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9th Circuit Allows Homemade Machine Guns
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"Finally, Stewart argues that the Second Amendment guarantees him the right to possess machineguns, as well as the right to possess firearms generally despite his former felony conviction�as charged in count one of Stewart�s indictment. We have held that the Second Amendment 'was not adopted in order to afford rights to individuals with respect to private gun ownership or possession.' Silveira v. Lockyer, 312 F.3d 1052, 1087 (9th Cir. 2002). Thus, there is no Second Amendment limitation on 'legislation regulating or prohibiting the possession or use of firearms.' Id. Stewart�s Second
Amendment argument must therefore fail. We reverse Stewart�s
conviction for machinegun possession under section 922(o) as an unlawful extension of Congress�s commerce power and affirm his conviction for possession of firearms by a felon."

"AFFIRMED in part and REVERSED in part."

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COMMERCE CLAUSE NEWS, as it pertains to homemade machine guns, of course (blog)
Submitted by: Randy Hudson

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FULL TEXT BELOW:

I haven't read the opinion yet, but Larry Solum reports that the Ninth Circuit has held that the federal government can't ban homemade machine guns under the Commerce Clause, since they're not in interstate commerce. He notes that this has implications for homegrown marijuana, too.

As I say, I haven't read the opinion, but it sounds like a defensible position to me. [Any position is defensible with enough homemade machine guns! -- Ed. I think you've had too many of those brownies. . . .]

UPDATE: Volokh says this is huge.

ANOTHER UPDATE: For some background on these issues, you might want to read this article that Brannon Denning and I wrote in the Wisconsin Law Review on Commerce Clause issues in the lower courts, and this followup piece from the Commerce Clause symposium issue of the Arkansas Law Review. (That symposium was terrific, but as far as I know the whole issue isn't online. Here, however, is Randy Barnett's contribution.) We have a long-term, quasi-empirical project looking at how the Lopez case is percolating through the lower courts, and back through the Supreme Court. This case will surely make the next installment.

Shooting Bambi's Mom
Submitted by: Tom Glass
Website: http://www.juryduty.org

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"...the deer have become a plague. Wildlife experts across the country tell us that the overpopulation of native white-tailed deer is not only a hazard to the public health, it's a threat to the environment."

"The health facts are staggering. Ticks carried by deer will transmit Lyme disease to more than 10,000 people this year, and overpopulation is speeding the spread of new deer diseases such as chronic wasting disease (CWD), a brain disorder related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or 'mad cow disease.' (Luckily, no cases have yet been reported in Texas.) In addition, an estimated 130 Americans will die in car wrecks caused by deer this year. The 500,000 motor vehicle-deer collisions also will cause 29,000 human injuries and more than $1 billion in insurance claims."

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This is a surprisingly positive headline and article about hunting from an environmental perspective from a generally liberal news source.

MD: FBI agent can be sued, U.S. judge says
Submitted by: Jim Sr

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"A federal judge in Baltimore ruled Thursday that a $10 million excessive-force claim can go forward against an FBI agent who shot an unarmed Pasadena man in the face after mistaking him for a bank robber."

"It was a key hurdle in the closely watched case involving Special Agent Christopher R. Braga, who shot Joseph C. Schultz with an M-4 rifle during a botched arrest March 1 last year."

"In a 24-page opinion, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz ruled that there was not enough evidence to dismiss Schultz' claim."

"Braga, in requesting dismissal of the suit, contended that he had immunity because he is a federal agent."

Appeals court overturns machine gun conviction
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~bruce.krafft/

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"A federal appeals court Thursday overturned a Mesa man's federal conviction of possessing five machine guns."

"A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of San Francisco reversed the conviction, ruling that the congressional ban does not apply to homemade machine guns and their parts because they were never in the stream of commerce."

"The court ruled that there was neither a transfer nor sale of the weapons or their parts, so Congress did not have the power under the Commerce Clause to regulate homemade guns crafted from scratch."

MI: Oliver stopped before with gun/The former chief had his handgun seized at Richmond's airport
Submitted by: Anonymous

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"More than two years before getting into trouble over a handgun at a Detroit airport, former Richmond Police Chief Jerry Oliver had a similar brush with the law at Richmond International Airport."

"According to an airport police report obtained by The Times-Dispatch yesterday, Oliver had his police service pistol confiscated at Richmond International on June 10, 2001, as he went through security to board United Flight 381 to Chicago."

"A loaded .357-caliber Sig Sauer semiautomatic pistol was seized after an screener, using an X-ray scanner, spotted it in Oliver's bag." ...

"Oliver was not placed under arrest and no charges were filed."

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According to Mr. Oliver - a strident anti-gunner, you shouldn't have a gun in your home, but he can have one on a plane.

UK: Man blasted to death in alley gun-free UK
Submitted by: Blacksnake

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"Police have begun a murder hunt after a 37-year-old man was shot dead in an alleyway last night."

"The man was killed as he walked along a footpath between Westdale Drive and Westdale Road, Pudsey."

"People living nearby reported hearing two or three loud bangs at about 6.45pm."

"Detectives sealed off the area around the path which is between a row of terraced houses and semi-detached homes on a council estate."

The spin on gun control
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"At every campaign stop, Democratic front-runner Howard Dean brags about his 'A' rating from the NRA, while insurgent Wesley Clark likes to talk about how he grew up around guns and enjoys shooting. Joseph Lieberman, who in the Senate has rarely seen a gun-control bill he didn't like, recently came out against the national handgun licensing proposal at the center of the platform that Al Gore and he ran on in 2000. And Sen. John Kerry invited the media to join him last week on a hunting trip."

. . . "According to gun-control organizations � from Americans for Guns Safety to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence � all the Democratic candidates support the same new gun-control laws." ...

MA: Yea for spray?
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~bruce.krafft/

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"Since 1998, people looking to defend themselves with pepper spray in Massachusetts have had to look both ways before blasting an assailant with canned aerosol fury. There was always the chance a police officer could have slapped the cuffs on anyone using an illegal can of pepper spray."

"It was six years ago that state legislators passed the Gun Control Act, otherwise known as Chapter 180, and made it impossible for anyone in Massachusetts to own a weapon, including self defense sprays, without first being approved for a Firearms Identification Card and shelling out the now-$100 fee that goes with it."

"But that could all change very soon."

CO: Another dead victim of "paper protection"
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~bruce.krafft/

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"Friends and relatives of a woman stabbed to death in front of her child lashed out Thursday at the system, saying it failed to protect a young mother who wanted desperately to escape an abusive relationship." ...

"Smith said the victim, Jamila Rochelle Allen, filed a complaint with Denver police against her boyfriend, Gregory Morris, a month and a half before her death."

"Allen alleged that Morris - a felon wanted for violating his parole on previous drug and escape charges - had left phone messages threatening to kill her and those close to her."

" 'She went to the police, and they told her the only thing they could do was keep him 50 feet away from her,' Smith said. 'All the threats on the phone, with the previous record he had, and he couldn't be charged?' "

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It's not the system's job to protect her. It was hers. Orders of protection are for the law abiding. For all the others, a firearm is needed.

OH: Accomplice pleads guilty in after homeowner kills his brother in self-defense
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~bruce.krafft/

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"A man pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter in the shooting of his 16-year-old brother, who was killed by a homeowner the brothers and others were attempting to rob." ...

"Casey M. Snowball and several others were outside a residence when one of them threw a concrete chunk through the rear patio door, Dayton police said."

"Casey Snowball entered and the owner shot him in the head. Shots were fired at the homeowner, police said."

"Snowball, who died two days later, had been found delinquent of burglarizing the same house more than a year ago, police said. Police reports showed burglaries at the home on July 7 and 25, 2002."

IN: Defense attorney questions SWAT tactics
Submitted by: Bruce W. Krafft
Website: http://home.comcast.net/~bruce.krafft/

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"An attorney representing a woman accused of shooting a police officer as he was about to raid her home is trying to put the city SWAT team on trial."

"During the second day of his client's trial in Delaware Circuit Court 3, Michael J. Alexander focused most of his questions to police officers on SWAT team tactics and procedures." ...

"Alexander's client, Jillian D. King, 30, is charged with criminal recklessness resulting in injury in connection with the Jan. 14 wounding of Muncie police officer Steve Cox. He was one of 11 SWAT team members about to raid King's home when she allegedly fired shots out of a window. Cox has since recovered."

"Alexander argued Thursday that his client was acting in self defense and didn't know that the people coming to her door were police officers."

Who Is George Soros?
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Howard Dean's weekend decision to forgo public campaign financing is playing as a big deal, but all this did was kick dirt on an already dying system. The men really on the cutting edge of political fund raising these days are George Soros and Harold Ickes."

"Mr. Soros is the billionaire hedge-fund operator turned drug-legalization advocate and liberal political activist. Mr. Ickes is the New York lawyer who was at the center of the Clinton fund-raising scandals of 1996. Thanks to campaign-finance reform, these two men are fast becoming the Democratic Party's most important power brokers..."

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Soros is also a major source of funds for the gun prohibition movement in America.

CO: Colorado gets $770,000 to fight gun crimes
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Nine Colorado projects to combat gun violence will receive a total of about $770,000 in federal grants."

These projects include:

"Aurora police: $100,000 for education and training at middle schools and for overtime for security and police work from gun-related crimes." ...

"Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons: $25,263 for a public relations campaign on unsolved gun-related homicides in the Denver area." ..."

"Colorado Springs police: $200,000 for gun interdiction training, gun violence prevention and education and equipment for rapid response patrol units." ...

"Colorado Bureau of Investigation: $90,000 for the Internet InstaCheck application process."

SD: Tribes, developers clash over land
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"The majestic mound of Bear Butte has for generations been a place where tribes come to seek miracles, a stark mountain the Cheyenne believe is the source of their code of living."

"NOW, DEVELOPERS want to use grounds just north of the sacred site for an altogether more prosaic purpose: a shooting range." ...

"Local tribes have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the project, saying noise from the range would disrupt rituals practiced for millennia."

Australia: Police smash illegal gun ring
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"POLICE today said they have smashed a gun trafficking syndicate in Sydney through what is believed to be one of the biggest seizures in Australian history."

"Seventy-three firearms, plus gun parts which could have been used to create 2500 pistols, were seized in raids yesterday, NSW Police said in a statement."

"Operating under the banner of Strike Force Footstools, police arrested seven people yesterday."

"Five were expected to appear in Parramatta Local Court today."

"The raids follow an arrest in September after which a man was charged with serious firearms and drug matters."

KS: Geuda Springs councilman defends gun law
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"We are an incorporated city... As an incorporated city, we have duties and responsibilities to our citizens. One is utilities, one is protection and one is judicial services. We currently provide utilities and judicial services are provided by the county, but we currently don't provide protection. Here in Geuda Springs, we don't have a police force or a marshal, and the protection of the people is mandated to the city government. The ordinance is really just a legal statement that shows that we are providing for protection of our citizens. ...We are simply using the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to the City of Geuda Springs' advantage."

Turkey: Turks tighten gun laws after boy's death
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"TOUGHER sentences for gun violence will be introduced in Turkey following the death of a Scots toddler."

"Two-year-old Alistair Grimason, from East Kilbride, died after being hit by a stray bullet when a gunfight broke out in a Turkish cafe."

"He had been sleeping in his pushchair while his mother sat in a cafe in Foca while on a family holiday in July."

"His parents David and Ozlem have been calling for tighter gun controls since their son's death and the latest news will help their campaign."

CA: Fight for gun control in wake of teen death
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Still stricken with immeasurable grief, DeShawn Dawson's family and friends are spreading a message to promote gun control." ...

"Dawson, a Balboa High School student, was shot in the head Nov. 6 on a Muni bus. That Thursday afternoon, a group of teenagers boarded the bus he was on and confronted an unidentified passenger. The altercation ended when a gun went off and hit Dawson, who was sitting nearby, according to San Francisco police Sgt. Neville Gittens."

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Note the misleading language vilifying the tool and those who sell it. The gun magically "went off" by itself, apparently, and instead of blaming the illegal activity that killed this teen, the family is calling for yet more gun control.

ME: Panel backs gun show, interrogation bills
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"A bill to close the [nonexistent] gun show loophole and another that would require police to record certain interrogations gained legislative committee approval on Thursday."

"The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee approved both bills on split votes. While there was little debate on the gun show bill, committee members held a heated discussion on the bill to require audio- or videotaping of interrogations."

UK: Village struck again by gang
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"An armed gang who pointed a gun at a four-year-old girl during a hold up have struck again in the same village, police have revealed."

"The masked gang horrified staff and customers when they held up a convenience store and post office in the usually quiet village of Wooburn Green, Buckinghamshire, two weeks ago when one of them threatened a mother and child with a pistol." ...

"The three robbers were identically armed with a handgun, knife and baseball bat when they burst into a nearby post office."

TN: Ex-officer charged in illegal gun sale
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"A Grundy County grand jury investigating Gruetli-Laager's disbanded police force charged one of the former officers with selling a confiscated gun for $250."

"District Attorney Mike Taylor said Thursday that Kevin Wayne Keele, 37, of Tullahoma surrendered on a felony charge of official misconduct and was released after posting a $5,000 bond."

"The indictment handed up Monday accuses Keele of selling the gun in August 2002, the same month the police force was disbanded, for $250 to a private individual. Police in Newman, Calif., registered the weapon as stolen with the National Crime Information Center in 1998."

RI: Event for kids encourages gun bashing
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Area children can trade in their plastic water pistols and other toy guns Saturday for a new stuffed animal, board game, book or truck."

"The 'Bash-O-Matic,' a mechanism developed and built by students at the New England Institute of Technology, will be at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County, 95 Church St., Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. The device was designed to destroy toy guns and is used by the state attorney general's office to promote safe and nonviolent play among children."

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This early brainwashing is the next step toward the complete emasculation of our society.

WA: Gun-toting neighbor assists in arrest
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Lenoue hurried back to his house, grabbed a flashlight and a .22-caliber handgun, summoned his German shepherd and went back outside."

"As he crept closer to the area at 5:55 p.m. Wednesday, three men appeared out of the darkness, approaching him." ...

"The sheriff's office doesn't encourage citizens to take matters into their own hands, sheriff's Capt. Dan Kimball said. But, without Lenoue's intervention, deputies probably would have had little success in tracking the thieves, he said."

"The 29-year-old commercial truck driver pointed his gun and ordered them to the ground."

"It turned out that Lenoue had observed car headlights. He had interrupted three men who, according to police, were taking parts from a stolen car."

IA: Gun control advocates seek ban
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Expiring federal restrictions on semi-automatic assault weapons should be renewed and strengthened by Congress to protect police and other Americans, an Iowa gun control advocate group said Thursday during a press conference at the Davenport Public Library."

"The Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, or IPGV, called on Iowa�s federal lawmakers to support legislation to replace the 1994 restrictions, which banned 19 specific assault weapons by name and others by characteristics, but will expire in September 2004."

"Loopholes in those restrictions allowed manufacturers to evade the ban by making only cosmetic changes to the assault weapons, creating a market of 'post-ban' assault weapons more varied than the market in 1994..."

MO: Concealed gun opponents seek February high court hearing
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Attorneys who successfully challenged Missouri's new concealed guns law have asked the state Supreme Court to hear appeal arguments no sooner than Feb. 9 -- at least two months later than the expedited schedule sought by the state attorney general."

"In a filing Thursday with the state's highest court, the plaintiff's attorneys said they expected as many as seven points to be raised on appeal -- many by themselves -- and needed time to prepare their case."

"Attorney General Jay Nixon had suggested the Supreme Court hear arguments on Dec. 3"

FL: Concealed Weapons Part 2
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Shannon- "3,892 people have a concealed weapons permit... does that bother you?"

Chief Bradshaw- "No it doesn�t. Those are the people who legally got the ability to carry firearms--we�re worried about the people who illegally are carrying firearms. It's people who have illegal concealed weapons you need to be concerned about because their intentions are not legal and they haven't made a conscious decision to go about it in a proper fashion."

Australia: Spate of attempted robberies in gun control utopia
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"THREE masked and armed men have tried to rob a bowling club in south-west Sydney, NSW Police said today."

"The incident was one of three attempted robberies in Sydney yesterday."

"The men tried to smash a side door to the club on Roselands Avenue, Roselands, using the butt of their guns about 7.35pm (AEDT) yesterday."

"They fled on foot when a security guard raised the alarm. They were later seen getting into a Ford Laser parked on Sylvester Street."

"In a separate incident, a man armed with an iron bar tried to rob a bank on Norton Street, Leichhardt, in Sydney's inner west yesterday."

Liberia: U.N. to Begin Disarming Liberian Fighters
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Peacekeepers will start collecting weapons from Liberia's unruly militia and government fighters in early December, U.N. officials said Friday."

"The first three collection centers are scheduled to open Dec. 7 in Monrovia, the government-controlled capital of the war-ruined west African nation, and the rebel-held towns of Tubmanburg and Buchanan, the United Nations said in a statement."

"The disarmament process is expected to take nine months, the United Nations said."

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They just never learn, do they?

Huge Commerce Clause Decision (Blog)
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"This fits with the Ninth Circuit's McCoy decision this year (written by Judge Reinhardt), which held that Congress may not ban the mere possession of homemade noncommercial child pornography. Unless the Ninth circuit grants rehearing en banc in these cases -- I'm not sure whether there's still time to do that as to McCoy, since I'm not sure whether the panel has denied a motion for rehearing by the panel itself -- I predict the Supreme Court will agree to hear these cases... The Ninth Circuit acknowledges that its decision create as split with three other circuits; that, and the holding that a federal statute is unconstitutional as applied, are both reasons the Court may grant certiorari."

Unconstitutional law affects everyone not just your pet enemies
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"Loss of freedom never limits itself to one class of people. When lawlessness reigns, then people of all persuasions will be affected, and eventually oppressed." ...

"When the rule of law is uncertain, lawlessness will eventually take control until the state takes over by martial law. This is the present dispute with military tribunals. Without benefit of counsel or jury, the accused may be tried, convicted and executed and such person's name never be released to the public or to the family. That is the way of the banana republic and the barbarians."

CA: City opposes Patriot Act
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"With the Sacramento City Council chambers packed to capacity by opponents of the USA Patriot Act, council members voted 8-1 Thursday to approve a resolution against the controversial anti-terrorism law."

"The vote came after two hours of comment, mostly from groups opposed to the Patriot Act, and makes Sacramento the 209th community nationwide to approve a resolution against the law, which passed in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

Implied or Usurped?
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"When the Constitution was offered for ratification, wise men feared that the 'necessary and proper' clause would lend itself to abuse, allowing the Federal Government to aggrandize itself without limit. Thomas Jefferson was deeply suspicious of the whole notion of implied powers; he saw clearly where it might lead. He and Alexander Hamilton had a famous argument over whether a national bank fell within 'necessary and proper' powers of Congress. Hamilton�s broad view of Federal powers prevailed � far more, in the long run, than Hamilton himself would have wished."

MO: Missouri Officials - Treason or Ignorance - That is the question
Submitted by: Newslinks Admin

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"It is flagrantly clear from an Associated Press article that Missouri officials, including judges, do not have any concept whatsoever of the Constitution for the United States of America, the import of the Amendments, or their duty prescribed by their Oath of Office and the Constitution for the United States of America."

"Thus, I am going to use the comments (direct quotes) or reports of what has been said/done to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that either the officials are committing treason or are so ignorant of their duty, liberty, the Unanimous Declaration of Independence, the Constitution for the United States, and the role of government that none should be holding their offices."