The late President Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” He went on to say that we must fight for and protect our freedoms or we will be telling our children and grandchildren what it was like to truly be a free United States citizen. This has never been more true than it is right now. Our freedoms are being stripped from us by the very people we have elected and, incidentally pay, to protect them, and we are not fighting back. Our country’s founding documents lead us in the right and true path “…That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and institute new Government…” and yet we sit on our hands and allow our freedoms to be taken. The documentary, “One Nation Under Siege,” gives a compelling synopsis of the intrusion by our elected officials, the U.S. government, into our lives, under the pretext of protecting us from our enemies.

With the renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act, in March of 2006, there have been many impositions upon our inalienable rights. Our Freedom of Speech has been highly jeopardized by the fact that we can now be labeled as domestic terrorists if we protest or speak out against the current administration. The protection against rights to unreasonable search and seizure have been threatened by programs like ECHELON, which, according to Dr. Stan Monteith of Radio Liberty, allow the government to listen in on all telephone conversations, read all e-mails and faxes and record them. This is done by computer and the messages can be kept indefinitely. William Lewis, independent film producer, says it is legal, since the USA PATRIOT Act, for law enforcement officers to enter your home, without your knowledge or consent, to conduct sneak and peak searches. Lewis also comments on the flagrant disregard for our right of due process when he states that suspects can now be held indefinitely, without access to phone calls or attorneys. Charlotte Iserbyt, Education Activist, asks the questions we all should ask, “How did you let this happen” and “Don’t you care?”

While United States citizens are being told Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags are for tagging merchandise in retail outlets, RFID experts Liz McIntyre and Katherine Albrecht have discovered some truly disturbing documents. When conducting research for their book, “Spy Chips,” they found that IBM holds a patent titled “Identification and Tracking of persons using RFID-tagged items” (Patent Application 20020165758). McIntyre tells us that, in this patent, IBM describes the government using something called a “Person Tracking Unit” to track individuals in public places. Add to this the appalling disclosures in the document “The Revolution in Military Affairs and Conflict Short of War” concerning what is called an Individual Position Locator Device (IPLD). Power Hour Radio co-host Joyce Riley reveals that IPLD’s are designed for permanent implantation under the skin and are being recommended for EVERY AMERICAN. The only question still open for debate is whether these implantable microchips will be voluntary or enforced through some arm of Homeland Security. Either way, the introduction of these devices into the lives of U.S. citizens can be summed up in three simple words… (1) spying; (2) tracking; (3) control.

By the year 2008, state issued drivers licenses or ID cards will not be accepted by any Federal agency unless they comply with the new rules and regulations as set forth in the Real ID Act of 2005 (HR 415). While the “minimum document requirements” of this act seem harmless enough, there are two troubling requirements: the “physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for fraudulent purposes” and “common machine-readable technology, with defined minimum data elements.” What will those “physical security features” and “data elements” be? With the passage of this piece of legislation, United States citizens are being treated as criminals. What happened to our assumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law, otherwise known as “due process”?

The USDA has begun implementation of the first segment of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS): premise registration. Registration is conducted through the individual states or tribes, and, while the USDA has stated that premise registration is voluntary on the national level, it will be left up to the individual states to determine whether or not registration should be mandatory. This is an inescapable loophole for the USDA and NAIS, as they will not be the ones “mandating” the registration, they can continue to promote it as voluntary. As of now, Wisconsin and Indiana are the only states that have mandated premise registration, and Michigan has implemented mandatory RFID tagging (the second and third segments of the NAIS) of all cattle that would be removed from the birth premises, for any reason. Several states mention in their documentation that, while the program is voluntary, they expect it to become mandatory in the future.

The Presidential Elections are looming around the corner for the United States. There are checks and balances in place for a corrupt government: Impeachment. Several Democrats, as well as anti-war, anti-Bush groups, pushed for a Democratic take-over of the Congress during the past midterm elections, in hopes that the impeachment of President Bush would be the first order of business. The Democrats did, indeed, “take back” Congress, but it’s been business as usual. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said impeachment wasn’t even on the table. The Honorable John Conyers has been a staunch supporter of the removal of the Bush regime, but has stated recently that the Democrats cannot push for impeachment until all the facts were gathered. Outgoing Representative Cynthia McKinney did the legwork for the Democrats and presented Articles of Impeachment against Bush, giving hope to the many who voted the Democrats into office to get just those results. While the Democratic Party has no control over its supporters, it is clear that the very people who put them in office are not being represented.

What actions, then, can be taken to return our country to “We the People” and, in turn, regain our rights and freedoms? A few brilliant suggestions have been put forth. Riley advocates our return to a true “Constitutional” form of government, that our government has “run amuck” and there is no accountability. Dr. Monteith advises that we all need to become active participants in the political process. While realizing that this political process has been corrupted through both media and voting machines, he suggests the implementation of the paper ballot and local counting of these ballots. Dr. Sherri Tenpenny has, by far, the most unique, yet most obvious, solution of all, “There are two hundred million adults in this country…Why we are letting them (our elected officials) get away with what they are, why we’re not marching in the streets, why we are not actually down there, physically extracting them from their offices and firing them?” That’s a good question, Dr. Tenpenny.

Our Founding Fathers prepared documents for our future as a country in anticipation of the usurpation of our rights and freedoms by our government. The Constitution of the United States of America and the Declaration of Independence are as essential today as they were when they were written. Power Hour Radio co-host Dave vonKleist tells us that our founding fathers “pledged their lives and their fortunes and their sacred honor.” Major General Albert Stubblebine asks the timely question, “Why are we beginning to tread on our Constitutional Rights?” We must now stand up, protect and fight for our freedoms or we are going to loose the very freedoms for which our country was founded. By idling sitting by and expecting someone else to do this for us, we will get the government we deserve. Benjamin Franklin summed it up nicely when he said; “Those that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” For more information, please visit www.bridgestonemediagroup.com