Joel M. Skousen (; born September 22, 1946) is a political commentator on the philosophy of law and Constitutional theory.

History

Skousen, born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

and raised in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, served as a

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

during the

Vietnam Era Vietnam Era is a term used by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to classify veterans of the Vietnam War. Various departments of federal, state and local governments as well as private employers often give Vietnam Era veterans s ...

. During the 1980s Skousen was the chairman of the Conservative National Committee. He was also the executive editor of ''Conservative Digest''.Mark Skousen's Famous Relatives
/ref> Skousen is the founder and chief editor of ''World Affairs Brief'', a weekly news-analysis service. Some of Skousen's views are controversial. He made the case that the Fall of Communism was, also as claimed by KGB defector

Anatoliy Golitsyn Anatoliy Mikhaylovich Golitsyn CBE ( Russian: Анатолий Михайлович Голицын; August 25, 1926 – December 29, 2008) was a Soviet KGB defector and author of two books about the long-term deception strategy of the KGB lead ...

, a "carefully crafted deception," meant to gain Western aid and technology transfers that would eventually end in a resurgence of the Russian threat. In his weekly briefings Skousen has also written extensively about the evidence of conspiracy by government to cover up its own involvement in numerous black operations such as the JFK assassination, the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...

, TWA 800 and the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. He is particularly a harsh critic of what he calls the "phony war on terror" used to conjure up justification for continual foreign intervention and the diminution of American constitutional rights; he is also very critical of globalism, communism, and the U.S. interventionist foreign policy. Skousen has written several books. including ''Essential Principles for the Conservation of Liberty'', ''Strategic Relocation—North American Guide to Safe Places'', ''The Secure Home'', ''Survival Home Manual: Architectural Design, Construction, and Remodeling Of Self-Sufficient Residences and Retreats'', and ''How to Implement a High Security Shelter in the Home''. He also published a booklet titled ''10 Packs for Survival'', which he has also posted to several web sites. Skousen designs and consults on hardened retreat homes, often including

fallout shelter A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. During ...

s with

HEPA HEPA (, high-efficiency particulate air) filter, also known as high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter and high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter, is an efficiency standard of air filters. Filters meeting the HEPA standard must sa ...

air filtration systems. He has offered in both

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

consultation regarding architectural and retreat design. In the book ''Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times'' by Richard G. Mitchell, Jr., (2001) Skousen was quoted: "'You never want to make a house look like an obvious fortress. Those who want in can always move up a bigger gun. There is no way you can design a home to withstand RPG (

Rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...

) rockets and tanks. I design these homes so you virtually cannot tell inside or out that they are any different from a conventional home.'" Because of its low population density and diverse economy, both Skousen and survivalist writer

James Wesley Rawles James Wesley, Rawles (born 1960) is an American author, former U.S. Army Intelligence officer, and survival retreat consultant. Rawles describes himself as a Constitutionalist Christian libertarian. He presents his name as "James Wesley, Rawle ...

recommend the

Intermountain West The Intermountain West, or Intermountain Region, is a geographic and geological region of the Western United States. It is located between the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada on the west ...

region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, as a preferred region for relocation and setting up survival retreats. In late 2007, Skousen gained attention when he gave his support to

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

rather than to fellow LDS church member

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

in the 2008 US presidential campaign, in a widely circulated YouTube video clip. After

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee in early 2008, Skousen also endorsed Pastor

Chuck Baldwin Charles Obadiah Baldwin (born May 3, 1952) is an American right-wing politician, radio host, and founder-former pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. As of January 2011 he was pastor of Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, Montan ...

of the Constitution Party: "As Ron Paul goes back to Congress to continue the fight there, I believe Chuck Baldwin is the person to continue the fight during this election cycle and beyond."

Personal life

Joel Skousen is the older brother of

Mark Skousen Mark Andrew Skousen (; born October 19, 1947) is an American economist and writer. He currently teaches at Chapman University, where he is a Presidential Fellow at The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics. He has previously taug ...

and the younger brother of

Royal Skousen Royal Jon Skousen (; born August 5, 1945) is a retired professor of linguistics and English at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he is editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. He is "the leading expert on the textual history of th ...

. The three Skousen brothers are the nephews of conservative author and commentator W. Cleon Skousen. In March 2013, Skousen walked away with just slight injuries from the crash of his

Glasair Glasair Aviation USA, LLC is a Chinese-owned aircraft manufacturer based in Arlington, Washington that produces the Glasair and Sportsman 2+2 line of homebuilt aircraft. More than 3000 Glasair kits have been delivered worldwide. History Tom ...

kit plane, in a forced rough field landing, following a fuel system failure. The crash landing occurred near

Spanish Fork, Utah Spanish Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The 2020 census reported a population of 42,602. Spanish Fork, Utah is the 20th largest city in Utah based on official ...

, on the return leg of a cross country flight to Las Vegas. Skousen lives in

Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Me ...

Quotes

* Many Christians think it is wonderful any time government officials mention God or quote from the Bible. I take strong exception, and not because I believe it is improper for government officials to appeal to God. I simply object to dropping the name of God or quoting scripture to cover for evil, and otherwise convince naive troops and Christians in general that an evil cause is just. * More than ever, I still consider the nuclear attack on America as inevitable, both because the real axis of evil (Russia and China) are still building for that attack, and because our own government is controlled by those intent upon destroying US sovereignty and delivering our nation over to a socialist New World Order (NWO). 006* The one thing you can learn from the liberal and controlled media, including arch liberal newspapers like the Washington Post, NY Times, and LA Times, is the direction in which the conspiracy against liberty is going. I spend about a third of my time watching what the opposition does. When they start uniformly promoting certain issues in all the liberal journals (global warming, smart growth, gun control, etc.), it is obvious that there is some coordination going on. But remember, you can only learn to see through the selectively filtered news dispensed by the establishment media if you have other sources that feed you the missing pieces. * In terms of unity, we are at a real disadvantage up against the left. It only takes one thing in common for "liberals" to unite. It only takes one difference of opinion for conservatives to divide.http://www.joelskousen.com/Philosophy/principledapproachtolaw.html

Bibliography

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References

External links

Skousen's web siteWorld Affairs Brief
Joel Skousen's weekly news analysis
Joel Skousen Bill of Rights Day Speech

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...