It is the beginning of the winter of 1777 and 12,000 ragged and ill equipped men, the remnants of what appeared to be a thoroughly defeated Continental army, followed General George Washington into a winter encampment in a place called Valley Forge. They had little in the way of food or warm clothing and 2,000 of them die that winter while the British rejoice over the apparent defeat of the rebel army. Yet, this battered, but proud, group of Patriots will emerge in the spring of 1778 and continue the fight and ultimately defeat the British and establish a new and free nation.

            Fast forward to the winter of 1944. The Germans have broken through the American lines with overwhelming numbers and surrounded the 101^st Airborne at a Belgian town called  Bastogne. Yet, the Screaming Eagles of the proud division of paratroopers refused to surrender. So, to their north the Germans attempt another breakthrough at another Belgian town named Sadzot. In the middle of the night of December 28^th the Nazi SS troopers overran my father’s unit, Company B of the 87^th Chemical Mortar Battalion.

In less than an hour half of the men in the company are killed, wounded, or captured and all of their mortars are lost as well as most of their vehicles. However, by morning the American survivors have joined with a small group of paratroopers and combat engineers, counterattacked and taken back the town along with all of the lost mortars and other equipment. They then proceed to hold off attacks by German tanks and infantry for several days until they are relieved. The Battle of the Bulge and the war are ultimately won.

Just a few years ago left wing politicians in this county like Senator Harry Reid and then Senator Barack Obama were somberly and somewhat gleefully announcing that the war in Iraq had been lost and that funding for our troops and their fight should be cut off. Yet, our warriors went on to win anyway. It turned out that all of the dire predictions of American defeat from 1777 to today have been premature and ultimately wrong.

Now we have another premature celebration of the demise of America going on. The so-called “progressives” in the Congress and the Obama administration are celebrating the fact that they have successfully bypassed the Constitution and undermined American Democracy by passing the Healthcare Reform Bill that is designed to change our country forever into a socialist nation with a massive government that controls our lives and limits our individual freedoms.

Well, I have some bad news for all of the socialists, or progressives, or whatever you choose to call yourselves this week, you have made a huge mistake. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto who led the attack said that: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” I suggest to President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid that you have awakened the giant again and that this giant, made up of freedom loving Americans, is going to be coming at you from every direction you can imagine.

Individuals and State Governments will be challenging you in the courts, and Americans will take you on in the polling places. In every city, town and village you will hear the voices of angry Americans and despite your best efforts we will not be silenced. You will hear the outcry of Americans of every race, religion, and creed and we will prevail.

To my fellow freedom loving Americans I say this: I am nothing special, just a retired attorney and U.S. Army veteran who loves my country. Yet, my family has fought in every war that has America has engaged in since my ancestors first joined North Carolina and Virginia Cavalry Regiments during the Revolution. Now I have two sons fighting for our nation in the military. I will not allow their fight to have been in vain.

Help in any way you can, though letters to your local newspapers, financial support for groups filing lawsuits, or simply with your prayers for our country. We all must make our voices heard and do what is necessary to save our nation. Never despair and never surrender. For if freedom in America dies, then it dies in the rest of the world. God Bless America.

What many Americans have feared for years may be about to come to pass. We have an out of control Congress and an arrogant, elitist President who believes it his destiny to transform the United States from a republic to a socialist system of government where individual freedoms are severely restricted. Congress is preparing to give the President and his Executive Branch of government what amounts to dictatorial powers over one-sixth of our economy and the private health care decisions of everyone who lives in the United States.

            Congress is not only going to pass legislation that will severely damage the balance of power established in the Constitution by our founding fathers, but it is going to go about in a manner that violates Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution. Among other things, that article provides for each law passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate to be then sent to the President for his signature. The key word here is “passed”. It appears that there are not enough votes in the House to pass the Senate version of the health care bill so House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will continue to show her distain for both the American people and the Constitution by ignoring Article 1, Section 7 of one of our most sacred documents and send the bill to the President for his signature without an actual vote on it in the House.

            Instead she will use something being referred to as the “Slaughter Solution” named after Louise Slaughter, a member of the House from upstate New York who proposed that the idea be used to avoid a formal vote. This is also referred to as the “self executing” or “deeming” rule. The members of Congress will be allowed to vote to change the rules and authorize Pelosi to deem the Senate version of the Bill passed and send it to Obama to be signed into law. The fact that this ploy has been used in the past with other much less important legislation does not make it Constitutional. This action also allows the members of Congress to avoid another “troublesome” provision of our Constitution, Article 1, Section 5, that allows one fifth of the members of the House present to demand that the vote on any piece of legislation be recorded so the American people can know how their elected representatives voted.

            The theory is that members of the House who live in districts where the majority of people oppose the health care legislation can go back to their districts and say that they did not vote for the bill. Instead, they will have just voted for a rule change. Of course, this ruse also makes the elitist assumption that “we the people” are too dumb to know that a vote to change the rules to allow the health care bill to go forward is the same as a direct vote for the legislation. By the way, if you want to read the new version of this legislation, forget it. Even though the vote to send it to Obama is scheduled to take place in just a few days, the text of the bill has not yet been made available to members of Congress or the American people.

            The magnitude of this is almost incomprehensible. Nancy Pelosi and the leadership in the House of Representatives are telling us four things.

            First and foremost, we are being told that members of Congress will no longer abide by the Constitution of the United States and are thereby violating their oath of office.   

            Second, members of Congress will no longer be representing the will of the American people who elected them but instead are representing the will of President Obama and his vision of a socialist America.

            Third, members of Congress are done with allowing the American people to even participate in the process. Everything will be done in secret and your right to know what is being done to you will be ignored.

            Last, but not least, members of Congress have concluded that we are not bright enough to know what is happening anyway so they think we will reelect them and be grateful for all they have done for us.  

            I just have this to say to President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the other current “leaders” of our country. Over 230 years ago an English King and Parliament made similar assumptions about a group of people who called themselves Americans. Those assumptions were wrong and things did not end well for those who underestimated the passion of Americans to be a free people. If you continue on this course it will not end well for you either. To this I pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor, as did my forefathers before me.

            It is not too late to stop this abomination. Contact members of Congress now and tell them that you are not fooled and consider a vote for the Slaughter Solution to be a vote for the unconstitutional health care bill. You should further inform them that you consider such a vote to be a violation of their oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States and you will hold them accountable on Election Day.

            For my part, I talked to Gary Kreep at the U.S. Justice Foundation today and we are already preparing the lawsuit that will challenge the Constitutionality of the passage of the health care bill under the “Slaughter Solution” and on other Constitutional grounds. If you want to contribute to this effort you can go to the U.S. Justice Foundation Website at: www.usjf.net. The fight to defend our freedom is not over, it is just beginning.