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Welcome to the blog of Connor Boyack, a 20-something husband, web designer, Latter-day Saint, constitutionalist, paleocon, classical liberal, preparedness practitioner, budding philanthropist, and master's student of political economy. I'm from Poway, CA but live in Happy Valley.


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RIP, America

Posted by Connor on October 17th, 2006

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As of today, we are no longer living in the America our Fathers founded.

Today, President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act (summarized here).

As Olbermann explained (in the video posted here), we no longer have the Bill of Rights. This new Act counteracts nine of our ten rights. America, we now have a Bill of Right. Singular. One. Not ten.

This piece of legislation is the most detrimental, the most appalling, and the most injurious to our nation since the Alien and Sedition Acts.

I feel like cursing (something I never do). I feel like throwing things. Especially at those in control of our government. I am horrified at the apathy I see around me. The vast majority of Americans know nothing about this new Act (just as most of the congressmen hadn’t heard of it until the day it was to be voted upon). I am scared. I fear for myself, and for my future children. As of today, we are no longer living in the nation the Founding Fathers envisioned.

Possibly related posts:

21 comments so far. Care to chime in?

Can this legislation be undone?

Has the Supreme Court shown any signs of overturning it?

#1 fontor on October 18th, 2006

Oh, and welcome to Democrat Hell. This is just what we’ve all been going through for the past five years. Once a friend emailed me: ‘How is democracy in Australia? Am afraid it’s hoplessly broken here.’

What to do? Vote.

#2 fontor on October 18th, 2006

Vote Republicans out. Don’t vote based on who is the “best candidate.” Vote against Republicans. They’ve abrogated their Constitutional responsibility and must collectively be punished. If they stay in power, they will not have learned a lesson.

#3 Dan on October 18th, 2006

I think voting for someone because of his party affiliation and not his or her base ideas is a bad idea: keeping sound minded, good thinking republicans in office is just as effective as weeding out the idiots. You’d effectively be taking good people out of office. Its hard enough to get good people in.

Also, doesn’t the president have to have the approval of congress before holding or charging someone? This looks really bad, but at least this might help keep it from being used for obviously wrong reasons (I hope).

:(

#4 John on October 18th, 2006

Also, doesn’t the president have to have the approval of congress before holding or charging someone?

Nope.

As Michael Ratner, President of the Center for Constitutional Rights has said:

I mean, what this bill authorizes is really the authority of an authoritarian despot to the president. I mean, what it gives him is the power, as the senator said, to detain any person anywhere in the world, citizen or non-citizen, whether living in the United States or anywhere else. I mean, what kind of authority is that? No checks and balances. Nothing.

#5 Connor on October 18th, 2006

Does this mean that the Constitution is now hanging by a thread? I think yes. The prophecy is therefore clear what good Elders must do next - - it will take more than just voting.

A good place to start would be to educate the 98% of obedient Utah Mormons who vote straight ticket out of tradition. In the last days even the elect will be deceived because they know not how to find the truth in the MainStreamMedia.

Thanks Connor for doing your share!

#6 Kelly Winterton on October 18th, 2006

Ah, the good’ ol MSM. Here’s what President J. Reuben Clark had to say about them:

“I have been preaching against Communism for twenty years. I still warn you against it, and I tell you that WE are drifting toward it more rapidly than some of us understand, and I tell you that when Communism comes the ownership of the things which are necessary to feed YOUR families is going to be taken away from US. I tell you freedom of speech will go, freedom of the press will go, and freedom of religion will go. I have warned you against propaganda and hate. We are in the midst of the greatest exhibition of propaganda that the world has ever seen. Just do not believe all you read or hear. The elect are being deceived.” (CR Oct 1941)

#7 Connor on October 18th, 2006

Say, since Communism didn’t come to the USA, would that be an example of a false prophecy?

#8 fontor on October 18th, 2006

I hope my question is either not inappropriate or ignorant. Having spent a good part of my youth with LDS kids and attending LDS youth functions, there were many stories about LDS church history and prophecy that were shared with me. I always was fascinated by LDS history, and still plan on visiting Nauvoo someday.

My question concerns the “hanging by a thread” prophecy. Is this an official LDS teaching, or is it more an urban legend passed on from generation to generation? I did flip through a copy of the Doctrine & Covenants as a teenager looking for this prophecy, which clearly was speaking about Watergate. Did Joseph Smith make this prophecy, or was it another President of the Church? I remember first hearing this prophecy at Boy Scout camp, and can’t remember all the details.

#9 Robert on October 18th, 2006

What do you mean by saying communism didn’t come to the USA? Its everywhere you look! If you have eyes to see, that is. Hopefully you’ll wake up one day and see that being allowed to pace back and forth across your jail-cell-of-a-life isn’t freedom at all. Have we so little understanding of true freedom that we can’t even recognize our “aweful situation?” Forbit it, Almighty God.

#10 Dave on October 18th, 2006

The “prophecy” apparently was never written down by Joseph Smith, but only written in journals and diaries of people who supposedly heard JS say this prophecy. But, Brigham Young and some other modern prophets since Brigham Young have validated the prophecy as true, giving credit to JS. One such quote by Ezra Taft Benson - -

“For years we have heard of the role the elders could play in saving the Constitution from total destruction. But how can the elders be expected to save it if they have not studied it and are not sure if it is being destroyed or what is destroying it?” —President Ezra Taft Benson, TETB, p 619-620

#11 Kelly Winterton on October 18th, 2006

Say, since Communism didn’t come to the USA, would that be an example of a false prophecy?

Dude, turn on the news. Even the MSM is replete with examples of domestic communism.

Robert,

Perhaps this page will answer your question.

#12 Connor on October 18th, 2006

Robert,

Those who attribute the prophesy about the “thread” to Joseph Smith are either ignorant or irresponsible perpetrators of hearsay. The saying comes from President Young, NOT Joseph. It was NEVER recorded in scripture or officially declared and therefore cannot be considered Church authorized prophetic utterance.

#13 Wade on October 18th, 2006

While Brigham reportedly created the term “hanging by a thread”, the idea originated with Joseph Smith, as the link I posted in comment #12 illustrates. Again, I’m not concerned with who said what exactly—what I amconcerned with is the principle behind the phrase. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 is yet another piece of legislation eroding our founding documents.

#14 Connor on October 18th, 2006

heh, Mormons still fighting against that dastardly foe “communism” even though it is dead.

#15 Dan on October 18th, 2006

Dan, this is exactly why I think that the traditional Mormon Utahn desperately needs to be educated in foreign affairs. There are those in my family and neighborhood who really think that Communism is our foe, not Bush’s neo-cons. However, perhaps there is some truth to the old Communism cries, with WalMart and USCapitalists in bed with the Chinese government. The new morphed Communism may perhaps be what finally does us in, as our $USdollar sinks because of the strength of Asian currency, and the US debt that is being artificially supported by Chinese investment.

#16 Kelly Winterton on October 18th, 2006

Kelly,

You hit in an interesting point. I don’t think that Americans even understand what communism really is. In reality there is no nation in the world right now that is “communist,” as Marx had intended it, but you do find examples of Leninism. Communism is an economic philosophy. What Lenin did was to corrupt it and transform it into a political system. That system, of course is unstable and will, at some point, bring a country to ruin. Most nations that used communism have learned this, some the hard way. China is a unique nation because they began their modern history with communism. In fact, communism, as Marx intended, probably doesn’t fit better with any other country than China, due to China’s main philosophy: Confucianism, which places the community above the individual. That said, China has learned that economically speaking, capitalism is the way to go. They’ve changed from communist principles to capitalist principles and have flourished economically.

#17 Dan on October 18th, 2006

Communism came and I missed it?

I was defining Communism in the Marxist sense, and not as ‘anything conservatives don’t like’.

I don’t want to hijack this excellent thread, but I do think that claiming the USA is Communist is kind of funny.

#18 fontor on October 18th, 2006

I’m not sure I would call the current administration communist. Communism is government controlled corporations. What we have now is corporate controlled government. That’s fascism, not communism.

Also, repressive regimes tend to label their enemies in a way that takes attention away from what they are really doing. Why else would the Bush administration label islamic terrorists as “fascists.” They aren’t fascists by any definition, but the Bush administration is, and the label they have given the terrorists is calculated to draw attention away from the truth. It’s Orwellian doublespeak at its worst.

#19 Jeff on October 21st, 2006

Apparently I’m not the only one who recognizes the death of our nation…

#20 Connor on January 4th, 2007

Following on the link from comment #20, I just stumbled across the Constitution’s funeral proceedings.

#21 Connor on January 4th, 2007

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