Memorial Day 2012

Memorial Day is a time to remember our brave fighting men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation with their very lives. Let us take the time to remember the heroic sacrifices of our military throughout our nation’s history, and also to remember the heroic sacrifices our combat men and women are making today. Let us pray for their safety and well being and also for their loved ones as they endure the hardship and uncertainty of deployment.

Honoring all those who served and still serve today.  Never forget the men and women who gave their lives so that we could have our freedom.

  “As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation.”  Ronald Reagan

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Click Here to Listen to Taps

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”STANDING GUARD”

Standing Guard – photo by Frank Glick at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota 2011

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Wounded Warrior Project benefit concert 5/18/12

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Wounded Warrior Project benefit concert

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What:  Country Music Artist Darryl Worley will headline the first concert, which is slated for Friday, May 18th. Proceeds from this concert, which also includes artists Abby Abbondanza (formerly of the Poverty Neck Hillbillies), The Steve Smith Band, and Sarah Marince, will benefit the Wounded Warrior’s Project. Concert to benefit The Wounded Warriors with Steve Smith Band, Abby Abbondanza, Sarah Marince, Darrell Worley. Emceeing the event will be Rose Tennent of 104.7 and Brian Beckwith Local Warrior speaking on the benefits provided by the Wounded Warrior Project.

Featuring: Darryl Worley, singing such hits as “Have You Forgotten”

Other local performers:
Abby Abbondanza
Steve Smith Band
Sarah Marince

Ticket available at TicketMaster. $ 17.00 to 25.00, Order early will sell out.

Where:  Consol Energy Park, Washington, PA

When:  Friday, May 18, 2012

Time:  4:00pm until 8:00pm in EDT

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Wounded Warrior Project
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ABOUT WWP

Founded in 2003, WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured service members aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs.

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Have You Forgotten?

Border Patrol Agent Brian A.Terry Memorial Scholarship

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If you would like to DONATE AUCTION ITEMS or ATTEND
the ….”Forever Remembering a Hero”

A Charity event in honor of fallen Border Patrol agent Brian A. Terry

Please join us for this great 2nd annual fundraising event in Honor of Brian. All money raised will be donated to the Brian A Terry Memorial Scholarship fund.

Friday April 27th starting @ 6 p.m
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Taylor Moose Lodge
9981 Telegraph
Taylor Mi 48180

-1st Scholarship will be awarded!!
- Live and Silent Auctions
-$10 Donations at the door
-50% of all sales will be donated
-Complimentary food served

*****Anyone who would like to donate items ( gift baskets, tickets, gift certificates, sport memorabilia, etc) to be auctioned off at the event.. please contact one of us ********

Michelle Terry-Balogh 734-771-9824
Kelly Terry-Willis 734-341-9940
Kent Terry 734-735-3912
Jeff Vamos 734-845-7530
Chad El-Awad 313-477-1311

Food will provided by Nino’s Pizzeria of Allen Park

This is a public event…If everyone can suggest this event to all of your Face Book friends it will be a tremendous help to get the word out… We want to have a phenomenal turnout

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Brian A. Terry Memorial Scholarship Fund

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Hundreds Attend Funeral Service for Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

Published : Wednesday, 22 Dec 2010

By ROBIN SCHWARTZ
WJBK | myFOXDetroit.com

DETROIT (WJBK) – Law enforcement officers from around the country converged on Detroit Wednesday to remember a fallen hero.

U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry died serving his country.

Hundreds of people packed Detroit’s Greater Grace Temple for an emotional funeral service. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano was among the mourners.

It was a surreal and stunning scene outside Greater Grace Temple. Federal agents lined the entrance to the church as the hearse carrying Terry’s body arrived.

Inside bagpipes played as the 40-year-old’s flag-draped coffin was wheeled into place for an emotional funeral and celebration of his life.

“Brian Terry lived and died a hero and a warrior,” said Michigan State Police Sergeant Dan Bowman.

“Brian died protecting others from people that would prey on them,” said Kurt Martin, Terry’s longtime friend.

Terry was shot and killed on December 14 on the United States-Mexico border during a gun battle with a gang known for targeting illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. Four suspects are now in custody. Others are still being sought.

“He knew the dangers of this job, but he went knowing what he was doing made a difference not for himself, but for others,” Martin said.

“We resolve, I resolve, to pursue swift justice for those responsible for his death, and we resolve, I resolve, to do everything in our power to protect those who put their lives on the line every day for our nation’s safety and security,” said Napolitano.

Terry leaves behind his parents, a brother and two sisters, as well as countless men and women in uniform who are vowing to honor his legacy. They have said he was an all or nothing kind of guy who lived life to the fullest and would help in any way he could.

Terry was a 1988 graduate of Flat Rock High School. He served with the Marines and then worked with the Ecorse and Lincoln Park police departments before being hired by the U.S. Border Patrol.

Some of his closest friends spoke during the funeral. One read a passage Terry wrote about himself.

“If today is the day, so be it. If you seek to do battle with me this day, you will receive the best that I am capable of giving,” Bowman said. “You may kill me, but I’m willing to die if necessary. I do not fear death for I have been close enough to it on enough occasions that it no longer concerns me. What I do fear is the loss of my honor and would rather die fighting than have it said that I was without courage.”

Following the funeral, a seemingly endless line of law enforcement vehicles with lights flashing streamed down Seven Mile Road in Detroit. Even as this was taking place, the Justice Department and Mexican authorities were hunting down the rest of the suspects who took this hero’s life.

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Agent Brian Terry laid to rest

Dec 22, 2010 9:28 PM

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Remembering Petty Officer 1st Class Chad R. Regelin

Bronze Star recipient, Chad was credited with personally locating and destroying 24 roadside bombs, training 13 commando engineers in counter-IED tactics and fighting in more than 20 direct fire engagements. USO Sailor of the Year for 2011, Regelin was an explosive ordnance disposal technician with Mobile Unit Three in southern Afghanistan and was on his second tour of duty there when he was killed.

Petty Officer Regelin is the 1,865th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

*Burial with full military honors will follow at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo*

Chad R. Regelin

The Liberty Tree

Dissent Gave Birth to this Nation

Flags Over Capitol at Half-Staff for Fallen Sailor

Governor Brown today has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol today in honor of fallen U.S Navy Sailor Petty Officer 1st Class Chad R. Regelin, of Cottonwood, who was killed in action in Afghanistan last week.

Remembering Chad Regelin

 

Procession Route:

The funeral procession will begin around 12:00 p.m. Saturday Jan. 14th from Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints in Anderson.

The procession is expected to arrive around 1:00 p.m. at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery 11800 Gas Point Road Igo, Ca.

Below are Google directions of the procession route:

See Interactive Map

Video

Slideshow: Remembering Chad Regelin

 Petty Officer 1st Class Chad R. Regelin

 Guest Book

“I’ll lend to you for a little time,
A child of mine,” God said,
“For you to love while he lives
And mourn for when he’s dead.”

“It may be six or seven years
Or twenty-two or three,
But will you till I call him back,
Take care of him for me?”

“He’ll bring his charms to gladden you
And should his stay be brief,
You’ll have these precious memories
To comfort you through grief.”

“I cannot promise he will stay
Since all from earth return.
But there are lessons taught down there
I want this child to learn.”

“I’ve looked this world over,
In my search for teachers true.
In the crowds of this great land,
I have selected you.”

“Now will you give him all your love
Not think the labor vain,
Nor hate me when I come to call
To take him back again?”

VETERAN DEFENDERS of America

VETERAN DEFENDERS of America

http://veterandefenders.org/

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR CALL TO ACTION 11-11-11

Patriots Union & Veteran Defenders

The following Code of Conduct applies to ALL initiatives in which The United States Patriots Union
and/or The Veteran Defenders of America are engaged.
Both organizations have a strict Code for membership that we expect all members to adhere to whenever
representing our organizations.
The Patriots Union is formed by and open to American citizens who believe in the following
fundamental principles –
Personal Freedom – Individual Liberty – State Sovereignty and Rights – An unalienable Right to Life -
Free-Market Economics – The Bill of Rights – The US Constitution as written and ratified – National
Sovereignty and Security – Color Blind Justice and the Rule of Law – Our Declaration of Independence -
A right to work, earn and own – A morally and ethically sound society and government
1) We are an organization of professionals who at all times act in a professional manner.
2) We call for peaceful actions, with the law and the constitution on our side.
3) We DO NOT need or desire violent actions and will NOT sanction any form of violence.
4) We never ask if, but how.
5) We always intend to finish what we start.
6) We want to have our say, but will defend the right of others, to have their say as well.
7) We will resist all efforts to escalate a situation to violence.
8) We will watch out for each other, and de-escalate a situation before it becomes violent.
9) We will not stoop to the ill behaviors of others. We will stay on the high ground.
10) We will use only minimal force to end a confrontation when all else has failed.
11) We will speak clearly, concisely and factually at all times.
12) We will clean up after ourselves when gathering in public places.
13) We will self-police our behaviors and that of our fellow patriots at all times.
14) We will be part of the solution, never part of the problem.
15) A right to self-defense is essential to liberty. But we will not initiate violence.

The Veterans Day Event on 11.11.11 is a March in support of the Veterans Declaration to Restore the
Constitutional Republic. Members of Congress will have seen the Declaration before November 11, 2011.
The March is to come together in support of the demands made in the Declaration

Colonel James Harding is one of the most decorated military leaders and pilots of our time and we are honored to welcome him aboard the Veterans Council of the United States Patriots Union.  Bio

A note from the founder…

As veterans, we swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and to defend it against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. Quite simply, unlike any period in our long history, our freedoms are in jeopardy. Our domestic borders have been silently invaded with people who intend to harm us. There are thousands of terrorists and terror cells within the United States borders who have one goal as their agenda – the destruction of America as we know it. This simply cannot take place.

You, as a veteran, have training, skills and experience that uniquely enable you to prepare your family and community in the event of disasters, either natural or man-made. REMEMBER, we ALL can contribute some of our skilled training, in some small way. Together, we are a strong force.

May God bless you, your family and our nation. The time is now, join us.
Richard Van Waes, Founder

Click here for an introductory message from Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely.

A Declaration To Restore The Constitutional Republic

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR CALL TO ACTION 11-11-11

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Veterans Day was originally established to honor Americans who had served in World War I. The national holiday is celebrated on November 11, the anniversary of the day World War I ended in 1918. Today Veterans Day honors veterans of all wars for their patriotism and willingness to serve in the military and sacrifice for our country.

Veterans Day 2011 Events in Washington, DC

Honor Veterans on November 11

http://dc.about.com/od/hoildaysseasonalevents/a/VeteransDay.htm

Veterans Day 2011 Events in Washington, DC

dc.about.com

Celebrate Veterans Day at a Washington, DC memorial wreath-laying ceremony. Honor veterans of the U. S. at special Veteran’s Day events in Washington, DC.

“Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government.”

~ James Madison
http://patriotsforamerica.ning.com/

Constitutional Emergency

patriotsforamerica.ning.com

This effort is focused on sacrifice to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.

A DECLARATION TO RESTORE THE CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC
(A page has been set up on Facebook for this National call to action operation.)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VDAoperation/?notif_t=group_r2j

http://patriotsforamerica.ning.com/forum/topics/just-this-minute-launched-a-declaration-to-restore-the-constituti?xg_source=activity

[JUST THIS MINUTE LAUNCHED] – A DECLARATION TO RESTORE THE CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC NATIONAL CALL FOR

patriotsforamerica.ning.com

This is Serious !! Red Alert !! ,

LaRouche Warns of British Backed Obama Coup Inside U.S.

WHY OATH KEEPERS?

WHY  OATH  KEEPERS?

By Elias Alias

Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of currently serving military, reserves, National Guard, Veterans, Peace Officers, and Fire Fighters who will fulfill the Oath we swore, with the support of like minded citizens who take an Oath to stand with us, to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, so help us God. Our Oath is to the Constitution.

Our Motto:  “Not on our watch!”

Our Slogan: “Guardians of the Republic”

Oath Keepers is a single-mission organization with a dual focus. Oath Keepers interacts with the Oath-Sworn, the Americans who fill the ranks of America’s military, firefighter, and Peace Officer personnel. We also are now focusing in our veterans communities. We educate men and women who swear that Oath, challenging them to learn the fine points of our Constitution and its history.

Oath Keepers’ primary purpose is very distinctly defined. It contains a three-step plan of action and initiative – we work to reach, teach, and inspire our troops, veterans, firefighters and cops to honor their Oath to the Constitution.

Pretty simple, that. Oath Keepers seeks to “reach, teach, and inspire all Oath ‘takers’ to become “Oath Keepers”. That kind of teaching requires that Oath Keepers first reach a willing soldier or peace officer or firefighter.

To get our soldiers’, firefighters’ and peace officers’ attention, Oath Keepers uses the Internet, public events, rallies, conventions and conferences, and we use full-feature services which facilitate a concise introduction to several key Oath Keepers doctrines, which include stressing that the Oath itself is sworn [or affirmed] as a sacred Oath to the U.S. Constitution. We also teach that the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice – the rulebook for our soldiers) makes it clear that no soldier is required to accept or follow or carry out an unlawful order.  An unlawful order could be an order to violate citizens’ rights, or a State’s rights, for example. Indeed, a soldier who follows an unlawful order may find himself before a court-martial facing charges. One example of that is Lt. Calley of My Lai Massacre infamy.

Oath Keepers teaches that America’s basic reality is that the several sovereign States in compact created the Constitution, and the Constitution then created the Federal government. That means that the Constitution existed prior to the government it created. The Constitution is the active source of government in America.  The Constitution is the people’s representation of the people to the government. It reflects the fact that the government was created by the people working through their several sovereign States, and is therefore the servant of the States, or of the people. The people’s Constitution is that to which the soldier and peace officer vows the Oath. The Oath is not sworn to the government. The knowledge of that is what we strive to share with our focus groups.

An aspect of Oath Keepers’ teach phase includes a published listing of ten unlawful orders which Oath Keepers swear [or affirm] they shall not obey.  See them explained here –

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2009/03/03/declaration-of-orders-we-will-not-obey/

By presenting the “ten unlawful orders”, Oath Keepers places an idea in the American psyche, which carries with it the realization that “just following orders is no excuse”, as the world learned at the Nuremberg Tribunals for Nazi war criminals.

Oath Keepers insists all military and peace officer and firefighter personnel impeccably follow all lawful orders. That is part of the Oath too. Oath Keepers shares America’s pride in our military’s history, our firefighters’ history and in our peace officer history. Oath Keepers honors the traditions embodied in those services.

However, we also must realize the possibility that not all orders are necessarily lawful orders, as we saw in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina at New Orleans. Yet the UCMJ is clear in its pronouncement that military personnel are not required to follow an unlawful order.

Therefore, the Oath Keepers message presents a direct challenge to authoritarian power, and exposes it to those whom an authoritarian government would order against the American people.

In addition to active Internet use, Oath Keepers uses a high-quality printed materials program designed by Oath Keepers leadership for distribution among Military and firefighter and Peace Officer personnel whom Oath Keepers has reached. These materials are spread nationally by hand to hand friendly exchanges between Americans both in and out of uniform. We distribute videos. We do email blasts to more than twenty thousand email addresses. We march with Tea Party rallies, set up booths at gun shows, work directly with a wide variety of liberty-oriented groups and movements, do radio and television interviews, write educational columns, give live presentations, meet people and spread the word one-on-one all over grassroots America.

With the Internet, Oath Keepers has reached active duty military and peace officer personnel by the thousands, and now Oath Keepers has the printed word as well. With help from dedicated smart guys like Marti, Drew, and Mark, center-fire specialist Jim Ayala is creating a video capacity as an outreach tool. There are several versions of the Oath Keepers DVD in circulation. Oath Keepers has a solid brochure program which is very popular with grassroots America. Window decals, bumper stickers, shirts, hats and patches also reach out into society as well as onto military installations and into police and sheriff offices.

Stewart Rhodes in 2008 realized that trends and patterns exist, and that a ready template for authoritarian government is found in 20^th Century history. Federal activity has turned from service to the American people to service of the people to the government. This pattern is no longer debatable, and is authoritarian in nature. For such reasons, Stewart contemplated how it could be possible for a police state form of government to be erected here in America, and one thing occurred to him with striking gravity.

Any U.S. soldier who would or could be commanded by a rogue government is trained to follow orders. Current government training exercises for military and peace officer personnel indicates they may be ordered to take action against the American people. NORTHCOM is real, and its domestic combat troops are being trained at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, as we speak. Our soldiers must be reminded of their roots in our society and the meaning contained in the wording of their Oath of service. Seeing this as a challenge on behalf of the Republic, Stewart Rhodes consulted with his trusted military, peace officer, firefighter and veteran community friends and promptly founded Oath Keepers.

The first Oath Keepers muster was at Lexington Green on April 19, 2009 and we celebrate that date as our founding. It was a successful launch and the remainder of 2009 was spent by leadership trying to get hold of a swift growth in membership. We had a website to create. We had to choose a public forum system to move into and soon built our own, which is even now in May of 2011 being prepared for replacement by a much finer social network forum system. We had to incorporate, elect officers, jump through all the legal hoops, start State chapters, select State-level officers, write our by-laws and post them, develop our national communications system, produce our outreach materials, handle a snowballing membership, and many other pressing developments. 2009 was a very busy year for our band of grassroots officers in Oath Keepers national. See brief bios for most of our national officers here –

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/bios/

As you can see, Oath Keepers are grassroots Americans who have had careers in law enforcement, firefighting, and the military. Most of our Board members are retirees. Some of us, including myself, were one-hitch-only military and did not retire, but served in foreign wars. One thing we all share in common with all of our members across the nation is a keen respect for the Constitution and the way of traditional American life that document secures when acted up to properly. That, and the fact that we have all learned to work together, with each other, to fulfill the vision of Stewart Rhodes, which is to remove the peace officer community, the veterans community, the military community, and the firefighter community from the control of any rogue government agency or department which would use them against the American people.

Oath Keepers held its first corporate meeting in Las Vegas in October of 2009. We combined the organizational legal meeting with a national conference over three days and held our first awards ceremony with a presentation of plaques.

By mid-2010 we were growing too fast again and had to scramble as Stewart Rhodes became an item on television shows. By July of 2010 we held a Board meeting in Bozeman, Montana and premiered in conjunction a Matrixx Productions movie by James Jaeger, “Cultural Marxism”.

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2010/06/21/cornerstone-matrixx-entertainment-oath-keepers-world-premiere-%E2%80%9Ccultural-marxism-the-corruption-of-america%E2%80%9D/?cp=1

Also in July of 2010 Sheriff Richard Mack was elected to the Board of Directors for Oath Keepers and his operation has been a real asset. See Sheriff Mack’s website here –

http://www.sheriffmack.com/index.php/books-by-richard-mack

Through the winter of 2010/2011 Oath Keepers developed a new strategy to acknowledge America’s pending economic crisis and Stewart Rhodes saw a need to unite the millions of veterans across the nation. To do this Oath Keepers has just launched our Operation Sleeping Giant, which is directed at the veterans as a challenge in Oath keeping after active duty service. Check it out here – http://www.operationsleepinggiant.com/

Our purpose with Operation Sleeping Giant is to alert our veterans everywhere to the need for their guidance in helping organize their communities’ capabilities for preparedness at the local level. To assist this new drive Oath Keepers is promoting the works of Dr. Edwin Vieira, who is one of America’s foremost Constitutionally-oriented historians, among other honors. Dr. Vieira reveals the proper correlation between sound money and the Constitutionally mandated lawful militia of the several States. Oath Keepers is challenging all veterans to study Dr. Vieira’s remarkable works, starting with his course entitled “The Purse And The Sword”. Get it here –

http://www.heritageresearchinstitute.org/PurseSwordPage.htm (free sample clips at link)

Oath Keepers is now working also with the Michael Boldin’s Tenth Amendment Center, and with the Von Mises Institute’s Thomas E. Woods, author of “Nullification”, and Stewart Rhodes tours with their Nullify Now! program. Additionally Oath Keepers is working with Giordano Bruno’s Alternative Market Project. Read about it here -

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/03/17/introducing-the-alternative-market-movement/

Further, Oath Keepers embraces Larry Pratt’s Gun Owners of America (GOA) organization, Gary Marbut’s Montana Shooting Sports Association and Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO). We also promote the Fully Informed Jury Association which operates nationally from Helena, Montana. Discover their powerful message here –

http://fija.org/

Enjoy a LewRockwell.com feature article by one of FIJA’s founders, Don Doig, and Stewart Rhodes, writing in tandem –

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig12/doig1.1.1.html

Oath Keepers also has ties with, or maintains cooperative relations with, a number of other American liberty groups and organizations. These are too many to list here, but include the We The People Foundation For Constitutional Education, The John Birch Society, Chuck Baldwin’s ministries, our official Oath Keepers Chaplain Reverend Garrett Lear and his outreach mission, Nelson Hultberg’s Americans for a Free Republic, and many others. Being non-partisan and strictly Constitutionist, Oath Keepers is welcome in many circles, and Oath Keepers welcomes all Constitutional-oriented liberty groups and orgs.

As Oath Keepers marches forward on behalf of our Constitution and the Republic it founded we embrace also our patriotic American citizenry. Americans who have not served in the military, or on a fire department, or in law enforcement, are welcome to join Oath Keepers as Associate Members. Our troops and cops need to know that the American people support them and will stand for them if they are ever forced to refuse an unlawful order. Supporting the Oath Keepers mission by joining and then getting out there and approaching our cops and soldiers and firefighters to spread the message to them is very effective activism for any Constitutionalist. Associate members are a valued and needed force in Oath Keepers.

Support Oath Keepers. Join Oath Keepers. Work to reach and teach with Oath Keepers. Help Oath Keepers spread the word.

Salute!

Elias
May 2nd, 2011

http://www.oathkeepers.org/oath/

U.S. code talkers day salutes a proud legacy

By Alastair Lee Bitsoi
Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK, Aug. 13, 2011

(Times photo – Paul Natonabah)

Code talkers Frank Chee Willeto, left and John Kinsel wait for the parade to start in the parking lot of the Navajo Nation Museum during National Navajo Code Talker Day on Aug. 14, 2008.

U.S. code talkers day salutes a proud legacy

It took 37 years for the U.S. government to acknowledge the war efforts of the Navajo Code Talkers in World War II, when President Ronald Reagan in 1982 designated Aug. 14 as National Navajo Code Talkers Day.

On Sunday, Aug. 14, the Navajo Code Talkers Association and Department of Navajo Veterans Affairs will celebrate the holiday and honor the brave young Navajo men who answered the call to duty and helped devise an unbreakable military code.

The code, based on the Navajo language, helped the U.S. win battle after battle as it fought to retake the eastern Pacific from the Japanese. The code talkers returned home sworn to secrecy until 1968, when the government declassified the code 23 years after the war ended.

“It’s important that the accomplishment of this group of men is recognized because our language was used to change the tide of the war,” said David Nez, DNVA manager. “In Navajo society, we hold our warriors in high esteem and with this group, this is their day.”

On Wednesday, President Ben Shelly issued a proclamation naming Aug. 14-19 as Navajo Nation Code Talker’s Week.

“In honor of National Navajo Code Talkers Day, I ask all Americans to join us in commemorating our Navajo Code Talkers, by taking a moment to pray for our war heroes and the brave military men and women who protect all our people, our freedom and our land today,” Shelly said.

Wynette Arviso, who works with the code talker association, said the 2011 National Navajo Code Talkers Day honors all Native American veterans.

“These Marines were young boys when they went in and some of them lied about their ages to get in,” Arviso said. “If it weren’t for them, the U.S. wouldn’t have won World War II. It’s a fascinating story.”

While historians may debate that claim, there’s no dispute that the code, which made it impossible for the enemy to understand U.S. military communications, hastened the advance on the Japanese home islands.

In 1942, the Marine Corps recruited the first 29 Navajo Code Talkers. Of the original 29, only 90-year-old veteran Chester Nez remains to give a first-hand view of the development of the code.

Over the course of the war, more than 400 Navajos were trained as code talkers at a top-secret site at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and battle-ready radiomen were still being produced there when Japan surrendered in August 1945.

(Times photo – Paul Natonabah)

Navajo Code Talker George Smith stands during an honor song by Native American flutist Robert Tree Cody during ceremonies marking National Navajo Code Talker Day on Aug. 14, 2008, at Veterans Memorial Park in Window Rock.

 

Native American Flute, Song and Dance

As a traditional dancer, 6 foot 10 inch “Tree” traditional name Oou Kas Mah Qwet (Thunder Bear) is very active on the powwow circuit today as a northern traditional dancer, arena director and master of ceremonies.

SPECIAL REPORT: Symptoms of Tyranny, Oathkeepers in Arizona

SPECIAL REPORT: Symptoms of Tyranny, Oathkeepers in Arizona
Producer / Editor: Gary Franchi
Writers: Gary Franchi / Nina Police
Camera: Drew Phillips

An epidemic is sweeping the nation. In this special report, never seen on the mainstream news, we look at the symptoms of tyranny and take you to Arizona where the Oathkeepers converged to march for a fallen Marine. Jose Manuel Guerena was shot 61 times in his home when Pima County SWAT entered to serve a search warrant. You will get an inside look at the Oathkeepers memorial service where Stewart Rhodes and Sheriff Richard Mack spoke of the recent abuses, presented the widow with a plaque, and provided solutions on how you can overcome these symptoms of tyranny.

“I cannot think of a more unreasonable search than one that leaves you dead” – Stewart Rhodes – May 30, 2011

Jose Manuel Guerena

OATH KEEPERS MUSTER – Tucson Info Updated

May 25th, 2011

OATH KEEPERS MUSTER – Tucson Info

OATH KEEPERS MUSTER

Sheriff Mack and Stewart Rhodes On The March

(Updated 5-27-2011)

Vanessa Guerena

Late Thursday afternoon the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, responding to public records requests, released video and documents related to the shooting of Jose Guerena.

Mike Adams & Stewart Rhodes: Rally in Tucson Over Death of Young Marine Veteran Jose Guerena

Sheriff Richard Mack Memorial Day Address to Oathkeepers

Oath Keepers will muster at Tucson, Arizona, on Memorial Day, May 30, 2011.

What – An Oath Keepers muster. Oath Keepers and friends will muster and march to the home of Mrs. Vanessa Guerena for a ceremony of memoriam for her late husband Jose Guerena, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq war.

When – 8:00 a.m. sharp Monday morning Memorial Day, May 30, 2011

Where -  The intersection of West Valencia Road and South Wade Road. Take I-10 to I-19 South and exit West Valencia Road to South Wade Road, Tucson, Arizona. See below.

Who -  Oath Keepers is calling for all veterans, National Guardsmen, active duty military, current-serving peace officers, firefighters, retired public servants, gun owners, veterans organizations, civic organizations, church groups, student groups, and other patriotic Americans.

Why – To stand with Oath Keepers at a memorial service for Jose Guerena, a war veteran who was killed by law-enforcement gunfire in his home on May 05, 2011. We wish to honor Jose Guerena’s service to this nation and ensure that his death lights the spark which shall lawfully undo present-day policies which militarize our local peace officers and violate our veterans’ and gun owners’ Fourth Amendment rights.

Press contact – Arizona Oath Keepers state chapter President Ray Epps: 480-586-5145. Backup Press contact – Elias Alias – 406-285-6597 * eliasalias@gmail.com

The public is cordially invited to march and stand with Oath Keepers for this ceremony. All who cannot attend are encouraged to do what you can on Memorial Day in your own communities. A great example of local activity is given us by the Pahrump, Nevada Oath Keepers chapter. Enjoy reading their Proclamation here:

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/05/25/pahrump-oath-keepers-issue-proclamation/?cp=1#comment-29725

What you can do – Work with veterans and neighbors and community groups in your respective areas to ensure such Proclamations are brought before your local government officials and State officials. (You can do this anytime, it is not limited to only Memorial Day.)

*Work to establish oversight by your State government, your Attorney General, and your County Sheriffs’ offices to protect Fourth Amendment rights at the local level to provide accountability for intrusive police activities. Work to educate your neighbors and friends to the militarization of our local peace officers and help them see how such practices violate our Bill of Rights, including the Fourth Amendment. Recommend to your local government that police actions, especially S.W.A.T. activity, does not mimic the acts of criminals who execute home invasions. Remind everyone of the inherent dangers in accepting Federal funding and Federal training. Work to break the connection between Federal involvement and local control over our peace officer community. Educate everyone to the dangers in militarizing our local peace officers.

What we need from Tucson: Oath Keepers is seeking locally a volunteer drummer for this march, and a bugler for the ceremony. Oath Keepers would love to have a color guard from Tucson or Arizona, but we’ll take a color guard from wherever we can find one. If anyone wishes to volunteer to drum for this march, or to play taps on the bugle at the ceremony, please send us your message by going here – http://oathkeepers.org/oath/contact/ or call our Arizona Oath Keepers chapter President Ray Epps at 480-586-5145. Backup number 406-285-6597.

Oath Keepers will muster at 8:00 a.m. on the morning of Memorial Day, May 30, 2011, and will march at 8:30 a.m. to the home of Vanessa Guerena, the widow of Jose Guerena. Our procession will not permit late-comers to join after we begin the march, so make sure to be on time. Come early. Our march will begin at our rally point which is less than one mile from the Guerena home.

Our muster will be at the intersection of West Valencia Road and South Wade Road. Out of town marchers can find West Valencia Road by exiting Interstate  I-19 just south of Interstate I-10 at the exit for West Valencia Road.

Upon arrival at the intersection of West Valencia Road and South Wade Road, please park on the South side of Valencia. We would like to ask all drivers to park by backing in, instead of parallel parking, so as to reduce the length of parked cars. Thank you for remembering to do that.

Oath Keepers will not permit the carrying or displaying of signs during our march and memorial service.

Flags may be carried and displayed. Those who have Oath Keepers gear are invited to wear Oath Keeper shirts and hats, patches and pins. We are planning a somber and reverent march, respectful of the departed young former Marine and war veteran, with sincere sympathy for his wife and children. There shall be another time and place for political expression.

Oath Keepers will conduct a brief ceremony on the lawn outside Mrs. Guerena’s house to honor her husband’s military service and all military and police who have paid the ultimate price for this country’s continued freedom. We will extend our sympathies to Mrs. Guerena, and then march back to our muster area.

Other activities will be announced when we return to our muster area. There each marcher will be given hand-out fliers with our afternoon schedule, which Oath Keepers will distribute to all who march with us.

Note - It is important that all who wish to participate with Oath Keepers on Memorial Day be present at 8:00 a.m. sharp, for that is how everyone will receive our announcements regarding the afternoon’s activities.

There will be afternoon speakers, including Stewart Rhodes, founder and President of Oath Keepers, Major (ret.) Rex McTyeire, U.S. Special Forces veteran and President of Oath Keepers’ South Carolina chapter, and Sheriff Richard Mack, former Sheriff from Arizona, among others. A number of Oath Keepers officers will be arriving from out of State.

The afternoon events will carry a political nature as Oath Keepers officially denounces the practice of deploying militarized SWAT teams to serve warrants on military veterans and gun owners who, like Jose Guerena, have no prior criminal record. Oath Keepers will inspire Americans to uphold the Fourth Amendment. Oath Keepers salutes our finest, our peace officers and our soldiers, with sincere gratitude for their service, but Oath Keepers stands against the Policy of using militarized SWAT units for routine law enforcement procedures.

We must take a stand against the use of SWAT or other militarized units against gun owners and veterans who have no violent crime history, and that stand needs to be a firm one. Come make a stand with us. Veterans, here is a place to stand for a righteous cause – bring your veteran groups and friends.

Therefore, Oath Keepers is going to rally to honor this young Marine’s military service in war in the morning hours, using this occasion to also honor all of America’s fallen heroes, and then move into other locations to express our opposition to the destruction of our liberty, our support of the Fourth Amendment as written, and our opposition to this policy of using SWAT teams to serve mere search warrants on gun owners and veterans who have no violent criminal record.

Here is a closing word from Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers  –

“What better way to honor our war dead and veterans this Memorial Day than to defend our Constitution and our God given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which is what they all fought, bled, and died for? This policy of using SWAT to serve search warrants on veterans and gun owners simply because they are armed, and where there is no long history of violent crime, has got to stop. I think taking a stand over the use of SWAT against this young Marine in Tucson is a good place to start.” – Stewart Rhodes

-

Check for updates on this information at the “Announcements” section of our front page on our national web site, www.oathkeepers.org/

Questions may be sent online here – http://oathkeepers.org/oath/contact/

The following two links will provide more detailed understanding about our Memorial Day events in Tucson, Arizona:

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/05/21/oath-keepers-to-rally-in-tucson-on-memorial-day-over-death-of-young-marine-veteran/

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/2011/05/16/an-empire-strikes-home-_-part-one/

Meet some of our Board of Directors – http://oathkeepers.org/oath/bios/

Sheriff Richard Mack – http://www.sheriffmack.com/

Oath Keepers National – http://www.oathkeepers.org/oath/

Semper Fidelis Jose Guerena!

May 21st, 2011

Oath Keepers to Rally in Tucson on Memorial Day Over Death of Young Marine Veteran

CALLING ALL OATH KEEPERS, ALL VETERANS, ALL PATRIOTIC POLICE OFFICERS, ALL GUN OWNERS, AND ALL LIBERTY LOVING AMERICANS.

This is an urgent call-out to all Oath Keepers, all veterans, all patriotic police officers, all Americans who cherish our liberty and our Constitution, and to all liberty leaders and patriotic organizations to join us in Tucson, Arizona this Memorial Day, May 30, 2011 to take a stand in defense of our Constitution, which our war dead fought to defend, and to take a stand against the egregious policy of using SWAT teams to serve search warrants on veterans and gun owners with no violent criminal history.

Tucson Interview of Jose Guerena Coworker at Memorial Day OathKeeper Event

Courtesy of Oath Keeper Psychictaxi

Hundreds march in protest for Jose Guerena

Video

http://www.kvoa.com/videoplayer/?video_id=5792&categories=

Group protests SWAT death of Tucson Marine

Video

http://www.azfamily.com/home/Group-protests-SWAT-death-of-Tucson-Marine-122846839.html

,

Group marches in support of Jose Guerena
http://www.kvoa.com/news/group-march…8%2C0#comments

Stewart Rhodes speaking at the hotel in Tuscon, AZ

Sheriff Richard Mack speaking at the hotel in Tuscon, AZ

Neighbors, family gather outside ex-Marine’s house

.

An Empire Strikes Home-Part One

An Empire Strikes Home-Part One

May 16th, 2011

Forenote: This article focuses on the recent killing of a former U.S. Marine  veteran of the Iraq war in a military styled raid on his home by the Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Department while allegedly attempting to serve a warrant.

However, there are two other striking stories which relate to this story. The three stories taken together create a yet larger story, and one with very serious implications. I will break the larger story into three sub-sections, parts one through three.  I will post two other parts as quickly as I can write each of them. Please check back at this site for the next installments, and do grant yourself permission to read part one in full.

Jose Huerena R.I.P.

On The Militarization Of Local Peace Officers

By Elias Alias, May 16, 2011

Let us examine some articles about a young husband and father, a war veteran with the U.S. Marines who served two tours in Iraq. The articles are about his being killed by the Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Department while the Sheriff’s Department was serving a warrant at the former Marine’s house.

On May 05, 2011 KGUN9 in Tucson, Arizona, reported the following information to its audience:

PCSD ID’s man killed in morning SWAT situation

Posted: May 05, 2011 11:47 AM MDT

Updated: May 06, 2011 11:20 AM MDT

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed that a man is dead after a standoff and gun battle with deputies.

Jason Ogan, spokesperson with PCSD tells KGUN9 that 26-year-old Jose Huerena was the suspect killed this morning.

According to Ogan, deputies were serving a warrant at a home near Valenica Road and Wade Road when the standoff started.  A woman and a child were also in the home with the suspect at the time the warrant was served.  Howeverm [sic] they were able to get out of the house before the SWAT team became involved.

When deputies fianlly entered the home, the Huerena started firing with a long rifle.  Deputies fired back, fatally shooting him.

That article is here –

http://www.kgun9.com/story/14580187/tpd-confirms-second-swat-situation-in-two-days

-

As I read the above article, I gather that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department was using “deputies” to serve a warrant.  At the home of the man for whom the alleged warrant was issued, a man ended up dead after “a standoff and gun battle with deputies”.  The “suspect” was, as I read this story, involved in a “standoff”. That means to me that he was barricaded inside his home and keeping the officers outside his house by some means or other, with the most likely implied meaning being his brandishing of a long rifle.  We don’t know for sure at this point who “the Huerena” would be, but we figure that is actually Jose Huerena, the suspect for whom the warrant was issued, who fired on the deputies “with a long rifle”. At that point, after the suspect fired on them, they opened fire and killed him.

All in a day’s work, yes?

Before moving to the next news release about this shooting incident, in which fortunately no peace officers were harmed, let us recount that an armed suspect fired on the deputies who were there to serve a warrant, as told to the news journalist by … well, by whom? We must presume that the report came from the Sheriff’s Department for Pima County, right? In fact, the article clearly states that one “Jason Ogan, spokesperson with PCSD” told KGUN9 that Jose Huerena was the suspect who was shot dead, and that deputies were serving a warrant at Huerena’s house when the standoff started.

We’ll bear that in mind.

But later and to our surprise, we’re to read a somewhat different account.  Let’s look at the subsequent report:

SWAT Officers kill armed suspect, neighbors shocked

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – At around 9:45 Thursday morning, people living near Valencia and Ajo Highway heard sounds that they’ve never heard on their street before.

“Gunshots. Boom, boom boom. Screaming!” described a neighbor.  “It kind of looks like a scene from Law & Order.  To see all of this is just crazy!”

Pima County Sheriff’s deputies told KGUN9 News that the SWAT team showed up at the home to serve a search warrant, although they won’t say the reason for the warrant. Deputies said that when they went down the hallway, they were greeted by Jose Guerena, 26, who was armed with a rifle. Deputies said that he opened fire on the officers which forced them to fire back, killing Guerena. The bulletproof shield that officers were carrying took the brunt of the bullets. They were not hurt.

“We are trained to always be on alert because you never know when a scenario is going to change.  We don’t always know what the bad guy is going to do.”said Pima County Deputy, Jason Ogan.  “The SWAT team is used deliberately for high risk type warrants, this met that criteria and that’s why the SWAT team served the warrant.”

Ogan said that Guerena’s wife and four year old son were not hurt.

Neighbors who spoke to 9 On Your Side had no idea why the SWAT team was serving a warrant on the house.

“Being out here so close to the border, it could have been anything from drugs to human smuggling,” one neighbor said.  He added that the Guerena family was the “quiet family” on the street.

Guerena’s home was eventually searched, but deputies would not disclose what was found.

- end quoted passages -

-

Now we see it was not just any old run-of-the-mill Sheriff’s deputies who showed up to serve the warrant, but instead was a highly specialized sort of Sheriff’s deputies – the County Sheriff’s S.W.A.T. team.

So I’ve got a question at this point. Why did Sheriff’s deputy Jason Ogan in the first article we read above say it was “deputies” when in fact it was S.W.A.T. team members? There is a difference.  S.W.A.T. is the elite of law enforcement. They are truly militarized, trained hard and intensely in “procedures” and “tactics” as if the American homes they’ll assault are battlegrounds. This mindset is perfected and driven home into their loyal brains by repeated training and indoctrination. It is a mindset which is viewed by the “authorities” to be vital and necessary for good men involved in bad work, such as assaulting the homes of American citizens. They are trained to obey all orders instantly, and to take it up with superiors later if they think they were given a bad order.

Perhaps in his role as “spokesman” for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Ogan felt or intuited in his first report of the incident that “deputies” sounded more benign, somehow a bit more acceptable, than just blurting out that the S.W.A.T. team had stormed the house of a citizen and shot him dead.

But it would have been okay, even if he had told the full colorful version of the story, since the suspect had fired on the S.W.A.T. team as they were simply serving a warrant.  After all, we do know that law enforcement offices around the nation are given regular profile updates on “extremists” and “lone wolf radicals” and “anti-government” misfits of nefarious ilk. We also know that the Department of Homeland Security has published its opinion that returning veterans from America’s numerous foreign wars are primary objects for extra police scrutiny because they get kinky in their brains sometimes and think they’ve seen something wrong with how the Federal government administers itself upon the American people and especially how it administers itself upon foreign peoples in various countries. This of course would make our returning war vets highly susceptible to radical or extreme views. That, and of course the combat vets know damn well how to use firepower, same as or better than many cops who’ve not been in combat.

So we must ask, did the Pima County Sheriff’s Department pass this kind of government propaganda, which demonizes our war heroes, our veterans of foreign wars who served this nation by placing their lives on the line in combat zones around the world, on to the deputies and the S.W.A.T. unit members of the PCSD? We may never know, because DHS and the Fusion Centers prefer to keep these kinds of profiling of citizens secret. We can know that there are very solid grounds to ask that question, and I do not want that question to be lost in the shuffle of what’s to come later in this article.

In this second article, we learn more details, thanks to not only Deputy Ogan but also to other deputies. We learn that “the SWAT team showed up at the home to serve a search warrant, although they won’t say the reason for the warrant.” Of course everyone knows that the reason, the warrant, is only to be known by those with a need to know, and the public has no need to know, so the Sheriff’s Department hasn’t anything to tell us, in this second report,  about the warrant, about just what the warrant accused the dead man. The authorities know, but they had no interest in the public’s knowing the details of a warrant which warranted a freshly dead citizen. But my God, it could have been – DRUGS!

I’m supposing that it’s common practice to go about serving warrants with S.W.A.T. teams in Arizona.  That is probably a good thing, at least in this case, for the deputies have told KGUN9 tv news that when they “went down the hallway, they were greeted by Jose Guereno, 26, who was armed with a rifle. Deputies said that he opened fire on the officers which forced them to fire back, killing Guerena. The bulletproof shield that officers were carrying took the brunt of the bullets. They were not hurt.”

My goodness, he might have shot one of them. Thankfully, they had shields which “took the brunt of the bullets”.  Note that the deputies stated, or are quoted as saying, that the shields took the brunt of more than one bullet, for they used the word’s plural spelling, “bullets” with an “s”. The “s” is an embellishment, no? It lends yet more to the story. Here is a guy who has a long gun and is suddenly firing not just once but multiple times at the peace officers who had barged into his home.

But that’s okay, in a way, because S.W.A.T. trains for unexpected shifts in “scenarios”. Each new home invasion has its own unique set of circumstances, its own special challenges, its own list of variables which are to be accounted for in planning a S.W.A.T. operation. They call such raids “scenarios”.  Here is how Deputy Ogan put it, precisely –

“We are trained to always be on alert because you never know when a scenario is going to change.”

See? They’re trained to see home invasions as “scenarios”.  That is because they are specialists and because they have been militarized psychologically. I say that because in the S.W.A.T. team members’ heads, a home invasion is an “operation”.  That’s how soldiers see that kind of work.  And that is how an increasing number of our local peace officers across the nation are seeing it, because an increasing river of Federal funding continues to grow its way into our Counties, such as Pima County, Arizona.

Along with that funding comes training, courtesy of Federal programs. The local peace officer becomes psychologically cognizant of a more professional approach to law enforcement. He has, through Federal grace and Fusion Centers, a notion of interface with the U.S. military, which also is being schooled and trained to interface with local law enforcement.  So it’s obvious that a common perception of a common chain of command with a common set of tactics and training “scenarios” is called for. We are after all in modern times, and all that.

But Deputy Ogan was happy to say plenty to the news journalists. Look at what he said next –

“We don’t always know what the bad guy is going to do”, said Pima County Deputy, Jason Ogan.

And that brings up an interesting point as well. The training S.W.A.T. team members receive seems to paint any citizen who is the object of a warrant-serving scenario is to be automatically seen as “the bad guy”. Pretty simple symbology, that.  If there is a warrant, the intended recipient of that warrant must be “the bad guy”. Case closed, no judge and jury required.  Were it not so, the system would not send a S.W.A.T. team to serve the warrant, right? Of course. Deputy Ogan spells that out for us too, in his following sentence –

“The SWAT team is used deliberately for high risk type warrants, this met that criteria and that’s why the SWAT team served the warrant.”

So we may deduce that a criteria was studied and the suspect was considered to be a “high risk type”. That does cause me to wonder how the warrant named his crime, and I wish the Sheriff would elucidate on the particulars of how this was viewed to be a “high risk type warrant”.

There is a reason why I wonder such things. It has to do with this –

http://www.kgun9.com/story/14602951/swat-team-fatal

From there –

SWAT team fatal shooting update: Suspect did not fire weapon

Posted: May 09, 2011 5:12 PM MDT Updated: May 09, 2011 5:13 PM MDT

Reporter: Jessica Chapin

TUCSON (KGUN9- TV) - The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is releasing new information in the May 5 officer involved shooting case that resulted in 26-year-old Jose Guerona’s death.

Further investigation reveals Guerena did not shoot at the deputies before they returned fire.

The SWAT Team shot and killed Guerena Thursday morning after he pointed an assault rifle at officers who were trying to deliver a warrant.  The rifle had the safety on, but was loaded.

Guerena’s wife and 4-year-old son were also at home but they were not injured.

The sheriff’s department is still investigating.

- End -

Well damn.

That sorta changes things, we reckon.

Let’s be clear, regarding one sentence above – one cannot “return fire” when one has not been fired upon. The truth here could be that Guerena was first officially said to have fired “bullets” at the S.W.A.T. deputies, now we’re told that he did not fire a shot.

We were told by the Sheriff’s Department that the S.W.A.T. shields deflected the shots so that no deputy was injured. Remember that? Now we’re told by that same Sheriff’s Department that the man did not fire a single round at the S.W.A.T. team. What can we make of that?

I imagine it’s just the fog of war. Another militarization of the local peace officer – when one screws up, one obfuscates, just like Deputy Ogan has done, on the record no less. A good question at this point would be from whom Deputy Ogan got his story’s details. Did he just make up those lies himself, or did someone tell him what the story would be? Caught in a total self-contradiction in the news media, on the record, is an automatic waiver of any immunity, especially when a citizen’s death hangs in the balance. Killing a U.S. Marine veteran and lying about it is a grave situation.

There is more.

Here is another revelation:

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_d7d979d4-f4fb-5603-af76-0bef206f8301.html

SWAT team fired 71 shots in raid

Fernanda Echavarri Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, May 11, 2011 12:00 am

From the article –

The Pima County Regional SWAT team fired 71 shots in seven seconds at a Tucson man they say pointed a gun at officers serving a search warrant at his home.

Jose Guerena, 26, a former Marine who served in Iraq twice, was holding an AR-15 rifle when he was killed, but he never fired a shot, the Sheriff’s Department said Monday after initially saying he had fired on officers during last week’s raid. (snip)

Now let’s look at this story from the perspective of the widow. Continuing from story linked above.

Vanessa Guerena says she heard noise outside their home about 9 a.m. Thursday and woke her husband who had just gone to bed after working a 12-hour shift at the Asarco Mine, she said. There were no sirens or shouts of “police,” she said.

Guerena told his wife and son to hide inside a closet and he grabbed the AR-15 rifle, his wife said.

The department says SWAT members were clear when identifying themselves while entering the home.

“Tucson is notorious for home invasions and we didn’t want to look like that,” said Lt. Michael O’Connor of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. “We went lights and sirens and we absolutely did not do a ‘no-knock’ warrant.”

When five SWAT members broke through the front door Guerena was crouched down pointing the gun at them, said O’Connor.

“The suspect said, ‘I’ve got something for you,’ when he saw them,” O’Connor said. Guerena’s wife denied he said that.

Deputies began shooting.

A deputy’s bullet struck the side of the doorway, causing chips of wood to fall on his shield. That prompted some members of the team to think the deputy had been shot, O’Connor said.

The Sheriff’s Department put in a call to Drexel Heights fire at 9:43 a.m. requesting assistance with a shooting. But crews were told to hold off.

Guerena was dead by the time they were allowed in the house, fire officials said.

Vanessa Guerena vividly remembers seeing her wounded husband.

“When I came out the officers dragged me through the kitchen and took me outside, and that’s when I saw him laying there gasping for air,” Vanessa Guerena said. “I kept begging the officers to call an ambulance that maybe he could make it and that my baby was still inside.”

The little boy soon after walked out of the closet on his own. SWAT members took him outside to be with his mother.

“I never imagined I would lose him like that, he was badly injured but I never thought he could be killed by police after he served his country,” Vanessa Guerena said.

- end –

Here is more -

http://www.kgun9.com/story/14621212/marine-killed-by-swat-was-acting-in-defense-says-family

From that link:

Former Marine killed by SWAT was acting in defense, family says

Posted: May 10, 2011 7:14 PM MDT Updated: May 13, 2011 5:40 PM MDT

Reporter: Joel Waldman

Web Producer: Layla Tang

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - New details are emerging about Jose Guerena, the man killed last Thursday in a SWAT incident at his Tucson home. He was gunned down by SWAT members while his wife and young child hid in a closet.

Now, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has taken responsibility for the fatal shooting. The SWAT team said it was just executing a narcotics search warrant when Guerena threatened officers with a military rifle. But the Sheriff’s Department has changed its story on whether Guerena actually fired at anyone.

On Tuesday, candles and tributes to Guerena could be seen outside his home.  Family members said the 26-year-old former Marine served two tours of duty in Iraq.  A smashed window and a barrage of bullet holes might be the type of scene a battle-hardened Marine would find in a war zone but not the Tucson home he shared with his two children and wife.  Guerena’s wife, Vanessa, said her husband died thinking he was protecting his family from an invasion.

“I saw this guy pointing me at the window.  So, I got scared.  And, I got like, ‘Please don’t shoot, I have a baby.’ I put my baby (down). (And I) put bag in window. And, I yell ‘Jose! Jose! Wake up!’” she explained.

Jose had just come home from working at the mine.  Vanessa said he had fallen asleep two hours before, only to wake up to chaos in his house. It was Pima County SWAT executing a narcotics conspiracy search warrant, but according to her, neither she nor her husband knew it was the authorities until it was too late.

“You’re saying only (they) yelled SWAT after the shootout?” asked KGUN9 reporter Joel Waldman.

“Oh, yes! Yes,” said Guerena.

[Elias note: Let’s break in this story right here long enough to note something significant. The wife of the dead Marine veteran is saying that the invading S.W.A.T. deputies did not yell their identity until after the shooting began. So this aspect of the case is in contest. That is not good for the Sheriff’s Department, because the Sheriff’s Department has already demonstrated that it will state false information as if it were truth. The Sheriff’s Department is the only side of this argument which has already established itself as being capable of lying. Thus far, Mrs. Huerena has not had to retract any of her statements, while the Sheriff’s Department has.]

(continuing from article) Vanessa said Jose grabbed a gun to protect himself from what he thought were home invaders.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Office denies that officers failed to identify themselves.  Lt. Michael O’Connor told KGUN9’s Joel Waldman that the SWAT team has a standard procedure when serving high-risk search warrants of this nature designed to prevent the suspect from confusing officers with criminal home invaders.   “We will have a lot police vehicles there, with their lights and their sirens on.  In this case… because it was a narcotics high risk type of a search warrant, we had our large armored vehicle there with the markings on it.  It also has lights and sirens, it was going.  So we do everything we can to portray the image that we are law enforcement, we are not home invaders.”

O’Connor also said emphatically that this was not a “no knock” raid.  “This case was, we came in very high profile, lights and sirens.  We go to the door, we pound on the door.  We wait approximately 15 seconds.  If no one answers the door, we breach the door with a heavy tool and open the door.”

The officer said that when the SWAT team got the door open, they found Guerena crouched in the hall pointing an assault rifle at them.   According to O’Connor, Guerena said, “”I have something for you!”  He said that Guerena “brought this all on himself by presenting himself the way he did.”

Guerena’s relatives disagree.  “Now, they’re saying this now that they admitted for him not shooting back (SIC). They want to throw more dirt on him,” said cousin Oscar Garcia.

Garcia is referring to the issue [ of ] the change [ in the ] story about whether Guerena fired his gun.  Initially investigators reported that he had, but then later, they corrected that statement and said that Guerena had not gotten off a shot.  Deputies confirmed that Guerena’s safety was still on when his gun was recovered. Also, officials said that reports that some SWAT officers’ shields were riddled with bullets are also untrue. (snip)

- end quoted passages –

Additional reading:

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_b3177522-baa0-5c9e-9f0d-d3d7da6e9e4b.html

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What can we say about all of this? I think, personally, that someone somewhere might see good cause to establish a fund for Mrs. Huerena’s two children, who now have been deprived of a father by the government.

We have learned, if we are to believe everything we read, that Mr. Huerena’s warrant was related to “conspiracy” and to “narcotics”.  We wonder if the people will be able to see that warrant. We wonder if the others supposedly involved in that conspiracy will be named. We wonder if they will be giving statements, whether coerced or volunteered. We wonder how many years it shall take the S.W.A.T. team members to mature in their personal wisdom, each of them who pulled a trigger in this home invasion, enough to realize that the war on drugs is not lawful and cannot be justified in the U.S. Constitution, and that what they did the day they killed this young father, young husband, young new-home owner, young war veteran, they violated something very sacred, something which is supposed to be protected by our women and men who wear the uniforms, badges, and guns of law enforcement.

Their training produces a mind-set which is so intense, so reinforced, so strongly structured that some of them may never become human again. Perhaps a few will sober up in later years, come down from their perpetual adrenalin high, and realize that they were duped into being strong-arms for a corrupt government program which is working to destroy the U.S. Constitution which they swore to uphold and protect.

While this incident is very damning, we must recall that this incident is but a tiny fraction of the great number of S.W.A.T. team mis-applications in this nation. Innocent citizens have been brutalized, tormented, and even shot to death by government agents acting like storm troopers in the so-called war on drugs. And I’m guessing that hardly a one of the guys with the guns who are conducting such assaults ever looks into the Constitutionality of this kind of thing. I’m guessing that they will be old men and women before they realize that in enforcing anti-drug laws they are assisting the government in its claim to own the citizen.

How can I say that? Easy. A free American citizen has full Constitutional rights, including an unalienable right to complete ownership of one’s body and one’s mind. It has to be that way, and the government has to admit it ultimately, because it is written into our nation’s founding legal documents. It is amplified in the letters and writings of this nation’s founders. It is enshrined in numerous Supreme Court rulings. And it is simple common sense. If government can own one’s body, one is not free. This nation’s government declares incessantly that Americans are “free”. To be free, one must accept full ownership of, and responsibility for, one’s body and one’s mind.

When government would tell anyone what one may or may not put into one’s body, government has at that point exceeded its authority and violated its own founding legal charter and nullified the compact between the several sovereign States of the compact. There is no authority for the government to own anyone’s body, nor to dictate what one may or may not ingest into one’s body. Self ownership is an unalienable right. Government is wrong about the war on drugs.

And that is where we should close part one of this article. There is another very interesting story just out, and that story involves the same scenario – a police raid on a citizen’s home and whether or not the home owner has lawful right to defend himself against an unlawful assault by law enforcement. Seems the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that the cops can do as they wish, make any mistake on a warrant or an address, and the home-owner is liable if he tries to defend his home against an unlawful attack by the cops. I will post Part Two shortly.

Copyright 2011 Elias Alias and Oath Keepers