Some of you may think that this is off-topic on a y2k forum. I ask that you read this post, and document in question, and ask yourself how the passage of this bill would affect your y2k preps, and later survival.

I came across this information on another forum two days ago. The bill it refers to is genuine.

HR 1790, Chemical Safety Information and Site Security Act of 1999 ==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE================== MEDIUM RARE By Jim Rarey May 23, 1999 EMERGENCY ALERT!! Congress Set to Abdicate

In the guise of fighting terrorism, the Congress is rushing through legislation that would delegate to the executive branch unprecedented (and unconstitutional) powers.

On Wednesday, May 19th at a hearing by the House Commerce Health and Environmental Sub-committee, legislation drafted by the administration was discussed. The bill deals with hazardous materials and both accidental catastrophic spills and those caused by terrorism. The bill has been introduced by Republican (!) Representative Thomas Bliley of Virginia. The Republican leadership has scheduled the legislation to be cleared through the House and Senate for the president's signature by June 21st.

Among other things, the legislation would:

1.. Preempt (strike down) all state and local laws on availability of government records to the public.

2.. Preempt all state and local Freedom of Information Acts (FOIA'S)

3.. Give the executive branch the authority to decide which requests for information from the federal government it would honor.

4.. Give the executive branch the authority to issue 'guidelines' as well as criminal penalties for violation of those 'guidelines'.

5.. Prohibit the public from obtaining (in either written or electronic form) information about 'offsite consequences' of accidental catastrophic chemical incidents as well as those that might be caused by terrorists.

6.. Allow the executive branch to establish (by executive order) criminal penalties for any state or local official who allows such information to reach the public in printed or electronic form.

7.. Prohibits even federal officials from making such information available on the internet.

Additionally, Congress has given the authority to the president to write 'privacy' laws if congress does not come up with acceptable legislation by August of this year. The president mentioned this in his public speech about his 'privacy' agenda. My congressional representative verified that congress had indeed given him that authority. Her staff is in the process of hunting down the specific legislation that granted that unconstitutional power.

Undoubtedly this same tactic is being used by the administration in other areas of proposed legislation. We must mount a massive protest to the congress to stop this dangerous and unconstitutional delegation of power to the executive branch.

Please forward this piece to every E-mail address you have. Then write your representative in congress and both of your senators expressing your outrage that they would even consider such actions. This is not a partisan issue. Both Republicans and Democrats on the sub-committee expressed 'reservations' about some of the provisions. However the Republican leadership seems determined to rush the bill through the House and Senate.

If we lose this one, then congress has become irrelevant! permission is granted to reproduce in its entirety or call Jim Rarey at (734) 942-7667

Posted on Jun 02 1999, 05:18 AM

The entire bill can be read at:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c106:./temp/~c106NTq8WF

Any thoughts?

-- LP (soldog@hotmail.com), June 03, 1999

Answers

This is so unconstitutional!! If it passes, then I feel it is up to the True Patriots to fight back! Lets go! I won't be a slave! It's time to do something before we all wind up in chains!! Soon the constituion will be worthless, and our slavery will be total, we have to act NOW!!!!! It's almost too late! :(

-- Crono (Crono@timesend.com), June 03, 1999.

Was ist die problem? Es is keine problem! Sieg Heil!

-- A (A@AisA.com), June 03, 1999.

Yo, crono. I like your style. I'm really beginning to think I'm wasting my time with the "rice and beans" posts. "Let's all save the masses" is wearing pretty thin at this LATE date as well. Here's MY tip for the Newbies....if you can't afford a gun, you can put a lug nut through a car door with a sling-shot purchased at Wal-Mart (and some surgical rubber tubing). How's THAT for "the tip of the day"? OH YEA, one more thing, Newbies.....When the goin' gets tough, the TOUGH get goin'.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 03, 1999.

done; not that i think it will do much good.

-- sarah (qubr@aol.com), June 03, 1999.

-A-

Said>>>Was ist die problem? Es is keine problem

Should'n that be "Was ist das Problem? Es ist kein Problem?" ;-))

There will be only two choices for the universal language of the

future ---> German or Chinese.

-- IloveNWO (NWO@isgood.com), June 03, 1999.

Geeeese. Would somebody please show this ninny to the door? I'd do it, but I'm headed to the barn!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 03, 1999.

What amazes me is that no one cares what is happening to this once great land. Klintoon is a traitor; he has sold our nation out and is lower than dog turds in a muddy ditch, :) but outside of this forum, no one cares!! "the dow is high, so Honor doesn't matter, lies about sex doen't count as lies(?!?), everyone does it, ect..." it makes me sick!! I feel things have gone too far and that our countrey is finished or close to it, so we need to fight back, or all True Patroits will DIE, WACO and Ruby Ridge style. What should we do? First, HANG Clinton, and remove the traitors from our government, then break off diplomatic relations with China. After that... restore prayer in school, make abortion ileagal, get tough on crime, ect... Thats all I can think of, but it would restore America to the great land it used to be! I

-- Crono (Crono@timesend.ccom), June 03, 1999.

Hi Crono,

Actually, there is another forum which cares at www.freerepublic.com

They occasionally have y2k posts as well, but it's mainly concerned with the erosions of freedom and media spin.

-- nothere nothere (nothere@nothere.com), June 03, 1999.

thanks Nothere! I'll go to that site and check it out for myself!

-- Crono (Crono@timesend.com), June 03, 1999.

Crono...you are so right on the money, my friend. But, you forgot to mention bringing back the death penalty."Here's what I think about YOUR rights, punk....bzzzbzzzzbzzz!" Freepers are good....but they just talk about it and have an occasional "gathering". By the time you throw y2k into the picture, the time to "discussssss" is tired. Let's face it, some of us already know what's going on. Look up "Militia" and then weed through the "garbage" and become enlightened.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 03, 1999.

"A", "IloveNWO" -

"A" was perhaps thinking that the "problem" was actually plural, but then it would be "die Probleme", wouldn't it?

Ich spreche (und lese) Deutsch, so I guess it's time to start in on Mandarin. Got some gweilo friends currently living in Beijing. Wonder if they have any accelerated-learning tapes...

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), June 03, 1999.

Will Continue,

Here in NJ a Slingshot is considered a 'firearm' and can land you in jail if caught with one. No Joke. Same thing with air-guns (you need a firearms ID card to purchase an air-gun AND have to go through a NICS check).

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), June 03, 1999.

This proposed "law" is no more than we should expect from our "mistletoe" congress.

For those of you who have not heard of the Treaty Oak, here is its story from the City of Austin, Texas' website.

"The Treaty Oak is a living symbol of history. For five centuries it has survived searing summers, dusty droughts and whistling winds, and has drawn its sustenance from the very depths of Texas soil. It is the last survivor of a grove of fourteen trees known to local Indians as the Council Oaks. The original inhabitants of the area regarded it as a Tree-God. It was a temple of worship for the Commanches and Tonkowas. In the shade of the oak's wide spreading branches, the Native Americans would meet to dance the war dances, smoke the peace pipe, and celebrate feasts and religious ceremonies. Myths and magic surrounded the tree. Tejas Indians believed that a brew from the acorns mixed with wild honey brought back from battle the lovers to maidens who drank the potion.

The Treaty Oak has also played an important and romantic part in the history of the Lone Star State. Although there is no known documentation of the fact, and it has not been shown that he was ever in Austin, one persistent legend has the Father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin, signing the first boundary treaty with the local Indians under the tree, and hence its name. The treaty was needed after Indians carried off and killed a small boy and girl found wandering by nearby Shoal Creek and in 1841 when the first county judge went past the grove in search of stray cattle and was killed by a Commanche war party.

As the Capitol of Texas developed into a burgeoning city, the members of the Council Oaks fell one by one, and by the 1920's the Treaty Oak itself was threatened. In the late 1920's the hallowed ground where the tree is located was offered for sale with the possibility of the tree being cut down. A cry to save the Treaty Oak was heard across Texas. Women's organizations took up the cause and aroused public interest through speeches and letter writing campaigns. So great was the call that the Treaty Oak was added to the American Forestry Association's compilation of famous and historic U.S. trees in 1929. In the 1930's, an entire edition of the Poets' Scroll poetry magazine was dedicated to arousing patriotic duty and responsibility to preserve the tree. Finally, in 1937, the City of Austin recognized the level of emotion and with funds raised, purchased the lot to "stand as a living and fitting symbol of the mighty state it has watched develop."

In recent years, the small one-quarter acre lot around the tree has been the site of weddings, school outings, picnics and is one stop on the Greyhound Bus Tour of Austin. In 1989, the tree was deliberately vandalized with massive amounts of poison. As the tree slipped into critical condition, a blank check was written by Texas industrialist Ross Perot and experts were summoned. As the world watched, intensive care was administered in a desperate battle to save the tree. On the national and international electronic news media, on the front pages of international newspapers and in news magazines across the globe, the world wondered and waited. The culprit was arrested, tried and convicted for his crime. While he could have received life in prison, the jury sentenced him to nine years. His reason? Unrequited love. The efforts to save the tree were successful and today about 35% of the tree remains.

With all of its worldwide fame, the Treaty Oak has truly become a symbol of our time. It is a symbol of nature versus our modern technology. It is a symbol of our compassion and concern. And it is a symbol of strength and permanence in an age of increasing vulnerability and change. The Treaty Oak is Austin's own nearly immortal hero who will continue to give its gifts to the community long after it is gone. It will give the gift of trees - trees planted in its memory purchased with funds raised from the sale of objects and items made from trimmed Treaty Oak wood - wood from limbs that have shaded Texans for 500 years."

Like the Treaty Oak, our national Tree of Liberty has been deliberately vandalized. The deed was not done by any single individual, but has been accomplished over many years by a combination of ignorance and apathy on the part of the populace at large and by greed and a naked lust for power on the part of those who hold office in our government and those who are their masters in fact, as opposed to "We, the People", who are their masters in law.

As the Treaty Oak was, our Liberty Tree is, dying. It is not yet too late to save it, but we shall indeed be fortunate if an effort to bring it back to health results in even the 35% of the original that the Treaty Oak enjoyed.

While there are some, who as Perot, would open their purses and "write a blank check" to restore health to our Liberty Tree, this is not a task that may be accomplished by money alone. Thomas Jefferson uttered the words that embody the sacred knowledge of how to keep the tree alive when he said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." But lest you think Jefferson to be speaking only metaphorically, his words when speaking of the French revolution, "Rather than that revolution should have failed, I would have seen half the earth decimated. If there were one Adam and one Eve alive in every nation and alive free, that would be greater than the present", make clear that he was talking about real people and real blood and real dying. Those words ring eerily sound in 1999.

As with many of the oaks of Texas, the Tree of Liberty is festooned with parasitic growths of mistletoe. On the Liberty Tree they go by names such as "Congress", "elected officials", "bureaucracy", "lobbyist", "law enforcement" and sadly, even "judiciary." Such growths mimic the branches that they have displaced on the tree and intermingle with the genuine branches whose names they bear in deceit while sucking the life-giving sap that was intended for the real branches. Like the real mistletoe, these growths encourage much "kissing" but unknown to many, the fruit is poisonous.

Removing these parasites, like removing real mistletoe, will not be an easy or pleasant job and much damage to the tree has already been done. Those who undertake the task will suffer loss as well. The success or failure of such a venture however, will determine in very large measure what types of lives your children and grandchildren will live. No task can be more important or urgent than sending on to posterity that which we have left of the gifts of our Founding Fathers.

I am no fan of bloodshed, most particularly my own, and having some familiarity with it I have no wish to acquire any more. But many tasks that men are called to are odious, and some in greater measure than others. If the Liberty Tree requires my blood, its roots are as fine a place as any and far better than most to rest for Eternity.

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), June 03, 1999.

Our Constitution is long overdue for an overhaul. It is no wonder we can't progress when we are living over 200 years in the past. If the old farts don't want to make the proper changes, let's get rid of them and do it as a people!

-- @ (@@@.@), June 03, 1999.

What do you consider "proper changes"?

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), June 03, 1999.

What do you consider "progress"?

-- Nathan (nospam@all.com), June 03, 1999.

Yeah, like what the hell?

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 03, 1999.

Mac & ILoveNWO:
Problem, Probleme -- es machs nichts (?). The "Sieg Heil" is right, though. I know just enough German to get to the bathroom. The new universal language won't be German or Chinese, though -- it'll be Russian or Chinese.

"Unintended Consequences" by John Ross (check it out on Amazon.com)

-- A (A@AisA.com), June 04, 1999.