The Federal Government is Involved in Piracy -
Again!

September 4, 2007

Hello, Folks;

I submit to you that Congress should be disbanded, in its entirety, for instituting a plan of piracy on the high seas.

Please read the case of U.S. v. Bravo, 489 F.3d 1(1st Circuit 2007).

In this case you will read about the ship named El Conquistador, found sitting "dead in the water" about 180 nautical miles south of Santo Domingo. The ship was found by a Coast Guard cutter named Dependable.

The Coast Guard contacted Columbia who stated they never heard of the M/V El Conquistador. The Coast Guard then boarded the ship, found marijuana, and arrested the crew, one of whom was Mr. Bravo.

The basis for the entire episode was the Congressional enactment of "The Maritime Drug Enforcement Act, 46 USC §1903 (c).

What this enactment does is attempt to legitimize what is, in fact, piracy on the high seas by U.S. forces; acts that if done in the past, were outright piracy under international law.

Now I do not approve of drug smuggling as a way of life. However, it is abundantly clear that the so-called war on drugs has failed miserably. There are more drugs than ever on our streets and more people than ever in prison. Somehow that equation makes clear that we, as a nation, are not doing things correctly to stem the problem.

The point I make is that the El Conquistador was far from our shores. There is no evidence it was bound for America in the first place. They did not ask for help from the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard simply used §1903 as the reason to make an armed attack on the ship and seize the crew and cargo.

This is piracy, no matter how one attempts to justify it.

It is not, to my way of thinking, appropriate to call a duck a horse and attempt to pull the wool over people's eyes in what is a misguided effort to stop the flow of drugs into this country.

Unfortunately this is exactly what Congress has done in passing §1903, and it is unjustifiable ethically or morally, and the American people shouldn't stand for it.

These lawyers who run Congress are, in my opinion, criminals hiding behind the sham of being elected to Office. Remember the old adage, "By their acts you shall know them"?

Well, folks, by their acts, Congress has shown itself to be a criminal enterprise that we don't need in this land. Time to show them the door by not voting for them or anyone else. Tell them "We are tired, and you are fired!"

Support the No Vote Party, our nation's best chance to undo the harm done by government.

D. Tom