American Liberty

When most people think of high powered agencies that work for the federal government, the one that most people know about is the obvious Federal Reserve Board. I started to wonder what other agencies worked for the federal government without actually belonging to it, and found the list staggering and just plain unbelievable. It includes the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communication Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Social Security Administration, US Joint Forces Command, Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Postal Service. Yet the two that disturb me the most are the Federal Election Commission, and the Central Intelligence Agency itself. http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/agency/independent-agencies.html

All of the above said agencies are listed as Federal Agencies, yet have the title ‘Independent’ tacked to them. The government defines such agencies as “Independent establishments created by Congress to address concerns that go beyond the scope of ordinary legislation. These agencies are responsible for keeping the government and economy running smoothly.” http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/Independent.shtml

So they are created by congress, given power, and then absorb the additional privilege of going outside of the legislative scope. Now call me suspicious, but does anyone else see a problem with this? We had CIA meddling (along with the UN) that allowed 9-11. We have a Federal Reserve Board who sets monetary policy (I know they claim otherwise, but let’s be honest shall we?), and creates instability in the markets that would not otherwise exist on such a mass scale. The FEC (Federal Elections Commission) who “has exclusive jurisdiction over the civil enforcement of the federal campaign finance law. In exercising that authority, the Commission uses a variety of methods to uncover possible election law violations.” You have the FCC who is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable.

I could go on and on but hopefully I do not have to. Agencies all independent of legislative action that regulate everything from the lowliest penny in your pocket to the information you get, to the way you get it. You have no say in all of this even if your congressman wanted it. On top of being paid for via government funds, these agencies are often allowed to impose fines, and collect resources in a manner not legal for the individual citizen. Quite the contrary. If you wanted to print money because you ran out, it would be called counterfeiting. If you assassinated a potential political opponent you would be convicted of murder. If you forced people to pay you money because you did not like what they had to say, you would be charged with racketeering. If you spread outright lies obvious to the masses about your political opponent, you would be charged with libel and fixing an election (should your guy get in). If you took money forcibly from another generation by force to fund your retirement and leisure promising a return, you would be guilty of theft and ponzi scheme fraud.

Point is, everything is aloud and legal – just not for you. You are fed a little information, and expected to make a choice on what information you receive as to who will govern you. Then this elected ‘official’ will be placed into office, and have no say at all into ANY of the 90 agencies that actually do govern you. Your elected official will not even be allowed to see their books so to speak. Ever hear of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)? You guessed it – controlled by the FCC, not the congress – so if you ever make a petition to get anything on the independent agencies themselves, never expect a full explanation – trust me – you will only get what they want you to get. And if you feel that data is missing from the report the FOIA issued to you, then you can petition your congressman all you want, and they will not be able to do a blasted thing.

Sadly enough, as powerful as these agencies are, we must remember that they were enacted by officials that we the people elected. Even social security, the same fund that we involuntarily pay into every month that is supposed to pay for our old age is independent.

Funny thing about these agencies is that they were all enacted by congress either under secrecy, or through amazing political power plays. The CIA was enacted in 1947 via a provision in the National Security Act to make the most powerful intelligence agency this world has ever known. It seemed to make sense at first – the more information you have, the better decisions you can make. Yet as all things, once a tool is created, it cannot be truly independent. It needs guidance from somewhere, and if it lacks guidance, is useless. The director of such an agency needs to show results to someone to keep the agency funded. Therefore it is in the agencies best interest to side with the political interest of the day whenever possible. On the flip side, you can never truly be audited, have insane discretionary powers, and have very little restriction. I would call this a problem.

I would touch on the Federal Reserve, but Creature From Jekyll Island and End the Fed did a much better job of that then I ever could.

Yet the FCC – who would have thought? The nannies of the communication – have they really done any good? Has language improved? No. And if you go to their website, that is not their ‘showcase material’ either. It was the communications they claim to have maintained during 9-11. Ummm – straw man anyone? And what services do they provide that they are so proud of today? Check it out:

· Your child plays with a radio-controlled airplane,

· Your teenager upstairs sends their homework assignment to the printer downstairs via your new wireless home network,

· Your toll fee is automatically deducted from the little plastic box attached to your windshield without having to stop at the booth,

· You swipe your credit card at the gasoline pump,

· You push the button on your garage door opener,

· You heat your breakfast waffle in the microwave,

· The cashier at the coffee shop rings up your favorite morning drink using an electronic cash register and inventory control system,

· The local video store contacts its remote, central computer network to find out if you have enough bonus points to qualify for a free rental,

· You lock your car with your remote entry system,

· You activate your home alarm system before going to bed.

In other words – there is no technology in your control that they do not have on record, or a monitor on. They then go on even further to say “whether by radio, television, wire, satellite, or cable – the day-to-day reality may be that there is no more ubiquitous presence in the lives of most Americans than the FCC-regulated communications industries.” Just like the CIA, the FCC has a tremendous amount of power, and if used correctly, could do a lot of good. Yet can anyone tell me with a straight face that they actually believe that?

I cannot morally justify any of this. All these agencies act with Federal authority. On a small scale, any damaging policy set forth by either of them is virtually nothing, yet in a country with over 300 million people? You see the problem with a large agency of any kind is it has more room for error. The more centralized it is to itself, the less it has in common with you or I. Soon corruption comes not in the form of bribes or deliberate acts against the US, but in a snowball effect. Every action has a reaction. Due to the nature of these agencies, the perceived level of mistakes must be kept to a minimum. This leads to cover-ups when something unexpected happens, and they cannot explain it away. The longer it is covered up, and the more people get involved, the dirtier it becomes.

We were told it is for our protection. People do not mind protection at minimal cost. It allows them to live pretty much how they want to within perceived reason, and be blissfully ignorant of what transpires behind the scenes. Then it gets to a point where the agencies go quiet. No one really hears anything from them as they are going according to plan. Then a mistake happens. The agencies name is brought to the headlines, but because the details are never published in their entirety, their supporters say it was a minor thing – that there is nothing to worry about. Others sense something more, and through years of study know that something is not right – and they are the skeptics. Still others have an idea of what really happened based off of the very limited amount of facts they are fed, and claim that the government is guilty of treason – they are called conspiracy theorists. As crazy as it sounds, at any given point in time, they are all correct as what effects one person will not adversely affect another – this is called collateral.

Yet because no one person really knows what happened from every side, you will always have your believers, your skeptics, and your conspiracy theorists. So divided is the mindset between them that they lack the unity needed to disband any of these agencies, no matter how detrimental they may actually be to the country. So embedded is the status quo mindset in our society, that these independent agencies go largely unquestioned. After all, you still have the DHS, IRS, DOE, DOD, and countless other ‘on the book’ agencies pulling so much nonsense that few if any really have time to address the others.

I am not happy to say it America, but this is what we have. No system is perfect. Yet the more power you give to the central system, the more you embolden the bad habits of the individual states that comprise it. The more power the state gains, the more the people lose in every way. The process is so deep that we stand on the brink waiting for the one little spark to ignite this powder keg, and everything blows up in a flurry of confusion. So to all those out there who think that things are getting better – just remember – it’s what you don’t know and are too lazy to learn that will bite you when you least expect it.