We did it to ourselves

The US is in decline and we did it to ourselves.

The road to oblivion is long and historic but I will offer some items from this past week that illustrate that we are not living in the America our Founding Fathers started for us by their sweat and blood and ideals.

Aside from the glaring photo and headline from this week's Newsweek magazine, based on Fareed Zaharia's book, "The Post-American World," there are three additional items that have recently gotten under my skin.

The first is the decision in February by President Bush to invite a dilution of our military sovereignty.

Our US Constitution, in Article I, Section 8: Congress shall have Power to: [Clause 15]: provides for "calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and Repel Invasions..." Normally, when foreign troops enter US spoil, we repel them. Not so any more, necessarily. Now, we invite them. Picture a foreign troop member pointing a gun at you and commanding you to go here or do this, and know that the President of the United States invited troops to oppress you.

In 1871 all foreign troops were ordered off American soil, as well as the removal of all foreign flags. All the controls and barriers which have served this country so well for over 100 years to prevent a dictatorial government from forming, are invested in protections which delegated all matters to the states which the Constitution did not specifically give to the Federal Government. Among those protections was Posse' Comitatus.

"The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1385) passed on June 16, 1878 after the end of Reconstruction. The Act prohibits most members of the federal uniformed services (the Army, Air Force, and State National Guard forces when such are called into federal service) from exercising nominally state law enforcement police or peace officer powers that maintain "law and order" on non-federal property (states, their counties and municipal divisions) in the former Confederate states."

"The statute generally prohibits federal military personnel and units of the United States National Guard under federal authority from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress. The Coast Guard is exempt from the Posse Comitatus Act."

"The Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act substantially limit the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement. "

But the heck with that, let's ask Canada to bring in their troops. Is this agreement between the US and Canada, signed in February, "evidence of a plan for a "North American union" where foreign troops, not bound by U.S. laws, could be used by the American federal government to override local authorities"? A news article goes on to say, "Co-operative militaries on Home Soil!" notes one website. "The next time your town has a 'national emergency,' don't be surprised if Canadian soldiers respond. And remember - Canadian military aren't bound by posse comitatus. Posse comitatus is a U.S. law that prohibits the use of federal troops from conducting law enforcement duties on domestic soil unless approved by Congress." Congress was not consulted in this agreement, signed by fiat and not by consensus, vote, or even discussion.

Secondly, Presidential candidate and likely nominee Barack Obama has introduced a Senate bill, s2433, which would require the U.S. to initially direct .7 percent of our GNP into the United Nations coffers for distribution as they see fit, for "food" to third world nations. This is a global tax on you, for mandatory poverty relief. Decisions about which are left to the UN and not to any elected representative. The bill passed by voice in the house and by voice from the Committee on Foreign Relations and is now before the Senate.

Additionally, the U.N. would have the power to increase this rate of taxation, again, without elected US representation. I believe we went through this once, in 1776.

The U.S. would be required to surrender some of its sovereignty over foreign aid by putting it under UN control. And, think, someone has to collect our funds, manage their dispersion, and provide oversight. That someone would not be the US. That someone is a one-world entity, the United Nations.

Further, Obama's bill would force the U.S. to sign onto the U.N.’s Millennium Declaration, which would commit us to "banning small arms and light weapons." The United States second amendment to the constitution declares our sovereign right to keep and bear arms. If the bill passes, that right would evaporate, poking another hole in our Constitution, which already looks like Swiss cheese. Track Obama's bill here.

The United States of America...it was nice knowin' ya!