Monday, September 29, 2008

Rubicon in the Rear-View, Part II: Perpetual War, Here and Abroad (Updated)















Two missions that should never intersect are those of the military and of the civilian police, respectively. The logic of empire ultimately demands that which our rulers have now provided: A militarized apparatus of coercion in which military and police roles are inextricably blended.


UPDATE

It's much too early to tell how this welcome development will affect the trends described below, but the House of Representatives just defeated the Wall Street Swindle measure -- something I quite frankly considered impossible.




"We have entered an era of persistent conflict.... [We face] face new security challenges influenced by the effects of globalization, especially in failing states and in ungoverned areas.... Radicalism influenced by extremist ideologies and separatist movements will remain attractive to those who feel threatened and victimized by the cultural and economic impacts of globalization...."

From the 2008 Army Modernization Strategy



We are entering the age of "persistent conflict," advises the Army's 90-page official report on modernization and strategy. Dr. Tom Clonan, the international security analyst for the Irish Times, usefully peels away the thin veneer of euphemism applied to that phrase, rendering it "perpetual warfare."


The Army document is an admission that our rulers intend to divest us of what few tangible liberties we still enjoy. James Madison's warning resonates again: "No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."


Had the Billionaire Bailout, aka the Mother of All Swindles, been consummated in the teeth of nearly uniform public opposition, the Regime ruling us would have achieved a Platonic ideal of plutocratic corruption. The Army's strategic preview still seems to anticipate this development, given its astonishing candor in expressing the ethics of the Robber State.*


In describing the mission of the military over the next generation or two, the document dutifully refers to the threat of a "radical, ideology-based, long-term terrorist threat...." Additionally, insists the report, Washington faces "a potential return to traditional security threats posed by emerging near-peers as we compete globally for depleting natural resources and overseas markets."


What proper role can the military play in "competing" for "natural resources and overseas markets"? The military embodies the refined essence of the murderous ugliness to which we've given the name "government": It is an instrument employed to kill and destroy, not to "compete." It can conquer territory, but it cannot create a market -- except in the crudest corporatist sense of reducing a country to rubble as a prelude to taxpayer-subsidized "reconstruction" efforts of the kind that have succeeded so marvelously in Iraq.



The vision expressed in the Modernization Strategy is a more elegantly phrased version of the familiar Ditto-head bumper-sticker sentiments, like "Kick their ass and take their gas," or "What is their sand doing on top of our oil?" (Another variation of that trope we may soon see: "Begin the slaughter -- seize control of their water.") Of course, that approach engenders terrorism, rather than pacifying it -- but this is an entirely suitable outcome for our rulers, since it relieves them of the trouble of dreaming up new pretexts for the wars they desire.


Seizing resources through military force is one of the best ways to destroy a market: Military control over a given resource is, after all, nationalization in its bluntest form. The truly remarkable -- and terrifying -- aspect of the Army's new strategy is the evidence it provides that our rulers have now embraced, without qualification, the socialist premise that the government's role is to administer an economy based on scarcity.


Here we collide with one of the defining ironies of our age. At a time when Washington now candidly admits its intention to acquire vital resources through military pillage, Russia and China, the "neer-peers" clumsily alluded to in the document, are acquiring resources through commerce, rather than conquest.


A case can be made that a modest, mobile military establishment is necessary in order to protect freedom of commerce abroad; at least, that was the view of those who wrote the constitutional provision requiring Congress to "maintain" a Navy. But the Framers who composed that provision were steadfastly opposed to a standing Army, quite properly fearing that an establishment of that kind would be used precisely as the new Army strategic document describes: To carry out perpetual war abroad, and regiment society here at home.


Granted, the latter half of that formulation -- domestic regimentation -- is not made explicit in the Modernization document. But it becomes very clear when key strategic considerations from that document are viewed in the light of the increasingly overt role played by the military in domestic law enforcement.


The implosion of America's financial system is now all but a moral certainty. The increasingly panicked corporatist elite have abandoned any pretense of acting on behalf of the public good, seeking to preserve their own power and plundered wealth by any means.


It is this corporatist financial elite that ultimately controls the legions deployed both here and abroad.


Recall again Madison's warning that wars beget "armies, and debts, and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many beneath the domination of the few." Yes, as Machiavelli noted in chapter ten of his Discourses, it is iron rather than gold that is the "sinew of war." But it is gold, or whatever prevailing substitute, that buys and bridles those who deploy iron in wartime. The creators and exploiters of public debt -- the FED and the nomenklatura it serves -- also created, and remain in control of, Washington's sprawling military establishment and rapidly catalyzing system of internal repression.



Acting through Henry Paulson -- soon to be our first economic dictator -- the oligarchy threatened, bribed, bullied, and extorted from Congress a measure permitting them to plunder the wealth of the embattled remnants of the Middle Class. According to a visibly and audibly overwrought Texas Republican Congressman Michael Burgess, this was achieved by effectively holding Congress hostage in a condition he referred to as "martial law":

**



**

Whether or not Comrade Pelosi's expression was intended metaphorically, we have to believe that extraordinary duress was required to compel congressmen to support, or at least to countenance, the Mega-Swindle in the face of ferocious public opposition just weeks before those same congressmen stand for re-election.


It is relatively easy to neutralize the rebellion of a relative handful of politicians. But the public can expect no deference or delicacy when the time comes to deal with the social upheaval that will (not "would," mind you -- will) accompany the full-orbed economic collapse our rulers have now arranged for us.


Recall the excerpt from the Modernization Strategy document that was used above as an epigram, and note the reference to "those who feel threatened and victimized by the cultural and economic impacts of globalization." The imponderably huge heist being carried out on behalf of Wall Street is a splendid example of the globalization of corporatist crony capitalism, and its impact on our standard of living will be immense.


A large and ideologically heterogeneous movement has taken shape that opposes "globalization," as the term is variously defined and understood. We can expect to see this opposition become much larger, much better organized, and much more militant. And we can also expect to see these developments over-matched by an even more dramatic escalation in the tactics used by the domestic arm of the Empire's military.

(Continues after the jump.)














Here is the caption supplied by the US Army for this photograph: "Minnesota National Guard Soldiers with the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor stand guard to assist police in maintaining order during an overly-aggressive demonstration Sept. 1, in St. Paul, Minn. The demonstrators were protesting during day one of the Republican National Convention."


There are elements of the anti-globalization movement that, either out of ignorance or (more likely) ideological malice, target private enterprise as the enemy, and act out their rage against private property. Protesters of that persuasion have made their unwelcome presence felt at every significant anti-globalist event since the much-romanticized 1999 "Battle in Seattle." When they destroy private property and imperil innocent people, such protesters are criminals, not activists, and should be dealt with accordingly.


However, in recent years the prevailing "security" model treats the act of public protest itself as an assault on public order. That model embraces the use of "non-violent" means of crowd control -- such as the use of pepper spray, tasers, clubs, bean-bag rounds, and "rubber bullets" -- and the mass arrest of anyone found in a targeted area, whether or not any particular detainee was actually involved in a protest.


An independent journalist covering a Labor Day demonstration in St. Paul that coincided with the beginning of the Republican National Convention captured a striking example of this tactic: Militarized riot police detained nearly 300 people, without probable cause of any kind, who were sitting peacefully in a public park. In carrying out these arrests, the police were provided with on-site support by the National Guard. The reporter had to bury the video record of this event in order to prevent its confiscation by the police.


As I've commented before, the recently concluded national nominating conventions by the two retail outlets for the Ruling Party served as a coming-out party for the Homeland Security State's enforcement apparatus. It was also a foretaste of what we can expect to see as the economic collapse accelerates, if public resistance solidifies.


The Strategic Modernization document makes it plain that the ground-based military will be fighting among targeted populations, with "commanders employing offensive, defensive and stability or civil support operations simultaneously." This is the kind of hybrid mission we've seen in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti, and Somalia, in which soldiers are also required to behave as beat cops.


Boba Fett meets Halo? No -- it's one military contractor's vision of the U.S. Army's "Future Force Warrior."




In its new strategy, the Pentagon envisions the deployment of a new generation of soldier, a "Future Force Warrior" digitally interconnected not only with his command base and fellow troops, but also with a large and sophisticated array of remote, unmanned weapons, both aerial and ground-based. He would have access to intelligence provided by both aircraft and satellites.



Through the use of such "force-multiplying" technology, the military would be able to deploy small brigade combat teams (remember that term -- "brigade combat team") to carry out challenging missions within a targeted population.


Granted, the technology behind this vision isn't yet widely available. But elements of this approach have already been used domestically, this year, for the purpose of enforcing "public order."

(Continues after the jump.)















Support your local paramilitary bullies: This commemorative T-shirt, featuring a caricature of an abusive cop, was not produced by an anti-police group. It was created by the Denver police union, which gave one to each member of the Denver PD and expects to sell 2,000 more at $10 a copy. When the police -- who in this case were backed up by the military -- actually celebrate the abuse of civilians, it's time to admit that the government is at war with the American public. (Thanks to StrikeTheRoot.)



During the recent Democratic National Convention, a specialized National Guard unit of 1,700 troops, "Joint Task Force-DNC" (JTF-DNC) was deployed in Denver. Ostensibly there for the exclusive purpose of backstopping "civilian" law enforcement in the event of a terrorist event, JTF-DNC also provided "information such as satellite imagery to assist law-enforcement authorities, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the U.S. Secret Service," boasted an all-but-buried press release.


"About 40 Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1st Space Brigade's 117th Space Battallion have been preparing for the convention by monitoring computer images, uploading data and reviewing map printouts," continued the account.


These Guard troops weren't there merely to stand sentinel against terrorist attacks. JTF-DNC was sent to Denver following following several months of specialized training, including weeks of practice in riot gear at a MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) at Fort Carson.


"If there are [violent] demonstrations, these National Guard Soldiers will have to protect people and business from protests that could get out of hand," explained Lt. Col. Don Laucirica.



There were no "violent" protests in Denver. Yet the National Guard JTF-DNC was there, along with its array of cutting-edge weaponry and intelligence-gathering assets, to provide defense in depth to a contingent of militarized police.



The same configuration was on display a few weeks later at St. Paul, where the Secret Service and local law enforcement agencies liaised with the National Guard's JTF-RNC. Some 150 soldiers were deployed in St. Paul on the first day of the convention when the local police complained that protesters were becoming "increasingly aggressive."


That was the day, recall, when 284 people were arrested for the supposed crime of "aggressively" enjoying a late summer day without harming anyone.


"Our main mission is to support law enforcement," explained 1st Lt. T. Zdon, an armor officer with the Minnesota National Guard. "Soldiers in their uniform and gear provide a strong presence, or show of force, for local law enforcement, if they need us."


Spc. Ben Doran, an infantryman with the same unit, elaborated that the Guardsmen were there to use "shields and batons to keep crowds back. We want to use the minimum amount of force necessary to complete the mission."


"The mission." That's the language of a military occupier, not a peace officer in a free society.

**



**


In his video-recorded remarks to troops before the convention, Brig. Gen. Joseph Kelly, commander of JTF-RNC, pointed out that the task force was composed of members of the U.S. military from all branches of the service, including some who had been brought back to the "homeland" from overseas. "Our primary mission," he told the troops, "is to conduct military operations in support of civil authorities.... [W]e are working for the law-enforcement organizations responsible for the security of the convention."


While the Secret Service was the lead agency, and local police exercised operational control, some Soldiers would be expected to carry out routine security duties "to free up police officers for higher-level law enforcement tasks."


"As during any other operation, you must take care of yourself, each other, and your equipment. Please, be safe," intoned Kelly, as if preparing his troops for D-Day rather than an operation on their home soil in which they would confront unarmed fellow citizens.


**


**

In his post-convention message congratulating his troops, Gen. Kelly strained to extract drama and heroism from a "mission" that was little more than an exercise in adolescent posturing and gratuitous bullying.

**



**


"There were some long, hard days," Kelly warbled, as if his subject were the Siege of Stalingrad, rather than a four-day deployment in the warm, placid, and comfortable setting of St. Paul, Minnesota. "Monday, September 1 -- Labor Day -- was a day of special challenge, and you all met that demand with skill, determination, professionalism, and in some cases, personal courage."


Once again, Gen. Kelly is referring to the episode referred to previously, in which police and Guardsmen surrounded and incarcerated hundreds of people who had done nothing, and who put up no resistance. Kelly's account makes me suspect that at least some of the Soldiers who participated in that event will be receiving service commendations.

**




**


Some might contend that the role played by the Guard JTFs in Denver and St. Paul were exceptional, given that the conventions were "National Special Security Events." But this is to concede the fact that it is now routine for nominating conventions and similar events to take place amid an atmosphere of martial law.


Furthermore, the behavior of Guard JTFs at the conventions underscores the real significance of the permanent Homeland Security response unit that will begin operations this Wednesday (October 1).

The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, which has spent three of the last five "in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle," has been "training for the same mission — with a twist — at home," reported the Army Times. Remember -- the Pentagon's new Modernization Strategy emphasizes the role of brigade combat teams (or BCTs) in deployments among targeted populations. In the case of the 3ID 1BCT, the new mission for the next year will be serving under the US Army North as an "on-call federal response force" to deal with contingencies ranging from natural disasters to terrorism to ... widescale civilian rebellion.


No, the third contingency is not explicitly stated. In fact, the official posture of the Army is that the "response force" would be devoted entirely to dealing with contingencies beyond the competence of local law enforcement -- natural catastrophes or unconventional weapons attacks.


Patti Bielling, Chief of Media Operations for the US Army North, informed Pro Libertate that the force would be on call to deal with "a catastrophic incident and in support of a civilian agency. Posse Comitatus applies [meaning that the military personnel would not be directly involved in law enforcement]. The role of federal DOD forces in a civil support mission is to save lives, reduce human suffering and mitigate great property damage. Likely ... missions would be air evacuation, medical response, decontamination, logistics support, and transportation."


However, the commander of the unit has a very different perception of the mission.


As noted by the Army Times, "the 1BCT's soldiers also will learn how to use `the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded,' 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them. `It's a new modular package of nonlethal capabilities that they're fielding. They've been using pieces of it in Iraq, but this is the first time that these modules were consolidated and this package fielded, and because of this mission we're undertaking we were the first to get it.' The package includes equipment to stand up a hasty road block; spike strips for slowing, stopping or controlling traffic; shields and batons; and, beanbag bullets."


None of this has any necessary connection to post-WMD incident response. All of it would come in quite handy in dealing with civil unrest. When I pointed this out to Capt. Carla Gleason, a very earnest, helpful, and professional information officer for Northern Command's Joint Task Force-Civil Support, she noted that the training and non-lethal hardware being provided to this unit will be used in Iraq, once the 1 BCT's domestic deployment ends and they're rotated overseas once again.


Here's why no solace can be found in that explanation: The skills and hardware in question can, and most likely will, be employed both in Iraq and here at home, as the National Command Authority sees fit. They can be used to subdue unruly Iraqis who display their lack of "gratitude" for the occupation of their country, or unruly Americans who object to the destruction of their economic future in order to preserve the perquisites of the Power Elite.


It is impossible to maintain a republic at home while supporting an empire abroad. Imperial commitments abroad inevitably mean the corruption of the currency, the destruction of the rule of law, the liquidation of the middle class, and a descent into national bankruptcy, undisguised oligarchical rule, and the imposition of some variety of martial law.


We are likely to learn, very soon, in very painful ways, we enjoy no happy immunity to the consequences of the policies we have permitted our rulers to impose on us.


*This paragraph was revised from the original version, which was written before Congress rejected the Wall Street Swindle Enabling Act.

Here's how it read originally: "With the consummation of the Mother of All Swindles, achieved in the teeth of nearly uniform public opposition, the Regime ruling us has realized what may be the Platonic ideal of plutocratic corruption. The Army's strategic preview seems to have anticipated this development, given its astonishing candor in expressing the ethics of the Robber State."






On sale now!










Dum spiro, pugno!

31 comments:

  1. So, in rather blunt terms, we may conclude: Whatever it was the original plans may have been, a primary reason for keeping the troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other hot spots, is to condition them to be brutal here at home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. did you hear about the cool t-shirt the denver police dept issued after the DNC completed? , it's the sort of story that is right up you alley

    http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Denver_cops_get_Tshirts_that_mock_0928.html

    love the blog by the way, I'm more of a lefty-libertarian, but I agree with you more than I don't...

    ReplyDelete
  3. anon, I was literally posting a small update regarding that hideous t-shirt when your e-mail arrived!

    Thanks for the tip; I'm extremely glad to know that there are more than a few of us trying to stay abreast of developments of this kind.

    And thanks, to, for the kind words. I really don't care about "left" and "right" anymore; what matters to me is whether people understand and respect the dignity of the individual and the importance of defending each individual's innate rights.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Agreed, Mr.Grigg.
    In the face of the blatant tyranny
    being foisted upons us there is
    no left or right, just "us" and "them."

    Just as 9-11 was used to seize control
    of our rights, this economic "meltdown"
    will be used to seize control of
    our industry.

    Very dark clouds are gathering over
    America and the world. Let us pray
    and hope that God will intervene,
    soon.

    ReplyDelete
  5. all,

    if you think that t shirt design is bad, imagine the other designs that were submitted but didn't make it.

    rick

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Gaurd" should be "Guard"

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Will,

    In part one you seemed to say that using the military to cajole civilians was not that big a step since the police have been multiplied and militarized. Here you seem to be coming around. It IS significant simply because of the numbers and quality of the forces available.

    In other words, the elites KNOW they are begging for a revolution, and they are about to drive so many people over the edge that the police alone don't have the manpower to tamp down on the entire populace. They need to bring the military in to turn on the population.

    and to Will BLALOCK, you are quite correct that it is coming down to "us and them" rather than "left/right". There is an A/V file at this location called "Beyond Left and Right" that puts it all together.

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  8. will blalock 848:

    What do you want God to do?

    troll Doc Ellis 124

    ReplyDelete
  9. can't further comment....bush plans war with HOLY MOTHER ROSSIYA on either 20 Oktober 2008 or 21 Oktober 2008.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hahahaha. "We get up early, to beat the crowds."

    Is that a comma behind "early" or are they just happy to see me?

    ReplyDelete
  11. 29 Sep 4:30 PM EST

    It looks as if enough people finally called Congress to express their outrage that the Congress Critters had to notice. It's about time. Yes; it was undoubtably a very tiny minority of the people that bothered, but this is the principle which Samuel Adams expressed for us.
    But, there's still plenty of time for Congressional betrayal. Those wanting taxpayer dollars (taxed through borrowing and inflation) aren't going to give up today. Neither should we.
    Call you Congress Critter and tell it to continue to oppose the little guys' bailout of the Fat Cat Bankers & Wall Street!

    Rich Beecher
    A More Radical Whig Every Day

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just a quick comment. Check vote tally here for who voted pro/con for this hellish bailout.

    Keep your cupboards filled with non-perishables and stocked up on lead.

    Good piece, Will. Right on the money, IMO, but regardless of how this latest bailout brouhaha turns out, the remaining vestiges of a Republic have shriveled and been disposed of. The increasingly overt talk of "civil unrest" and of the planned use of military assets for homeland "missions" tells you everything you need to know. They are by these measures, in essence if not outright, admitting to the imminent demise of Amerika's economy and the resulting civil unrest that will manifest to some degree at least. Leviathan, naturally, therefore has already prepared for this contingency long beforehand.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Will, one more quick comment. Is there any way you can embed that ANP video without it auto-playin' when one peruses your page? If not, perhaps a mere link to it will suffice?

    It can be "paused" of course, but nevertheless it's annoying.

    ReplyDelete
  14. anonymous @11:47 -- Good-enough-for-government-"work" spelling aside, I think we really should have a national "gaurd" -- chayote, perhaps. :-)

    dixie dog, I'll see what I can do; ANP's embedding protocol is a bid weird.

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  15. Everyone needs to have semi-automatic military pattern rifles with full capacity magazines. Iraq hardened troops are now going to patrol the "Homeland."

    ReplyDelete
  16. After the devastation of hurricane Katrina, we are told repeatedly concerning the overall ineptitude of this central government, yet, as Dixie Dog points out, they're a step ahead in preparation of their martial contingency plans to quell any public unrest after the plutocrats and oligarchs of this "republic" fleeces the entire middle class and confines it to a new "life" under a second or third world fiefdom. This is anything but incompetence; It's a calculated and well devised plan to reduce us to peonage under totalitarian rule under a new emergency regional government construct juxtaposed with a new "reformed" and regionalized central bank issuing fiat scrip. Destitute times are a comin'. Spare an Amero, brother?

    ReplyDelete
  17. @Doc Ellis

    God works in mysterious ways,
    but his intervention is certain.
    As for me, I have been praying
    for the total collapse of the
    fiat dollar.

    "The gold and silver are mine,
    saith the Lord."

    The fiat dollar is an idol
    that has led us back to the bondage
    and blasphemy of Egypt.

    This makes the Lord VERY angry.

    ReplyDelete
  18. @Doc Ellis

    Fact is that God has and is already
    intervening.
    The internet, which was created as
    a doomsday device during the cold
    war, has bloomed into a type of
    tabernacle which has given a voice
    to men such as Lew Rockwell, Ron
    Paul and Will Grigg. Men such as
    these are in many ways the true
    Evangelicals and iconoclasts of
    our time.

    From doomsday device to assembly of
    the Saints, the Lord works in
    mysterious ways. The 20th century
    was the bloodiest century in human
    history; destruction on an
    unprecedented scale enabled by the
    central banks of the world's leading
    "democracies" and "republics."
    Now, thanks be to God, we may be
    witnessing the last gasp of this
    lastest and most deadly ziggurat
    of human folly.

    Mr.Grigg is correct in pointing out
    the growing fear of the ruler of this
    world. As the facade of control fails
    the only recourse is brute force.
    This reveals the enemy and he is
    flushed out into the open for all
    to see.

    In that sense, the police state
    marks an awakening and revelation
    and it is my belief that, for
    America, this transition will be
    brief for it is written:

    2 Corinthians 3:17
    Now the Lord is the Spirit;
    and where the Spirit of the
    Lord is, there is liberty.

    Now that is intervention on a
    grand scale, eh?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Will Blalock 907: You made my point... good job.
    Believers don't have a dog in this fight, though.
    Don't forget, God's kingdom is elsewhere.
    What happens here is inconsequential.
    Events here matter only to unbelievers, for this life may our only chance to happiness.
    Further discussion: http://danceofthefuries.blogspot.com

    troll Doc Ellis 124

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  20. Ever since we invaded the Country of Iraq I have been saying that it was a mere dual layered preparation tactic to bring that kind of brutality back home and used upon us. They are getting all there urban street training and unmanned and mechanized apparatus up to snuff and tested. Another 600 bil just got dumped into "defense" for that purpose.

    Know where your water is know how to grow your food and get to know your neighbors now!!

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  21. @Will Blalock

    Regarding your use of the passage from Corinthians: "...Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

    The notion that the liberty referred to here is a political liberty does not work. The New Testament is not a political treatise. If your interpretation is true, then we must conclude that either Christ is absent from the lands of suffering and persecuted Christians, or that they do not really possess the Spirit of the Lord.

    God's concern is not with governments, nor with political liberty. True, it seems that his blessing was upon the American War for Independence, and for a time upon our nation as well. This does not mean that we are singled out by God for some special national mission (which I'm sure you understand), nor that we are particularly deserving of his favor, nor that we as a people any longer possess the strength of faith that once made us great. We have no special call on God's favor because of out constitution, protestant beginnings, or any other reason. God deals with the heart of man, with the individual.

    But all this aside, consider for a moment the possibility that the liberty here mentioned is, in fact, a spiritual and individual liberty, not a political one. As a friend once told me, "this is not our home," and as such, while we fight for our freedom, for our lives, for the lives of our loved ones, nevertheless we must not forget that all we do in the name of political liberty is vanity. It is a cliche, perhaps, to say that our home is in Heaven, but that does not make it untrue. The problem with cliches is that they are so often repeated that they lose their meaning.

    I am not saying do not fight and prepare. What I am saying is do not impute to God a desire for our political liberty and physical well-being, for though he blesses us with many good things, the greatest thing that He wishes for us is spiritual well-being, salvation, and freedom from the bonds and consequences of original sin. It must be so, else the martyrs have died in vain. But they have not.

    Pax Christi vobiscum.

    ReplyDelete
  22. "The fiat dollar is an idol
    that has led us back to the bondage
    and blasphemy of Egypt.

    This makes the Lord VERY angry."

    You seem to be operating under the belief that America is somehow a New Israel. At least, from your language that is my impression.

    The fiat dollar is an instrument of oppression. Real Money is no less of an idol than the fiat dollar, it is simply less dangerous to our political liberty. We have let ourselves be duped into bondage, yes, by idolizing wealth in the form of the fiat dollar. Our morals have broken down and dissipated. We idolize not only money, but also power and sex and, at the root of it all, we idolize ourselves, both as individuals and as a nation. We are not God's chosen nation. God's favor rests on those who follow Him, not on nations, except insofar as they are made up of men who follow Him

    We each have a vocation to holiness, to service, to love. We each have a call to guard our own souls and to witness to those around us. This call take primacy over ALL other things.

    ReplyDelete
  23. @Doc Ellis, thanks for the complement.
    I have to disagree with you and
    @David however as concerning
    the political blessing of our true
    King. Did Jesus not teach us the
    way in all things?

    Yes, the Kingdom is in the heart
    but this also implies that the
    Kingdom is wherever our hearts reside.
    So as our hearts reside
    with His Spirit, we and all under
    our stewardship are at Liberty.

    This means here and now.

    This is my Father's world, and for
    my part, I am in this fight.

    ReplyDelete
  24. @David,

    The New Testament is absolutely
    political.

    From the money changers to the
    Pharisees to Pilate, Jesus defeated
    the Ruler of this world by flushing
    him out of the bushes and placing
    him on display.

    Colossians 2:15
    Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

    I agree with all you say however,
    and thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. @Will Blalock

    I understand what you are getting at. We have some fundamental differences (partly because I am a Catholic and you are not, as far as I can tell). I am not saying that I am out of this fight. I am saying two things. First, the promise of Liberty is not a promise of political or physical liberty. Second, our primary duty is to serve God in whatever he has given us to do. This may be (as WNG) maintaining a blog to keep others informed. It may be fighting physically against tyranny. Or it may be (and I feel this for myself) a devotion to family and friends, to their salvation and safety, to maintaining an island of Charity in a sea of selfishness, in the face of the world's evil.

    ReplyDelete
  26. @David

    Thank you Brother, but...

    1 Corinthians 8:9
    But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak

    Galatians 2:4
    And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage),

    Galatians 5:1
    [ Christian Liberty ] Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

    The promise of liberty is an
    absolute promise of Spiritual and
    Physical liberty( this would include
    politics.)

    Absolute.

    Praise God.

    (yes, I am not Catholic.
    See Galatians 2:4 and 5:1 above.)

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  27. The New Testament certainly has political qualities. I was merely pointing out that it is not a political treatise. Thus, when it says "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty," we are not necessarily supposed to read that as political liberty. I trust God with my life, I trust his mastery and artistry, but I do not necessarily expect that his blessings include a life in a free land. Certainly the majority of Christians throughout the ages have not had such a life, and I do not believe he failed them. I am glad, though, that you stand in the fight.

    Thanks for the conversation. Some things to think about, certainly.

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  28. Peacefull protesters suddenly replaced by a few hundred battle rifles leveled at the chests of the state sponsored terror squads will change the balance a bit. that is precisely what I suggest we do. The crowning gem that once was Americe has been taken from the people by force. I recommend we take it back.

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  29. Dear Will,

    I predict there will be a turning point. The turning point in Iraq came when US troops opened fire on civilian protesters in Fallujah and killed 19 people. I do not know the date, but it was only about 6 months into the war. When I read that news, I said to myself, we have just lost the war. From this moment on the flowers and cookies will be replaced by bullets. So it was.

    There was also a turning point in the civil rights movement in South Africa. It was in 1976 and was called the Sharpeville Massacre. 76black people were machine-gunned to death by white troops. Nothing was ever the same after that.

    The turning point in the civil rights movement in America was the killing of Dr. King. That was the day the Southern white bigots lost.

    A day will come in America. We will know it when it arrives. On that day, everything will change - in the minds, in the hearts, and in the homes of America. This being a country which does everything to excess, it may cost a thousand lives, or even many tens of thousands.

    An army of half a million soldiers cannot stand against 300 million people who own 200 million guns. The great US Army cannot even subdue a few tens of thousands of insurgents in Iraq.

    Not only that. Every soldier whose brother or father or mother is killed by the US military will turn around and use his weapons on his commanders. It may not even take that much - the sight of brains and guts spilling from people just like those he grew up among will sicken him, and he will turn his weapons against the overlords. Or at least he will lay them down and walk away.

    We are not angry yet. Message to the overlords: Beware the day we get mad. The Jews among you can flee to Israel, but the rest will pay. And terrible will be the price.

    The sight of 100,000 angry people focused as one on killing you will turn the bowels of even the bravest man to water. What is left of a human being after a crowd of 100,000 angry people have finished with it is barely recognizable as having once been flesh and bone.

    Message to the overlords: Your nightmare is just beginning.

    The human spirit cannot be suppressed. Victory will be ours.

    Sincerely,
    Lemuel Gulliver.

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  30. 3 Oct

    Sadly, it appears that what I said earlier, "But, there's still plenty of time for Congressional betrayal. Those wanting taxpayer dollars (taxed through borrowing and inflation) aren't going to give up today." is turning out to be true.
    We shouldn't give up though. Rather than "Our kingdom is not of this world", I think the scripture to the effect of "He who does not provide for the needs of his own, particularly those of his family, has denied the faith and is worse than an Unbeliever" should best describe whether or not we should work to protect the chance for freedom of our kids and grandkids.

    A Little Bit More of an Ever More Radical Whig Than Yesterday
    Chattanooga

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  31. MR.Griggs I read your book and have to say I had hoped that it wasn't going to come to this in this country. With the judicial system corrupted as it is we the people are left with no other alternative but to protect ourselves from the protectors. I saw this slide into corruption begin to escalate under Regan and progressively get worse until peaceful protesting no longer worked. This will be a sad day or a very liberating day depends on how one looks at it I wish everyone well and hope we the people bring our country back to the beacon it once use to be.

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