Time: Fri Sep 05 05:33:30 1997 by usr04.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id DAA21348; Fri, 5 Sep 1997 03:58:31 -0700 (MST) Date: Fri, 05 Sep 1997 03:58:30 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: Our Very Own KGB? (fwd) <snip> > >OUR VERY OWN KGB?" >08-28-97 > >By Paul Weyrich > >I am indebted to Sarah Foster of WorldNET Daily, a publication of the >Western Journalism Center in California, for compiling some data about the >growing use of lethal weapons by various federal agencies. > >These agencies are beginning to use their firepower against American >citizens as they are tasked with enforcing the many new federal laws which >have been enacted, federalizing crimes which heretofore have been handled >locally. > >Foster estimates the number of heavily-armed federal agents at some 60,000 >and even provides a convenient list of agencies which have more than 25 >personnel under arms. As Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America exclaimed >when he was told the number: "Good grief, that's a standing army. It's >outrageous." > >These federal agents have been trained to enforce the more than 3,000 >criminal laws and the hundreds of thousands of federal regulations which >now carry criminal penalties. This is why the U.S. Park Service now has >military-style helicopters and trained snipers which they turn on >unsuspecting citizens. One 15-year-old girl, Crystal Graybeel, was sleeping >late in her cabin, according to Foster, when federal agents wearing ski >masks and armed with machine guns raided the place she was staying on Santa >Cruz Island off of the California coast. Although she had nothing to do >with the purpose for the raid, she was handcuffed and kept in custody for >more than two hours. Most of the island is already owned by the government, >but there is one remaining privately held piece of property, a 6,500-acre >bow-and-arrow hunting ranch. It seems that the Park Service suspected that >Chumash Indian graves which were on the private property were being raided >for human remains and artifacts. Caretakers who have been charged with this >crime have vehemently denied it, but, meanwhile, those who happened to be >there on January 14th of this year were subjected to armed U.S. agents >training their guns on U.S. citizens. Maria Daily, the president of the >Santa Cruz Island Foundation, put it this way: "It saddens me that the Park >Service resorted to Ruby Ridge tactics. This incident crosses the line." > >The founders of this constitutional republic never intended for the United >States to have a federal police force to deal with domestic matters. Yes, >we had armed forces and even armed border patrols, but these troops were >for the purpose of keeping our potential foreign enemies at bay. > >In the past, when federal agencies needed to enforce a federal law, they >simply contacted the local authorities, who examined the situation. If the >local sheriff felt the matter was sufficiently serious, he would obtain a >warrant and execute the search or initiate the arrest. Increasingly, >however, local authorities have resisted federal orders which they feel are >unjust. So the federal government has decided to build its own domestic >army to override local authorities. In many cases these federal agents >operate on their own initiative, without obtaining proper warrants. > >In short, we are on our way to building the sort of internal police force >which the Communist authorities were noted for. As many of the internal >police forces in former Communist nations are being disbanded and laws are >being passed to prevent such forces from ever being assembled again, our >internal police force is just beginning to gain momentum. Indeed, many of >these different agencies are coordinating their efforts so they can plan >and execute raids together. The number of trained armed federal agents has >increased by 12,000 over the past decade, but in 1996 alone 2,436 were added. > >Where is the constitutional authority for all of this? When has Congress >specifically authorized such a national police force? Who is providing the >constitutional guidelines for these armed agents? Who is training them on >what is and is not permissible? Are we not at the point where Ruby Ridge >cases will become routine in America? > >Whatever the facts of the matter, the tragic death of an American goat >herder, killed by Marine snipers last May on the Texas-Mexico border, shows >the need for better training and better control. > >The improper exercise of force by federal agents is a matter which cries >out for examination. As Lisa Dean pointed out on a recent edition of our >program "Endangered Liberties" (which airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 >p.m. Pacific), each of these incidents is looked at as a disconnected >matter, when collectively such abuses of power constitute a gross violation >of constitutional authority. We join her in calling for Congressional field >hearings to examine this issue. Let those who have been victimized by >federal agents come forth to testify. I believe the American people would >be shocked to learn the truth. > >For most of our life as an independent nation, the United States managed to >enforce federal laws perfectly well without a domestic army. Even the FBI, >which built an excellent reputation for doing federal law enforcement work, >was very, very careful -- until just recently -- to avoid any situation >where local law enforcement officials were overridden. In fact, much of >what the FBI accomplished was with the cooperation of local and state >officials. Now the agency operates more and more independently. Combined >with the drastic increase in other federal agents, this new method of >operating around and outside of the local law enforcement structure >constitutes a grave danger to our constitutional form of government. >Congressman Bill McCollum of Florida has asked the GAO for a series of >reports on the increased use of federal agents for federal law enforcement. >The next logical step for McCollum would be to take his Committee on the >road to conduct field hearings on exactly what is happening in the real >world. Never mind what Louis Freeh and all of the others in charge of these >domestic troops claim is happening. We must hear from the citizens who know >the truth. Field hearings should begin as soon as it is possible to >organize them, and you can assist by demanding of the Congress that this be >done. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Liberty's Educational Advocacy Forum, > Indiana's Fully Informed Jury Association, Inc. > http://www.drtavel.com/ > ************************* > Not a high-tech law firm brochure. > Dr. Tavel's Self Help Clinic and Sovereign Law Library > promotes "action that raises the cost of state violence > for its perpetrators (and) that lays the basis for > institutional change " -- Noam Chomsky > > "The law should surely be accessible at all times > and to everyone" -- Franz Kafka > > For Liberty in Our Lifetime, R.J. Tavel, J.D. > ************************** > Updated Daily by > The OtherOne Computer Consulting International, Ltd. > http://www.drtavel.com/TOOCCI.html > mailto:rj@drtavel.com > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > ======================================================================== Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.3 on 586 CPU website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. ======================================================================== [This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
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