– Henry Ford on the witness stand in a libel suit against a newspaper who called him an ignorant pacifist

—– Original Message —–

From: Jim Westerbrook

Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 9:02 PM

Subject: Please Act Now to Stop the Court Martial of the Navy SEAL Heroes

Dear Friend-

We are getting the word out. Americans are starting to rally to the side of the brave Navy SEALs who are being persecuted in the name of political correctness. Rep. Dan Burton (@RepDanBurton) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (@DanaRohrabacher) have demanded that the charges be dropped. It is time for the case which resulted from the false accusations of a terrorist murderer, to be dropped and for their names to be cleared.

But time is running out. The Court Martial Trial is set for May 3rd–less than three weeks away. The time is NOW to put the final pressure on the Secretary of Defense to drop these charges. But thus far only one new outlet–FoxNews–has even reported this injustice. We need to work harder to get the word out to Americans across the land about this outrage, so they can put pressure on the powers that be to stop it.

Enough is Enough…Please help us run TV ads to get the word out to the American People, who can act to stop the Court Martial!

What Happened…

As you may know, three brave Navy SEALs captured the most wanted terrorist in Iraq in a daring nighttime raid on September 3rd, 2009. But now those SEALs are being charged with assault because that same terrorist–who planned the savage murders of 4 Americans in 2004–claimed they gave him a “fat lip”. Despite no physical evidence to support his claim. And despite the fact that the Al Qaeda manual directs terrorists to falsely claim abuse. A Court-Martial has been scheduled for MAY 3RD, and these fine men face a year in prison over the lies of a murdering terrorist!

This same terrorist, Ahmed Hashim Abed, and his followers killed 4 American bodyguards, burning three of them alive, dragged their bodies through the streets, and hung them from a bridge over the Euphrates River. It was a horrific crime. And these SEALs risked life and limb to bring him in after 5 years on the run. Yet now the politically-correct military is prosecuting the very men who captured him, because he claimed they gave him a FAT LIP? Why is the military taking the word of a murdering terrorist over our brave fighting men?

This must not stand! Please help us run TV ads to get the word out to the American People, who can act to STOP it.

According to the SEALs’ attorneys, their clients face up to a YEAR IN PRISON. They DENY the charges and have pled not guilty. But the fact that they were even charged for rough handling of a mass-murdering terrorist is an outrage.

We must stop this madness. We have heard it from military experts, from Congressmen, from attorneys: Once the Court Martial begins, public pressure is more likely to be ignored. But these experts have told us one important fact: Public pressure DOES effect whether charges are DROPPED. Popular pressure has prevailed in the past, and MUST do so now to halt this gross injustice against the heroes who captured this terrorist murderer in a heroic operation.

Please help us run our ad to support the SEALs on national cable TV outlets to get the word out and stop this now

Court-Martial. Careers destroyed. Up to a year in prison. Reputations tarnished forever. And all on the word of a murdering terrorist? All for the sake of political correctness? This cannot be permitted to go any further. We must stop this Court Martial before it begins–NOW.

Secretary Gates, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, can intervene at any time to dismiss the charges against the three SEALs and direct that they be restored to duty.

What We are Doing…

We are asking for support to help run ads on cable and TV outlets. Outside of FoxNews, the national media is NOT reporting this story, between overall bias and the domination of the recent healthcare debate. But we cannot afford to let the careers and lives of these fine men to remain leblow the radar. We need to target the leaders who can make this disgraceful witchhunt go away: Secretary Gates, the Congress, the Armed Services Committees, the military brass, and the Administration. Due to mainstream media censorship of this issue, we believe the best way to do this is with TV ads. We have to act FAST to get the word out to millions of Americans, who will be OUTRAGED into action when they see these ads, and flood the marbled offices of Washington with their phone calls, faxes, emails and letters.

But to do this we must get the word out to the American People…PLEASE HELP US RUN OUR AD on national cable TV outlets to help stop this outrage!

What You Can Do…

We ask your support in helping us run our TV ads. But even if you cannot afford to help us run our ads, please use our website’s resources to CALL, EMAIL, FAX and write LETTERS to the decision makers in the military, Congress, the Administration, and also on Talk Radio and in the Media. Sign our petition (over 42,000 have so far) which we will deliver to Defense Secretary Gates and Congressional leaders. Write an Op-Ed piece in your local newspaper. Anything will help get the word out about these men being railroaded for the sake of political correctness! Don’t we all owe these brave men a minute of our time to call, email or fax on their behalf?

Our soldiers and sailors are the men and women that have kept terrorists at bay for eight years. These are the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for you and your families. These are the men and women who have the enemy on the run right now so that you can sleep peacefully at night.

These are the men and women being shot at, blown up, injured and killed, and they are shooting back at the enemy to defend you against terrorists that would otherwise be in your town, shooting at you, taking your loved ones hostage and beheading them.

Imagine what a nightmare this must be for these SEALs and their families. And now the Court Martial is just a month away.

The prosecution of our heroes for the alleged action against a terrorist is madness. Do not let this pass without a letter, email, fax, telephone call, to your senator, your representative, the President and the Secretary of Defense to tell them to back off the prosecution of these Navy SEALS.

Please help us run our ads on national cable TV outlets to help stop this outrage!

This MUST not stand! We CAN stop it if we get the word out to all Americans. We must not fail these fine men.

Thank you, and God Bless.

Jim Westerbrook

SupportTheSEALs is a project of the American Victory Fund, a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization under the Federal tax code. Contributions are not tax-deductible.

As we celebrate the Declaration of Independence this summer, and the Constitution in September, let us once again reflect on the marvelous principles underlying these two documents. The following is a review of our nation’s foundational philosophy, summarized in 28 principles.

Principle 1 - The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.

Natural law is God’s law. There are certain laws which govern the entire universe, and just as Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, there are laws which govern in the affairs of men which are “the laws of nature and of nature’s God.”

Principle 2 - A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” – Benjamin Franklin

Principle 3 - The most promising method of securing a virtuous people is to elect virtuous leaders.

“Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He therefore is the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its virtue, and who … will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.” – Samuel Adams

Principle 4 - Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports…. And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.” – George Washington

Principle 5 - All things were created by God, therefore upon him all mankind are equally dependent, and to him they are equally responsible .

The American Founding Fathers considered the existence of the Creator as the most fundamental premise underlying all self-evident truth. They felt a person who boasted he or she was an atheist had just simply failed to apply his or her divine capacity for reason and observation.

Principle 6 - All mankind were created equal.

The Founders knew that in these three ways, all mankind are theoretically treated as:

1. Equal before God.
2. Equal before the law.
3. Equal in their rights.

Principle 7 - The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.

The Founders recognized that the people cannot delegate to their government any power except that which they have the lawful right to exercise themselves.

Principle 8 - Mankind are endowed by God with certain unalienable rights.

“Those rights, then, which God and nature have established, and are therefore called natural rights, such as are life and liberty, need not the aid of human laws to be more effectually invested in every man than they are; neither do they receive any additional strength when declared by the municipal [or state] laws to be inviolable. On the contrary, no human legislation has power to abridge or destroy them, unless the owner [of the right] shall himself commit some act that amounts to a forfeiture.” – William Blackstone

Principle 9 – To protect human rights, God has revealed a code of divine law.

“The doctrines thus delivered we call the revealed or divine law, and they are to be found only in the Holy Scriptures. These precepts, when revealed, are found by comparison to be really a part of the original law of nature, as they tend in all their consequences to man’s felicity.” – William Blackstone

Principle 10 - The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.

“The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people. The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from that pure, original fountain of all legislative authority.” – Alexander Hamilton

Principle 11 - The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes … but when a long train of abuses and usurpations … 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 new guards for their future security.” – Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence

Principle 12 - The United States of America shall be a republic.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
And to the republic for which it stands….”

Principle 13 – A Constitution should protect the people from the frailties of their rulers.

“If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary…. [But lacking these] you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” – James Madison

Principle 14 - Life and liberty are secure only so long as the rights of property are secure .

John Locke reasoned that God gave the earth and everything in it to the whole human family as a gift. Therefore the land, the sea, the acorns in the forest, the deer feeding in the meadow belong to everyone “in common.” However, the moment someone takes the trouble to change something from its original state of nature, that person has added his ingenuity or labor to make that change. Herein lies the secret to the origin of “property rights.”

Principle 15 - The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and a minimum of government regulations.

Prosperity depends upon a climate of wholesome stimulation with four basic freedoms in operation:

1. The Freedom to try.
2. The Freedom to buy.
3. The Freedom to sell.
4. The Freedom to fail.

Principle 16 - The government should be separated into three branches .

“I call you to witness that I was the first member of the Congress who ventured to come out in public, as I did in January 1776, in my Thoughts on Government … in favor of a government with three branches and an independent judiciary. This pamphlet, you know, was very unpopular. No man appeared in public to support it but yourself.” – John Adams

Principle 17 - A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power by the different branches of government.

“It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.” – James Madison

Principle 18 – The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written Constitution.

The structure of the American system is set forth in the Constitution of the United States and the only weaknesses which have appeared are those which were allowed to creep in despite the Constitution.

Principle 19 - Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained by the people.

The Tenth Amendment is the most widely violated provision of the bill of rights. If it had been respected and enforced America would be an amazingly different country than it is today. This amendment provides:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Principle 20 - Efficiency and dispatch require that the government operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.

“Every man, by consenting with others to make one body politic under one government, puts himself under an obligation to every one of that society to submit to the determination of the majority, and to be concluded [bound] by it.” – John Locke

Principle 21 - Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.

“The way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the functions he is competent [to perform best]. – Thomas Jefferson

Principle 22 - A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.

“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and violence of others, which cannot be where there is no law.” – John Locke

Principle 23 - A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.

“They made an early provision by law that every town consisting of so many families should be always furnished with a grammar school. They made it a crime for such a town to be destitute of a grammar schoolmaster for a few months, and subjected it to a heavy penalty. So that the education of all ranks of people was made the care and expense of the public, in a manner that I believe has been unknown to any other people, ancient or modern. The consequences of these establishments we see and feel every day [written in 1765]. A native of America who cannot read and write is as rare … as a comet or an earthquake.” John Adams

Principle 24 - A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.

“To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” – George Washington

Principle 25 - “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none.”- Thomas Jefferson, given in his first inaugural address.

Principle 26 – The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore the government should foster and protect its integrity.

“There is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more respected than in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly or worthily appreciated.” Alexis de Tocqueville

Principle 27 - The burden of debt is as destructive to human freedom as subjugation by conquest.

“We are bound to defray expenses [of the war] within our own time, and are unauthorized to burden posterity with them…. We shall all consider ourselves morally bound to pay them ourselves and consequently within the life [expectancy] of the majority.” – Thomas Jefferson

Principle 28 - The United States has a manifest destiny to eventually become a glorious example of God’s law under a restored Constitution that will inspire the entire human race.

The Founders sensed from the very beginning that they were on a divine mission. Their great disappointment was that it didn’t all come to pass in their day, but they knew that someday it would. John Adams wrote:

“I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in Providence for the illumination of the ignorant, and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.”

Memorizing these principles will give you a valuable asset in your defense of our liberty.

Sincerely,

Earl Taylor, Jr., President

National Center for Constitutional Studies
www.nccs.net

Home Copyright © 2010
National Center for Constitutional Studies 37777 West Juniper Road, Malta, ID 83342 ]]> http://jeffdems.com/xcongressx/?feed=rss2&p=814 6 http://jeffdems.com/xcongressx/?p=807 http://jeffdems.com/xcongressx/?p=807#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:49:48 +0000 Chairman http://jeffdems.com/xcongressx/?p=807

Our Founders Understood the Danger of a Nation That Has Forgotten its Roots & The Source of Its Blessings

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp

“Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. –George Washington, “Farewell Speech” (1796)

“When we review the calamities which afflict so many other nations, the present condition of the United States affords much matter of consolation and satisfaction. Our exemption hitherto from foreign war, an increasing prospect of the continuance of that exemption, the great degree of internal tranquillity we have enjoyed, the recent confirmation of that tranquillity by the suppression of an insurrection which so wantonly threatened it, the happy course of our public affairs in general, the unexampled prosperity of all classes of our citizens, are circumstances which peculiarly mark our situation with indications of the Divine beneficence toward us. In such a state of things it is in an especial manner our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experience.” –George Washington, “A Proclamation” (Jan 1, 1795)

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/adamsme1.asp [partial source]

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.   Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net.  Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”- John Adams, “Address to the Military” (Oct.11, 1798)

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/jefferson/ch18.html

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?  That they are not to be violated but with his wrath?  Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever” –Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia Q.XVIII, 1782. ME 2:227

“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man”. – Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson Memorial, DC)