THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, R.I.P. - PART II
AWACOING OF AMERICA
By: Roderick T. Beaman
Waco was a watershed event in American history. Together with Ruby Ridge, it
served notice that neither Republican nor Democratic administrations would tolerate
resistance to the excesses and demands of the federal government. Though there were far
fewer casualties at Ruby Ridge, nevertheless the same principles were involved.
There have been so many conflicting stories about Ruby Ridge, especially from the
government, that it is hard to know exactly what it was that they accused Randy and Vicki
Weaver of. Suffice it to declare that many of the government allegations were
unsubstantiated, and even disproved by subsequent documents and that the FBI, Secret
Service, United States Marshals, National Guard and ATF were involved and that many of the
personnel at Ruby Ridge were later at Waco. The government calls such collaborations by
citizens conspiracies. The casualties were three people, his wife Vicki and their 14
year old only son, Samuel, US Marshal William F. Degan and the Weaver family dog, Striker.
The reasoning and motives of the government under Pres. George H. W. Bush at Ruby Ridge
are more difficult to discern than at Waco. Even though true libertarians view the
Republican Party as a sellout, Bush was always a strong advocate of gun rights. One of the
main charges against Randy Weaver was that he sold two sawed off shotguns to an
informant.
There are several problems with that. There was evidence that the informant had asked
Weaver to alter the shotguns. That used to be called entrapment and charges based upon
entrapment were often dismissed by the courts, but due to the relentless efforts of
various law enforcement agencies, most notably the power hungry FBI, the judicial version
of fairness has altered considerably in recent decades, all to the favor of
prosecutors.
Further, one ATF agent wanted to use the threat of the weapons charge to turn Weaver
into an informant against the Aryan Nations with whom he’d had contacts. Between
private citizens, that’s called blackmail. Finally, our Constitution makes no
allowances for such regulations, only saying "..., the right of the people to keep
and bear arms shall not be infringed." Even if the weapon was illegal, an
administration ostensibly committed to gun rights, should have hesitated to pursue that
charge. It didn’t.
The ideologic motives of the Clinton Administration at Waco are much easier to
understand. The Clinton Administration was the most radical administration till that time.
Although William J. Clinton himself had some basic faith in the free market and, in some
ways more than some Republican predecessors, nevertheless, from top to bottom, his
administration was shot through with ultra-Leftists from academe who all regarded
themselves as better than the people, a characteristic of progressives.
Koresh and his followers were a religious faction and every leftist, socialist or
progressive always despises religion. There are many reasons.
Religion offers people solace and hope. Socialists and progressives want the people to
look to government for solace and hope. Religion is government’s competetitor and
thus socialist governments want to destroy religion and it is why so many. developed
personality cults such as what emerged around Hitler, Mao and Stalin; they were their
gods. It is also why so many of our Democratic presidents, FDR, Kennedy and now Obama
developed them. Only Clinton’s inability to keep his fly zipped stopped the incipient
one that was developing around him. |
Socialists and progressives are hostile to religion because they view it
as their competition. Health care, education and welfare were originally the province of
our churches and religious bodies are often reservoirs of resistance to socialist
government. Religion must be destroyed if socialism is to proceed to its goal of social
domination and its replacement of religion!
Koresh and his Branch Davidians were an irresistible target for the Clinton
Administration on at least two levels; they were a religious group that might be harboring
illegal weapons. The order for the final assault came right from the Oval Office.
The most disturbing aspect of the entire matter was the length of the stand off - 51
days, more than 6,000 hours. During that time, did none of those agents ever discuss among
themselves the possible horror of incinerating 25 children; did it not give them pause?
Did it not cross their minds that they might be perpetrating a moral abomination? Did they
not discuss among themselves why they might bringing this action against an otherwise
peaceful group of people that the Branch Davidians were known to be?
I have no doubt that some of them did worry about what they were about to do but they
went forward with it anyway. How much self-deception was necessary for them to partake in
it? And as it proceeded, did the screams of those victims rise above the roar of that fire
and the explosion as the flames obviously hit some accelerant?
There were so many resources the G-men could have used. Baylor University had a
division right in Waco with Dr. Daniel McGee, a professor of religious history, who had
studied the Branch Davidians. See constitution.org/col/san930506.txt.
The same source cites Dr. James Tabor of the University of North Carolina, and Dr.
Philip Arnold of the Union Institute in Houston as having ‘communicated indirectly
with Koresh.’ These people knew Koresh’s motives and could have helped.
It also compares the Tailhook Scandal that emerged during the administration of George
H. W. Bush. The fallout continued into the Clinton years and although no one was killed at
that Tailhook party, it damaged the careers of 14 admirals, nearly 300 naval aviators and
Secretary of the Navy, H. Lawrence Garrett, III resigned. Some of those admirals and
aviators found their careers ended. No careers ended as a result of Waco. We can conclude
that violations of political correctness count for more than human lives but then Karl
Marx never cared much about human lives anyway and neither do progressives.
The military was involved at Waco, in obvious violation of Posse Comitatus. Janet Reno,
et al, tried to justify it on the grounds that they were National Guardsmen to which I
say, "Poppycock." Over the years, various defense acts have brought the state
Guards increasingly under the control of the federal government. In 1956, Pres. Dwight D.
Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard to quell the riots in Little Rock over
school desegregation, taking command of it from segregationist Gov. Orval Faubus. Those
Guardsmen at Waco were, ultimately, under the command of the President.
Military involvement at Waco was undoubtedly illegal; there should have been other
concerns, as well. Many libertarians and constitutionalists have challenged the very
existence of the FBI on the grounds that there is no provision for a federal police force
but there is a valid argument for one to enforce federal laws and investigate their
violation. No such argument exists for the ATF, now the ATFE. Alcohol and tobacco are
natural substances and none of the federal government’s business and, by a strict
interpretation of The Constitution, firearms aren’t either.
Did any of this deter those personnel who were present? Not that you can tell.
Congressman John Dingell of Michigan called them, in one of the few moments of lucidity in
his career, "Jack booted fascists," and they should have been tried for
conspiracy for mass murder. Other Democratic congressmen of the time, among them Chuckles
(I wish I could take credit for that one but I can’t & don’t remember where
I first saw it) Schumer and Tom Lantos did their lapdog best to protect their fledgling,
darling president, William J. Clinton.
So, the Branch Davidians were a religious group and one that might be harboring illegal
weapons. The Clinton Administration needed to show who was in charge - the people, God or
the government and that’s what they did.
This is the second in an, as yet, undetermined number of installments on the subject of
the death of The United States of America. Additional installments will pend, partly, the
author’s assessment of when others might be bored enough to welcome another one.
Related article:
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
R.I.P.--- THE END OF AN IDEA - PART I
"Published originally at EtherZone.com :
republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
Dr. Roderick T. Beaman is an osteopathic
family physician practicing in Jacksonville, Florida. Born in New York City, he attended
New York University as an undergraduate. A recipient of a 2003 Ron Paul Liberty in Media
Award, he has had dreams (delusions?) of becoming a writer. He has written a novel that he
has given up hope of ever getting published and so has made it available for the asking
through TheFreedomBeam@comcast.net.
He is a regular columnist for Ether Zone.
He can be reached at: TheFreedomBeam@comcast.net
Published in the August 23, 2012 issue of Ether Zone.
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