80 Years Ago-The Real Story Behind the Attack on Pearl Harbor by Dr. Peter Hammond
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As my history teacher, Mr Rees-Davies, MP, in Rhodesia cautioned us: “Beware the victor’s version of history!” The story of what led up to the Japanese attack on the US Navy at Pearl Harbour is both fascinating and surprising.
Battle of Taranto
On the night of 11 to 12 November 1940, British Naval forces under Admiral Andrew Cunningham, including Aircraft Carrier HMS Illustrious, launched Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers in the Mediterranean Sea to attack the Regia Marina Battle Fleet at anchor in the harbour of Taranto. Despite the shallow depth of the water, the aerial torpedoes proved devastatingly effective, crippling the Italian Navy, which lost half of its capital ships in one night.
Naval Air Power
The Royal Navy raid on Taranto Bay marked the ascendency of air power over sea power. The Fleet Air Arm proved to be the Navy’s most devastating weapon.
Trained by the Royal Navy
As the Imperial Japanese Navy had initially been trained by the Royal Navy and studied the Royal Navy’s tactics and strategies most carefully, it should have been obvious that the Imperial Japanese Navy, the third most powerful Navy in the world in 1941, with 10 Fleet carriers, would begin practicing with torpedo bombers and carefully evaluate the possibility of them being used against the American Pacific Fleet based in Pearl Harbour. Japan had the largest and most modern carrier Fleet in the world in 1941. By comparison the USA had 7 aircraft carriers (only 3 of which operated in the Pacific) and Britain had 8 aircraft carriers (of which only one operated in the Indian and Pacific Oceans).
The Danger of Torpedo Attack
The claim that no one could have anticipated torpedo attacks in the shallow waters of a harbor before 7 December 1941, is false. The British had proved that torpedoes could be effective in their attack on the Italian Navy at Taranto, 11 November 1940. The Royal Navy used Swordfish Bi-planes to deliver the torpedoes. The US Navy had discussed this new threat in a June 1941 Memorandum. Torpedo nets were considered to be installed in Pearl Harbour as a precautionary measure.
Overruled by Politicians in Washington D.C.
Admiral Kimmel and his staff testified that the decision not to install torpedo nets and booms had been made by the Navy Department in Washington DC, not in Hawaii.
Classified Documents Denied to the Public
There are many documents relating to Pearl Harbor which are still classified by the United States government and have not yet been made public. Many of the documents were destroyed during the war. Some of the public records of the United Kingdom containing Churchill’s “Most Secret” war time intelligence briefs, were marked as “closed for 75 years”, including the sections dealing with events from November 1941 through March 1942.
Was the Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbour Unprecedented?
Mers-El-Kébir
Seventeen months before Pearl Harbor, the British Royal Navy attacked the French Fleet at anchor on the coast of French Algeria. The Battle of Mers-el-Kébir on 3 July 1940, resulted in the deaths of 1,297 French servicemen, the sinking of a French battleship and the damaging of 5 other ships. The combined air and sea attack was carried out against Britain’s official ally – France.
Attacking an Ally
The attack remains controversial and created much hostility between France and Britain. Britain argued that “the times were desperate; invasion seemed imminent; and the British government simply could not afford to risk Germany seizing control of the French Fleet… the prominent British motive was thus dire necessity and self-preservation.” However, the French insisted that, as their terms of surrender with Germany did not require them handing over their Fleet, which was still in French controlled territory, the British action was treacherous.
Swift and Surprising Action
French ships that were in Alexandria and believed that they were allies of Britain were shocked to be blockaded, boarded and seized by the Royal Navy at the same time. Also, on 3 July, French ships in Plymouth and Portsmouth, England, were boarded and captured. This included the French submarine, Surcouf (the largest submarine in the world at that time), four other submarines, the battleships Paris and Courbet, destroyers Triomphant and Leopard. Some officers and sailors were killed in the struggles. These attacks were justified by the British strategy of Copenhagening the Fleet.
Copenhagening the Fleet
Admiral Horatio Nelson’s famous battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801 was a clear inspiration for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, 1941. Although Denmark was officially neutral during the Napoleonic Wars, Britain feared that her Navy may be seized by the French, if Denmark fell to the French.
Targeting Neutrals
The Battle of Copenhagen was a result of multiple failures of diplomacy. With Britain enforcing a strict blockade of France and any country trading with France, even neutral nations, such as Denmark, Sweden and Prussia, were regarded as legitimate targets.
The Battle of Copenhagen
Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson led the attack on the Danish capital, Copenhagen. The British attack, during which Admiral Nelson famously placed his telescope to his blind eye ignoring a command to withdraw, was, from the British perspective, spectacularly successful. 1,600 Danish soldiers and sailors were killed, or wounded and most of the Danish Navy either sunk, severely damaged, or captured.
The Second Battle of Copenhagen
Although ostensibly neutral, Denmark was again attacked by the Royal Navy 16 August – 5 September 1807, when the Royal Navy bombarded Copenhagen, seized the Danish Fleet “as a precaution” in case Denmark did choose to join the French. 3,000 soldiers and civilians, including 195 children, in Copenhagen died as a result of the bombardment. As the majority of the Danish Army was at the Southern border to protect against a possible attack from the French, this second assault on a neutral country was a scandal at the time.
Ignoring Historic Precedents
Knowing that the Imperial Japanese Navy was modelled on the Royal Navy, these famous battles, strategies and tactics of Copenhagening the Fleets of even neutral countries where a potential threat was perceived, including against Britain’s French allies and most tellingly at the Battle of Taranto where aircraft launched from aircraft carriers using torpedoes had crippled a battle Fleet, should have been taken into consideration.
Deception by Entertainment
As modern American films such as Tora! Tora! Tora! and Pearl Harbour tend to ignore these historic precedents and pretend that the attack on Pearl Harbour was both “unprecedented” and “unexpected” and “the first surprise attack by aircraft on ships,” generations have been deceived into thinking that Pearl Harbour was a treacherous, unexpected and unprecedented attack “A day that will live in infamy!”
“Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted… Now all these things happened to them as examples and they were written for our admonition…” 1 Corinthians 10:6-11
Desperately Seeking War
William Henry Chamberlin in America’s Second Crusade (1950) wrote: “It is scarcely possible, in the light of this and many other known facts, to avoid the conclusion that the Roosevelt Administration sought the war which began at Pearl Harbour. The steps which made armed conflict inevitable would take months before the conflict broke out.” (Freedom Betrayed: Herbert Hoovers Secret History of the Second World War and Its Aftermath).
Failing to Give US Servicemen a Fighting Chance
General Albert C. Wedemeyer is quoted by Herbert Hoover in Freedom Betrayed as stating: “When on, December 6, our intercepts told us that the Japanese were going to attack somewhere the very next day, whether in the Central Pacific, or to the South in the Philippines and Dutch East Indies, the president of the United States, as Commander in Chief of our Military Forces… could have gone on the radio and broadcast to the wide world that he had irrefutable evidence of an immediate Japanese intention to strike. This would have alerted everybody from Singapore to Pearl Harbor. Even though inadequate in some cases to defend effectively, nevertheless, our forces would have been able to take a toll, which would have blunted the Japanese attack. In Hawaii, the capital ships might have been moved out of the congested harbor to sea, where Admiral Kimmel at least had the foresight to keep the far more vital aircraft carriers. Furthermore, our Carrier taskforce in the mid-Pacific might have attacked the Japanese task force when its planes were aloft. There are many possibilities which could have given our men a fighting chance.”
Blind Service to Stalin and the Soviet Union
“Roosevelt ignored the whole communist infiltration into his administration. Much of it was to be exposed before his death. But of more importance, he ignored the whole international purpose of communism and its morals in international relations. Its purposes and methods had been blatantly stated to the world ever since 1917 and its statements in books were widely distributed in the United States. Roosevelt was not a communist. His leanings towards Stalin and blindness to communistic activities arose partly from his own Leftist-leaning and partly from the usefulness of the communists in support of his administration politically throughout his 13 years in office.”
Co-operating with Communism
“His leanings towards Stalin and the communist began with the recognition of the Soviet Union immediately upon taking his office in 1933… During 15 years prior to the recognition, Democratic and Republican administrations alike had barred any relations with a country which had returned huge numbers of mankind to slavery and was constantly conspiring against the welfare of other peoples. By recognition, Roosevelt gave the Soviet Union certain respectability in the family of nations, but also of importance. By that act, he had opened the door to communist penetration and conspiracies in the United States.” “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.” Proverbs 17:15
A Madman’s Desire to Get US into War
In Herbert Hoover’s Freedom Betrayed, General Douglas McArthur’s views are reported that: “the whole Japanese war was a madman’s desire to get us into war.” McArthur was convinced that the “Financial sanctions in July 1941 were not only provocative but that Japan was bound to fight even if it were suicide, unless they could be removed, as the sanctions carried every penalty of war except killing and destruction and no nation of dignity would take them for long.”
An Unnecessary War
McArthur said that: “Roosevelt could have made peace with Konoye in September 1941 and could have obtained all of the American objectives in the Pacific and the freedom of China and probably Manchuria. Konoye was authorized by the Emperor to agree to complete withdrawal.”
Callous Indifference to the American Army Beleaguered in the Philippines
McArthur was bitter about: “Roosevelt’s starvation of supplies to him at a time when the whole fate of the South Pacific and their allies in Asia was at stake.” “Roosevelt had shown his vindictiveness in many ways.”
The Truth about Pearl Harbour
In September 1944, John Flynn, a member of the America First Committee, published The Truth about Pearl Harbour:
Provoking Japan to Get America into the War
Rear Admiral Frank Beatty, who at the time of the Pearl Harbour attack was an aide to the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, testified: “Prior to 7 December, it was evident even to me… that we were pushing Japan into a corner. I believe that it was the desire of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill that we get into the war, as they felt their allies could not win without us and all our efforts to cause the Germans to declare war on us had failed. The conditions we imposed upon Japan were so severe that we knew the nation could not accept them. We were forcing her so severely that we could have known that she would react towards the United States. All her preparations in a military way – and we knew their overall import – pointed that way.”
“Worth the Price”
Jonathan Daniels, Roosevelt’s administrative assistant at that time of Pearl Harbour, presented an eye-witness viewpoint: “The blow was heavier than he had hoped it would necessarily be… But the risks paid off; even the loss was worth the price…” (“1941: Pearl Harbour Sunday: The End of an Era”).
To Save the Soviet Union from Collapse in Europe
In Day of Deceit, by Robert Stinnett, a memorandum prepared by Commander McCollun stated that a memorandum issued in the immediate pre-war period declared that only a direct attack on US interests would sway the American public, or Congress, to favor direct involvement in the European war. Anderson and Secretary Knox, offered eight specific plans to aggrieve the Japanese Empire “If by these means Japan could be led to commit an overt active war, so much the better.” The McCollun memo of 7 October 1940, remained classified until 1994.
Reckless and Irresponsible
Admiral James Richardson was fired by President Roosevelt for complaining about the president’s order to station the Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbour. Admiral Richardson blamed the president for the “initial defeats in the Pacific” as “direct, real and personal.” Richardson believed that stationing the Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbour made the ships “extremely vulnerable to attack” and provided “a poor and nonstrategic defense.”
A Travesty of History
“No reasonably informed person can now believe that Japan made a villainous unexpected attack on the United States. An attack was not only fully expected but was actually desired. It is beyond doubt that President Roosevelt wanted to get his country into the war, but for political reasons, was most anxious to ensure that the first act of hostility came from the other side; for which reason he caused increasing pressure to be put on the Japanese, to a point that no self-respecting nation could endure without resort to arms. Japan was meant, by the American President, to attack the United States. As Mr Oliver Lyttelton, then British Minister of Production, said in 1944: ‘Japan was provoked into attacking America’s Pearl Harbour. It is a travesty of history to say that America was forced into the war’.” – British Historian Captain Russell Grenfell Main Fleet to Singapore as quoted by President Herbert Hoover in Freedom Betrayed.
Dereliction of Duty
Captain L.F. Safford, US Navy, in charge of the Communications Security Section of Naval Communications in Washington, testified before the Admiral Hart Board that: “On 4 December 1941, we received definite information from two independent sources that Japan would attack the United States and Britain… at 9pm Washington time, 6 December 1941, we received positive information that Japan would declare war against the United States at a time to be specified thereafter. This information was positive and unmistakable and was made available to Military Intelligence virtually at the moment of its decoding. Finally, at 10:15am Washington time, 7 December 1941, we received positive information from Signal Intelligence Service, War Department, that the Japanese Declaration of War would be presented to the Secretary of State at 1 pm, Washington time that date; when it was 1pm in Washington, it would be daybreak in Hawaii and approximately midnight in the Philippines, which indicated a surprise air raid in Pearl Harbour in about three hours. President Roosevelt had ample time to broadcast a warning.”
Criminal Negligence
An Army Enquiry conducted July to October 1944, condemned negligence by General Marshall and other senior officers for having prior knowledge of the attacks from the intercepts and for not having alerted the Military Commander at Pearl Harbour. Congress was not satisfied with the Military investigations and reports and from November 1945 to May 1946, the Congressional Pearl Harbour Investigation, a Minority Report by Senate Members of the Committee condemned the endeavor to “throw as soft a light as possible on Washington.”
Attempted Cover-Ups
“The Roberts Commission Report was so hasty, inconclusive and incomplete. Some witnesses were examined under oath, others were not. Much testimony was not even recorded… several records were missing, and most inadequate explanations were supplied… Army and Navy information indicated growing imminence of war was delivered to the highest authorities… including the President. The fatal error of Washington was to undertake a world campaign and world responsibilities without first making provision for the security of the United States, which was their prime constitutional obligation. High Washington authorities did not communicate to Admiral Kimmel and General Short adequate information of diplomatic negotiations and of intercepted diplomatic intelligence, which, if communicated with them, would have informed them of the imminent menace of a Japanese attack in time for them to fully alert and prepare the defense of Pearl Harbour… the failure to perform the responsibilities indispensably essential to the defense of Pearl Harbour rest upon Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry L. Stimson, Frank Knox and George C. Marshall…” (Freedom Betrayed)
Dragging a Reluctant America into War
George Morgenstern in his book, Pearl Harbour: The Story of the Secret War, published in 1947, wrote: “With absolute knowledge of war, they refused to communicate that knowledge clearly, unequivocally and in time, to the people in the field, upon whom the blow would fall… Pearl Harbour provided the American War party with the means of escaping dependence on a hesitant Congress in taking a reluctant people into war… Pearl Harbour was the first action of the Acknowledged War and the last battle of a Secret War, upon which the administration had long since embarked.
The Secret War of Deception and Propaganda
“The Secret War was waged against nations which the leadership of this country had chosen as enemies’ months before they became formal enemies, by declaration of war. It was waged also by psychological means by propaganda and deception against the American people… the people were told that acts which were equivalent to war were intended to keep the nation out of war. Constitutional processes existed only to be circumvented. Until finally the war making power of Congress was reduced to the act of ratifying an accomplished fact.”
Rejecting Every Overture for Peace
Herbert Hoover declares in his book Freedom Betrayed: “It can never be forgotten that three times during 1941, Japan made overtures for peace negotiation. America never made one unless a futile proposal to the Emperor the day before Pearl Harbour could be called peace. A peace could have been made in the Pacific that would have saved China from ravishment and would have protected the American Pacific flank. If Roosevelt was still determined to carry on his undeclared war with Germany, until it provoked reprisals, that Pacific protection was the only sane course. It would have limited our engagement in any case to the European theatre. As a result of this policy – an undeclared war upon Japan – we suffered the greatest military defeat in our history – with immeasurable consequences.
Fanning the Flames of Hate by a Mass of Lies
“Public opinion was overwhelmingly against our being involved in the war up to the day of Pearl Harbour… America came into World War One 33 months after its outbreak. She came into World War Two 27 months after it started. The processes and the months of lag were the same: the appeal to crusade for freedom, for independence of nations, for lasting peace; the same pictures of atrocities; the fanning of hate and above all, the mass of lies and stimulation of fear of invasion – they were identical. But in World War Two the people believed much less of it and they believed much more that they were being deliberately pushed into the war. They dimly recognized that they were being ground in the mills of power politics and the personal ambitions of men.”
Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt’s War
“The First World War had been conducted in the Allied side in the name of ‘the peoples’. This war was in the name of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. At times the whole political and military scene seemed their personal property – as it was.” (Herbert Hoover, Freedom Betrayed). “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption …” 2 Peter 2:19
Many Recognized They Were Being Forced and Deceived into War
“In the first World War, our sons marched to war with flowers in their rifles. Bands and cheering people were on every platform. There were no bands, no flowers and no cheers on the railway platforms to World War Two. There was little singing of war ballades by soldiers or civilians, except at the urging of paid conductors of propaganda. The station platforms were stages for grieving and tears. The promises, the speeches, the propaganda filled the air as in World War One, but this time the people received it grimly and with little believing.” – Herbert Hoover.
Double Standards
President Herbert Hoover in Freedom Betrayed documents: “Roosevelt’s contemptuous refusal of Prime Minister Konoe’s proposals for peace in the Pacific of September 1941 was a lost opportunity. The acceptance of these proposals was prayerfully urged by both the American and British Ambassadors in Japan. The terms Konoye proposed would have accomplished every American purpose except possibly the return of Manchuria – and even this was thrown open to discussion. The cynic will recall that Roosevelt was willing to provoke a great war on his flank over this remote question and then gave Manchuria to Communist Russia.”
The Threat of Communism
Herbert Hoover documents in Freedom Betrayed that American Military officials strongly urged FDR to accept the Three Months’ Stand-Still Agreement offered by the Emperor of Japan in November 1941. Japan was alarmed at the threat of the Soviet Union and a 90-days delay could have kept war out of the Pacific. Secretary of War, Stimson, in his Diary, disclosed that Roosevelt and his officials were seeking for a method to stimulate an overt act of aggression from the Japanese.
Betraying Asia to Communism
“Then, Secretary of State, Hull, issued his foolish ultimatum and we were defeated at Pearl Harbour. By Roosevelt insisting that Chinese Premiere Chiang Kai-shek include Mao Tse-Tung’s communists in a Coalition government and Roosevelt’s Secret Agreement at Yalta to betray Mongolia and Manchuria to Russia, future generations were betrayed. All of China was sacrificed to the communists in the years of President Truman – at the insistence of his Left-wing advisors and General Marshall. The Second World War ended with 450 Million Asiatic peoples betrayed under communist dictatorship.” (Freedom Betrayed). “It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established by righteousness.” Proverbs 16:12
The Only Beneficiary was Communism
Herbert Hoover in Freedom Betrayed declared: “I had warned the American people time and again against becoming involved. I stated repeatedly its only end would be to promote Communism over the earth; that we would impoverish the United States and the whole world. The situation of the world today is my vindication.” “… Should help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon you.”
2 Chronicles 19:2
Christian Resistance
“Despite these physical losses and these moral political disasters and these international follies… Despite the drift to collectivism, despite degeneration in government, despite the demagogic intellectuals, despite the corruption in our government and the moral corruptions of our people, we still hold to Christianity, we still have the old ingenuity in our scientific and industrial progress.”
The Public-School Front
“We have 35 million children marching through our schools and 2.5 million in our institutions of higher learning…
Hope in the Homes
“The promise of a greater America abides in the millions of cottages throughout the land, where men and women are still resolute in freedom. In their hearts the spirit of America still lives. The boys and girls from those homes will someday throw off these disasters and frustrations and will re-create their America again.” “Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gates.” Amos 5:15
Forewarned is Forearmed
In order to anticipate problems and threats in the future we need to study the past.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana.
“If we do not know our own history, we will simply have to endure all the same mistakes, sacrifices and absurdities all over again.” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Truth does not fear investigation
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Email: mission@frontline.org.za
Website: www.FrontlineMissionSA.org
Website: www.livingstonefellowship.co.za
Website: www.ReformationSA.org
The Weekly Sam: Does School to Work Turn Children Into Chattel?
Before there was Common Core, there was Goals 2000 and “School to Work.” In this presentation, author and homeschool pioneer Sam Blumenfeld participates in a panel discussion at an event hosted by Separation of School and State in the late 1990s:
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/shurtleffhal/episodes/2021-12-05T15_49_45-08_00
This audio is part of the collection of the Sam Blumenfeld Archives, a free on-line resource for parents, teachers, educators, journalists, researchers, homeschoolers, and historians: https://campconstitution.net/sam-blumenfeld-archive/
YouTube Chooses Big Pharma over “Anti-Racism”
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Camp Constitution uploaded a short video “The Mordecai Mission at the Forefather Monument. Plymouth, MA.” The video features Rev Steve Craft of Camp Constitution, and Pastor William Green, the founder of The Mordecai Mission. It was uploaded on YouTube and in less than a day, we received this notice: |
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| Hi Camp Constitution, | |
| Our team has reviewed your content, and, unfortunately, we think it violates our medical misinformation policy. We’ve removed the following content from YouTube: | |
| Video: The Mordecai Mission at the Forefathers Monument Plymouth, MA | |
| We know that this might be disappointing, but it’s important to us that YouTube is a safe place for all. If content breaks our rules, we remove it. If you think we’ve made a mistake, you can appeal, and we’ll take another look. Keep reading for more details. | |
| How your content violated the policy | |
| YouTube doesn’t allow claims about COVID-19 vaccinations that contradict expert consensus from local health authorities or the World Health Organization (WHO). Learn more here. |
The video can be found on our Rumble page: https://rumble.com/vp6n58-the-mordecai-mission-at-the-forefathers-monument-in-plymouth.html. We appealed the decision based on the fact that what was expressed in the video by Rev Craft and Pastor Green were opinions. There was no mention that these two men were medical experts-just free Americans voicing their opinions based on their own research, knowledge, observations and experiences. Since the opinions did not reflect the convoluted and ever-changing views of the Communist Chinese controlled World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control controlled by what some call “Big Pharma. YouTube, set aside its supposed “anti-racism” and banned these black men.
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George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
Several years ago, we interviewed Pastor Garrett Lear on the subject of the Pilgrims: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/shurtleffhal/episodes/2018-11-18T18_26_37-08_00
Transcript for President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation from October
3, 1789
By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey
his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and
whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to
the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by
acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by
affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and
happiness.
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be
devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the
beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in
rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People
of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the
favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of
the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–
for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions
of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately
instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have
of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors
which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the
great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other
transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and
relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the
people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and
faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such
as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord-To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science
among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal
prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord
1789.
Go: Washington
Camp Constitution wishes all a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving
17 Organizations File Amicus Briefs in Favor of Camp Constitution’s Christian Flag Lawsuit Including the U.S. DOJ
As of November 22, seventeen organizations have filed amicus briefs in favor of our Christian flag lawsuit against the City of Boston including the U.S. Department of Justice, the ACLU, a group of 12 state attorney generals, and the American Legion. Here is a link to our case from the U.S. Supreme Court’s website: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/20-1800.html
We thank these organizations and people for their support of our case.
The Weekly Sam: Did the KGB Assassinate John Kennedy?
Today marks the 57th anniversary of the assassination of President John Kennedy. While Camp Constitution takes no position on who was behind the assassination, author and homeschool pioneer Sam Blumenfeld was of the opinion that the KGB murdered John Kennedy. Sam went on a nation-wide speakers bureau in the wake of the assassination of President John Kennedy and wrote this unpublished manuscript: http://blumenfeld.campconstitution.net/Manuscripts/Did%20The%20KGB%20Kill%20Kennedy.pdf
The Weekly Sam: Advice to Parents
Sam Blumenfeld, appearing on “Father’s World” radio show in Amarillo , Texas, gives advice to parents on the education of their children. Sam appeared on this show in the early 1990s but it content is timeless. He said that as long as the philosophy of the governments schools which was devised by the “progressive educators” in the 1930s, nothing will change. We may have some success getting Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project out of government schools, but the schools are still controlled by the people who embrace these Marxist programs, and hate you and your children,
Please visit our website https://www.campconstitution.net and sign up for the Blumenfeld Archives.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear Camp Constitution’s Christian flag lawsuit January 18. Prayer vigil to be held on the 17th
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Skateboards and Fake News
‘Nobody has ever been killed by a skateboard” is the clarion cry of Leftist media pundits who think Kyle Rittenhouse should have just taken a beating by the communist mob in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer. A quick on-line search demonstrated once again that Fake News is lying again
San Diego Skateboard Attack Caught on Video
https://www.nbcsandiego.com › news › local › san-dieg…
Jun 30, 2021 — Two men were sent to intensive-care units after being attacked by a homeless man with a skateboard. Both victims were struck in the head 15 …
Man Killed After Hit in Head With Skateboard at Santa Ana …
https://www.nbclosangeles.com › news › local › starbuc…
Nov 24, 2015 — A man was fatally injured Tuesday when he was allegedly hit on the head with a skateboard during a confrontation with a 20-year-old man …
North Dakota teen girl dies after random attack while …
https://www.foxnews.com › north-dakota-teen-girl-dies-ra…
Jun 12, 2021 — A 14-year-old North Dakota girl who was skateboarding at a strip mall was killed in a random attack lasting about 20 minutes in which she …
Teenager Beaten to Death With a Skateboard – Los Angeles …
https://www.latimes.com › archives › la-xpm-1998-jan-…
Jan 21, 1998 — A 16-year-old boy was beaten to death with a skateboard after he and a friend were attacked by three teenagers at a condominium complex, …
Man dies after being hit with skateboard | The Seattle Times
https://archive.seattletimes.com › archive › slug=skateb…
Apr 13, 2002 — The skateboarders were described as white men in their early 20s. … Although he bled heavily after the attack, Andrews was
Ignacio Echeverría – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Ignacio_Echeverría
… used his skateboard to strike the attacker, diverting his attention long enough that several people were moved to safety. He subsequently attacked a ..
Newly released video shows skaters attack two men with …
https://www.miamiherald.com › crime › article233970182
Aug 13, 2019 — Orlando police have released video Tuesday showing a group of skateboarders attacking two people in downtown Orlando in May.
Understanding Economic Principles What is Money, Inflation, the Federal Reserve Bank and the Free Market by John McManus
What is Money:
Money is simply a medium of exchange. As a store of value, money may be traded for goods or services, which allows for commerce to flourish. A person buys money when he sells his goods or services; and he sells money when he buys goods or services. Once money is universally accepted, it spurs commerce, allows for a wide diversification of labor, stimulates productivity, fills the need for a measure of value, and advances civilization. Without money, people must resort to the impreciseness of bartering, which hampers commerce. Sound money characteristics History clearly indicates that good money has these characteristics: (1) divisibility, (2) transportability, (3) durability, and (4) relative scarcity. Gold and silver both fit these qualifications. In fact, gold has been employed as money for at least 3,000 years. Money should be a commodity valued for its own properties aside from its use as money, unlike the paper money now in use.
Types of money There are three types of money:
Commodity
Commodity money is sound money with the four characteristics described above, which includes gold and silver. Commodity money serves to ensure personal freedom by minimizing arbitrary increases in the money supply by the government.
Fiduciary
Fiduciary money is a substitute for commodity money, including Bank or Treasury notes, token coinage, checking accounts, etc. Its value will be equivalent to the commodity money it represents if everyone has complete confidence that the substitute is fully and easily redeemable for the real thing. Fiduciary money combines the soundness of commodity money with the convenience of paper currency. Even electronic transactions can be backed by commodity money.
Fiat
Fiat money is essentially a valueless substance, such as a small piece of paper, which does not serve as a substitute for commodity money. It’s like a token one gets at an arcade or a subway. Made legal tender by law or fiat, it is redeemable neither in a valuable commodity nor in fiduciary money. When a currency’s value is diluted by issuing more paper than there are tangible assets backing it, wealth is transferred away from one segment of society to another. Typically, the poor and middle class are the ones who end up short. Fiat money empowers the government at the expense of personal freedom and prosperity by permitting inflation of the money supply which always leads to higher prices. Fiat money is what we all have now in the form of the Federal Reserve Notes we all carry and consider to be “cash.”
What Does the U.S. Constitution Say About Money?
Regarding money, the Constitution grants the following powers to Congress in Article I, Section 8: “To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures; To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States.”
The founders intended “to coin money” to mean taking precious metal and stamping it into coinage for use as a medium of exchange
James Madison explains further
By “regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin,” power was granted to Congress to create what James Madison explained was “uniformity in the value” of both domestic and foreign coin. The founders sought to prevent disputes about the value of domestic and foreign coinage among the states, and by the states with foreign nations, so they gave power to Congress to keep this from occurring. The Constitution lists no grant of power to Congress to print paper money or emit “bills of credit,” the term for paper money in common use at the time. And if no such power was granted, Congress has no authority to engage in the process — or to delegate it to any central bank including the Federal Reserve.
Counterfeiting
As for the constitutional grant of power to punish counterfeiters of both “the securities and current coin of the United States,” the founders intended that the same governmental unit possessing power to insure uniformity in the value of the coin of the United States would also have the power to punish anyone who counterfeits it. Note that there was no power given to punish counterfeiters of U.S. paper money or bills of credit, since the Constitution does not authorize U.S. paper money or bills of credit.
While Article I, Section 8 granted specific powers to the federal government, Article I, Section 10 lists restrictions on state power. These restrictions were freely accepted by the delegates. Yet they agreed to several prohibitions including: “No State shall … coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold or silver a tender in payment of debts….”
Thus, the Constitution clearly states that the only permissible legal tender is gold and silver money.
What is Inflation?
. Inflation is an increase in the amount of currency in circulation, resulting in a relatively sharp and sudden fall in its value and a general rise in prices.
Value Stolen
During inflation, the value of money ends up in the possession of whoever does the inflating. The counterfeiter is the simplest example of an inflator at work. If he produces some good-looking bills, he can “spend” them and walk away with someone else’s goods or services for the cost of paper, ink, and some time on a printing press. He has traded essentially worthless paper for valuable goods.
The previous owner of the goods or the provider of the services is left holding the counterfeit bills. If he fails to realize that they’re counterfeit, he will pass them on in some other transaction. In virtually all cases, the fact that the bills are illegitimate will eventually be discovered and someone will be defrauded.
If the counterfeit currency is not discovered to be bogus and the counterfeiter continues to introduce quantities of it into the system, then all holders of currency are defrauded. Inflation, in a very real sense, steals from those who hold money. When practiced by governments, inflation is a hidden tax on all holders of money including all deposits and investments denominated in the unit of currency being inflated.
Inflation as a Hidden
Tax Properly and simply defined, taxation is the taking of the wealth of the people by government. Inflation fits that definition exactly, just as surely as does an income tax, a sales tax, or any other kind of tax. Therefore, anyone figuring his tax bill must add amounts taken not only via income tax, corporation tax, excise tax, and others, but also the hidden tax of inflation.
How the Federal Reserve Inflates
Simply put, the Federal Reserve creates currency with a simple bookkeeping entry and then purchases government securities (Treasury bills, bonds, or notes) on which it then collects interest. This newly created currency expands the money supply, which constitutes inflation of the money supply.
Inflation is a tactic turned to by governments in debt, a hidden way of forcing the people to pay for programs they would not allow if direct taxation were demanded of them.
What is the Federal Reserve?
Congress established the Federal Reserve on December 22, 1913, to control the U.S. money supply and interest rates. The Fed is not a federal agency and not a private corporation, but rather a hybrid of the two. This central bank is the third under the U.S. Constitution. The previous two were rejected amidst controversies over their artificial inflation of the money supply, abandonment of sound money, and lack of constitutional authorization.
No Oversight
No branch of the federal government owns any portion of the Fed, and there is no official oversight of the Fed from Congress or any government entity, even though the Fed claims otherwise. It alone is responsible for controlling the money supply and has special powers to invoke extraordinary actions during times of “economic crisis.” In essence, the Fed can manipulate the entire economy by creating inflation or deflation, recession or boom, and sending the stock market up or down at whim. The Fed’s website suggests that its duties fall into four general areas: conducting the nation’s monetary policy; supervising and regulating banking institutions; maintaining the stability of the financial system; and providing financial services to depository institutions, the U.S. government, and foreign official institutions.
Mismanagement
Yet, since the establishment of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power while the Fed maintains a monopoly over the issuance of bank notes or cash. The temptation to issue more paper money than can be redeemed by the issuing agency has proven irresistible. This inflationary policy produces predictable results: people are defrauded, commerce slows, confidence in the credit of the U.S. suffers, and bankers, merchants, and their allies in politics become wealthy. Powerful banking interests like to blame their failures on deregulation or “free banking,” even though competition among banks would lead to a healthier marketplace. Honest banks would remain in business; fraudulent banks would fail; and bank customers would have learned a great deal about honest banking, honest bankers, and honest money. The nation would be spared future agony because of the awareness of the people and free banking.
Does the Free Market Work?
It does when it’s tried. But America does not now have a truly free market and has not for a long time. The economy has been harmed by excessive government spending, debt, taxation, and regulation. It has also been harmed by the creation of money out of thin air by the Federal Reserve. Yet the problem is being blamed on the free market. And the solution that is being offered by Congress is to spend more, borrow more, tax more, regulate more, and create more money out of thin air. Never mind that doing more of what caused the problem can only make the problem worse!
Common sense demonstrates that the economy cannot be moved out of recession or depression with increased spending. Children are taught that a penny saved is a penny earned via a trusty Piggy Bank. Responsible parents know that they cannot provide for themselves and their families through endless borrowing. They have learned to live within their means and save, for living above their means leads to painful decisions.
It’s no different with the government, except that the government can (and does) finance its debts by borrowing money from the Federal Reserve. The Fed, in turn, creates the money out of thin air. The Fed also pumps newly created money into the economy through the banking system by artificially lowering interest rates.
Children are taught that money does not grow on trees. But the Fed treats money as if it does. It expands the amount of money in the economy claiming that the additional money will jump-start the economy. The problem is that expanding the money supply (the true definition of inflation) devalues the money already in circulation, causing prices to rise. Monopoly players see this firsthand in the phenomenon of the rapid increase in the value of properties when they have more money to spend.
But inflation is only part of the problem. Fed manipulation of interest rates below what the market otherwise would dictate has encouraged bad loans and malinvestments that later provided the “rationale” for government bailouts in late 2008. So too has the Community Reinvestment Act, which has effectively compelled banks to make sub-prime loans to people who couldn’t afford it.
But government bailouts will only make the problem worse, since the money for the bailouts will come out of the pockets of the American taxpayers one way or another. Moreover, government bailouts reward the recipients for their bad business decisions and spending habits and encourage more of the same. The real way to help the economy is to slash government spending, reduce debt, restore sound money, and unfetter the market from big government regulation. Without the economic drain and the malinvestment now caused by government intervention, Americans would be better able and would have a greater incentive to save, with the savings fueling future economic growth.
(A link to a PDF version of this article: https://campconstitution.net/wp-content/themes/campconstitution/documents/Understanding_Economic_Principles_–_What_Is_Money_Inflation_Federal_Reserve__Free_Market.pdf
About the author
Mr. McManus was named the president of The John Birch Society in 1991 and served as such until 2015. He also served many years as Publisher of The New American and the JBS Bulletin.
Mr. McManus has written and produced numerous audiovisual programs, including the popular DVD “Overview of America”, which is a moving tribute about America’s constitutional roots. He has also written several books including “Financial Terrorism” (1993), “Changing Commands: The Betrayal of America’s Military” (1995), “William F. Buckley, Jr.: Pied Piper for the Establishment” (2002), and “The Insiders” (2004), and his most recent– “The John Birch Society: Its History Recounted by Someone Who Was There”. He is also an instructor at Camp Constitution’s annual family camp.