Posts tagged ‘Military’

Memorial Day 2017

Memorial Day 2017

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
May 29, 2017 (Memorial Day)

 

Memorial Day began as a day of honoring and remembering those soldiers that died in the Civil War.  It was practiced beginning in the South in 1866 and the North in 1868.  It was a day in which the graves of those soldiers were decorated with flowers, in honor of their sacrifice, and was called Decoration Day.

Recognition as Memorial Day began as early as 1872, though it wasn’t commonly used until after World War II.  In 1967, it was officially changed to Memorial Day by the government.

It now honors all dead American Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen, who died in service to their country, including those who fought for the South.

So, what is a holiday; what does it mean?  Well, we can look at the Ten Commandments and get an idea of just what led our Judeo-Christian values to recognize a special day.  The Fourth Commandment says, “Thou shalt keep the Sabbath Day holy.”  That means that the designated day is above all other consideration, on the day so designated.

Whether you hold Saturday or Sunday as the Sabbath is a choice that each of us makes.  However, we commonly recognize the last Monday in May to be Memorial Day, and on that day we recognize of the sacrifice of those soldiers; it is to be held above all other considerations.

There is little doubt that those in power have moved our country away from the Constitution that created that government.  They have moved the government away from the very reason for those who served, and those who gave their lives for what was intended — and what we fought for.

There are two soldiers that I have particular memories of.  First is William “Billy” Prescott.  We went through nearly our entire schooling together.  Bill was quiet and intelligent, and perhaps the least likely to consider to be a soldier.  I found out about Billy’s death, Killed in Action, on my first and only visit to the Wall in Washington, D. C. One-hundred and twenty-six of us, the “Prodigy Vets”, went to see the Wall, most for the first time, in 1992.  Walking down, along the wall, to the apex, then back up the other side, was probably the most emotional event in my life.  The magnitude of waste of those lives was beyond my comprehension.  Considering that the Vietnam War was nothing that we should have been involved in, rather a consequence of our government gone astray from the principles upon which this country was founded.  However, we were naive, and simply did our Country’s bidding.

. Continue reading ‘Memorial Day 2017’ »

Burns Chronicles No 41 – Dennis Dickenson (Dennis Jones)

Burns Chronicles No 41
Dennis Dickenson (Dennis Jones)

dennis-dickenson
Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
October 16, 2016

Notice: Because of her extremely biased judicial discretion, Judge Anna Brown has ordered that I remove the information that I obtained from a ‘prohibited’ copy of the Discovery for the trial of the defendants in the Malheur Occupation trial. I have fully complied with that order and removed all of those portions prohibited, according to that order. All instances of removed text will be marked “[REDACTED]”, which is the same method the government used in depriving information that should have been available to the defendants, as well as you, the reading public, with factual information needed in order for you to make a fair and logical assessment. The FBI redactions were the government’s efforts to “protect” their army of paid informants, but they did a lousy job, as I was able to identify them with the unredacted text.

On October 11, 2015, the initial Operation Mutual Defense (OMD) Advisory Board (AB) held their first meeting. Each meeting had an agenda and the AB members agreed to record the telephonic meetings, for the record. The recordings were then place in a Dropbox folder, accessible only to the AB members. There was also a private mail-list group set up, again restricted only to AB members.

The AB was comprised of five members. The only member that was known only by one other member, Ryan Payne, was a retired military officer named Dennis Roy Dickenson. Dickenson had endeared himself to Ryan when he was going to fly up to Montana on April 10, 2014. The meeting never occurred, as Ryan had left for the Bundy Ranch on April 7.

Mr. Dickenson had provided his DD-214, as was required of all members of the AB who claimed prior military service. Of his 21 years of service he was in “intelligence” for over 19 years, and left the service, honorably, as a Marine Lt. Colonel.

Under the agreement of all of the SB members, I had set up the Dropbox account and the mail-list group. The Dropbox is rather simple where only designated people have access and large files can be transferred up and down in the background. The mail-list group access panel is limited to designated individuals.

Dickenson volunteered to be secretary to the AB, and was designated, just in case I was inaccessible, to have access to the webpage and the mail list group. He was given the access passwords.

We held weekly meetings and special meetings, when necessary. In every case, agendas and recordings were made available to all members of the AB. In the first recorded meeting, on October 11, 2015, Dickenson, when asked about minutes of meetings, stated that since we had the recordings, he saw that there was no need for written minutes. However, as we shall see, Dickenson did make minutes of the meetings, and promptly turned them over to FBI Special Agent Mark D. Seyler, as well as recordings, emails, and other information regarding Dickenson’s vocation as a spy.

[REDACTED]

In hindsight, reviewing the recordings from that first meeting, Dickenson, when someone mentioned “we”, or any indication that something someone was talking about implied other participants, he always asked who the other participants were. He also sought detail on every subject, in every meeting. Now, this could be attributed to a desire to fully participate, and it could be a desire to gain information.

The FBI uses form “FD-1023”, also known as “CHS Reporting Document”, for agents assigned to an informant to provide information, based upon their communication, face to face, via text or email, by phone, or even secret messages, to be placed into the record. “CHS”, of course, refers to “Confidential Human Source”. The following information is from those 1023 forms. They are marked, at the bottom left corner, “Dissemination Limited by Court Order”.  So, let me make this perfectly clear — I have no intention of “disseminating” the documents, nor am I bound by any “Court Order”.  I am writing about a Public Trial, which was held in September and October 2016.  Had I access to these documents during that trial, I would have written the same article that I am writing now.

A Public Trial, as intended by the Founders, was guaranteed so that we could judge both the alleged crimes of the accused and the role of the government.  This article, and subsequent articles on the subject of informants, is about the role of the government.

Given the background, above, we can clearly see that the government has no intention of spying on the people that created that government. This reeks of George Orwell’s “1984”, to the greatest degree possible. The government had no reason to believe that OMD or the AB had any intention of doing anything illegal. The purpose of OMD was to evaluate situations, and if the situation had merit, as determined by the AB, then a call out would be made to the followers of OMD. If any illegal activity was discussed, it was discussed only to the extent of whether something would be illegal, or not. However a call out would be consistent with the rights preserved by the First Amendment; Speech, Assembly, and Redress of Grievances. In some of the matters brought before the AB it was determined that there was no lawful standing to pursue a situation, ending discussion on that matter.

. Continue reading ‘Burns Chronicles No 41 – Dennis Dickenson (Dennis Jones)’ »

Liberty or Laws? – The First Line of Defense

Liberty or Laws?
The First Line of Defense

2ndAmendment

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
June 17, 2016

As much as many disagree with the Founder’s intent of the Second Amendment, there is little doubt that there were two primary purposes.  The first, of course, was be able to respond if, should the need arise, as had then recently occurred, the government had begun taking their rights.  It was to assure that the People would have an adequate means of defending against those encroachments and complying with the duty set out in the Declaration of Independence:

“But when long trains of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide for new guards for their future security.”

There was a second intent that is, in this day, perhaps a bit more obscure.  However, there was a constant threat, especially in the fringes of the American civilization, of attack by Indians, and on occasion, by foreigners such as the French.  Though most often, fighting such battles was conducted by militia units, armed and equipped by the local government, those who of necessity, to protect life and property, were operating within the capacity of the intent when they acted, as individuals or small groups without the organized structure, were no less militia than the units, or even the standing military force.  There was never a consideration that individuals must rely on the government to afford them and their property protection.

Even during the expansion of the country, especially after the Civil War, military forts were few and far between.  The first line of defense had to be the armed citizenry.  It could be days, weeks, or there might never be a response by the military when there were attacks made on the People.

As the West was settled, the need for the militia and the armed citizenry was diminished.  Since that time, that historical necessity had all but gone away.  By 1903, with the passage of an Act “To promote the efficiency of the militia“, also known as the “Dick Act”, the militias was redefined as the National Guard and the Reserve Militia.  Within that Act, only the National Guard could be called to national service.

That Act did not deny the existence of any right secured by the Second Amendment.  However, it did mandate (shall) that:

“That the militia shall consist of every able-bodied male citizen of the respective States, Territories, and the District of Columbia, and every able-bodied male of foreign birth who has declared his intention to become a citizen, who is more than eighteen and less than forty-five years of age, and shall be divided into two classes—the organized militia, to be known as the National Guard of the State, Territory, or, District of Columbia, or by such other designations as may be given them by the laws of the respective States or Territories, and the remainder to be known as the Reserve Militia.”

There you have it: every able-bodied male citizen, is either exempt, in the National Guard, or the Reserve Militia.  The only exclusions were certain government employees and those excluded by the respective state laws.  There is no subsequent mention of the “Reserve Militia”, therefore, it includes those described and only excludes those so described. Continue reading ‘Liberty or Laws? – The First Line of Defense’ »

Terrorism? or, An Act of War?

Terrorism? or, An Act of War?

The Oklahoma City Bombing

OKC Waco

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
May 11, 1995 (republished August 4, 2015)

[Note: This article was written over twenty years ago. It is republished with minor revisions. You can probably, with your knowledge of recent events, supplement what has been presented.]

 

Dresden, Germany, February 1945 — A series of allied bombing raids resulted in virtual firestorms, nearly destroying this city, which dated from the early 13th century, along with many of its centuries old architectural landmarks. Over 135,000 people, the vast majority being women and children, died during these raids.

Japan, August 1945 — Hiroshima, Japan, three-fifths of the city destroyed, along with 75,000 people, mostly women and children. Just a few days later, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, destroying half the city and killing another 75,000 people, again, mostly women and children. These three events killed 285,000 people, yet they were acts of war, and were intended to end World War II.

During the “Vietnam War,” Haiphong, the major North Vietnamese city, was bombed over and over, and in 1972 the harbor was mined. Much of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands lost their lives. There was, however, no “declaration of war” to justify these acts, yet we perceive them to be Acts of War.

April 15, 1986, in a strategic operation, naval air forces attacked military targets in Tripoli, Libya. One of those targets was the home of Muammar Qaddafi. Hundreds were killed, yet no “declaration of war” had existed between the United States and Libya.

December 20, 1989, United States forces, under the operational name “Just Cause”, invaded Panama with the purported purpose of arresting Manuel Noriega on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Hundreds died, and significant damage to the capital of Panama resulted. After trial, in December 1992, the federal judge from Miami ruled that Noriega was a “prisoner of war.”

On January 15, 1991, unified forces from 31 nations began a new form of warfare (without declaration) against Iraq. For five weeks smart missiles and smart bombs were directed against, the capital, Baghdad. Smart bombs were able to enter ventilation stacks of bomb shelters, killing women and children without destroying the shelter. Cruise missiles traveled hundreds of miles to explode close to their targets, killing tens of thousands of civilians in this new game of attrition. Never, however, a treaty of peace, for there was never a “declaration of war.”

These acts are not considered to be acts of “terrorism”, for they occurred during the course of a war. It is quite clear that during a war, acts, which might otherwise be considered below the dignity of man, can occur and be accepted as a consequence of war. If there is a war and thousands die, those deaths are written off as a consequence of war. Even without the accepted, and constitutionally required, declaration of war, war can be waged against innocent civilians with no effort made for discrimination of targets.

Since the “Declaration of War” has, apparently, become an unnecessary act; perhaps we can find a way of determining when a war exists by other means. In the Academic American Encyclopedia, under “court”, we find that, “Courts fulfill three important functions: (1) they resolve disputes that, while often routine, are crucial to those involved; (2) they provide protection from illegal actions by government and individuals; and (3) occasionally, they resolve disputes of great political and social significance.” Clearly, then under a normal circumstance, “protection from illegal acts by government” should leave the government open to be punished by the court. One can reasonably conclude that a state of war exists when government commits illegal acts against a people, with impunity.

No judicial process will hold the victors to task. Justice must be set aside during time of war, which is clearly affirmed in the Constitution (Article I, Section 9, clause 2, dealing with Habeas Corpus, and, Article V, Bill of Rights, dealing with exemption from Grand Jury process). So, perhaps, a state of war (since declarations have become a thing of the past) can best be determined by the fact that no trials are held to determine justice, or injustice, for the deaths that are a consequence of hostile action. How else, in this modern age, can the determination be made that a war even existed?

This being the case, perhaps we should look around and see if there are other wars going on, perhaps at this very moment. Maybe we should start back in August 1992. Hostilities broke out and, in the first incident, two “men” were killed. Hostilities ceased for a few days, but, then, another act of senseless murder occurred when Vicki Weaver stood in her doorway and was killed by a single sniper’s bullet. Well, this was clearly not a war since a trial was held. Unfortunately, even though three people were killed, no one was found guilty. This, then, must be a war, because war crimes trials were held, but the heinous offender could not be identified.

Just a few months later, another war began. This war lasted 51 days and the subsequent war crimes trials were held almost a year later. We know that this was a war because nine people were found guilty of killing (or other related acts of complicity) four men who were dressed and equipped as soldiers.

We can determine which side each side was on in these last two incidents by looking at a couple of factors. First was the uniform. One side chose black military uniforms, complete with web gear, automatic rifles, tanks, helicopters, grenades and other modern implements of war. The other side wore normal clothes — jeans, dresses, sneakers, etc., and used simple, legal weapons. They also sought refuge in their home and place of worship. The final indicator is that they fired only in self-defense. And, it must be war, since even the commanding general at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. never described the acts of the enemy as terrorism.

On April 22, 1993, I left Waco, after 47 days, to return to Florida. I remember that I was somewhat dumbfounded by the events of April 19, and until I returned to Waco, in mid May, had not been able to sort out certain thoughts. When I returned to Waco, and finally stood on the concrete that was once the floor of the Mt. Carmel church, I looked around and saw partially burned remnants of utensils, clothes, books, letters, and toys, indicative of the lives once lived, and since lost, here. I recalled similar situations in Vietnam, and realized that a state of war existed here, in the United States of America. I realized that I was at war with the United States Government, but, that the war that I was in was still a “cold war”. Not so for those who died in those ashes, but for many, a state of war had begun.

After the Oklahoma City Bombing, we heard the battle cry come up from the side wearing black uniforms, “Terrorism,” they yell, over and over again. “Terrorism, it’s unfair, and they killed women and children. Terrorism, there is no other word for it.”

Many leaders who were on the side of the patriots also take up the battle cry. Many, who just a few years before, cried out that the surprise attacks by the Black uniformed soldiers were acts of war, now cry terrorism along with their enemies of the recent past. “Condemn them,” they yell. “Hang them after a quick and speedy trial. They are not warriors; they are cowards. Hang them, be done with them”. The cry came out from all those leaders who, so recently professed, to be on the side of the patriots.

Meanwhile, many who, just a few years before, had taken the battle cry of “Do whatever is necessary to end this mess,” are now questioning the fairness of the actions of the black uniforms, and beginning to understand why the poorly equipped soldiers of the other side have resorted to an act that cost 167 lives.

Perhaps it might be best to dispel the association of “baby killer” with the act that occurred in Oklahoma City. Since the sixties, the construction of federal buildings has been an “anti-terrorist” design. Since the bombing of Flight 103 (December 1988), we have been advised that federal buildings are potential targets of such bombings. As we learned from Waco, keeping your children in a location that has danger associated with it leaves the responsibility on the parent, not the aggressor. In fact, I never knew that there were day care centers in federal buildings. I supposed, prior to April 19, that the government had enough concern for children to move day care centers to a locations away from what it knew to be potential targets.

The determination of what constitutes an act of terrorism has to be defined by each of us, individually. It cannot be left to a government which controls the weapons of war, the streets, the language, and the press, to make that determination for us. If we allow this to happen, the stigma that will be placed on any act, whether it be the self-defensive actions against four BATF agents killed while assaulting a church in Texas, or a U. S. Marshall who has just killed a dog and a fourteen year old boy (Sammy Weaver), or bombing a federal building where people who chose to be employees of a government run amuck. We must resist succumbing to the need for approval by such controlling entities.

This leaves us, then, with the question:

Was this an Act of Terrorism? or, an Act of War?

 

 

Independence Day – July 4, 2015

Independence Day – July 4

In the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Fifteen
and of Our Independence, Two hundred and Thirty-Nine

flaganl

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
July 4, 2015

Two hundred and thirty-nine year ago, a handful of men, expressing the sentiments that had already been expressed in over ninety similar declarations, committed to paper a consolidation of those documents that had preceded it, and the will of the people of the 13 British colonies of North America.

After over five years of combat, rag-tag farmers, fighting against the greatest military force in the world at that time, prevailed in a war they believed, with honor, to be “the right thing to do.”

Just about one hundred and fifty-four years ago, again, a test between those who believed that they were right was pitched against others who believed that they were right. The contest, this time, was between those who wanted to preserve a Union and those who believed that States had rights that could not be subordinated to a simple majority in opposition.

This war lasted less than five years, and the side that lost, though they had fought, with honor, because it was “the right thing to do.” And, the side that won also, fought with honor, because it was “the right thing to do.” However, the losing side forgiven by the winning, first at the surrender next by a general amnesty by President Lincoln, and finally, by amnesty granted by President Johnson, because that, too, was “the right thing to do.”

They were also recognized as an honorable foe by those who fought on the winning side, and most of the general population of the northern states, because it was “the right thing to do.” Among all, there was no animosity, except by a handful of those in Congress who chose to punish those who had done what they believed to be “the right thing to do.”

Eventually, Congress relinquished and allowed the punishment known as “Reconstruction” to expire, and we were, finally, whole, again. History recognized that both sides had done what they believed to be “the right thing to do.” And, the country continued to progress, in relative harmony, for another century. During that century, twice the United States was called upon to aid European nations, and to defend herself, because they believe it to be “the right thing to do.”

Since that time, we have started many wars, and we have lost all of them. Perhaps it is because we have left to the government the determination as to what “the right thing to do” is. It is not the will of the people, for they are simply encouraged to wave the flag.

It is the people that have allowed the representatives to become leaders, rather than our “representatives” to follow our will. And, we have allowed then to make the decisions that have lead our country to the despair, the distress that we now find ourselves living with.

For the first time since the end of World War II we find ourselves faced with the question as to just what we need to determine as “the right thing to do”, just as the Americans were called upon to do, in the past.

If we are seeking an answer, perhaps a single sentence from the Declaration of Independence, that first instance of having to determine what “the right thing to do” was, will provide the guidance that had since been lost:

But when long trains of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide for new guards for their future security.

The Escapes – And My Journey to Freedom – A Review

The Escapes – And My Journey to Freedom, by Du Hua
A review of a book that every Vietnam Veteran should read

The Escapes And My Journey to Freedom a review

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
March 11, 2014

Du Hua was just 7 years old when I left Vietnam. I never met him until, recently when I read his book and then spoke with him on the phone.

It was about 10:00 AM, September 19, 1967, when I boarded a commercial flight from Bien Hoa Air Base, Bien Hoa, Republic of South Vietnam. After a 15-hour flight, we landed at Travis Air Force Base, California, at about 10:00 AM, September 19, 1967. Because of the International Date Line, my flight, by local times, was a matter of minutes.

Not so for Du Hua. It was the spring of 1980 when he made his first attempt to escape the communist regime that we had left as our political legacy in Vietnam. Things did not work out so well for him, as the pre-arranged escape did not work out as planned. For various reasons, the next nine attempts also failed to result in his escape from Vietnam. Finally, on his eleventh attempt, and a harrowing ordeal at sea, he succeeded, along with the other passengers in the frail boat in which they had escaped. The Cap Anamur, a German ship, purposed to rescue the Vietnamese Boat People that had survived their ordeal by sea, picked them up. This was in June 1981, over a year after his first attempt to escape. Very different from that casual flight I had taken just 14 years earlier.

He and his companions were then taken to the Philippines. After months of effort, he received permission to go to the United States and join his brother, a Vietnamese Soldier who had escaped years before, after having been seriously wounded in combat.

Du went on to join the United States Navy, serving proudly until receiving a lifetime service related injury while serving with VFA-86.

Having lost his naval career to the injury, he worked his way through college, eventually becoming a registered pharmacist (this requires almost as much education as a doctor).

Du has achieved what he sought when he left Vietnam, 34 years ago. He has found his Freedom and his American Dream.

However, for Vietnam Veterans, treated so contemptuously upon our return from Vietnam, there is a far greater message in this story of Du’s escape and subsequent life. He is very active, today, speaking to children in classrooms and to other groups, of his experience and paying tribute to Vietnam, and other veterans who have served their country. He also speaks of his appreciation for the United States and the ideal of freedom, and what it meant to so many who, like Du, risked their lives to leave communist Vietnam and seek the freedom that they had heard so much of from those of us who had served with honor and imparted images of what life in the United States was all about.

Except for my family, other Vietnam Veterans, and their families, there has not been a “Welcome Home” that had any meaning — simply platitudes in keeping with Political Correctness.

This always left me with the feeling that since our own government did not have the same honor as the soldiers who fought in Vietnam, there was no purpose, any good, served by those who fought, and especially those who died, in what we believed at the time to be our duty.

As I read Du’s story, I began to realize that though we abandoned the Vietnamese when we left, we left a legacy that endured, and became that shining light that the Statute of Liberty once stood for — a Beacon to the World. Our efforts were not in vain, regardless of the failure of our government. For the first time in my life, I feel that my efforts have served far more than I had ever imagined.

This book has shed a completely new light to that service. It has served as redemption of what had been couched in guilt for the past 48 years. For the first time I can say not only that I was proud to have served, but also realize that that service has done far more for our country, and the world, than I ever imagined.

Vietnam Veterans can receive a copy of the book by contacting Du Hua via email at theescapes81@gmail.com

Others wishing to read Du’s story can purchase the book at:

http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000569324/The-Escapes-and-My-Journey-to-Freedom.aspx

or

http://www.amazon.com/The-Escapes-My-Journey-Freedom/dp/1477210628

Waco A Lesson in History – Part I – Looking Back at Waco

Waco – A Lesson in History

Part I
Looking Back at Waco

waco_room_223

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
March 4, 2015

 

On February 28, 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), raided the Branch Davidians Church, just outside of Waco, Texas. After a firefight lasting about 2 1/2 hours in which the Davidians continue, through 911, to have the firing cease, the BATF finally withdrew, with their tail between their legs. The body count was four dead agents and four dead Davidians (a fifth died within a few days). BATF had far more injuries than the Davidians, and they did not accomplish their mission. Disgraced because of the failure of the ill-conceived plan for the raid, the big brother, the FBI, came in and took charge of the remaining operation.

Mainstream Media began coverage within hours, and would remain for the next 51 days. However, for the most part, the news that they “gathered”, and then fed to the majority of the American people, was nothing more than a rewrite of the daily FBI Press Conference, complete with coffee and donuts.

These events happened before the Internet became readily available, so that alternate media was relegated to fax networking and sympathetic radio talk shows.

Though I arrived in Waco on the evening of March 5, my reports didn’t begin flowing until March 8. Arrangements were made with Ken Varden, who had recently set up operation as the American Patriot Fax Network (APFN), while I continued to write under my recently established Outpost of Freedom. These reports, as well as additional information and pictures taken during and shortly thereafter, see Waco White Papers

Because of limitations (Ken used two fax machines to fax out each report to 800 people, each report), which it took all night to fax out to all recipients, I was limited to one page faxes. As a result, my releases were generally a supplement to the broadcast news, or clarification of MSM reported events.

What we didn’t know then was what the long-term effects of Waco would be, especially to the patriots of this once great nation. Time, however, has provided many answers to many questions, and we can also see that many recent events, such as the shooting, by “law enforcement officers”, of unarmed people, and then cheap rationalizations to justify the “legality” of those actions, has grown far beyond what occurred, over two decades ago.

Many of those currently involved in patriotic activates tend to look at Waco as ancient history, not realizing what we have learned about the misdeeds of government, and how those have expanded into what has become standard operating procedure of the government.

It is well worth your time to set aside a few hours and “bone up” on that travesty of American Justice. Look at what we learned over the next six years as a type of after action report from which we can define the Modus Operandi (method of operation) of government, and where it was born.

Links to the other parts:

 

Waco A Lesson in History – Part II – Rules of Engagement

Waco A Lesson in History – Part III – A New Revelation

Waco A Lesson in History – Part IV – The FLIR Project

 

Waco A Lesson in History – Part II – Rules of Engagement

Waco – A Lesson in History

Part II
Rules of Engagement

Waco fire

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
March 4, 2015

 

Within the few years following the events of February 28 through April 19, 1993, some investigations were completed, hearings held, and reports filed. New information came out after the Oklahoma City Bombing, since the tie between Waco and McVeigh’s actions were irrefutable.

During this same period, two individuals continued their pursuit of truth over the events in Waco, doggedly finding witnesses, filing FOIA requests, and looking into every nook and cranny, in an effort to expose more of the misdeeds of government, both during those fateful 51 days and the government’s continued efforts to cover up the truth.

As more information came out disputing the official version, the government and Congress moved into a defensive posture, setting up the Danforth Commission to “set to rest the idea that the government had done anything wrong at Waco”.

The initial report from that commission was published in July 2000, and in their findings, they did establish, at least in the minds of the government, that the government did no wrong — regardless of evidence to the contrary.

Waco – The Rules of Engagement” (Academy Award nomination for best documentary – 2:15:51) relives the events, as they occurred, delves into, and challenges, with supporting evidence, many of the lies told by government officials. This is not what mainstream media reported. Rather, it is a presentation of events, unclouded by the FBI Press Conferences. It includes portions of hostage negotiation discussions (kept from the public during the standoff) that dispute the public asservations then being made and published. Finally, it begins comparing information and evidence that was brought to light through the persistence of Mike McNulty and David Hardy, which further dispute certain claims made by the government officials.

By the time you have finished watching this video, you will have a new understanding of those events of twenty-two years ago, and we will see that the tactics applied against the Church in Waco, Texas, have continued and expanded, so that at present, we can see the manifestation of a criminal government and the establishment of impunity for those actions.

Links to the other parts:

Waco A Lesson in History – Part I – Looking Back at Waco

Waco A Lesson in History – Part III – A New Revelation

Waco A Lesson in History – Part IV – The FLIR Project

Lessons of History #3 – Emotions that Led to Secession

Lessons of History #3

Emotions that Led to Secession

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom

December 31, 2014

 

On October 16, 1859, John Brown and 18 men took over the Harpers Ferry Armory, in northern Virginia (now West Virginia). His intention was to seize the arms and get them to slaves in the South so that they could rise up against their masters, and kill them. Brown’s effort was cut short when he was captured on October 18.

His trial began on October 27 and a jury convicted him on November 2, 1859.

Thomas J. Jackson, from Virginia Military Institute was in charge of the military security detail assigned to keep the crowds in order for the December 2 hanging. Just two years later, Jackson would be known as “Stonewall” Jackson, and would encourage his troops, at the Battle of Bull Run, to “yell like banshees”, which was the beginning of the famous Rebel Yell.

The people of the North, especially the abolitionists, considered the conviction and hanging of Brown to be a travesty, as Brown had become a folk hero in that part of the country.

The South, observing the North’s disrespect for the laws and the system that convicted and hanged Brown, were outraged. A popular hero had grown from the event, and his purpose was to foment a slave uprising by arming them so that they could kill their masters, and presumably, any whites they could find. The Yankees had overtly sought the death of the Southern whites at the hands slave population.

Is it any wonder that just a year later, on December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union? Could anyone remain in a union with other states that had openly and publically supported an effort that might well have led to their deaths?

We are often caught up in the events that may have led to secession, such as tariffs, slavery, or any other easily identifiable cause, however, we seldom, if ever, want to look at the social relationship that was straining both sides to a breaking point. The first, with open and exuberant support for a cause that may have left hundreds of thousands of dead fellow countrymen, and the other, who chose not to be identified as of the same nation as those who had called for their deaths. We fail to understand the mindset, dwelling on the actions, and focus strictly on those bits of history written in out textbooks (by the winner), rather than the emotional undercurrents that might reasonably justify the response, in this case secession.

Liberty or Laws? – Appeasement

Liberty or Laws?
Appeasement

Gary Hunt
Outpost of Freedom
August 23, 2014

 

Last October (29, 2013), I wrote an article on “Appeasement – Giving in, inch by inch“. In that article, I addressed the appeasement, by the government, regarding both foreign and domestic matters.

At the time, it had not crossed my mind that we have a choice between “Liberty or Laws”, only that we had to try to change what was happening – though the methods of achieving that end varied, greatly. This current series, however, delves into the supposition that the country belongs to us, not the government. Not really a strange concept, as it was that very way of thinking that led to the Revolutionary War — that the country, in fact, belongs to the people of that country — that when government violates the trust, the people will either accept the condition, or the will take back that government. This concept is embodied in the Declaration of Independence:

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when long trains of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide for new guards for their future security.

What happens, then, when the people continue with a doctrine of appeasement with government? Can there be any justification for such doctrine, and, if so, at what point in the invariable course of government do we determine to do our duty — for the sake of our posterity?

So, perhaps we should look at just how we are appeasing the government:

  • The Constitution provides that only Congress can declare war (Art. I, §8, cl. 11), though we have allowed both the President and Congress to engage in war, without a requisite declaration. Over time, it has become the “prerogative” of the President to engage in war, absent an objection by the Congress.       The provision in the Constitution was so placed so that the power and expense of war would not lie in the hands of one man.
  • The Constitution provides that only Congress call forth the militia to repel invasion (Art. I, §8, cl. 15), though Congress has failed to do so repel the invasion, in violation of existing laws regarding immigration, which can be described as no less than an invasion. If Congress called them forth, the President would be Commander in Chief but the obligation to utilize them to repel invasion could not be detracted.
  • The Constitution makes no provision for the federal government to become a benefactor, taking money from those that justly earn it to give to those unwilling to earn their own livelihood. This has historically been an act of private people and organizations, and to some degree, within the local community (Not Yours To Give). It was never mandatory, until the government decided to buy the favor (chicken in every pot) of a class of people.
  • The supporters of the Constitution, in addressing at least five of the state ratifying conventions, explained that “direct taxes” would only be imposed in an emergency (to pay for war, or other extraordinary events – See “Ratification” by Pauline Maier). Instead, we pay a minimum of 1/5th of our earnings directly to government. This does not include the taxes paid prior to purchase of an item by every person involved in the production of the item — compounding the true tax paid.       “He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance” (Declaration of Independence).
  • The First Amendment mandates that Congress “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion“.       This means that they cannot set one church above others (and, to Framers, Christianity was the acceptable religion, the various denominations being the object of the Amendment). However, by administratively creating and forcing churches into 501(c)(3) status, then limiting what they could include within their sermons (except Muslim churches), they have “established” a religion that has no moral values, and allowed another to espouse values foreign to our nature, without consequence.
  • The Constitution makes no provision for the control of education of the children of the People. Public Education belonged, for over 180 years, to the public, not the government.       The Department of Education was created in 1867, under Reconstruction), though abandoned after a year of existence. Its purpose, at the time, was to “educated” southern children to Northern values. It was reconstituted in 1953 as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and has become a source of absolute and arbitrary control over the education process throughout the country, in a form of indoctrination which exceeds anything ever imagined by Adolph Hitler, as a tool of government propaganda, to the point that basic skills have nearly been removed from the curriculum and social engineering programs have replaced them as the focus of the educational system.
  • With the recent militarization of police, and the ongoing efforts to restrict and outlaw gun ownership, we find that we are fast approaching absolute subjugation to government authority. We are far worse off than our English ancestors in the mid-seventeen-hundreds, when in Parliament, William Pitt said:

The poorest man may, in his cottage, bid defiance to all of the forces of the Crown. It may be frail, its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storm may enter; the rain may enter; but the King of England may not enter; all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement

And, we find that concerns that are recorded in our document of Independence from despotic government included within its concerns:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us…          For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders they should commit on the inhabitants of these states” (Declaration of Independence).

For the sake of brevity, I will leave you to add your additional concerns regarding the intentions of government.

The question arises, do we stand for our Liberties, or, do we abide by fabricated laws? To continue on the path we walk renders us as guilty of appeasement as was Chamberlin prior to World War II, and our own government is today, as addressed in “Appeasement – Giving in, inch by inch“.

Appeasement
n. The action or process of appeasing.

Appease
v. pacify or placate (someone) by acceding to their demands.

Related articles:

Liberty or Laws? — Dealing with the Current Invasion

Liberty or Laws? — Militia in Defense of the State

Liberty or Laws? — Militia in Aid of Our Neighbor

Liberty or Laws? — Immigration or Invasion

Liberty or Laws? — Treason Against the State

Liberty or Laws? — Government and Patriots Aiding and Abetting Criminal Activity

Liberty or Laws? — … and jealously guard our Liberties

Liberty or Laws? Government Enforces Their Laws – Who Shall Enforce the Constitution?

Liberty or Laws? “Felon in Possession of a Firearm” is Not Legal or Lawful