Is George Orwell's 1984 Coming True?

" Here is a good article I just read. Its getting to get real...."

Urban Man-


In February 1937, an idealistic and ungainly Englishman in his thirties traveled to Spain to take his place in the trenches at the Aragón front to defend the Republic. His name was Eric Arthur Blair, remembered by history as George Orwell. This month, 80 years after the start of that adventure, Richard Blair, the writer’s only son, now a 72-year-old retired agricultural engineer, visited Huesca to take part in the opening of a major exhibition about his father.

Talking to EL PAÍS during his brief stopover in Madrid on his way back to London, Blair evoked the figure of Orwell and commented on the relevance of his legacy and the enormous interest in his final novel, 1984, which has become an international best-seller since Donald Trump became US president.

“It’s true that in recent weeks, with the references in the United States to ‘alternative facts’ [cited by Kellyanne Conway, one of the president’s top advisors], there has been increased interest in his book. But my father has never gone out of fashion.” The book was not so much a prophecy as a fable about Nazi and Stalinist totalitarianism, says Blair, although as he points out, some details from the novel that once seemed like science fiction have been part of our everyday life for some time, such as security cameras that watch our movements, or what some companies know about us from our internet activity, or how we use our credit cards. “Society has evolved toward what he saw. The world is becoming Orwellian,” he says.

Blair is patron of the Orwell society, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to spreading knowledge about the life and work of the writer, as well as debate about ideas, and that remains scrupulously neutral about politics. Which might explain why he is so careful in choosing his words when talking about Trump.

“I think that there is a lot of tension and compression in the White House right now. It is true that Trump is attacking the press, but he is a complete enigma, they are all maneuvering and learning to live with each other,” he says.

Nevertheless, he says he cannot help but be happy at the hike in sales of his father’s books, particularly as he inherited the publishing rights (“which expire in 2020,” he points out). But he recognizes concerns that this has been due to the public finding parallels between the current situation and the dystopia Orwell described.

Orwell and his wife Eileen adopted Richard in 1944. Ten months later, Eileen died on the operating table. Some of the friends of the tuberculous-stricken writer suggested that he give up custody of the child but he ruled out the possibility. The relationship between Orwell and his adopted son became closer when the two of them moved to the Scottish island of Jura, chosen because it was a healthier location for Orwell to overcome his illness and where it was so cold that “if you move six feet away from the fireplace, you freeze.”

Blair’s memories from those days are of a loving father who made wooden toys, who had a strange sense of humor, and whose parenting style had none of the political correctness of modern upbringings. On one occasion he allowed the three-year-old Richard to smoke from a pipe filled with tobacco collected from his cigarette butts. The result, aside from a vomiting fit, was that the child saw himself temporarily vaccinated against the vice of smoking.

It was on Jura that Orwell finished 1984, writing in his room during the day and spending the evenings with the child. One of their favorite activities was fishing, especially for the lobsters that filled out a diet otherwise made frugal by post-war rationing. One weekend in August 1947, however, on a journey back from a weekend of relaxation on the west side of Jura, their boat sank and they almost drowned. Blair says Orwell’s health suffered as a result. David Astor, owner of The Observer newspaper, which published the writer’s work, asked to be allowed import the newly discovered antibiotic streptomycin from the United States, with which he was treated between December 1947 and July 1948 in a hospital near Glasgow. But his efforts were in vain: Orwell developed an allergy to the medication. “His nails fell out and blisters appeared on his lips,” Richard recalls. The writer died in January 1950 at age of 46, when his son was about to celebrate his sixth birthday.

What is the most important lesson that Orwell taught us? For journalists, says Blair, there are many. “To be honest. The most important things are facts which can be corroborated, not reality as you want it to be. Journalists today do not have time to check facts, and errors are perpetuated and multiplied on the internet until they become true.” The writer’s son also recalls Orwell’s six rules for clear writing from his 1946 essay Politics and the English Language. “Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print; Never use a long word where a short one will do; If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out; Never use the passive where you can use the active; Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent; Break any of these rules sooner than say anything barbarous.”

Blair finished up with his father’s definition of liberty: “If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”

Blair is particularly concerned about the lack of dialogue in contemporary society. “All people do is shout at one another, without actually listening.” And he is surprised to see young people who, instead of speaking face to face, spend all day staring into their smartphones. “Even couples in restaurants! Are they communicating with each other via text messages?!” he jokes. And what would Orwell make of the 21st century, the era of the internet, great scientific advances and post-truth?

“Ah, now that’s the million-dollar question. But it’s impossible to get into anyone’s head. Nor to come up with the answer by reading his books. If he were still alive he would be 113, and would have had a lot of new influences… There’s no point in speculating.” As such, we don’t know, and we can’t know. But he does go as far as to assume one thing: whatever his thoughts, they would be characterized by common sense.

This article was first posted on El Pais
http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/02/21/inenglish/1487677236_774641.html

Would Obama Start A War To Stay In Office

This is an article that just came out and serves out a book end to my earlier article addressing a reader's concern on possible martial law in the near future. This article is by Michael Synder writing for the International Forecaster. If any "event" that serves as an excuse for the Administration to forestall the elections, can also certainly be used to nationalize assets including bank and retirement account as well as mandate gold and silver bullion from one ounce rounds to higher weights, be exchange with the U.S. government.

[Source:http://theinternationalforecaster.com]

Why Threaten North Korea And China? Would Obama Start A War To Stay In Office?

Is Barack Obama trying to start a war, and will that war be used as an excuse to stay in office once his
term is over? Late in his second term, Obama is starting to become extremely aggressive with the rest of the world. He just angered China by sailing an aircraft carrier task force past disputed islands in the South China Sea, he is provoking North Korea by simulating an invasion of that nation during a military exercise that is going to involve more than 300,000 troops, and he is backing Saudi Arabia and Turkey as they make moves that could very well start World War III in the Middle East. If a war did begin, that could give Obama the excuse that he needs to exercise his emergency powers, and that could potentially include suspending the election that is scheduled for November.

I know that all of this sounds a little bizarre, but it would help to explain Obama’s extremely aggressive behavior lately. For example, why is the U.S. military risking a major incident on the Korean peninsula? North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is about as paranoid as they come, and he is extremely alarmed by the massive military exercise that is about to begin in South Korea. More than 300,000 troops are gathering for what is being billed as the biggest military exercise in the history of that nation. Reportedly, U.S. and South Korean forces plan to simulate an invasion of North Korea and practice the elimination of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction.

In response to these “exercises”, Kim Jong Un has placed his nuclear weapons on standby for “use at
any moment”, and he is warning that North Korea may launch a “preemptive and offensive nuclear
strike”… North Korea warned it would make a “preemptive and offensive nuclear strike” in response to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises that began Monday.

The news was announced in a statement by the National Defense Commission of North Korea and
published in the state-run Korean Central News Agency. “As the joint military exercises to be staged by the enemies are regarded as the most undisguised nuclear war drills aimed to infringe upon the sovereignty of the DPRK, its military counteraction will be more preemptive and offensive nuclear strike to cope with them,” the statement read.

I don’t care how crazy someone is – if they have nuclear weapons and they threaten to hit the United
States with a preemptive nuclear strike, I am going to get alarmed. Remember, North Korea did claim to successfully test a hydrogen bomb in January, and the North Koreans did successfully launch a satellite into orbit in February. The North Koreans absolutely hate us. In fact, hatred for the United States is one of the pillars of their society. I know that may sound strange to many Americans, but it is true. If you can believe it, each year they actually have an entire month during which hatred for America is celebrated. Tensions on the Korean peninsula are running extremely high, and a single hydrogen bomb could potentially kill millions of people.

So why risk an incident?

Why provoke North Korea more than necessary?

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has been provoking China in the South China Sea. Yes, it is a problem that China has seized control of several important islands in the Spratly and Paracel island chains. But there are other ways to handle this crisis rather than trying to show how tough you are.
Last month, China deployed surface-to-air missile systems on the disputed islands. Obama’s response was to sail an aircraft carrier task force past the islands to see if China would start shooting at it. The
following comes from an article about this incident that was posted by the Navy Times…

The U.S. Navy has dispatched a small armada to the South China Sea. The carrier John C. Stennis, two destroyers, two cruisers and the 7th Fleet flagship have sailed into the disputed waters in recent days, according to military officials. The carrier strike group is the latest show of force in the tense region, with the U.S. asserting that China is militarizing the region to guard its excessive territorial claims. Stennis is joined in the region by the cruisers Antietam and Mobile Bay, and the destroyers Chung-Hoon and Stockdale. The command ship Blue Ridge, the floating headquarters of the Japan-based 7th Fleet, is also in the area, en route to a port visit in the Philippines. Stennis deployed from Washington state on Jan. 15.

Do we really want to go to war with China over these islands?

The first time we sailed a military vessel through those waters after China had claimed those islands, a Chinese state-run newspaper boldly declared that China “is not frightened to fight a war with the U.S. in the region“.

Most Americans don’t realize this, but our relationship with China is rapidly going downhill. There is
more to this than just the South China Sea, but without a doubt this is a major point of contention as far as the Chinese government is concerned.

At the same time, we keep getting closer to World War III erupting in the Middle East. Last month,
defense ministers from 49 different nations met in Brussels to discuss a ground invasion of Syria, and since that time forces have been massing in northern Saudi Arabia and southern Turkey. If a ground invasion of Syria does take place, the goal would be to go to Damascus and take down the
Assad regime. That would put “coalition forces” in direct conflict with Iran, Hezbollah and most importantly the Russians. It could very easily be the spark that sets off World War III, but Saudi Arabia, Turkey and their allies will never go ahead without the direct approval of the Obama administration. Barack Obama does not need all of these flash points to erupt in order to evoke his emergency powers.

He just needs one of them.

Let me repeat that..... He just needs one of them.

Throughout American history, presidents have always had emergency powers, but since 9/11 these
powers have been greatly enhanced. Given the right circumstances, a U.S. president could now essentially declare himself (or herself) a dictator for the duration of the crisis.He just needs one of them.

Of course the word “dictator” would never actually be used, but that would be the reality of the situation. And if we had a “national emergency” that was bad enough, Barack Obama would have the authority to postpone or suspend the upcoming election. He just needs one of them.

Let us hope and pray that does not happen, but the truth is that such a scenario could actually take
place. Hopefully what we are witnessing around the globe right now are not attempts by Obama to artificially manufacture such a criss. Let us hope and pray that when his time is up that Obama is ready to gracefully move into retirement.He just needs one of them.

Urban Man

Readers Concern on Martial Law

I am received several e-mails from readers who are predicting that there will be something in this year's election cycle, such as Hillary Clinton being a nominee then indicted leaving no democratic candidate, or some type of mass shooting or terrorist attack, or an Iranian nuclear attack on Israeli, or a huge military defeat for the U.S. such as North Korea attack or striking at South Korea, or one of our aircraft carriers being sunk, or a combination of events that will allow Obama to push off the elections, make a recess appointment to the Supreme Court, implement some more constitutional busting executive orders and start cracking down on right wing talk show radio and gun rights.

I can tell you the chances of anything like that happening are bleak, very remote. There could be an issue with the Democratic nominee for President, being Clinton, indicted for criminal acts relating to her violations of the safeguarding national security information and leaving the Democratic ticket open. Sure the Libs will whine and tap dance about extending the elections in order to give their new candidate time to campaign, but an indictment of Hillary will not be forthcoming. The current Administration will rationalize that this would be bad for America and especially bad for securing Obama's legacy (no comment there) with another four years of Liberal Rule over the U.S.

As far as martial law or executive actions curtailing the second amendment - martial law would not be far behind if there was drastic executive orders undermining the second amendment.

I believe that the majority of Americans would continue on with the lives if the Administration banned assault rifles, or banned multiple sales of guns, or restricted ammunition purchases, or any number of things they really, really want to do. Yes, they would get away with it. Sure, there would be court challenges and a lot of hulabalu from the right, but it would die down.

It would not be until these restrictions were made retroactive and police action against suspected violators were commenced until there would be backlash. And backlash there would be. What you see with the current political angry propelling Donald Trump in the polls, would be tame by comparison.

I am reminding of an article written by former Navy SEAL Matthew Bracken and author of the series "Enemies: Foreign and Domestic". In a open letter to all Law Enforcement Officers, both local, state and Federal warning them of the consequences for a police enforced unconstitutional gun restrictions or confiscation, in part he wrote:

"I am telling you now that disastrous unintended consequences will happen if Congress passes new laws banning presently legal firearms. To make it very easy to remember, and in the spirit of our beloved Department of Homeland Security’s old color-coded security threat levels, let me spell out three lines of demarcation.

The Yellow Line:

The yellow warning line will be crossed with national gun registration laws, including laws forbidding private gun sales without government permission. When that law passes, millions of Americans will feel that they have been pushed directly to the edge of the abyss above the mass graves of history. Defenders of the Second Amendment know what happened in Turkey, the USSR, Germany, China, and other nations that fell under totalitarian rule: in every case a necessary preliminary step on the road to genocide was national gun registration, followed by confiscation. The Jewish survivors of the Nazi Holocaust say, “Never again!” And so do we.

The Red Line:

The red line will be crossed with the passage of laws mandating that currently owned weapons, ammunition magazines, and ammunition quantities above a certain number must be turned in to authorities or destroyed, and thereafter their simple possession will be a felony. At that point, the nation will be on a hair trigger, with a thousand flaring matches nearing a thousand primed cannon fuses aimed directly at the next Fort Sumter.

The Dead Line:

The next line requires a bit of history to explain. In some primitive Civil War POW camps, where lack of funding or logistical constraints did not allow the construction of proper fences, a knee-high continuous railing of wooden slats encircled the prison grounds. Guards with rifles were positioned at the corners and in crude towers. If a prisoner so much as stepped over the narrow plank, he was shot dead without warning, obviating the need for a real fence to contain him. Hence the term “dead line.” Cross the line and people die, right now.

And this is what liberal Utopians must understand: after passing the yellow line with national gun registration and transfer requirements, and the red line by making possession of currently legal firearms felonious, the dead line will be breached with the first SWAT raids upon citizens suspected of owning legal firearms made illegal by the new gun control laws. People will die resisting confiscation, in large numbers.

Confiscation crosses the dead line, make no mistake about it."

Heck, I can't add anything to that. Everybody who has not read everything that Mathew Bracken has written, needs to do so now and make it a priority. Start with this website then order his books.

[Source: www.enemiesforeignanddomestic.com/]

Urban Man

What About This Jade HELM 15 Issue?

[From Urban Man: There is a lot of misinformation out there about military exercises (Jade Helm) and rumors about U.N. troops deployed to the U.S. for some nefarious activity or another. First of all, Jade Helm is an exercise that has been going on in various capacities for several years. Nothing to worry about here guys. No rehearsals for martial law, no taking over Wal-Marts, or anything like that. But thanks for the being suspicious. Being suspscious is good as long as you apply some critical thinking.]

The "U.N. Invasion" should simply be called the "U.N. Non-invasion". Jeez. The picture of rail cars transporting military vehicles could be an Army unit rail hauling to a training event or returning to their home base from a sea port of entry after an overseas deployment. This is a recent articles spining people up with B.S.

UN Medic Units Photographed On Truck On 'Due Course' To Texas - California Military  Train Stretched As Far As The Eye Can See!

While the story on Patriot News Wire tells us that United Nations medical vehicles have been spotted all across the southern portion of America in recent days, a reader of the website got a picture of one of these 'transportations' on I-10 in Mississippi, a highway that runs east to west and according to the photographer, on a due course to Texas.

Texas is one of the states listed as hostile in the upcoming Jade Helm 15 US Army 'exercise' that many are concerned will 'turn hot' and result in gun-confiscation and/or martial law.

The build-up of military vehicles in the southern regions is now undeniable and as we can see in the 1st video and image below from Dahboo77, a military train has just been photographed in southern California with heavy duty military equipment that stretches as far as the eye can see.

With government paid trolls and the ignorant lashing out on comment boards trying to downplay Jade Helm 15, such as several trolls outed here on ANP, they are largely striking out as US patriots drown out the trolls overused spewing of phrases such as 'time to take your meds'. These trolls haven't yet realized that Americans who have largely 'awoken' to what is REALLY going on here choose to believe what they are seeing with their own eyes rather than to believe more government lies and 'troll droppings'.

Phase 2 of Jade Helm 15 is emerging and that the UN is preparing for gun confiscation  in America

From Patriot News Wire: Breaking Jade Helm Update! United Nations Medical Vehicles Spotted Traveling Throughout The South!
While the Government continues to deny that ANYTHING out of the ordinary is going on in regard to Operation Jade Helm 15, and the laimstream media continues to mock anyone who is genuinely concerned, watchful citizens across the nation have been keeping their eyes and ears open, like true patriots and minutemen.

For the past week, people have been reporting seeing United Nations medical vehicles traveling throughout the Southern U.S. Finally, one curious and concerned citizen was able to get an actual picture of one.

[Article from: All News Pipeline]

Is Global War Plunging Us into a Collapse?

A story titled "(Is) World War 3 coming? U.S. Army drafts global warfare, 'total war' blueprint." from the examiner.com resurrects prepper thoughts on the viability of a nuclear war causing the collapse, or at least making us think about the possibility and perhaps re-prioritizing it within your threat list of collapse catalysts.

http://www.examiner.com/article/world-war-3-is-coming-u-s-army-drafts-global-warfare-total-war-blueprint

Is World War 3 coming? If you ask conspiracy theorists, the answer is an unequivocal "yes." As tempers continue flaring between North Korea, China, Russia, Iran West, China, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), and the West, war prognosticators and conservative pundits, who rail on Barack Obama at every juncture, are fanning flames of fear that global armed conflict is imminent, a third world war, if you will. A stunning report charges that U.S. Army brass are preparing for international confrontation as if World War 3 will breakout. Additionally, the warfare blueprint being drafted has "ominous" implications.

The news site, InfoWars posted a telling headline on October 14 titled "US ARMY DRAFTS BLUEPRINT FOR WORLD WAR III," with a snippet teaser sub-headline that read, "There will be boots and plenty of them." The title immediately evokes thoughts of Armageddon from atomic warfare. However, this latest bit of news, rather, offers objective evidence that the Pentagon is laying out a strategic plan to wage global warfare or “total war,” not only on long-standing hostile nations and regimes, but domestic war on its citizenry should the need arise. Could it simply be part of strategic forward-thinking? Info delves deep into the latest developments with but suggests war-planning, even a preemptive strike, cannot be ruled out.

The bold World War 3 predictions come on the heels of a military document released during the Association of United States Army (or AUSA) conference that took place this week. During the yearly event, top brass from U.S. Armed Forces, experts in armed conflict and private sector representatives, who showcase the latest ballistic and artillery systems, get together and talk about the future of the rules of engagement. It's tantamount to a road or trade show.

During the conference, Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Raymond Odierno emerged as the most memorable speaker who talked explicitly about the reduced size of military personnel due to Congress’ impasse over Sequestration. In his opinion, if World War 3 or some other regional conflicts breaks out, he fears the current numbers of reserve and active duty soldiers are not enough to fight a potential ground war or incursion of the homeland.

IW claims that the motives behind any pre-war troop buildup falls in line with the United State's quest for global imperialism. Part of that strategy to be the dominant influence on Earth ahead of another world war involves military prowess, much in the way the Roman Empire during the Gallic Wars under the leadership of Julius Caesar.

"What do these words entail? In the case of a confrontation with another nuclear power, they encompass the implementation of a first-strike doctrine of mass annihilation. In regard to the subjugation and domination of other areas of the globe, they call for massive ground operations to quell popular resistance and enforce military occupation."

World War 3, should the unthinkable occur, will not be sparked by extremist groups like the Islamic State or from rouge terrorists lashing out at Western ideology. Instead, according to the documents, a third world war will be aimed at obliterating modernizing nations that could threaten America’s reach and dominance. Sadly, people have to die as a result of this imperialistic stance, sources suggest.

"First and foremost are 'competing powers,' a category that includes China, followed by Russia. In the case of China, the document evinces serious concern over Chinese 'force modernization efforts,' which it says are aimed at achieving 'stability along its periphery,' something that the US military is determined to block. China's military efforts, it states, 'highlight the need for Army forces positioned forward or regionally engaged,' and for 'Army forces to project power from land into the air, maritime, space and cyberspace domains.'"

A potential breakout a third world war, according to the documents is based on what the Found Fathers feared the most – a standing military, according to InfoWars. Lesser countries over millennium have faced growing threats of coups and the U.S. Army is not immune, as evidenced by legislators' patterns of cowering to military generals.

It's clear from today's story that the writer thinks the United States is adopting a pugilist strategy of global imperialism, even on its own soil. On the other hand, the military document, which some purport to be an indication World War 3 is coming and will break out soon, could be part of the Pentagon’s readiness in the event large-scale armed conflict ensues. What are your thoughts? Is it an apocalyptic sign of what's to come?

Quarantine of Major Cities Possible

The below article, original titled "Quarantines among legal tools available if Ebola outbreak widens" came from Stars and Stripes on line. The 600 pound Gorilla in the room is how will quarantine be enforced? Martial Law within the requisite lethal force authorization and if major cities are quarantined, local law enforcement assets will not be used - they will be quarantined as well. It will be military units, mostly unfamiliar, and unsympathetic to the population they are controlling. 

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/quarantines-among-legal-tools-available-if-ebola-outbreak-widens-1.308566

As the web of infection widens, questions about the U.S. government’s legal authority to contain the Ebola virus are increasing, even as federal officials attempt to keep public panic at bay by diverting the focus from the hypothetical.

Beyond the traveler screening mandates and medical support already underway, federal officials could take several dramatic steps to protect the United States if the virus reaches epidemic levels. That includes quarantines, a ban on travel to or from foreign countries, and the declaration of a public health emergency that would allow the Health and Human Services Department to waive certain federal requirements and tap into a reserve account to fund response.

The federal government’s powers are ultimately secondary to those of the states, which hold the police power function that gives them the legal authority to isolate infected individuals or force them to accept treatment — similar to criminal arrest or civil commitment. In Texas, health officials in Dallas have quarantined the family of the only Ebola victim, Thomas Duncan, in a house until they are sure they didn't pick up the disease, according to local news reports. His fiancee, her son and two men had to miss a memorial service after Duncan died.

If a state or local jurisdiction response doesn't prevent the spread of a disease to another state, HHS can step in under the Public Health Services Act (PL 78-410). But that would mostly be to provide resources and expertise — not to take over, said Gene Matthews, chief legal adviser to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1979 to 2004.

“It’s not like a military situation, because your troops on this are primarily your state and local health officials, so it has to be collaborative,” said Matthews.

State health officials have the power to quarantine those who are only suspected of infection, and can take major actions such as evacuations or cancellations of sporting events. Governors can call up National Guard units to enforce actions or aid in anything from transportation to security.

A senior National Guard official said this week that he has heard of no direct plans or orders for the Guard’s role in any domestic response to Ebola. The Guard’s medical resources, as well as its experience dealing with bio hazards, could also aid in any response, the official said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau said the force has personnel and resources available to help combat Ebola, both internationally and within the United States. Indeed, the Guard is supporting the current U.S. military mission in West Africa.

“We stand ready to support the needs identified by U.S. government lead agencies,” the spokesman said, adding that the Guard is “actively involved” in the planning process at both the state and federal levels.

The National Guard’s highly trained Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams could be a particularly critical capability in the event of any stateside Ebola outbreak. The Guard has at least one of these teams in each state, territory and Washington, D.C.

The state-controlled units, which are made up of 22 full-time personnel, are trained for a range of missions, including providing immediate response to the release of hazardous materials or other disasters that could result in a catastrophic loss of life and property.

The scope of states’ power in health matters comes mainly from a 1905 Supreme Court ruling in which a Massachusetts man challenged whether a city could require residents to be vaccinated against smallpox.

The justices found in Jacobson v. Massachusetts that the collective right of self-defense prevails over individual rights, as long as due process is ensured, such as the right to challenge the government action.

“Upon principle of self defense, of paramount necessity, a community has a right to protect itself against an epidemic disease,” the Supreme Court ruled.

Much has changed since then. Dozens of states modernized their health codes in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Matthews said. Most states now have a game plan for how to deal with a health crisis, and have conducted training exercises for years.

“I’m not laying awake at night thinking about whether some state official has the legal authority, but whether they have the resources,” Matthews said. “It’s now about the money.”

Federal officials have those resources, and an HHS-declared public health emergency could start the flow of money to local health officials.

Although HHS will remain the lead in coordinating response in nearly every scenario, the administration could call on the Homeland Security Department and its Federal Emergency Management Agency to help wrangle resources, provide shelter and assist with transportation if the disease begins to spread.

A presidential disaster declaration, which would open up so-called Stafford Act (PL 100-707) funding through FEMA, is unlikely considering HHS already has the authority to declare a public health emergency and Congress would likely appropriate emergency funding if there is a need.

“That’s a ‘break glass’ and in extreme type of case,” says Marko Bourne, who served as director of policy and program analysis at FEMA during the George W. Bush administration. “There would truly have to be something that is incredibly widespread across the country that was over and above the additional resources and ability provided under the health declaration. Stafford at that point is almost redundant.”

However, President Barack Obama might find it advantageous to declare a disaster and elevate the emergency management agency to a leadership role if public confidence in HHS and state response begins to diminish, said James Jay Carafano, a vice president at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

“When you lose credibility, you’re toast,” said Carafano. “You could potentially see situations where they jump the threshold pretty quickly because they see pressure that they have to do something.”

The federal government can clamp down on travel to and from the United States for public health reasons. That includes stopping American citizens from visiting certain countries, as well as barring foreigners from entering the United States, according to a Congressional Research Service report on Ebola issues.

The secretary of state can prevent Americans from boarding flights to specific countries under the authority to grant and issue passports. The Supreme Court recognized that power in a 1965 decision, Zemel v. Rusk, upholding travel restrictions to Cuba after the United States cut diplomatic ties with the nation in 1961.

The government can’t criminally charge those who do not comply with the travel ban, however. A second Supreme Court decision in 1967, United States v. Laub, threw out a conspiracy indictment against people who arranged travel to Cuba for dozens of American citizens.

Obama could issue a proclamation to deny entry to any class of foreigners if they “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States,” the CRS report states. Government officials can prevent foreigners “with a communicable disease of public health significance” from entering the country under immigration law.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies could issue directives to airlines, which can refuse transportation to anyone posing a direct threat to the health under Transportation Department regulations.

The Department of Homeland Security and the CDC maintain a public health “Do Not Board” list, the CRS report states. Airlines cannot issue boarding passes to people on the list, who are considered likely to be contagious with a communicable disease, may not adhere to public health recommendations, and are likely to board an aircraft.

The UN Is Preparing to Impose Martial Law On the US

This is an article by Dave Hodges, titled "The UN Is Positioning to Lock Down the US" and published on another site as "The UN Is Preparing to Impose Martial Law On the US", as the word "martial law" spins people up.

Urban Man's Comments: This title stood out for me as I am currently reading the excellent Survivalist series by A. American. The fourth book as recently published and the entire series now includes these titles: Going Home, Surviving Home, Escaping Home and Forsaking Home.

This series prostelizes a collapse of the United States where DHS emerges as the national power, building "refugee camps" where Americans are brutalized and forces into hard, manual labor and where the words freedom or liberty don't mean a damn thing. Can it happen? Essentially, anything is possible when the power and other utilities grid is down for the count.

I think A. American's series is the best series in the Survivalists genre. Realistic as far as what you could expect, and, instructional as you can see potential solutions to the problems that arise in the books. And isn't that why we read these novels? To see problems and situations and ask ourselves what would we do?

While, I do not subscribe to Mr. Hodges fears of a U.N. occupation force enforcing martial law some of the supporting facts either support his hypothesis or are being manipulated to support, namely the purging of the military by the Executive Office, support of the UN small arms (gun ban) treaty which appears to be happening somewhat. As far as FEMA purchases I cannot determine the validity of these.

The UN Is Preparing to Impose Martial Law On the United States?

I have been writing that my military sources tell me that their greatest fears are beginning to become realized because the United States will be, in the relatively near future, this country will be under martial law and the bulk of the occupation force will be comprised by foreign troops operating under the flag of the United Nations. Under the heading, “Hiding in plain sight”, the United Nations is advertising for the following position:

Posting Title: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Officer, P4 Job Title Code: DISARMAMENT, DEMOBILIBATION AND REINTEGRATION OFFICER
Department/Office: Department of Peacekeeping Operations
Duty Station: New York
Job Description: A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration or related area. Experience working within peacekeeping, peace-building or development programs operations is desirable. Experience with small arms control, conflict/post-conflict crisis management, economic recovery is desirable. Experience coordinating multiple partner agencies, funds or programs is desirable.

Analysis of the Job Description

Peacekeeping is normally the euphemism reserved for gun confiscation and population subjugation. If there is any doubt to the veracity of this claim, the following phrase “Experience with small arms control“, should remove any doubt as to what is coming. Further this job description uses phrases such as “demobilization“. Further the phrase “reintegration” is also significant. By definition, what is a re-education camp designed for? Quite simply put, it is designed for reintegration back into society. Back into society from where? This question can be answered with a pair of four letter words, FEMA Camp.

No doubt that some people, wanting to remain in a state of denial, will ignore the term used in the UN job advertisement, “small arms control“, which is significant since because we know that Secretary of State, John Kerry, illegally signed the UN gun ban treaty representing an unconstitutional end run around the Second Amendment. What is highly significant is that nobody seems to be talking with regard to this illegitimate imposition of foreign troops on our soil is represented in the phrase “conflict/post conflict management“! What conflict/post conflict management? Conflict management is another euphemism reserved for one of two possibilities. First, this implies there will be a civil war.

With over 260+ senior military officers fired by Obama for not embracing the future need to fire on American citizens, speaks clearly to this point.

Ask yourself, what would be the one thing that this administration could do that would guarantee a violent response from many of the people? That one thing would be to start seizing private guns. Foreign troops operating under the UN flag. Obama is in the midst of purging the military leadership who will not indiscriminately fire upon American citizens who would resist having their Second Amendment rights obliterated by this present administration. Secondly, in order to create the manufactured need to impose martial law, the administration would need a pretext. I have been covering the pretext for nearly a year. In fact, the pretext has been rehearsed repeatedly since last fall.

Rehearsing for Martial Law

Last fall, FEMA, DHS and select foreign entities extensively rehearsed for the following contingencies in the following list of list of the preparedness and disaster drills planned and carried out over a six week period:

1. FEMA purchase orders for over $14.2 million for MREs and heater meals to be delivered to Region III by October 1st, 2013.
2. FEMA purchase orders for 22 million pouches of emergency water to be delivered to Region III by October 1st, 2013.
3. FEMA purchase orders for $13.6 million for MREs and heater meals to be delivered to Austin, TX. by October 1st, 2013.
4. $11 million in antibiotics to be delivered to FEMA region III by October 1st ordered by CDC
5, Nine-week training course for UN Peacekeepers in CONUS to learn Urban Warfare, English, and US weapons systems beginning late July for 386,000 troops to be completed by October 1st 6. Great Shakeout Drill Scheduled for October 17, 2013
7. More Than 1,000 Banks Plan National Cyber-Attack Drill Oct. 16-17, Oct. 23-24
8. Quantum Dawn’ Is a Cyber-Attack Bank Drill –
9. GridEx2 Nov. 13-14

The Grid EXs drill was the most concerning of these drills because it rehearsed and EMP attack upon our grid and estimates at the time forecasted a 90% mortality rate. in America. following such an event within two years.

The most telling part of these drills is that they all have in common the need to impose strict martial law in which the tenets of EO 13603 will come into play.

Last fall, I expressed serious concerns over so many of these drills taking place in such a short period of time. I raised the question of martial law arising from any one of these events going hot. In hindsight, I think I was too close to the truth as to what is coming because even the Russian media invited me on a news show that is distributed in New York City and Washington DC, as well as in 35 other countries.

On October 28, 2013, I was contacted by reporter and producer, Victoria Mashkova, from the Voice of Russia (formerly Radio Moscow), and was invited on to their radio program to discuss the possibility of martial law coming to America. I accepted and in the early morning hours I participated in a 10 minute interview.

Inside of the United States today, there are untold numbers of Russian troops for which I have received reports of sightings from first-hand witnesses. It is quite apparent that Russian troops will be used as a UN force whose purpose is gun confiscation, American citizen detention and Lord knows what else when martial law is finally declared.

The Russians have a vested interest to conceal their true intentions related to why they have thousands of troops inside of our country. As I lay out the events connected to the interview it will become increasingly clear that I was invited to appear on VOR to completely discredit the notion that America would be going into martial law.

Now, if I was a merely some crazed conspiracy theorist, this Russian version of the mainstream media would just simply ignore me. However, when they go out of their way to discredit my views as it relates to them, they clearly have something to hide and were operating from a state-sponsored agenda.

Voice of Russia Attacked Dave Hodges to Conceal Russian Participation In Martial Law Preparations

After inviting me to appear on the VOR, the producer, Victoria Maskova, had requested a bio which I provided as detailed below:

“I am a retired college basketball coach. A former mental health counselor. I have taught graduate and undergraduate psychology, sociology and research classes.”

At the beginning of the interview, the Russian host, Kate Zickel, introduced me as merely the “Host of The Common Sense Show” and there was no mention of my academic credentials. Immediately, I felt this was an attempt to marginalize my credibility by ignoring the requested credentials I provided VOR with regard to my background in which I characterized myself as a researcher, someone who is knowledgeable about social systems as well as human nature.

Over the past several years, I have done enough mainstream radio media interviews to recognize a “set up” when I see it coming.

Make no mistake about it, VOR is a propaganda instrument of the Russian government and their handling of the interview and post-interview situations pointed to their propagandizing of their interview of me. After the interview, their post-show analysis categorized me as an extremist for stating that America was prepping for martial law. If we were not prepping for martial law then what the hell were the nine referenced FEMA/DHS drills, taking place in a six week period, in which foreign troops played a prominent role, used for?

Look at item number five in last year’s martial law preparation drills. “5, Nine week training course for UN Peacekeepers in CONUS to learn Urban Warfare, English, and US weapons systems beginning late July for 386,000 troops to be completed by October 1st“.

Please note the designation and use of terms for “386,000 troops” and, “UN Peacekeepers in CONUS to learn urban warfare”. This does not leave much to the imagination now does it?

And when the UN does take control, they won't have to round up a large percentage of Americans. Many of them will come willingly to the camps. You can bet on it.

Urban Man

The Secret American Army?

An interesting article sent to me by a another reader, posted on a blog site and written by  Brett Redmayne-Titley. What this letter talks about, open armed conflict in the U.S. is very disturbing as that end would devastate this country. And I know all the arguments about the coming collapse being as devastating as well, but I just hope a solution can be found that keeps this country intact.  I hesitated on posting this, but I am confidant readers can figure out what is B.S. and what is not.

A new American army is growing on American soil. They are prepared.

In hushed tones during conversations across the breadth of the heartland of America there are whispers. Quiet talk. About an army. Of Americans?

An army prepared to defend an increasingly oppressed population craving reprieve from their government’s increasingly draconian methods. This army, they say, is growing.

After firm handshakes all around, Dan T. and Gene R., who I had good reason to believe were both retired military, settled into our task at hand. I was in their company for the day on business. During the one-day meeting Dan and Gene revealed that they were indeed career military. Dan, Army. Gene, retired Navy. I attempted to politely avoid political discussion in the interest of decorum.

So at the first comment on politics from my hosts I took a long deep breath. My opinions, despite being armed with facts, don’t go-over well in conservative America. Much less with ex-military. No doubt, patience would be needed.

Two hours later we clashed the mugs of our third round of beers together in a boisterous toast.

“This country is going to hell!,” I offered just a bit too loudly in the confines of the cramped bar.

“Damn right it is,” agreed Dan. At 6’4”, and a stout 280 pounds, Dan would make a fine nose tackle. “Quite frankly, I’m in favor of ringing America with an expanded Navy to protect us. It’s time our Military went back to protecting our Nation. Leave the world alone. But… the real question right now in America is…,” and he lowered his voice, giving me a direct stare, “are you prepared?”

Indeed America is going to hell. A sleeping America has no idea of the depth of the plot against them. Those few who are paying attention have good reason to fear the direction of their country and their Government.

The savvy American knows about the FEMA incarceration camps. These camps are intended for them. This is confirmed by a leaked two-hundred- fifty-four page US Army manual showing the designs of the camps, defining who is to be culled from the population, and who is to be put to death.

These same Americans also know that their America has recently purchased 1.5 Billion rounds of hollow point ammunition and 800 million rounds of double-aught shotgun shells. This ammo is designed for one purpose; killing… people. While police and National Guard are having trouble getting their own ammo, this massive arsenal is being distributed via the Dept. of Homeland Security to points unknown.

They also know that the FBI formally requested in writing to assassinate with a high powered rifle the leaders of the Houston Occupy camp.

Now, on Tuesday April 29, 2014 the US Supreme Court approved this behavior and a myriad of other authoritarian controls straight from the manuals of Dachau, Auschwitz, or the Gulag.

The informed American should be terrified.

I had heard and read rumblings of a ground-swell movement within the American military. This quiet, passionately pro-American, pro-Constitution, pro-democracy, army is rapidly growing. It has already faced down the US empire twice. Their mission: to save Americans from their Government. They call themselves, “Oath Keepers.”

“I Do Solemnly Swear (Or Affirm) That I Will Uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, Against All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic…Pledging My Life, My Fortune, and My Sacred Honor. So Help Me God.” – US Military Oath of Service.

Oath Keepers are the predictable historical reaction by populations to endemic political, financial, and corporate corruption and the destruction of their society. With a puppet president, malicious congress, and constitutionally irrational court system, to more and more Americans Oath Keepers is becoming the only effective counter weight to a tyrannical empire.

There are approximately 21.5 million military veterans of all ages and ethnic backgrounds in America. Estimates put Oath Keepers membership in excess of 200,000. Within this growing army are every military rank from all four branches of the US military. From Gunny Sergeant to Admiral, from Army Chaplain to Naval Captain, Marine Corp. General to PFC, America’s veteran military corp. remains full of a vast wealth of very expensive and thoroughly trained military.

Oath Keepers include many active duty service men and women who keep their membership very private. Their numbers are reportedly also swelling.

All these men and women were trained to fight. They remember their training. They remember that they are first and foremost American’s, sworn to protect the constitution and the American people. That never changed. These real American patriots have not for gotten the Oath of Service they swore to so many years before.

Few thought the day would come when, rather than providing protection from foreign adversaries, they would actually heed the currently two most important words, “…and Domestic.”

By all current reports Americans hold over 320 million non-military fire arms of all makes, models, and calibers. That figure is only the guns that are accounted for. Actual numbers are higher. With the recent gun buying surge across America, this number is ever rising. Many of these people are buying these weapons whether they are aware of Oath Keepers or not, and hold very similar views on our Government’s authoritarian intentions.

Combine all these weapons with the millions of American veterans and you have a highly trained and well- armed militia ready, willing, and waiting to protect Americans from their own government. Was this not the original wisdom of the inclusion of the American Constitution’s very controversial Second Amendment?

Freedom loving Americans have only two distinct choices. Either use their First Amendment right to assembly and free speech to produce a massive showing of outrage that retrieves the remains of true democracy…

Or… it will be the Second Amendment. Guns.

I asked Dan and Gene to comment.

Dan slams his glass down in agreement, since it is empty, looking intently out from under a beat-up, bleached out, somewhat reddish baseball cap.

“That’s a good way to put it,” he says while eying me carefully over the foam atop a freshly poured beer. “The question really is,” he says again quietly, “are you prepared?”

In America’s desperate condition being prepared runs the gambit from eliminating one’s personal debt, eliminating unnecessary possessions, putting assets into gold or silver, and stocking a sensible amount of supplies and provisions away just in case. It means having the presence of forethought to realize the dire reality of America’s real social and political condition.

It also implies being prepared to protect and defend those possessions, and freedoms, from a growing government tyranny.

A whole lot of well trained, well-armed, Americans have seen this day coming.

The Oath Keeper motto is, “Not On Our Watch!” Their own pro-American, pro-constitutional oath has been sworn by all Oath Keepers whether active military, veterans, police officers, national guardsmen, TSA officials, firemen, or peace officers. The Oath is defined clearly in ten separate guarantees:

Oath Keepers will NOT obey any order to:

1. Disarm the American people.

2. Conduct warrant-less searches of the American people,

3. Detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants”

4. Impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.

5. Invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.

6. Blockade American cities, turning them into giant concentration camps.

7. Force American citizens into any form of detention camps.

8. Assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil.

9. Confiscate the property of the American people.

10. Infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

Only two Days ago the US Supreme Court of the United States formally gave approval for US Government goons to reap all these horrors on all Americans. On Tuesday, the court in Hedges v. Obama, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 13-758, refused to review the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeal’s (traditionally the president’s pocket court) decision to overturn a lower court decision that did, temporarily, protect Americans from these unconstitutional war crimes of Sect. 1021 of the Obama inspired of the National Defense Authorization Act. All ten horrors are, right now, legal across America.

Foolishly I had mistakenly interpreted the Oath of the Oath Keepers to mean that those who take the oath would lay down their weapons under such extreme circumstances.

“Wrong!” said Paul immediately, inching forward and giving me a penetrating glance while setting down his beer. “We’re not laying down our weapons for anyone!”

Gene was also eying me keenly. Quickly forgiving my small indiscretion, he offered support saying, “Yeah. You’re absolutely right about the Oath. But if you don’t have your weapons you’re not going to fight back. That’s what the huge recent increase in gun sales is all about.”

Gene’s a retired Navy aircraft carrier pilot, one of the Navy’s most highly trained servicemen. Of a Bantam weight’s build, and just as feisty, at sixty Gene is looking as youthful as his days in the cockpit. He is just as assured and straight talking.

I told them about the FBI study that concluded that American citizens and their massive private, and growing, arsenal could never defeat the US military, should the populous finally fight back.

Gene smiled slyly, then laughed. “They’ve got that one wrong,” Gene is quite likely correct. Quantifying the totality of a potential armed push back by an armed American public, truly shows the dire consequences about to befall America. It is no wonder that Gene is smiling.

Sadly, that result will be bloodier than the Civil War, just as apocalyptic, and spell the darkest days in the history of America, should it remain a nation when the sands of time have finally cleared the wreckage.

The American Empire has been keeping any news of Oath Keepers out of the media. The regime does not want an example of courage and successful opposition getting to the minds of its subjugated and fearful people. The regime fears the Oath Keepers for a very good reason; this army has already beaten the devil back-down below.

Twice.

When the sequestration cuts agreed to by a criminal congress took effect in late 2013, the Obama administration decided to punish Americans for his failure as president. He proceeded to close the ocean to recreational fishing and boating, and close access to lakes and national parks. His dark minions in the Forest Service went so far as to ring the famous geyser, “Old Faithful,” a US tourist attraction, with a twelve foot high solid plastic fence. This made sure that no-one could see and enjoy it. Tourists who went to the third floor of an adjacent hotel to sneak a peek, were arrested.

Then the puppet went too far.

American veterans come from across America to remember their friends and loved ones at the Vietnam and World War Two war memorials. When Obama closed these, it was a call to action for the Oath Keepers.

Wearing side arms, some in uniform, Oath Keepers showed up en-mass. They proceeded to escort arriving visitors past the equally armed Capitol Police and then protected them during their visit. To everyone privy to this successful operation, the Oath Keepers were heroes.

Two weeks ago a corrupt US Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) tried to use his equally corrupt connections at the Bureau of Land Management to then order US Marshal’s Service to seize Clive Bundy’s Nevada ranch so he could sell it to the Chinese. Two thousand people showed up to defend the ranch, but the siege was turning ugly. Marshall’s were tazering peaceful protesters, and slamming women to the ground. Things were getting bad.

Then the Oath Keepers road in.

Armed and ready, several dozen Oath Keepers took up positions and began patrols on Clive Bundy’s property. Many publicly stated that if they were fired on they would return fire.

So, two hundred plus Federal Marshals went home.

UrbanMan's comment: Not U.S. Marshals, but BLM Law Enforcement Rangers and possibly some US Forest Service Special Agents. There were reports of military personnel supporting the BLM operation against the Bundy Ranch, those reports have been discounted. Some of the BLM personnel were National Guardsmen, which is perfect understandable as they can work for governmental agencies during the week and be members of the National Guard during a weekend a month.  And the militarization of Federal LE, e.g..mainly weapons and cammie uniforms supported that misperception.

The cheers were world-wide.

Our conversation had been enlightening, optimistic, supportive, but at the same time terrifying. To discover that so many American active and retired military are of like mind to just as many passionate pro-American progressives holding radical viewpoints was heartening.

Knowing that former members of America’s military had already sworn an oath to protect me, and other Americans, from the very real threat of being shot, or incarcerated without a warrant, by our own government was reassuring.

Assuredly the Oath Keepers will be called to order again soon.

That is terrifying.

Government Stocks up on Ammo - For the Coming Collapse?

This article is by Alfred Adask, titled - "Going Postal?: Gov't Co Stocks up on Ammo"

Going postal just took on a whole new meaning. Apparently, Postal Employees are no longer content to shoot each other and are therefore preparing to shoot the public.

We know this because the USPS has joined the list of federal agencies that are stocking up on ammunition and firearms.

For example, the Social Security Administration put in a request for 174,000 rounds of .357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow-point bullets. Do they fear that the retirees are about to grab their walkers and storm the SSA buildings?

The Department of Agriculture requested 320,000 rounds. Do they fear farmers and ranchers-or an attack by cows and pigs?

The Department of Homeland Security has requested 450 million rounds. That's enough bullets to shoot every American about 1.5 times.

The FBI has sought 100 million hollow-point rounds.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also requested 46,000 rounds. Why does a weather service need ammunition?

To date, some two billion rounds of ammunition have been purchased or ordered by a variety of domestic federal agencies. If only one agency purchased ammunition, we might write it off as an aberration. But when seemingly inexplicable purchases are made by a significant number of agencies, we can assume we are witnessing evidence of a general governmental policy. It's not just the FBI, DHS or even the USPS that wants to stockpile ammo-it's the government, itself.

As a result of this stockpiling, many wonder what government has planned for the American people. Confusion and conspiracy theories abound.

UrbanMan comments: I was recently talking to a commercial firearms representative, froma company everyone would recognize, who has been known to me for 10 years. He said he was stocking ammunition at his back country retreat in the east, because he fears what is coming. He said the Government purchases were primarily because of the limited bulk ammunition makers having contrtainsts on raw materials and production scheduleing, so often the large purchases are due to price breaks and delivery scheduling, but again he said words to the effect "that having said that I still belive this country will collapse,......it can't be helped given the totality of the unsurmountable problems we now have, which is my reason for stocking ammunition, food and being situated where I will be after the first indication of the collapse happening."

Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Washington-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said:

"We're seeing a highly unusual amount of ammunition being bought by the federal agencies over a fairly short period of time. To be honest, I don't understand why the federal government is buying so much at this time. I don't believe in conspiracy theories, but [purchasing all this ammunition] doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The amount of ammunition they're buying up far exceeds their needs. It far exceeds what they'll use-they'll never use it all."

Well, let's hope Gottlieb is right. Let's hope the government will never use all of those bullets within The United States of America. But Gottlieb can't be right when he says that purchasing all this ammunition "doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

In fact, major purchases of ammunition by a wide variety of domestic governmental agencies costs money. The government is largely broke. It won't spend more money if it doesn't have to. It seems extremely unlikely that government would spend so much money on ammo without a compelling reason to do so.

The government is generally distrusted and viewed with contempt. It's on shaky political ground. The political implication of domestic governmental agencies stockpiling all that ammunition is that government is preparing for a major armed conflict within the USA. Thus, those purchases must cause a further loss of public confidence in the government. It seems extremely unlikely that government would risk the political fallout of purchasing so much ammo without a compelling reason to do so.

Purchasing all that ammunition may seem incomprehensible to most Americans. However, given the financial and political costs associated with stockpiling two billion rounds of ammunition, it's apparent that those purchases must "make a whole lot of sense" to somebody in a very high position of power.

Gottlieb may be right to say that purchasing all of that ammunition doesn't make sense under current, publicly-perceived economic and political conditions.

But maybe government isn't looking at current conditions. Maybe government is instead looking forward towards a moment when future conditions may become conducive to widespread social disorder and even public violence against government.

To understand those possible future conditions, let's consider reasons why government might stockpile two billion rounds of ammo. I can imagine three:

• To subsidize the ammunition industry;

• To reduce the supply of bullets so the public can't buy them;

• To stock up on bullets to be used to attack or defend against the American people.

Clearly, the anti-gun-rights Obama administration is not intending to subsidize the ammunition industry.

Reducing the public's supply of ammunition presupposes that the government expects an armed conflict with the public and wants the people disarmed. Stocking billions of bullets implies that the government expects an armed conflict with the public and wants to ensure that gov-co has enough ammo to deal with potentially millions of armed dissidents. I.e., gov-co doesn't need billions of bullets to deal with a few "lone gunmen".

Gov-co needs billions to deal with, at least, tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, potentially several million armed Americans who are furious with, and firing at, overnment. Billions of bullets implicitly anticipates a widespread public revolt.

Whatever the exact explanation for stockpiling two billion rounds of ammunition may be, it seems certain that the government views the probability of a widespread and violent confrontation with the American people as growing.

OK-why might such confrontation take place?

Because Congressmen are corrupt?
Because Obama is black?
Because taxes are too high?
Because liberty is being lost? Or,
Because the economy has collapsed, people are starving and therefore rioting against government?

Answer?

As Bill Clinton once said, "It's the economy, stupid."

Americans don't much care about corruption, the President's race (or even place of birth), taxes or liberty. They care about their money, standard of living and the economy. If there's going to be a violent confrontation between government and the people, that confrontation will be based on some sort of sudden and significant economic decline or even collapse.

Government's purchase of two billion bullets for the apparent purpose of shooting the public, indicates that government fears a near-term decline in the US economy that's sufficiently sudden and deep to cause lots of people to shoot.

Therefore, I don't view government's purchase of two billion bullets as a political anomaly or irrational act. I see it as a reliable economic indicator that tells us that government believes there's a growing probability that an economic collapse may soon occur that's sufficient to trigger widespread violence.

We can have a scholarly (or heated) debate on the economic significance of the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, and the price of gold. When that debate is over, we can go home, order a pizza and watch some TV.

But it's hard to engage in a scholarly debate on the economic significance of domestic government agencies buying two billion bullets. Two billion bullets tells us that it's not time for pizza-it's time to stockpile whatever you can afford that you think you'll need if the economy tanks: food, water, guns, ammo, silver and gold. You needn't believe me. But you should certainly consider the economic and political implications of multiple government agencies seeking to purchase over two billion rounds of ammo. Those purchases cause predictions of economic collapse to rise from the level of mere conspiracy theories to the level of a government-validated, growing probability.

Government Martial Law Exercise Exposing Post Collapse Plans

I received two e-mails from individuals worried about a Homeland Security and Department of Defense exercise involving martial law and targeting "anti-government patriots". Nobody sent me a link so I actually had to do some research, ha ha, which only involved calling a government buddy of mine who sent me a link to InfoWars.com on an article written by Paul Joseph Watson with the title: "Homeland Security Exercise Targets “Free Americans Against Socialist Tyranny”.

This is not spinning me up. The government can plan and theorize all they want,...martial law is going to fail, even in the "gun free" zones they have established in Detroit, Washington D.C., Chicago and Connecticut. But, just like Fox News, we'll post the info and let the reader sort it out and make their own determinations.

Homeland Security Exercise Targets “Free Americans Against Socialist Tyranny

Watson states that leaked Homeland Security documents obtained by Infowars reveal details of a joint DHS/FEMA national exercise set to take place this week (24-29 March 2014) and one of the components of (this exercise) revolves around an effort to counter online dissent by a group called “Free Americans Against Socialist Tyranny,” which is disgruntled at the imposition of martial law after an earthquake in Alaska.

UrbanMan's note: The title "Free Americans Against Socialist Tyranny" brings up mental images of cammie clad, rifle toting gents slinking about a government facility in order to effect some type of sabotage or ambush. However, the key pretend threat group for this exercise is a anti-authority, anti-government group who uses on-line ventures to conduct cyber type propaganda and may try to cyber attacking of the defense network including the NORAD grid.

Watson says that the (government exercise) document again underscores the federal government’s obsession with characterizing libertarians and conservatives as some kind of extremist radical threat.

The (exercise) document (PDF) was leaked by an individual affiliated with Stewart Rhodes’ Oathkeepers organization and passed on to Infowars. It is entitled National Exercise Program – Capstone Exercise 2014 – Scenario Ground Truth.

The document is intended for “U.S. Department of Homeland Security Trusted Agents Only” and is “disseminated only on a need-to-know basis.” Even the role players involved in the exercise itself are prohibited from seeing the files.

The exercise is designed to evaluate readiness in preparation for a catastrophic incident, natural disaster or major act of terrorism. Some of the scenarios which will be in play during the exercise include a series of earthquakes, tsunamis and a nuclear weapons accident.

On page 125 of the document, a scenario is outlined whereby a group calling itself “Free Americans against Socialist Tyranny” responds to “The U.S. Northern Command mission of Defense Support to Civil Authorities” (or the imposition of martial law) by launching a protest campaign on social media and potentially engaging in cyber attacks.

According to the scenario, the campaign is driven by suspicion that “the government is responsible for the Alaska earthquake and a “hacktivist” manifesto.”

And we they wonder why we view the government as the enemy. This only feeds the beast.

Another link: DHS-FEMA-National-Exercise-Program-Capstone-Exercise-2014-Scenario

Does Gun Control Predict the Collapse? Precursor to Martial Law?

I have had a back and forth between two friends of mine, the topic being Federal and State gun control efforts which my two friends stridently believe are an intentional precursor to Governmental preparations for the impending collapse which the Federal Government knows they cannot stop.

While I understand that gun registration is the obvious and mandatory first step to any gun confiscation, and that any Martial Law imposition would be much less effective with an armed civilian population, I don't see the failed gun registration in Connecticut as a joint liberal state-federal government test case for national registration and eventual confiscation. Nor being done because the federal government knows it cannot stop the economic collapse from happening and is preparing for martial law.

Who in their right mind would just let an economic collapse happen? And I say this believing an economic collapse is much more likely now, then it was last year, or the year before, but not due to a conspiracy but to a choke hold on ideology and incompetence of our governmental institutions.

To be sure, any gun control efforts are unconstitutional and if given a foot hold will diminish not only our unalienable rights, but our ability to protect ourselves from the tenuous environment of today's world through the vastly increased dangers of an economic or societal collapse.

I think gun control efforts are a product of the age old liberal way of thinking that they know better than the rest of us what is best for us. And I am grateful that the citizens of the very liberal state of Connecticut are pushing back against unlawful registration.

The Blaze reports that Officials in Connecticut are stunned by what could be a Massive, State-Wide Act of ‘Civil Disobedience’ by Gun Owners:

On Jan. 1, 2014, tens of thousands of defiant gun owners seemingly made the choice not to register their semi-automatic rifles with the state of Connecticut as required by a hastily-passed gun control law. By possessing unregistered so-called “assault rifles,” they all technically became guilty of committing Class D felonies overnight.

Police had received 47,916 applications for “assault weapons certificates” and 21,000 incomplete applications as of Dec. 31, Lt. Paul Vance told The Courant.

At roughly 50,000 applications, officials estimate that as little as 15 percent of the covered semi-automatic rifles have actually been registered with the state. “No one has anything close to definitive figures, but the most conservative estimates place the number of unregistered assault weapons well above 50,000, and perhaps as high as 350,000,” the report states.

Needless to say, officials and some lawmakers are stunned.

Due to the new gun control bill passed in April, likely at least 20,000 individual people — possibly as many as 100,000 — are now in direct violation of the law for refusing to register their guns. As we noted above, that act is now a Class D Felony.

Then Mike Vanderboegh of Sipsey Street Irregulars writes a well written letter concerning the effects of unconstitutional governmental efforts to restrict gun ownership:


15 February 2014

To the men and women of the Connecticut State Police and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection:

My name is Mike Vanderboegh. Few of you will know who I am, or even will have heard of the Three Percent movement that I founded, though we have been denounced on the national stage by that paragon of moral virtue, Bill Clinton. Three Percenters are uncompromising firearm owners who have stated very plainly for years that we will obey no further encroachments on our Second Amendment rights.

Some of you, if you read this carelessly, may feel that it is a threat. It is not. Three Percenters also believe that to take the first shot in a conflict over principle is to surrender the moral high ground to the enemy. We condemn so-called collateral damage and terrorism such as that represented by the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Waco massacre. We are very aware that if you seek to defeat evil it is vital not to become the evil you claim to oppose. Thus, though this letter is certainly intended to deal with an uncomfortable subject, it is not a threat to anyone. However, it is important for everyone to understand that while we promise not to take the first shot over principle, we make no such promise if attacked, whether by common criminals or by the designated representatives of a criminal government grown arrogant and tyrannical and acting out an unconstitutional agenda under color of law.

If we have any model, it is that of the Founding generation. The threat to public order and safety, unfortunately, comes from the current leaders of your state government who unthinkingly determined to victimize hitherto law-abiding citizens with a tyrannical law. They are the ones who first promised violence on the part of the state if your citizens did not comply with their unconstitutional diktat. Now, having made the threat (and placed the bet that you folks of the Connecticut State Police will meekly and obediently carry it out) they can hardly complain that others take them seriously and try by every means, including this letter, to avoid conflict.

Some of you are already working a major case on me, trying to figure out how I may be arrested for violating Conn. P.A. 13-3, which bears the wildly dishonest title of "An Act Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety." (What part of "protecting children" is accomplished by sparking a civil war?) Not only have I personally violated this unconstitutional and tyrannical act by smuggling and by the encouragement of smuggling, defiance and non-compliance on the part of your state's citizens, but I have further irritated your wannabe tyrant bosses by sending them standard capacity magazines in my "Toys for Totalitarians" program. I further have annoyed them by pointing out -- and seeking more evidence of -- the existence of Mike Lawlor's KGB file (as well as his FBI and CIA counter-intelligence files).

In short, I have made myself a nuisance to your bosses in just about every way I could think of. However, their discomfiture reminds me of the wisdom of that great American philosopher of the late 20th Century, Frank Zappa, who said, "Do you love it? Do you hate it? There it is, the way you made it." Whether you will be able to make a case on me that sticks is, of course, problematic for a number of reasons which I will detail to you in the letter below. I have already done so to your bosses and include the links in this email so that you may easily access them.

But even if you are not working on my case you will want to pay attention to this letter, because tyrannical politicians in your state have been writing checks with their mouths that they expect you to cash with your blood. We have moved, thanks to them, into a very dangerous undiscovered country. Connecticut is now in a state of cold civil war, one that can flash to bloody conflict in an instant if someone, anyone, does something stupid. So please pay attention, for Malloy and Co. have put all your asses on the line and are counting on your supine obedience to the enforcement of their unconstitutional diktat.

I apparently first came to your attention with this speech on the steps of your state capitol on 20 April 2013. It was very well received by the audience but virtually ignored by the lapdog press of your state. If I may, I'd like to quote some of the more salient points of it that involve you.

"An unconstitutional law is void." It has no effect. So says American Jurisprudence, the standard legal text. And that's been upheld by centuries of American law. An unconstitutional law is VOID. Now that is certainly true. But the tricky part is how do we make that point when the local, state and federal executive and legislative branches as well as the courts are in the hands of the domestic enemies of the Constitution. Everyone who is currently trying to take away your right to arms starts out by saying "I support the 2nd Amendment." Let me tell you a home truth that we know down in Alabama -- Barack Obama supports the 2nd Amendment just about as much as Adolf Hitler appreciated Jewish culture, or Joseph Stalin believed in individual liberty. Believe what politicians do, not what they say. Because the lie is the attendant of every evil.

Before this year no one thought that other firearms and related items would ever be banned -- but they were, they have been. No one thought that the authorities of your state would pass laws making criminals out of the previously law-abiding -- but they did. If they catch you violating their unconstitutional laws, they will -- when they please -- send armed men to work their will upon you. And people -- innocent of any crime save the one these tyrants created -- will die resisting them.

You begin to see, perhaps, how you fit into this. YOU are the "armed men" that Malloy and Company will send "to work their will" upon the previously law-abiding. In other words, this law takes men and women who are your natural allies in support of legitimate law enforcement and makes enemies of the state of them, and bully boy political police of you. So you all have a very real stake in what happens next. But let me continue:

The Founders knew how to answer such tyranny. When Captain John Parker -- one of the three percent of American colonists who actively took the field against the King during the Revolution -- mustered his Minutemen on Lexington Green, it was in a demonstration of ARMED civil disobedience. . . The colonists knew what to do and they did it, regardless of the risk -- regardless of all the King's ministers and the King's soldiery. They defied the King. They resisted his edicts. They evaded his laws and they smuggled. Lord above, did they smuggle.

Now we find ourselves in a similar situation. The new King Barack and his minions have determined to disarm us. We must determine to resist them. No one wants a new civil war (except, apparently, the anti-constitutional tyrants who passed these laws and the media toadies who cheer them on) but one is staring us in the face. Let me repeat that, a civil war is staring us in the face. To think otherwise is to whistle past the graveyard of our own history. We must, if we wish to avoid armed conflict, get this message across to the collectivists who have declared their appetites for our liberty, our property and our lives -- WHEN DEMOCRACY TURNS TO TYRANNY, THE ARMED CITIZEN STILL GETS TO VOTE.

Just like King George, such people will not care, nor modify their behavior, by what you say, no matter how loudly or in what numbers you say it. They will only pay attention to what you DO. So defy them. Resist their laws. Evade them. Smuggle in what they command you not to have. Only by our ACTS will they be impressed. Then, if they mean to have a civil war, they will at least have been informed of the unintended consequences of their tyrannical actions. Again I say -- Defy. Resist. Evade. Smuggle. If you wish to stay free and to pass down that freedom to your children's children you can do no less than to become the lawbreakers that they have unconstitutionally made of you. Accept that fact. Embrace it. And resolve to be the very best, most successful lawbreakers you can be.

Well, I guess at least some of my audience that day took my message to heart. As Connecticut newspapers have finally begun reporting -- "Untold Thousands Flout Gun Registration Law" -- and national commentators are at last noticing, my advice to defy, resist and evade this intolerable act is well on the way. The smuggling, as modest as it is, I can assure is also happening. This law is not only dangerous it is unenforceable by just about any standard you care to judge it by. Let's just look at the numbers mentioned in the Courant story.

By the end of 2013, state police had received 47,916 applications for assault weapons certificates, Lt. Paul Vance said. An additional 2,100 that were incomplete could still come in.

That 50,000 figure could be as little as 15 percent of the rifles classified as assault weapons owned by Connecticut residents, according to estimates by people in the industry, including the Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation. No one has anything close to definitive figures, but the most conservative estimates place the number of unregistered assault weapons well above 50,000, and perhaps as high as 350,000.

And that means as of Jan. 1, Connecticut has very likely created tens of thousands of newly minted criminals — perhaps 100,000 people, almost certainly at least 20,000 — who have broken no other laws. By owning unregistered guns defined as assault weapons, all of them are committing Class D felonies.

"I honestly thought from my own standpoint that the vast majority would register," said Sen. Tony Guglielmo, R-Stafford, the ranking GOP senator on the legislature's public safety committee. "If you pass laws that people have no respect for and they don't follow them, then you have a real problem."

This blithering idiot of a state senator is, as I warned Mike Lawlor the other day, extrapolating. It is a very dangerous thing, extrapolation, especially when you are trying to predict the actions of an enemy you made yourself whom you barely recognize let alone understand. I told Lawlor:

You, you silly sod, are extrapolating from your own cowardice. Just because you wouldn't risk death for your principles, doesn't mean there aren't folks who most certainly will. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but folks who are willing to die for their principles are most often willing to kill in righteous self-defense of them as well. You may be ignorant of such people and their ways. You may think that they are insane. But surely even you cannot be so clueless that, insane or not from your point-of-view, such people DO exist and in numbers unknown. This is the undiscovered country that you and your tyrannical ilk have blundered into, like clueless kindergarteners gaily (no pun intended) tap-dancing in a well-marked mine field.

The Founders marked the mine field. Is it our fault or yours that you have blithely ignored the warnings? If I were a Connecticut state policeman I would be wondering if the orders of a possible KGB mole throwback were worth the terminal inability to collect my pension. Of course, you may be thinking that you can hide behind that "thin blue line." Bill Clinton's rules of engagement say otherwise.

The odds are, and it gives me no particular satisfaction to say it, is that someone is going to get killed over your unconstitutional misadventures in Connecticut. And if not Connecticut, then New York, or Maryland, or California or Colorado. And once the civil war you all apparently seek is kicked off, it would not be -- it could not be -- confined to one state.

This is not a threat, of course. Not the personal, actionable threat that you may claim. It ranks right along with -- no, that's wrong, IT IS EXACTLY LIKE -- an ex-con meeting me in the street and pointing to my neighbor's house saying, "Tonight I am going to break in there, kill that man, rape his wife and daughters and steal everything that he is, has, or may become." I warn him, "If you try to do that, he will kill you first. He may not look like much, but I know him to be vigilant and perfectly capable of blowing your head off." That is not a threat from me. It is simply good manners. Consider this letter in the same vein. I am trying to save you from yourself.

For, like that common criminal, you have announced by your unconstitutional law and your public statements in favor of its rigorous enforcement that you have a tyrannical appetite for your neighbors' liberty, property and lives. It doesn't take a crystal ball to see that this policy, if carried to your announced conclusion, will not end well for anybody, but especially for you.

Now let's examine those numbers in the Courant story. You know the size of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Wikipedia tells us that "CSP currently has approximately 1,248 troopers, and is headquartered in Middletown, Connecticut. It is responsible for protecting the Governor of Connecticut, Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, and their families." There are but 1,212 email addresses listed on the state website to which this email is going, which presumably includes everyone including secretaries, receptionists, file clerks, technicians, etc. Now, how many shooters for raid parties you may find among that one thousand, two hundred and forty eight that Wikipedia cites, or whatever number will be on the payroll when something stupid happens, only you know for sure. I'll let you do the counting.

They are daunting odds in any case, and as you will see, they get more daunting as we go down this road that Malloy and Company have arranged for you. (By the way, don't forget to subtract those on the Green Zone protective details, for your political masters will certainly see their survival as your mission number one.) So, how many folks would your superiors be interested in seeing you work their will upon? And of these, how many will fight regardless of cost?

Let's assume that there are 100,000 non-compliant owners of military pattern semi-automatic rifles in your state. I think it is a larger number but 100,000 has a nice round ring to it. Let us then apply the rule of three percent to that number -- not to the entire population of your state, not even to the number of firearm owners, but just to that much smaller demonstrated number of resistors. That leaves you with at least 3,000 men and women who will shoot you if you try to enforce this intolerable act upon them. Of course you will have to come prepared to shoot them. That's a given. They know this. So please understand: THEY. WILL. SHOOT. YOU. (In what they believe is righteous self defense.)

Now, if any of them follow Bill Clinton's rules of engagement and utilize the principles of 4th Generation Warfare, after the first shots are fired by your raid parties, they will not be home when you come to call. These people will be targeting, according to the 4GW that many of them learned while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war makers who sent you. This gets back to that "when democracy turns to tyranny, the armed citizenry still gets to vote." One ballot, or bullet, at a time.

This is all hypothetical, of course, based upon the tyrants' appetites for these hitherto law-abiding citizens' liberty, property and lives as well as upon your own willingness to enforce their unconstitutional diktat. And here's where you can do something about it. The first thing you have to realize is that the people you will be targeting do not view you as the enemy. Indeed, you are NOT their enemy, unless you choose to be one.

Again, an unconstitutional law is null and void. Of course you may if you like cling to the slim fact that a single black-robed bandit has ruled the Intolerable Act as constitutional in Shew vs. Malloy, but that will not matter to those three percent of the resistors -- your fellow citizens -- whom you target. They no longer expect a fair trial in your state in any case, which leaves them, if they wish to defend their liberty, property and lives, only the recourse of an unfair firefight. So to cite Shew vs. Malloy at the point of a state-issued firearm to such people is, well, betting your life on a very slender reed.

Thus, my kindly advice to you, just as it was to Lawlor, is to not go down that road. You are not the enemy of the people of Connecticut, not yet. The politicians who jammed this law down the peoples' throats are plainly flummoxed by the resistance it has engendered. In the absence of a definitive U.S. Supreme Court decision do you really want to risk not being able to draw your pension over some politician's insatiable appetite for power?

There are many ways you can refuse to get caught up in this. Passive resistance, looking the other way, up to and including outright refusal to execute what is a tyrannical law that a higher court may yet find unconstitutional and therefore null and void. Do you really want to have to kill someone enforcing THAT? Just because you were ordered to do so? After Nuremberg, that defense no longer obtains. (You may say, "Well, I'm just a secretary, a clerk, you can't blame me for anything." Kindly recall from Nuremberg one other lesson: raid parties cannot break down doors unless someone like you prepares the list in advance. In fact, you have at your keyboard and in your databases more raw, naked power than any kick-in-the-door trooper. And with that power comes moral responsibility. Adolf Eichmann didn't personally kill anyone. But he darn sure made up the lists and saw to it that trains ran on time. When the first Connecticut citizen (or, God forbid, his family) is killed as a result of your list-making, do you think that because you didn't pull the trigger that gives you a moral pass?)

So I call on you all, in your own best interest and that of your state, to refuse to enforce this unconstitutional law. There are a number of Three Percenters within the Connecticut state government, especially its law enforcement arms. I know that there have been many discussions around water-coolers and off state premises about the dangers that this puts CT law enforcement officers in and what officers should do if ordered to execute raids on the previously law-abiding.

You have it within your power to refuse to initiate hostilities in an American civil war that would, by its very nature, be ghastly beyond belief and would unleash hatreds and passions that would take generations to get over, if then.

Please, I beg you to understand, you are not the enemy, you are not an occupying force -- unless you choose to violate the oath that each of you swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. For their part, the men and women who will be targeted by your raids took an identical oath. Can you think of anything more tragic than brother killing brother over some politician's tyrannical appetite?

I can't. The future -- yours, mine, our children's, that of the citizens of Connecticut and indeed of the entire country -- is in YOUR hands.

At the very least, by your refusal you can give the courts time to work before proceeding into an unnecessary civil war against your own friends and neighbors on the orders of a self-anointed elite who frankly don't give a shit about you, your life, your future or that of your family. They wouldn't pass these laws if they thought that they would have to risk the potential bullet that their actions have put you in the path of. They count on you to take that bullet, in service of their power and their lies. Fool them. Just say no to tyranny. You are not the enemy. Don't act like one.

Sincerely,

Mike Vanderboegh

The alleged leader of a merry band of Three Percenters
PO Box 926
Pinson AL 35126