Proverbs 22:3 NLT

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

-- (((Charles Finney, said the following: “If
there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it))) --


THOSE WHO WILL DO NOTHING NOW, WHEN IT COSTS THEM LITTLE - WILL DO EVEN LESS LATER, WHEN IT COST THEM EVEN MORE


Stan Deyo Earthquake / Volcanic Forecasts

Stan Deyo Earthquake / Volcanic Forecasts
Earthquake / Volcanic Forecasts

Preparing for what is coming to America - Prepare to Defend America

LIVE EARTHQUAKE MAP

My Blog List

End Time Talk Radio - (Radio Shows)

X22 Report is a daily show that will cover issues surrounding the economic collapse

In Defense Of A Nation

Friday, July 29, 2016

OBAMA EXPANDING REFUGEE PROGRAM FOR CENTRAL AMERICANS... Mex Border Agency Flooding USA With Illegals... / Flash Mob Of 25 Teens Storms Convenience Store... Clears Shelves In Less Than Minute... / America Is A Nation Full Of Mass Killers, And We Even Elect Them To The Highest Offices In The Land / Terror Attacks And Mass Killings Are Becoming A Daily Event / Democrats worship their gods at DNC / Cops to protest Black Lives Matter sign at city hall... / Dem Delegate Admits: ‘Common Sense Gun Control’ Is Just Code For Repealing Second Amendment [VIDEO] / Italian bank Monte dei Paschi cash-calls €5bn loan / WIKILEAKS releases hacked DNC voicemails... Details... 29 mp3 files of calls... / SANDERS LEAVES DEM PARTY... Subliminal messaging at convention... Protestors Drown Out Former Obama CIA Director... / If Everything Is So Great, Then Why Do Two-Thirds Of Americans Say The Country Is On The Wrong Track? / Deutsche Bank Profit Plunges 98 Percent As The Outlook For ‘The World’s Riskiest Bank’ Darkens / Navy to Name Ship After Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk... / UPDATE: Police rally to protest City Hall 'Black Lives Matter' banner... MAYOR DEFIANT... / 1 San Diego Cop Killed, Another Wounded in Rampage... / President Obama Allows 400,000 Migrants From Central America Since 2012 / Oil Industry About To Be Burned Again By Fall In Oil Prices / Ford Plunges After Warning "We Don't See Growth", Warns US Auto Industry "Has Plateaued" / Restaurant Recession Could Signal Tough Times for U.S. Economy Flagging U.S. restaurant sales-we warn investors that restaurant-industry sales tend to be the 'canary that lays the recessionary egg / Bye Bye Middle Class: The Rate Of Homeownership In The United States Has Hit The Lowest Level Ever / Earnings Down, Housing Declining & Retail Contracting, This Is The Collapsing Economy / The Sentencing of Joe Roberts - A slide show I created of the powerful images I took at the Sentencing of Joe Robertson. Who is now behind bars and ((may lose everything for the crime of putting ponds on his own property!)) see the story at oathkeepers .org / TRUNEWS 07/27/16 Rick Wiles | Reality On-Demand / TRUNEWS 07/26/16 Jim Willie | Bankruptcy of The West

DNC DAY 2...

LIVE...

Whites Ordered to Back of Crowd at Black March...

/
 OBAMA EXPANDING REFUGEE PROGRAM FOR CENTRAL AMERICANS...

Mex Border Agency Flooding USA With Illegals...

/

Flash Mob Of 25 Teens Storms Convenience Store...

Clears Shelves In Less Than Minute...

/

Medical Insurance Lawsuits, ACA Legacy
While the FBI couldn't seem to find enough evidence to indict Hillary Clinton for playing fast and loose with security of Top Secret information, you'll be pleased to know the Department of Justice is spending a boatload of taxpayer money in the courtrooms of America--to protect the Administration from it's most important legacy--the Affordable Care Act..

Last week it was revealed the DOJ is moving ahead with a series of antitrust lawsuits in an effort to block Anthem's takeover bid of rival insurer Cigna and Aetna's deal to buy Humana.

The DOJ has as one of its assigned tasks "protection of competition" in America's quasi-free marketplace. The agency is apparently concerned that these two deals, which would  drop the health insurance industry from a five-team race down to three, would harm American consumers.

In reality this is but window dressing for a situation that the Affordable Care Act was supposed to generate when it was passed. Remember back to the 2009 debates that were open fodder while the ACA was still in the discussion stages. Newly enthroned Emperor, er...President Barack Obama made several televised speeches in early 2009 openly touting and promoting America's universal health care status "with a one-payer system."

The poorly constructed bill, which was passed on its title (again remember, "We have to pass it to find out what's in it") was supposed to eliminate competition at its core. There was to be one healthcare system run by the government, with all insurance revenues flowing through the government, all claims to be handled by government and all coverage to be provided by government.

 Oh yeah, those who were found to be ill by medical professionals were to be determined by government bean counters--by age formula, "future worth to society" and one of the many definitions of 'human' used in the bill--if they were eligible for the treatment prescribed. 

But the intent of the DOJ is a false front attempt to throw a road closed sign on what the intent of the bill was. America was supposed to wind up with but one payer by the provisions of the ACA. The over-extended government's point of view is it can't afford to have the system collapse so quickly onto its shoulders as it has not yet figured out how to pay for this monstrosity.

The all-inclusive nature of the ACA is the heart of the matter. In the past insurance companies either charged higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions or flat denied them coverage. By forcing inclusion of those types of cases, insurers knew the costs would rise but they simply underestimated the actual costs maybe because of Obama's assurances the government would pick up the slack in the revenue stream.

It isn't working out that way.

Even the most dire cost assessments from the General Accounting Office and the Congressional Budget Office totally whiffed on this one. They missed so badly it is like the old Bugs Bunny baseball cartoon where Bugs pitches to an entire team of opposing batters. The whole row each swings three times at the dancing ball and misses. Nine outs on one lousy pitch about sums up the futility of and absolute incomprehensible 'balancing act' these number crunchers did to promote the ACA.

Now some of the losing assessments are coming in. The government can see the red ink handwriting on the medical insurance wall and knows it cannot do half of what was claimed while discussions on this bill were occurring.

Some in the news would have us believe that "it is standard practice for the DOJ to prepare complaints against deals in cases that are ultimately settled with remedies like asset sales." In reality it has become common for this Administration to block deals it believes could stifle competition.

Bill Baer, one of the very top DOJ officials, claims the two proposed deals are "transformational game changers." His expressed views echo a broader belief taking root in the Administration that competition in the health insurance sector must be protected. This is allegedly to "protect the quality of the health care provided America" but is wholly false when compared to Obama's open admission and stated aim seven years ago on a one-payer system.

In reality, Anthem and Aetna don't care if they take flak from consumer groups worried about increasing premiums or medical professionals who are worried about their bottom lines.

All sides are caught in a financial nightmare that was caused by the hurried rush to get the ACA. But the health professionals are going to take yet another major revenue blow. The insurers are going to take another major revenue blow. Consumers are going to be taking not only another major hike to health insurance costs but also receive less quality care than before.

The President flatly asserted what his goal was long ago. He was rewarded when Congress passed an unwritten bill. He took all the glory he could milk from the issue when he signed it in front of running cameras and a host of adoring fans.

He got what he wanted but the lasting legacy of the Affordable Care Act is America cannot afford it. It is cumbersome to work with at best but those who wanted it cut too many corners in figuring benefit costs. The ACA is a repeat of the broken promises given to the military veterans in the VA scandal only now everyone is going to have the same deadly results. 

The real legacy of the ACA is you and I are going to look fondly back on the days when we could actually see our doctor of choice for a reasonable price and some assurance of a good medical outcome. 

It is just one more brick of America that has been lost over the past seven years.
"I have sworn on the altar of God eternal hostility to every form of tyranny over the mind of man."--Thomas Jefferson  
/

America Is A Nation Full Of Mass Killers, And We Even Elect Them To The Highest Offices In The Land

Hillary Clinton - Photo by Lorie ShaullThese days, it seems like mass killings and terror attacks are becoming a daily occurrence.  In fact, I just wrote a major article about this.  But let’s try to put all of this into perspective.  If the mass killings and Islamic terror attacks are unspeakably evil, and they most certainly are, then how evil are we as a nation for killing 58 million of our own babies since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973?  The truth is that we are a nation full of mass killers, and those that celebrate our slaughter are elected to the highest offices in the land.  The blood of our murdered children is crying out from the ground against us, and there is no possible way that America will ever be “great” again as long as we continue to ruthlessly take the lives of our unborn. (Read More...)
/


Terror Attacks And Mass Killings Are Becoming A Daily Event

Globe On Fire - Public DomainTerror attacks and mass killings are happening so rapidly now that it is really difficult to keep up with them all.  In fact, as you will see below, so far there have been several this week alone.  This latest attack in France during which radical Islamic terrorists slit the throat of a Catholic priest was particularly disturbing.  Just a few days ago I warned that churches in the western world would be targeted, and now it is happening.  According to thereligionofpeace.com, there have been 1274 Islamic terror attacks in 2016.  These attacks have been spread across 50 different nations, and as a result of these attacks more than 11,000 people have been killed and more than 14,000 people have been injured.  When are we going to finally wake up and understand how serious this threat really is? (Read More....)
/


FelonsVotesMatter (To Hillary) - Clinton's Election Fate In Virginia Lies With 200,000 Unregistered Offenders
















Terry McAuliffe, Governor of Virginia and long-time Clinton confidant, vowed to do whatever necessary to elect Hillary Clinton President...even if it means registering each of the 200,000 felons in the state of Virginia to vote individually.  She did help him win the Governor seat...we guess it's kind of the least he could do.
/
 

FelonsVotesMatter (To Hillary) - Clinton's Election Fate In Virginia Lies With 200,000 Unregistered Offenders

Terry McAuliffe, Governor of Virginia and long-time Clinton confidant, vowed to do whatever necessary to elect Hillary Clinton President...even if it means registering each of the 200,000 felons in the state of Virginia to vote individually.  She did help him win the Governor seat...we guess it's kind of the least he could do.
 
/

Judge Rules Bitcoin Isn't Money Because It "Can't be Hidden Under A Mattress"

In a landmark decision, a Florida judge dismissed charges of money laundering against a Bitcoin seller on Monday following expert testimony showing state law did not apply to the cryptocurrency.
/
 

Democrats worship their gods at DNC


/
 Cops to protest Black Lives Matter sign at city hall...
/


Dem Delegate Admits: ‘Common Sense Gun Control’ Is Just Code For Repealing Second Amendment [VIDEO]


/
 New 'Reparations' Website Asks Whites to Pay Black People's Rent -- to Relieve Guilt...
/
 Italian bank Monte dei Paschi cash-calls €5bn loan
 Italian bank Monte dei Paschi cash-calls €5bn loan
/
 
WIKILEAKS releases hacked DNC voicemails...
Details...
29 mp3 files of calls...



SANDERS LEAVES DEM PARTY...

Subliminal messaging at convention...

Protestors Drown Out Former Obama CIA Director...

/
 

If Everything Is So Great, Then Why Do Two-Thirds Of Americans Say The Country Is On The Wrong Track?


Wrong Way - Public DomainAmericans appear to be increasingly pessimistic about the future of America.  According to a Real Clear Politics average of recent polls, 68.9 percent of Americans believe that the country is on the wrong track, and only 23.1 percent of Americans believe that we are headed in the right direction.  But if you have been listening to the endless parade of political speeches at the Democratic and Republican National conventions, you would be tempted to think that the greatest days for the United States are right around the corner.  The politicians keep promising us that better times are coming if we will just make the “correct” choices on election day, but no matter who we send to Washington D.C. things just seem to keep getting worse and worse.  Let’s take a look at just a few of the signs that indicate that our country is going in the wrong direction… (Read More...)
/

Deutsche Bank Profit Plunges 98 Percent As The Outlook For ‘The World’s Riskiest Bank’ Darkens


Crash Arrow Down - Public DomainThe biggest and most important bank in the biggest and most important country in Europe continues to implode right in front of our eyes.  If you follow my work regularly, you probably already know that I issued a major alarm about Deutsche Bank last September.  Subsequently, Deutsche Bank stock hit an all-time low.  Then I sounded the alarm about Deutsche Bank again back in May, and once again that was followed by another all-time low for Deutsche Bank.  And then I warned about Deutsche Bank again in early June, and you can probably imagine what happened after that.  Over the past year, this German banking giant has literally been coming apart at the seams, and in so many ways it is paralleling exactly what happened to Lehman Brothers back in 2008. (Read More....)
/
 GLORY WEEK FOR CNN; DOMINATES RATINGS...
CLAIM: Networks giving 40% more primetime air to Dem convention...
'SCANDAL' creator makes Hillary bio video...
Vendors complain 'no enthusiasm' for her...
DNC Crowd Cheers When Speaker Announces Abortion...
Party stiffs Hispanics in prime time speaking roles...
Bernie delegate credentials stripped after holding 'STOP TPP' sign...
TINDER, GRINDR HOOK-UPS SKYROCKET...
City Hall Flags Disappear, Added To DNC Stage...
BUCHANAN: Divided We Stand...
Giant fence at DNC expands even further as protestors find themselves far away...
Deep poverty in Philly, the poorest big city...
Actor Bradley Cooper attends DNC, upsets 'AMERICAN SNIPER' fans...
D'SOUZA Releases Video Likening HILLARY to Eva Peron...
LIVE...

/
 
Navy to Name Ship After Gay Rights Activist Harvey Milk... 

/
 
UPDATE: Police rally to protest City Hall 'Black Lives Matter' banner...

MAYOR DEFIANT...

/
 

Civil War Approaching: In Preparation For The Upcoming Police-state, More Steps Towards Martial Law, And More Draconian Plans And Laws In Place For Staged, Planned, And Funded Civil Unrest Nationwide.


/
In what appears to be a strategy designed to keep their financial system afloat when fiat currencies around the world collapse under the strain of trillions in quantitatively eased debt, the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) has now shifted their operations so that all trade settlements can be completed in physical gold. The move follows the opening of the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), which is the East’s answer to decades of manipulated precious metals prices by a concentration of inside players. It’s an open secret that western central banks and cooperating financial institutions have controlled the price of gold for years. The opening of the SGE and Japan’s TOCOM shift should be a clear signal that eastern governments like China, Japan and Russia are no longer willing to play a rigged game and that they are preparing to allow gold to be freely exchanged on the open market in its physical form.
As highlighted in the SGT Report video update below, these developments coupled with supply-demand fundamentals and the massive of shift of capital into precious metals as a result of worldwide economic uncertainty, suggest that gold and silver prices are set to explode to the upside. Citing financial and economic experts, SGT Report notes:
The Japanese have recently sent physical gold shock waves around the planet with the implementation of physical gold trading at their TOCOM commodity exchange… The news of this even was largely muted in the Western financial media… even the alt media blogosphere largely seemed to overlook the news… but this is a highly significant development because it signals a subtle shift in Japanese economic and monetary focus from West to East… it will also create a bug upward price readjustment in gold and silver.

Japan Has Sent A Massive Monetary Shock Wave Across the Planet: “Will Create A Big Upward Price Adjustment In Gold And Silver”


/
 1 San Diego Cop Killed, Another Wounded in Rampage...
/

MAG: Globalists Must Unite Behind Hillary...

REVEALED: Full List of Planned Tax Hikes...

/

Every Week Gets More Orwellian...


/

IMF Studies Sovereign Debt Restructurings, Admits Its Policy Was Responsible For Greek Depression








In a paper published this month, the IMF seeks to study the relationship between GDP and sovereign debt restructuring using data from 1970-2010. Its main conclusion may be shocking: “the central finding of this paper is that sovereign debt restructurings with external private creditors can affect per capita GDP growth performance in the years after debt restructuring.“ And these are the people in charge of advising nations on managing their economy…
 
/

Turkey Creates "Traitors' Cemetery" For Dead Coup-Plotters

"They shouldn't be placed near our dogs, they shouldn't be anywhere in Turkey... They should be cremated and their ashes tossed into the ocean. There shouldn't be a trace of them anywhere in the country."
 
/
 

Japanese Bond Futures Halted Without Warning

At 2051ET, Japanese government bond futures suddenly halted trading. There was no limit moves or sudden surge in volume and the Osaka Excchange has confirmed it is investigatingthe reasons for the halt. Following the earlier flash-crash in USDJPY, one wonders just what is going on.. and what is coming?
 /
 President Obama Allows 400,000 Migrants From Central America Since 2012
Breitbart - President Barack Obama has allowed some 400,000 unskilled Central American migrants to pour into the nation’s schools, job-markets, welfare offices, hospitals and jails since 2012, according to government data. By the end of June, he had cleared the path for 214,982 “unaccompanied” youths plus 181,456 women and children to come in to the country since October 2012. That adds up to 396,428 migrants — with three months to go before the end of the 2016 fiscal year in October. The inflow is so large that it is greater than the number of African-American men who will turn 18 this year. It is equal to roughly 40 percent of the annual inflow of 1 million legal immigrants, and equal to 10 percent of all young Americans who join the workforce each year. Judging by prior years, the government will allow another 27,000 unskilled welfare dependent, Spanish-speaking, Central American migrants into the country by the end of October. That would bring the five-year total to 423,438 migrants, who are sent into the stressed neighborhoods and struggling schools where working-class Americans live. 
/
 HAZMAT situation at Fairchild Air Force Base sends 14 to hospital
RT - An unknown hazardous material at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington has sickened 24 people, 14 of whom were treated by base personnel and sent to a local hospital. The affected building has been evacuated. The incident took place around 8:30 a.m. local time at the base’s Logistics Readiness Squadron in Building 2045, Air Force officials told KXLY. Fairchild Air Force Base is located approximately 12 miles (20 km) southwest of Spokane. It’s host unit is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing, which is assigned to the Air Mobility Command’s 18th Air Force. It opened in March 1942. Emergency responders are at the scene and investigating the incident, base officials said. The two dozen base personnel “reported feeling affected by an unknown irritant,” the base said in a statement. Of them, four are in the emergency room at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Jennifer Semenza, a hospital spokeswoman, told the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
/
 U.S. Flags Disappear From Atop Philadelphia City Hall, City Official Says They Were Added To DNC Stage
Government Slaves - The six flag poles on top of the Philadelphia City Hall are bare Thursday morning. One city official who asked not to be named told The Daily Caller that the U.S flags typically atop the City Hall flagpoles have been moved to the Democratic National Convention stage. Lauren Hitt, communications director for the City of Philadelphia, told TheDC that the flags were taken down for “safety reasons.” “We took them down for safety reasons. Every time we needed to lower them to half-staff, we needed to get a roofer down here who would then have to use 2 ladders to get to where the flags were. Given the thunderstorms, expected flash floods and extreme heat we’ve experienced this week, we didn’t feel it was safe,” she said. Hitt has not yet responded to an inquiry from TheDC about where the flags previously flying currently are.
/
 Amazing Trump Ad: “The Difference TV Ad” Starring Dorothy Woods, Widow of Ty Woods
Great America PAC released a powerful new ad this week starring Dr. Dorothy Woods widow of Tyrone Woods’s…. In the ad, Dr. Woods calls out Hillary Clinton’s disgraceful dismissal of the true origins of the attack during a congressional hearing, then she calls for a leader we can trust – Donald Trump.

/
 Oil Industry About To Be Burned Again By Fall In Oil Prices
Zero Hedge - The current oil-price rally led many to believe that a full price recovery was underway. But inventories have been too large for that to happen short of epic supply interruptions. U.S. rig counts have surged as oil prices sink. Capital is driving the oil markets and it enables bad behavior by producers. That is why oil prices will stay low. The oil-price rally that began in February is over.Prices rose from $26 per barrel to $51 by early June and are now below $42 (Figure 1). If they fall through $40, the next likely support level is at $36 per barrel.
/
Ford Plunges After Warning "We Don't See Growth", Warns US Auto Industry "Has Plateaued"
Zero Hedge - The reason Ford stock is plunging this morning is not so much the company's earnings miss, when the US auto giant reported Q2 EPS of $0.52, below the $0.60 expected, but because in some startling language, CEO Mark Fields laid out a very gloomy picture of the future…. A key part of the problem is one shown here repeatedly over the past year, namely the troubling increase in auto inventories, which are now at 5 year highs, and the inventory to sales ratio back to levels seen during the last recession…. “What we’re seeing is that over time, particularly as the U.S. industry has started to plateau, we’ve seen a very gradual, modestly rising incentive level,” Shanks said later in a conference call with analysts. Ford lowered its estimates for full-year industry sales in the U.S. saying second half sales will be "much weaker than normal" and said next year's sales will be even weaker…. And while we await Santander Commercial to file its delayed, and adjusted, earnings report, it appears that even without the hard data one can conclude that the subprime driven auto-boom, which propelled the auto industry over the past two years, has finally ended.
/
 Restaurant Recession Could Signal Tough Times for U.S. Economy Flagging U.S. restaurant sales-we warn investors that restaurant-industry sales tend to be the 'canary that lays the recessionary egg
/
 retirement-bail-in
 New legislation proposes to 'bail in'Social Security : But by the time their retirement comes, the program will have likely already run out of money.
 Social Security is BROKE and We the American People will be Bailing It Out--NEW MANDATORY SAVINGS PLAN WILL BE ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO 'PICK YOUR POCKETS'-
Social Security is BROKE and We the American People will be Bailing It Out

In both houses of CONgress, there are bills designed to create another (third) government retirement plan besides Social Security and MyIRA.gov. These insipid and creeping bills will create another avenue for the government to pick the pockets of Americans and their employers.

They are SAVE UP Act (Secure, Accessible, Valuable, Efficient Universal Pension Accounts Act) in the House and American Savings Account in the Senate. These two bills are the first steps to NATIONALIZING your retirement plans. They are creating a new tax to augment the lacking funds of social security (SSA). If you have a 401k, IRA, 403b, 457a or 401a your money is at risk of being moved into supporting the government debt binge and bail in SSA.

For decades’ congress and the executive branch have been writing IOUs to social security to close budget gaps but the well for debt is running dry as many foreign countries are selling our debt. Consequently, SSA will be bone dry in a decade. The era of bail ins is here. Don’t be surprised when you get a letter in the mail stating that your retirement accounts are mandated to hold 20% -50% of the balance in treasuries for “Your Protection” from those wicked Wall Street Bankers.

The time to act is NOW. There is a simple and fast way to get your money out of government hands and into your own hands with real assets with no tax implications. Call Ross Powell at Survival 401k at 844-650-5733 today to learn how and get started right now.
/

Is It Just A Coincidence That Vicious Lightning Storms Hit Philly On The Day Of Hillary Clinton’s Acceptance Speech?

Hillary Clinton at Planned Parenthood - Photo by Lorie ShaullTo quote Hillary Clinton, what a remarkable week it has been at the Democratic National Convention.  Supporters of Bernie Sanders almost rioted several times, most protesters were kept in a “free speech cage” well away from the convention, a handful of delegates decided that it would be a good idea to hoist a Palestinian flag on the floor of the convention on Monday, and there were rumors that there was so little enthusiasm that seat fillers were being hired for Hillary Clinton’s big speech on Thursday night.  But there was some extra excitement on Thursday afternoon when vicious lightning storms forced those working in media tents just outside the Wells Fargo Center to evacuate.  The following comes from CBS News(Read More...)
/

Bye Bye Middle Class: The Rate Of Homeownership In The United States Has Hit The Lowest Level Ever

Abandoned House - Public DomainThe percentage of Americans that own a home has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded.  During the second quarter of 2016, the non-seasonally adjusted homeownership rate fell to just 62.9 percent, which was exactly where it was at when the U.S. Census began publishing this measurement back in 1965.  This is not what a “recovery” looks like.  All throughout the Obama years, the percentage of Americans that own a home has gotten smaller and smaller and smaller.  The reason for this, of course, is that the middle class in America is dying.  Last year, we learned that middle class Americans now make up a minority of the population for the first time ever.  In order to have a high rate of homeownership, you need a thriving middle class, and you can’t have a thriving middle class without good paying middle class jobs.  This is why I write about the evisceration of the middle class so extensively, because the U.S. economy is systematically being hollowed out and most Americans don’t understand what is happening. (Read More....)
/

JAMES O’KEEFE ASSAULTED – THROWN TO GROUND During Undercover Op at DNC (VIDEO)


/

Earnings Down, Housing Declining & Retail Contracting, This Is The Collapsing Economy


/

The Sentencing of Joe Robertson
Jason Van Tatenhove
IMG_2781

This has been a hard piece for me to write. I have rewritten it several times since last week in an attempt to do the justice to this story that the federal court system would not. I have decided to not just try and put forward objective unemotional facts in my writing anymore. Emotions and experience have always been the foundation of every expression I have created whether that be writing for the Oath Keepers, video work, or even doing talk radio. If you look up the definition of Gonzo journalism (while cutting out the drug soaked, prankish preconceptions we have from Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,) it is as follows:

Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first-person narrative. The word “gonzo” is believed to have been first used in 1970 to describe an article by Hunter S. Thompson, who later popularized the style. It is an energetic first-person participatory writing style in which the author is a protagonist, and it draws its power from a combination of social critique and self-satire.[1] It has since been applied to other subjective artistic endeavors.

I feel that when dealing with the experiences and emotions that surround the Liberty Movement, it takes an emotional point of reference to adequately portray these experiences. These are the stories of people just like you and me that have, more often than not, lost everything due to their interactions with the powers that be.  We need to keep this frame of reference in order to know just what they are going through.

So here is my experience as it relates to the Sentencing of Joe Robertson.

My daughter Lux and I began our journey to the Federal Court House in Missoula, Montana last Tuesday. Lux is always begging me to come with to the events that I cover. But I will not allow her to come to anything that has the potential to turn dangerous. As I had spoken to most of the organizers for the protest that was scheduled to go on before Joe’s sentencing, I knew that it was planned to be a very peaceful and solemn event. I thought it would be good for her to see what political activism was and how it relates to the exercise of our constitutional rights. I think that people were generally surprised by the fact that all of the protestors were unarmed.

We all met up the evening before Joe’s court date, at a cheap motel, a few blocks from the court house. It was warm and pleasant as we shared a meal cold cut sandwiches and huckleberry ice cream. We met new friends and were reunited with old ones. It had the feel of a family reunion on a road trip.

I am so glad that we were able to spend some time with Joe and his wife Carrie. I am grateful we were able to make some good memories before their nightmare truly begins. The fact that the next day, some very bad things could (and did,) happen to this jovial old man who shares the same love of dogs that my daughter does; that he and his wife would have their rights stripped away one by one,  (the right to freedom of expression, to self defense, to privacy, and so many more,) and could quite possibly lose everything including their home of over 40 years and Joe’s freedom is hard to explain to a 10-year-old. The difficulty was only compounded by explaining that the government can take this all away, did take this all away, and why would they take this all away? Not because Joe murdered anyone, not because he kept human slaves, or some other atrocity that one would expect for this type of sentencing, but because Joe put ponds onto his own property.

The Government is saying that Joe mislead the people, but the facts are, Joe owned the property until, through some shenanigans, it was sold from under him at a sheriff’s sale. This is something that Joe is fighting legally and is expected to win. The Forest Service property that Joe supposedly damaged, was the only road going up to his property. He widened out the road to allow his wife to get her wild land firefighting truck up to the property (they made their living and helped to fight community wildfires with this truck.) The other property they had mining claims to. It is also very hard to explain to my daughter why the judge, and even Joe’s defense attorney, would not allow the introduction of two environmental reports and the testimony of an expert witness that would have blown away the prosecution’s narrative. The reports that were completed by Geolex Environmental and Kagel Environmental LLC of Idaho. Both found that Joe did not, in any way, pollute the waterways of the the United States. I have scanned the Kagel Report please click here and read it along with a letter of introduction by Ray Kagel that was submitted to the Court but went unread and unheard. Everything about explaining this case is hard. It illustrates so well how backwards things have become. Though we didn’t need to look hard for evidence supporting just how far gone we now are. As we were in line entering the courthouse, a number of us noticed that on the second floor of the Federal building across the street, there was an open window and a darkened room where 3 individuals appeared to be taking all of our pictures and recording us on video and audio. It was hard to answer my daughter when she asked why they would feel the need for surveillance of a peaceful group of ranchers, families, and concerned citizens.

While we were in the courtroom for close to three and a half hours it became clear that the judge could call upon no finding of the Supreme Court or even the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to justify sentencing Joe as he did. Every single decision they have made in regard to the Clean Water Act and how it relates to Joe’s case has been left with a split decision. It is VERY hard to explain to my daughter how the judge can freely admit to having no legal precedence in this case and still destroy Joe’s life all in the same breath. And still admitting that his court was not the proper venue for this decision. But instead of declaring a mistrial or dismissing the case, he sentenced Joe to 18 months behind bars with 3 years of probation to follow. He stripped him of his rights and fined him hundreds of thousands of dollars. This case will probably go on to the Supreme Court. I hope and pray that we can bring enough attention to the plight of Joe Robertson and others like him to make a difference next time.

For now, Joe is under arrest and has not been given the option of bail. It seems that the prosecution felt strongly that the people that were there standing with Joe posed a clear and present danger and that if he were left to his freedom, a stand off might occur. Never mind the fact that Joe has always maintained he would never turn to violence in his plight, that he publically stated to anyone who would listen, that he didn’t want anyone to get arrested or hurt because of him. Never mind that he even spoke those very words to the judge and all in the court room, yet he was remanded immediately into custody. I’ll leave you with the last words spoken in the Court room that day. With tears streaming down her face Joe’s wife cried out to the powers that be “I hope it was worth it for you…You ruined my life as well!”

The Sentencing of Joe Roberts


/

TRUNEWS 07/27/16 Rick Wiles | Reality On-Demand


/

TRUNEWS 07/26/16 Jim Willie | Bankruptcy of The West


/

No comments: