American Policy Center » 2008 » April
- SPP “Busted” – Now Called NASRA. It’s Time to Call a Halt to the SPP!
- What’s on the table; what’s the “big picture?”
- What have the 20 SPP Working Groups been working on these past three years, specifically?
- What promises have been made to the leaders of Canada and Mexico; to members of the NACC?
- Will the 51 NACC proposals made to SPP negotiators last year, these “regulatory changes that don’t require legislative approval,” favor narrow corporate interests over American’s welfare, freedom, and liberty?
- What regulatory changes have already been made?
- Why, President Bush, are you involved in secret meetings and negotiations involving the very sovereignty of the United States without the advice and consent of Congress, the American people, or even under scrutiny of the Fourth Estate, even as largely worthless as it is?
- Contact Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi at (202) 225-4965, or fax at (202) 225-8259.
- Contact House Majority Whip, Steny Hoyer.
- Contact House Minority Leader, John Boehner.
- Contact House Minority Whip, Roy Blunt.
- Contact your member of Congress.
- Contact Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid at (202) 224-3542, or fax at (202) 224-7327.
- Contact Senate Assistant Majority Leader, Richard Durbin.
- Contact Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell.
- Contact Senate Assistant Minority Leader, Jon Kyl
- It's Time for Another Broadsideon the SAVE Act!!
- Revolution Takes Time and Planning WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN
- Oppose Funding for, and Seek Repeal of, the Real ID Act!
April 25, 2008
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The “Three Amigos” are attempting an old-fashioned switcheroo, much like the 1930’s grifters portrayed by Newman and Redford in “The Sting.” Frustrated that alert and clear-thinking Americans and Canadians see the nefarious purposes behind the “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP),” President Bush has apparently concluded “that dog won’t hunt” – at least not under the moniker of “SPP.” In a surprisingly simple-minded approach, the President has apparently decided changing a skunk’s name changes the fact that it still stinks. Shame on President Bush! If he weren’t up to his neck in treachery, he would not need to hide his activities from the nation.
Last year’s secret SPP summit meeting in Montebello focused on finding ways to get the people to swallow the idea of the collaboration leading to the North American Union, and to quiet its critics. Presumably, these were the topics of discussion when members of the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) met with the leaders behind closed doors. The NACC is a largely secretive advisory council to the SPP consisting of representatives of such companies as Wal Mart, Chevron Oil, and Lockheed-Martin.
An internal memo from Canada’s Foreign Affairs and Internal Trade ministry documents that the NACC was urged to launch a public relations campaign to counter growing criticism of the trilateral cooperative that is a cornerstone of the building North American Union. According to the memo, “Leaders discussed some of the difficulties of the SPP, including the lack of popular support and the failure of the public to understand the competitive challenges confronting North America.” The memo emphasized the “NACC members should (play) a role in communicating the merits of North American collaboration.” Am I the only one who remembers the definition of “collaboration,” at least as it applies to nations and their citizens?
Further, in point of fact, these “competitive challenges” do not face North America…they face global corporations doing business in North America. The SPP has nothing to do with ensuring the security and prosperity of the United State’s citizens, or U.S. corporations would first and foremost conduct business as Americans. The “Partnership” is between government and business; it values the nation’s citizens only as human resources.
Many corporate CEOS now seem to favor former CEO of GE Jack Welsh’s advice (as far as they practically can) that, “the ideal factory would be built on a barge” so it could be hauled around the world to low-wage areas, where it could operate without labor rules, environmental protections or other standards.
Following the advice in March of the Frazier Institute, a Canadian think tank, the “SPP” will forthwith and hereafter (until another name is required) be known as the “North American Standards and Regulatory Area.” I say, “until another name is required” in full faith that as growing numbers of Americans learn of this treachery at the highest levels of our government, they will resoundingly oppose it.
Of greater significance than the name change is the Institute’s call to expand and speed up the process of integration. One Canadian reporter said of last year’s SPP Summit that the SPP was “dead” and “defunct.” Another recently stated the SPP has “collapsed under a heap of conspiratorial rubbish.” This is pure garbage.
The “conspiratorial” label is pretty amusing, though, considering the Frazier Institute report suggested the name “North American Union,” or NAU, be dropped in favor of the new name. Unfortunately, the SPP is far from dead. But the growing public attention, and profound disapproval, obviously worries those sneaking around to secret meetings in dimly lit corners with secret files.
Results of a brand new American Policy Center survey on the SPP clearly show when Americans understand the truth, they say “No!” in phenomenal numbers. People are overwhelmingly opposed to the “harmonization” and “integration,” both economically and politically, of Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.
Even the name of the “Fourth SPP Annual Summit” was changed to the “North American Leaders’ Summit.” There’s an oxymoron for you; “Leaders” indeed!
Enough, already! President Bush, it’s time to tell the American people:
ACTION TO TAKE
It’s time to FLOOD your Senators and Representatives with emails and faxes.
Tell Speaker Pelosi you are outraged at these continuing secret SPP/NAU meetings and activities. Tell her:
1. Congress has TOO LONG shirked its oversight duty to the American People!
2. You want the SPP stopped!
3. You want an immediate halt to funding for any SPP activities involving employees of the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security; and,
4. You want immediate hearings on, SPP activities participated in by the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security.
Call the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the House office you request.
Tell these Congressmen you are outraged at these continuing secret SPP/NAU meetings and activities. Tell them:
1. Congress has TOO LONG shirked its oversight duty to the American People!
2. You want the SPP stopped!
3. You want an immediate halt to funding for any SPP activities involving employees of the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security.
4. You want immediate hearings conducted on SPP activities involving the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security.
Tell Leader Reid you are outraged at these continuing secret SPP/NAU meetings and activities. Tell him:
1. Congress has TOO LONG shirked its oversight duty to the American People!
2. You want the SPP stopped!
3. You want an immediate halt to funding for any SPP activities involving employees of the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security.
4. You want immediate hearings conducted on SPP activities involving the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security.
Tell these Senators you are outraged at these continuing secret SPP/NAU meetings and activities. Tell them:
1. Congress has TOO LONG shirked its oversight duty to the American People!
2. You want the SPP stopped!
3. You want an immediate halt to funding for any SPP activities involving employees of the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security.
4. You want immediate hearings conducted on SPP activities involving the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security
You will find a complete list of fax numbers and email addresses for House and Senate members here http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm.
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April 19, 2008
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Congress has been listening, but it’s imperative they hear from us again. More and more congressmen have been unwilling to pass this intrusion bill that does more to threaten your privacy and security than it does to secure our borders. Many congressmen now outright reject the SAVE Act as unworkable; this tells us Congress is listening to you. But the SAVE Act has not been pulled, and that’s what we need. Please give it one more strong push, and hopefully we can kill this very dangerous bill once and for all.
Here are the major reasons the American Policy Center opposes the SAVE Act.
• Section 201 of the bill would require employers to use the E-Verify, or EEV, system “for every person or other entity that hires one or more individuals for employment in the United States.” It is outrageous to propose that every working American submit to having their personal information placed in a massive Department of Homeland Security (DHS) database, and be registered in a DHS worker registry, before being authorized to work in our own country. The presumption that DHS can better find millions of illegal, undocumented workers by first herding them together with a hundred+ million legitimate workers is absurd. In fact, a study by the Cato Institute found the E-Verify program to be ineffective, intrusive, and expensive. “A full-fledged Electronic Employment Verification (EEV) system has many practical and technical problems – to say nothing of the question of whether it is appropriate for a free country – and would still fail to prevent illegal immigration” says Jim Harper, Cato’s director of Information Policy Studies. Mr. Harper further stated, “The things necessary to make a system like this really impervious to forgery and fraud would convert it from an identity system into a cradle-to-grave biometric tracking system.”
• Section 203 of the SAVE Act would establish a standardized, national databank that tracks “vital events” in your life, particularly your birth and death. The Real ID Act requires states use a national birth certificate databank to verify identity – but no such databank exists, making it impossible for states to comply. Yet the majority of Americans oppose carrying, or being chipped with, any kind of mandatory national identification (biometric or not), such as proposed by the Real ID Act of 2005. And the number of states that have chosen not to comply is gaining momentum. Twenty-two states have outright refused, or have to-date refused, compliance with the Real ID Act. The outright rebellion of so many states has caused House and Senate members to reevaluate the wisdom of the Real ID Act. Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) has sponsored an amendment to the Senate’s budget resolution to prevent spending money on Real ID this year.
The provisions of Sections 201 and 203, and others, within the SAVE Act, support the American Policy Center’s position that the SAVE Act is not only NOT serious immigration reform, but is in fact a very dangerous piece of legislation. We must kill the SAVE Act if for no other reason that to stop these two liberty-killing provisions. The SAVE Act is an important tool needed to implement the Real ID Act. But the Real ID Act mandates much more than just a national identification program; it’s actually establishes a global biometric identification program, and is being resisted around the world.
Here at home the SAVE Act seeks to deliver Americans to the centralized control of our federal government, by setting the stage for a national workforce management system – an unjustified intrusion into our privacy and a very real threat to our security and liberty. Such systems may be “convenient” for government, but it’s not freedom and APC stands opposed to it.
Congress has been listening to the American people. They’re coming to understand that legislation mandating the registering, controlling and manipulating of Americans WILL NOT STOP the invading hordes of illegals seeking our lifestyle and our jobs, and this bill WILL NOT EVEN SEAL OUR BORDERS TO TERRORISTS! The SAVE Act is NOT the solution to America’s immigration problems, and it must be stopped for good!
ACTION TO TAKE
Contact the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi at (202) 225-4965.
Contact the Act sponsors, Heath Shuler at (202) 225-6401, and Brian Bilbray at (202) 225-0508.
It is imperative you contact your member of Congress. Also contact House Majority Whip, Steny Hoyer; House Minority Leader, John Boehner; and House Minority Whip, Roy Blunt. Call the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the House office you request.
Please be careful to fully identity the SAVE Act as H.R. 4088, as there are several bills before Congress right now identified generally as the SAVE Act.
Tell every Congressman you contact to oppose the SAVE Act, H.R. 4088, because:
• The SAVE Act will not stop the invasion of illegals, but will convert them to “authorized aliens.”
• The SAVE Act advances the pernicious “National Human Resource Management” system that has been implemented piecemeal since the 1990s.
• The SAVE Act advances a cradle-to-grave government database to track all “human resources” which will benefit big business.
• The SAVE Act helps advance implementation of a National ID card because is helps establish a birth certificate databank (Section 203).
• The SAVE Act will not secure our nation’s borders, will not safeguard her citizens, will not preserve what’s left of our Rule of Law, and will further decimate our liberty.
April 16, 2008
By Tom DeWeese
It is now obvious that Rep. Ron Paul will not be elected President of the United States in November 2008. There are those who have predicted that the Republic will die if Paul is not occupying the White House next January. A dire prediction, most certainly overstated, but considering the candidates left in the offering, it can be said with equal certainty that the Republic is going to be severely damaged by the next administration.
Rather than throw ourselves in a fetal position and wait for Armageddon, now is the time to make some concrete, long term plans to assure we can elect the next Ron Paul. That, in fact, is exactly what Rep. Paul had in mind when he started his campaign in the first place.
Without getting involved in the dynamics of party politics and the Herculean task involved in gaining control of a national party, let me offer three ideas that the average Ron Paul true believer can do right there on the local level.
First, every true believer in the Ron Paul Revolution must understand exactly what it is we are revolting over and then begin to control the debate. We should make sure that the other side does not dictate the way issues are framed. Today, Clinton/Obama/McCain gives us a false choice – they call it security. Security from terrorism; security from the unknown such as the dips and spins of uncontrolled free markets; security through free universal health care and so forth.
In fact, the real debate is a choice of freedom vs. control. National IDs won’t protect us against terrorism or illegal immigration. It is never safer to lock ourselves in a cell. The illegals should feel the heat for their actions – not average, law abiding Americans. Controlling our borders isn’t racism; it’s about the rule of law. Just because someone announces a new program to “protect the environment” doesn’t mean it’s true. Government control of the economy is not a good thing – ever. And there is nothing patriotic about the Patriot Act.
The average American wants freedom – if he understands what it is. And he doesn’t want government intervention into daily life. Eighty percent of the American people oppose amnesty for illegal aliens. The same numbers are vitally concerned about the Supreme Court decision on eminent domain. But so many of these core issues have either been ignored in the political debate or they are being whitewashed as protection policy. We have to change that perception and we can’t sell our revolution until we do.
Second: One has to plan for a revolution five years in advance – not five months before an election. One of the reasons Ron Paul’s campaign did not catch on is because the media marginalized him from the start. They called him fringe, long shot or maverick. And they said it over and over. While the true believers called it censorship and insisted that Ron Paul had more support than the media reported, the fact is, when the votes were counted he became a five percenter – just as the media had predicted. As that happened in primary after primary, Paul was ever more dismissed.
However, had he surged in the polls and dominated in the primaries – just like Obama – the media would have been forced to report it and the revolution would have caught on, whether they liked it or not. How to make that happen? Start now for the next time.
While so many are lamenting that the Republic is dead, we are ignoring the very silver bullet that the Founding Fathers provided to assure a Republic everlasting by making government at the local level the most powerful force. The silver bullet is still there, rusting in the dust from lack of use.
The silver bullet is precinct captain. You scoff? You were hoping for something more exciting? Well, that’s probably the very reason we’ve ignored it. We would much rather turn our attention to Washington, Congress or presidential campaigns. Frankly that’s the very reason why those offices are so much more powerful than they are supposed to be – because we’ve let them become so by placing all of our attention on them while ignoring local organization and involvement in government.
But the power still lies in the precinct captain. Our opponents know it. They have left no lowly office untouched. Every office has power to impose policy, even dogcatcher, city treasurer and city clerk. The people who collect taxes and issue permits control building, development and how private property is treated. Start there and then move up to city council and mayor.
How important are these local offices? Consider this. Just two years ago the United Nations held a major conference in San Francisco on a policy called Sustainable Development. This is a policy of top-down government control that eliminates private property rights, makes limited government impossible and promotes the establishment of non-elected regional government to impose it – in short – everything Ron Paul’s revolution is supposed to stop.
At the UN conference the main targets were the mayors. Those who attended were asked to sign two documents in which the mayors pledged to undertake 21 action items over the next few years to implement Sustainable Development. These action items include water policy, energy policy, transportation and health. They were provided sample legislation and pledged to enact it.
Our enemies know that the power to impose this tyranny on us is now at the local level. And that’s where they are concentrating their efforts. So it will do little good to spend time trying to stop them through Congress or the White House.
What does the UN understand that you and I don’t? That it doesn’t matter what Washington policy is, they will just get the local communities to do it – because the towns and cities have the power to decide for themselves. That’s how the Founding Fathers intended it.
Think globally act locally is not just a slogan. It’s an agenda. It’s been used against us to diminish our freedom because we have neglected it. Now, to save our Republic and way of life we need to make it our agenda.
How to get started? Make a chart of every single elected position available in your county. Break it down to the precinct level and then to the ward level. List every office, every board position, and every neighborhood precinct position. Now you will begin to see how large a task it is. But take it one step at a time and start to fill those spots. You need to find a leader for every neighborhood or precinct who will carry literature, make phone calls and turn out voters on Election Day. One of the most common reasons people gave for not voting for Ron Paul is that they never heard of him. A good precinct captain can make sure that never happens again.
Now, as you are organizing the precincts, use that now found network to begin to elect revolution-minded candidates for the local offices. Work quietly. Please don’t hold a news conference to announce to the community that you intend to take it over. Work through whatever party you want – even the Democrats. The goal is to get our people, who support the principles of the Ron Paul Revolution, into places of decision-making. It would be a dream to have candidates from every party running on the same issues. It’s a goal to shoot for. The other side seems to have achieved it.
Take over a precinct – just one. You will control the election of every candidate at every level – at least in your part of the city. Then organize a second precinct, and so on. You will need the precinct worker to make sure voters get to the polls. You will need poll watchers to make sure our votes are counted. Plan your work, work your plan and make our issues the ones people care about. It’s hard work, but that’s how a real revolution wins.
Third, pay attention to non-elected review boards, policy committees and planning commissions. Can you get one of your people on it? Who is doing the appointing? Get on the board and control policy – or better yet, make moves to abolish the board as unnecessary or unconstitutional. And don’t’ stop there.
You need to have the ability to create controversy against policies by current office holders. This will help you find like-minded folks to join you. And it will help create public debates on issues so your candidates can address them and win. Remember, most people would oppose many of these policies if they knew anything about them. Tell them.
Consider this idea: if your local farm bureau or Chamber of Commerce, for example, isn’t representing you – start new ones. Understand this – you don’t have to just take their double-dealing and double speak. Go around them. Show up at council meetings, or at meetings of any agency or board that purports to make policy that affects you.
As a new group representing business interests, homeowners, or farmers, demand your say. Back up your demands by issuing news releases and doing interviews on local radio and television as you represent your new group. Over and over again repeat the message that the governing body isn’t representing the interests of your constituents. If you make enough noise as a group, which is truly standing up for farmers or business or property owners, those victimized individuals will find you and follow your efforts. And the revolution grows.
Organizing today is the only way to assure victory tomorrow.
April 16, 2008
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Please immediately ask Congress to oppose any legislation that would provide funding, or in any other way lead to funding, for implementation of the Real ID Act of 2005. Many states are already on record refusing to implement the Act, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has failed to resolve the technological and privacy infirmities within the Act. DHS’ failure to resolve these issues begs the question whether DHS is even fully committed to Real ID.
In fact, DHS seems to be in denial of the States’ revolt against this draconian measure:
• Seven states – George, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington – have enacted binding legislation prohibiting participation in the Real ID program. Yet DHS sent each state a waiver, postponing required state action until the end of 2009, or possibly later.
• Eleven more states have received waivers after informing DHS they were still weighing their options, but could not now commit to implementing Real ID; and
• Legislatures in other states, such as Alaska, Arizona, Idaho and Minnesota, are nearing final passage of legislation to prevent their states from implementing Real ID.
That’s twenty-two states that have outright refused, or have to-date refused, compliance with the Real ID Act.
The result of this unprecedented state rebellion is clear – this failed program does not merit further funding. In 2005, $40 million was appropriated to states for Real ID implementation. To date, of that amount, only $6 million has been provided in grants, and only $3 million was accepted by one state: Kentucky. New Hampshire wisely rejected an offer of federal funding, knowing that the acceptance of those funds would obligate New Hampshire to spend vast additional sums raised solely from new state taxes.
No further money was appropriated by Congress in 2006 or 2007, as cost estimates clearly show a staggering, largely unfunded mandate would be imposed on states if they agreed to implement the program.
A comprehensive analysis in 2006 revealed a cost to states of more than $11 billion over the first five years. A survey conducted by the National Governors Assoc., the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the American Assoc. of Motor Vehicle Administrators (http://www.ncsl.org/programs/press/2006/pr060921REALID.htm) showed “the cost of the changes to the driver’s licensing process are a one-time calculable expense of nearly $1 billion and ongoing costs of more than $10.1 billion for the first five-year enrollment period.” And those costs were in 2006 dollars; we all know the dollar has devalued significantly since 2006.
This report confirms claims that even substantial appropriations by Congress will be but drops in the bucket of the true monetary costs of the Real ID program. The bulk of the real financial burden will be borne by individuals – you and me – through new state taxes and increased license fees.
Implementation of Real ID will lead to:
• Substantially longer wait and service times at state DMVs;
• Increased fees for Real ID compliant licenses; and
• Increased delays, frustration and costs as people try to obtain the “source documents” needed to even obtain an updated license.
But of greatest concern is the cost to our freedom and security; the Real ID Act dangerously compromises both.
Imposing the United States’ first-ever national identity card, Real ID will dramatically change American life as we have known it. The day-to-day movements of law-abiding citizens will be constrained for the growing need for this “internal passport;” growing because if proposed expansions of the program are approved, you will soon be required to produce a Real ID card to vote and purchase medications. These requirements will then quickly snowball into the Real ID database becoming a de facto requirement for participation in all of American life.
Real ID greatly diminishes your security; it does not enhance it. Something as plausible as a simple mistake by your DMV could affect your ability to get a job, access your bank account, receive medical benefits, vote, or otherwise participate in civic life. And this intense concentration of all your personal information, including your source documents, in one database will exponentially increase the risk of both ID theft by sophisticated criminals and document fraud by terrorists.
If your Real ID contains imbedded personal data, whether in an RFID chip or magnetic stripe, that data will be available to anyone in possession of relatively inexpensive technological devices, and make your movements trackable by both the government and criminals.
Finally, DHS’ own Final Rule outlining the plan the states must follow to implement Real ID does not require even the first Real ID-compliant driver’s license to be issued until 2014, and does not require full implementation until 2017. So obviously, even DHS understands there is no critical and imminent security need for the Real ID. Accepting DHS’ ruling on its face, there is obviously no critical funding need, as DHS itself believes the program is not essential until the end of the next decade.
We are close to achieving the critical mass necessary to repeal this very dangerous program. Funding it now would be premature at best. Please take immediate action to curtail any further funding for this program and to seek repeal of the Real ID Act!
ACTION TO TAKE
Immediately contact your Congressman. Call the Congressional switchboard at (202) 225-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the House office you request.
• Tell him/her to oppose any legislation that would provide funding, or may lead to funding, for implementation of the Real ID Act of 2005.
• Tell him/her you also want the Real ID Act REPEALED!
Immediately contact your Senators. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. The switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request.
• Tell them to oppose any legislation that would provide funding, or may lead to funding, for implementation of the Real ID Act of 2005.
• Tell them you also want the Real ID Act REPEALED!
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