March 2013 ~ Volume 24

The Ides of March (Latin: Idus Martii or Idus Martiae) is the name of the 15th day of March in the Roman calendar. In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C. Caesar was stabbed (23 times) to death in the Roman Senate by a group of conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a program of social and governmental reforms, including the creation of the Julian calendar. He centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity". But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus. A new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never restored. Caesar's adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to sole power, and the era of the Roman Empire began. In Rome, Caesar was appointed dictator, with Mark Antony as his Master of the Horse (second in command); Caesar presided over his own election to a second consulship and then, after eleven days, resigned this dictatorship.Caesar then pursued Pompey to Egypt, arriving soon after the murder of the general. There Caesar was presented with Pompey's severed head and seal-ring, receiving these with tears.

He then had Pompey's assassins put to death. Caesar then became involved with an Egyptian civil war between the child pharaoh and his sister, wife, and co-regent queen, Cleopatra. Perhaps as a result of the pharaoh's role in Pompey's murder, Caesar sided with Cleopatra. He withstood the Siege of Alexandria and later he defeated the pharaoh's forces at the Battle of the Nile in 47 BC and installed Cleopatra as ruler. Caesar and Cleopatra celebrated their victory with a triumphal procession on the Nile in the spring of 47 BC. The royal barge was accompanied by 400 additional ships, and Caesar was introduced to the luxurious lifestyle of the Egyptian pharaohs.

"The Star Spangled Banner" didn't officially become the country's national anthem until 1931. President Herbert Hoover signed the congressional resolution on March 3, 1931.

"The Star Spangled Banner" was written in Baltimore on Sept. 14, 1814 as "Defense of Fort McHenry" by lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key. It was to celebrate the victory against the British in the battle of Fort McHenry in the war of 1812.

The song is set to "To Anacreon in Heaven" – a song written by John Stafford Smith. The song was for the London men's social club, the Anacreontic Society. The club was named after Anacreon, a Greek court poet.

The Navy and Army used "The Star Spangled Banner" for ceremonial purposes by the 1900s, according to the Smithsonian. The Secretary of the Navy instructed the song to be played at the raising of the flag on July 26, 1889.

While even the best singer has trouble getting through the anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner" is actually comprised of a total of four verses – each ending with the line, "O'er the land of the free and

the home of the brave."

A police car with a device that photographs license plates moves through the city and scans the traffic on the streets, relaying the data it collects to a computer for sifting. Police say the surveillance helps identify stolen cars and drivers with outstanding arrest warrants.

It also allows authorities to monitor where average citizens might be at any particular time. That bothers some residents, as well as groups that oppose public intrusions into individual privacy. The groups are becoming more alarmed about license plate tracking as a growing number of police departments acquire the technology.

http://ow.ly/ih3fE

Yes, you should read more here:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has customized its Predator drones, originally built for overseas military operations, to carry out at-home surveillance tasks that have civil libertarians worried: identifying civilians carrying guns and tracking their cell phones, government documents show. The documents provide more details about the surveillance capabilities of the department's unmanned Predator B drones, which are primarily used to patrol the United States' northern and southern borders but have been pressed into service on behalf of a growing number of law enforcement agencies including the FBI, the Secret Service, the Texas Rangers, and local police. The Electronic Privacy Information Center obtained a partially redacted copy of Homeland Security's requirements for its drone fleet through the Freedom of Information Act and published it this week. CNET unearthed an unredacted copy of the requirements that provides additional information about the

aircraft's surveillance capabilities. Better read more here: http://ow.ly/ih4NJ

You may think of your iPhone as a friendly personal assistant. But once it’s alone in a room full of law enforcement officials, you might be surprised at the revealing things it will say about you.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, documenting the seizure and search of a suspect’s iPhone from her bedroom. While it’s no surprise that a phone carries plenty of secrets, the document presents in stark detail a list of that personal information, including call logs, photos, videos, text messages, Web history, eight different passwords for various services, and perhaps most importantly, 659 previous locations of the phone invisibly gathered from Wifi networks and cell towers.

WTH? Yes, you better read more about this too: http://ow.ly/ih5El

Our duty as citizens

Most American citizens are aware that the U.S.

Constitution guarantees certain rights and limits the

powers of government. However, it also imposes certain

duties, not only on organs of government, but on each

citizen. One of these duties is to function as members of

the Militia, and the state has the duty to organize and train

citizens to so serve.

The U.S. Constitution provides for this in Article I,

Section 8: Congress shall have power ...

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the

Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and

repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for

governing such Part of them as may be employed in the service of the

United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the

Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline

prescribed by Congress;

The Framers contemplated that the citizens who compose the Militia would

provide their own weapons, which is reflected in the Second Amendment:

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the

right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

It is important to understand that the prevailing practice at the time the Constitution was adopted was for people in each locality to organize as independent local militias and to train themselves. The only change the Framers sought to make was to make this organization and training more systematic, along the model of Switzerland. They never imagined that future governments might try to restrict the local organization and training of independent militias by contending that people had the right to assemble and the right to keep and bear arms, but not to combine the two rights. To them that would have seemed absurd. U.S. legislation on the Militia In 1792 President Washington tried to get Congress to fully implement the constitutional requirement for organizing and training the Militia, but Congress, wanting to avoid the expense imposed on the states, only agreed to pass a law that required every able-bodied [free] male to keep a "musket or firelock". This was the Militia Act of 1792. By failing to require organization and training, it laid the basis for the decline of the Militia tradition. In 1903, the Militia Act of 1792 was superseded by the Dick Act, which established the National Guard system, and made a distinction between the "organized" and "unorganized" Militia, reflecting the attitude that the Powers that Be didn't want most of the people to get organized as independent militias, despite the support

for universal military training from most U.S. Presidents up to the administration of Harry Truman.

"A feeble executive implies a feeble

execution of the government. A feeble

execution is but another phrase for a

bad execution; and a government ill

executed, whatever may be its theory,

must, in practice, be a bad

government." --Joseph Story, Commentaries on the

Constitution, 1833

United Stated Code (USC) TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES Section 311. Militia: composition and classes (a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are commissioned officers of the National Guard. (b) The classes of the militia are-- (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia. Section 312. Militia duty: exemptions (a) The following persons are exempt from militia duty: (1) The Vice President. (2) The judicial and executive officers of the United States, the several States and Territories, Puerto Rico, and the Canal Zone. (3) Members of the armed forces, except members who are not on active duty. (4) Customhouse clerks. (5) Persons employed by the United States in the transmission of mail. (6) Workers employed in armories, arsenals, and naval shipyards of the United States. (7) Pilots on navigable waters. (8) Mariners in the sea service of a citizen of, or a merchant in, the United States. (b) A person who claims exemption because of religious belief is exempt from militia duty in a combatant capacity, if the conscientious holding of that belief is established under such regulations as the President may prescribe. However, such a person is not exempt from militia duty that the President determines to be

noncombatant.

TITLE 32--NATIONAL GUARD

Section 313. Appointments and enlistments: age limitations

(a) To be eligible for original enlistment in the National Guard, a person must be at least 17 years of age and

under 45, or under 64 years of age and a former member of the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force,

or Regular Marine Corps. To be eligible for reenlistment, a person must be under 64 years of age.

(b) To be eligible for appointment as an officer of the National Guard, a person must--

(1) be a citizen of the United States; and

(2) be at least 18 years of age and under 64.

It should be understood that these definitions apply only to the Militia that is subject to call-up by the federal

government, and states may require other people to perform militia duty, with different age ranges and

exemptions.

Texas law on the Militia

The Texas Constitution once had a strong provision regarding militias:

Article 16. Section 46.

The Legislature shall provide by law for organizing and disciplining the militia of the State, in such manner as

they shall deem expedient, not incompatible with the Constitution and Laws of the United States.

This section was deleted. The effect of this is that such authority reverts back to local communities.

Present statutes are encoded in Texas Government Code Chapter 431:

Subchapter A. General Provisions

431.001. Definitions

In this chapter:

(1) "Reserve militia" means the persons liable to serve, but not serving, in the state military forces.

(2) "State militia" means the state military forces and the reserve militia.

(3) "State military forces" means the Texas National Guard, the Texas State Guard, and any other active militia or

military force organized under state law.

(4) "Texas National Guard" means the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard.

431.010. Organization Prohibited

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a body of persons other than the regularly organized

state military forces or the troops of the United States may not associate as a military company or

organization or parade in public with firearms in a municipality of the state.

(b) With the consent of the governor, students in an educational institution at which military science

is a prescribed part of the course of instruction and soldiers honorably discharged from the service

of the United States may drill and parade with firearms in public.

(c) This section does not prevent a parade by the active militia of another state as provided by law.

Subchapter D. Texas State Guard

431.051. Supplemental Militia

To provide militia strength for use by the state as a supplement to the Texas National Guard, the

Texas State Guard exists as part of the state militia under the Second Amendment to the United

States Constitution and a defense force under 32 U.S.C. Section 109.

Subchapter F. Service and Duties

431.081. Persons Subject to Military Duty; Persons Not Eligible to Enlist

(a) A person is subject to military duty if the person is:

(1) able-bodied;

(2) a citizen or a person of foreign birth who has declared an intent to become a citizen;

(3) a resident of the state;

(4) at least 18 and not more than 60 years of age; and

(5) not exempt under Subsection (b) or (c) or United States law.

(b) A person is exempt from military duty, except in case of war, insurrection, invasion, or imminent danger of

war, insurrection, or invasion if the person is:

(1) the lieutenant governor;

(2) a member or officer of the legislature;

(3) a judge or clerk of a court of record;

(4) a head of a state agency;

(5) a sheriff, district attorney, county attorney, county tax assessor-collector, or county commissioner;

(6) a mayor, council member, alderman, or assessor and collector of a municipality;

(7) an officer or employee of the Texas Department of Corrections, a state hospital or special school, a public

or private hospital, or a nursing home;

(8) a member of a regularly organized and paid fire or police department in a municipality, except that a

person is not relieved of military duty by joining such a department;

(9) a minister of the gospel exclusively engaged in that calling; or

(10) a person who conscientiously scruples against bearing arms.

(c) A mentally disabled person, vagabond, confirmed alcoholic, narcotics addict, or a person convicted of an

infamous crime is exempt from military duty regardless of circumstances.

Now, what about that Section 431.010 prohibiting military companies or organizations or parades within municipalities? It clearly expresses hostility to independent local militias within municipalities, but it has no penalties, and does not apply to rural areas. It's main intent seems to be to discourage local officials from calling up the militia. The only statutes which local officials might invoke against a militia muster within a municipality would be those against exhibiting a firearm in a way that "alarms" the public. However, centuries of common law makes it clear that merely carrying firearms is not to be considered "alarming". The arms must actually be brandished toward someone in a threatening manner. This would not prevent arrests on this ground, of course, but successful prosecution is unlikely if the courts follow the law and the Constitution. Some of these points are more fully discussed in 29 Tex. Jur., Sections 4 and 5, and in 12 Tex. Jur. 3d., Sections 12-28. The only significant case law involving this statute is a federal case, Vietnamese Fishermen's Ass'n v. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (D.C. 1982) 543 F.Supp. 198, in which the plaintiff invoked the state statute in a federal suit for injunction against the defendant. The injunction was granted, and the judge took advantage of the case to write an opinion on the interpretation of the state statute. However, that opinion has no stare decisis effect, because this was not an appeal, nor was the judgement appealed. The injunction was properly granted under common law against intimidation, but a federal judge had no real business interpreting state law. However, it is indicative of how that judge might decide the constitutional issues in other cases. The case does, however, underscore the importance of distinguishing between private associations and public militias, and of making sure that any constitutional militias that may be organized take care not to take on the attributes of a private group. Too many people, including authorities, have examples in mind like the KKK, and we must always make sure to distance ourselves from such partisan organizations, and, indeed, indicate that the suppression of such groups is one of the things that a real militia might be called up to do. There is another statute that arguably involves the Militia, the Texas Disaster Act of 1975, which has among its purposes, "providing an emergency management system embodying all aspects of predisaster preparedness and postdisaster response. See 12 Tex. Jur. 3d. Sections 51-53. If fully implemented, the organization of local militia units seems to be required under this Act.

Conclusions Present U.S. and Texas law clearly fail to implement the requirements for organizing and training the Militia established by the Framers. However, we must also recognize that this failure goes all the way back to 1792, and that such organizing and training are, therefore, left to the people themselves, in the form of independent local militias, which they have a constitutional duty to maintain in a high state of preparedness, even if they get little support from the authorities, and indeed, especially if they get opposition from the authorities.

Hey, Attention New York

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Which was the first nation to give women the right to vote?

Which ocean goes to the deepest depths?

Which is northernmost point of land on the Earth?

Which is the largest aquarium in the United States of America?

Which country has not fought a war since 1814?

What drupaceous fruit were Hawaiian women once forbidden to eat by the law?

What does VSOP stand for on a bottle of Brandy?

Which country would you be in if you were to ski in the Dolomites?

Who was the first U.S. President to adopt the informal version of his first name?

Which country owns the island of Bermuda?

Which was the first daily comic strip published in the United States?

What was John Lennon's middle name?

Which weapon did German gunsmith August Kotter unload on the world in 1520?

Which is the only country in the world which sports the Bible on its national flag?

Who has been the only bachelor President of the United States?

http://bit.ly/YkM3uU Answers:

BORLING, JOHN LORIN Name: John Lorin Borling Rank/Branch: O2/United States Air Force Unit: 433rd TFS Date of Birth: 24 March 1940 Home City of Record: Chicago IL Date of Loss: 01 June 1966 Country of Loss: North Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 213500 North 1063400 East Status (in 1973): Returnee Category: Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F4C Missions: 99 N 219 T Other Personnel in Incident: A. J. Myers, returnee Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. REMARKS: 730212 RELEASED BY DRV SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977 Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602 Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and spelling errors). UPDATE - 09/95 by the P.O.W. NETWORK, Skidmore, MO JOHN L. BORLING Major - United States Air Force Shot Down: June 1, 1966 Released: February 12, 1973 My name is John L. Borling, Major, United States Air Force. My friends call me "JB". I entered the Air Force in June 1959 as a Cadet at The United States Air Force Academy. Receiving my commission and diploma on 5 June 1963, I was soon in pilot training at Laredo AFB, Texas. My new bride, Myrna, a high school sweetheart, and I enjoyed the year long program and the area. I was class commander and Tucson, Arizona would be my next stop with training in the F4C aircraft. I had graduated from pilot training the day before Ev Alvarez was shot down, 5 August 1964. I would leave Tucson in February 1965 as Bob Schumaker was becoming POW No. 2 in the North. George AFB, California was home until December 1965 when my Squadron, the 433rd TFS, left for Ubon, Thailand. I also left behind a three month old daughter, Lauren, a poodle, Topsy, and, of course, Myrna. On 1 June 1966, at night, after a total of 99 missions, I was shot down northeast of Hanoi. On 12 February 1973, I was released. I was in my 81st month of imprisonment. Returning to the United States, I have been afforded a welcome that was and is overwhelming. I am most grateful.

Enjoying a generous leave in Riverdale, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, my wife, daughter and I are busy living life very fast or very slow. There is no middle ground. Besides normal family activity, familiar to you all, there is abundant mail to answer, traveling to do, and the anticipation of my next assignment. I'm also busy transcribing my book. I composed it mentally in North Vietnam and hope to publish it. It's called "Poems for Pilots and Other People." After a jet requalification course in Texas during the late summer and fall, I'll eventually wind up at Holloman AFB, New Mexico and a tour in the F-4. Hopefully, I'll be able to pursue a master's degree at the same time. Intermediate service schooling would be the logical follow-on after that. It's easy to see I'm service oriented. One last note of a personal nature - you might keep checking the birth announcements in Air Force Times. I've been asked to give a message. I'll offer an observation and a fact. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was very important to us in North Vietnam. As with religion, faith in country was a powerful sustaining force. But .... who wrote "The Pledge of Allegiance?" I didn't know until recently. It was Mr. Francis Bellamy (1856-1931). He wrote it in 1892. Thanks to him and to you, who support that pledge.

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After graduating from Appalachian State University more than two decades ago,

Eustace Conway decided to take a crack at Henry Thoreau’s philosophy of getting back to

nature – that is, of living “deliberately.” He purchased some land outside Boone, N.C.,

built up his property, and has been using his “nature school” to teach hundreds of people

how to live closer to nature ever since. His lifestyle became so notorious, in fact, that he has been featured on The History Channel’s

“Mountain Men“

In 2012, citing safety regulations, county officials decided they need to shut down the noted naturalist’s school. The county argues that it is only doing its duty protecting public health and safety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5OHbelXN3DU

Uh huh, you need to read more here: http://ow.ly/ihfa1

He needs our help and he

needs it now.

1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices 4 skinned bone-in chicken breasts Vegetable oil 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 medium onion, chopped 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 2 celery ribs, sliced 2 quarts hot water 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot sauce 4 green onions, sliced Filé powder (optional) Hot cooked rice Garnish: chopped green onions

Cook sausage in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until browned. Drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in Dutch oven. Set sausage aside. Cook chicken in reserved drippings in Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes or until browned. Remove to paper towels, reserving drippings in Dutch oven. Set chicken aside. Add enough oil to drippings in Dutch oven to measure 1/2 cup. Add flour, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 20 to 25 minutes, or until roux is chocolate colored. Stir in onion, bell pepper, and celery; cook, stirring often, 8 minutes or until tender. Gradually add 2 quarts hot water, and bring mixture to a boil; add chicken, garlic, and next 5 ingredients. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 hour. Remove chicken; let cool. Add sausage to gumbo; cook 30 minutes. Stir in green onions; cook for 30 more minutes. Bone chicken, and cut meat into strips; return chicken to gumbo, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves. Remove gumbo from heat. Sprinkle with filé powder, if desired. Serve over hot cooked rice. Garnish, if desired.

We have Jamaat ul-Fuqra (Muslims of America) compounds throughout the country so why not a Black Muslim state protected by Chicago gangs? Holder is already supplying the immunity from

prosecution. http://ow.ly/ihfTY

Florida police agencies recently stepped up enforcement of the state’s “Move Over” law by setting up sting operations on roadways throughout the Sunshine State, including in a state park where nearly two dozen unsuspecting motorists were ensnared. The Florida sting is simple: A police officer parks his cruiser on the side of the road and turns on the emergency lights. Another officer monitors drivers as they pass. If motorists don’t move over into the far lane, or slow down enough, they are stopped and given a $165 ticket.

Some things and some people are genius mostly due to simplicity. Here is a great

example. Willy’s Jeep: http://ow.ly/ihgFQ

The government spends $1.7 billion for maintenance on empty buildings it owns, although some sources put the figure at closer to $25 billion. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that 55,000 properties are underutilized or entirely vacant. Homeland Security’s Janet Napolitano was issuing statements about the sequestration cuts to her department, but according to Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, the department has $9 billion in unspent preparedness funds. various elements of the government have spent $3 million for research on video games; $2.6 million to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly; a whopping $500 million on a program that would, among other things, try to figure out why five-year-olds “can’t sit still” in a kindergarten classroom.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of 16, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. Read more http://ow.ly/jf9Ie