By Stephanie Bertorelli
Clash Daily Guest Contributor
I tend to feel as though I am in a perpetual Ozian state as of late. The great and powerful Obama is standing behind his curtain and portraying visions onto the canvas of America, hoping to frighten me into submission.
But there is light at the end of the emerald tunnel.
While the President and his minions continue to try to frighten America, this week it appears that there are an increasingly large number of previously mute voices attempting to pull back the curtain.
Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, this week, held a press conference to blow wide open the fact that information on concealed carry weapons permits is being transmitted to the Department of Homeland Security. Lieutenant Governor Kinder, and the Stoddard County (MO) Prosecutors, filed legal actions against the Missouri Department of Revenue; and those actions resulted in a temporary restraining order that will force the DOR to stop transmitting this private information to DHS.
Then we have an email from an office within the Agriculture Department in North Carolina. The email received from Charles Brown, a director at the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service office in Raleigh, seems to state that any attempt to replace less onerous cuts within the department with the previously stated cuts that would “eliminate assistance to producers in 24 states in managing wildlife damage to the aquaculture industry”, which is what Congress had been told, would be frowned upon. It continues to be quite obvious that the Administration is trying to use these cuts in order to make Republicans look bad ahead of elections rather than working with those same lawmakers who have hopes to make the budget cuts more autonomous by the President.
Amid reports of drones being spotted over American cities, this week Senator Rand Paul spent over twelve hours standing up for all Americans when he filibustered the vote on John Brennan’s nomination to head the CIA. Senator Rand did not want to halt the actual confirmation but merely to stand up against the idea that Americans could be murdered simply for being “thought” to be a combatant. Senator Rand wanted an answer to a simple question that he asked in a letter to both the President and Attorney General. “Does President Obama believe he can order the killing of an American citizen, on American soil, based on nothing more than his own judgment that the person is a threat?” What makes him judge, jury and executioner?
And in an indefensible response to Senator Rand’s letter, Attorney General Eric Holder stated, “The question you have posed is therefore entirely hypothetical, unlikely to occur, and one we hope no President will ever have to confront. It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States.”
You suppose, Mr. Holder? I don’t think that the American public is ready to get on board with the execution of American citizens because you suppose it’s okay within your ever increasingly broad interpretation of the Constitution.
So after an eventful week filled with others bringing to light the antics behind the curtain, I look out on the prospects of the future of America. I don’t feel as I am only one waking from the poppy induced coma of the past several years. I am exceedingly happy that I see that there are, in fact, smart, heartfelt and brave men and women to make the journey with me.
Stephanie Bertorelli is a publicist and author living in Charlotte, NC. She’s the mother of two girls that she’s raised to say thank you to all officers and soldiers they meet and who also know that they better get the tissues ready for mom when the National Anthem plays. With a passion for sparkly shoes and vintage green dresses, she spends her free time (what free time?) writing, perfecting new recipes and trying out new wines. Please feel free to follow her on Facebook (http://facebook.com/stephieb13) or on Twitter @stephiebinnc
