that was raided in November as part of a federal criminal probe.

* Murtha’s racist/redneck comments. Note to members of Congress: It’s never a good idea to demean your constituents as racists. But that’s precisely what longtime Pennsylvania Democrat John P. Murtha did in explaining why Barack Obama was struggling in his rural, blue-collar southwestern Pennsylvania district. Murtha later dug himself in a deeper hole in trying to defend himself by saying that most of the area used to be really redneck.

Murtha, who isn’t a household name outside Pennsylvania or Washington, saw himself parodied on “Saturday Night Live” less than two weeks before the election — hardly the kind of publicity he wanted. He now faces a tougher-than-expected challenge in a year when very few Democrats are at risk.

Just to make his point, Murtha will do or say anything to put this war in a bad light. Here is a MSNBC snipett:

* Murtha, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, said at a news conference Wednesday that sources within the military have told him that an internal investigation will show that “there was no firefight, there was no IED (improvised explosive device) that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”

So no, I don’t morn the passing of this grumpy old man.

Please understand. I just found this article. We do not endorse this statement. We are just posting the article for people to read and come to their own conclusion.

ATLAS EXCLUSIVE: FINAL REPORT ON OBAMA BIRTH CERTIFICATE FORGERY

Techdude delivers a final report that exceeds my wildest expectations. It is irrefutable, empirical evidence – Obama’s birth certificate is a forgery. Why? Why a COLB (certificate of live birth)  forgery? That is the question.

My deepest thanks and appreciation for Techdude’s unwavering commitment to the truth despite the threats and harassment, the slashed tires and the dead animal on his porch.

Insofar as “techdude’s” credentials, he is an active member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, American College of Forensic Examiners, The International Society of Forensic Computer Examiners, International Information Systems Forensics Association – the list goes on. He also a board certified as a forensic computer examiner, a certificated legal investigator, and a licensed private investigator. He has been performing computer based forensic investigations since 1993 (although back then it did not even have a formal name yet) and he has performed countless investigations since then.

Here is his analysis:

Obama’s Birth Certificate – CHANGE you can believe in.

I have decided to leave out the low level technicalities and the how-to section of this report due to a lack of time and more importantly I want to get the facts out as quickly as possible. As some of you may or may not know some asshat decided to track me down and vandalize my car and hang a dead mutilated rabbit from my front door in a lame attempt to intimidate me from proceeding with releasing any details of my analysis. They did succeed in delaying the report by a few days but instead of deterring me they just really pissed me off. To their credit, if I had not taken a few days off from the analysis I would have missed the most damning piece of evidence – the remnants of the previous security border. So to the demented retard who slaughtered an animal to make a point – f*ck you and thank you. And because of the amazing number of violent psychopaths who seem to be drawn to this issue, I am not going to use or supply any details that can be used to identify the owners of the COLBS used in the analysis except for those which have already been publicly disclosed. If the owners want to come forward on their own that is entirely their decision. Now let’s get to the summarized report.

In questioned document analysis there are several methods for detecting forgeries – the most basic of which is to conduct a side by side evaluation of known good samples to compare against the questioned one and to use an alternate light source to highlight the changes in the color and density of the inks and paper. In the case at hand there are no questioned physical documents to examine so I used the same basic techniques modified for the digital age for use in computer forensic analysis.

The following analysis was conducted using various Hawaiian COLBS issued over a multi-year time frame ranging from 2001 through 2008 but this report will focus only on the results from the March 2007 through June 2008 certificates for accurately comparing against the KOS image purportedly printed by the Health Department of Hawaii in June 2007. I am only interested in comparing apples to apples as they say but I will touch on some of the other years for a brief comparative and observational analysis.

Since the image presented is a graphical image and not a physical certificate I made the concerted effort to track down known good certificates and certificates images to use for the analysis. Thanks to several individuals I managed to collect and review multiple images of certificates issued between 2001 through 2003 all of which bore an identical layout to the previous Decosta image which was issued during the same time frame. Several more certificate images and physical certificates were also sent to me of certificates issued between 2006 through 2008 directly by their respective owners.  All of the 2006 through 2008 certificates bore an identical layout to one another. Several copies of the images were created to allow digital modifications to be made without altering the original images. MD5 and SHA1 signatures were generated for each of the images and their duplicates. The signatures of the duplicates matched against their originals and the original images were then moved to a separate protected directory on the server.

By separating the certificate issue dates into groups the pre-2006 certificates show a clearly different security border design than the more recent 2006 through 2008 design. There were no other visually detectible modifications to the layout of the certificates between all time frames aside from the additional change from the DATE ACCPETED to DATE FILED headings.

Image 1. 2001 – 2008 border patterns

All known good certificate images from all time frames examined shared an apparent identical layout and font. Each of the available un-cropped full certificate images, from all time frames, showed the security borders to be almost perfectly centered from left to right within the lower 2/3 rd portion of the 8 ½ x 11 inch page with all deviations off center being within 15 pixels. Measurements were taken from the top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, center top, and center bottom of each images security border to the edges of the visible paper which appeared as hard edges with the top cover of the scanners creating whitespace.

Image 2. Measurements

The embossed seals and ink stamps in all of the pre-2006 images are clearly visible in the scans however none of the post-2006 seals or ink stamps are visible without extensive manipulation to the digital images. Even when scanning the physical post-2006 certificate in my possession using multiple resolutions and using multiple scanners I was also unable to produce an image which would allow the seal to show though the image. The ink stamps on the rear side were also not visible in the front side scans without digital modifications to the scanned images. My scans of the physical certificate also produced the same results using multiple resolutions and using multiple scanners. 

The post-2006 COLBs were then compared against one another for a direct 1:1 comparison. Using copies of the images I digitally enhanced and modified the scans by removing only the hatch pattern background and then removing the merged information fields leaving just the raw document templates and saving them as a series of digital overlay templates. When the 2006 overlay was placed on top of the 2007 image they matched from corner to corner with some minor variations on the minute angle of the images. The fonts were observed to be in the same locations and of the same size and kerning. The procedure was then used with the 2006 overlay on top of the 2008 image. Once again, they matched from corner to corner with some minor variations on the minute angle of the images. The fonts were observed to be in the same locations and of the same size, style, and kerning. The 2007 overlay was then applied on top of the 2008 image. The 2007 and 2008 also matched from corner to corner with some minor variations on the minute angle of the images. The fonts were observed to be in the same locations and of the same size, style, and kerning. Having verified that all of the examined post-2006 certificates were identical in form and substance I then focused the rest of the analysis using the 2007 and 2008 COLB KOS image to pin the document into the middle of the known time frame.

Image 3. Overlays

The same measurement methodology was used against the full un-cropped KOS image and showed the security borders to be uncentered from left to right within the lower 2/3 rd portion of the 8 ½ x 11 inch page with a deviation from the other measurements off center being the average of 75 pixels – a 60 pixel greater deviation. Measurements were taken from the top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, center top, and center bottom of each images security border to the edges of the visible paper which appeared as hard edges with the top cover of the scanners creating whitespace. The differences are also detectible visually without the use of digital enhancements.

Image 4.  measurement comparisons

The previously created overlays were placed on top of the image. When the 2007 overlay was placed on top of the image they did not immediately line up. After being matched from security border corner to security border corner with some minor variations on the minute angle of the images the security border pattern obviously did not match in pattern or in color. The fonts were observed to not be in the same locations and they also did not share same kerning. The procedure was then used with the 2008 overlay on top of the KOS image. Once again when the 2008 overlay was placed on top of the image they did not immediately line up. After being matched from corner to corner like the 2007 overlay again with some minor variations on the minute angle of the images the security border pattern obviously did not match in pattern or in color. The fonts were observed to not be in the same locations on the page and they also did not share same kerning. 

Image 5. with 2007 and 2008 overlays

A direct relative comparison using unmodified copies of the original images were made in regards to the security border pattern and color. Several distinctions were noted from the 2007 / 2008 certificate security border versus the security border used in the KOS image. 

Image 6. Border comparisons

Direct relative measurements using unmodified copies of the original images were made in regards to the font size and kerning. Several letters were distinctly different in width and kerning from the 2007 / 2008 certificate font versus the font used in the KOS image such as O, H, N, R, and C. 

Images 7 – 9. Animated GIFs showing kerning differences

The metadata and EXIF information was then extracted from the 2007, 2008, and the two images. The metadata extracted from the JPG files consisted of the quantization tables used for compressing the image and the EXIF data if it was present.

The 2007 image’s rate of compression was calculated to an approximated 75% quality factor at 300 dpi with an image size of 2550 x 3300 pixels in a portrait orientation and contained no EXIF data.

The 2008 image’s rate of compression was calculated to an approximated 80% quality factor at 300 dpi with an image size of 2550 x 3300 pixels in a portrait orientation and also contained no EXIF data.

The un-cropped image’s rate of compression was calculated to an approximated 90% quality factor at 300 dpi with an image size of 2550 x 3300 pixels in a portrait orientation and also contained the following relevant EXIF data:

[Software ] = Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh

[DateTime ] = 2008:

06:12

08:42:36

[ColorSpace ] = 65535

[ExifImageWidth ] = 2550

[ExifImageHeight] = 3300

Raw Image Orientation = Portrait

Photoshop Save As Quality = [8]

Photoshop Save Format = [Progressive]

The cropped image’s rate of compression was calculated to an approximated 50% quality factor at 300 dpi with an image size of 2427 x 2369 pixels in a landscape orientation and also contained the following relevant EXIF data:

[Software ] = Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh

[DateTime ] = 2008:

06:12

08:42:36

[ColorSpace ] = 65535

[ExifImageWidth ] = 2427

[ExifImageHeight] = 2369

Raw Image Orientation = Landscape

The 2007, 2008, and the two KOS images were then analyzed by creating a heat map showing where each pixel changes as jpeg quality decreases from 100 to 0. A change was considered relevant once the sum of the changes to the red, green, and blue values exceeded 10%. The heat map created from the 2007 and 2008 images showed the fonts, seal image, and security border are all identical consistent values. To eliminate any subjective presumptions and to increase the number of comparative tests the same analysis was then conducted on the 2006 and prior certificate images which all found the fonts, seal images, and security borders to also be saved with identical consistent values. The same analysis on the KOS images showed the security border having a substantially different RGB quality value than the fonts and the seal image. 

Image 10.  RGB value heat maps

Image 11. Detailed images of RGB value heat maps

The 2007, 2008, and the two KOS images were also analyzed for jpeg compression variations by creating a heat map showing where the difference for a particular compression level is indicated. A change was considered relevant once the sum of the changes to the error level values exceeded 10% of the previously calculated compression error rates. The heat map created from the 2007 and 2008 images showed the fonts, seal image, and security border are all identical consistent values. To eliminate any subjective presumptions and to increase the number of comparative tests the same analysis was then conducted on the 2006 and prior certificate images which all found the fonts, seal images, and security borders to also be compressed with identical consistent values. The same analysis on the KOS image indicated that the security border has a different error value than the fonts and the seal image. 

Image 12. Error level analysis heat maps

Image 13. Detailed images of error level analysis heat map

The image contains numerous visible artifacts located at various points throughout the image. These artifacts are not found on any other known good image from any examined time frame. I began creating a pixel level map of these errors by using a copy of the full un-cropped version and simply highlighting the areas by drawing a pixel wide line to the left and to the right of each visible flaw. The left side of the image towards the inside edge of the security border contained stray vertical lines that did not match up to any of the jpeg compression artifacts so they were highlighted. The right side of the image contained visual pixel level inconsistencies in the background hatch pattern. The right side pattern is visually consistent with the artifacts left after digitally erasing an area from an image and attempting to rebuild the background.

Image 14. Some random flaws highlighted

By connecting the points together the original placement of what appears to be part of the original security border becomes apparent. The placement of the lines matches the expected location of a good security border based on the known placement from the known good certificates. The width and spacing of the highlighted areas also match a 1:1 scale overlay from a section of a known good security border.

Image 15. Connected lines

A close examination of the security border itself reveals several repeating inconsistencies. Among them is a “weak line” which repeats once after every second bold line and a slightly downward curving end point where a straight line should end. This pattern continues around the entire perimeter of the security border. Upon very close inspection portions of the security border also repeat every 240 pixels. By mapping this repeating pattern it becomes apparent that the pattern is laid out as a 240 x 240 pixel square that can be accurately extrapolated to the next position by simply counting 240 pixels. This type of tiling effect is commonly seen when an image has been modified by filling an area using an image editing application’s tile or pattern fill function.

Image 16. Mapped border pattern

During the course of my analysis several calls were made to various departments in the Hawaiian State Government in an attempt to better understand the process and procedures used to create, print, and distribute copies of the COLB form. While I was brushed off or hung up upon by almost all of the people I contacted I did manage to talk with a computer technician who was familiar with the computers and printers used by the Department of Health and the clerk’s offices. He was unwilling to give any specific details but did provide enough information to work with. The COLB certificates are printed directly in the clerk’s office at the time they are requested. The system uses a standard laser printer and the border is printed at the same time as the text and other images on top of preprinted security paper. He stated the border is a vector image and would appear crisp and defined. When asked if a COLB can be printed off center he said it was not possible and any misfeed would simply jam in the printer. When asked if he had seen the images on-line he replied that he had – and that there is “no way” they had printed something that looked like that which further backed up my conclusions. Now let’s start to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The KOS image security border pattern does not match any known specimen from any known year. It does not match the pre-2006 nor does it match the post-2006 certificate patterns. The placement of the text in all of the pre-2006 and post-2006 certificates are almost identical pixel location matches while the image’s text placement does not match any known specimen from any known year. The shape and kerning of the fonts used in the 2006 through 2008 certificates are identical while the shape and kerning of the fonts used in the image does not match any known specimen. The KOS image shows clear signs of tampering such as the mismatch in RGB and error levels, visible indications of the previous location of the erased security border, easily detectable patterns of repeating flaws around the new security border, EXIF data that says the image was last saved with Photoshop CS3 for Macintosh, and finally a technician from Hawaii who confirms it just looks wrong.

There are two obvious scenarios used to create the image that can be ascertained from evidence. Either a real COLB was scanned into Photoshop and digitally edited or a real COLB was first scanned to obtain the graphic layout then blanked by soaking the document in solvent to remove the toner. After rescanning the blank page to a separate image the graphics from the previously obtained scan could then be easily applied to the blank scan after some editing and rebuilding. It would also explain why date stamp bleeds through the paper and the various bits of toner located around the image as well as the remnants of the previous location of a security border.

So as I have been saying repeatedly since I first compared the KOS images to the Decosta image using the same tests and measurements – the image is a horrible forgery.

This raises the question, then, as to whether sodomy laws should be, or legitimately have been, repealed just because they are rarely enforced.

The answer to this is a clear and unequivocal “No.”

Think for a moment of the current social controversies that could potentially be avoided if homosexual conduct was still against the law.

Gays in the military: problem solved. We shouldn’t make a place for habitual felons in the armed forces. End of discussion, end of controversy. If someone objects, ask them which other felonies the military ought to overlook in screening recruits.

Gay marriage: problem solved. We should never legalize unions between any two people when the union is forged specifically to engage in felony behavior. Would we sanction, for instance, the formation of a corporation whose stated purpose was to import illegal drugs?

Gay indoctrination in the schools: problem solved. We don’t want to raise a generation of schoolchildren to believe that felony behavior is perfectly appropriate. That’s why we spend so much money warning students about the danger of drugs.

Hate crimes laws: problem solved. We wouldn’t throw a pastor in jail for saying that illegal behavior is not only illegal but also immoral. For instance, he’s free to say that murder is not only contrary to man’s law but also to God’s law. End of the threat to freedom of religion and speech.

Special rights for homosexuals in the workplace: problem solved. No employer should be forced to hire admitted felons to work for him. End of the threat to freedom of religion and freedom of association in the marketplace.

This list could actually be extended, but you get the point. Laws not only curb dangerous and risky behavior, they keep such behavior from being normalized, sanctioned and endorsed by the rest of society, and as such render an enormous benefit to a healthy culture.

The promos for the old movie “American Graffiti” asked the question, “Where were you in ‘62?” If the same question were asked about the United States, we’d have to answer: in a much better, saner and healthier place when it comes to criminal sexual conduct.

A people can remain free and self governing only for as long as they are educated and informed, and are willing to accept personal responsibility for their own lives. Once they relinquish that responsibility to the government – they are no longer free – but become subjects of those in power.  

The “American experiment” was devised by our Founders with the idea that a country could grow and prosper through freedom, ingenuity, and self rule, where the people themselves run their own government and make the laws.

Think about that – we the people run this country, not a king, not a dictator, not a ruling class. We do it all ourselves. That is a huge responsibility, and if we mess it up, our country fails. As a democratic republic, it is our responsibility to elect officials who will be responsible to us, the voters. We do not elect them to rule us. This concept seems to have been lost on those in power today. 

The only way that America can succeed is by every American citizen taking personal responsibility for their own lives and electing representatives who will truly represent us, not themselves, and not their own special interests or lobbyists. That requires them to be honest and maintain a high enough level of integrity and discipline to resist the temptations of power that are so prevalent in Washington today.

They must be willing to respect and obey the Constitution and do only those things that are authorized for government to do in that document. Everything else is left up to the individual states and to the people, according to the 10^th Amendment. The federal government is empowered by the states, not the other way around.

If you are a citizen who depends too much on the government for your daily needs, what are you going to do when this bloated government collapses under its own weight – the inevitable result of what is happening now in Washington?

That is to say, when the U.S. government can no longer borrow money from other countries to pay for the obligations it has made to the people who are dependent upon it, how will they survive?

It is at that point that everyone will be forced to accept responsibility for their own lives. For those of us who have made a habit of it for most of our lives, it won’t be that difficult. But for those who think government will always be there to rescue them and give them what they need, it’s going to be impossible for them to survive. They simply won’t know how.

The more we get into the habit of depending on government to take care of us, the less equipped we will be to take care of ourselves when our government defaults on its loans to foreign nations. This point has nearly been reached, and when it is, we will no longer be able to borrow money at an affordable interest rate. How can we possibly expect to pay back loans while we continue to spend more than we make? It doesn’t make any sense.

Today, we are barely able to pay the interest alone on those loans which amounts to a half trillion dollars every year. That is more than the entire annual federal budget under any previous administration. Not only is this policy unsustainable, it is national suicide.

Now, Obama wants Congress to pass another near trillion dollar stimulus bill to be marketed to the American people as a “jobs bill” – while the last stimulus bill did nothing to grow jobs in the private sector – and more than half of it still remains in his slush fund to promote and finance the elections of more of the same.

Just how stupid does he think we are? You only have to look at his State of the Union speech to answer that one. In trying to sound conservative, Obama’s speech was full of rhetoric in direct opposition to his own policies. What this man says is to be ignored. What he does must be watched very closely. They are two distinctly different and opposite things.

When Obama and Pelosi promised transparency in government, what they really meant was that it will be so transparent that you won’t be able to see it. We learned that from the invisible healthcare policy meetings held behind closed doors.

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” – Patrick Henry

Where does the Constitution grant Congress the power to pass laws that regulate the lives of the people? In fact, the Constitution was crafted to do just the opposite by guaranteeing the rights of the people to be free from government oppression while imposing limitations on that government. Those limitations restrict the federal government to doing only those things which must be done, but cannot be done by the individual states acting on their own.

Those wise men who crafted our constitutional foundation were very clear about its limits on government. Our Constitution’s principle author, James Madison, wrote, “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined [and] will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce.”

Concerning the legislature’s authority, Thomas Jefferson asserted: “Giving [Congress] a distinct and independent power to do any act they please which may be good for the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless. It would reduce the whole [Constitution] to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and as sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please. Certainly, no such universal power was meant to be given them. [The Constitution] was intended to lace them up straightly within the enumerated powers and those without which, as means, these powers could not be carried into effect.”

Madison added, “If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions.”

These men knew what would evolve in a government left unrestrained by the national charter. They, perhaps mistakenly, assumed that elected officials would honor and obey these basic laws and limitations. After 230 years, we can now see that they assumed incorrectly.

The Tea Parties are just one example of constitutionally informed people revolting against the people responsible for violations against, and the corruption of, the founding principals laid out in the Constitution, and their failures to live up to their oath of office.

The early 20th century progressives decided that they didn’t like the constitutional limits on government so they decided to change it. One thing they did was to change the way the Supreme Court works.

Previously, when the SCOTUS would consider constitutional challenges, they would look not only to the actual wording of the Constitution, but also the background writings of the Founders to understand their intent. The court decision would then be based on what they learned from that research.

The socialist progressives realized that their agenda could never be realized as long as the SCOTUS depended on the wisdom of the Founders for their decision – that had to be changed.

They began characterizing the Founders as a group of senile old men whose creation represented only their time and grievances against the King of England. They coined the expression “a living document” with the intent of changing the Constitution to suit their wishes. The foundation of our country would be destroyed.

The new SCOTUS, instead of depending on constitutional writings, would now depend on “precedent” for their decisions. The folly in this is that it allowed a judge to interpret the Constitution in a way that he thought it should be, rather than the way it is. A decision based on this perverse thinking then becomes a precedent for the next decision which again distorts the intent of the Founders.

At the same time, they made the same changes in the universities and law schools. Rather than teach the Constitution and the thought processes behind it, they began teaching prior legal decisions which had little basis in the Constitution. All of those law books you see behind lawyers on TV are just full of such ill-begotten decisions.

By the mid-20th century, court decisions had become so corrupted from being based on prior distorted decisions that we now get court rulings that are in direct opposition to the Constitution. It then became accepted that any court ruling on a single case would become law across the country for all to respect and obey, regardless of the fact that lawmaking is the job of Congress, not the courts.

Court rulings must be made to apply only to the specific case at hand and the use of precedence must be abolished. Each case must be judged on its own merits and how they apply to the Constitution, not to previous cases. This is the problem we see in the courts today.

The Marxist progressives, over time, have succeeded in reducing the Constitution to little more than a fairy tale of dreamers long gone. Had the concepts inscribed in the Constitution been respected and obeyed by those in Congress, the White House, and the courts, we wouldn’t have 535 people today making a full time job of doing nothing but dreaming up new laws to limit our freedom and liberty.

The 16^th Amendment, along with the 1000 page tax code needs to be repealed and federal taxes should be paid on a voluntary basis. This would almost be better than voting in that those who support what government is doing could pay for it.

When few people support the actions in Congress – like their current 2000 page plus bills to take over control of our lives – there would be no financial support for them to continue down their anti-American path of destruction. On the other hand, when the people are happy with what the government is doing, there would be plenty of financial support from the taxpayers.

The only other way we as a people can preserve our democratic republic and insure our freedom and liberty is to restore our Constitution to its rightful place as the supreme law of the land. And that can only be done by electing representatives who respect the Constitution and the will of the people by an educated and informed electorate.

If we cannot do that, then our nation is surely doomed, and will become just another banana republic under the supreme rule of an oppressive elite class who will make laws to ensure their own survival in politics on the backs of the American taxpayers.

———————–

JR Dieckmann is editor, publisher, writer, and webmaster of GreatAmericanJournal.com. He also works as an electrician in Los Angeles. He has been writing and publishing articles on the web since 2000. Permission for reprints and reposts of this article are freely granted and approved by the author providing credit is given to the writer and linked to the original source at GreatAmericanJournal.com. JR can be contacted at http://www.greatamericanjournal.com/contact

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) was sworn in Thursday evening on the Senate floor, officially taking the seat held for 46 years by the late Ted Kennedy. Brown, who won a Jan. 19 special election and broke the Democrats filibuster-proof 60 seats, was given the oath of office by Vice President Joe Biden.

Brown arrived in Washington on Thursday, just hours after his election was certified in Massachusetts, and he was welcomed by Republicans as the magic 41st GOP senator. Before his swearing in, the former state legislator was greeted at the Russell Senate Office Building by a pool of reporters and cameras, holding the media off as he reached into the back of his vehicle to retrieve his certification papers.

“It’s exciting,” Brown said to the crowd. “I’m humbled and honored to represent the people of Massachusetts. Now it’s time to get to work.” Thursday also marked the final day of service for Sen. Paul Kirk, the Democrat charged with completing Kennedy’s term. Kirk, who said he has worked closely with Brown to ease the transition between offices, gave farewell remarks on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, reflecting on Kennedy’s legacy.

“It was my special gift to have had Senator Kennedy’s trust and friendship since signing on as a member of his Senate staff some 40 years ago,” Kirk said. “But following his death, to be encouraged by his family — his devoted wife, Vicki, and his children Kara, Ted Jr., and Patrick —- to consider an appointment to succeed the man whom they so loved and who achieved so much in this body is a humbling honor for which no words of thanks are adequate.”

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.