Putting People First / September 18, 1994 ========================================= Washington Report FROM THE TRENCHES by Kathleen Marquardt Chairman, Putting People First ...A weekly opinion column about the struggle against "animal rights" and eco-extremists. Copyright@1994 Putting People First Permission to reproduce this column is freely granted on the condition that credit is given to Putting People First. Putting People First is a nonprofit organization of citizens who believe in western civilization; that we need to return to common sense in man's relationship with his fellow man; and that public policy should be based on science and rationality, not emotionalism. Putting People First PO Box 1707 Helena, Montana 59624 (406) 442-5700 Fax (406) 449-0942 ===================================================================== Will We Keep Our Constitution "Matchless?" Today many politicians and government functionaries are saying the Constitution is outdated and needs to be rewritten for modern times. I wonder how many of those calling for this have recently read the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence? I read them again last night and came to the conclusion that these documents are extremely appropriate for our times and need no alterations. What is needed is for our government to follow what Alexis De Tocqueville called our "matchless Constitution." It is still matchless, it is just the politicians that have become corrupted and in need of replacement. First, let us look at a few lines from the Declaraion of Independence: o "He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance." The "he" meant King George, but put in "the President" and it is totally appropriate today. Our government has established so many new agencies to tax, regulate, and otherwise "eat out our substance." o "He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws." Just look at the Biodiversity Treaty and all the other treaties being foisted on the American public without the knowledge or consent of "We the People." By making us subject to United Nations and other international controls, these agreements infringe on our sovereignty and erode the Constitution. o "For imposing Taxes on as without our Consent." (No need to elaborate on this one.) o "For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury." This is especially egregious right now. A friend of mine was "tried and convicted" in the Washington Post months before he ever got to a courtroom. "Officials" from EPA, IRS, and other agencies make decisions about people's "guilt" and go after them with government regulations and edicts. The accused never gets to court but often loses his property, livelihood and even family in the process. People who have "committed" environmental "crimes," or have the wrong politics, or who can be labeled as cultists or other kinds of wackos, are being murdered or sent to jail while real criminals serve no time. o "For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments." The present federal government has sworn to uphold the Constitution and then repeatedly and with deliberation has trampled it. The Constitution as written by our forefathers is as relevant today as it was over two hundred years ago. This nation would be even greater than it was in 1776 if men had followed the Constitution rather than their greed and lust for power. Now let us go over just a few points in the Constitution itself: The Bill of Rights is in shreds. *The First Amendment - concerning freedom of religion and speech now seems to protect only "politically correct" religions and speech. Those who would remind government that the Constitution is based on western culture or Judeo/Christianity are labeled the "religious right" even if they have never set foot in a church. Those who would question the federal government, those who would question public policy based on pseudo- scientific data, are labelled as promoters of raping and pillaging the earth and all its resources. *The Second Amendment - the right to bear arms - now should be read the right to disarm law-abiding citizens. Handgun Control Inc., the Attorney General, the President, and the Congress, have done much to obliterate the Second Amendment in spite of protest from the Constitutionally literate populace. *The Fourth Amendment - the right to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures - is just fine if you redefine "unreasonable" or insert the word "not" after "right." Too many American citizens have had to endure unlawful searches and had their private papers, belongings and other property seized by quasi-governmental officials who would not even have the authority to act as they do if they were legitimate. *The Fifth Amendment disallows taking private property without just compensation. We believers in the beauty and immutability of the Constitution are still trying to find where it now says that "just compensation" is applicable in very few cases and then it means "no more than 1% of the value of the property taken." *The Tenth Amendment reserves powers not Constitutionally delegated to the federal government to the States or to the people. Our President, the Congress, and the Supreme Court have seen fit to totally ignore this last article comprising the Bill of Rights. These parties have signed international treaties that supersede the Constitution, they have written laws that take power from the states without their consent, and, perhaps using ESP, they read things into the Constitution that just are not there in black and white. This assault on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution has been bi-partisan. Those who are wallowing at the public trough care not that our forefathers first fought for our freedoms and then toiled long and hard to draft a document that could and should keep us free from tyranny, in any form, for the life of our great country. In the late 1700s almost every family had a copy of the Constitution and read it frequently. According to Thomas Paine, "Every member of the Government had a copy; and nothing was more common when any debate arose on the principle of a bill, or on the extent of any species of authority, than for the Members to take the printed Constitution out of their pocket and read the chapter with which such matter in debate was connected." When was the last time (if ever) that you saw a member of Congress open the Constitution (even on C-Span)? Just as the religious christian reads the Bible regularly, the conscientious Jew reads the Talmud, and the pious Muslim consults the Koran, so must the patriotic American read the Constitution. And, more importantly, we must require that our representatives abide by it - not some warped and hallucinatory version they keep tucked in the back of their memory. Our present federal government - Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike - would be wise to re read the Declaration of Independence. Bye changing a few of the phrases from the 1770s to present time, it would be difficult not to see the relevancy. KATHLEEN MARQUARDT TO HOST NATIONAL CALL-IN RADIO TALK SHOW Putting People First has announced plans to complement its North American FAX network with a daily live call-in radio talk show called Grassroots Radio. Hosted by Kathleen Marquardt, it will reach a wide afternoon commuter audience, including many who never read our news and comments about animal rights and Green extremism. Distributed over Talk America Radio Network in Boston, Grassroots Radio will be available for local station pickup from three communications satellites. It will air live Monday through Friday from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Eastern time, or may be rebroadcast on tape delay. It will go on-air in late October. This will be the first daily talk show to regularly address the issues of animal rights and Green extremism. Grassroots Radio will expand this scope to cover a full range of commentary on social and political issues of the day. Most shows will feature a guest interview with listener call-in on an 800-number, other days will be set aside entirely for listener discussion. All shows will include Kathleen's trademark style of listener involvement in public policy by letters, phone calls, or FAX, thus the name, Grassroots Radio. We need your help to make Grassroots Radio a success. we must expand our affiliate base to reach a large audience and we must raise funds to pay for satellite time. Here's what we need you to do: * Urge your local AM radio stations to carry Grassroots Radio. If your organization has members or clients in different areas, please ask them to contact their stations too. Urban and rural - we need them all. * Dedicate some of your advertising budget to Grassroots Radio. We will have a listenership that's knowledgeable and sympathetic to you, and Kathleen will be dealing with issues that complement your message. * Give Putting People First a grant to help it pay for the research staff, technical equipment, and other costs necessary to support Grassroots Radio and our FAX network. For advertising, grant, and affiliation information contact Harry Black, Putting People First, 406/442-5700, FAX 406/449-0942.