Hydroponic or "Frankenstein" Tomatoes?

Heirloom
Photo: Wikipedia

Hydroponic tomatoes have finally arrived in Romania. A video from Antena 3 entitled,”Pofta Buna la Otrava,” (Good Appetite for Poison), describes how an entrepreneur from Reghin, Mures County, has grown last year nine huge tomato plants per square meter, the size of “tropical arbors.” The plants grew out of a special bed without soil. The seeds were treated with a special fungicide designed to resist disease, grew roots in a bed of cotton and other materials, and each root was fed by a tube. The abundant, perfect tomato crop was and is guaranteed all year long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qARQ2T1YHA

Why is it necessary to grow tomatoes without soil? As the video explained, such a crop would assure necessary quantities of food for an “overpopulated planet,” plants that grow tomatoes twelve months out of the year, over 500 tons annually, with no risk of crop loss to the grower.

Hydroponic tomatoes are nourished by a system of tubes feeding directly to the root of each embedded plant a mixture of water and nutrients necessary for accelerated plant growth.

A plant grows naturally by extracting necessary nutrients from the soil. However, these plants are being fed continuously by a computer that calculates what it takes to keep the plants alive and to grow tomatoes as quickly as possible.  A cocktail is mixed in the high-tech kitchen that includes calcium nitrate, potassium chloride, mono-potassium phosphate, potassium nitrate, potassium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, etc. The grower claims that the plant absorbs these chemicals and metabolizes them into other substances that are not harmful to humans. 

Dan Borotea, a former engineer turned entrepreneur, claims that his tomatoes are beautiful, perfect, and his plants are disease-free.

Another grower, Andrei Barbu, selects his seeds from organic tomatoes and dries them out. To begin the growing season, Barbu painstakingly drops a few seeds into tiny squares in seedling trays filled with soil. His seeds are small and yellow in color while the hydroponic seeds are much larger and green, treated with the special fungicide. Barbu’s seeds are going to be planted in dirt, watered, and a plant will grow the natural way without chemicals. He is dependent on good weather and never knows when a disease may attack his beautiful three week-old tomato plants which are then planted outside the nursery. 

In the new buzzworld of “sustainable plant protection for high quality,” Romania was the first country that authorized Initium products.  Grape growers and tomato, potato, cucumber, and onion farmers added to their crops since 2010 the special fungicide called Enervin for grapes and Zampro for vegetables in order to speed production and fight late blight and downy mildew.

“Because of the very favorable environmental profile of Initium, the products were authorized in the record time of four years,” said Roland Ringel, Head of the Initium Global Development Project. “And in fact, Initium products are not only in high degree environmentally compatible, they are also very user-friendly – they dissolve rapidly and dust-free in water, thus saving time and ensuring extra safety.” http://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---2088.htm

According to AgroNews, “BASF’s comprehensive range of sustainable crop protection solutions” also includes Cabrio Top, a multi-disease grape fungicide that will “more than double crop protection.”

“Initium-based products are currently available for more than 30 specialty crops, including grapes, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce and other vegetables, in more than 50 countries.” http://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail---11924.htm

Research must be conducted to determine if there are side-effects from Initium fungicides in humans who consume fruits and vegetables treated with Zampro, Enervin, or Cabrio Top.

Through hard labor, Barbu was able to deliver organic tomatoes to the markets in Bucharest for more than five years. An extremely rainy season in May and June of 2014 brought a fungus to his tomatoes and Barbu lost almost half of his crop. After the June rains, a dry August prevented many of his tomatoes from ripening. By then he lost two-thirds of what he had planted initially. The organic tomatoes were still fragrant, juicy, not filled with empty sacks, but were not perfect-looking. Small restaurants prefer Barbu’s organic tomatoes even though organic tomatoes can cost as much as five times more than the hydroponic variety.

The difference is quite evident to gourmet chefs. The organic tomatoes are juicy, tasty, fragrant, with thin skin, while the hydroponics have thick skin and are tasteless and dry. It is alleged that the content of lycopene is much diminished in hydroponic tomatoes, below 38 percent, while organic tomatoes have over 60 percent lycopene.

Are vitamins and minerals still present in the hydroponic tomatoes in the same naturally-occurring concentration? Could it be possible that they are no longer containing substances that might help fight certain diseases in humans?

Could it be possible that large manufacturers of chemicals have encouraged and promoted hydroponic and hybrid agriculture in order to maintain sales and profit margins? Could it be possible that the use of too many chemicals has caused the death of millions and billions of bees that naturally pollinate so many crops?

The planet does grow plenty of food. But if you listen to the merchants of doom and gloom of the United Nations, we are going to starve to death. They base their predictions on computer modeling of population explosion which mimics Thomas R. Malthus’s 1798 prophecy that population growth would outstrip food supply. 

And speaking of Malthusian predictions, the developed world population has a fertility rate problem but the third world does not. To address the need to feed a growing third world population, developed nations can and do produce more food which they export, sell, and, when needed, donate to needy and overpopulated underdeveloped nations.

It is not true that we are not growing enough food; there is certainly enough misinformation circulating under the guise of settled science based on computer modeling which has been proven wrong time and time again. We are having a distribution problem born by inadequate planning, improper delivery, and storage of food. Interference of third world governments exacerbates the problem when they allow donated food to rot, using it as a bargaining chip, instead of distributing it to those who need it.

Additionally, dictatorships prioritize spending on war machines instead of on food for their people. Wars that create refugees also create severe shortages of food and famine. Droughts and plant disease occurring naturally or through human mismanagement of water resources to protect an endangered species such as the delta smelt in St. Joaquin Valley, California, are also causes of potentially insufficient quantities of food. Last but not least, destroying infrastructure and the labor markets that support food production can have a devastating effect on domestic agriculture.

Ileana Johnson 2015

 

 

 

 

If You Agree with Me, Freedom of Speech is Free

"We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism."
- Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev, 1959

Having made tremendous progress throughout history, advancing, protecting, and promoting freedom of speech, we find ourselves at a threshold when book burnings, forbidden free expression of ideas, and printing for the elite consumption, not the masses, do not seem like such a thing of the past, even though we have the Internet for now.

Free speech must now be interpreted and filtered through the warped minds of the progressive academia, Hollywood, and the main stream media who have learned absolutely nothing from the atrocities of history.

Free speech by progressives is government-controlled speech that labels dissenting ideas as hate speech, talk which is not protected, resulting in banning from a country, like Michael Savage, a school, a meeting, a university, or a job.

Your formerly free speech is now relegated to a far corner of a university, “free speech zone,” and subject to violent liberal protests. You are the person who provoked them and thus must be banned. Pamela Geller found herself attacked for criticizing radical Islam. She deserved what she got because she provoked them, said liberals.

Liberals despise talk radio as offensive unless their progressive denizens own and run the show. They promote political correctness because it is suppression of speech and that is the end-goal. Michael Savage asked very pointedly on his May 6, 2015 show, “Do you want self-suppression to empower evil?”

A cartoon is repugnant and provocative, liberals say.  But it is free speech to stomp and burn the American flag; the woman, who respects our Stars and Stripes, the freedom it stands for, tries to save it and put out the flames, and is promptly and unceremoniously arrested.

There is no excuse for violence if you are provoked. Martin Luther King did not provoke violence during his march. Christians are not violent when liberals disgustingly display Jesus in an exhibit floating in urine, or when Hollywood creates characters that urinate on the crucified Jesus. Nobody attacks filthy rappers or comedians because we are civilized and understand that offensive speech is protected. We just change the channel and refuse to watch or buy their filth advertised as music, art, or theater.

But we are allowing the killing of free speech for the silent majority. We allow the indoctrination of our children into abhorrent ideas spewed from the halls of academia and we pay higher and higher tuitions to such universities.
 

Boston University incoming Assistant Professor of Sociology and African-American Studies, Saida Grundy, has made several anti-Whites comments via Tweeter such as “White masculinity isn’t the problem for America’s colleges, white masculinity is THE problem for America’s colleges.” The school responded that the professor is practicing her freedom of speech. Really? How many white people have lost their jobs for lesser comments deemed as hate speech or unacceptable?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/9/saida-grundy-boston-university-professor-white-mal/

Across the pond, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown exercises her freedom of speech, “I don’t like white men, I want them to be a lost species,” while conservative talk show host Michael Savage is still banned from Britain. http://www.breitbart.com/london/2014/06/24/yasmin-alibhai-brown-i-don-t-like-white-men-i-want-them-to-be-a-lost-species/

Liberals view free speech as progressive ideas which are indisputable and non-debatable. Their version of science and of reality is settled. If you object, reject, and try to debate the progressive, regressive, and oppressive minority in control with reason and fact, you are a hate monger, an Islamophobe, a homophobe, a terrorist, a traitor, and a bigot. Progressives say that we should all be capitulators to leftist Marxist ideology and Leninist indoctrination, worshippers of global warming, and appeasers to radical Islam.

We allow indoctrination into Islam in our schools (wearing hijab for a day, covering heads during field trips to mosques, being Muslim for a day, covering our cherished Christian symbols in order to appease uncomfortable Islamists). We allow the promotion of mob justice by the very elected officials who are supposed to maintain law and order.

Having been the victim of abject and blatant discrimination in the halls of academia during my college years and teaching career, I have to wonder, how many America-loving, outstanding college teachers and straight A students were passed up during the application process for employment or admission to a university so that America-hating affirmative action quotas were fulfilled?
Ileana Johnson 2015

 

 

A Bittersweet Mother's Day

Mom in Catoctin Mountain

It’s Mother’s Day 2015. We drove by Catoctin Mountain, Maryland. It’s a verdant late spring with a balmy bathed-in-the sunshine day. It is a bittersweet Mother’s Day for me. Mom and I used to come to Fredrick in the fall to pick apples and other fruits from the many orchards in the area. Local small farms would sell their preserves, honey, and home-made pies. The trees were so laden with fragrant apples that the branches would almost touch the ground in some parts. The bees were kissing the sweet nectar of rotting apples on the ground and the apple cider dripping from the barrel’s spout outside. If you were there, samples of cider were free for the taking.

We were so happy roaming through the orchard, a precious moment in time, taking the scent of soil into our lungs, overwhelmed by the breathtaking beauty of the mountains in the distance set against a blue sky. We were so blessed to be alive to enjoy such abundance. It reminded us of the days when Mom’s life was dependent on the farm, the growing seasons, and the back-breaking garden work. To me, it was memories from another life of my grandparents’ existence, especially Grandma Elena’s, toiling in the fields from sunrise to sunset, the smell of freshly plowed dirt, of cow manure, and all the chicken running around freely all day, the eggs we picked in the chicken coup, the cats, the fleas, the ducks, and Grandpa’s rabbits in their wired enclosures.

On this Mother’s Day Mom’s memories run together, past and present, near and far. She still knows who we are but the fond and clear memories together remain only in my mind. She weaves new stories every day to occupy herself but I ache for my Mom and our real stories together. For now, I can only give her the comfort of a hug, my precious time, and her favorite food or bread. Her eyes light up with joy when she tastes cornbread. “I’ve never had such delicious bread before,” she says. I sigh and nod my head. I have my Mom today to cherish and give her a hug. It is more than a lot of people have at the moment, who longingly wish they could see, kiss, and touch their mom’s hands and face one more time. Life is joyous and cruel at the same time but definitely worth living to its fullest. There are so many blessings we sometimes fail to notice or remember until they are no longer here.

Copyright: Ileana Johnson 2015

Dacian Gold's Heavy Price

Dacian bracelet from Sarmizegetusa
Photo: Wikipedia

Historians agree that some of the Roman military campaigns were motivated by the need to find and control ore reserves required for coinage. Monetary payments were made for a while using un-coined bronze called aes rude and cast bronze ingots called aes signatum.

Rome eventually built its own mint and coined silver denarii and smaller coins of bronze. During Emperor Augustus’ reign, a gold coin called aureus was minted, which could be exchanged into silver denarii. Because the Greeks kept their silver drahms as a basis for their monetary system, money exchangers of various currencies were found in large cities. Constantine introduced the gold solidus as a counter measure to the diminished weight and metal content of coins of the third century A.D.

A treasure trove of Roman coins, imperial aurei and denarii, was found in India, proof of the trade in spices and pearls, but also evidence that Indian merchants were collectors who may have prized the Roman gold and silver coins enough to horde them. According to Strabo, 120 ships “sailed every year to India from the Red Sea” and each cargo was extremely valuable.

Coins were not just a medium of exchange and store of value, but important means to advertise legendary figures, military campaigns and victories, buildings, roads, construction projects, and the image of the emperor. Julius Caesar was the first emperor to use his own visage on coins instead of the portraits of previous rulers as it was the custom.

It was thus of great importance for Rome to find new gold and silver reserves in order to feed the need for precious ore to mint coins for the Roman Empire.

Emperor Trajan, during his 19-year rule, managed to defeat in 105 A.D. the Dacians, a thriving civilization, the ancestors of the Romanians of today. Located north of the Danube River, the Dacians were a constant irritation, attacking and raiding the outskirts of the Roman Empire.

Following two years of Dacians Wars after Trajan’s 101 A.D. invasion of Dacia and a negotiated peace which the Dacians immediately broke, the Romans attacked again in 105 A.D., crushed them with tens of thousands of troops, and returned victorious to Rome, bringing back a half million pounds of Dacian gold and one million pounds of Dacian silver, including a very fertile new province with massive fields of grain necessary to feed an imperial army.

In May 2000, treasure hunters with metal detectors and exploratory knowledge found Dacian reddish solid gold bracelets and thousands of silver and gold coins buried at Sarmizegetusa, the former capital of the Dacian civilization. The stolen coins and 13 hammered bracelets weighing 27.5 pounds have been since recovered but Lot 26 is still missing. Individual coins have appeared for sale at various auction houses and online, ranging in price from $300 to $10,000.

The exploration for gold and silver took place after the fall of the communist regime in 1989 when digging permits and necessary materials became easy to obtain and the freedom to roam about undisturbed was returned to the population. For generations, the locals told stories about the buried Dacian gold, some of which was found in a rock chamber inside a 75 degree incline. The locals were unable to dig or explore around the area due to the stringent control of the communist regime over all natural resources, land, water, and any kind of human activity or movement.  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150320-romanian-dacian-sarmizegetusa-gold-looted-recovered/

Learning from the recovered coins interesting aspects of the Dacians’ life and religion, archeologists also determined that the coins were crude copies of Greek coins and were never in circulation. Likewise, the bracelets were never worn; they were made from local gold and buried into the ground for safekeeping.

Cassius Dio wrote that Decebalus diverted a river in order to hide silver and gold in the riverbed from the Romans. Dacian prisoners told their captors about the location of the treasure. However, Dr. Barbara Deppert-Lippitz argued that the burial of crudely made gold and silver coins and bracelets was not hoarding, they were sacrificial offers to the gods in caves and riverbeds because they believed caves and water were portals to the other world. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.178024582360956.1073741832.167633503400064&type=3

It is perhaps because of Trajan’s conquest and the subsequent colonization of Dacia by the Roman Empire that Romanians, surrounded by Slavic-rooted countries, speak a beautiful and complicated language that is closest to Latin of all six Romance languages and their numerous dialects: Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, and Romansch (spoken in one of Switzerland’s cantons).

When Sarmizegetusa, the capital of Dacia, fell and it was looted and burned to the ground by the Romans, its ruler, Decebalus, did not wait for the Romans to humiliate him into surrender; he committed suicide under an oak tree, as depicted by the top freeze of Trajan’s Column.

Andrew Curry describes for National Geographic how archeological digs in the area of Sarmizegetusa revealed the devastation left behind, the iron ore furnaces, tons of iron chunks ready for smelting, evidence of the fortress’ role in metal production of weapons and tools which were then exchanged for gold and grain. (Trajan’s Amazing Column, Andrew Curry, National Geographic, April 2015)

Curry said that “gold coins with Roman images and bracelets weighing up to two pounds each were looted from the ruins of Sarmizegetusa,” including jewelry and art, such as a gold and silver drinking vessel, “a wealth of ‘barbarian’ art.” They were not so barbarian after all, as the archeological finds reveal a sophisticated and thriving civilization wiped from “the face of Europe” by Trajan who “crossed the Danube River on two of the largest bridges the ancient world had ever seen, defeated a mighty barbarian empire on its mountainous home turf twice.”

Romanians analyze today the 126 feet stone column in Rome, topped with a bronze statue of the emperor who destroyed a thriving civilization. Like a boa constricting its prey, base-reliefs spiral to the heavens around Trajan’s Column, carved for eternity, telling the story of “Romans and Dacians who march, build, fight, sail, sneak, negotiate, plead, and perish in 155 scenes.”

The column is valuable historical evidence that has survived the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D. It offers clues about uniforms, weapons, equipment, and tactical warfare, portraying Trajan as the victor and Decebalus as a worthy opponent but a vanquished leader.

Andrew Curry explained that the column was revered by tourists, writers, painters, sculptors, and archeologists. Goethe, the famous German poet, “climbed the 185 internal steps in 1787 to ‘enjoy that incomparable view.”’

If you ever visit Italy, the number one pastime of tourists is to climb stairs of towers, churches, and edifices left from generations of builders who always tried to outdo each other’s life work in height and majesty. The fact that Trajan’s column and many other buildings have survived the numerous earthquakes of time, fires, and plundering is a miracle in itself.

Filippo Coarelli, archeologist and art historian, described the dramatic scenes such as “The Dacian women torturing Roman soldiers” with flaming torches and “The weeping Dacians poisoning themselves to avoid capture” or perhaps drinking water. He compared the carving with a scroll (volumen) built on 17 drums of “the finest Carrara marble.”

Ernest Oberlaender-Tarnoveanu, director of the National History Museum of Romania, disagrees on the interpretation of the women’s freeze. He said, “They’re definitely Dacian prisoners being tortured by the angry widows of slain Roman soldiers.”

The victorious emperor is carved 58 times, his legionaries are depicted building forts, bridges, clearing roads, harvesting crops, and African cavalrymen are shown with dreadlocks, “Iberians slinging stones, Levantine archers wearing pointy helmets, and bare-chested Germans in pants.” (National Geographic, April 2015)

Tacitus called the Dacians “a people which never can be trusted.” They accepted protection money from Rome while sending their fighters to raid Roman frontier towns. Roberto Meneghini, as quoted by Andrew Curry, said, “Look at the Romans fighting with cutoff heads in their mouths. War is war. The Roman legions were known to be quite violent and fierce.”

The defeated Dacian fighters became a favorite subject for sculptors, said Curry. “Trajan’s Forum had dozens of statues of handsome, bearded Dacian warriors, a proud marble army in the very heart of Rome.”

The column was not built for Dacians, it became a monument to display the power of the imperial war machine, “capable of conquering such a noble and fierce people,” said Meneghini. The Dacians who had survived were captured and sold into slavery.

Given their tumultuous history and numerous occupations, including centuries of bloody battles, tribute to and plunder by the Ottoman Empire, and modern-day political corruption, it is easy to understand why Romanians today are so circumspect of any investors who are considering exploring and mining the gold reserves left in Roșia Montană and the potentially damaging environmental effects.

Mineral resources and gold have been extracted from the Apuseni Mountains in western Transylvania since Roman times. Concerns over cyanide pollution like the 2000 cyanide spill in the Someș River at Baia Mare (the worst environmental disaster in Eastern Europe since the Chernobyl disaster) by the mining company Aurul (Gold), and worries over the preservation of the remains of the Roman mining site, added to the controversy surrounding the opening of new mining operations under Gabriel Resources of Canada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Baia_Mare_cyanide_spill

Ileana Johnson 2015

2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR)

The 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) was released on April 27. According to the website, it is “a blueprint for U.S. foreign policy.”  Following the 2010 review, the 2015 version identifies priorities and reforms needed to “advance the U.S. interests articulated in the 2015 National Security Strategy.” http://www.state.gov/s/dmr/qddr/releases/241180.htm

According to the website, the review is a “joint effort of the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development” (USAID).  It identifies four strategic priorities and recommendations:

1.      Preventing and mitigating conflict and violent extremism

2.      Promoting open, resilient, and democratic societies

3.      Advancing inclusive economic growth

4.      Climate change  http://www.state.gov/s/dmr/qddr/

According to the Executive Summary, preventing and mitigating conflict and violent extremism will be accomplished through expansion of prevention efforts by partnering with “host governments, supporting vulnerable communities, and challenging extremism messaging” and by strengthening “our ability to prevent and respond to internal conflict, atrocities, and fragility.” Investments will be made in “fragile states” to prevent conflict and manage crises by providing personnel and support to “specified countries of concern.”

Promoting open, resilient, and democratic societies will be accomplished by investing in democracy, human rights, and governance such as global initiatives (i.e., Open Government Partnership, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative); by expanding anti-corruption (corruption and bribery) initiatives; by supporting civil society and protecting an open Internet; and by protecting human rights.

Advancing inclusive economic growth will be accomplished by “expanding the middle class worldwide” (decrease youth unemployment, wealth inequality, promote gender equality, increased access to electricity, ways out of poverty, increased government accountability, a “race to the top” model); by enhancing economic leadership and expertise; and by improving use of data and diagnostics.

Climate change (a.k.a. seasons) effects are a “threat to our national security” and a “top priority for the State Department and USAID.”  Climate change mitigation and adaptation will be bureaucratically accomplished by promoting clean energy technology, increasing climate expertise, and appointing “climate leaders” and personnel at all bureaus and offices. Staff will be educated (read indoctrinated) on “climate-related issues, incorporating climate-related knowledge into the core competencies for Department and USAID officers.” In compliance with Executive Order 13677 on Climate-Resilient International Development, climate change will be integrated “into all of our diplomacy and development efforts.” Critical countries that are not compliant will be integrated into “our diplomacy and development efforts” for “in-depth climate engagement” in order to meet “international climate goals.”  The Department will complement all this global warming mitigation by directly engaging mayors, governors, faith leaders, women’s groups, and business leaders. As the review states, “We will seek their support in making commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

According to the Executive Summary, the State Department’s work has been so successful, it has set “the world’s highest standards for labor rights and environmental protection through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP), which will put the United States at the center of a free trade zone covering two-thirds of the global economy.” www.state.gov/documents/organization/241430.pdf

I wonder if anyone bothered to ask the massive unemployed in this country and all Americans negatively impacted by the huge influx of illegal aliens if they are satisfied with the adverse economic side-effects of treaties like the TPP, negotiated against the wishes and interests of the American people. And how does Mother Nature with its expected swings in weather, climate, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and global current-flows figure into the national security equation of climate change mitigation?

Copyright: Ileana Johnson 2015

 

 

 

An Evening in Support of Our Constitution

Larry Pratt
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

On May 1, 2015, a well-attended meeting of Virginians listened to arguments against the Article V Convention of States.

Some conservative factions are of the opinion that we have the world’s most perfect Constitution, 17 simple pages, and we don’t need to amend it or replace it in order to address a balanced-budget. Politicians must stop their out of control spending.

"There is nothing wrong with the Constitution," said the organizer of the event, Sevil Kalayci. She asked pointedly, "If politicians cannot abide by the current Constitution, what makes Americans think that this amendment will make any difference?"

An often stated fear has been that a Constitutional Convention has the potential to become a runaway convention that could replace the current Constitution with a progressive version.

So far, numerous states have already voted against an Article V Constitutional Convention: Virginia, Utah, Indiana, West Virginia, Wyoming, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma, Montana, and North Dakota. North Carolina adjourned without taking any action.

Article V of the Constitution states,

“The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by Congress;”

Some ask the questions, Can we trust that they will only amend parts of the Constitution? Can we trust that they will not rewrite the entire document? If they are not honoring the current Constitution, what makes us think that they will honor a new one, “unless it is to their liking?” Would they be honorable men? “Self-serving politicians could plunge us into servitude or something much worse. Are there more honorable men or more self-serving politicians currently serving?”

Even though the Constitution is very clear on its intent and has been settled for a long time, progressives consider it an outdated document in terrible need of revision.  A new book, The Constitution in 2020 by Jack Balkin and Reva Siegel, and a companion website propose the progressive vision of the U.S. Constitution in regards to individual rights, citizenship, southern border, “personhood,” and the bizarre questions, “Who counts as an American?” and “What kind of law counts as American?” http://constitution2020.org

Progressives opine that the U.S. Constitution must be revised to agree with their political, cultural, and ideological thought, except in cases where the exact wording of the Constitution suits their agenda and intent. They would love to replace “freedom of religion” with “freedom of worship” because worshipping would then only be allowed in a church and nowhere else. “Individual rights” must include “social justice,” “economic justice,”  “gender justice,” and “environmental justice,” the hallmarks of global communism.

The keynote speaker was Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America, a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 “to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue.” GOA currently has over 300,000 activists who support the right to bear arms as described in the Second Amendment. “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”  https://gunowners.org/

The first convention actually was a runaway convention but the participating men then were men of honor and the convention turned out well for the American people. Today, it is a different story, “people are playing with fire.” The delegates are already in power and are uncontrollable even in the face of re-election and have not kept their promises to represent the fiscal conservatives who have put them in power.

Time and time again, elected representatives have voted against the wishes of their constituents, continuing the out of control spending that has doubled our national debt in the last seven years. “We have no political control over the ruling class,” said Pratt. Look at the recent actions and votes of the Republican Party that support the Democrat Party’s agenda against the wishes of Americans who put them in power specifically to fight the destructive and anti-American Democrat agenda.

One of the monumental disappointments was the fact that the Republican majority in Congress was easily “cowed” and it failed miserably to stop Obamacare. “They are afraid of their shadow,” Pratt said. They had a chance to stop Obamacare. ”As long as the Republicans tolerate Speaker Boehner and leader McConnell, they are lying to us,” continued Pratt. “We are at a very critical point in our national affairs,” as if we are having a grand time on the Titanic, dancing and drunk, oblivious to the inevitable sinking.

Doctors were bought off; they are going right along with Castro Care, knowing how bad socialized medicine is, and agreeing to ask patients about their guns, a massive invasion of our privacy, a massive computer gathering data, using taking a mild pill against depression as a reason to confiscate guns from owners like they are doing in New York State.

Can politicians and bureaucrats be trusted that they are going to do the right thing in any instance, including a Constitutional Convention? Take for instance the case of ATF agents who were seen going into gun shops and illegally wheeling-in photo copiers and demanding records of anyone’s gun sales just in case some may have escaped the roving eye and ears of the NSA, said Pratt.

Why are prominent conservatives, with whom many agree on a variety of issues except the Constitutional Convention, support the Article V Con-Con? Pratt explained that perhaps they “have misjudged how the political system really works,” trust politicians to do the right thing, and want a balanced budget.

On the question of Jade Helm 15, Larry Pratt answered that it is an “Unconstitutional exercises of federal police power and it is menacing enough.”  Gov. Abbott of Texas, who “stands tall,” told the feds, Pratt added, he was going to keep an eye on them and so is his National Guard.

A rhetorical question begs asking, is the progressive Leviathan at bay or on defense? That remains to be seen, concluded Pratt.

Copyright: Ileana Johnson 2015

 

 

 

 

What Will it Take to Right the Ship of State?

People ask all the time what will it take to return our Constitutional Republic to its previous glory, away from the century-old destructive road to socialism and one world government global communism? The answer is obviously complex, as there are many nefarious plans and forces at play, seemingly unrelated, all merging at some place in time when the point of no return will be reached. The bridge over the dangerous chasm will be entirely destroyed and crossing to safety will be impossible.

Conservative and America-loving ideas to preserve free markets and our way of life are considered radical and extreme by the regressive minority running the country. Even individuals who are trying to do the right thing and respect their oath of office are constantly harassed and intimidated by the political correctness (read free speech censorship) running our government.

We must honor existing international agreements, alliances, and treaties and fulfill ethical and legal obligations to our allies. Nobody should be allowed to enter into new treaties through backdoor legislation that overrides the power of the Senate to ratify treaties and any such agreements, no matter what the title; the agreements and private-public partnerships formed under the aegis of U.N. Agenda 21 should benefit the American people, not the globalist corporatist interests who have no allegiance to our country.

President Obama’s trade agenda, the trade promotion authority (TPA), would allow him to fast-track new trade deals like Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with 12-nations from Asia to Latin America. The trade promotion authority (TPA) bill, sponsored by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), and Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), would give Congress a vote on trade agreements “negotiated by the administration, but lawmakers would not have the option to amend those deals.” http://thehill.com/policy/finance/239810-obama-trade-fight-engulfs-the-capitol

If you liked the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with its millions of jobs lost and the huge U.S. trade deficit created, and none of the benefits advertised before its passing, then you are going to love the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

“This job-killing trade deal has been negotiated in secret,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). “It was drafted with input by special interests and corporate lobbyists, but not from the elected representatives of the American people.”

TPP removes any remaining impediments to shipping American jobs overseas; it will rob consumers of product safety and labeling.  It will also allow for unchecked flood of immigrants from the 12 signatory countries into the United States. Foreign companies can sue the U.S. government for any damages deriving on American soil. They can pollute the environment and the fees levied by the EPA against them will be paid for by the American taxpayer directly and indirectly.

TPP is a worse threat to our national security than the declared climate change, a.k.a. seasons. Our national debt will grow exponentially and we will become consumers suffocated by debt with jobs left only in the domestic service sector.

The military should be used as a last resort with a defense apparatus based on realistic and truthful understanding of threats. Foreign policy should identify issues that may result in conflict and attempt to resolve them diplomatically first. Women in power with college activist experience should not be allowed to make decisions for the entire country when they have no real understanding of battlefield conflict issues or historical precedent.

Qualified leaders should be chosen based on their work that benefits the American people, not corporate interests, political donations, and charismatic personalities.  

Redundancy in appropriations should be eliminated. The out-of-control spending that doubled our national debt in the last eight years should be curtailed.

Responsible top military leaders should build the strongest defense on the planet by using technology in every area possible, even cyber space. Decisions based on the cold war era format that started in 1947 may or may not be applicable today.

Instead of declaring climate change a national emergency and security threat, energy independence should become a defense issue by developing domestic sources of energy, an independence steered away from the Middle East countries which are steeped in religious hatred, turmoil, wars, and centuries-old tribal conflict.

The College of Education and the Common Core national standards should be immediately eliminated. They represent the “progressive” (read regressive) indoctrination into the global communist ideology and Islam.

Even though some regulations are necessary to maintain a relatively clean environment, the Environmental Protection Agency should be defunded and controlled as it overtly attempts to destroy the coal industry, the main engine of affordable energy supply for our vast economy, and the use of our land and private property.

If we are to remain an independent country, we must protect the largest source of cheap energy derived from fossil fuels, oil and coal. Because scientists have demonstrated that the earth continues to produce oil, the name fossil fuel is somewhat inaccurate and deceptive. Alternative sources of energy should not be entirely discounted but maintained as a plan B in the event of an EMP attack.

Defund any attempts to promote Green Growth, to socially re-engineer our towns, cities, our agricultural land, and stop any attempt to reshape every facet of our economic lives based on a debunked scientific hoax and a non-existent danger to the planet earth as promoted by the climate change industry and U.N.’s Agenda 21.

Do not buy into “living with less” environmentalist/global warmists agenda of housing, herding the population into “stack and pack” tiny apartments and shipping containers turned into homes smaller than most hotel rooms and prison cells, while the global elites live in mansions on the most beautiful beach front pieces of real estate in the world, the very beaches that environmentalists tell us are supposed to be underwater due to global warming melting the ice caps. As Mark Steyn said, “environmentalists are communists, green on the outside and red on the inside.” http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/steyn-environmentalists-are-communists

The Department of Energy as the main distributor of college research grants duplicates other departments. Its stated mission is now “to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.” It has been years since we built a nuclear power plant, but we have wasted billions giving grants and subsidizing failing solar power plants and windfarms, many who have produced few and expensive kilowatts of energy, while destroying wildlife.

Can we right the ship of state before the point of no return? Are Americans willing and interested in doing so?

Is it possible to realistically right the ship of state when misguided young Americans destroy and torch their own city and businesses that could employ some of the 70 percent jobless youth? Why would a mayor “give them room” to destroy a city?

Why would useful idiots riot to turn our country into a third world basket of lawlessness, corruption, and racial hatred egged on by professional agitators who make the empty promise of non-existent communist social justice?

Copyright: Ileana Johnson 2015