American author Philip Wylie (hat-tip to Rob Chapman):
“Ignorance is not bliss – it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.”
#Sheriffs Call for Defying Unconstitutional #GunControl: Feds “The Greatest Threat We Face” #2A
As the federal government continues in its quest to restrict the rights of gun owners across the country, local law enforcement is stepping up their response.
For many, it is one of a line in the sand against a bevy of agencies based in Washington, and partnering state agencies, who have violated the constitution.
The still-growing Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), headed by former Sheriff Richard Mack, is standing up to these infringements, and saying no.
Of course, it has the attention of the indoctrinated Big Government folks, who are apt to see a group of law enforcement officials standing up for the rule of law as – what else, a potential threat.
via the Washington Post:
[A] group called the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association is intent on strictly enforcing their view of the U.S. Constitution … “its ambition is to encourage law enforcement officers to defy laws they decide themselves are illegal.” In essence, they are troubled by the overreach of the federal government in matters concerning guns, taxes and land management, and founder Richard Mack has described the federals as “the greatest threat we face today,” and his association as “the army to set our nation free.”
[…] At the association’s 2014 convention, dozens of sheriffs signed a declaration that they would not tolerate any federal agent who attempted to register firearms, arrest someone or seize property in their counties without their consent.
At a recent training for local police, the CPI reported, Mack declared that “gun control is against the law” and that his goal was to sign up about one-fourth of the nation’s sheriffs to join the association… find a true constitutional sheriff who’ll tell the federal government, ‘You’re not going to abuse citizens anymore.’”
Of course, it is his backbone and conviction that has the system worried – along with his ability to activate what is arguably the most powerful group in the nation at the ground level – the nation’s 3,000 or so sheriffs, who are elected and serve as the highest law enforcement official within the county unit.
Richard Mack, who successfully staved off federal encroachment at the Supreme Court level back in the 90s, described his CSPOA association as “the army to set our nation free.”
The media has been quick to demonize the fiery rhetoric for these constitutional-minded members of law enforcement. But the battle is grounded in sound ideology, and a principle that literally millions of Americans are prepared to fight for.
Last year, a police chief from a tiny East Texas town went on a rant warning President Obama that further attempts to impose gun control would “cause a revolution in this country.” It is entirely possible that this is no exaggeration or bravado:
“Now Mr. Obama, you need to understand what the 2nd Amendment is for. It is not for hunting. It is there for the American people to protect themselves against the criminal element, to protect themselves against terrorists and radical ideology, and it’s also there to protect us against a government that has overreached its power.”
“You are not our potentate, sir. You are our servant. And you were elected to serve and protect us first. And I suggest, sir, since you’re a constitutional expert, that you better review your history on the Constitution and understand that we are a free people. And we are subject to no one other than the almighty God and Jesus Christ the King. And as such, sir, I strongly encourage you to trust the law-abiding American citizen, because we won’t fail you and we won’t let you down. But if you try to disarm us, sir, then you will cause a revolution in this country to occur. So please revise your thinking, because we are not your enemy, the law-abiding gun owner in this country.”
Richard Mack’s case originated from his defiant stand when he was sheriff of Graham County in Arizona and an attempt was made to get local LEOs to perform background checks for the federal government under the Brady Bill. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia led the decision upholding the stand for the 2nd Amendment under the 10th Amendment – marking one of the most constitutionally-sound decisions in recent history.
Mack struck a blow for states’ rights in the 1990s as a sheriff from Graham County, Arizona, when he and a sheriff from Montana challenged the Brady Bill’s interim requirement that local law enforcement agencies perform background checks on gun buyers. The Supreme Court ruled in Mack’s favor, with Justice Antonin Scalia writing the opinion affirming the states’ sovereignty under the 10th Amendment …
[…]Mack said “the government was forcing me to participate in a gun control scheme that I knew was unconstitutional. When all law enforcement is forced into that position by state or federal legislators, which one do we side with? And I believe there is a proper way to conduct oneself in knowing the difference between enforcing stupid laws and enforcing the principles of the Constitution.”
“[W]hen all the courts are against you, all the legislators are against you, where else do you go? I believe to the local county sheriff…and if that means standing against the federal government, then so damn be it.”
Read more:
Sheriff Blocks Feds From Harassing Raw Milk Farmer: “Stem the Tide of Federal Overreach”
The Most Important Supreme Court Cases “Derailed” By Scalia’s Death: Amnesty, Obamacare & Guns
SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com
Law Enforcement Turn to NSA Surveillance Data to Track Crime: “It Was Only A Matter of Time”
This article was written by Joshua Krause and originally published at The Daily Sheeple.
Editor’s Comment: Once the system has tilted towards concentrated and unaccountable power, the abuses and tyranny become inevitable. Americans stood down as the NSA on the 4th Amendment and stoked terror threats in order to justify its wholesale cataloging of the American people.
From here, the data collection will only increase. The next wave of technology will do even more to read into our actions and behaviors, and the data on that will become part of the effort to track everything and create a dominion over the nation. Beware, things are going dark.
It’s Official: NSA Data Will Soon be Used by Domestic Law Enforcement
by Joshua Krause
If you’re reading this, then I’m willing to bet that you’ve been called many different names throughout your life. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say they were names like kook, paranoid, conspiracy theorist, alarmist, insane, or gullible. And after this week, you can go by a new name: Vindicated.
I’m of course talking about recent revelations from the NSA. Long before Edward Snowden came along, it was no secret that the NSA was spying on everyone without good cause. Anyone who believed that fact was called a conspiracy theorist, but their fears were eventually validated.
These same people also understood that the NSA’s surveillance powers would never be used exclusively against terrorists and hostile governments. The power they have is just too tempting for any government. If various government agencies weren’t using the NSA’s surveillance apparatus to solve domestic crimes, it was only a matter of time before it was used for just that.
And again, they called us conspiracy theorists for believing that. And again, we were right all long.
A while back, we noted a report showing that the “sneak-and-peek” provision of the Patriot Act that was alleged to be used only in national security and terrorism investigations has overwhelmingly been used in narcotics cases. Now the New York Times reports that National Security Agency data will be shared with other intelligence agencies like the FBI without first applying any screens for privacy. The ACLU of Massachusetts blog Privacy SOS explains why this is important:
What does this rule change mean for you? In short, domestic law enforcement officials now have access to huge troves of American communications, obtained without warrants, that they can use to put people in cages. FBI agents don’t need to have any “national security” related reason to plug your name, email address, phone number, or other “selector” into the NSA’s gargantuan data trove. They can simply poke around in your private information in the course of totally routine investigations. And if they find something that suggests, say, involvement in illegal drug activity, they can send that information to local or state police. That means information the NSA collects for purposes of so-called “national security” will be used by police to lock up ordinary Americans for routine crimes.
Anybody who knows anything about how governments work, should not surprised. You can’t give them any kind of power, and expect them to use it responsibly. You can’t give them any stipulations. Eventually they’ll find a legal loophole to work around any limitations that have been placed on them.
In other news, the Pentagon admitted this week that they’ve been deploying military drones over the United States for domestic surveillance purposes. Much like the NSA’s surveillance apparatus, we were assured that drones were for terrorists in faraway lands. Nothing so Orwellian would ever be used against ordinary American citizens at home. Yet here we are, with more to come.
Perhaps you’re beginning to see a pattern. Everything our government uses against foreign enemies, eventually makes its way back home. Every war is an opportunity to try out new technologies, before turning around and using them against American citizens. It just goes to show, that war really is the health of the state.
SHTFplan and Mac Slavo www.shtfplan.com