Mark Levine on Obama's Criticism of the Supreme Court (Video)

Thanks to Infidels are Cool for this video of Mark Levin explaining exactly what the recent Supreme Court ruling did, and did not do. You can count on Levin, a Constitutional attorney, to state the fallacy of Obama's position in the State of the Union address, and the fallacy of the media's criticisms, and he does it from his knowledge of Constitution. It is a matter of law.

Thanks to news junkie, reader, patriot and businesswoman, carolyne.

Mark Levin on Obama's Criticism of the Supreme Court

For more fact checking on the President's admonishment of the Supreme Court, read here.

Sonia Sotomayor White House: White House Window Dressing, Deception, Deviants

How hilarious is this? Sonia Sotomayor showed up for the congressional hearings to confirming her position as justice on the U.S. Supreme Court wearing clothing that she says the White House chose for her. That's what this White House is all about - window dressing, deception, and deviants.

Sonia Sotomayor - White House Window Dressing, with Megyn Kelly

I remember Megyn Kelly, FOX News anchor (and attorney) covering the proceedings and she and Sotomayor were wearing the same suit, on the same day.

The Yale Law School grad talked about shopping for clothes to wear to her acceptance ceremony, but government officials took over the fashion decisions. They told her to bring five suits and then recommended which one she should wear, Meyer said.

Unbelievably, there was no concern that Sotomayor is a member of the hateful LaRaz organization, but much concern that she cannot dress herself.

This Oval Office operates by window dressing, deception and deviants.

Republican List of Sonia Sotomayor Supporters

Bloomberg reports that the vote for Sotomayor's confirmation has been delayed one week to accommodate Republicans. Now is the time to let your Senator's hear from you again, or hear from you even though the RINO's listed below are not your own Senator. If your Senator is not on this list, contact them anyway and register your vote against Sotomayor. Contact information is listed below. Also below is a link to an article about Sotomayor that you must take a look at. For a list of reasons not to vote for Sonia Sotomayor, and for discussion points, please read this. The latest list of Republican Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor supporters is:

Sonia Sotomayor

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) - up for re-election in 2010 Washington, D.C. Office (202) 224-2532 Augusta Phone: (207) 622-8414 Bangor Phone: (207) 945-0417 Biddeford Phone: (207) 493-7873 Caribou Phone: (207) 493-7873 Lewiston Phone: (207) 784-6969 Portland Phone: (207) 780-3575 Email Washington, D.C.Fax (202) 224-2693 Augusta Fax: (207) 622-5884 Bangor Fax: (207) 990-4604 Biddeford Fax: (207) 283-4054 Caribou Fax: (207) 493-7810 Lewiston Fax: (207) 782-6475 Portland Fax: (207) 828-0380 Senator Olympia Snow (R-ME) - up for re-election in 2010 Toll Free in Maine: (800) 432-1599 Auburn Phone: (207) 786-2451 Augusta Phone: (207) 622-8292 Bangor Phone: (207) 945-0432 Biddeford Phone: (207) 282-4144 Portland Phone: (207) 874-0883 Presque Isle Phone: (207) 874-7631 Email Auburn Fax: (207) 782-1438 Augusta Fax: (207) 622-7295 Bangor Fax: (207) 941-9525 Biddeford Fax: (207) 284-2358 Portland Fax: (207) 874-7631 Presque Isle Fax: (207) 764-6420 Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) - up for re-election in 2012 Washington, D.C. Phone: (202) 224-4814 Evansville Phone: (812) 465-6313 Fort Wayne Phone: (260) 422-1505 Indianapolis Phone: (317) 226-5555 Valparaiso Phone: (219) 548-8035 Email Washington D.C. Fax: (202) 228-0360 Evansville Fax: (812) 421-1883 Fort Wayne Fax: (260) 424-1342 Indianapolis Fax: (317) 226-5508 Valparaiso Fax: (219) 548-7506 Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) - retiring in 2010 Washington, D.C. Phone: (202) 224-3041 Orlando Toll Free: (866) 630-7106 Orlando Phone: (407) 254-2573 Fort Myers Phone: (239) 332-3898 Jacksonville Phone: (904) 398-8586 Miami Phone: (305) 444-8332 Palm Beach Gardens Phone: (561) 842-8300 Pensacola Phone: (850) 433-2603) Tampa Phone: (813) 977-6450 Email Washington, D.C. Fax: (202) 228-5171 Orlando Fax: (407) 423-0941 Fort Myers Fax: (239) 332-3898 Jacksonville Fax: (904) 398-8591 Miami Fax: (305) 444-8449 Palm Beach Gardens Fax: (561) 842-8949 Pensacola Fax: (850) 433-2554 Tampa Fax: (813) 977-6593 Locate all Senator's contact information here. Main U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Run over to Right Truth and see an astonishing press release. Here's a hint:

In Congressional testimony, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayer claimed she couldn't think of a self-defense case having come before the Supreme Court, adding, "I could be wrong, but I can't think of one."

Sonia Sotomayor La Raza: Conservatives and Liberals Agree on Sotomayor

Conservatives and Liberals agree that Sonia Sotomayor hid her liberality while testifying at Congress about her views, and how those views will influence her decisions if she is confirmed for the U.S. Supreme Court. Ignoring Sotomayor's La Raza membership, an extremist organization known as the "Latino answer to the KKK," and many other controversial opinions, papers and speechs, some Conservatives will cast a vote for her. Liberals will all vote for her, but activists are grousing that she has let down the cause, abandonded her judicial captial, and betrayed minorities by donning her Conservative hat and keeping her cool. Conservatives and Liberals agree that the "real Sonia Sotomayor" has not yet stood up.

Sonia Sotomayor

Conservatives are flummoxed that the Sonia Sotomayor witnessing under oath, is a completely different Sonia Sotomayor known by her previous court rulings, her speeches and her mammoth pile of writings. Liberals are flummoxed that this week's testimony is not the Sonia they know and love, ...the same Sonia that will deny a White man his right to have a reverse discrimination case heard, the Sonia that holds membership in La Raza,

La Raza was condemned in 2007 by former U.S. Rep. Charles Norwood, R-Ga., as a radical “pro-illegal immigration lobbying organization that supports racist groups calling for the secession of the western United States as a Hispanic-only homeland.”

Norwood urged La Raza to renounce its support of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan – which sees “the Race” as part of an ethnic group that one day will reclaim Aztlan, the mythical birthplace of the Aztecs. In Chicano folklore, Aztlan includes California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and parts of Colorado and Texas.

...the same Sonia that, speaking as a member of La Raza, said "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion as a judge than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” and then repeated it another 6 times, the same Sonia that supports "the Latino answer to KKK," :

Miguel Perez, a La Raza spokesman at Cal State-Northridge, has been quoted as saying: “The ultimate ideology is the liberation of Aztlan. Communism would be closest [to it]. Once Aztlan is established, ethnic cleansing would commence: Non-Chicanos would have to be expelled — opposition groups would be quashed because you have to keep power.”

...the same Sonia who has had 60% of her rulings overturned by the Supreme Court,

 ...the same Sonia who in January 2009 ruled that States do not have to abide by the Second Amendment. In other words, if a State decides that residents do not have the right to keep and bear arms, then Sonia thinks that decision is Constitutional. In Maloney v. Cuomo, she signed the opinion stating a that the Second Amendment does not protect individuals from having Second Amendment rights.

 ...the same Sonia who holds for abortions at any stage of pregnancy even if the mother's life is not endangered, the same Sonia who ruled in favor of a Muslim inmate's right to have a "holiday feast" (which had been denied him because the particular holiday was not a mandatory holiday in Islam) on the grounds that it was "subjectively" important to him, regardless that it was not important to Islam. ...the same Sonia who opined in a dissenting opinion that minority felons should have the right to vote, based on past discriminations,

 ...the same Sonia who voted for the courts of other Nations to have a say when one parent removes a child from the country without the other parent's consent - in other words, you, the parent, might be subject to the opinion of a court in another land where your spouse absconded with your child without your permission.

 Still yet, some Republican liberals plan to vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. The names are no surprise. We learned some time ago we cannot count on Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Senator Olympia Snow (R-MAINE) and now Senator Mel Martinez, a Republican Hispanic senator from Florida who is retiring in 2010. Some more about La Raza and what it means for Judge Sotomayor to hold membership in this organization:

La Raza Facts: 15 things you should know by Michelle Malkin writing for NationalReviewOnline: 

Only in America could critics of a group called “The Race” be labeled racists. Such is the triumph of left-wing identity chauvinists, whose aggressive activists and supine abettors have succeeded in redefining all opposition as “hate.” 

Both Barack Obama and John McCain will speak this week in San Diego at the annual conference of the National Council of La Raza, the Latino organization whose name is Spanish for, yes, “The Race.” 

Can you imagine Obama and McCain paying homage to a group of white people who called themselves that? No matter. The presidential candidates and the media have legitimized “The Race” as a mainstream ethnic lobbying group and marginalized its critics as intolerant bigots. 

The unvarnished truth is that the group is a radical ethnic nationalist outfit that abuses your tax dollars and milks PC politics to undermine our sovereignty. Here are 15 things you should know about “The Race”: 

15. “The Race” supports driver’s licenses for illegal aliens. 

14.”The Race” demands in-state tuition discounts for illegal alien students that are not available to law-abiding U.S. citizens and law-abiding legal immigrants. 

13. “The Race” vehemently opposes cooperative immigration enforcement efforts between local, state, and federal authorities. 

12. “The Race” opposes a secure fence on the southern border. 

11. “The Race” joined the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in a failed lawsuit attempt to prevent the feds from entering immigration information into a key national crime database — and to prevent local police officers from accessing the data. 

10. “The Race” opposed the state of Oklahoma’s tough immigration-enforcement-first laws, which cut off welfare to illegal aliens, put teeth in employer sanctions, and strengthened local-federal cooperation and information sharing. 

9. “The Race” joined other open-borders, anti-assimilationists and sued to prevent Proposition 227, California’s bilingual education reform ballot initiative, from becoming law. 

8. “The Race” bitterly protested common-sense voter ID provisions as an “absolute disgrace.” 

7. “The Race” has consistently opposed post-9/11 national security measures at every turn. 

6. Former “Race” president Raul Yzaguirre, Hillary Clinton’s Hispanic outreach adviser, said this: “U.S. English is to Hispanics as the Ku Klux Klan is to blacks.” He was referring to U.S. English, the nation’s oldest, largest citizens’ action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. “The Race” also pioneered Orwellian open-borders Newspeak and advised the Mexican government on how to lobby for illegal alien amnesty while avoiding the terms “illegal” and “amnesty.” 

5. “The Race” gives mainstream cover to a poisonous subset of ideological satellites, led by Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, or Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan (MEChA). The late GOP Rep. Charlie Norwood rightly characterized the organization as “a radical racist group . . . one of the most anti-American groups in the country, which has permeated U.S. campuses since the 1960s, and continues its push to carve a racist nation out of the American West.” 

4. “The Race” is currently leading a smear campaign against staunch immigration-enforcement leaders and has called for TV and cable news networks to keep immigration enforcement proponents off the airwaves — in addition to pushing for Fairness Doctrine policies to shut up their foes. The New York Times reported that current “Race” president Janet Murguia believes “hate speech” should “not be tolerated, even if such censorship were a violation of First Amendment rights.” 

3. “The Race” sponsors militant ethnic nationalist charter schools subsidized by your public tax dollars (at least $8 million in federal education grants). The schools include Aztlan Academy in Tucson, Ariz., the Mexicayotl Academy in Nogales, Ariz., Academia Cesar Chavez Charter School in St. Paul, Minn., and La Academia Semillas del Pueblo in Los Angeles, whose principal inveighed: “We don’t want to drink from a White water fountain, we have our own wells and our natural reservoirs and our way of collecting rain in our aqueducts. We don’t need a White water fountain . . . ultimately the White way, the American way, the neo liberal, capitalist way of life will eventually lead to our own destruction.” 

2. “The Race” has perfected the art of the PC shakedown at taxpayer expense, pushing relentlessly to lower home-loan standards for Hispanic borrowers, reaping millions in federal “mortgage counseling” grants, seeking special multimillion-dollar earmarks, and partnering with banks that do business with illegal aliens. 

1. “The Race” thrives on ethnic supremacy — and the elite sheeple’s unwillingness to call it what it is. As historian Victor Davis Hanson observes: “[The] organization’s very nomenclature ‘The National Council of La Raza’ is hate speech to the core. Despite all the contortions of the group, Raza (as its Latin cognate suggests) reflects the meaning of ‘race’ in Spanish, not ‘the people’ — and that’s precisely why we don’t hear of something like ‘The National Council of the People,’ which would not confer the buzz notion of ethnic, racial and tribal chauvinism.” The fringe is the center. The center is the fringe. Viva La Raza.

Protesting Sotomayor: Do it Now, Do it Again, Start All Over and Do it Some More

If you are concerned about the successful confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, then I know you are calling, emailing, faxing and calling some more. But in the event you are too busy to think about how to express the extent of your feelings about this woman making it totarget="_blank">blogger friend provided the following for your convenience, and my friend received it from her friend. I know, more information than you want to know, but I want to give credit where credit is due.

Protesting Sotomayor - U.S. Supreme Court Building

While we may think Sotomayor's succession cannot be stopped, let us not stop our opinions and protests until this segment of showtime is over. No matter how you think your Senator will vote, call, email, fax and call again anyway. Use the following as talking points, or a letter or a fax, and if you are Republican, don't forget to include these words in your communications:

Senator, if you think that women and Hispanics will not vote for you in your next election, because you did not vote for a Hispanic woman for the Supreme Court, think again. They have no record of voting for you at any time, so vote NO on the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor.

*****

Dear [Senator] I am writing to urge you to join with me in rejecting Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the United States Supreme Court. The essential issue with this nominee is whether she will perform her duties to the Constitution of the United States fairly, impartially, and within the context of the supreme law of our land. [Senator] , there is no doubt that Sonia Sotomayor is a judge, but she is not a fair judge, nor has she demonstrated impartiality on the bench, nor do her previous statements reflect a willingness to fulfill her important task of interpreting the law. I may not be qualified to evaluate her judicial qualities, but I can certainly surmise that when 71.4% of her cases referred to the Supreme Court were overturned, we may justifiably question her judicial competence. Further, [Senator], the public is already aware of statements she made with respect to making policy at the appellate court level. She may certainly deny this statement now, but there is no question that she said it, and even worse was the facial expression and tone of her voice when she made that statement. She is, in my view, far too arrogant to assume the awesome responsibilities of a Justice on the highest court in our nation. And now finally, [Senator], let me suggest to you that a decision whether or not to confirm Sonia Sotomayor must be determined based on our country’s best interests. It is my determination as a citizen of these United States that no elected official who cares about his or her country, its people, or its hallowed traditions, can possibly vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor. I will evaluate your vote in this matter, and your decision will weigh heavily in the next elections. Sincerely yours,

Sonia Sotomayor Loses to Firefighters: Supreme Court Agrees with Firefighters: Sotomayor Overturned

Developing and just in, Judge Sonia Sotomayor's ruling at the 2nd Circuit Court holding that White New Haven, Connecticut firefighters were not discriminated against has been overturned in a 5-4 vote in the Supreme Court with retiring Justice Kennedy writing the opinion. Updates below.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has overturned the Sotomayor 2nd Circuit decision denying discrimination. Sotomayor must be used to this by now, as 60% of her decisions reviewed by the Supreme's have been overturned.

The Supreme Court has ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.

As background, the city offered tests for promotions. Whites outscored Blacks. No one got a promotion because the city felt it would be discriminatory to award the Whites passing the tests with promotions and denying promotions to Blacks who did not. Update 6-30-09: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg read the dissenting opinion, but it is unclear who wrote the dissent:

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the white firefighters "understandably attract this court's sympathy. But they had no vested right to promotion. Nor have other persons received promotions in preference to them."

Other dissenting Justices: Breyer, Souter and Stevens. Judges upholding the claims of the White firefighters: Kennedy, Thomas, Scalia, Alito and Roberts.

The Supreme Court ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.

New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results, the court said Monday in a 5-4 decision. The city said that it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.

Frank Ricci was the lead plaintiff firefighter in the lawsuit. Here's a quote from his father:

Now we're going to get the best managers as far as firefighters go.

An outside firm developed the test given to 77 candidates for lieutenant and 41 candidates for captain:

Fifty six firefighters passed the exams, including 41 whites, 22 blacks and 18 Hispanics. But of those, only 17 whites and two Hispanics could expect promotion.

Sonia Sotomayor Loses to Firefighters

Supreme Court to Conference on Obama's Citizenship: Write Now

BLOGGERS: Real Clear Politics refuses to allow Reader Articles concerning Barack Obama's citizenship. My latest post reports a scheduled Supreme Court conference on this very issue. My post was removed from RCP today. In fact, every post, by most bloggers, covering Barack Obama's citizenship has been scrubbed from RCP. Most of us think what the Supreme Court does is news worthy. Not the case at RCP. The question is: why does RCP not deem actions by the U.S. Supreme Court important for readers to know about? PLEASE, if you have not posted about this already, grab this and cross-post at your blog. Let's get the information out and send some letters to the Supreme Court.

*****

Justice Clarence Thomas has placed a discussion of Barack Obama's citizenship on the December 5th docket for conference, meaning a discussion of the merit of this particular case. A commenter at America's Right, who has been the leading source of excellent information on the various lawsuits, is requesting that we write directly to the Supreme Court:

The Honorable Associate Justice Clarence Thomas United States Supreme Court One First St. N. E. Washington DC 20543 Put docket # on Envelope 08-A407 Ask him UPHOLD our Constitution with Full Disclosure as the only Constitutionally viable answer.

One commenter said he/she was sending a copy of his letter to each of the nine Justices. Good idea! Here are some details just in from WorldNetDaily

The Supreme Court's website listed the date for the case brought by Leo C. Donofrio against Nina Wells, the Secretary of State in New Jersey, over not only Obama's name on the 2008 election ballot but those of two others, Sen. John McCain and Roger Calero. The case, unsuccessful at the state level, had been submitted to Justice David Souter, who rejected it. The case then was resubmitted to Justice Clarence Thomas. The next line on the court's docket says: "DISTRIBUTED for Conference of December 5, 2008."

Jeff Schreiber at America's Right has followed this case closely. His post today reports:

As for New Jersey firebrand and attorney Leo Donofrio, his application for an emergency stay was denied by Justice Souter, Donofrio was able to refile and resubmit it to the Justice of his choosing, and properly did so. Today, the docket for his action shows that after being put before Justice Clarence Thomas, the application will be discussed by the Court in a December 5, 2008 conference. Normally, during their term, the Supreme Court Justices conference on Wednesday (typically, but not always) and review the various petitions and applications before them, deciding which of the many such proceedings should be heard by the Court. I suspect that we could soon see a similar entry on the docket for Berg's case as well. Now, this does not mean that the Court has decided to hear either of these matters and, in fact, is fairly typical when it comes to the process. Still, for those hoping to have these cases heard on their merits, for those who feel these issues are more about the United States Constitution than Barack Obama, this is a step in the right direction.

Please visit America's Right and WorldNetDaily for more.

Obama: 2001 Constitution a Negative Charter - Redistribution of Wealth

In this video, Barack Obama, then an Illinois Senator, explains:

 1) That political and economic justice - through "redistribution of wealth" was not addressed by the Supreme Court in the Civil Rights movement. 

2) Our Constitution DID NOT BREAK FREE of constraints, at the time of the Civil Rights movement, placed there by our Founding Fathers 

 3) At the time of the Movement, the Warren court interpreted our Constitution as a "charter of negative liberties." 

 4) The focus was lost during the Movement that would have channeled "community organizing" into changes for "redistributive change." 

Obama on Changing the U.S. Constititution

 PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT: 

MODERATOR: Good morning and welcome to Odyssey on WBEZ Chicago 91.5 FM and we're joined by Barack Obama who is Illinois State Senator from the 13th district and senior lecturer in the law school at the University of Chicago. 

 OBAMA: If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court, I think where it succeeded was to vest formal rights in previously dispossessed peoples. So that I would now have the right to vote, I would now be able to sit at the lunch counter and order and as long as I could pay for it I'd be okay. But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and sort of more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society. 

And to that extent as radical as people tried to characterize the Warren court, it wasn't that radical. It [the Constitution] didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as it's been interpreted, and the Warren court interpreted it in the same way that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. It says what the states can't do to you, it says what the federal government can't do to you, but it doesn't say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf. And that hasn't shifted. 

One of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was because the civil rights movement became so court focused, I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributed change and in some ways we still suffer from that. 

MODERATOR: Let's talk with Karen. Good morning, Karen, you're on Chicago Public Radio. 

KAREN: Hi. The gentleman made the point that the Warren court wasn't terribly radical with economic changes. My question is, is it too late for that kind of reparative work economically and is that that the appropriate place for reparative economic work to take place – the court – or would it be legislation at this point? 

 OBAMA: Maybe I'm showing my bias here as a legislator as well as a law professor, but I'm not optimistic about bringing about major redistributive change through the courts. The institution just isn't structured that way. You just look at very rare examples during the desegregation era the court was willing to for example order changes that cost money to a local school district. The court was very uncomfortable with it. It was very hard to manage, it was hard to figure out.

You start getting into all sorts of separation of powers issues in terms of the court monitoring or engaging in a process that essentially is administrative and takes a lot of time. The court's just not very good at it and politically it's very hard to legitimize opinions from the court in that regard. So I think that although you can craft theoretical justifications for it legally. Any three of us sitting here could come up with a rational for bringing about economic change through the courts.

Eminent Domain, Obama, and the little guy

Cross-posted from Faultline USA

Yesterday three minor news stories came together into one story, and then the story really got interesting. Hang in there and read on. Don’t you want to find out why Obama positioned himself in alignment with the rotation of the earth?

(1) Congress was opened for the first time by a Hindu prayer. The Hindu cleric’s prayer to open Congress was disrupted by some Christians. Read three different takes on this from Christian Newswire, Religion Clause, and the lefty Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

(2) Eminent Domain Reform was introduced in U.S. House of Representatives. The Castle Coalition reported yesterday that Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2007 to stop taxpayer funding of eminent domain abuse. . . “It prevents Americans’ federal tax dollars from being used to kick them off their land for private development, while allowing federal money for traditional public uses like roads and post offices. ” According to Steven Anderson, director of the Castle Coalition, “Unsurprisingly, tax-hungry governments and land-hungry developers prey on those that are less likely to be able to defend themselves.

It is vital that the federal government stop subsidizing this blatant abuse of power.” Eminent Domain reform is desperately needed following the disastrous Kelo vs the City of New London Supreme Court ruling. This reform should have broad bi-partisan support. Lefty groups, however, are a bit too fond of portraying the “little guy” as an inner city minority or a member of a “marginalized” group. In fact, the little guy is just as likely to be a farmer or rancher who will lose family land to the NAFTA highway, to some kind of questionable “city” government, or to big money private development.

Read about the consequences of Kelo vs City of New London. “In Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court held that anyone’s home or business can be taken if the government thinks someone else can make more money with the land. The floodgates to eminent domain abuse have busted open. However, there is a silver lining.” Also read The Impact of the Kelo Decision from reason.org.

(3) An Iowa farmer is being threatened with Eminent Domain by the Maharishi Vedic City. Bob Palm and his two brothers have 149 acres of farmland that has been in their family for 115 years. After the Palm brothers announced plans to raise hogs on the farm, the Maharishi Vedic City became upset because the city does not allow the sale of any non-organically raised product (that means only vegetarian). The city offered to buy the farm to build a park after appraising the farm’s value at $2,675 per acre. The Palms refused to sell and the “peace-loving” cult threatened to bring Eminent Domain proceedings.

Currently they are at a standoff. I am really curious. Isn’t this America, the land of the free and home of the brave? How did Maharishi Vedic City become a genuine city in Iowa? Aren’t all American cities held to some basic standards of freedom of diversity? Apparently not so! In Maharishi Vedic City no one is allowed to sell non-organic products. The city is vegetarian. The official language is Hindu Sanskrit. Need I go on? So how can this so-called American city even be considered a real city much less bring Eminent Domain proceedings against a neighbor? For some history on the Utopian, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and his Transcendental Meditation cult read Heaven on Earth .

Living in the hope of spending the afterlife in heaven is a definite waste of the glorious gift of human life. So every individual must try to create a heavenly environment on earth, and one Hindu spiritual leader thinks it's very much possible to build heaven on earth! He is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi — the notable Vedic teacher and celebrated guru of transcendental meditation, and the vital force behind such Vedic institutions as the Maharishi University of Management and the Maharishi International University.

According to a 2000 article by Rick Ross it’s all about big money and politics:

Today, amazingly, the Maharishi is still purveying bliss - only to the gentry, not below stairs. He has become a fashion icon. His sly smile no longer looks down from a thousand college notice boards, but he is the pin-up of politicians, accountants, doctors, businessmen and journalists. In this era of anxiety, his New Age message is the antidote to executive stress.

What is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Natural Law party?

According to the Natural Law Party (U.S.) "50-Point Action Plan to Revitalize America," "there are simple, humane, cost-effective, scientifically proven solutions to all of America’s problems. The Natural Law Party was founded to implement these solutions immediately in government." The discussion of their actual policy in their printed material and web site, while quite lofty, is extremely vague. Nowhere in the literature they mail to prospective members do they mention that all of these "solutions" are based on products of one controversial group. But in actuality the Natural Law Party is a global "political" front -- with organizations in 80 countries -- for the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement.

The Maharishi is a Hindu monk who began teaching TM in the 1950s. The public best knows him for his association with the Beatles, who learned TM from him in the late 1960s. It's interesting to note that in 1957, the Maharishi claimed he would bring the world to enlightenment within 10 years -- and would then retire to the caves of the Himalayas to spend the remainder of his days in quiet meditation. Yet, today he governs a world-wide spiritual empire worth over $3.5 billion dollars.More details and source documents. Return to top.

Also read Secrets of the Natural Law Party. Here’s an excerpt from the chapter Unnatural FAQs:

. . .Since the 1970s, the Maharishi has touted TM as a secular form of meditation that does not conflict with any religion, philosophy, or governmental system. But in fact, insiders report that TM is secretly a very fundamental form of Hinduism. According to former Maharishi International University professor Anthony D. DeNaro, the Maharishi once snapped, "When America is ready for Hinduism, I will tell them." The Maharishi incorporated his original movement as a religious organization with himself as its "spiritual head." He has said that he chooses the names of Hindu gods as mantras for his followers. Four U.S. courts have found that TM is religious or a religion. . . .

All the more reason why this city isn’t an American city and should not have the power of Eminent Domain! Obama woos Vedic City, folks! Also see Politico Blog. Here’s an excerpt from with bold added by me.

FAIRFIELD, Iowa-Sen. Barack Obama drew his heartiest welcome of a two-day swing through Iowa in the state's capital of inner peace. . .Obama had positioned himself in alignment with the rotation of the earth, in accordance with the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, whose followers moved en masse to this small Iowa city more than 30 years ago.The Maharishi’s transcendental meditators, along with vacationing pilgrims from the East Coast, turned out in large numbers in the town’s traditional green square to hear the Illinois senator deliver his stump speech on the night of July 3-more people, Fairfield’s sheriff said, than had come out to greet a sitting president.“I saw him and I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is somebody who could lead us into a new era,’” said Nancy Watkins, an international student adviser at the Maharishi University of Management.

A liberal’s take on the event. Here’s an excerpt. Highlights added by the liberal:

Meditating Iowans At Peace With Obama CBS News, NY turned out in large numbers in the town’s traditional green square to hear the Illinois senator deliver his stump speech on the night of July 3 — more people, Fairfield’s sheriff said, than had come out to greet a sitting president. ..... "Somehow we have lost the capacity to recognize ourselves in each other,"” Obama said, to an intently nodding crowd of at least 1,000. "You know, people talk a lot about the federal deficit, but one of the things that I always talk about is …an empathy deficit," he continued, to applause. ...... Obama spoke as Washington wallows in a summer of intense conflict. Subpoenas are flying from the Hill to the White House. ..... In some of his speeches, he didn't even mention President Bush. .....

This is a central gamble of Obama's campaign for President. The loudest voices in the Democratic Party — from Chairman Howard Dean to former Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Hillary Clinton — have been sounding steady notes of confrontation with the White House. Clinton and Edwards argue that they will win the partisan wars. ..... Obama argues that the country, and even partisans, are tired of partisan warfare. .... a suburb — the fist new city incorporated in Iowa in decades — called Maharishi Vedic City, in which all buildings face East.

Now I wonder if the crowd was nodding in agreement with Obama or just head-bobbing in transcendental meditation? No matter. It sure looks like Obama won’t be visiting any farmers facing Eminent Domain these days, now does it? Obama’s got more bread to butter and he knows exactly where to find it! H/T to Iowa Voice “Gurus Love Obama” (from someone living in the midst of these folks) . . .

Oh, by the way…you know what that “Yoga flying” really is? They cross their legs, go into a “trance” (some “herbs” might be involved, if you get my drift), and then proceed to hop/bounce around a gymnasium. They barely get a few inches off the floor, yet they think they’re actually flying. And that’s just stage 1! Pure freakin’ nutjobs. So if they want to be supportive of Obama, more power to ‘em. But I’ll just bet you won’t see any “Endorsed by The Maharishi University” on any campaign flyers anytime soon.

Barack Obama Eminent Domain Christian Hindu Congress politics Iowa Maharishi Vedic City