Thomas Jefferson
Remember Congressman Daniel Rostenkowski, an Illinois Democrat, who pleaded guilty in federal
court to two counts of mail fraud and was sentenced to 17 months in prison and $100,000 in
fines back in 1996?
Rostenkowski was indicted on 17 counts of violations of Federal laws, pleaded guilty to two
counts and went to a 'country club' prision, drawing his $10,000 a month Congressional Pension,
until his recent pardon by President Clinton. See Mr. Rostenkowski's wild ride in D.C
From 1971 to 1981, after receiving his Masters degrees, Jim Traficant served as the director
of the Mahoning County (Ohio) Drug Program. He was elected Sheriff of Mahoning County in 1980
and served in that capacity until he won his seat in the United States House of Representatives
in 1984. Congressman Traficant has served in the House
of Representatives since his first election to that august body in 1984. In this past election,
even with five people running for his seat, when he had publicly predicted that a Federal
indictment was imminent, Congressman Traficant won by some 50% of the vote in his district!
It was during his tenure as Sheriff that Jim Traficant first encountered and irritated a certain
FBI agent. This agent ultimately saw to it that Jim Traficant was indicted on Federal Racketeering
charges, commonly know as RICO, in the early 1980's.
He is the only person in the United States who, representing himself in Federal Court, has
beaten the Government Attorneys in a RICO case. Most of us understand that Government Attorneys
and FBI agents are not apt to forget such a humiliating experience.
The same FBI official who initially brought the charges against Jim Traficant back in the 1980's
is the man in charge of the present investigation. What has Congressman Traficant done to raise
the ire of the FBI between 1983 and the present? Could the humiliation of a previous loss
account for this dogged pursuit of many years duration? Are there still other humiliating issues
that add fuel to the fire?
Congressman Traficant's 'one minute speeches' from the House Floor attack any and every wrong
that he sees in ANY government agency. No one is exempt when Jim Traficant feels that the
citizens are suffering from governmental abuse, inefficiency, or stupidity!
It is obvious that Congressman Traficant is a 'thorn in the sides' of Congress, the FBI, the IRS
and any other entity that he 'sheds light on'! His daily 'one minutes' neglect no government entity
that, in his opinion, requires the light of day!
Congressman Traficant's one minute speeches in Congress show his fearlessness in bringing the
truth out and into the Congressional Record on a daily basis. No one is immune if they need to
have sunshine placed on their actions!
James A Traficant Jr., "THE ONE-MINUTE MAN", is famous for his colorful, original, and
often highly controversial 'one minute speeches' that are a daily routine from the floor of
the U.S. House of Representatives.
It is these daily speeches that endear Congressman Traficant to those of us who are tired of
'politics as usual' and find in him a person who speaks 'for jobs in the USA', 'for scrutinizing
actions of government agencies', 'for taking strong action against drug abuse', and 'for
protecting our Country's borders'!
Congressman Traficant is against any strong-arm tactics of Government officials levelled at any
citizen. He is against waste, fraud, and abuse in Government agencies. This consistent
behavior in blowing the whistle on our own Government's flagrant inadequacies has been rejected
by the Democratic Party and the Republicans keep Jim at arms length. It is unfortunate that a
Congressman behaving as a statesman and not a compliant politician is unacceptable to either
party.
We've taken the time to provide you with some of these 'one minutes' in four categories. We
believe that you will be both entertained and informed by reading them. They may help you
understand WHY Congressman Traficant is feared and vilified as the powerful protect the powerful.
These 'one minutes' will also show you why he has a very loyal following.
Mr. Speaker, Kodak is laying off 10,000 workers. Now if that is not
enough to overexpose your most recent negative, Fruit of the Loom is
cutting 3,000 jobs and moving to Mexico. Unbelievable. It is getting
easier to find Charlie Trie and Elvis than it is to find a good factory
job here in America.
Beam me up. I think it is time for Congress to ask themselves a very
simple little commonsense question: If our trade program is so great, why
does Japan not do it? Think about that.
I yield back all the balance of jobs and say one last thing here. From
snapshots to long johns, American workers just keep getting their assets
kicked.
Mr. Speaker, last week the Pentagon denied that combat boots made in
China were issued to our troops. The Pentagon said they awarded four
contracts to American companies. It was impossible for that to happen.
Mr. Speaker, it is evident that the Pentagon's left foot does not know
what their right foot is wearing. I have Nighthawk combat boots in my
possession, made in China, that were issued to a sergeant of the Air
Force Reserve.
Now, let us tell it like it is. The Pentagon has always told us in
debates, if they could not buy those cheaper imports, they could not keep
their costs down. You know what I tell Congress to do? Tell the Pentagon
that we can hire generals and admirals a lot cheaper from Korea, too, and
we could keep the cost down.
I am asking my colleagues to join me in investigating this matter, why
military combat boots were issued to our troops.
Madam Speaker, asking the Congress to stay out of it, the IRS is promising to reform themselves.
Like a wounded TV evangelist, the IRS is begging the American people for forgiveness. They
said, `This time we really mean it. Cross our hearts, hope to die.'
Spare me, Mr. Speaker. Who is kidding whom? Allowing the IRS to reformthemselves would be
like allowing Jeffrey Dahlmer to head up the Boy Scouts. The IRS is guilty, guilty, guilty,
and every time they get caught with their fingers in our 1040's, they plead for forgiveness.
Enough is enough. I say it is time to kick these computer cowboys right up their hard drives.
Pass H.R. 367 and change the burden of proof in a civil tax case. That will get it done.
With that, I yield back all those crocodile tears at the Internal Revenue Service.
Madam Speaker, former IRS commissioner said, `Congressman Traficant for
years has worked to turn the American people against the IRS.' He said,
`It is unfair, and the IRS is not a two-headed monster.'
The IRS is being picked on. How about a pity party. Do I hear violins?
Let us tell it like it is. If the IRS is not a two-headed monster, why
are American citizens literally wearing bags over their heads afraid to
death to tell the Government how they feel about the IRS? The truth is,
the American people know the IRS, the Congress knows the IRS, and the IRS
knows the IRS.
I want to say one last thing. I am going to advise IRS spokespeople to
stop mentioning my name on national television. I yield back the balance
of their abuses.
Mr. Speaker, according to news reports, the IRS has a quota system. IRS
agents got bonuses for ripping off taxpayers. And many times taxpayers
settled their cases even though they were innocent.
What is so shocking about all that? The American people have known this
for years, and the American people have been telling us the IRS is
incompetent, the IRS is arrogant, the IRS has abused their powers. It has
gotten so bad the IRS is even above the law.
That is right, in America the accuser has the burden of proof, but not in
a civil tax case. The IRS accuses, the taxpayer must prove their case.
Beam me up.
Let me say this. There can be no true reform in American tax law without
changing the burden of proof. It is time to handcuff them to a chain link
fence and flog them with their own hefty Tax Code.
I yield back their unauthorized seizures and excessive penalties.
Mr. Speaker, the American Bar Association does not want it, former IRS
commissioners do not want it, the current IRS commissioner does not want
it, tax attorneys do not want it, IRS collection agents do not want it.
All of these bureaucrats and special interest people do not want Congress
to change the burden of proof in a civil tax case.
Some surprise, Mr. Speaker.
All of these bureaucrats and special interest people have one major thing
in common: They all make big bucks off the backs of the American people.
Beam me up. I must admit, the only people in America that support
changing the burden of proof in a civil tax case are the American people,
in record numbers, and it is very simple: They are taxed off, they are
fed up, and they want Congress to right this major wrong. Congress was
not elected to represent special interest bureaucrats and the IRS.
Mr. Speaker, 80 percent of all drugs in America comes through Mexico.
Heroin use by 12 to 17-year-olds is at a record level. Our border patrol
agents are being shot at every day. Even the life of America's Drug Czar,
General McCaffrey, has now been threatened by the Mexican drug cartel.
And after all this, Mexican President Zedillo says he blames the drug
problem on America and wants America to compensate Mexico for all of the
garbage we are causing.
Unbelievable. Our borders are wide open, our kids are strung out, our
prisons overloaded, and Mexico wants to be paid for it. Beam me up. If
this is a war on drugs, I am a fashion leader.
What is next, Mr. Speaker? Foreign aid for Saddam Hussein?
Do we have any brains left?
I say we should investigate the Mexican Government not compensate them.
Mr. Speaker, Mexico's top narcotics organization has threatened to kidnap
and murder American officials. The FBI said the Arellanno-Felix
organization, in an effort to protect their drug shipments on our
borders, will come in America and will kill.
Unbelievable here. America is overrun with heroin and cocaine, we have
got kids dying in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and who cares,
Congress? Who really cares?
And there is now a group of people trying to take the Traficant language
out of the defense bill that authorizes, but not mandates, the use of the
troops on our borders.
Are they nuts? Are they inhaling or what? Wake up, Congress. What has to
happen? Will one of these narcotics organizations have to kidnap our drug
czar?
America has no program, none, zero, and our borders are wide open.
Let us start caring for American kids.
Mr. Speaker, in America today 80 percent of all heroin comes from Mexico;
80 percent of all cocaine and all marijuana comes from Mexico; 80 percent
of all narcotics in your town, in my town comes from Mexico. It is so bad
that Mexico's top government drug fighter was busted for helping drug
traffickers.
And after all of this, reports now say that the White House is leaning
towards certifying Mexico again as a cooperating part. Beam me up, Mr.
Speaker.
Beam me up. Our kids are going to have to move to Mexico to get a job.
Mr. Speaker, the Democrats have claimed another victory. The Democrats
were successful in stripping the Traficant amendment that would allow
troops on the border from the defense bill, and all the Democrats are
excited about it, even though our troops are vaccinating dogs in Haiti,
they are building homes in Italy, they are guarding the borders in the
Mideast, and they are filming political parties at the White House.
Mr. Speaker, a new report that just came out states that the use of
heroin by 12- to 17-year-olds in America is at historic levels and our
borders are wide open.
The Democrat Party did not kill the Traficant amendment. The Democrat
Party is killing the Democrat Party. There is no program. And if the
Republicans do not step up and protect our borders, then both the
Democrat and Republican Parties should be thrown the hell out and this
country needs a third, new independent party.
Tuesday, September 24, 2001 Congressman Traficant offered an amendment to
the appropriations Bill for Defense that included his long sought after use
of military assistance in securing our borders and it PASSED BY A VOTE OF
242-173. ACTUAL VOTING
Amendment offered by Mr. Traficant.
An amendment numbered 3 printed in House Report 107-218 to assign, at the
request of the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, military
personnel to assist in patrolling our borders; to provide for the establishment
of a task force by either the Treasury Department or the Justice Department
for the purpose of counter-terrorism and drug interdiction.
Mr. Speaker, due to an unfortunate shooting on the border, the Pentagon
has removed our military troops from the Mexican border. That shooting
must be investigated, but the simple truth is in the last 3 months seven
Border Patrol agents were shot and the borders are now wide open.
And from the community where this young man was shot, a group came up to
meet with me, and listen to what they said, Congress. They said they want
open borders, no immigration. They oppose military troops on the border.
Of an 8-hour shift, the Border Patrol spends 6 hours in coffee shops, and
their local sheriff was convicted and is in jail for smuggling 2,200
pounds of cocaine.
Beam me up. America has no drug program. We have got open borders. We
have got heroin and cocaine on every street corner. Kids are dying and
the White House is more concerned with politics than our children.
Congress, wake up. When it is as easy to get heroin and cocaine as it is
to get aspirin, there is something wrong in high places.
Because Congressman Traficant voted for the Republican rather than Democratic candidate for
'Speaker of the House' he has been taken off all committees by the Democratic Leadership.
In other words you are 'punished' by Democrats in Congress if you vote your conscience
rather than 'party lines'? Democrats Speak Out Against Traficant"
The sponsors of this website support Congressman Jim Traficant in his move for a new trial or reversal on appeal. Once again all the clout of the United States Government, The House of Representatives, the Department of Justice, AND the Judiciary have shown their power against a citizen!
