Are We Hanging by a Thread Yet?

Are We Hanging by a Threat Yet?

by Grant Solomon (Arizona)

Speech given at the Freedom Forum of the IAP National Conference, August 3, 2002, Salt Lake City, Utah. Grant Solomon is State Chair of the Utah Independent American Party and a former radio talk show host.

It is a pleasure to be with you all today once again at this convention of the Independent American Party. "We the people, in order to form a more a perfect union, establish justice and insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Have you ever thought to ponder upon the words "do ordain and establish this Constitution"? There is a unique understanding to the word ordain, or ordination, which means we set it apart. That means we set it apart as something sacred, something special, something distinct, something unique. That is our Constitution indeed, is it not? It is. Well of course. My talk today has been titled "Are We Hanging By a Thread Yet?"

In Arizona for a little bit over four years, I have been in the radio industry. I served as a production director and on the air. Yes, I called myself a talent. I think my wife referred to me as talent sometimes, but that was my job in the radio industry. And part of my job was -- we hosted my boss who was running for a spot in the Arizona House -- not our federal Congress, but in the Arizona House. And he had gained some political friends and he wanted to host a conference of six congressional individuals that were candidates for the congressional district number one in Arizona. And so we hosted this little get-to-know-ya type forum for those six congressional individuals. And one is a close personal friend of mine.

Anyway, all these six individuals got up there and they all stated their platform. And may I submit that they were all clones of each other. I didn't know the clone development was that far advanced, but apparently it was. (Laughter) These were six individuals, six Republicans -- not one of them had a distinct idea from the other one. It's like they'd all gone to Republican School, you know where they were taught you need to learn how to say the word I support property rights and individual liberties, repeat after me. They go to this whole school.

The problem is they learn the jargon of which conservatives will appeal to -- or which it will have an allure to -- patriots or to conservatives. Well that's fine and dandy. But when they get into Washington, what happens? They lose it somewhere. Have any of you seen Star Trek, the New Generation? Some of you have seen it. Maybe some of you might be familiar with it. How many of you are familiar with the enemy known as the Borg -- any of you familiar with the Borg? The Borg is a system where they run off of a mental collective. In the Borg you have no individuality, you have no sovereignty. You now become a part of the mental collective.

It's kind of what happens to our individuals when they go to Washington. All these individuals, they talk a good game of individual freedom, of individual rights, of limiting government, of limiting taxes but as soon as they get into Washington they become completely attacked and overcome by the Borg. And they become part of a mental collective of Washington and they forget who they are and the people that they represented. That is kind of our situation.

Okay. Now most of you are familiar with what just happened to us in Arizona, the situation of which my wife and I just returned from that I'd like to speak a little bit about. We were privileged. I would consider it a privilege because we learned so much from it. It was called the Rodeo-Chedisky Fire. Do some of you remember hearing about that? The Rodeo-Chedisky Fire. Did you get any smoke in Utah from it. Oh, you guys were lucky. The Rodeo-Chedisky Fire was the fourth largest fire in America's history and happened in my hometown areas of the White Mountains of Arizona.

It burned close to five hundred thousand acres of the largest strand of Ponderosa Pine in the world. And it was quite a catastrophe. And it lasted for close to a two week duration of time in which we learned a tremendous amount. I was one of two DJ's that were allowed to remain within the city limits of Show Low, Arizona while the rest of the towns were evacuated. Have you ever participated in a city evacuation? Anybody in this room ever participated in a city evacuation? (Voice in audience: "Viet Nam.")

Viet Nam, Yeah, you know. Well if you haven't participated in it you probably soon at some particular point will. It's just something that is going to happen. Well, let me tell you a little bit about this Rodeo-Chedisky Fire and what happened in it and what we learned from it. I'll go through this very quickly.

The Rodeo-Chedisky Fire started of course towards the end of June. It increased rapidly to where it came upon and encroached upon the cities in northern Arizona known as Pinedale, Clay Springs, and Linden, Arizona. Well, within two days of the fire, those three towns had been put under evacuation notification. That is where they are to prepare their things and get them ready should an evacuation notification come to them. Well, within the two days period it did come to them. And they received a notification that they were to evacuate.

Well, this had been the first time that any of us, including the constituents of that town, had ever gone through such a thing. We've never had to deal with any type of a natural calamity or crisis in those towns at all. And so of course, those towns were evacuated. Now you could stay according to the state of Arizona. They could not force you to leave your property. But if you did leave -- and here are the parts that I'm going to get into. What should have just been a state issue and a local issue fought by local and state individuals, very soon became a complete federal operation in which the federal government basically -- and I will submit -- allowed our towns at our White Mountain area to burn to further their purposes. To further and achieve their objectives -- their objectives and their accomplishments for the purpose of training.

This was a training operation for the New World Order. They completely took over the operation. They made people leave from their towns. Of course, they weren't under force, it was voluntary. But once they left, they were not allowed to come back. You were not allowed to return to your personal property. You were not allowed to return to your homes. If you attempted to return you were put under arrest. And it happened. Numerous people were put under arrest. Numerous people were able to sneak back in and some prevented the destruction of their homes and their property. The federal operation that took place and the federal troops that were involved -- the United States Forest Service -- refused to fight the fires that were close to the town of Pinedale and Clay Springs. Numerous volunteers who stayed behind said we will fight our fires and defend our towns. The federal operation said by all means go right ahead, but expect no help from us. And then they began to deprive them of water as they turned off the water in the Clay Springs area.

In the town of Linden which was right close to Show Low -- I get a little emotional about this -- that came within eight miles of my own house. They were also prohibited from fighting their own fire. They were told to not do anything or they would be put under arrest. And so the local fire fighting crews just sat there and watched as their towns burned. That was the federal operation that just took place in northern Arizona. In my hometown area. National Guard troops were there. It was a horrific sight. It pained me. I hated seeing the presence of National Guard troops in my town as they were putting us under evacuation. There's something that could've and should've been stopped by the local crews.

Here's the good news. The local crews that stayed back and defended their homes, they won! They were able to defend. They were able to save their little city of Clay Springs. The little crew with their shovels, their picks, their axes and their chain saws and their bulldozers saved their town with no help from the federal operation.

Of course, now here's the thing that happened afterwards, and it explains the mind set of our nation and where we are at today, ladies and gentlemen. After it was all done, this was the sentiment. Thank you Federal Government for saving us. There were posters all over town -- thank you, you know federal, it was thank you firefighters. And of course, we were thankful for the firefighters that did their part. But of course, the firefighters were under the control of the United States Forest Service and the federal government. And of course, it was thank you and praise to the federal government. But it was nothing but a New World Order Operation and training exercise. King George came to Springerville and promised us certain amount of federal aid and assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Act or Agency FEMA was in our hometown providing all this assistance and Red Cross, and all this assistance was promised to us. And so basically the mind set of our nation is save us Lord King Government! Protect us government. And that is the mind set.

I want to explain here and there. Are we hanging by a thread yet? Well, we are much past it. Our government is amazing. They've got this technique down, and a lot of you can appreciate this and know about the system that is used by our government. It is called problem, reaction, solution. The government creates a problem. We have a reaction. Government creates the solution. The world trade center going down. That's the problem. What's the reaction? (long drawn breath!) Government says lets provide the solution. Hence, the US Patriot act. Homeland Security.

Another thing that happened just recently, case in point of course, and with our Rodeo-Chedisky Fire. Problem, the mountains are burning. Reaction, (long drawn breath!). Solution, get government heavily in control. Of course, it sparked all sorts of talking on environmental legislation and policy. But not one thing -- that's the skeptic in me, not one thing is going to change. Environmental protection will continue to remain the same as long as that crew that is in Washington remains there. Nothing will change until we get individuals such as Will Christensen [IAP of California] or whoever into office there that can help to make a difference. Because the people that are in there are part of the collective mental thought. They are Borg, and they don't have their individual thoughts any longer. They've just become part of the collective.

So here is the situation that we are in now. We last met in January. Here are some of the things that have happened from January to our present time. Legislation that has been enacted even since last week. I just jotted down a few. These are just a few. Since we last met, of course, there has been a re-strengthening of the Patriot Act. That was, of course, the great 342 page document that was inspire d after the 9/11 attacks that nobody studied. There was no debate, no presentation for it, and ALL congressmen -- except for one Ron Paul -- voted for it. Unbelievable.

Okay here are some things that have happened just since we last convened in January. And you tell me, are we hanging by a thread yet? Here we go: The US Patriot Act. Two months after that, George Bush and Dick Cheney announced the formation of the Shadow Government. Did you hear about that in the news? Where they came right out and said oh we have a whole operation of unelected officials that are controlling the distribution of good and services. Don't worry you know. They said we're not planning on bombing Iraq that's worried about the shadow government doing it. Shadow Government.

The Fast Track authority, of course, which we mentioned in our platform, which took negotiating power with other nations out of congressional hands into the executive authority's hands -- of which congress had no authority to grant that unto the executive branch in the first place. Shortly after that was passed in the House and Senate campaign finance reform -- which of course completely eliminated the First Amendment. Well shortly after that many of these things were implemented or proposed. National ID Cards were also proposed. That is currently in committees. A new family took the chip in Florida, the creation of the digital angel and the microchip. A family just took it so willingly and so voluntarily in Florida.

The creation of the ICC -- the International Criminal Courts. Military tribunals. We had the UN conference on poverty in Monterey, Mexico in which a delegation from the United States was sent down. And George Bush had an individual sent down who signed America's part into the global tax. Now America is part of the global tax with the UN. The UN and NATO has been enlarged. We signed the pact with Russia decreasing by two-thirds our nuclear arsenal. Are we hanging by a thread yet? And as of last Friday, a week from yesterday, the United States House of Representatives passed the Homeland Security Bill. Damn them! For doing that.

And then of course last week, once again problem, reaction, solution. Tyco goes under. Enron goes under. Worldcom goes under. Global Crossings goes under. Reaction of the people in the stock market? (long drawn breath!) Solution -- government takes control. Last Tuesday of this last week, signed into law, was greater governmental reforms into our free enterprise system. Are we hanging by a thread yet? May I submit we are beyond it.

Washington has completely usurped and subverted the Constitution for the United States. It means nothing to them. It means absolutely nothing to the individuals in Washington. The place where the Constitution will be alive is in the hearts of the people here in the Independent American Party and, of course, all other organizations that believe as we do. And the education of the document will be up to us to teach our children to teach our friends. Of course we're headed into many directions.

Well let me not just talk in generalities about the US Patriot act, but let me get into some greater specifics. Do you guys mind if I get into some specifics of where the US Patriot act is at? Well, before I do, let me show you this here really quick what has happened in the news. One of the things that Will [Christensen, IAP of California] talked about was reading. How long do I spend on the internet on news everyday?

I spend approximately an hour a day. Sometimes longer. Researching news. I have several news sites that I go to and I research news for at least an hour a day. And may I submit that that is what you need to do to stay on top. The new world order, as it was described in the Book of Revelations, Chapter 13, is as a spotted leopard. You know what that means? It moves quick, undetectable, and fast and dominating. You won't even detect it until it's right on top of you and goes rah, snags you right up. It's like flaxen cord. You don't feel it until you are bound by it and it leads you speedily down to you know where.

This was prepared for and this was announced three weeks ago -- FEMA, the Federal Emergency charged with disaster preparedness, is engaged in a crash effort to prepare for multiple mass destruction attacks on US cities. If FEMA's preparing for it folks, it's gonna happen. Including the creation of sprawling temporary cities to handle millions of displaced persons. FEMA is ready for nuclear, biological and chemical attacks against US cities, including the possibility of multiple attacks with mass destruction weapons. The agency has already notified vendors, contractors and consultants that it needs to be prepared to handle the logistics of 80 millions of displaced Americans who will flee from urban areas that may be attacked. Ominously, FEMA has been given a deadline of having the cities ready to go by January 2003.

That's something I thought you guys might consider of interest. Are we hanging by a thread yet?

Alrighty, here we are with the US Patriot act. And this is a copy here that I have in this folder. That you see right there. That is the US Patriot act. I'm sure those congressmen and senators are really reading that that was created within 48 hours of the 9/11. Anyway, I think you all need to go home and you can type it in any of your search engines on the internet -- "US Patriot Act Bill" and it can come up, and you can print it out.

Okay. In that US Patriot Act under sections 411 and 802, a terrorist is loosely defined as anyone being a representative of a foreign terrorist organization as designated by the Secretary of State. So whoever Collin Powell decides to say that is a terrorist -- well look out. Maybe he might decide to say the Independent American Party. I don't know.

And domestically, anyone engaging in activities that are dangerous to human life, that are a violation of criminal laws of the United States or of any state, that appear -- here's the big word he uses, "appear." You only have to have the appearance. The word appearance is very vague and loose and ambiguous. Appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.

Under section 803 of this act, even a simple act of giving food or shelter to a friend who may have been involved in any of the aforementioned activities could have you incriminated and branded as a terrorist.

Sections 216, 217, and 218 allow for the unrestricted wire tapping, the tracing and spying on email messages and internet activities of anyone anywhere in the US -- without the need to obtain a court order, as long as the information likely to be obtained is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation.

A suspected terrorist according to section 112 of the United States Patriot Act needs to only be certified by the Attorney General on reasonable grounds that he believes someone to be engaged in terrorist activities. No solid evidence or due process needs to be maintained or needs to be sought after.

Section 236 gives the Attorney General unprecedented powers, untouchable by any court, whereby he may detain a suspect in increments of up to six months at a time if he believes the suspects release would threaten nation security or the safety of the community or any person. "At the Attorney General's discretion, no court shall have jurisdiction to review by habeas corpus, petition or otherwise any such action or decision".

Well, of course those are some of the things -- and I could go on about many more of the specifics of the United Sates Patriot act. But I would suggest you all downloading it from the internet, going through it, and on some websites you can find where individuals have actually broken down the sections that talk about some of those different things in it. And of course, the Homeland Security Bill that has just been passed a week ago last Friday, which I presume will have very speedy passage in the Senate after they are done now with this economic reform.

So of course now, here we ended up. What are we to do? Are we gonna lay down dead. Are we gonna roll over? Our forefathers lost homes, lost their fortunes, lost their families in the fight for freedom. Can we do any less? No we cannot. We must fight. We cannot just let this roll over us and devour us, overtake us and bring us in enslavement.

I will finish by reading one of my favorite patriots, of course, who we all know and love -- Patrick Henry. This is what Patrick Henry said, dated March 3, 1775.

"Sir we are not weak. If we make proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people armed in the holy cause of liberty and in such a country as that which we possess are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, Sir, we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations and who will raise up friends to fight our battle for us. The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone. It is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains or slavery? Forbid it Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me give me liberty or give me death!"

My name is Grant Solomon. I stand for freedom and liberty. My king is Jesus Christ alone. And I leave this testimony and witness and message in his name. Amen. (Applause)