State Sovereignty Update - 6/25

The Tenth Amendment Center reports that Louisiana is the seventh* State to enact a State sovereignty resolution. The House voted 59-12 in favor of SCR 2 yesterday, following a unanimous 32-0 vote in the State Senate.

* The Tenth Amendment Center and I differ on Alaska, which they report as enacted, but which I find is still awaiting Gov. Palin's signature.

Support your local Tea Party July 4

The Columbus Tea Party has been delayed until Aug. 1, but many other communities in Ohio will be holding rallies July 4. Here is a list from the Ohio Freedom Alliance:

Ashland – Saturday, July 4, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Bill Harris GM dealership, field on Baney/Claremont behind dealership
Cadiz – Saturday, July 4, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Harrison County Courthouse, 100 W. Market Street
Cleveland – Friday, July 3, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., “free” stamp at Williard Park, Lakeside Avenue
Dayton – Friday, July 3, 5 p.m., at Golden Gate Park in Brookville
Fremont – Saturday, July 4, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., Big Lots parking lot, 1791 E. State St.
Mansfield – Saturday, July 4, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Mansfield Motor Sports Speedway, 400 Crall Road East
Mansfield – Saturday, July 4, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Central Park gazebo downtown, corner of Main Street and Park Avenue
Marietta – Saturday, July 4, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Muskingum Park Gazebo, Front Street
North Canton - Sunday July 5 @ 3pm , location TBD. (Contact)
Springfield – Saturday, July 4, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., downtown Springfield, corner of High and Fountain
Zanesville – Saturday, July 4, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Putnam Landingm 300 Muskingum Avenue

State Sovereignty Resolution Update - 6/23

The Arizona House passed HCR 2024 by a vote of 24-2 on June 10. The measure has been sent to the State Senate.

Glenn Beck interviews Thomas Naylor

I have expressed some reservations about Thomas Naylor, though not in this blog.
Some of my readers have reservations about Glenn Beck.

So, why am I touting yesterday's video* of Glenn Beck interviewing Thomas Naylor? Because it is an honest, sober reflection on the real state of secessionism today. It is beginning to catch on in America. I have seen it in Ohio, from reports of friends, and from the growing number of favorable comments to this blog.

* There is also a transcript for those who prefer not to run the video.

Ask your doctor whether Cheerios is right for you

The Washington Times reports that the Federal Food & Drug Administration has its knickers in a knot over the fact that the cereal Cheerios correctly claims on its package that "Cheerios is clinically proven to reduce cholesterol 4 percent in 6 weeks" and, "Cheerios can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, by lowering the 'bad' cholesterol."

The FDA notified General Mills that

"'based on claims made on your product's label, we have determined that your Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug because the product is intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease' the FDA letter said. '[Cheerios] may not be legally marketed with the above claims in the United States without an approved new drug application.'

"If the FDA were to win its enforcement action against Cheerios, all the boxes would have to be pulled from grocery-store shelves, and children could only get their morning 'fixes' with a prescription from their doctors."

The Feds are spinning out of control ... faster and faster...

Virtual buckeye to FrankRep at the Ohio Freedom Alliance.

Now this is scary!

Update 6/25: So now we learn that the SC Guv was romping in the sheets in Argentina instead of going for a hike. A Republican in a sex scandal. Sanford & Hon.

Update 6/23: The Associated Press (same link as below) now reports that Gov. Sanford was hiking on the Appalachian Trail to enjoy some solitude. Aides say he will be back to work Wednesday.

So I did overreact; however, I do think the Governor should have let his staff (and his wife!) know where he was, even if it is something as vague as "I'm going hiking -- I'll be back next Wednesday."

Original story:

Jim Davenport at the Associated Press reports that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's location is unknown even to his wife and closest aides. Gov. Sanford has expressed reservations about accepting Federal funds for his State. His State also is considering a sovereignty resolution (H 3509) that contains a secession trigger.

I hope that I am overreacting, but this reminds me a little bit too much of a secessionist who ended up giving up his life for the cause, Alaska's Joe Vogler. Mr. Vogler was abducted and killed in 1993, with a strong suspicion that the abduction was carried out secretly by Federal agents.

Death of State Senator cancels hearing on SCR 13 on Tuesday

Senator Bob Schuler, a longtime veteran of the legislature and one of the co-sponsors of SCR 13, died Friday night at home after a long battle with cancer. Senate President Bill Harris canceled Tuesday's session so members and staff can attend funeral services, and consequently all committee hearings have been canceled as well. We expect the hearing will be rescheduled soon and will keep you updated.

Our sincere sympathy to Senator Schuler's family and friends.

Bush II

Remember during the campaign last year when Democrats fretted that John McCain would become another George Bush? This article, by Michael Doyle at McClatchy Newspapers, suggests that we're getting another George Bush anyway:

"President Barack Obama is morphing into George W. Bush, as administration attorneys repeatedly adopt the executive-authority and national-security rationales that their Republican predecessors preferred.

"In courtroom battles and freedom-of-information fights from Washington, D.C., to California, Obama's legal arguments repeatedly mirror Bush's: White House turf is to be protected, secrets must be retained and dire warnings are wielded as weapons."

Ironically, this works in favor of the State sovereignty movement by giving the lie to opponents' assertions that State sovereignty is a movement of disaffected Republicans intent on discrediting the Obama Administration.

The State sovereignty movement, as I have pointed out earlier, precedes President Obama by twelve years. In any event, Republicans don't have to try to discredit the President. His efforts speak for themselves.

Virtual buckeye to gordon gekko at taxmanblog.

Manna Storehouse Update

I have not reported on Manna Storehouse since the beginning of the year. That was the case (formally known as Stowers v. Ohio Department of Agriculture) in which a food co-operative in rural Lorain County was subjected to a SWAT-style raid in December 2008. The Stowers family is being defended by the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law at the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions.

I had the privilege of hearing the 1851 Center’s director, Maurice A. Thompson, discuss the work of the Center Wednesday evening. I asked him about the status of Manna Storehouse. About four months ago, the defendants, the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Lorain County Sheriff, filed a motion to take the case to the U.S. District Court of Appeals. The purpose of making it a Federal case is that Article I of the Ohio Constitution contains more stringent guarantees of personal liberties than does the U.S. Constitution. Mr. Thompson anticipates that the Federal Court will return the issue to the State courts, but the Federal courts work slowly, and it may be two or three months before it is returned to an Ohio court.

There is case law to support such a return:

“… [A] State court is entirely free to read its own State’s constitution more broadly than this [the U.S. Supreme] Court reads the Federal Constitution, or to reject the mode of analysis used by this Court in favor of a different analysis of its corresponding constitutional guarantee.” (City of Mesquite v. Aladdin’s Castle, Inc. [1982] 455 U.S. 283, 293; 102 S.Ct. 1070, 1077; 71 L.Ed.2d 152, 162).

Also, “Individual States may surely construe their own constitutions as more stringent constraints on police powers than does the Federal Constitution.” (California v. Greenwood [1988], 486 U.S. 35, 43; 108 S.Ct. 1625, 1630; 100 L.Ed.2d 30, 39). These two citations are from Maurice A. Thompson, Defending Liberty in Ohio: A Roadmap for Protecting Freedom and Limiting Government with the State Constitution (Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, 2009). This document is not yet available online, but another document on the protections of the Ohio Constitution, Presuming Liberty, can be downloaded as a .pdf file.

Do you keep a vegetable garden? Watch out!

A bill before Congress (HR 2749: Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009) would impose a one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme on all food producers, while failing to address underlying causes of food safety problems resulting from industrial agriculture practices and the centralization of our food supply.

The bill would charge a $500 annual registration fee on any facility that holds, processes, or manufactures food. While “farms” are exempt, the definition is narrow and vague. The act can also be interpreted to affect those who make cheeses or breads at home or in small businesses.

The bill would also empower the Food & Drug Administration to regulate how crops are raised and harvested; and would empower the FDA to make random warrantless searches of the business records of small farmers and local food producers without any evidence that there has been a violation, undoubtedly making raids like Manna Storehouse a routine occurrence.

It gets worse.

“HR 2749 creates severe criminal and civil penalties, including prison terms of up to 10 years and/or fines of up to $100,000 for each violation for individuals, “ and charges the Department of Health & Human Services with establishing a tracing system for food, in which every producer would have to “maintain the full pedigree of the origin and previous distribution history of the food,” and “establish and maintain a system for tracing the food that is interoperable with the systems established and maintained by other such persons.”

Obviously, these will be gross violations of the Fourth, Sixth, and Ninth Amendments.

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has published a detailed analysis of the bill.

Sounds to me like a way to enrich corporate agriculture by forcing individual farmers out of business and individuals to buy, instead of grow, food. This appears to be a huge step on the road to serfdom.

Virtual buckeye to Brian62 at the Ohio Freedom Alliance.

The American Empire Is Bankrupt

And it gets even worse!

Chris Hedges at truthdig.com explains the ramifications of a meeting held this week in Yekaterinburg, Russia, by a new consortium called the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Members include Russia, India, China, Pakistan, and Iran. The United States asked to attend the meeting, but was denied admittance.

The apparent purpose of this meeting is to strip the U.S. dollar of its status as a reserve currency. If they are successful, in the words of Mr. Hedges: “the dollar will dramatically plummet in value, the cost of imports, including oil, will skyrocket, interest rates will climb and jobs will hemorrhage at a rate that will make the last few months look like boom times. State and federal services will be reduced or shut down for lack of funds.”

China is beginning to unload its dollars to purchase factories and natural resources around the world, sometimes at fire-sale prices. This will also break us militarily, because the U.S. will be unable to borrow enough to finance a $623 billion military budget. (According to the CIA, the second largest military budget is China’s, at $65 billion).

I have been warning for some time that (1) China would lose its patience with the U.S. dollar, and (2) we are in for a hyperinflation (here and here). And then there is this quote from April 2008 in which Scott Ritter, a former head weapons inspector in Iraq stated that a war with Iran “would hasten the ongoing decline of American standing in the world,” enabling Russia and China to fill the void. However, it appears that the war with Iran will not be necessary (May still happen, but won’t be necessary to ensure our decline). In these predictions, I would rather be wrong.

Virtual buckeye to Ralph Meima at Vermont Commons.

Ohio Senate committee to hold second hearing on SCR 13

The Ohio Senate State and Local Government and Veterans' Affairs Committee will hold a second hearing on Ohio's State sovereignty resolution (SCR 13) on Tuesday, June 23 at 10:30 am. Testimony will be accepted from the general public. If you do testify, please follow these guidelines.

I plan to be there and to testify.

Virtual buckeye to PathIveMade at the Ohio Freedom Alliance.

Ohio's economic history 1970-2009

Those of us who have lived in Ohio the last 4o years understand that our State economy has mostly declined over those years; but Robert Barga at Whalertly brings it into high relief by presenting a carefully-researched report comparing the State with that county that has a very atypical economic base -- Franklin County. The numbers are revealing, and the report very interesting.

Secessionist note: According to the report, Ohio, with all its problems, would still have the 17th largest economy in the world.

Virtual buckeye to The Carnival of Ohio Politics, to which The Ohio Republic is also a contributor.

Gun rights activists back nullification measures

While I support the Second Amendment, I am not particularly enthusiastic about gun rights,which is why that issue is rarely reported here. However, it is appropriate to recognize that those who are enthusiastic about gun rights are also strongly in favor of State sovereignty resolutions and measures like Montana's to nullify Federal gun statutes as they apply to intrastate commerce. Here is an interesting (and for mainstream media, fairly objective) report from CBS News on that trend.

Sen. Grendell testifies on SCR 13.

The Ohio Senate State and Local Government and Veterans’ Affairs Committee met today to hear testimony from one of its members, Sen. Timothy Grendell (R-Chesterland) in support of SCR 13.

Sen. Grendell began by noting the importance of the U.S. Constitution as the legal foundation of the republic: “Our Constitution has served us well for over two hundred and twenty years, in part, because of the great respect and adherence to it by both the federal government and the respective states.” [Emphasis in the original].

He then reviewed the history of State-Federal relations, from American resistance to unfair policies and taxation established by the British Crown, to the beliefs of some of the founding fathers that the Federal Government would not become too powerful because the people, with this experience vivid in their minds would not allow it (Federalist #39). However, the Bill of Rights was soon added to ensure the security and guarantee of our most precious freedoms. “I firmly believe the Constitution sought to ensure that all levels of government in our republic derive [their] power from the people, and the Tenth Amendment preserves this local control even in the face of the federal government.”

Sen. Grendell then noted that the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed State sovereignty and States’ rights in Printz v. United States/Mack v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997). Quoting James Madison: “Just as the separation and independence of the coordinate branches of the Federal Government serve to prevent the accumulation of excessive power in any one branch, a healthy balance of power between the States and the Federal Government will reduce the risk of tyranny and abuse from either front…”

Sen. Grendell asserted that the representatives of the people of Ohio have not only the right, but the responsibility, to question the Federal Government when it exceeds its Constitutional authority. “We [the General Assembly] are the ones that must act to preserve the delicate balance between federal and state jurisdictions laid forth in our Constitution. While there are many powers and responsibilities granted to the federal government from which the states are prohibited, all others are retained by the states or to the people, according to our Bill of Rights.” [Emphasis Sen. Grendell’s]

He cited the Real ID Act of 2005, requiring certain minimum information to appear on State driver’s licenses as one example of the Federal Government overstepping its rightful power.

He assured his fellow Senators that Ohio is, and will continue to be, a proud member of the United States of America; that the resolution contains no secessionist language, but seeks solely to have the Federal Government live within its Constitutional authority.

The floor was then opened to questions. Sen. Ray Miller (D-Columbus) asked for a definition of what powers were not granted to the Federal Government. Sen. Grendell answered that the Federal Government was basically limited by the Constitution to protecting the country, trade, and regulating commerce. He specifically noted that the Federal Government had no authority over education, and that Federal courts have abused the Constitution by continuing to expand the commerce power.

Sen. Miller then expressed his concern that the resolution fails to take into account the history of States’ Rights as it applied to the treatment of African-Americans, observing that State’s Rights were invoked to deny African-Americans the vote, an equal public education, and their safety. Even today, he added, a number of States attempt to keep African-Americans subservient. The Federal Government is necessary to come in to ensure the safety of African-Americans, even today.

Sen. Grendell responded by stating that he was making no attempt to reflect a discriminatory view; agreeing that the Tenth Amendment had been abused by the South after the War Between the States, making the Fourteenth Amendment necessary. However, that was not a reason to abrogate the Tenth Amendment, but to strike a balance between the Tenth and Fourteenth Amendments in the Constitution.

Sen. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo), noting the problems Ohio had in the 2004 election, wanted to know why Sen. Grendell was concerned about the Help America Vote Act. Sen. Grendell responded that Federal court decisions had invalidated the provision setting certain conditions for the election of Federal officials. If Ohio has no right to dictate how Federal officials in Ohio are elected, then the Federal Government has no right to dictate how elections are run for State and local offices.

Sen. Grendell added that having fifty sovereign States actually protects against widespread discrimination by preserving the regional and cultural diversity of the nation. The Tenth Amendment alllows Ohio’s officials to do their job; and by asserting our State’s sovereignty, we can help protect our grandchildren from the effects of the Federal Government’s bankruptcy. We need to draw a line the Federal Government cannot cross to prevent American from finding their country with just one “Federal” [by which Sen. Grendell means national or consolidated] government.

Proud to be an American?

You might want to think about that. This is from Karl Denninger at a business blog known as The Market Ticker.

"We have seen the largest looting operation in history perpetrated against The American People. Over $5 trillion dollars in junk securities were marketed and sold. They had a real value of about $2 trillion dollars; the other $3 trillion, roughly, was pure fiction. The banks created and sold these throughout the world, with the full knowledge and support of Congress, The Fed, and the banks themselves.

"It was pure fraud.

"Granting someone a 'mortgage' based only on whether they can fog a mirror is proof positive of malfeasance, unless you disclose this fact to the buyers of these securities - a fact that was not disclosed until after the securities blew up.

"Lenders, builders and others pressured appraisers to "hit the numbers" to support these fraudulent deals. Proof of that is found in the nearly-10-year-old Appraisers Petition bearing thousands of appraiser signatures.

"That ratings were a "mistake", either real or intentional, is a matter of now-known historical fact."

There is more, much more, but I'll leave it to you to follow the link.

One further note. If the demonstrations in Tehran were conducted on the same scale in Columbus, more than 60,000 people would be taking to the streets!

"Is life so dear, and peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what others may say, but as for me, Give me liberty, or give me death!" -- Patrick Henry

Virtual buckeye to Rebellion.

Author of WSJ article to be interviewed Thursday

Over the weekend, I reported that the Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece ("Divided We Stand") by Paul Starobin discussing the secessionist movements in America. Mr. Starobin will appear with Burt Cohen on radio station WSCA-FM in Portsmouth, New Hampshire this Thursday, June 18, streaming live on wscafm.org from noon to 1 pm.

Virtual buckeye to Sebastian Ronin.

State Sovereignty Resolution Update - 6/15

Mississippi's State Sovereignty resolution SCR630 died in House Committee, an apparent victim of political correctness, according to the Southern Mississippi Campaign for Liberty. This is their analysis of what happened:

"Getting back to the heart of the destruction of this resolution, we go back to amendment 1. If you pull this up on the state legislature site, you will see that this was authored by Rep. Bailey. He was specifically talking about line 81 and wanted the language added that the legislature was not questioning the Federal jurisdiction to regulate wage, hour regulations, interstate commerce regulation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.

"Civil Rights and Voting Rights really have nothing to do with this resolution to assert states rights. Also, the part about the legislature not question the Federal Government on wage, hour and commerce kinda goes counter to the entire purpose of HC -69, doesn’t it?!

"Now on to amendment 2 which really took all the power or purpose out of this resolution. Rep. Cecil Brown from Hinds County District 66 essentially killed the whole deal in amendment 2. He wanted to strike through lines 39 through 63 which was basically everything of import. At this point, the resolution is so weak that it’s meaningless. "

This stresses the need to educate the public as to why it is to the advantage of the people to assert the sovereignty of their States. In fairness to Mississippi, the word "sovereignty" has a peculiar and highly emotive meaning in that State, which undoubtedly complicates the matter for them.

I have also been alerted to a website that is promoting a State sovereignty resolution in New York. The draft is quite lengthy and totally unique.

Secessionism is going mainstream

... as in this opinion piece by Paul Starobin published in today's Wall Street Journal. Especially interesting is the tone of the piece, which ranges from neutral to downright favorable.

Mr. Starobin thinks that secession is realistic:

"Devolved America is a vision faithful both to certain postindustrial realities as well as to the pluralistic heart of the American political tradition—a tradition that has been betrayed by the creeping centralization of power in Washington over the decades but may yet reassert itself as an animating spirit for the future. Consider this proposition: America of the 21st century, propelled by currents of modernity that tend to favor the little over the big, may trace a long circle back to the original small-government ideas of the American experiment. The present-day American Goliath may turn out to be a freak of a waning age of politics and economics as conducted on a super-sized scale—too large to make any rational sense in an emerging age of personal empowerment that harks back to the era of the yeoman farmer of America’s early days. The society may find blessed new life, as paradoxical as this may sound, in a return to a smaller form."

"Still, the precedent for any breakup of today’s America is not necessarily the one set by the musket-bearing colonists’ demanded departure from the British crown in the late 18th century or by the crisis-ridden dissolution of the U.S.S.R. at the end of the 20th century. Every empire, every too-big thing, fragments or shrinks according to its own unique character and to the age of history to which it belongs."

Nor is it necessarily the one set by the War Between the States (the example most commonly cited in my discussions).

"The most hopeful prospect for the USA, should the decentralization impulse prove irresistible, is for Americans to draw on their natural inventiveness and democratic tradition by patenting a formula for getting the job done in a gradual and cooperative way."

We are living in interesting times...!

Virtual buckeye to Old Rebel at Rebellion.

State Sovereignty Resolution Update - 6/13

Tennessee became the fourth state to enact a State Sovereignty resolution. The State Senate passed HJR 108 June 13 by a vote of 31-0. The House passed in May 26 by a vote of 85-2.

Neighboring Kentucky is gearing up for next year. A third State sovereignty resolution, like both of the others modeled on Oklahoma (BR 54), was prefiled for the 2010 session in the House June 2 by Rep. Stan Lee (R).

The Arizona House passed HCR 2024 June 10, and sent it on to the State Senate.

Many States, unlike Ohio, have limits on the length of their legislative sessions, so I would expect activity to slow down considerably, at least until September.

Dannation!

Again.

Today's Columbus Dispatch reports several items related to graft and corruption in governments:

1. Marc Dann gets off with a slap on the wrist. (At least I would call a $1,000 fine for a former Attorney General just a slap on the wrist). The article does note that he could still face criminal charges related to that frat house he ran while in office. (This might be one time I agree with the Republicans).
2. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is having some confusion managing her (State-level) Secretary of State campaign fund at the same time as her (Federal-level) U.S. Senate campaign fund.
3. In Athens County, a candidate for County Prosecutor is accused of mishandling $27,000 in campaign funds.
4. Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision asking judges to recuse themselves in cases affecting parties who made large campaign contributions to their campaigns is sparking an outcry against electing judges.

What do all these have in common? They are the product of overcentralizing government. Centralizing too much power puts power in the hands of lobbyists and large campaign contributors. There is no way to eliminate the ability to buy elections, consistent with the First Amendment -- so the only way to end the problem is to remove the power, and place it at the local level, with some oversight from the State Auditor and Inspector General to protect against petty despotisms (that breed situations similar to the one in Athens County).

Senate committee to hold hearing on SCR 13

The Ohio Senate State and Local Government and Veterans' Affairs Committee has scheduled a hearing on its version of Ohio's State Sovereignty Resolution (SCR 13) on Tuesday, June 16, 2009, at 10:30 AM at the Statehouse. Judging from the agenda, it is likely that only sponsoring Senators will be allowed to give testimony at this hearing, but it is open to the public.

I plan to be there and report on it the way I did with the HCR 11 hearing May 14.

Clueless

I almost rolled on the floor laughing when I saw this headline flash on our TV screen at work:

"Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad (Wed.) accused his rivals of 'resorting to propaganda to discredit him.'"

Aren't all political campaigns exercises in propaganda?

Ohio budget crisis leads to lower bond rating

Gongwer News Service reports that, as the conference committee of the General Assembly meets to hammer out a final budget for the 2010-2011 biennium, Ohio general obligation bonds have been downgraded from AA+ to AA. According to Fitch, the ratings service: "The downgrade reflects the long-term deterioration in the state's economy; in particular, the structural decline of the state's large manufacturing sector and the resulting negative impact on state financial operations."

$40 million in coal-development bonds slated for sale next week also received AA ratings. However, Fitch stated that the long-term ratings outlook was revised from "negative" to "stable." "The state's financial management is sound and the rating incorporates the expectation that even with revenue declines the state will balance the budget."

Doing so will probably drain the State's $1 billion Budget Stabilization Fund and require the committee to find an additional $2 billion in spending reductions or tax increases.

Of course, if the Feds would back off its unfunded mandates, much of the deficit could be removed without doing either.

Virtual buckeye to PathIveMade at the Ohio Freedom Alliance.

The struggle for freedom is non-partisan

Many people have the misconception that the State sovereignty and secessionist movements are a partisan phenomenon -- Republicans sore about losing last year. I have previously noted that this not true -- there are Democrats who sponsor state sovereignty resolutions*; and the movement is truly broad-based.

As proof, I submit the following article, reprinted in its entirety from Vermont Commons. It's author, Dan Weintraub is a Democratic candidate for Congress in 2010. His list of issues certainly addresses traditional Democrat concerns.

So, let's hear no more about State sovereignty being a "right-wing" or "Republican" issue -- the cause of freedom is the cause of us all.

"We Fight This Battle For Our Kids

"Today I read a troubling tale. Seems the government has taken yet one more step toward destroying whatever vestige of sovereignty the American people currently retain in this failing nation of ours:

"From lvrj.com via ML Implode: '...There was no indication what they were looking for or what crime, if any, was being investigated, just a blanket subpoena for voluminous and detailed records on every private citizen who dared to speak about a federal tax case...'

"It is time to fight back. In fact, it is well past time that we fought back. We are late, and the clock is ticking. Below I will reprint a piece that I penned in prior months. But before I do so, let me add one quick thought.

"As you know, I am running for Congress in 2010 (http://weintraub2010.com/). I am running as a Democrat in Vermont, and I plan upon defeating Peter Welch in the fall of '10 and heading to Washington to do battle with an establishment that has utterly perverted our Constitutional Democracy and that has left the middle class
out to dry. And I will NOT be silenced. My kids are counting on me. And armed with the TRUTH, my voice is going to be heard.

"I promise you that.

"Friday, December 12, 2008
"March To The Sea And Make Salt

"Satya is the Sanskrit word for 'truth'; agraha means 'great enthusiasm and interest'. The two words combined may be rendered as 'the firmness of truth.' The term was popularized during the Indian Independence Movement, and is used in many Indian languages including Hindi. It can also mean 'the force of truth.' On March 12, 1930, Gandhi and 78 male satyagrahis set out on foot for the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, 390 kilometres (240 mi) from their starting point at Sabarmati Ashram. At Aslali, and the other villages that the march passed through, volunteers collected donations, registered new satyagrahis, and received resignations from village officials who chose to end cooperation with British rule. As they entered each village, crowds greeted the marchers, beating drums and cymbals. Gandhi gave speeches attacking the salt tax as inhuman, and the salt satyagraha as a 'poor man's battle.' Each night they slept in the open, asking of the villagers nothing more than simple food and a place to rest and wash. Gandhi felt that this would bring the poor into the battle for independence, necessary for eventual victory. Thousands of satyagrahis and leaders like Sarojini Naidu joined him. Every day, more and more people joined the march. At Surat, they were greeted by 30,000 people. Near the end of the march, Gandhi declared, 'I want world sympathy in this battle of Right against Might.' (from Wikipedia)

"It is time that the power of truth be brought to bear on the 'powers-that-be' who, through their collective greed and criminality, have placed the entire world in great peril. The actions of the men of Wall Street and the Men of Capitol Hill have left an entire world on the brink of ruin. Hope for many is already gone. These men have chosen to sacrifice billions of us on the alter of avarice. Their mansions and yachts are testimonies to our poverty, their lavish homes a reminder of our homelessness, their Thanksgiving feasts a symbol of our hunger.

"And at the heart of it all, of all of the suffering heaped upon the backs of billions of people, are the lies. The power of truth has been beaten down by the forces of greed and gluttony. We rationalize the 30 million dollar salary of the CEO as being justly earned based upon the amount of wealth that his corporation creates, but now of course we know that it is all a lie. Wealth based upon 'growth' that is in fact debt (leverage) is not wealth at all, it is fraud. But the greedy nonetheless use this debt as the collateral they need to live in their mansions and drive their Mercedes and sail on their yachts, while the rest of us are left to repay these debts through taxes and cuts in services to the poor and our own debt-servitude. And all of the men in power are complicit in this lie, all of the governmental agencies that have facilitated the lies are guilty of damning the rest of us to nothing more than poverty. And as Gandhi said, poverty is the worst form of violence. And the list of lies is truly endless:

- Accounting Fraud
- Lending Fraud
- Asset Valuation Fraud (Mark-To-Fantasy)
- Ponzi Fraud
- Unemployment Reporting Fraud
- Tax Fraud - Insider Trading Fraud
- Derivatives Fraud
- TARP Fraud
- Securities Fraud
- WMD [Weapons of Mass Destruction] Fraud
- Fractional Reserve Banking Fraud
- Currency Fraud
- Keynesian Fraud
- Election Fraud

"Obviously an epic list, and all perpetrated by the wealthy and powerful in order to perpetuate the system, at any and all costs. And now we are the cost, and for the liars, that is an acceptable price to pay. Our lives, the lives of billions of people, our suffering, our hunger, are acceptable to the wealthy and powerful. When will enough be enough? Maybe it is time that we March To The Sea, And Make Salt."

* John Will Stacy is not only a Democrat, he is the Majority Whip in the Kentucky House.

Beware of Trojan horses!

Readers of George Orwell’s novel 1984 may recall that one of the tricks Big Brother’s government used was to create a false-front “opposition” movement. The leader of this movement was a fictional character named Emmanuel Goldstein. However, it turns out that the opposition was created and controlled by the government to identify and eliminate potential dissidents.

This came to mind when LibertyInLaw at the Ohio Freedom Alliance posted a piece written by Arthur R. Thompson, CEO of the John Birch Society, entitled “Controlled Opposition.” She called it "a must read for everyone in the liberty movement." While I am not a member of the Society, I do respect much of its work. I particularly respect its awareness of how good people can be subtly manipulated by evil forces within governments. In this piece, which is far too long to reproduce here, Mr. Thompson expresses concern that the Tea Parties and similar demonstrations will be followed by other actions that will discredit those who are working for State sovereignty, secession, honest money, and related causes – violent actions that will have been instigated by agents of the U.S. government.

He cites Oklahoma City in 1995 as a precedent for what could happen, noting that the bombing virtually neutralized opposition to the Clinton Administration:

“The bombing in Oklahoma City blew apart more than the Murrah Building. It almost halted the rising groundswell of opposition to the Clinton aministration. The anti-Clinton movement was as large, if not larger, than the current Tea Party movement, the End the Fed rallies, and other recent phenomena. The Oklahoma City bombing made opposition to Clinton and his policies seem like terrorism, deflating the average citizen’s desire to participate.

” … There is much evidence about the OKC bombing which points to elements within our own government being involved. Now with the recent Missouri and the Department of Homeland Security report detailing the dangers of right-wing terrorism, our American law enforcement community is being prepared for such an event. If the Insiders can pull it off, this could well burst the bubble of recent resistance to the march toward socialism.”

Public relations is a tricky business in revolutionary times:

“Only by a concerted action program that gets you in front of opinion molders with educational material on whatever issue can now be successful. You must follow this course because you don’t have effective control of the education process, the media, and most of the government.”

”We have none of these advantages, so we have to do it the hard way. Let’s face it. Most people do not like work, let alone hard work. Except for the organizing effort, demonstrations for most people amount to simply showing up and going home. The end.

”Demonstrations are also open invitations for the strangest individuals to show up with signs, costumes, and extreme literature to make the crowd look less than normal. These are the folks that the media gravitates to, trying to show their audiences that our side is kooky. They do not show mom and dad with the kids at the demonstration on TV; they show the oddballs. Then the other moms and dads at home, even if they agree with the sentiment of the demonstrators, do not associate with them in any way.”

Does this make demonstrations bad? Mr. Thompson doesn’t think so:

“Will demonstrations continue? Absolutely, because of the world we live in. Should we shun them? No. But let us understand that they can be both destructive and productive. If they are arranged by good people, then let us use them to educate and build permanent, effective organization. For organization is what is needed to combat the highly organized conspiracy we must expose and rout.”

If you don’t like the Birchers, then join the Ohio Freedom Alliance or another organization that promotes freedom in this State – but add your voice and your hands to the effort! At the same time, be watchful for those who would use our organizations and efforts to defeat our cause. Not paranoid, just take the same care in choosing political associates as you would in choosing your friends.

Tea Parties, Media Lies, and Small Business

I recently joined LinkedIn, a social networking site for business professionals. I have been amazed at the variety of interests that it has attracted, including this query posted by a businessman:

”I just watched a town hall type show moderated by Glenn Beck with the audience made up of folks who attended tea parties all over the US. Quite enlightening really. The crowd was quite a cross section of race, occupation, age, political idealogy, etc. Not at all what I've seen/heard portrayed in the main stream media. ”Anyone else see this show and/or have any thoughts?

”Also ..... I'm particularly interested in views/opinions on how the Tea Parties represent small business concerns/issues. If you have any comments on that specific aspect please chime in. “

The writer than added what LinkedIn calls a “clarification” after he received some incredibly vitriolic comments about talk-show host Glenn Beck:

”Please try to keep your answers professional and respectful in tone. Having an "opinion" is fine but express it appropriately. Thanks.”

Here is my explanation:

The tea parties reflect an emerging trend that is changing the way Americans view their politics. Traditionally, we have looked at "left" (Democrats, liberals, advocates for proactive government) vs. "right" (Republicans, conservatives, advocates for limited government). Those labels worked reasonably well prior to 1980; but with the rise of Ronald Reagan, the Republican agenda became confused -- the party no longer supported just limited government, but also a range of issues promoted by the Religious Right. This then morphed into what we now call "neo-conservatism", which allowed for a proactive government as long as it supported either an aggressive military posture or Religious Right values.

We are now at a point where the Republican Party (and technically, I am still a Republican) has become intellectually bankrupt, possibly beyond all repair. This leaves many Americans who favor limited government without a credible political home. It also has led to us viewing the political landscape not as a linear Liberal-Conservative continuum, but as a spatial one with the other axis being Statist-Libertarian. [This typology is based on the work of David Nolan.]

The followers of President Obama might fairly be described as liberal statists; those of John McCain as conservative statists; some of the very strong environmentalists as liberal libertarians; and the followers of Ron Paul as conservative libertarians. I also attended the tea party in Columbus, and found that the people were normal American citizens who simply want to return the country to a place where people can take responsibility for their own lives, without having government tax and regulate all incentive for personal growth out of them.

I personally don't care what media or what personalities support or oppose the tea parties -- the important thing is that the voice of their participants be listened to. While small businesses are as diverse in their concerns as the products and services they offer, I understand the principal concerns of small business, generally, are excessive taxation and regulation that tends to discriminate against small business owners (but often favoring large corporations). These concerns are almost in perfect alignment with the goals of the tea party movement.

Another flag for Flag Day

Tony Leonard shared with the Ohio Freedom Alliance another idea for a flag on Flag Day:



This is a variation of the Revolutionary War Gadsden Flag (see link) developed by L. Neil Smith. Of the flag, Mr. Smith writes:

"It tells the enemies of liberty that for over 200 years we have watched liberty and freedom being outlawed, ridiculed, restricted, marginalized and destroyed. Tyrants were warned 'Don't tread on me' and refused to listen. Time's up! This is the new flag of the resistance."

I hope it doesn't come to this, but I certainly agree that time is starting to run out...

Fly the Ohio flag (alone) on Flag Day

Stephen Hopkins at the Ohio Freedom Alliance has an idea:

"I am not about rah rah flag waving cheerleader stuff, but on June 14th, instead of flying the US flag, why not fly the Ohio flag in solidarity for states rights, 10th Amendment and the state sovereignty movement.

"Also I would recommend the European style oval bumper sticker placed on your car that either says OH or OHIO. It's time we put Ohio first. What do you think?"

I think it's a great idea. It shows that, while we strongly dissent from the unconstitutional path the Federal Government has taken, we still support the essential principles on which the United States were founded. It may also provide some teaching moments to those who wonder why we are flying the Ohio flag alone.

Ohio GDP falls 0.7% in 2008 -- what else is new?

Dan Gearino reported Wednesday in The Columbus Dispatch figures from the U.S. Commerce Department Bureau of Economic Analysis. Ohio's GDP (the total value of goods and services produced in Ohio) dropped from $388 billion in 2007 to $386 billion in 2008, a decline of 0.7%. The comparable per-capita figures were $33,829 in 2007 and $33,568 in 2008. The national per-capita GDP is $37,899.

While this causes Ohio to rank 45th among the 50 States and the District of Columbia in GDP change, the difference may not be as bad as it seems. Ohio also has, by national standards, a relatively low cost of living. We have to keep in mind that natural resources, which are the beginning point of all industrial activity, are not infinite. If we suffer a slight drop, but build the conditions for sustainable economic activity in the future, we will be doing ourselves a favor on the long run.

One other thing, well worth noting: The State that showed the greatest gain in GDP was North Dakota (7.3%), which far outpaced second-place Wyoming (4.4%). You don't suppose the fact that North Dakota has a State bank that operates largely outside the Federal Reserve (and therefore not as vulnerable to the Fed's manipulations) would have something to do with that, do you?

Ohio Sovereignty Update - 6/3

The rally originally scheduled for July 4 at the Ohio Statehouse in support of HCR 11 and SCR 13 (our State sovereignty resolutions) has been rescheduled for August 1.

Enjoy your Independence Day holiday, and plan to join us August 1 in support of State sovereignty.



On a related note, the State sovereignty petition drive has collected 3,536 signatures. Their goal is 10,000 in a "Fill the Bell" drive.


The petition site also includes the testimony of Reps. Kris Jordan and Jarrod Martin at the May 13 House State Government Committee hearing. If you haven't contacted the State Representatives on the committee yet, please use the Ohio Freedom Alliance SLAM e-mail utility, call, or write them now!

State Sovereignty Update - 6/3

The Texas House of Representatives passed HCR 50 by a vote of 99-36. Contrary to media assertions, the Texas resolution does not contain a secession trigger; so (if the media are honest), there should be no panic over its passage. The measure has been engrossed and sent to the Texas Senate.

As of May 26, fifteen States had not yet introduced any State sovereignty resolutions. Viewed on a political map, the list would be predictable -- nearly all are the bluest of blue States. Then we got a pleasant surprise. Rep. Jeffrey Davis Perry (R-Sandwich, Massachusetts) introduced a resolution in that State's General Court, according to the Tenth Amendment Center. The text of the resolution is included in the link. (I was unable to find a reference in Mass.gov, the official Commonwealth of Massachusetts website).