ran 3.3 miles
If you see smoke billowing out of a building then there is probably a fire inside. It does not require much common sense to connect those dots and to respond accordingly. So, why is it that our federal government, from both sides of the aisle, is straining our liberties through an unconstitutional sieve of frightening proportions and we for the most part do so little about it or completely ignore it?
All the signs are there. Smoke is billowing. Fire is blazing. And we all sit back and watch it assuming someone else will take care of the catastrophe. This is America. Someone will take care of this, right?
It is a feeling of helplessness. What can you actually do that would make a real difference? I don't have an answer for that. But, that is why I run all these miles. I was tired of feeling helpless and this was the only thing I could think of to do. I feel free again and the shackles of helplessness have broken away from my wrists.
Here is a glance at some controversial legislation, or billowing smoke, that has been passed by our federal government and actions they have approved of in the last decade. As you read through them, ask yourself what is really going on here? The smoke is rising and they continue to tell us it's not there.
- The Patriot Act---passed in 2001 and extended in 2011 with additional controls, expands law enforcement powers and removes civil liberties and constitutionally guaranteed rights.
- The National Defense Authorization Act---passed on 31st December, 2011, allows the indefinite imprisonment by the military of any “suspects” (including American citizens on American soil) without allowing due process of law.
- The MAP-21 Bill--- allows the Internal Revenue Service to suspend the passport rights of Americans, based on the premise that their tax obligations may be unfulfilled.
- The National Defense Resources Preparedness Order---created in March, 2012, allows the President to take over control of all food, water, labor and industry in the US, “to promote national defense.”
- 30,000 Drones to fly over the U.S.---allowed by executive order, February, 2012, providing the government with an Orwellian surveillance ability and a killing capacity ranging from selected individuals to entire communities.
- FEMA Interment (Detention) Camps---to be constructed in every state, with 3 – 15 in each state, for an undisclosed purpose.
- Compounds to store "disposable coffins"---each with hundreds of thousands of 4-5 person coffins stored near city centers around the country.
- 450 million hollow-point bullets ordered by the Department of Homeland Security---to be used domestically. (The DHS is not responsible for addressing national invasions or overseas wars; it exists solely for the control of internal disorder. Hollow point bullets are not intended for sharpshooting – they are designed specifically to maximize tissue damage.)
2,080 miles from Lafayette, LA to Washington D.C. and back + 10.6
Here is what happened one year ago on Day306.
