In an effort to get to the truth about the arrest, incarceration and withholding of bond for Nashville attorney Leo Haffey, I have explored the facts and major players surrounding this troubling case. Since one of the players is Gloria Dumas, a Nashville judge, and Leo Haffey requested that she be recused for biased behaviour and we have been at the mercy of so many bad judges, exposing the truth about Judge Dumas became more important.
Someone else investigating this case indicated that Judge Gloria Dumas may have a feminist agenda. Since that is hearsay, I wanted more tangible evidence. First examine the charges filed against Leo Haffey.
The consistent theme in this surreal case is that Leo Haffey has openly spoken out about and questioned Barack Obama. I believe that Haffey wrote the first motion for Orly Taitz. The Haffey family has emphatically stated they were pressured and Harrassed by Obama supporters. Some of these people are involved in the legal profession. When one considers that a very high percentage of attorneys and law firms voted for and supported Obama, this is more believable. Leo Haffey also spoke out about corruption in Nashville.
Attorney Leo Haffey, arrested based on suspicious affidavits and held without bond and benefit of witnesses and records, prepared this motion in jail and filed it.
Leo Haffey states in the motion:
He was not allowed to call any witnesses.
His bond was revoked.
He was kept in jail without access to his records.
He believes that judge Dumas is biased based on her statements and rulings.
He requests that Judge Dumas be recused
So why should anyone believe Leo and Question Judge Dumas?
All of those close to this case have consistently stated they were pressured by Obama supporters.
A request was submitted to the Nashville District Attorney’s office regarding pressure from legal professionals who suppport Obama.
Judge Dumas has supported the Democrat party, including monetary gifts.
Judge Dumas, as reported on this blog yesterday, was cited by News Channel 5 for unprofessional and illegal activities.
Judge Dumas was presented with formal charges on September 21, 2009 by the Investigative Panel of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary. Exerpts of the charges are presented below.
The following text was extracted from the PDF file. The original PDF file link below should be used to insure accuracy.
“1. Following a full investigation authorized under the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated 9 17-5-304(b)(3), the three judge investigative panel composed of the Honorable Pamela Reeves, the Honorable Jean A. Stanley, and the Honorable Dwight E. Stokes found, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated 5 17-5-304(d)(2)(A), that there is reasonable cause to believe that the Honorable Gloria Dumas has committed judicial offenses alleged herein in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated 5 17-5-302, and directed disciplinary counsel to file formal charges pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 17-5-304(d)(2) (A).
2. The Honorable Gloria Dumas, at all times relevant herein, was a judge of the General Sessions Court of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, having taken the oath of office following her election in 1998. Therefore, General Sessions Judge Dumas is subject to judicial discipline by the Court of the Judiciary pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated 8 17-5- 102.
Charges
Disciplinary Counsel charges Honorable Gloria Dumas as follows:
Count I
3. The complainant alleges that Judge Gloria Dumas in exercising her authority as a General Sessions Judge of Nashville and Davidson County is persistently late in attending court sessions and fails to open court at 9:00 a.m. or other designated times for the litigants that appear before her.
Count II
4. Judge Dumas has consistently failed to attend her dockets and extensively used special judges to hold her dockets. These special judges were appointed in a fashion that fails to meet Tennessee law. These appointments fail to comply with Tennessee Code Annotated 5 16-1 5-209.
Tennessee Code Annotated $ 16-1 5-209 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:”
“(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (e) and (f), a general sessions or juvenile court judge shall have the authority to appoint a special judge as provided in this subsection.
It is alleged that in 2008 that Judge Dumas made at least thirty-three (33) such invalid appointments with multiple appointments being made to one attorney. In 2009 through March, Judge Dumas has made twelve (12) such appointments with many of these appointments being made to the same attorney. All of these 2009 appointments were made after notice to Judge Dumas that such appointments failed to meet state law and evidence intentional misconduct.”
“5. Tennessee Code Annotated tj 16-15-5002 provides, in pertinent part, as
follows:
5 16-15-5002. Outside practice of law
(a) All general sessions judges in Class 1,2 or 3 counties shall devote full time to the duties of such office and shall be prohibited from the
practice of law or any other employment which conflicts with the performance of their duties as judge.
It is alleged that by her frequent absence from her duties as General Sessions Judge, Judge Dumas has willfully failed to “devote full time to the duties of such office.. .”
6. The above-described conduct, actions andlor inactions of Judge Dumas set forth in Counts I and 11, inclusive, constitute multiple violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct, and as such, subject her to the sanctions provided by the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated 5 17-5-30 1, including violation of the following:”
“7. In addition, the above-described conduct, actions and/or inactions of Judge Dumas set forth in Counts I and 11, inclusive, constitute multiple statutory violations of Tennessee Code Annotated as hereinabove described, and as such, subject her to sanctions due to the misconduct provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated 5 17-5-302, including violation of the following:
fj 17-5-302. Misconduct
Offenses of which the court may take cognizance shall include the following:
(1) Willful misconduct relating to the official duties of the office;
(2) Willful or persistent failure to perform the duties of the office;
(3) Violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct as set out in the rules of the supreme court of Tennessee;
(5) A persistent pattern of intemperate, irresponsible or injudicious conduct;
(7) A persistent pattern of delay in disposing of pending litigation; and
(8) Any other conduct calculated to bring the judiciary into public disrepute or to adversely affect the administration of justice.”
Count III
“8. It is alleged that in November of 2005 Judge Dumas hired as her court officer her daughter and authorized her to be paid a salary commensurate with her assigned duties when she had no experience or training for this position and this selection was made without competitive consideration of qualified applicants. Judge Dumas’ daughter served in this position for approximately one year.”
“9. The above-described conduct, actions and/or inactions of Judge Dumas set forth in Count I11 constitute multiple violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct, and as such, subject her to the sanctions provided by the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated tj 17-5-301, including violation of the following:
CANON 3. A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially and Diligently
C. Administrative Responsibilities.. .”
“10. In addition, the above-described conduct, actions and/or inactions of Judge Dumas set forth in Count 111, subject her to sanctions due to the misconduct provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated $ 17-5-302, including violation of the following:
5 17-5-302. Misconduct
Offenses of which the court may take cognizance shall include the following:
(1) Willful misconduct relating to the official duties of the office;
…
(3) Violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct as set out in the rules of the supreme court of Tennessee;
…
(8) Any other conduct calculated to bring the judiciary into public disrepute or to adversely affect the administration of justice.
I will be contacting the Tennessee judiciary committee members and Nashville District Attorney’s office to demand that Leo Haffey be released immediately on bond.
I was first notified of attorney Leo Haffey’s arrest on September 19, 2009. Here is the email I received:
“Why is Leo the Lawyer in Jail in Nashville?
Leo the Lawyer (Leo Haffey) is an attorney from Nashville, TN who is a tireless patriot familiar to many of us on the Internet and various blogs.
The official charges are assault. His bond was revoked. No one has been injured and there are serious questions about the political motives of his accusers who are politically powerful liberal Democrats.
Attempts are being made to administer anti-psychotic drugs to Leo even though Leo says there has been no diagnosis established.
He was not allowed to call his wife or daughter in his defense, however the prosecution has called them as witnesses for the prosecution.
I don’t know enough about this case to speak authoritatively but I do smell a rat.
I established this blog as a showcase for some of Leo’s writings and to provide an information hub for his family, friends, and supporters.
If you would like to post articles, comments, or good wishes to Leo please contact Aristotle the Hun”
I spoke to Haffey’s wife a few days later and another time. She gave me an overview of what had transpired. At no time did she ever express that she was afraid of her husband. She emphasized that she and her family had been pressured and threatened by people in Nashville, neighbors and people in the legal profession who were Obama supporters. A fellow blogger with a background in marriage and family counseling and related court cases, Aristotle the Hun, has been in touch with Leo Haffey and his wife. This gentleman and I have been in regular contact including a lengthy conversation today.
So far, everything I have been told by Haffey’s wife and Aristotle the Hun has been proven true. A complaint was filed with the Nashville District Attorney’s office regarding pressure put on the Haffey family by local legal professionals. Today I called the Nashville DA’s office and spoke with Natalie Broadway, who was allegedly contacted via email to initiate an investigation. Ms. Broadway could not answer my questions and passed me on to her boss. I left a voice message and have not received a response.
This whole matter has smelled badly from the beginning and now smells even more. I am presenting below some documents and information on this case that will help clarify it.
Three affidavits below echo what I was initially told, that the incidents involved neighbors and that no one was hurt. It never made sense that Leo Haffey was held on no bond under these circumstances. It makes less sense now unless the judge who was apparently recused was indeed biased, politically motivated or very misinformed. I do know that Leo Haffey was evaluated soon after his arrrest and found to be no harm to himself. He also is being held in a minimum security facility.
As the old saying goes, there are two sides to every story, we will not make this a witch hunt. However, something is wrong with this picture. We need to help Leo Haffey get out on bail and be allowed to have adequate representation by himself or another impartial attorney.
As you read the following affidavits, be reminded that Leo Haffey and his two accusers are neighbors. They live in a condominium complex and apparently share parking access. Also the term prosecutor means the person filing the charges.
WARRANT NUMBER: GS436425 04/30/2009 19:27:51
Filed by Traci Horst, who is apparently the wife of attorney Brent Horst.
“On 4/30/9 at approximtely 1715 hours, Ms. Horst arrived home and went to the back of her vehicle to assist her child out of the back seat. Mr. Haffey, on a 2001 Black Honda CMX Motorcycle [5696ZV] pulled up behind Ms. Horst’s parking space, pointed his motorcycle in her direction and began “reving” the engine repeatedly. Mr. Haffey then eased his motorcyle in her direction as she was assisting her daughter out. Ms. Horst told him that he was scaring her but he continued. Mr. Haffey then slowly followed them to the exterior stairs with his motorcycle. Ms. Horst stated that a similar incident occurred on 12/10/8 [08-847049] in which Mr. Haffey swerved his vehicle at her vehicle in the parking lot of their condominiums.”
WARRANT NUMBER: GS438504 05/12/2009 14:53:58
Filed by Batya D Wininger
It is believed that this is the corresponding short bio for Ms. Wininger from her UPositiveBlog:
“About me
Nashville, TN, United States
UPositive is my business: I am a life coach specializing in, but not limited to, the creative process. I am also a licensed psychotherapist, and am certified in past-life regression therapy. Nonfiction writing is as much a passion as is writing songs, short stories, and murder mysteries. Read more about my work at UPositive.com. Yes, I keep busy!”
“On Wednesday April 29, 2009 at 2:30 p.m. the prosecutor was driving on Higland Park Dr. when the defendant who was driving in the opposite direction did knowingly and recklessly swerve towards the prosecutor’s vehicle. The defendant was looking directly at the prosecutor just prior to swerving and then honked his horn immediatly after. The actions of the defendant put the prosecutor in fear of imminent bodily injury. The prosecutor has had numerous confrontations with the defendant who is her neighbor. The prosecutor believes that the defendant is intentionally intimidating her because of prior conflicts between them. This event took place on Highland Park Dr. in Nashville (Davidson County) Tennessee.”
WARRANT NUMBER: GS438505 05/12/2009 14:55:32
Filed by Batya D Wininger
“On Monday 05/11/2009 at 12:20 pm The defendant was sitting on his porch with his dog when the prosecutor (who lives in the condo next to the defendant) attempted to leave her parked car and enter her residence.The defendant, along with his dog abruptly stood up and walked toward the prosecutor in an “aggressive” manner. The dog was reared up on it’s bag legs straining against it’s leash and barking. The defendant let the dog get to within approximately 1 foot of the prosecutor before pulling it away from her. The prosecutor has had numerous confrontations with the defendant in the past and felt like the defendant was going to have his dog bite her. The prosecutor believes that the defendant is intentionally intimidating her because of prior conflicts between them. The defendants actions put the prosecutor in fear of imminent bodily injury. This event took place at 6954 Highland Park Nashville (Davidson County) Tennessee.”
There is some interesting reading at Batya D Wininger’s blog:
http://upositiveblog.blogspot.com
One thing should be obvious, this should fall into the category of he said she said. However, the more one examines the details, it becomes increasingly apparent that something is wrong with this picture.
Leo Haffey being incarcerated wihout bond for the controversial, minimal infractions, has troubled me. There has been some controversy as to the reason. A recent inquiry made to the Nashville jail indicated that the bonding company withdrew. However, from the evidence I have, it appears that the original judge, Gloria A. Dumas, ordered no bond. It was pointed out to me that Judge Dumas may have a feminist agenda. I have no corroboration of that as yet. However, Leo Wrote a motion on a scrap piece of paper from his jail cell. In the motion he asked for judge Dumas to be recused. That apparently has happened. Here is a copy of the handwritten motion.
Leo Haffey not only spoke out about Obama, he wrote of corruption in Nashville, Tennessee.
It is apparent that Leo Haffey should be released on bond. If not, a Writ of Habeas Corpus should be filed.
The withholding of bond, coupled with the suspicious affidavits, coupled with the charges against legal professionals who support Obama, coupled with Leo Haffey speaking out against Obama, makes this a case we must get an answer to. It certainly appears that an American patriot has become a political prisoner.
We must demand answers and justice.
I am not through with this case.
I am not through examining the two affidavit filers.
I am not through examining Nashville corruption.
Oh, and by the way, I am not through with Judge Gloria Dumas.
It seems Judge Gloria Dumas has a little attitude problem.
From News Channel 5, Nov 11, 2008:
“Judge Admits ‘Issues With Being Late'”
“For more than three months, our NewsChannel 5 Investigates team watched the Metro courthouse, and one judge left people waiting more than any other judge.
That judge, Gloria Dumas, has been a General Sessions judge for 10 years. Her responsibiities that include issues affecting Nashville’s neighborhoods.”
“Still, when NewsChannel 5 Investigates set up surveillance, we discovered how she really sets her schedule. Often the last to arrive, she’s sometimes the first to leave.
“I’m not going to tell you I don’t have issues with being late,” Dumas admitted to Williams. “I’m not going to tell you I haven’t all my life had issues with being late. It is something that I have problems with, always have had problems with.”
In fact, while she leaves everyday working folks waiting, we discovered Dumas often doesn’t leave her elegant Oak Hill home until well after she’s supposed to be in court.
Usually, she arrives at the courthouse at least 30 minutes late, taking another 30 minutes or more to get on the bench.
“Am I saying that’s my big old flaw? Yeah,” she added. “If you’re looking for perfect, you need to throw me out because I am not perfect.”
On Sept. 10th, Dumas left her neighborhood at 9 a.m. — 30 minutes after court was supposed to begin.
By the time she was outside the courthouse, she was almost 45 minutes late. Then she stopped to talk on the phone.
She talked and talked — until finally, at 9:51, she pulled into the garage — almost an hour and a half late.
“If you have trouble having the discipline to be on time, do you have the discipline to be a judge?” Williams asked.
It appears that Judge Gloria Dumas has a total disregard for the law
From News Channel 5, March 30, 2009:
“Judges Hire Family in Violation of Ethics Rule”
“A lot of people are looking for jobs these days.
But a NewsChannel 5 investigation discovered that you never had a shot at some jobs in the Metro courthouse.
That’s because some judges hired their relatives — despite judicial rules that actually prohibit nepotism.”
“In Judge Dumas’ case, she hired her daughter, Kim Levitan, in late 2005. Levitan was a college graduate with a degree in fine arts.
“And what made you think that she could do the job?” Williams asked her.
“‘Cause she’s very smart,” Dumas replied.
“Did she have any experience?”
“Did she have any experience in being in the courtroom? No.”
For 10 months, Levitan worked in her mom’s court. The salary at the time: $44,000 a year.
Still, Dumas admits she knew that there were rules against nepotism.
“Because I was bringing her in on a temporary basis, I just did not think it was an issue,” she said.
Williams asked, “If a defendant told you, ‘Judge, I violated the law, but I only did it on a temporary basis,’ would you accept that?”
“I don’t know how to answer a question like that,” Dumas said.
But Cunningham didn’t hesitate.
“Well, I know how to answer it — and I think anybody would know how to answer it. You don’t allow favoritism on a temporary basis or on a permanent basis or on any kind of basis.”
The rules that prohibit nepotism also say that judges have an obligation to report other judges who may be engaged in misconduct.
Yet, instead of speaking up, these judges say their colleagues kept their mouths shut.
Despite the lack of respect for the US Constitution, the rule of law, concerned American citizens and not obeying their oaths of office by judges and state election officials over the past year, I, Citizen Wells, respect the office of the judiciary and do not take lightly charging a judge with judicial misconduct. However, due to the serious nature of the Captain Connie Rhodes’ motion, it’s consequences for the military and nation in general, and the non judicious attitude of Judge Land in dismissing the motion, I believe it is the lesser of evils, and certainly in the best interest of ongoing jurisprudence, to check this judicial abuse of power.
The Citizen Wells blog reported yesterday, Wednesday, September16, 2009, on the ruling by Judge Land. Citizen Wells response to Judge Land ruling
For simplicity’s sake, we reported on the ruling by Judge Land. We will leave to others to debate the courtroom banter, motion word smithing and argument methodologies.
This is indeed a serious matter. At stake is the integrity of our judicial system, upholding the US Constitution and rule of law, insuring that we have a qualified president and supporting the military as they faithfully uphold the oath they have taken to defend the US Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Judge Land, as a District Court Judge, is subject to the RULES FOR JUDICIAL-CONDUCT AND JUDICIAL-DISABILITY PROCEEDINGS.
“These Rules govern proceedings under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 351–364 (the Act), to determine whether a covered judge has engaged in conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts or is unable to discharge the duties of office because of mental or physical disability.”
“these Rules provide mandatory and nationally uniform provisions governing the substantive and procedural aspects of misconduct and disability proceedings under the Act.”
“(e) Disability. “Disability” is a temporary or permanent condition rendering a judge unable to discharge the duties of the particular judicial office. Examples of disability include substance abuse, the inability to stay awake during court proceedings, or a severe impairment of cognitive abilities.”
Disability, such as “severe impairment of cognitive abilities”, will not be addressed, although after reading the ruling, that possibility did occur to me.
“(h) Misconduct. Cognizable misconduct:
6 (1) is conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts. Misconduct includes, but is not limited to:
(A) using the judge’s office to obtain special treatment for friends or relatives;
(B) accepting bribes, gifts, or other personal favors related to the judicial office;
(C) having improper discussions with parties or counsel for one side in a case;
(D) treating litigants or attorneys in a demonstrably egregious and hostile manner;
(E) engaging in partisan political activity or making inappropriately partisan statements;
(F) soliciting funds for organizations; or
(G) violating other specific, mandatory standards of judicial conduct, such as those pertaining to restrictions on outside income and requirements for financial disclosure.”
First, note, “Misconduct includes, but is not limited to”
Judge Land is obvious guilty of two of the offenses above.
(D) treating litigants or attorneys in a demonstrably egregious and hostile manner
Egregious defined: “conspicuously bad : flagrant <egregious errors>”
(Note dictionary example – “egregious errors”)
This motion was filed by a captain in the US Military who was required to take an oath to defend the US Constitution. The following was also made clear to Captain Connie Rhodes:
Officers in the service of the United States are bound by this oath to disobey any order that violates the Constitution of the United States.
Judge Land’s persistent reference to “birther” and “birther claim”, aside from having political connotations, is condescending and demeaning. Judge Land is both ignorant and misinformed regarding Obama’s eligibility.
“5 of “evidence” Plaintiff’s counsel relies upon deserves further discussion. Counsel has produced a document that she claims shows the President was born in Kenya, yet she has not authenticated that document. She has produced an affidavit from someone who allegedly obtained the document from a hospital in Mombasa, Kenya by paying “a cash ‘consideration’ to a Kenyan military officer on duty to look the other way, while [he] obtained the copy” of the document. (Smith Decl. ¶ 7, Sept. 3, 2009.) Counsel has not, however, produced an original certificate of authentication from the government agency that supposedly has official custody of the document. Therefore, the Court finds that the alleged document is unreliable due to counsel’s failure to properly authenticate the document. See Fed. R. Evid. 901.”
Judge Land dismisses an alleged birth certificate with an attached affidavit yet he quotes the COLB, Certification of Live Birth, a document with no affadavit of authenticity, which is not a birth certificate and refers to the presence of another document. Judge Land has requested no authenticating of the COLB.
“Any middle school civics student would readily recognize the irony of abandoning fundamental principles upon which our Country was founded in order to purportedly “protect and preserve” those very principles.”
Judge Land has made another demeaning statement. The irony of that statement is that any middle school student knows that the president must be a natural born citizen and that the judicial system is part of the checks and balances to prevent a usurper from taking office.
“Instead, she uses her Complaint as a platform for spouting political rhetoric, such as her claims that the President is “an illegal usurper, an unlawful pretender, [and] an unqualified imposter.”
There is no reason to believe that Captain Rhodes was motivated politically. What is readily apparent is that Captain Rhodes takes her oath of office seriously.
“I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and
defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies,
foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to
the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental
reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully
discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.
So help me God.” US Military officer’s oath of office
This clearly qualifies as an unwarranted and hostile attack upon the character of the plaintiff.
(E) engaging in partisan political activity or making inappropriately partisan statements
“To press her “birther agenda,” Plaintiff’s counsel has filed the present action on behalf of Captain Rhodes.”
Judge Land’s repeated use of the term “birther”, a hallmark insult from the far left and Obama camp, reveals not only his political agenda but a disregard for the US Constitution, an officer in the US military, the plaintiff’s attorney and decent American citizens. That term has no place in the courtroom, especially being flung by a misinformed, biased judge.
“Counsel makes these allegations although a “short-form” birth certificate has been made publicly available which indicates that the President was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961.“
“Acknowledging the existence of a document that shows the President was born in Hawaii, Plaintiff alleges that the document “cannot be verified as genuine, and should be presumed fraudulent.”
Judge Land uses as the basis for part of his decision a politically motivated, display of an unsubstantiated COLB.
Summary
Judge Land, who is clearly misinformed and makes uninformed decisions that certainly appear to be politically motivated, should be brought before a judicial review board. And, if Judge Land believes that he is making well founded statements based on substantiated facts, then the spectre of his ability to sit judiciously on the bench arises.
It is hoped that one or both of two scenarios will occur.
1. Someone will file a complaint.
2. I believe it is in the best interest of the judiciary system to self police this matter. Confidence in the judiciary and other branches of government is at an all time low. The American citizens need a clear signal that they will get fair treatment in court and that the judicial branch of government will fulfill it’s crucial part in the checks and balances system of our government.
“Dr. Orly Taitz, counsel for Captain Connie Rhodes, M.D, filed today an Emergency Request for Stay of Deployment, pending the filing of a Motion for Re-Hearing, in the Case Rhodes vs. Mac Donald.
Yesterday, Judge Clay D. Land garnered nationally notoriety for his rejection of Captain’s Rhodes’ case, with a severe ruling that was widely faulted by legal experts across the nation.
Attorney Taitz in today’s filings details the errors of Land’s ruling. What follows is The Post & Email’s summary of Tatiz’s Motions, using a copy forwarded us, by Mr. Neil B. Turner.
First, Attorney Taitz alleges that Judge Land’s ruling “violates the 5th Amendment rights” of her client, “to due process of law, in particular, by” the Court’s “violation of Local Rule 7 of the United States Middle District of Georgia, to wit:”
If you are planning on censuring SC Representative Joe Wilson for telling the truth, you had better reconsider. The American people are watching you like never before. You are already strongly in jeopardy of losing your job in 2010. Do this to the great American patriot, Wilson, and you will witness a backlash never witnessed in American politics. The Citizen Wells blog will be in the thick of this.
From the CRS Report for Congress
Censure
“The term “censure,” unlike the term “expel,” does not appear in the
Constitution, although the authority is derived from the same clause – Article I,
Section 5, clause 2, concerning the authority of each House of Congress to “punish
its Members for disorderly Behaviour.” Censure, reprimand, or admonition are
traditional ways in which parliamentary bodies have disciplined their members and
maintained order and dignity in their proceedings.48 In the House of Representatives,
a “censure” is a formal vote by the majority of Members present and voting on a
resolution disapproving a Member’s conduct, with generally the additional
requirement that the Member stand at the “well” of the House chamber to receive a
verbal rebuke and reading of the censure resolution by the Speaker of the House.”
“Eight House Members have been “reprimanded” by the full House for a variety
of misconduct, including failure to disclose certain personal interests in official
matters and using one’s office to further personal financial interests;
misrepresentations to investigating committees; failure to report campaign
contributions; conversion of campaign contributions to personal use and false
statements before the investigating committee; false statements on financial
disclosure forms; ghost voting and maintaining persons on the official payroll not
performing official duties commensurate with pay; the misuse of one’s political
influence in administrative matters to help a personal associate; and the failure to
insure that a Member-affiliated tax-exempt organization was not improperly involved
in partisan politics, and for providing inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable
information to the investigating committee.”
So, Joe Wilson spoke the truth, in good faith representing the American public, apologized for speaking out, and you are going to censure him. Those of you participating in this debacle had better start packing your offices and making plans for other employment. Your days of hiding behind the biased MSM are over. We will identify you, write about you and let every citizen know of your misdeeds.
It is a proven fact that Barack Obama was indeed lying and that SC Representative Joe Wilson was telling the truth. If the Democrats policed their own party, Obama would not be in office and subject to being called out on a pattern of lies and deception.
Representative Joe Wilson, the American public is behind you.
Members of Congress, you are already despised.
Hands off American hero Representative Joe Wilson.
Patriot Dreamer, a real American patriot from this blog, attended the Tea Party Express, big government protest in Washington, DC on September 12, 2009. First of all, I would like to thank Patriot Dreamer and all of the concerned Americans that voiced their displeasure with big government. Here is a YouTube video I assembled from photos taken by Patriot Dreamer. The photos are high quality and present well with the Youtube full screen option.
From commenter prairie
9.12
The Calvary has gathered,
To face the raging storm.
On the Eve of Revolution,
The enemy is warned.
Thunder echoes through the mountains,
The shore beats back the sea.
Above the cannon’s roar…
A call for Liberty.
The Calvary has mounted,
Red, White, and Blue they wave.
The wind rips at her seams,
As they cross the burning plains.
Her stars and stripes are bold,
In contrast to the sky.
Against a cloud of smoke…
Defiantly, she flies.
The Calvary advances,
Upon the Perfect Storm.
Embattled but not broken…
Patriots reborn.
A colorful horizon,
Beckons from the East.
The light of dawn is breaking…
Tyranny retreats.
Prairie
“Inspired by Beck- who used the phrase Saturday “The Calvary is gathering.” I loved it and could not get it out of my head.”
I was fortunate to be at the Vermont State Capitol in Montpelier, VT, today, Tuesday, September 8, 2009, when State Auditor, Tom Salmon announced that he was switching from the Democrat to Republican party. The Citizen Wells blog has posted a longer video coverage of the event and here is an article from Vermontbiz.com that provides more background information on Tom Salmon.
“Vermont Auditor Tom Salmon switches to Republican Party”
“Vermont Auditor of Accounts Tom Salmon, who was rebuffed by the Democratic leadership last spring, announced today that he was switching parties and will join the Republican Party. Salmon won the position of state auditor as a Democrat in 2006 when he beat one-term incumbent Republican Randy Brock. That race saw Brock apparently win re-election in a very tight race, before a re-count gave the race to Salmon by 102 votes. Salmon cited the lack of fiscal responsibility among legislative leaders during the debate over the state budget. Salmon had offered to mediate discussions between Republican Governor James Douglas and the Democratically controlled Legislature, but was turned down by Speaker of the House Shap Smith. He said the Republicans are better able to manage the fiscal matters of the state, as represented by Governor Douglas.
Salmon further said he will likely run for re-election for Auditor, but there is “a 10 percent chance,” he will run for governor or lieutenant governor instead. Several Republicans are deferring their decisions on 2010 until Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie decides what, if any, position he will run for. Dubie has indicated he is considering a run for governor. Douglas has already stated he will not seek re-election and will not run for any office in 2010. Salmon made his announcement at the State House shortly after 11 am on Tuesday September 8, 2009.
Salmon, 46, has served in Iraq for long tours of duty in the US Navy Reserve while also holding the post of auditor. Thomas M Salmon is the son of the former Vermont Governor Thomas P Salmon, who served from 1973-1977 as a Democrat. The elder Salmon served as a surrogate during his son’s re-election campaign because serving military cannot also campaign for office. Salmon met little resistance in being re-elected last year.
“Vermont Business Magazine conducted a Q&A with Tom Salmon December 2007 with Robert Smith. In that interview he explained why he ran for auditor:
“I ran for state auditor, because as a Rockingham Selectman, I had moved from a simmer to a boil about how fiscal management was occurring in the state. I really didn’t think that anyone was taking responsibility for the fiscal management of the parts of the state. Prior to being a selectman, I go back to December 2005. I’m a Navy Reservist, a Seabee, construction battalion, dirt sailors – we’re never on a ship, so when people see us in our greens they say, ‘Look mommy, it’s an Army man!’ I was in Gulfport, Mississippi, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That situation moved me to want to commit to public service. I decided when I came home that I was going to run for the select board in Rockingham. The finances were a mess, the morale was not good, the divisive situation over buying the dam – you were here so you know.””
Here is a copy of the letter Salmon sent to his supporters:
“September 5, 2009
Dear Friend,
It is an honor to serve as Auditor for the State of Vermont. In 2006, I was elected as a Democrat. In 2008, I was re-elected on the Democratic/Republican ticket. 2010 will be different.
I am changing my political affiliation to align myself with the party closest to my core beliefs. It is my belief that the VT Republican party is closest to accepting the realities of our times; and is therefore the party best equipped to manage the very real and troubling economic and social conditions which confront us not only today, but in the coming decade.
As many of you know, in the face of the enormous fiscal crisis, I have sounded the alarm for new thinking, responsible budgeting, meaningful long-term planning and painful prioritization.
When I returned home from Iraq, I witnessed first-hand a budget process rife with deficiencies and dysfunction. There was little balance in the debate.
As a Certified Public Accountant, I recently completed my required Ethics course for re-licensing. The Professional Code of Conduct demands that I act with integrity, objectivity and independence. As Auditor, I have preached that Vermont is on an unsustainable track we cannot tax ourselves out of.
I believe the majority of Vermonters do not want to see tax increases as a consequence of poor planning. However, without major restructuring of human services, corrections management and public education (which together account for some 75% of our expenditures) we are going to find that situation unavoidable. Removing even greater sums of capital out of our job-creating private sector and the budgets of Vermont families will only hasten the ill effects of the current crisis.
We all watch a healthcare reform movement focused on increased access rather than A) addressing the root causes of the problem B) fixing Medicaid and Medicare or C) promoting incentives and personal responsibility. The big losers are our young people, the vulnerable elderly population and the viability of Vermont’s 1778 motto of “Freedom and Unity.”
I am a believer in the America of hard work and “get oneself upstream” with a combination of personal commitment and external support.
I’m not a believer that all of our future tax dollars should go to interest on debt or “education, medication and incarceration.” In the current form of these primarily government-controlled expenditures, this is a path leading to a dangerous imbalance of our “Freedom and Unity.” Economic freedom is an essential component in achieving and maintaining political freedom. Over the more than 200 years of our nation’s founding, too many of our fine soldiers have died for the protection of these freedoms.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you with full commitment and transparency. I promise to do my best to perform the job Vermonters have elected me to do.
Tom Salmon, Vermont State auditor, announced that he is switching parties and will now be a Republican. Citizen Wells was at the Vermont State Capitol building when the announcement was made. Here is an interview with Tom Salmon.
The Citizen Wells blog covered the Senator Bernie Sanders Labor Day speech in Burlington, VT, today, Monday, September 7, 2009. The event was hosted by the Vermont Workers’ Center. Here is the announcement:
“Burlington Labor Day Celebration & Benefit Concert
September 7, 2009 – 12:00pm – 3:00pm
WHEN: 12 noon – 3pm, Monday, September 7
WHERE: Battery Park, Burlington
WHAT: Senator Bernie Sanders will join hundreds of working families for the 8th Annual Burlington Labor Day Celebration sharing in a community potluck, music, street theater and ice cream. This year’s celebration is being sponsored by the Vermont Workers’ Center, a community-based workers’ rights organization who has been building a statewide grassroots organizing campaign called the “Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign” that over that past couple of years has been redefine healthcare as a public good. There will also be a special tribute to the contributions and struggles of working families from Jennifer Henry, the President of the Fletcher Allen nurses union and United Professions of Vermont/AFT. Music will be performed local Burlington busker John Holland and Rik & Bec, a new local duo of Rik Palieri and Rebecca Padula.
“Labor Day is a day to celebrate and remember both the work we all do day in and day out and the long struggles of working people who fought hard for the eight hour day, for Social Security, the end of child labor and even the weekend,” said James Haslam, Director of the Vermont Workers’ Center. “But more than ever, use should use Labor Day as a reminder that we need to be carrying on this tradition by organizing in our workplaces and our communities. This is a time re-commit to the current struggles for more livable wage jobs, fair retirement, strong and healthy communities, and re-defining quality healthcare as a fundamental human right for everyone.”
BACKGROUND: The Vermont Workers’ Center was started in 1998 as a workers’ rights and social justice organization, and have been involved in campaigns to improve working conditions and win livable wages in hundreds of Vermont workplaces across the state. In 2008, they launched the Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign to build a statewide grassroots network of Vermonters committed to redefining healthcare policy to establish healthcare as a basic public good for all.
MORE INFO: www.workerscenter.org www.workerscenter.org/healthcare
802-861-4892″
The speech is presented here unedited and without commentary. A followup article will be presented with commentary and analysis. The only comment I will make at this time is that they appeared a little surprised that I was there and that the event had the appearance of being staged. I will also state that I was treated with courtesy for the most part.
I don’t do it very often, it is hard to stomach. However, it is necessary to know what the enemy is up to. This morning I watched CNN, Communist News Network, for a few minutes and sure enough they were crafting their usual Orwellian spin on Obama’s speach to students and resistance to Obama’s health care agenda. They briefly interviewed 2 people for their opinion of Obama’s speach to students. The first was affiliated with a law school and he thought it was a good idea. The second was just a normal lady in a car from KY or TN. The intent was obvious. The silly regular American can’t possibly know what they are talking about. Once again, the elitist Orwellian approach is used.
They also mentioned health care reform and radicals getting media attention. These pious, biased, in Obama’s pocket jackasses do not get it. Well as Bill O’Reilly said on Fox News last night, Fox’s viewership is skyrocketing despite the attempts of liberals like Dan Rather to stem the tide.
Resistance to big government and government health care is real. It is a non partisan grass roots effort. The following video bears this out.
“This video focuses on the continuing grassroots tea party movement against our out of control government which is continuing to destroy our Constitutional Republic at a rapid pace.
The Taxpayer March on Washington D.C. – September 12th, 2009.”
Parents and citizens across the US are outraged that Obama will speak to many of the American students on September 8, 2009. The Citizen Wells blog is urging everyone to contact their state and local school officials to voice your concern about Obama imposing his agenda on our students. Adolf Hitler brainwashed the German students by indoctrinating them in the Hitler Youth. When you contact your school officials ask them 2 questions.
1. Do you plan to take part in the Obama speech presented to your students?
2. Are you going to allow opposing views?
Most citizens of the US that were not already aware of the real Obama and his past associations and agendas are awakening to the spectre of extremely radical appointments to Obama’s cabinet and especially as Obama Czars. Many are also shocked and incensed that Obama is trying to ramrod government health care down our throats in a non transparent, non partisan manner. So, why should parents be so concerned about their children listening to an Obama speech. Sounds innocent enough, right? Dead wrong.
If you are not awakening to how Obama conducts his agendas or what he is really about, consider the following. As you read below weigh rhetoric versus past performance and actions. Adolf Hitler used flowery words to seduce the German people, but his actions betrayed his motives.
Announcement of plans to speak to students
From ServiceWire.org, August 21, 2009:
“OBAMA TO DELIVER NATIONALLY BROADCAST ADDRESS TO STUDENTS ON SEPT. 8”
“The President will deliver a speech about the importance of persisting and succeeding in school on Sept. 8, the first day of school for many children across America. The Department of Education is encouraging educators, students and parents to use this opportunity to help students get focused and begin the school year strong. The speech will be broadcast live on www.whitehouse.gov at 1 p.m. EDT.”…Read more
Announcement from US Dept of Education August 26, 2009
“LEAD & MANAGE MY SCHOOL
Letter From Secretary Arne Duncan to School Principals
August 26, 2009
Please note that the time of this speech has changed to 12:00 noon eastern standard time.
Dear Principal:
In a recent interview with student reporter, Damon Weaver, President Obama announced that on September 8 — the first day of school for many children across America — he will deliver a national address directly to students on the importance of education. The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.
Since taking office, the President has repeatedly focused on education, even as the country faces two wars, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and major challenges on issues like energy and health care. The President believes that education is a critical part of building a new foundation for the American economy. Educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures.
This is the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation’s school children about persisting and succeeding in school. We encourage you to use this historic moment to help your students get focused and begin the school year strong. I encourage you, your teachers, and students to join me in watching the President deliver this address on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. It will be broadcast live on the White House website www.whitehouse.gov 12:00 noon eastern standard time.
In advance of this address, we would like to share the following resources: a menu of classroom activities for students in grades preK-6 and for students in grades 7-12. These are ideas developed by and for teachers to help engage students and stimulate discussion on the importance of education in their lives. We are also staging a student video contest on education. Details of the video contest will be available on our website www.ed.gov in the coming weeks.
On behalf of all Americans, I want to thank our educators who do society’s most important work by preparing our children for work and for life. No other task is more critical to our economic future and our social progress. I look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead to continue improving the quality of public education we provide all of our children.
Sooner or later the real agenda emerges. Revisit the following paragraph. Notice the mention of health care and “Educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures.” This means, in everyday, non Orwellian doublespeak, that Obama and his radical associates know what is best for you and they will it explain it.
“Since taking office, the President has repeatedly focused on education, even as the country faces two wars, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and major challenges on issues like energy and health care. The President believes that education is a critical part of building a new foundation for the American economy. Educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures.”
Obama and his radical associates’ actions speak far louder than their words.
Citizen Wells article of September 6, 2009:
“Michelle’s Boot Camps For Radicals
INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY”
“Barack Obama was a founding member of the board of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife became executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies in 1993. Obama plans to use the nonprofit group, which he features on his campaign Web site, as the model for a national service corps. He calls his Orwellian program, “Universal Voluntary Public Service.”
Big Brother had nothing on the Obamas. They plan to herd American youth into government-funded reeducation camps where they’ll be brainwashed into thinking America is a racist, oppressive place in need of “social change.””
“But its real mission is to radicalize American youth and use them to bring about “social change” through threats, pressure, tension and confrontation — the tactics used by the father of community organizing, Saul “The Red” Alinsky.”
“”It’s a lot of talk about race, a lot of talk about sexism, a lot of talk about homophobia, talk about -isms and phobias.”
One of those -isms is “heterosexism,” which a Public Allies training seminar in Chicago describes as a negative byproduct of “capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy and male-dominated privilege.””
“The gall of it: The Obamas want to create a boot camp for radicals who hate the military — and stick American taxpayers with the bill.””…Read more
Glenn Beck, “Obama’s radical followers”
“Obama said, quote: We have got to have a civilian national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded as the military. Public Allies, Chicago chapter. Founding, founding member, Barack Obama. Executive director, Michelle Obama. Listen to the words in their speeches. It is all code language. It is all the language of the 1960s radicals. They have their they have their tentacles into an organization that does good things but also teaches that heterosexism is a byproduct of capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy and male dominated privilege. Heterosexism!”…Read more
Wall Street Journal Online – Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools
“Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience. From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists.
The CAC was the brainchild of Bill Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground in the 1960s. Among other feats, Mr. Ayers and his cohorts bombed the Pentagon, and he has never expressed regret for his actions. Barack Obama’s first run for the Illinois State Senate was launched at a 1995 gathering at Mr. Ayers’s home.”
“The CAC’s basic functioning has long been known, because its annual reports, evaluations and some board minutes were public. But the Daley archive contains additional board minutes, the Collaborative minutes, and documentation on the groups that CAC funded and rejected. The Daley archives show that Mr. Obama and Mr. Ayers worked as a team to advance the CAC agenda.”
“The CAC’s agenda flowed from Mr. Ayers’s educational philosophy, which called for infusing students and their parents with a radical political commitment, and which downplayed achievement tests in favor of activism. In the mid-1960s, Mr. Ayers taught at a radical alternative school, and served as a community organizer in Cleveland’s ghetto.
In works like “City Kids, City Teachers” and “Teaching the Personal and the Political,” Mr. Ayers wrote that teachers should be community organizers dedicated to provoking resistance to American racism and oppression. His preferred alternative? “I’m a radical, Leftist, small ‘c’ communist,” Mr. Ayers said in an interview in Ron Chepesiuk’s, “Sixties Radicals,” at about the same time Mr. Ayers was forming CAC.
CAC translated Mr. Ayers’s radicalism into practice. Instead of funding schools directly, it required schools to affiliate with “external partners,” which actually got the money. Proposals from groups focused on math/science achievement were turned down. Instead CAC disbursed money through various far-left community organizers, such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (or Acorn).
Mr. Obama once conducted “leadership training” seminars with Acorn, and Acorn members also served as volunteers in Mr. Obama’s early campaigns. External partners like the South Shore African Village Collaborative and the Dual Language Exchange focused more on political consciousness, Afrocentricity and bilingualism than traditional education. CAC’s in-house evaluators comprehensively studied the effects of its grants on the test scores of Chicago public-school students. They found no evidence of educational improvement.”
“Mr. Ayers is the founder of the “small schools” movement (heavily funded by CAC), in which individual schools built around specific political themes push students to “confront issues of inequity, war, and violence.” He believes teacher education programs should serve as “sites of resistance” to an oppressive system. (His teacher-training programs were also CAC funded.) The point, says Mr. Ayers in his “Teaching Toward Freedom,” is to “teach against oppression,” against America’s history of evil and racism, thereby forcing social transformation.”…Read more
Obama, Ayers and Mike Klonsky
Meet Michael Klonsky, Obama’s “social justice” education expert.
“With what little media oxygen there has been sucked out by the largely uninformative discussion of Ayers (and his wife and Weather Underground ally, Bernadine Dohrn) — in which the mantra “unrepentant terrorist” has been a pale substitute for the critical matter of the Ayers’s ideology that Obama plainly shares — much has been missed. Significantly, that includes another key Obama contact, Mike Klonsky.
Here’s what you need to know. Klonsky is an unabashed communist whose current mission is to spread Marxist ideology in the American classroom. Obama funded him to the tune of nearly $2 million. Obama, moreover, gave Klonsky a broad platform to broadcast his ideas: a “social justice” blog on the official Obama campaign website.
To be clear, as it seems always necessary to repeat when Obamaniacs, in their best Saul Alinsky tradition, shout down the opposition: This is not about guilt by association. The issue is not that Obama knows Klonsky … or Ayers … or Dohrn … or Wright … or Rashid Khalidi …
The issue is that Obama promoted and collaborated with these anti-American radicals. The issue is that he shared their ideology.
Klonsky’s communist pedigree could not be clearer. His father, Robert Klonsky, was an American communist who was convicted in the mid-Fifties for advocating the forcible overthrow of the United States government — a violation of the Smith Act, anti-communist legislation ultimately gutted by the Supreme Court. In the Sixties, Klonsky the younger teamed with Ayers, Dohrn, and other young radicals to form the Students for a Democratic Society. It was out of the SDS that Ayers and Dohrn helped found the Weatherman terrorist group.
Klonsky took a different path, albeit one that led inexorably to a new partnership with Ayers, which Obama mightily helped underwrite. Upon splitting off from the SDS, Klonsky formed a Maoist organization, first known as the “October League,” which ultimately became the “Communist Party (Marxist Leninist).”
Klonsky was CP(ML)’s chairman. He was so highly thought of by Mao’s regime that he was among the first Americans invited to visit Communist China. When he was feted there in 1977, a year after Mao’s death, the communist leadership hailed Klonsky’s party as “reflecting the aspirations of the proletariat and working people.””
“After getting his doctorate, Klonsky eventually made his way to Chicago and hooked up with his old SDS comrade (and self-professed “small ‘c’ communist”) Bill Ayers. Together, they co-founded the Small Schools Workshop in 1991. The goal — as Ayers has repeatedly made clear, most prominently in a 2006 speech before Hugo Chavez at an education forum in Caracas — is to bring the same Leftist revolution that has always galvanized them into the classroom.
The concept may be called small schools, but Klonsky and Ayers uniquely grasp the force-multiplier effect. In a small class, the teacher preaching the “social justice” gospel that American capitalism is a racist, materialist, imperialist cauldron of injustice can have greater impact on the students he seeks to mold into his conception of the “good citizen” — and on the teachers he is teaching to be preachers. Writing trenchantly about how this system of “critical pedagogy” short-changes the basic education needs of disadvantaged children, the City Journal’s Sol Stern observes that theorists like Klonsky and Ayers:
nurse a rancorous view of an America in which it is always two minutes to midnight and a knock on the door by the thought police is imminent. The education professors feel themselves anointed to use the nation’s K-12 classrooms to resist this oppressive system. Thus … teachers [are urged] not to mince words with children about the evils of the existing social order. They should portray “homelessness as a consequence of the private dealings of landlords, an arms buildup as a consequence of corporate decisions, racial exclusion as a consequence of a private property-holder’s choice.” In other words, they should turn the little ones into young socialists and critical theorists.”…Please read the entire article
Report from Fox News September 02, 2009
“Critics Decry Obama’s ‘Indoctrination’ Plan for Students”
“A suggested lesson plan that calls on school kids to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help President Obama is troubling some education experts, who say it establishes the president as a “superintendent in chief” and may indoctrinate children to support him politically.”
“Obama’s critics say the lesson plans and the president’s calls for a “supportive community” are troubling on many levels.
“In general, I don’t think there’s a problem if the president uses the bully pulpit to tell kids to work hard, study hard and things like that. But there are some troubling hints in this, both educationally and politically,” said Neal McCluskey, associate director of Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom.
Among the concerns, McCluskey said, is the notion that students who do not support Obama or his educational policies will begin the school year “behind the eight ball,” or somehow academically trailing their peers.
“It essentially tries to force kids to say the president and the presidency is inspiring, and that’s very problematic,” McCluskey said. “It’s very concerning that you would do that.””…Read more
Michelle Malkin on Obama’s speech to public school students
Once again, we are reminded by history, something our teachers should be aware of, of attempts to control the minds of our young people. Adolf Hitler created the Hitler youth, brainwashed them and encouraged them to turn in their parents for non doctrine behaviour. George Orwell watched Nazi Germany play out and incorporated the brainwashed Hitler youth into the children of “1984.” We cannot afford to let history repeat itself again. Speak up against this mind control attempt. The future of our children and this country is at stake.
Citizen WElls 