We are the Grassroots:

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Prov 28:1

The wicked flee when no one pursues,

But the righteous are bold as a lion.

NKJV

My original intention was to begin looking at how to reform and modernize our current tax code with this posting but I currently find myself in the middle of the tax season and things are already getting busy.  I expect things to begin quieting down for a bit after February 9 as the early filers complete their returns so I now expect to begin the series on taxation with my posting of February 15 in order for me to conduct some research after the ninth.  In the meanwhile, I will continue posting on Wednesdays and Saturdays as I usually do commenting on the current events of the day. 

There is much concern right now about the intrusion by the government into the private lives of citizens using the NSA.  We also have a similar issue where the government, or I mean the out of control executive branch of the government, has essentially legalized the targeting of political enemies of the administration using the IRS. 

The fourth amendment of the Constitution says the following, 

Amendment IV

Ratified December 15, 1791

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreason­able searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.  (1)

The authors of the Constitution and this amendment had just fought a bitter and deadly war to gain independence from the British Crown.  The last thing they wanted was to set up another governmental tyranny and have to fight another war to gain independence.  They also understood that there could be no liberty in the nation unless people could have a reasonable expectation of privacy of their persons, houses, papers, and effects.  Some may argue that the amendment does not cover communications in an electronic form such as texts and emails since they are not on paper.  However, a text or email is still a written communication the only difference is that a video screen replaces the paper. 

According to an article appearing in the Guardian on January 16, the NSA collects millions of text messages daily in ‘untargeted’ global sweeps.  (2)  The term untargeted means that the NSA has no probable cause that a crime, or potential crime, has been committed and is simply collecting random data.  This untargeted data mining is simply the cyber version of what was occurring prior to the Revolutionary War when British soldiers could force their way into a person’s home and search their persons, houses, papers, and effects with no reasonable cause. 

The reason the King of England wanted to do this was to exercise his authority over his subjects living on the other side of the pond.  Is it any different here when the NSA, under the authority of the President of the United States, feels they can randomly search through our electronic communications without any probable cause?  It is time for us to demand our government adhere to the constitutional restrictions place upon it by the fourth amendment. 

Then it appears we will have to deal with the IRS attempting to stop enemies of this administration from fielding conservative Tea Party candidates in the 2014 election using the IRS.  The difference this time, however, is that their intrusion has essentially been declared legal.  The administration looks to accomplish this through a new set of proposed IRS rules. 

The new rules are designed to make it virtually impossible for a tax-exempt nonprofit group from discussing pressing issues that affect communities today.  In essence, if this Administration, or any future administration, declares something as political, organizations would lose, or not be granted tax-exempt status.  (3)  The rules would prohibit Tea Party organizations from speaking of the Constitution, issuing nonpartisan voter guides or mounting nonpartisan voter registration drives as these activities are now considered political.  (3) 

This is precisely the strategy used successfully by the Administration to silence opposition voices in the 2012 Presidential Election and I guess Democrats believe this strategy will help them maintain control of the Senate and regain control of the House of Representatives in the 2014 election.  However, I believe much has changed since November of 2012.

During the 2012 election, Obamacare was a hot topic but since no implementation of the program had occurred, it was easy for the administration to paint a picture of Romney and other Republicans only wanting to smear the first black President.  However, now that we have been subjected to the failure of Obamacare to launch, it is no longer theory that Obamacare is a failure but reality. 

So even if the NSA is listening to our emails and texts and the IRS is harassing us, the facts are out in the open now, the Obama Administration has failed.  The condition of our country has not improved for many continue to be out of work and have even given up hope of finding a job.  Many have seen their hours and income cut while seeing the price of health insurance, and many other things increase. 

What our country needs are leaders that will return to policies that have made this nation great.  This means unleashing the power of individuals and entrepreneurs in our country who throughout our history have created jobs and wealth for our nation.  As long as I have a voice, a keyboard, and a phone, I intend to work hard and get the word out and support candidates that support returning our nation back to the principles that made it great. 

We are the grassroots and this election we are going to be speaking loudly.   

1. Hillsdale College. The Constitution of the United States of America. [book auth.] Hillsdale College. The U.S. Constitution: A Reader. Hillsdale MI : Hillsdale College Press, 2012.

2. Ball, James. NSA collects millions of text messages daily in 'untargeted' global sweep. www.theguardian.com. [Online] The Guardian, January 16, 2014. [Cited: January 20, 2014.] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/16/nsa-collects-millions-text-messages-daily-untargeted-global-sweep.

3. Campbell, Greg. Obama Attempting to Make IRS Targeting Tea Party Legal. www.tpnn.com. [Online] Tea Party News Network, December 13, 2013. [Cited: December 27, 2013.] http://www.tpnn.com/2013/12/13/obama-attempting-to-make-targeting-tea-party-legal/.