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166

Exclusive to TLE

"WARNING!: Politicians and their bureaucracies are hazardous to your health, wealth, freedom and sanity!" ⁽¹⁾

Hollywood is not the only city in America with dream factories. The denizens of Washington DC routinely spin some pretty tall tales themselves - tales which require a 'suspension of disbelief' of galactic proportions to be taken seriously.

The latest strain on our credulity comes in the wake of Enron's collapse and the false assurances from talk radio blatherers that since no one in government conferred special favors on Enron, we can be reassured that the Bush administration is free of corruption. Top of which, Senator John McCain piles on with his ludicrous assertion that we need only pass 'campaign finance reform' legislation and our concerns of political sleaze will go away. This ridiculous suggestion represents the extent to which McCain is 'out-of-touch' with day-to- day government operations. McCain is not alone. With each passing day, it becomes increasingly clear that the inhabitants of the District of Criminals live it a different intellectual and moral universe than the rest of us 'decent people.' They're obviously incapable of recognizing their own corruption when it bitch-slaps them in the face. Here's the problem. When people are allowed to build careers in government, they become absorbed into the government culture - much like the Borg collective on Star Trek - and they actually come to believe their own nonsense.

It's time, Ladies and Gentlemen. It's time for these people to have a little confrontation with reality. You see, it is entirely possible to expose obvious government corruption without reference to campaign contributions of any kind. Citizen Beware! Relying on public officials to reveal the extent of their own short-comings makes as much sense as expecting the sun to stop rising in the East. You see, this is a dirty job that requires someone who can think outside the government box - someone who is unafraid to 'step up to the plate' and who can 'keep his eye on the ball.' Someone like me, for example.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, let us all don our A-B-C [atomic-biological- chemical] warfare garb, slip into our gas masks, and together we'll pop the lid on the septic tank that is government and see what there is to see. Let's begin with...

The Nuremberg Variations

When the Nazi war criminals were asked why they gassed all those Jews, the excuse the came up with is: "Ve vere just vollowing orders!" [Try saying this with a German accent.] Well, folks, in our modern era, 'law enforcement' has its own expressions for the same concept. They go something like this:

• "We were simply following departmental policy!" [Used to justify the murder of Vicki Weaver.]

• "We were only doing our jobs!" {This one was used to defend the unconstitutional assault on the Branch Davidians and to proclaim that the Davidians had no right to defend themselves from lawless government.]

• "We were simply enforcing 'the law' as we are required by law to do!" [This is the stuff that police states are made of.]

• "We were only doing what the US Supreme Court permits us to do!" [Used to justify everything from the unconstitutional regulation of guns to asset forfeiture laws. The latter of which permits 'law enforcement' to literally steal private property under 'color of law' - without anyone standing trial.]

In a nation which is presumably built on the 'consent of the governed' and 'individual responsibility', there is no room for unconscionable behavior and excuse making of this type. The people of this nation expect better of their law enforcement officials than to see them follow orders like a bunch of robots. That's the stuff that Nazi Germany was made of.

Waco and Ruby Ridge Revisited

It would be irresponsible to write about government corruption without discussing two of the most shameful and disgusting episodes in our nation's history. For those with strong stomachs, read chapters 15 -17 in James Bovard's "Feeling Your Pain": The Explosion and Abuse of Power in the Clinton-Gore Years. [hardback, paperback] ⁽²⁾ I defy anyone to read those chapters and come away believing that the federal 'law enforcement' officers involved were equipped with harps, haloes and angels' wings. It is especially nauseating that these clowns successfully avoided the jail cells they so richly deserved.

What crimes were committed by our 'public' officials? Let's begin with the top goon himself. As the highest elected official, Clinton had sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. Consequently, he had an affirmative legal duty {or at least the moral obligation} to:

1. Prosecute Lon Horiuchi for the murder of Vicki Weaver,

2. Prosecute Marshal Larry Cooper for shooting Sammy Weaver in the back,

3. Prosecute the appropriate officials for opening fire on previously peaceful people without just cause, for fabrication of evidence, for committing perjury during the trials of both Randy Weaver and the Branch Davidians, for committing perjury in the obtainment of search warrants, for lying to the State of Texas in order to obtain the assault vehicles that enabled them to violate the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, for involving the US military's Delta Force in the Davidian assault [also a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act], tossing flash- bang grenades at Branch Davidians who attempted to comply with surrender orders,

4. Prosecute in-Justice Department attorney Bill Johnston and ATF supervisor Dan Hartnett for suppression of evidence at Waco. Johnston advised Hartnett to stop the ATF's shooting review as it was producing exculpatory evidence that might undermine the government's future prosecution of surviving Davidians,

5. Prosecute 'Judge' Walter Smith [ The jurist for the Waco defendants] for judicial jury tampering and for setting aside verdicts of 'Not-Guilty' that he doesn't agree with, and for reinstating charges and subsequently finding the Davidian defendants 'Guilty' on his own initiative,

6. Prosecute the appropriate officials within the FBI who deceived Congress and a federal judge by withholding information that it had six closed circuit cameras monitoring the Davidian's home throughout the siege,

7. Prosecute the appropriate officials for defying court orders,

8. Charge himself, the Attorney general and many members of the senate and congress for perjury to their oaths of office and obstruction of justice for not even making the slightest serious attempt to get to the bottom of these events and hold the responsible government malefactors accountable to the law. {I know I'm dreaming, but if a bureaucrat's oath is to be worth anything then it must be enforceable.}

Title 18 US Code is the criminal code of the United States. Contained therein, there is a section that states [I forget exactly which section] that any public official that stomps on the rights of his fellow citizens is guilty of a felony. Last time I checked, the Second Amendment was still part of the Bill of Rights. As such, it is also part of the highest law of the land and must be given total and uncompromising respect. When Clinton failed to hold his subordinates responsible for their crimes he made himself an Accomplice After The Fact to a good many criminal charges. Remember, he had an affirmative legal duty to enforce the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and then the subordinate laws of the land. {The Bill of Rights and the Constitution as of paramount importance and come before anything else.} Thus he was obligated to prosecute law breakers within the FBI, ATF and the in-Justice Department. The same basic principle applies to Janet Reno, Louis Freeh, Congress and the Senate and all the other officials who were involved in this affair in any way.

To give you an example of the regard with which our government hold us, the 'officers' who ambushed the Weaver family and dog and Kevin Harris were rewarded for their 'heroism' [actually it was cowardice] under fire. F-Troop's {ATF} budget was actually increased after the Waco debacle. Wait! It gets worse. A combination of 'independent counsels,' senate and congressional committee 'investigations,' millions of dollars spent, and all they could come with against Clinton was a case of perjury involving sex. Talk about the Peter Principle in action! It's running amok in DC! Look what I came with, and I wasn't even a party to the investigation!

Lastly, the Janet Reno justified her irresponsibility throughout the Waco and Ruby Ridge affairs by proclaiming that if federal 'law enforcement' officers were to be held accountable for their actions, that this would have a 'chilling effect' on future operations. Well, folks there are some federal activities that not only need to be 'chilled,' but quick frozen by liquid oxygen at 220 degree below zero temperatures. Particularly, those activities that involve the murder of peaceful people just because they have a few guns lying around the house.

James J. Odle is a splendid fellow who, unlike the vast majority of so-called 'public servants' has a real job in the private sector performing real work which a real employer voluntarily pays him to perform. He is also a Life Member of Gun Owners of America.

⁽¹⁾ Something that should be boldly printed on every voter's guide.
⁽²⁾ James Bovard, "Feeling Your Pain": The Explosion and Abuse of Power in the Clinton-Gore Years, St. Martin's Press, New York, September 2000