Drone Policy and the Government’s “Right to Kill”

There is ONE major source limiting our Government's Right to Kill. The name of that source is--GOD! Have you forgotten the most important of all the Ten Commandments: 'THOU SHALT NOT KILL'?

Today, affirming God's most sacred Commandment, I and my brothers and sisters/companeros y companeras state unequivocally:

"IN MEMORIAM:  I/We hereby resolve that to honor the murdered children and teachers from Newtown, CT--THERE WILL/MUST BE NO MORE KILLING BY ANYONE, ANYWHERE, AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON!"

For those of you who still feel the Government still has a right to kill, please remember that God's law supercedes man's law. Moreover, our Constitution, which is "the supreme law of the land" only permits the Executive to defend ITSELF against: "a clear and present danger to the territory and populace of the United States."

Within this framework/context, the assertion by this Administration and prior Administrations of the authority to wage war at will, based on the sole determination of the Executive, the President, is far worse than illegal and immoral and unconstitutional. It is, clearly and unequivocally: MURDER.

Should this President, or any future President, state that he/she has the authority to commit murder (whether through human or mechanical agency, such as a drone), we, the American people, must place him/her under citizen's arrest and then try him/her for the crime of attempted murder. If the murder has already been carried out, then the level of criminality would then be raised to: PREMEDITATED MURDER. The authority I possess to make this statement is my standing as: An American Citizen, the highest standing there is.

The personal qualification I have to initiate this Citizen's Arrest is my status as: the only citizen in the history of the United States, to my knowledge, to initiate three lawsuits against illegal wars in the federal courts, and then pursue each of them, individually, to the United States Supreme Court. The wars and dates of each suit were: Vietnam (1969), Nicaragua (1985-86) and Iraq I (1991). The fact that the US Supreme Court has never heard on the merits the issue of the legality of the Vietnam War (the most heinous of all as it involved the murder of more than three million people in Southeast Asia), nor the legality of any of the other wars, again to the best of my knowledge, makes the executive branch's assertion of its right to kill a CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO THE VERY FABRIC OF OUR DEMOCRACY.

  I, and my brothers and sisters/companeros y companeras. demand that those entities with the legal expertise, most especially the Center for Constitutional Rights, assert that they will proceed in the federal courts to seek redress and reclaim our democracy from the dangerous encroachment of an executive branch that appears determined to transform our wonderful democracy into a vicious, criminal dictatorship. This must not happen! The determination of courageous media, particularly Newsday, to whom this is addressed to ensure our Constitutional rights are protected, is essential.

All the best in helping restore the caring democracy run by the people nearly all Americans desire and demand.

Thank you,

Walter Pietsch

                                                              --Walter Pietsch, submitted to Newsday 3/18/13

A lifetime labor/human rights activist noted for his attempted citizen's arrest of Richard Nixon for war crimes, Walter Pietsch is the founder of ARISE (Americans Removing Injustice, Suppression and Exploitation) and author of the newly-released Walter Pietsch: Evolution of an Evolutionary Revolutionary--Updated 2013 Edition (please scroll above for more information and ordering).

How To Help The Rich Get To Heaven

Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus said: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into Heaven." That sounds pretty darned hard to me; doesn't it to you?

Unlike most people, the only thing I don't like about rich people is their money. It upsets me that the Bill Gateses, Warren Buffets (even considering the so-called “Buffet Rule”) and Mayor Bloombergs have no problem going to bed and sleeping on top of their billions of dollars in wealth, knowing full well that the money in their pockets is literally taking the food off the table of poor people, many of whom are starving to death. So, I want to take away the stress Bill, Warren, Mayor Bloomberg and others must be under, especially as they get older, as they realize that their unending greed will probably send them straight to Hell!

Here's the simple answer. Redistribute the wealth of every family with a net worth over five million dollars and individuals with a net worth of over three million dollars to the rest of the people. Under those amounts, take away a little, incrementally (we can figure out exact amounts later, if we agree in principle).

Voila! No more rich people! Eureka! Now Bill, Warren and Mayor Bloomberg and many others will be able to sleep soundly at night, knowing they have been helped to do the right thing, and should have a decent chance to get into Heaven!

Guess what? They don't even have to thank me. Instead, they can pass the Equal Media Access Constitutional Amendment which will take money out of the political process entirely; endorse Employee Consumer Control of All Institutions (these are Phase One and Phase Two of my "vision", respectively, to be found in the Appendix of Walter Pietsch: Evolution Of A Peaceful Revolutionary (see"Books by Walter Pietsch" column for more information). And, they can also support Phase Three: The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Dream Dollar", which will be added to the national currency to create millions of new jobs, just as FDR did in the 1930s. 

By the way, as we help the rich get into Heaven, we will also be taking back our country for the rest of the people. As we do so, please, let's make it a truly caring democracy as we are all God's children (for those who believe in God; I do). 

As you can see, I was only doing a tongue-in-cheek (not my tongue in your cheek; I'm not that kind of guy!) with the title of this op-ed. But now I'm dead serious, and my life is a testament to that. I think you'll like it if you take a look at my story. Then, if you agree, maybe you'll want to join me on the interesting journey ahead. I look forward to passing you an oar to help row the boat, or even help steer the ship!

Oh yes, in honor of the murdered children and teachers of Newtown, CT, my book bears this In Memoriam: THERE WILL/MUST BE NO MORE KILLING ANYWHERE, ANY PLACE, AT ANY TIME, BY ANYONE!

A lifetime labor/human rights activist noted for his attempted citizen's arrest of Richard Nixon for war crimes, Walter Pietsch is the founder of ARISE (Americans Removing Injustice, Suppression and Exploitation) and author of the newly-released Walter Pietsch: Evolution of an Evolutionary Revolutionary--Updated 2013 Edition (please see "Books by Walter Pietsch" at right for more information and ordering).