My Appeal To The ACLU

Regular visitors to this site probably never expected to see me call out to the ACLU for assistance.

Truth be told, never in my wildest dreams did I see it happening either.

However, the Obama administration is forcing me to do so.

Otherwise, I may be headed to jail.

A few days ago, I wrote of a plan working it’s way through Congress that would require all working Americans to be issued and carry a National ID card, supposedly as a means of controlling illegal immigration.

I’ve just finished reading a news report that the bill could be presented to President Obama as early as this coming week.

And this is why I will need the help of someone from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Because I flat-out refuse to carry such a card.

Chris Calabrese of the ACLU had this to say about the plan:

“We’re talking about fingerprinting every single american worker, and that card, in turn, will probably be used not only to work but also to travel, to vote, perhaps even to own a gun.”

I have no idea what the penalties might be for refusing to knuckle under to this scheme that is right out of a police state, but I will say this to the two main sponsors of this national ID plan,
Senators Charles Schumer and Lindsay Graham:

                                                                       See You In Court!

Illegal Immigration Is Making America A Police State

Both Republicans and Democrats have failed to take any meaningful steps in the battle against illegal immigration.

And the few who have tried to take steps against the influx of illegal aliens, such as Hazleton Pennsylvania mayor Lou Barletta, find their city ordinances being challenged in federal court, with little to no support from the government, in fact the feds are usually the ones issuing the challenge.

So what have our brain-dead members of Congress come up with now?

Democrat Senator Charles Schumer and Republican Lindsey Graham are behind a bill that will require all American workers to carry a biometric identification card.

I guess I had better win the lottery pretty soon, because I will be damned if I will allow the government to fingerprint me as if I were a common criminal.

Taking the fingerprints of someone who is joining the armed forces, or is working for the government in a security-sensitive position is one thing, but you mean to tell me that the best idea Congress can come up with to fight illegal immigration is scan the fingerprints of a teenager applying for a job at Burger King?

To showcase just how ludicrous this idea is, you need look no further than the fact that, on this issue, the ACLU and I are in agreement.

“It is fundamentally a massive invasion of people’s privacy,” said Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.
“We’re not only talking about fingerprinting every American, treating ordinary Americans like criminals in order to work.
“We’re also talking about a card that would quickly spread from work to voting to travel to pretty much every aspect of American life that requires identification.”

Calabrese makes some excellent points, and I for one will go on record right now as saying that I won’t stand for it.

And I have a feeling that I’m far from being the only one who feels that way.

CPAC Exposes GOP Split On Illegal Immigration

The gathering of conservatives from all walks of life at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference meetings brought to light at least one area where there is still a rift in the Republican agenda.

Former Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo pointed out this deficiency, saying that CPAC 2010 failed the conservative movement in the “potent issues” of border security and illegal immigration.

Furthermore, Tancredo accused CPAC board member Grover Nordquist of being soft on illegal immigrants.

  Nordquist is apparently working closely with what can be called an amnesty plan for illegals.

Nordquist is also working on John McCain’s behalf over hardline, anti- illegal immigration supporter J.D. Hayworth.

Illegal immigration must be considered as a threat to national security, and Republicans running for election or re-election in 2010 are foolish to ignore the issue.

Pennsylvanians Against Paige

On our Vote 2010 site, we recently did an article about the upcoming race in Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District.
Along with outlining how Hazleton mayor Lou Barletta will once again challenge 13-term Democrat Congressman Paul Kanjorski for a seat in the House of Representatives, we pointed out how Barletta will face a primary challenge from Christopher Paige, a long time Democrat who recently switched to the Republican Party.

This prompted one of our readers who lives in Northeastern Pennsylvania to contact us and let us know why he won’t be voting for Mr. Paige:

 

Why I won’t vote for Chris Page 

To be fair, I am a long time Lou Barletta supporter. I however would consider voting for another if there was a better candidate.

I was initially curious about Christopher Paige.
That was until I found out who he is, what he thinks the proper role of Government is, and what he thinks of people who believe what I believe.

 
In a press release Paige wrote, “Barletta’s flirtations with and exploitations of racism are not acceptable to moderate Democrats and Independents – the people who control the outcome in this District.  His attempts to make Hazleton a place where Neo-Nazis and racists feel at home is not acceptable to the businesses we need to attract to revive our economy.
His blatant appeals to racist stereotypes are not consistent with tourism, the life’s blood of our economy.  [When's the last time you heard anyone plan a vacation for Hazleton?]  Do we want the Poconos to be associated with the Neo-Nazis and other racists Barletta attracted to Hazleton in support of his anti-immigrant policies?
In this economy, people are looking for any excuse to take their business elsewhere, so we just can’t afford Barletta’s racist ramblings against immigrants.  [Don't bother arguing it's not racist - the signs at "anti-immigrant" rallies say all you need to know.
For instance, one said, "The Majority will become a Minority."  Also, if this is about preventing terrorism, then why are we building a wall on the Mexican border when the terrorists have always used the Canadian border?  Shouldn't we close that border first?]¹” 

 I apologize for such a long quote, but I thought that every sentence of this quote is important in bringing to light what he thinks of people like myself, and Mayor Barletta.  

Read the rest of this entry

Sheriff Joe Says “I Don’t Take Orders From The Government”

Sheriff Joe Arpaio is just doing his job.
And he has been doing it very well.
So well in fact that the feds told him to knock it off.

 PHOENIX —  An Arizona sheriff known for cracking down on people who are in the country illegally launched a crime and immigration sweep in northwestern metro Phoenix on Friday, a half day after officials in Washington limited his powers to make federal immigration arrests.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose sweeps have led to allegations of racial profiling, said the rebuff from Washington won’t stop him. He said he can still arrest immigrants under a state smuggling law and a federal law that gives all local police agencies more limited power to detain suspected illegal immigrants.

“It doesn’t bother me, because we are going to do the same thing,” said Arpaio, whose deputies had arrested 16 people by Friday evening on unspecified charges. “I am the elected sheriff. I don’t take orders from the federal government.”

The officers were participating in a federal program that grants a limited number of local police departments special powers to make immigration arrests and speed up deportation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stripped Arpaio of his power to let 100 deputies make federal immigration arrests, but renewed another agreement that allows 60 jails officers to determine the immigration status of people in jail.

The sheriff’s sweeps in some heavily Latino areas of metro Phoenix have drawn criticism that Arpaio’s deputies racially profile people. Arpaio said people pulled over in the sweeps were approached because deputies…Read the rest of this entry

Do The Benefits Of Jihadist Training Camps In America Outweigh The Risks?

We just did a story on what we feel is the failure of the Department of Homeland Security to keep America safe.

And it generated comments from two sides of the fence, both whom claim to have experience in undercover intellegence operations.
You can read the original article and the comments here.

Of course, we have no means to verify or disprove undercover ops experience of the commenters.

One individual, going under the pseudonym Cherokee Parks, clearly understood the satirical nature of our implying that Janet Napolitano was getting her information from us.
And the point we were trying to make.
The other didn’t.

Regardless, the other person went on about how we have no idea of what is being done in order to keep America safe.
And stated that our “exaggerated journalism”  “reflects poorly on all of us.”
This individual also took the position that these jihadist training camps on American soil are common knowledge.

Let’s tackle that last one first.

After we closed up shop, Salvaterra and I went to one of our favorite spots to get a pizza and a few beers.
We are fairly well-know at this place, and we publicly asked the people there if they had ever heard of terrorist training camps here in America.
Out of roughly 40 people who were in the place, not one of them had ever heard of such a thing.

So much for exaggerated journalism.

Now, as to this person’s other position that everything that can be done is being done, we have one word:

Bull*hit!

Neither of us have any experience in intellegence gathering operations.
What we do have is common sense.

Which leads us to ask, what possible benefit is there to be gained by allowing these camps to exist?

Even if there is a CIA or FBI agent working undercover in one of these terrorist training grounds, what information is this agent likely to learn?

If the head jihadist receives word that another 9-11 style attack is forthcoming, will that person really be stupid enough to share that information with everyone in the camp?
Net gain.
Nothing.

Perhaps this person would learn of an additional training camp opening at another location.

Seeing as how the DHS doesn’t see fit to do anything as to the camps it does know about, what good does this information do?

We need someone to explain to us how in the world allowing these camps to operate right here in America is an effective strategy in keeping us safe.

Because it is our opinion that a group of terrorists who are already in this country, and could decide at any moment to leave the camp in order to kill civilians or to destroy an American city are a threat that needs to be dealt with in no uncertain terms.
James Bond tactics be damned.

And we can’t place all of the blame on Napolitano’s shoulders.

Former DHS directors Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff are just as guilty for allowing this.

What is different now is, what do you think would would happen if say, members of a gun club or a veterans organization were to open up a similar style training camp?

Janet “you’re all potential domestic terrorists” Napolitano would call out a SWAT team and swarm the place faster than you could blink.

Of course, offending America’s veterans and offending a group of Muslim terrorists are two different things.

Again, we have no background in intellegence operations.

Therefore, we need someone to explain to us how allowing these camps to exist outweighs the dire risk that they pose.

A risk that could become a reality at any time.

The Department Of Homeland Security Finally Catches Up With The Freedom Medium

Janet Napolitano and her crew at the Department Of Homeland Security finally found us.

She must have stumbled across us, read some of our commentary, watched the Fox News videos, and started to become aware of what we have been talking about for months.

And we don’t mind her taking credit for our hard work, we just wish she had started paying attention a little sooner.

On October 12th, she made the following statements in an interview with Bloomberg TV:

“It is fair to say there are individuals in the United States who ascribe to al-Qaeda-type beliefs.”
“And so it makes information-sharing, it makes effective law enforcement and it makes the shared responsibility of law enforcement ever so important.”

Ms. Napolitano, we shared the sort of information that you are just now talking about months ago!

Take a look at updates to just two of our reports on this topic:

Back in April, we found that there are at least 35 Jihadist training camps right here in America, primarily on the eastern end of the country.
The Fox News video below outlines the practices of this movement, but our research uncovered more troubling information.

For instance, in just one example of what the government is allowing to take place on our own soil, there is a 50 acre jihadist training compound near the town of Red House in Virginia.
If you are down that way, it’s easy enough to find as there is a street sign pointing out the road to Sheikh Gilani Lane.
Sheikh Gilani is reported to be a close ally of Osama bin Laden.
Mubarak Ali Gilani is on record as having said that he wants to “purify” Islam through violent actions.

We also uncovered the fact that at all of these training camps, there is a sign identifying the groups as “The Muslims of the Americas.”
What you won’t see are any signs explaining that the name these groups use is an offshoot of Jamaat ul-Fuqra, a sister agency of Al-Qaeda.

In another example, there is a terrorist training camp near Hancock, N.Y. that calls itself “Islamberg.”
It is run by Ghulam Mustafa, another individual with close ties to Osama bin Laden.
Mustafa plays an important role in Al-Qaeda’s planning and financing.

If all of this wasn’t disturbing enough, then I came across this story in the New York Post reporting how members of al-Shabab, a radical Islamic group based in Somalia that has ties to both Al Qaeda and Somali pirates, have taken 20 young men from Minnesota to fight in Somalia. You can read the story here.

The facts we uncovered, along with the information in the video, are truly alarming.
Maybe the DHS should hire someone to read reports like ours, and to watch for similar news reports like this one:

Then, in July, we did an article reporting on how nearly 500 members of Hizb-Ut-Tahrir held a convention in a Chicago-area Hilton Hotel.

Although not officially recognized as a terrorist organization by the State Department, many terrorism experts, one example of which is shown in the video appearing a little later in this article, consider them to be more of a threat to America’s security than al-Qaeda.

The man appearing in the video, Walid Phares, explains how Hizb-Ut-Tahrir trains youth between the ages of 9 to 18 in the ideology of “Khilafah”, which is a fundamental belief in the rule of Islamic law no matter what the means that may be taken to achieve it.

A spokesman for the group, Mohammad Malkawi claims that the group condemns terrorism in any form.

That statement would appear to be at odds with actions taken by some of the groups alumni, such as Khalid Skeikh Mohammed, the alleged plotter of the 9-11 attacks, to name just one.

Watch the video:

Malkawi also made the statement that the objective of the group is ”To create an Islamic state of Khilafah in the Muslim World.”

“The Muslim World.”

Last time we checked, Chicago was not the heartland of the Muslim world.

And as we said at the time, none of this will come as a surprise to our regular readers and subscribers.

And if we are paying close attention to these things, then why aren’t the people who are in charge of keeping us safe doing so?

How in the hell could Ms. Napolitano and her crew at the DHS fail to recognize that perhaps a convention of 500 supporters of a radical Islamic ideology, as well as numerous terrorist training camps scattered across America are a serious threat to the safety and security of this country?

“It is fair to say there are individuals in the United States who ascribe to al-Qaeda-type beliefs.”

Good God Almighty Janet, you’re just figuring that out NOW?

Where the hell have you been?

We have nowhere near the access to information that you do.

We have been talking about it for months, you are just coming to realize it now?

Maybe if you were one of our subscribers you wouldn’t be so far behind the curve.

OK Ms. Napolitano, we gave you the information.

Do you also need us to explain to you what your next step is?

As you said Janet, information sharing is important.

So the next time you need to know something, pay us a visit.

We are always glad to help.

And based on your statements, and by allowing these sort of things to take place on American soil, you need all the help you can get.

White House Tells Joe Arpaio To Stop Arresting Illegals

Sheriff Joe has been doing a hell of a job for years.

He has been enforcing the law of the land.

Maybe that’s why the administration doesn’t like him.

A controversial Arizona sheriff known for taking a hard line against illegal immigrants has been stripped of some of his powers in what he described as a political move by the Obama administration.

Joe Arpaio, a gruff lawman who styles himself as America’s toughest sheriff, has won acclaim from US anti-immigrant forces for his relentless pursuit of mostly Hispanic illegal immigrants in Maricopa county, Arizona, a fast-growing county of 4 million people that is home to Phoenix, the nation’s fifth largest city.

Arpaio’s aggressive tactics include the jailing of illegal immigrants in tent cities surrounded by barbed wire in the middle of Arizona’s searingly hot summers, the reduction of meal costs to 20 cents per day, the use of pink jail clothing for men, and chain gangs for women inmates.

Arpaio also came in for criticism when he appeared on the Fox reality show Smile: You’re Under Arrest.

Under a two-year-old agreement with the federal department of homeland security, Arpaio and his deputies had been authorised to enforce federal immigration law by arresting suspected illegal immigrants in the field…Read the rest of this entry

How To Annoy The Hell Out Of Congress

For quite some time now, we here at the Freedom Medium have been urging all of our readers to contact their members of Congress and make their voices heard regarding their opposition to health care “reform.”

Some of the biggest voices in the conservative ranks have been instrumental in pointing out the twisting of facts and the outright lies of the supporters of what is quite possibly the worst piece of legislation ever written.

For instance, after reading this entry from Michelle Malkin, it appears to me that Joe Wilson was right!

Glenn Beck asked the question is it healthcare or a freedom grab?

The Mobfather, Rush Limbaugh, asked Whose Swastika’s, Speaker Pelosi?

All of this, combined with millions of you contacting your members of Congress, showing up at town hall meetings, and attending Tea Parties is having the desired effect.

Not only is public support for Obama’s healthcare plan ebbing, now Congressional supporters of the plan are bickering with each other!

Don’t stop now, the battle is not over, we have to keep up the pressure, but all of us making our voices heard is making a difference!

Take a look at this story from The Hill to learn how there is now virtually no GOP support for the health care reform bill:

Senate Democrats are going to have to move forward on healthcare without a single Republican supporter after Sen. Olympia Snowe said Tuesday she could not back the Finance Committee’s bill.

Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) failed to win any Republican backer despite weeks of intense negotiations behind closed doors to strike a deal.

Snowe (Maine), who was one of three Republicans who backed the $787 billion economic stimulus package, was being lobbied heavily by the White House, and some centrists view her refusal to strike a deal with Baucus as troubling. But concerns about how the plan would be paid for prompted her to back away in the hours before its release.

 “I do have concerns and I’m not sure they can be addressed before he issues [legislation] tomorrow,” Snowe said.

Faced with the prospect of having to pass legislation without Republican votes, Obama’s chief political adviser David Axelrod met with Senate and House Democrats on Tuesday to stress the importance of party unity on healthcare reform — a message most directly aimed at centrists who now are critical to its passage.

Democrats control 59 seats in the Senate. Without a…Read the rest of this entry

Terrorist Attacks In America: A Nightmare Waiting To Happen

A while back, we wrote an article outlining how terrorist cells are running training camps in the USA.

That prompted one of our readers to inform us that he had written an article expressing his thoughts on this subject.

We looked it over, and it is an informative, well-written piece that we feel should be shared.

We urge all of you to read it, and consider the grave implications carefully.

Here’s the link: Nightmare Waiting To Happen.

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