Last Saturday

The Southwest Ohio Liberty Conference in Beavercreek was lightly attended, but those who were there were energized by the three speakers. In addition to myself, Jason Rink spoke about Honest Money, and Kevin Cullinane of the Freedom Mountain Academy in northeastern Tennessee spoke about psychological techniques that are being used by those in power to keep us compliant with their schemes.

Organizer Andy Myers shot this photo of me in the midst of my presentation. His timing was impeccable: that slide wasn't up more than 30 seconds...

The Pledge of Allegiance controversy continues (*sigh*)

Scott Piepho, publisher of Pho's Akron Pages, cites a story from the Youngstown Vindicator about a high school student in Hubbard who conscientiously objects to reciting the Pledge of Allegiance:

Roxanne Westover, 17, of Elmwood Drive, had been reprimanded by the school for refusing to stand during the pledge, which is recited each morning. She said it contradicts her beliefs and she elected not to participate. “I’m an atheist, and I believe the pledge isn’t something toward our nation,” she said.

“It’s more like a religious oath, and I believe that if I stand I’m still participating in it.” Westover said she had been written up and sent to the principal’s office multiple times for her refusal over the course of the past few weeks. The ACLU sent a letter requesting the school to stop requiring students to say the pledge.

Ironically, following a complaint by the American Civil Liberties Union, a review of school policy showed that recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance was not required. Forced recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).

I have not recited the Pledge of Allegiance in nearly 20 years, because I choke on the word "indivisible." The right of secession is essential as a final guarantee of liberty to the people of a state when the federal government has crossed the line into tyranny. The requirement to recite a loyalty oath is contrary to the spirit of a free people -- and the United States of America did just fine for 117 years without one (the Pledge was written in 1893).

One of my earliest posts offers some additional discussion on the subject.

Field of dreams

... is how Zach Jones describes secession of American states in his article in the oddly named Australia.to news site. (I say "oddly named" because the .to designates a site in Tonga's domain).

He calls it a "field of dreams" to evoke the Kevin Costner film of that name where the farmer is told "If you build it, they will come." Mr. Jones believes that if a state has the courage to secede,* it may lose some loyal Americans, but will gain others and many business interests wanting to live and work in freedom.

Mr. Jones is shocked that he came up with this observation:

Never in my 55 years on this earth have I thought that I would seriously consider the idea of secession from the United States of America. I guess I was wrong. Personally, I will be waiting to see if America can be set again on its path under the Constitution through the electoral process in 2010.

If America can’t be righted to its course, it may be prudent for all freedom loving Americans to be reading up on secession.

He is welcome to wait for the results of the 2010 election, but one reason we have secessionists, is that we are tired of waiting. We looked for change in 1992, in 2000, and in 2008, and where did it get us? Mr. Jones himself gives the reason why waiting longer is likely to prove fruitless:

Today Congress is acting like a mule; and like a mule, sometimes the only way to get its attention is to hit it between the eyes. As we (a majority) all know, the Obama Congress is running America’s balance sheet, value of her dollar, and entire economy over the cliff. Most of us also know that it’s only drastic action can get the attention of this Congress that appears hell bent on ushering in a new socialist nation. Ordinary Americans are trying with massive Tea Parties, but one certain way to get Washington’s attention and possibly prevent the coming economic and social disaster (annihilation) is for one state or two to say ENOUGH! The proverbial two by four between the eyes may be what is called for to save the futures of all Americans.

Still, even great ideas take some time to catch on. Secession is a radical change in thinking, and it will take some time for people to get used to the idea.

* Please note, people, that secede is the correct spelling for the verb, not "suceed" or "seceed". The corresponding noun is spelled secession, not "sucession". Though I once did a play on words on the similar-sounding word with a speech title of "If at first you don't succeed, secede!"

Bill O'Reilly v Judge Andrew Napolitano

This exchange was posted today on the LewRockwell.com blog. In the midst of a discussion of the upcoming trial of Khalid Shaikh Muhammed for 9-11, Judge Napolitano (at 1:51) attempts to explain the Constitution to Mr. O'Reilly, for which he was rewarded with this: "I don't care about the Constitution. Don't be a pinhead." Prior to this, I had never watched O'Reilly. Now I'm thankful I haven't.

The letter from Tennessee

The Tenth Amendment Center has published the letter from State Rep. Susan Lynn of Tennessee calling for a "joint working group between the states to enumerate the abuses of authority by the federal government."

This is the letter that The Tennesseean and Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish think is a waste of time.

This is the letter that may provide the last best hope of holding the Union together on its original principles.

Goldman Sachs + Andy Stern = ?

This little bit of Hegelian dialectic contains relatively few words, but if you read the links, you will see that it packs a punch.

Thesis: The Obama Administration is owned by Goldman Sachs.

Antithesis: The Obama Administration is owned by the Service Employees International Union under Andy Stern.

Synthesis: It doesn't matter -- both are working the same agenda.* The end game is to have the slaves people of the world standing in a circle singing Kumbayah while the Supreme Council of the revised United Nations calls the shots "heals the earth" with a New World Order. (Here is their detailed plan for the "Americas Union").

* This is the only way I can think of that the New York bankers, who plowed millions of dollars into the Obama campaign, and the SEIU, which plowed more millions, could be working toward the same end. Please convince me that I'm wrong...!

Why Christians should embrace liberty

My friend Matt Bianco is a Christian pastor, a Libertarian, and a freedom activist. His blog, The Bound Dragon, gives ten reasons that he is a libertarian Christian. I have some qualms about #4, but otherwise agree heartily. He backs up each of his points with Scripture.

Nashville newspaper considers state sovereignty resolutions "a waste of time"

The Tenneseean, a newspaper published in Nashville, doesn't think much of state sovereignty resolutions. Yesterday, it published both an editorial and a guest editorial critical of them.

In the editorial, entitled "'State sovereignty' movement distorts Constitution," The Tennesseean argues that the state sovereignty movement is only a thinly veiled attempt to undermine the current administration in Washington. The paper is embarrassed that Tennessee has become a "leader" in this movement, because, pursuant their HJR 108 (which was enacted), the sponsors have invited legislators in other states to "create a 'working group' to 'enumerate the abuses of authority by the federal government and to seek repeal of its assumption of powers.'''

The editors charge that these accusations have descended to the level of partisan attacks on President Obama. Instead, they see state sovereignty proponents as failing to acknowledge that "economic steps taken may have, in fact prevented a depression or acknowledging that these controls are not permanent." First of all, there is plenty of evidence, such as this report from the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Analysis, that the economic steps taken are likely to worsen a depression. Secondly, may we remind the editors that the federal income tax and the USA PATRIOT Act were sold to us as "temporary" provisions? Power taken by the federal government is not easily given up. Rather, the Federal Government finds justifications for making "temporary" measures permanent.

Of course, they say it is "unsettling" when the resolutions attempt "to paint the federal government as antagonistic to the average American when, in truth, it was the American electorate that put those federal officials in charge. If Tennessee voters are unhappy with Washington's attempts to come up with, for example, health-care reform, they can talk to, or vote out, the senators and representatives whom they elected to make these decisions. The key is to have a constructive, common-sense discussion, in which state and federal officials come together to hammer out what is best for their constituencies."

Apparently, it doesn't matter that President Obama has behaved in the opposite manner from what he promised in his campaign, particularly with respect to banking, defense, and foreign policy. And yes, we still need to talk to our Congressmen and U.S. Senators. But too often, Washington becomes a brick wall when we talk to it.

State sovereignty resolutions, while of limited value, do open up a "constructive, common-sense discussion." When Administrations of both parties, over a period of twenty years, fail to listen to the needs of the American people, we need to consider an alternative approach. State sovereignty is one such alternative. And if that fails, secession is yet another.

The guest editorial, "Movement a waste of time," is by Chip Forrester, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party (consider the source):

How in the world can she [State Rep. Susan Lynn] justify such a lame-brained piece of legislation when the state's unemployment rate exceeds 10 percent and some hard-hit counties' jobless rates hover near 20 percent? Working Tennesseans fear they may be the next ones in the unemployment line. Accordingly, many of us are cutting back on our spending, which is having a drastically adverse impact on the state's revenue.

One would hope that Rep. Lynn and like-minded lawmakers would have matured beyond this divisive, meaningless grandstanding. But it's obvious that's not the case, as too many far-right politicians and pundits are spewing alienating rhetoric daily.

Maybe because federal taxation, mandates, and NAFTA have choked our corporations and entrepreneurs so much that they can't create jobs? And who is "spewing alienating rhetoric?" We have shown that state sovereignty has benefits and potential benefits for the Left, for example, in California. The 14 Democrats in the Michigan Senate didn't have a problem with it. The French Left and many non-Marxist socialists don't have a problem with it, either.

Mr. Forrester then asserts that "most scholars and legal experts have debunked the 10th Amendment/state sovereignty movement as nothing more than a fringe group of right-wing zealots who want to disband the Internal Revenue Service and severely curtail the powers of the federal government." Such as? Of course, his assertion cannot be disproven – after all, he would not consider Walter Williams or Thomas DiLorenzo to be scholars, nor Andrew Napolitano or Robert Bork to be legal experts.

I'm all in favor of putting aside partisan politics in times of crisis – but state sovereignty is non-partisan. So, Mr. Forrester, let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

California Territory?

Oh, come now. But California's budgetary situation is desperate, as reported by David Dayen in the FDL News Desk blog:

“I looked as hard as I could at how states could declare bankruptcy,” said Michael Genest, director of the California Department of Finance who is stepping down at the end of the year. “I literally looked at the federal constitution to see if there was a way for states to return to territory status.”

This quote comes within a piece explaining that states will face continued fiscal pressures, particularly once the stimulus aid to them runs out in 2011. While not sufficient to stave off major reductions in state spending during the recession, the stimulus money did save tens if not hundreds of thousands of jobs in the states, particularly in education...

The Pew Center on the States released a study this week, concluding that ten states – Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin – will face near-term budget crises, necessitating either major spending cuts or tax hikes.

In a separate news briefing Wednesday, Iris Lav, a fiscal policy expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, warned that state budget cuts could cost the economy 900,000 jobs in 2010...

Notably, in five of the ten states – Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada and Oregon – constitutional statutes or state ballot measures have limited the ability of legislatures to raise taxes or cut certain types of spending. That fiscal straitjacket makes finding
solutions in the absence of federal aid almost impossible.

Interestingly, one of the commenters to this post suggested the solution:

There is an alternative that will work fiscally although I am loath to suggest it. We could leave the union. This would end the vast annual tax transfer – our huge transfer of business and income tax to shore up lesser developed and inevitably red regions of the US (CA is, even in it’s crisis, a net donor state). Of course this would threaten their fiscal stability, but, to be blunt, I no longer care. We’ll lease back our land if the US still wants their military bases and stuff, on our territory. We’ll have a dynamic, technology-focused economy, we’ll be able to commit to a green and renewable energy transformation, we’ll be able to enact universal healthcare, highly progressive taxation policies, we’ll have ethnic toleration, and, since American lobbyists like the NJ Knights of Columbus and NOW will be foreign entities and
thus subject to regulation, we might even be able to enact gay marriage.

This comment proves that secession need not be the sole province of so-called "right-wing wingnuts." Those who like California the way it is, with same-sex marriage and all that, could have their Republic the way they want it. And however much some of us may disagree with the way they would run it, it is their right; just as it is our right in Ohio to run our future Republic the way we want.

No, California, returning to a territory is going backward, and that's not like you. Move forward and declare your independence! Then fix your problems your own way!

Virtual buckeye to Gary Flomenhoft at Vermont Commons.

The case for Ohio independence: consider the Feds' track record

This by Russell D. Longcore, who writes the secessionist website DumpDC.com, via LewRockwell.com. Reprinted in full because I couldn't decide where to cut it, except for a little redundancy.

If you can’t think of reasons that state secession is a better solution for liberty than working within "the system," consider the record of the Federal Government of the United States.

Sure, you can ultimately lay the blame on all of us, since we are the ones who allow the atrocities of Washington to continue. But for now, let’s look at Washington’s record of achievement over the last 150 years.

War of Northern Aggression – 1860s: The North wages war on a confederation of seceding states who left lawfully. Over 600,000 men died on both sides.

Reconstruction: 1860s–1870s. The North plunders the South...

Spanish-American War – 1898: "Remember the Maine?" A complete lie told by newspaperman WR Hearst, bought by the public and Washington to go to war.

Federal Reserve: established in 1913. For 96 years, it has mismanaged the economy and counterfeited currency.

IRS and the Income Tax (16th Amendment): 1913. What starts out as a small tax becomes a leviathan. What starts out as a small division of the Treasury becomes the most feared weapon of Washington.

World War 1: 1914–1918. 117,000 dead Americans, 205,000 wounded. The US had no business in a European family war but President Wilson had other ideas.

Depression I: 1929–1940s. The Federal Reserve caused it.
New Deal: 1933–1936. FDR’s massive government jobs program, plundering the wealth of the USA. Fascism by another name.

World War II: 1941–1945. Another European war, we had no dog in this fight. FDR baited the Japs into attacking Pearl Harbor, giving him political cover.

Cold War: The US and the USSR escalate preparations for war to new heights, spending hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons.

Korean War: 1950–1953. 36,000 Americans dead, 96,000 wounded.

Viet Nam: 1950–1975. 58,000 dead Americans, 303,000 wounded.

Creation of three letter agencies: HEW, HHS, CIA, FDA, FCC, DOA, DOD, EPA, and the list goes on...

New Cabinet bureaucracies: Energy, Education, Homeland Security, etc.

Grenada invasion: 1983. 19 Americans dead, 116 wounded.

Panamanian invasion 1989: 23 Americans dead, maybe 3,000 civilians killed.

Bosnian War: 1992–1995: US sends troops under UN flag, millions of civilians made refugees.

Gulf War: 1999. President George HW Bush commits a massive force to Kuwait. 379 Americans die, 776 wounded in a 100-hour war.

Iraq: 2003–present. About 5,000 Americans dead, over 35,000 wounded (that they’ll admit to). That doesn’t count casualties of our mercenaries...I mean contractors.

Afghanistan/Pakistan: 2001–present. About 1,000 Americans dead, over 4,500 wounded. That doesn’t count casualties of our mercenaries...I mean contractors.

TSA: 2001–present. Domestic airline travel done "the government way."

Let’s not forget...
Counterfeiting, bailouts, nationalization and massive inflation: Just another way that Washington says "you belong to me."

Regulation of every facet of human life: Try to think of a second of your life that is not regulated in some way by Washington. Quick answer: that second does not exist.

Two-party political system: two sides of the same coin, both Washington cheerleaders and sycophants. Both want to spend unconstitutional money. Out of control military, bases in 130 nations.

Here is the point to this litany of tyranny. The government of the United States of America has screwed up the entire planet through their actions over the last 150 years. The events of currency collapse and inflation in our not-too-distant future will reverberate throughout every nation on earth.

States of the United States that choose to secede will certainly be affected by the implosion of the Washington government. But, could any new nation ever match the "Hall of Shame" listed above?

New American nations, formed from the seceding United States, would be little pinpoints of light and liberty. If their only guiding principle was to not make the same mistakes that the US government made over the last 150 years, they would be destined for success.

How could they fail?