CITIES NOW ABROGATING OUR RIGHTS

By Jon Christian Ryter
July 27, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

This nation is now in serious jeopardy of losing the Bill of Rights...not from the usurpations of the federal government—from your municipal government. You know, the petty bureaucrats in City Hall who are so unimportant that, from one elections to the next, you have no idea who they are. The Utopians learned a long time ago that when you want to deconstruct a nation, you don't start by tearing off the roof...you will only succeed if you start by chipping away at the foundation. When the foundation crumbles, the nation falls.

Since governance begins at the local level, it is the foundation of of the structure of government. Which suggests it should be the government system we know best. But it isn't. Most of us don't know the name of our own Mayor or our City Council members.

The City Council of Gould, Arkansas recently enacted an ordinance that forbids residents of the city from meeting and organizing groups without approval of the city council. Abrogating citizen rights in cities with liberals in charge of the governments appears to be growing.

In June, 2011 Cedar Rapids, Iowa enacted Ordinance 2740 that violates the 4th Amendment. The Ordinance forces all commercial property owners to put lock boxes on their business establishments that will give city officials unfettered access to those businesses 24-7. The reason for the ordinance? It's a Big Brother law designed to protect businesses from mishaps theoretically caused by the business owner. In other words, the lock boxes were implemented to protect the business owner from himself. The fire chief, when questioned, said he debated the constitutionality of the lock boxes, but the local courts never ruled on the question of whether or not violating the 4th Amendment right of the local business owners was unconstitutional.

In Gould (between Pine Bluff and Dumas in Lincoln County), the issue was even more basic. Gould officials appear to believe that being elected meant those so endowed had been granted power to rule the 1,300 people who elected them rather than serving those same people.

Through Ordinance 05201.1-5, the city council arbitrarily assumed for themselves the right to disband a citizens' group, The Gould Citizens' Advisory Commission [GCAC], of which Mayor Ernest Nash is a member. In addition, the ordinance banned the formation of any new organizations of any type within the city—even ad hoc groups of private citizens who choose to meet informally in private homes for coffee to unofficially discuss anything and everything from how the local high school football team is faring on how to make their town better—without the express consent of the city council.

One council member shown on the video, Sonya Farley said she has altered her prior view that the Council had the right to totally control everything. But her change of heart didn't come until she was interviewed by the New York Times. She told the Times that the council's actions were likely unconstitutional and that she would probably vote to rewrite the ordinance now. When you outlaw people's 1st Amendment rights to free assembly, it doesn't matter how your phrase the abrogation of rights, it's still unconstitutional. The City Council members who voted to abrogate your rights need to be recalled and thrown out of office. Then they need to be prosecuted for malfeasance of office. This is one of the most serious crimes in America—the violation of the public trust.

The Gould City Council said their reason for banning the GCAC is that it "...is, in effect, causing confusion and discourse [sic] among the citizens of Gould and as a result is contributing to the friction not only between the Mayor and Council, but among the citizens who deserve a cooperative government."

Mayor Ernest Nash disputed the statement of the Council, noting that "...the group doesn't cause friction between me and the council. The council causes friction between me and the council." Nash said what the Council is attempting is the total domination of Gould.

The GCAC was formed about 8 years ago when Gould became financially insolvent and was forced to declare bankruptcy. When that happened, the IRS filed a $300,000 lien against the city for its failure to pay employee income and FICA taxes. Had the GCAC not stepped in and paid part of the lien its likely the IRS would already have seized at least a portion of Gould's property.

The Arkansas Gazette likened the ban of civic groups without City Council approval to the "bad old days when Southern politicians tried to root out the NAACP and similar dangerous organizations." Mayor Nash vetoed the ordinance when it was passed in June. When the City Council overruled him on July 13, GCAC Chairman Curtis Mangrum told the Arkansas Gazette that "...the action is in direct conflict with the right of citizens to to assemble in their communities as protected by the US Constitution's First Amendment, and Arkansas Constitution, Article 2, Section 4."

Here's the reality. We have an ugly malignancy in government today at every level. It's been growing for ten decades. It is called communism (even though the new breed of communists insist that communism died when the Berlin Wall fell).

The communists within our society have been hiding in a political watermelon patch since the collapse of the Soviet system. Today, they call themselves social progressives or environmentalists. But, regardless of the name they use, it's the same thing. Communism. The communist mantra of 40 to 60 years ago was the equality of the masses. Today it's about equal rights for nature. But, what it's really about is control. Absolute, dictatorial control. Them controlling us.

The nation's 36.1 million social progressives are working hard to repopulate the next generation of politicians. Today, the American people mistrust national politicians on both sides of the aisle because all of them seem determined to destroy the US Constitution and, in particular, the Bill of Rights.

For replacements, voters are looking at State, county and municipal levels for tomorrow's leaders. For that reasons, the watermelons (politicians who are green on the outside and communist red on the inside) are the seedlings that are taking root at the local and county levels. As a very discontent voting public seeks to replace the social progressives they are finding at the national level, they naturally look to their State legislatures for experience they can trust. As the voters seek to dump the social progressives at State level, they look for their replacements at county and municipal levels. It is no wonder we are experiencing a rise in arrogance in places like Gould, Arkansas and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Look closely. Even though the media may not have reported it yet, we need to stop searching for our new leaders in the watermelon patch. When they look like a communist, talk like a communist and act like a communist—regardless what they call themselves, they are a communist.

And, when they get on their soap boxes and rant about saving the world, protecting the environment or saving us from global warming (even though the sun, not carbon dioxide emissions nor flatulent cows and sweaty people determine Earth's temperatures), they're still communists. They're just posing as something else because they think we're too stupid to recognize them for what they are.

© 2011 Jon C. Ryter - All Rights Reserved

[Order, Jon C. Ryter's book, "Whatever Happened to America?" It's out of print, and supply is limited.]

Jon Christian Ryter is the pseudonym of a former newspaper reporter with the Parkersburg, WV Sentinel. He authored a syndicated newspaper column, Answers From The Bible, from the mid-1970s until 1985. Answers From The Bible was read weekly in many suburban markets in the United States.

Today, Jon is an advertising executive with the Washington Times. His website, www.jonchristianryter.com has helped him establish a network of mid-to senior-level Washington insiders who now provide him with a steady stream of material for use both in his books and in the investigative reports that are found on his website.

E-Mail: BAFFauthor@aol.com

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