COULD THESE US SENATORS ALL BE FELONS ???

(Not Bloody Likely…)

For well over a year now, Secretary of State John Kerry has been in the midst of negotiating a nuclear treaty with the Nation of Iran, a project which has been at the center of a whirlwind of controversy last visited with the congressional speech in opposition by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 3rd, 2015.  The deal at this time is described by the Obama administration as “an outline”, with details to be released later, while opposition, including by the Israel Government, say that a limited term for such a deal “paves Iran’s path to the (atomic) bomb”.

In reaction to the Obama proposal of this deal being impending, 47 Republican U.S. Senators, led by Tom Cotton of Arkansas, have written a letter to “the Leaders of Iran”, which has Democrats and supporters of the President up in arms.  Dr. Peter Spiro, Professor of Law at Temple University has suggested that the 47 signatory Senators, including Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz may be guilty of criminal activity, while both Bloomberg News and the New York Daily News have suggested they may be guilty of treason!  It should be noted that Dr. Spiro is a former member of the Clinton Administration.

Regarding these accusations of criminal activity by literally half of the United States Senate, they stem from an ancient law called the Logan Act, first passed in 1799 and unused since 1804 even to bring a prosecution.  No one has ever been convicted under this law.  The Logan Act states that, “Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government” in order to influence that government, is guilty of a felony.

What should be made clear about the actual letter drafted and signed by nearly every Republican in the Senate, is that it reads like a sixth grade civics textbook, explaining the form of the United States Government.  Among the apparently felonious intelligence given to the Iran Government by the GOP was:

* The President negotiates international treaties, while the Senate ratifies them.
* The approval of treaties requires an affirmative vote of 2/3rds of the Senate.
* That a Congressional - Executive Agreement requires a major vote of both Houses of Congress.
* And that the President can serve two four-year terms, while Senators serve six year terms.

Yes, the purpose of telling the Iranian government these things was to inform them that a unilateral agreement with a President in the last two years of his term may not last much longer than that term.  However, the liberal press and many Democrats, including Senators Harry Reid and Dick Durbin literally believe that over 40 Senators should be jailed for telling foreign leaders things that no one in America can pass the seventh grade without knowing.

Sometimes the Democratic Party stretches credibility, with Senate Minority Leader Reid calling the letter “spiteful”.  A petition sponsored by the White House to charge the signers of the letter with treason against the United States itself, contained 140,000 signatures at the time of this writing.

Never mind that most legal scholars,  including Steve Vladeck of the Brookings Institute believe that the Logan Act is completely unenforceable and a violation of the First Amendment.  The day Democrats are actually able to enforce a law barring United States Senators from writing letters in which they speak their own minds, our Republic is in very, very deep trouble.  The real treason may be Democrats who feel the First Amendment doesn’t apply to our own leaders.

Here is a link to the actual letter sent by the Senators

PRESS SPREAD CLIMATE SMEAR AGAINST GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT

In an astonishing violation of journalistic ethics, the Associated Press, Reuters CNN and many other media outlets, including the New York NBC News outlet WPTZ ran a story March 9th that Florida Governor Rick Scott had personally “banned” the use of the phrases “Climate Change” and Global Warming.  This story unfortunately remains entirely unsubstantiated and has been debunked by the Governor’s Office itself.

This story originated with the Florida Center for Investigative Journalism, a group founded and run by Trevor Aronson a former reporter for Al Jazeera and graduate of the Investigative Reporting Program at California Berkley.  Mr. Aronson and company have put forward the narrative that Governor Scott set out an official policy of barring the use of the controversial terms, as claimed by Christopher Byrd, a disgruntled former employee of the State of Florida.

Mr. Byrd recently left the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to form his own private law firm, Byrd Law Group, whose clients include a list which is near exclusively made up of environmental lobbying groups, including Florida Defenders of the Environment and a group called Animal Rights, which specializes in defending the civil rights of household pets.  Mr Byrd put forward no evidence to verify his claim regarding the Governor’s office, which comes at a fortunate time to promote his own legal business.

The Governor himself has denied this report to reporters, stating  “First of all, its not true”, said Governor Scott.  The Governor’s spokesperson Jeri Bustamonte confirmed that there is no such policy.

It is a matter of great concern that in 2015, so-called investigative journalism may consist, even with regard to institutions of high prominence, merely repeating rumors with no confirmation, evidence or substance.

WE ALL MUST BE CJ PEARSON

As many of you have heard, 12 year-old C.J. Pearson of Georgia was locked out of Facebook for posting a video and commentary that Barack Obama does not love America.  Whether you agree with C.J. or not, it is vital that Facebook not use their clout to censor the political criticism of anyone, let alone a 12 year old boy.

Until Facebook decides to respect free speech and restores C.J.'s page, no more posts on Facebook.

I too, am C.J. Pearson.

His story can be found here: http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/03/01/watch-12-year-old-conservative-superstar-defends-giuliani-blasts-obama

WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY

In the future, Volition Magazine will be providing coverage and commentary on many current events.  However, as we are at the point of inauguration of Volition, a letter arrived from a liberal.  Not just an average Democratic Party voter, mind you, but a liberal who I would fairly say advocates for the implementation of socialism in America and an end to capitalistic free enterprise.  

I will not name this person, but rather say that he represents a mindset which is increasingly common, and one which must be confronted.  Not to his detriment, but to insure the future he desires cannot come to pass, not only for his own good, but for the good of all.

For those of you reading this of a more conservative persuasion, you may ask yourself, what motivates such a person?  Are they insane? Well, I’d say it is closer to the point to say they care deeply about their fellow man.  They want to insure, as do we all,  that people get enough to eat, have a place to live and the means to support themselves and their families.

They see sinister forces allying against this in the forms of oligarchy and privilege.  They have been told of a super-wealthy "1% percent" who would hoard wealth, and are doing so as we speak, while others suffer for lack of basic items.  Their solution? Frankly, to take it from those who have it, by force if necessary.

A few excerpts from this letter that was received are telling:

"There has been a steady erosion of democratic process and quality of life due the resurgence of "neo-liberal" economic philosophy and the conservative movement…..you should be fighting against the conservative movement because it is fundamentally content with impoverishing everyone so that a few people can be super rich."

"I do hope you realize that the conservative vision of economic prosperity which you advocate, or at
least defend, protects only a few people, the most competitive people, the most talented, and the previously privileged. It says that if you are ordinary you only deserve poverty. Why is comfort and well being to
be reserved for the wealthy? Why should the rest of us live in desperation? What about not being super ambitious makes us deserving of ill health, insecurity and poor education?”

The issue is not the writer.  I understand exactly how he feels.  I think it is fair to say that all of us, even the most libertarian, have felt the pangs of envy toward those more economically fortunate.  In some cases, our needs were very, very real and heartfelt.

The problem is the leaders of these people.  Those who take short, concise concepts, what I like to “bumper sticker logic”, such as “The top 1% control 90% of the wealth”, and spread them amongst their supporters.  These ideas can seem logical to the uninformed.  In the example above, it is a simple observation of mathematics to understand that the top portion of anything, which must exist in any economic model, will control the lions share of resources.  This was true in the days of Ancient Rome, in Victorian England, in Colonial America and is true today.  Despite the grand plans and schemes of despots through history, it will remain true for all the days to come…any alternative has never been explained to me in the efficacy of its execution.

In the hopes that this response will address the points made by the liberal who took time to write the quotes above, I’ll pose two questions, first…what makes you think people are badly off today, and second, are there better ways to run a nation than we do today?

I’ll answer the first by asking this additional question:  How much do the “1%” actually make? Who are they?  In America, in 2014, the Top 10% Wage Earners make $114, 000, according to the IRS.  The Top 1% make $380,000 per year.  So, who are these people?  In the top 10 are our pharmacists, our doctors, our school principals, our local bankers, attorneys, the people in our communities, our brothers and sisters who keep local charities in business.  They are not sinister mystery-men from the shadows.  Even socialist Senator Bernie Sanders makes $193,000 per year, not including contributions….Sanders IS the one percent.

Certainly, we would all like to live better, but even of those in poverty, the majority in America enjoy color television, the Internet, emergency medical care, year round fresh fruits and vegetables,  and many other amenities.  A generation or two ago, hey would have thought we lived like kings and emperors.

Could we change our society and make it better, of course we could, and with luck, we will.  We could re-dedicate ourselves to exceptionialism, to achievement, to encouraging people to do well for themselves and not try to shame them with accusations of privilege or unfair advantage.  We could build a government that facilitates, rather than stifles innovation and initiative.  Imagine a world where one could start one’s own business with a vision and hard work, rather than  needing a battery of lawyers and a wealthy uncle?

To be a bit more specific, we could change how we tax.  As has been suggested by both liberal Bill Gates and conservative Steve Forbes, we could tax consumption, and leave each man’s income and earning alone, to encourage savings and thrift.

But none of this will change until our minds do.  We must realize that we already know how to make America the most prosperous nation on the face of the Earth, because we have already done it.  The greatest threat, to paraphrase cartoonist Walt Kelly, is that, we have met the enemy, and forgotten that he is us.

WELCOME TO VOLITION MAGAZINE

Volition is the will to act.  Before you can act, you will need good information, about current events, about American civics, about common sense and when you're being hoodwinked.

This website is dedicated to the discriminating reader, who wants to know the truth...unvarnished, about the shape of society today and what the future can hold for our nation.  I invite you to join.

You may be enlightened...You might be thrilled...You may get upset....however, if you're bored here, check your pulse....

All the Best -

Kevin Joseph Ryan,

Editor