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Vow To Honor Our Guardians Of Freedom

Newsletter | May 25, 2023

Every year Americans gather the last Sunday in May to commemorate the men and women who died in uniform protecting our country and defending our liberties. But this may be the first Memorial Day in our history that while our nation’s veterans enjoy the company of their families and friends, they advise the younger generation against serving as they did.

We keep hearing it from friends and colleagues, and maybe you’ve even seen veterans on social media discussing it. As one proud retired Marine pilot posted on Twitter: “I come from a long line of veterans. Military service was encouraged, even after Vietnam. Now most [Global War On Terror] vets are actively discouraging their kids from enlisting. Interesting times ahead.”

His sentiments resonated with other “Global War On Terror” or GWOT vets:

“As you, I came from a long line of military service dating back to the Revolution. I’m a GWOT guy and starting about a year ago, have actively discouraged my kids from joining. It pains me to do it but I can’t in good faith encourage it.”

“Same,” wrote another. “Ten generations ends with me.”

What happened that made American vets feel this way about our armed forces?

War is mankind’s most brutal enterprise. Even those who return whole from the battlefield may carry scars with them for years. In Homer’s account of the Trojan War, it took the great warrior Odysseus more than a decade to find his way back home. A friend who was seriously wounded in Iraq told us he was struck re-reading the Greek epic as it took him the same ten years to recover from his physical and psychological injuries.

It is no mystery that war causes pain and in many cases regret. But what the veterans of the GWOT are expressing is something America has never seen before. What’s caused it?

It was the nature of the war itself, culminating with the withdrawal from Afghanistan during which 13 service members were killed by a suicide bomber while they were helping evacuate local civilians at the airport in Kabul. It was the image of Afghani men clinging to troop transport planes, from which many fell to their gruesome deaths. It was the recognition that for twenty years U.S. civilian and military command had no clear strategy, not for winning the war, nor even for withdrawing from it. The anger and resentment of GWOT vets is the logical response to the character of those American leaders that recklessly spent American lives for two decades

“Let’s go spill blood over weapons of mass destruction and fight the Taliban for 2 decades only to leave making all of the blood spilled essentially for nothing,” another veteran posted in response to the Marine pilot. “Every service member who was deployed to the Middle East should be furious with our worthless lawmakers.”

“Keep the warriors home,” another added. “Stop dying for spineless politicians.”

Another warrior attributed his conviction to the transformation of American society, at least in its elite quarters, far removed from where U.S. servicemen are sent to fight for their fellow citizens. “It’s because the military has gone woke,” he wrote. “I served for nine years and after the vax mandates, change of the word ‘equality’ to ‘equity,’ and several ‘mandatory transgender sensitivity’ trainings, I figured my kind weren’t welcome anymore. Their recruitment crisis is their fault.”

In other words, the fundamental issue isn’t GWOT vets steering their children away from the armed services, but that the military itself is pushing those kids away and their parents are only helping them read the writing on the wall.

The message is clear when political leadership degrades and insults the communities holding to traditional values that customarily furnish the military with men and women willing to fight and die for our country and our freedom. Instead of recognizing them as among the best America produces, the current administration defames and labels them as “white supremacists” or “domestic terrorists.”

“They tell us it’s not our country anymore,” wrote one vet in disgust, “ok great, you fight for it then.”

Taken together, what the GWOT vets are saying is that our fight for American freedom is here at home right now and not on foreign fields of battle. Those who most threaten our liberties and have laid waste to our constitutional order are not foreign nationals but rather carry U.S. passports.

This Memorial Day, as we remember and give thanks to the long line of Americans who risked it all to defend us, we also look to the future. For our fate and our freedom may rest with the rising generation of Americans whose families long served our great nation. Held in contempt by our political and military leaders, they are the finest among us, and thus it depends on us, their elders, to create space and opportunity for them to serve the nation here at home.

As one veteran wrote: “Those who choose to serve their country deserve better than how their country abuses that service.”

We, at America’s Future, vow to honor those who choose to serve as we revere our fallen. May God bless the men and women over generations who shed their blood and gave their all for everlasting freedom in America.

Please participate in our Reader’s Survey. Your insights and thoughts are important as we learn what is on the minds and in the hearts of our fellow Americans. We read them all and share some of them every Monday at 9 a.m. during America’s Future live broadcasts with our Executive Director Mary O’Neill on America’s Mondays With Mary. Thank You! 

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SCOTUS Amici Defends Citizens’ Rights

Supreme Court with water

America’s Future filed an Amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) yesterday (May 24) in National Rifle Association of America (NRA) v Maria T. Vullo, SCOTUS Dkt. 22-842. The SCOTUS public docket for this case can be located here.  The brief was filed in defense of the First Amendment rights of speech and association and to defend the rights of all citizens and organizations to be treated fairly and even-handedly by government officials no matter the political preference.

The facts of this case are disturbing, to say the aleast.  They involve former New York government officials who, at the time they were in office, used their political positions to coerce, threaten, and intimidate banks and insurance companies against associating with the NRA, a highly organized and influential advocacy organization, well-known for preferring republican candidates over democrats and conservative platforms over liberal left, communistic ideas.

The NRA advocates for liberty, freedom, and patriotism and is celebrated by many as the premiere Second Amendment rights organization in America, all of which completely offends the out-of-touch radically progressive New York coastal elites who run Manhattan.  With that in mind, it would be one thing if government officials outwardly displayed hostility towards one political party or another, it is a whole different situation when high-ranking state officials collude to harm a political adversary or adversarial group.

In this case, a New York state administrative agency with enforcement powers, i.e., the NY Department of Financial Services (DFS), tasked with overseeing NY banks and NY insurance companies opened an investigation into the NRA and then, in a somewhat roundabout manner, DFS threatens banks not to do business with the NRA because associating with the NRA may cause harm to the banks.  New York argues that it is entitled to warn banks of its belief that the bank would suffer “reputational risk” depending on what people and groups with which it associates.

Our brief provides the SCOTUS with ample insight and information revealing the pretext used by certain New York government officials who misuse the government and all its powers to punish political opponents and pursue politically corrupt conduct.

Our brief seeks SCOTUS intervention.  America remains in dire straits, starving for some accountability from corrupt politically-motivated shysters.  One argument in our brief states:

The lower court’s rationale for permitting the use of  government force to target and squelch disfavored First Amendment speech about disfavored Second Amendment rights evinces an open hostility to both the critical constitutional rights at issue, and could not be more thinly veiled.

America’s Future advocates for the NRA’s position in this case and respectfully requests that the SCOTUS hears this case and rules in a manner that leads to accountability that is meaningful in this country.  Government officials who intentionally treat (or mistreat) others based on political party affiliation, should be subject to swift and harsh penalties, including criminal.  Abuse of power is akin to fraud against the people of this country.

Click here to view other America’s Future Amicus brief filings.

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America Patriots - Derek Harvey

Derek Harvey is a retired U.S. Army colonel who worked on President Donald Trump’s National Security Council staff and worked with former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes to investigate actions taken by U.S. intelligence service and federal law enforcement officials in their anti-Trump plot. Now Harvey is a newly elected county commissioner for Washington County in Western Maryland. We spoke with Derek recently to get his insight into our great country and its patriotic citizens.

As a former congressional investigator, what’s the most important thing for the GOP to investigate now?

The most important investigations must focus on the continued multifaceted, partisan, and weaponized actions by DOJ, FBI, CIA, and the SEC that on one hand target conservatives, whilae on the other hand protect the corrupt and criminal activities of Democrat politicians, their families, elite donor class, Wall Street and Venture Capital and associated political groups, NGOs and organizations such as Fusion GPS and the Southern Poverty Law Center. These investigations are critical for protecting civil liberties, restoring law and order, ensuring the freedoms and rights found in the Bill of Rights, and securing a fair and competitive political environment in which our federal constitutional system can flourish. The domestic threat is a far graver danger to the Republic than overseas threats.

Were you surprised by any of the revelations from the Durham report?

I was disappointed that Mr. Durham failed to subpoena the senior intelligence, FBI, DOJ, and Obama Administration officials who were deeply involved in fabricating, dissembling, and promoting the false narrative. I’m not surprised by his inability to get legal accountability in the courts due to the nature of the highly partisan jury pools in DC. 

Why can’t the armed forces meet its recruitment quotas?

It is very simple to explain, but the reality is denied by the woke Pentagon civilian and military leadership. The traditional and reliable demographic for military recruitment — young white males from southern states and rural areas of other parts of the country as well as Hispanics with traditional values — are alienated by the woke agenda and hostility to religion and traditional values. 

You served on Capitol Hill and on U.S. battlefields abroad and now in your hometown. Can you explain why the elected office you now hold as county commissioner is just as important?

I believe the battles must be won in Congress and in the Executive Branch because of the authorities, power, reach, and influence of the administrative state and the courts. Likewise, state executive power and legislatures can have the power and authority to impose intolerant and draconian measures that override hundreds of years of precedent, values, common sense, and constitutional safeguards of our liberty. As a county elected official, I have found significant constraints and requirements are imposed by state authorities with little regard for local conditions, needs, or desires of the population. I find that there are important opportunities to shape and influence many things that directly impact the lives of constituents while providing for today and shaping the conditions for tomorrow.

What is your prayer for America right now?

I pray that our good lord will bless America in restoring the belief in providence, and a commitment to rebuilding the foundations of our constitutional republic, federalism, real separation of powers, and a devotion to the Bill of Rights — and for leaders who believe in all of these things. 

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America’s Future Files Amicus Brief in State Sovereignty Second Amendment Case

Gavel with Law Book

On Friday, May 19, 2023, America’s Future filed an Amicus brief with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in U.S. v Missouri, Dkt. No. 23-1457, a case concerning state sovereignty under the constitutional principle of dual sovereignty, a notion that provides for the vast scope of states’ powers to ensure we live with a sense of ordered liberty. The brief was filed with seven other nonprofits and Virginia Delegate David LaRock.

At its core, this case is one that tests the strength and endurance of our nation and our commitment to America’s Separation of Powers principles and the notion that each state functions independently under 50 different sets of state laws.  This structure benefits We The People as it allows the citizens of a state to determine the laws of the state, unlike other countries where its citizens are beholden to one national law wherever they reside.

In this case, Missouri enacted a state law coined “Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA)” which declares certain federal restrictions on firearms to be unreasonable infringements on the Second Amendment rights of its citizens.  SAPA states, in part:

All federal acts, laws, executive orders, administrative orders, rules, and regulations which infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment shall not be enforced by this state.

Following Missouri’s enactment of SAPA, the federal government sued Missouri claiming SAPA violated the Supremacy Clauseof the Constitution. This clause stands for the idea that if the federal government lawfully acts within its scope of authority, states may not enact laws that contravene those lawful federal government acts.  In this case, Missouri did not enact any law contravening the federal government firearm regulations. Missouri simply withheld its consent and asserts the Second Amendment prevails over the federal firearms regulations.  Missouri is simply electing not to enforce these federal regulations which, as explained in our brief, is not a violation of the Supremacy Clause.  Certainly, unconstitutional federal laws are not the “Supreme Law of the Land.”

Our Amicus brief offers well-reasoned arguments and insight as to why Missouri’s refusal to enforce federal gun restrictions against its own citizens is a constitutionally permissive exercise of the state’s plenary powers and does not violate the Supremacy Clause. In addition, the brief provides the Court with sufficient examples of precedent, as well as reminders, of what it means to be a constitutional republic and what federalism stands for:  at the core America’s version of federalism provides perspective on the American principle of “dual sovereignty” – the concept that Americans are subject to the rules of both the federal government and their state government.

Under the Constitution, however, the distribution of power between the federal government and state governments is such that the powers of the federal government are severely restrictive, whereas state governments enjoy plenary, or nearly limitless authority to govern their citizens as appropriate to ensure we live in freedom under the principle of “ordered liberty.” Indeed, the Constitution instructs the federal government that it is prohibited from, and shall not, usurp those powers reserved to the states. Those state powers are generally referred to as “police powers,” and are understood to be all powers having a tendency to provide for public safety, health, education, and the general welfare of citizens.

As James Madison, known as the Father of our Constitution, explained in Federalist No. 45, “[t]he powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.”

We, at America’s Future, hope the Eighth Circuit finds in favor of Missouri and its admirable protection of its citizens from yet another hostile attempt by the government to strip away constitutionally-guaranteed rights of citizens.  While this case focuses on the Second Amendment, if the federal government were to prevail here, who is to say which God-given inalienable individual liberty will be next on this administration’s chopping block?

Click here to view other America’s Future Amicus brief filings.

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Keeping You Informed

Memo Rallies Republicans Around the “Limit, Save, Grow” Act

The national economy is under the microscope as the administration moves to increase the debt ceiling and spending, while House Republicans seek to limit spending all around.

Yesterday, May 24, 2023, the unapologetic freedom-fighter Chip Roy from the great state of Texas transmitted a four-page Memorandum to his GOP colleagues in the House rallying them to remain unified, focused, and uncompromising when it comes to fighting for hard-working Americans.

The Roy Memorandum reminds his colleagues that if they hold the line as a unified force, this will provide House Speaker Kevin McCarthy with the strongest hand possible when confronting the Biden administration in the latest rounds of discussion.

In Roy’s memo, he states, “We want to cut funding for the woke federal bureaucracy interfering with Americans’ ability to live free and prosper economically to pre-COVID levels, Democrats want to expand it. We are fighting for reliable energy and the working class, Democrats want to preserve IRA unreliable energy subsidies for the wealthy elite, corporations, and Chinese Communists.”

The House Republican spending/debt limit plan provides limiting federal spending, saving taxpayer dollars, and growing the economy.  This plan called the “Limit, Save, Grow” Act, follows a clear four-point strategy based on these action steps: 1. Limit federal spending: 2. Save taxpayer dollars; 3. Grow the Economy; and 4. A responsible Debt Limit Increase. To read an overview of the plan, click on the two-page poster.

SCOTUS October 2022 Term Nears End

The October 2022 term of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) comes to a close at the end of June. The rulings impact the daily lives of Americans as they are considered “the law of the land” and binding on all other courts and in all states. To keep our readers well-informed of these important decisions, readers can access this term’s case rulings as of May 24, 2023 here, and we will continue to report on the final rulings released through June.

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Defund The Federal Beast

Let’s Defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

This is the fifth entry in our IN FOCUS section highlighting some of the most abusive and oppressive federal agencies and programs that House Republicans should target for ending. Readers will find the first two articles of the series here.

Who would have ever thought that creating and funding a massive government-owned media conglomerate to “create a more informed public” would be a good idea?  Well, that was President Lyndon B. Johnson.  He created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in 1967 as part of his Great Society.  After that, the monster grew.  In 1969, the CPB created the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), and in 1970, National Public Radio (NPR).

NPR’s mission statement is a high-sounding piece of prose:  to help Americans achieve “a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas and cultures [through] programming that meets the highest standards of public service in journalism and cultural expression….”  PBS “empowers individuals to achieve their potential and strengthen the social, democratic, and cultural health of the U.S.”

In reality, NPR has long provided a taxpayer-funded megaphone for every leftist cause known to man, and generally for the Democratic Party.  “The CPB spreads the rejection of America’s founding principles through PBS, NPR, and the CPB’s more than 1,500 local public radio and television affiliates.”  The Knight Foundation did a review of 50 years under the Public Broadcasting Act and concluded that the CPB “all too often seeks not to elevate society but to tear down its existing institutions.”

A Media Research Center (MRC) study in 2007 showed a stunning disparity in the way the two parties were treated: 

“NPR’s ‘Morning Edition’ produced more stories about Democratic candidates than Republicans (41% vs. 24%).  What was different was how little coverage Democrats received, especially compared with all other media.  Stories about a Democratic candidate were seven times more positive than negative: 41% positive vs. 6% negative.”  For Republicans, the comparable figures are 30 percent positive vs. 20 percent negative.

On May 17, 2023, a new MRC study was released which reviewed the first four months of the current Congress, confirming that PBS news still has a hard pro-Democrat slant. 

By a 5-to-1 margin, the “NewsHour” promoted controversies involving congressional Republicans over those involving congressional Democrats…. Republicans were often (20 times) branded as extremists (“far right,” “hard right,” etc.) by “NewsHour” correspondents or commentators.  Left-wing Democrats were never “far left” or “hard left,” not even socialists like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt….  

Leftist bias is not the only misuse of taxpayer money by the CPB.  In 2017, no less than seven prominent (and liberal) CPB-funded TV and radio personalities were fired from their jobs after sexual harassment allegations.  These included Charlie Rose, Garrison Keillor, Tavis Smiley, Tom Ashbrook, David Sweeney, John Hockenberry, and Michael Oreskes.

For decades, a few conservatives have called for an end to taxpayer funding of the CPB. 

PBS wasn’t yet a year old in 1971 when a 35-year-old White House lawyer warned President Nixon that they were being “confronted with a long-range problem of significant social consequences — that is, the development of a government-funded broadcast system similar to the BBC.”  That lawyer was future Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

President Reagan tried to eliminate CPB funding.  Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) tried.  Even George W. Bush tried.  It has never happened.

In 2019, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) sponsored legislation to defund the CPB.  He cited numerous examples of the CPB’s leftist slant on cultural battles.  PBS had recently aired an episode of the children’s show “Arthur,” featuring a homosexual “wedding.”  And in May of 2019, NPR issued a guideline reminder for talent when discussing abortion, stating:

“The term ‘unborn’ implies that there is a baby inside a pregnant woman, not a fetus.  Babies are not babies until they are born.  They’re fetuses.  Incorrectly calling a fetus a ‘baby’ or ‘the unborn’ is part of the strategy used by antiabortion groups to shift language/legality/public opinion.”  [Emphasis added.]

Lamborn’s bill was roundly criticized by fans of Garrison Keillor who apparently thought they would never hear from him unless the government funded him.

Then to “celebrate” Independence Day in 2021, NPR tweeted that our Declaration of Independence was “a document with flawsand deeply ingrained hypocrisies.” Again, conservative activists called for defunding NPR, but again, Congress took no action.

The CPB’s liberal slant has sometimes progressed to the completely cartoonish.  NPR was blasted after suggesting that Biden’s nominee for Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was qualified because he “said he has ‘a personal love of transportation,’ recounting train trips on Amtrak while in college, and said he proposed to his now-husband, Chasten, in an airport terminal.” 

But the cost to the American taxpayer of funding CPB’s propaganda is no laughing matter.  Its budget was nearly half a billion dollars, $465,000,000, in fiscal year 2022 alone.  With a national debt approaching $31 trillion, something must be cut.  If they think about the national debt, they would defund CPB.  If they think constitutionally, House Republicans would defund CPB.  And, if they think politically (how congressional Republicans faced 85% negative coverage, compared to 54% positive coverage of congressional Democrats) they would defund CPB which works to defeat them — even if they must take some heat from the “brie-and-Chablais” set who would never vote for them anyway.  

If Republicans refuse to defund the CPB, their plaintive cries about “the liberal media” will drown in their own hypocrisy of having just funded a big part of that liberal media. So Republicans, no more talking.  Defund the CPB now!

To read the articles in this series, please click here.

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Reminders & Updates

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: The next Champions For America “Conversation with General Michael Flynn” webcast is scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at 10 AM ET. Become a Champion and join this live broadcast next month here.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: The next Champions For America “Conversation with General Michael Flynn” webcast is scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at 10 AM ET. Become a Champion and join this live broadcast next month here.

Join hundreds of Americans who have signed up to be a part of America’s Future Project Defend & Protect Our Children (PDPC) nationwide network to help end child exploitation, abuse, and trafficking. Visit the Project’s web page here to read the PDPC Bulletin, watch multiple videos describing the initiative, and download our tips sheet for suggestions about what you can do to end the war on children in your community.

Join hundreds of Americans who have signed up to be a part of America’s Future Project Defend & Protect Our Children (PDPC) nationwide network to help end child exploitation, abuse, and trafficking. Visit the Project’s web page here to read the PDPC Bulletin, watch multiple videos describing the initiative, and download our tips sheet for suggestions about what you can do to end the war on children in your community.

SHOP TIL YOU STOP: We hope you love America’s Future new online shop display and ease of accessing your favorite items! There are many new products, including a full assortment of tees for the whole family, a wide range of accessories like coffee mugs and totes, and a special line dedicated to our Project Defend & Protect Our Children. Thank you for your support!

AMERICA’S MONDAYS WITH MARY: Tune in every Monday morning at 9 a.m. (ET) to watch our Executive Director Mary O’Neill report out on the comments and insights submitted via our weekly Reader Survey and listen to updates about America’s Future activities and what’s ahead at America’s Mondays With Mary.

STAY CONNECTED: You’ll find America’s Future on your favorite social media platforms. Thank you for remembering to follow us and please share our posts.

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