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January 29, 2010

How Could We Forgot The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act?

By William Cormier

All of us need to remember Senate Bill S-1959 and House Bill 1955. The "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007″ was one of the most egregious assaults on the freedom and liberty of Americans that had ever been presented to Congress. (Notwithstanding the Patriot (Sic) Act.) It took hard work, and as people began to grasp the impact of this bill we can now state that overall, it was a success!

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All of us need to remember Senate Bill S-1959 and House Bill 1955. The "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007″ was one of the most egregious assaults on the freedom and liberty of Americans that had ever been presented to Congress. (Notwithstanding the Patriot (Sic) Act.) It took hard work, and as people began to grasp the impact of this bill we can now state that overall, it was one of those rare times that public outrage and calls to our Congress were actually successful.

Both of these bills were under a press blackout which made our fight even tougher than it should have been; after passing the House with only six "nay" votes, the bill was ""Fast-Tracked" for what those in Congress thought was a sure win. But on this issue, people understood that the very essence of freedom and liberty were being challenged and we arose to the challenge. The switchboard(s) at Capitol Hill was literally swamped with calls and Senators/Representatives found their email clogged with petitions and countless emails from their constituents.

HR 1955 and S-1959 demonstrated loud and clear that when the public bands together for the common good and we stand together in solidarity, the government has no choice but to heed the will of the of the American people. Our Congress attempted to pass this egregious bill under the radar, refused to comment publicly on the bill, and the MSM was subjected to a press blackout. Our fight against this assault on our democracy was defeated largely by the segment of the population that received their news from the Internet. The bill was sent to committee from the House of Representatives where it languished and was eventually shelved with little or no fanfare. Unfortunately, because of the press blackout on this bill, the public never celebrated nor fully understood the significance of our ability to change the course of our history and that's the way the government wanted it! If the public woke-up and comprehended the power of the people when we stand together, it might have empowered us to tackle bigger and better things. For all practical purposes, our victory in the face of tyranny was forgotten, shelved along with the bill in the hopes that a wakening electorate would yawn and go back to their slumber and it worked.

Now we are faced with another issue that strikes at the heart of our democracy. There have been thousands of articles and Op-Ed's written on this decision, and the majority of them agree that this ruling, if allowed to stand, will forever alter the course of our struggling democracy:

A "Massive Tilt in Our Democracy"

Michael Waldman, the executive director of the Brennan Center of Justice at New York University School of Law, which filed amicus briefs in the case, said the ruling means that "Exxon could spend Bloomberg-level money in every Congressional campaign around the country." Waldman was referring to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who tapped into his vast wealth and spent more than $70 million of his own money on his first mayoral campaign.

Waldman added that the Supreme Court justices "chose to intervene in the political process in a way they didn't have to," which will now result in a "massive tilt in our democracy." He warned that the "impact of this case could dwarf the impact of this election."

Burt Neuborne, a law professor at NYU and a Supreme Court litigator, agreed.

"[The decision] gives a green light for a massive flow of corporate treasury money into our democracy," he said, adding that the decision "changes the ground rules [of] our democracy." Link

President Obama and several members of congress have vowed to pass legislation to neuter the SCOTUS decision, however, attempting to pass legislation is time consuming at best, and with Republican obstructionism it is extremely unlikely this matter will be resolved in time to mitigate its effects on the upcoming Congressional elections. With corporations allowed to spend whatever is necessary to elect shills that favor fascism rather than democracy, there is an extremely high probability that November's election will be tainted by corporate influence, effectively changing the course of an election through deceit and subterfuge.

Remember, an "activist "Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States." If Fox News, which by their designation as a news source is allowed to lie and distort the truth, try and imagine the propaganda that will stifle our airways by Corporate America spending countless millions of dollars to elect Congressmen/women that will vote in favor of profit at the expense of the American people. It stands to reason if a news source can legally deceive the public that corporations will be allowed to do the same"

The principles and heart of our democracy is being attacked. In the few short days since this odious decision by SCOTUS was rendered, there have been more than three thousand articles and Op-Ed's that have evaluated and opined this decision; there is no press blackout on the issue and the American public is well aware of the threat that we now face. The public has a moral duty to uphold and protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights of the United States. If we allow Congress and President Obama to drag their feet, there is little doubt Corporate America will negatively impact the upcoming election, forever altering the course of our nation and are likely to move our country towards the abyss of fascism but working together, we can again alter the course of history! We cannot allow this coup against the people to stand!

If you believe that Justice Roberts should be impeached, call the White House and your Congressional representative and demand that impeachment proceeding begin immediately; not tomorrow, not next week, but now!

If you believe that legislation is the best way to resolve this issue, call the White House and your Congressional representative and demand that legislation begin immediately.

If you believe that Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito should be arrested for treason, call the White House and your Congressional representatives and demand that both of them be arrested immediately.

If you don't know what to do, call the President and Congress and demand that they make this matter their number one priority, and do it now so we will have as close to a fair election in November as possible.

Remember HR-155 and S-19589! We know that we can move mountains when we band together for a common cause. We fought and won against a Congress that was hell bent on depriving the people of our nation their basic constitutional rights. Even though this may seem to be an insurmountable task, we have taken on tasks that also seemed impossible to win, but the perseverance of our activists nd the participation of hundreds of thousands of Americans change the course of history in 2007 and we can damn sure do it again!

These are two phone number for the White House:

(202) 456-1111 202-456-1414

This is the main switchboard for Congress, and several alternate numbers:

(202)224-312 (Main)

1-800-828-0498 1-866-340-9281

1-866-338-1015 1-866-220-0044

1-877-851-6437 1-800-459-1887

1-800-614-2803

No matter which course of action you believe will solve this crisis as quickly as possible, all roads, no matter which option you choose, all lead to democracy and freedom. We didn't make history in one day on HR-1955 and S-1959. Our phone and email campaign lasted days and weeks and if we understand that now is the time for action we can do it again! In this author's opinion, freedom and democracy are firmly in the hands of the people, and only by exercising our right to free speech and being persistent in our efforts will we again defeat the forces of tyranny and fascism. Doing nothing will forever destroy the last vestiges of freedom and democracy in the United States. Pick up your phones"

William J. Cormier



Authors Bio:

My Bio is as varied as my life. In 2012, my twin sons murdered a Journalist in Pensacola, Fl., for 100K worth of "Magic The Gathering" playing cards and buried the body in my backyard. I was once a regular writer here, but PTSD from my son's actions took their toll. First, I lost everything I had. Second, I lost my fiancee. Third, I almost lost my life. Recovery has been a hard and lonesome road, and it isn't quite over yet. I will overcome this disaster as I have others, and return to college to resume my quest to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism.

Admittedly, I have chosen to get back in the mix and do my duty to help destroy any chance that Trump may have of being elected to a second term.


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