State Sovereignty Resolution Update - 5/6

Louisiana's Sen. A. G. Crowe introduced SC 2 Apr. 27. It was favorably reported out of committee today and is awaiting a floor vote.

The Tennessee Senate approved SJR 311 May 4 by a vote of 31-0. It had been introduced Apr. 16.

Both resolutions are similar to Oklahoma's.

Also see post below about Oklahoma.

Oklahoma passes State sovereignty resolution over Governor's veto

After Oklahoma's HJR 1003 received the veto of Gov. Brad Henry, Rep. Charles Key reintroduced the same resolution as HCR 1028. A concurrent resolution does not require the approval of the Governor, and according to NewsOK, was approved by both houses.

We therefore are happy to add Oklahoma to the States on the Enacted list!

STATE SOVEREIGNTY RESOLUTION TO BE INTRODUCED IN THE OHIO SENATE

Senators Keith Faber (R-Celina) and Timothy Grendell (R-Chesterland) will introduce a State sovereignty resolution Wednesday. While modeled on Oklahoma's, it contains language that has never appeared in another State.

One of the most interesting paragraphs effectively addresses the media assertion that the resolution is "secessionist": "... We believe in the importance of all levels of government working together to serve the citizens of our country, by respecting the constitutional provisions that properly delineate the authority of federal state, and local governments."

It includes a reference to Printz v. United States/Mack v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997), in addition to the more common reference to New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992). The resolution also quotes James Madison in the Federalist Papers Nos. 39 and 51.

Following is the complete text of the resolution (I shall post a .pdf file when it becomes available):

LSC 128 1004

128th General Assembly

Regular Session 2009-2010

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To claim sovereignty over certain powers pursuant to the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, to notify Congress to limit and end certain mandates, and to insist that federal legislation contravening the Tenth Amendment be prohibited or repealed.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO (THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING):

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

WHEREAS, The scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment signifies that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

WHEREAS, Today, in 2009, the states are often treated as agents of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, Many federal laws directly contravene the Tenth Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, We believe in the importance of all levels of government working together to serve the citizens of our country, by respecting the constitutional provisions that properly delineate the authority of federal, state, and local governments; and

WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States and each sovereign state in the Union of States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal government may not usurp; and

WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States, states in part, “The United States shall guarantee 32 to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,” and the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States states that “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”; and

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court ruled in New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states by compelling them to enact and enforce regulatory programs; and

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court, in Printz v. United States/Mack v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997), reaffirmed that 43 the Constitution of the United States established a system of “dual sovereignty” that retains “a residuary and
inviolable sovereignty” by the states. The majority of the United States Supreme Court noted in that case (521 U.S. 898, 921-922) :

“As [President] Madison expressed it: ‘ [The local or municipal authorities form distinct and independent portions of the supremacy, no more subject, within their respective spheres, to the general authority than the general authority is subject to them, within its own sphere.’ The Federalist No. 39, at 245.

This separation of the two spheres is one of the Constitution’s structural protections of liberty. ‘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.’ . . . To quote [President] Madison once again:

‘In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each
subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself. ‘ The Federalist No. 51, at 323”; and

WHEREAS, A number of proposals by previous administrations, some now pending proposals by the present administration, and some proposals by Congress may further violate the Tenth Amendment restriction on the scope of federal power; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the State of Ohio hereby acknowledges and reaffirms its residuary and inviolable sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this resolution serves as notice to the federal government as agent of the states, to end federal mandates that are beyond the scope of the constitutionally delegated powers; and be it further

RESOLVED, That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalty or sanction or that requires states to enact legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit authenticated copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate of each
state’s legislature, and each member of the Ohio Congressional delegation.

John Kasich to run for Governor

It's official, according to Mark Silva at the Chicago Tribune. Former Congressman John Kasich is filing to run for Governor next year. Mr. Kasich is well respected among conservatives and moderate Ohioans who know of his career in the Congress, particularly in his role as a deficit hawk.

Mr. Silva continues:

"Kasich already is on the circuit: He served as the keynote speaker at the Richland County Republican Lincoln Day over the weekend and at a Columbiana County GOP dinner this week.

"'We've been drifting and we've got to stop it,' Kasich said at his most recent dinner. 'Ted Strickland is a nice man, but he's a caretaker governor when we need a man of action.'

"Kasich described the state of Ohio that he first came to know in the 1970s and said the state has come to have higher taxes and unemployment with fewer people to support it all.

"'The most important thing is to point out we need a major change in Ohio's economics,' he said. 'We need to restructure Ohio's government to help bring down the economic barriers so we can have good, high-paying jobs in Ohio.'"

Virtual buckeye to syclone538 at the Ohio Freedom Alliance.

Why the stimulus won't work -- in one simple lesson

Dan Weintraub in Vermont Commons gives a simple explanation of a town taking its stimulus funds to fix a few roads. Just one problem. The money isn't going anywhere, because everyone is up to their neck in debt, and governments need more taxes to service theirs.

It also makes a nice case for local currencies to strengthen local economies.

Chinese: U.S. a poor credit risk

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk is acknowledging in this report from Agence France-Presse what we have been saying for over a year -- China is getting leery of buying paper from a creditor that has over $60 trillion in unfunded liabilities (and growing).

After paying a visit to the Bureau of Public Debt, which trades bonds, he was "alarmed at how much debt was being bought by the US Federal Reserve due to absence of foreign investors."

In other words, he has just admitted that we're starting to print money.

But the Chinese are smarter than we are -- they're going to bail out before they need a bailout.

Virtual buckeye to JBZ at the Ohio Freedom Alliance.

Freedom from "isms"

Here is a cartoon made 50 years ago that packs even more punch today. I especially like the point that anyone who tries to exploit our differences (class, race, religion, etc.) is probably trying to take away our freedom.




Virtual buckeye to FrankRep at the Ohio Freedom Alliance.

State Sovereignty Resolution Update - 5/2

Arizona's HCR2024 was voted out of House committee with the recommendation of "Do Pass".

Colorado passed a State Sovereignty resolution in 1994; but members of that State's Senate have decided to introduce a new one, SJM011, which the committee postponed indefinitely, which usually is equivalent to a defeat.

Missouri introduced another State sovereignty resolution, HCR13, which was adopted by that House Mar. 23. Hearings have been held in the Senate committee, but it has not yet made a recommendation. In contrast with the earlier HR212, HCR13 makes no reference to abortion, but is modeled (like most others) on the Oklahoma resolution.

When ideology supersedes country...

... there may be a good reason.

I am completing a bit of unfinished business following the April 15 Tea Parties and the fallout from Texas Gov. Rick Perry's statements on secession. Specifically, I would like to help Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., deal with his "jolt of unrecognition, that instant of worry for the state -- and future -- of the Union." Mr. Pitts' writing is worthy of respect. He won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2004, and his concerns for the Union reflect those of many Americans today. He deserves a thoughtful response, which I hope this post will provide.

Gov. Perry, at a Texas Tea Party said,

"When we [Texas] came into the Union in 1845, one of the issues was that we should be able to leave if we decided to do that. My hope is that America, and Washington in particular, pay attention. We've got a great Union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that?"

That remark struck Mr. Pitts as "surreal." He considers it "borderline traitorous" that a Governor of Texas (as opposed to a "yahoo from some group of gun-toting goobers") would make such a statement. From his perspective, it appears to be a case of the losing party in an election wanting out for ideological reasons.

"Country, after all," he writes, "is supposed to be that which pulls us together after everything else -- politics, race, religion -- has pulled us apart." This is a noble sentiment, and in different times, I would agree with him; but the issues raised at the Tea Parties, and which Gov. Perry is addressing, run much deeper than mere political posturing. They run to the very core of our being as a nation.

The title of this post is the one originally assigned to Mr. Pitts' column by the Miami Herald. The Columbus Dispatch attached a different headline, "Whatever happened to putting one's country first?" Secessionism is gaining strength, because the United States of America no longer has a Federal government dedicated to the purpose established for it in the Preamble to the Constitution:

"We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

"Forming a more perfect union" was achieved with the ratification of the Constitution by nine States. Consolidation into a single national government is not perfecting the union, it is abolishing it from the top.

"Establish justice"? This blog is full of reports of Federal abuse of the justice system.

"Insure domestic tranquility"? You may establish law and order at the end of a gun, but domestic tranquility means more than that. Domestic tranquility is the ability to go about your business secure in your knowledge of what is right and wrong according to the law.

"Provide for the common defense"? Can you honestly say that terrorism would be a threat if the United States did not have a military presence in the Middle East? Even if you wish to be so crude as to suggest that oil is indispensible to us we can stop purchasing it from the Arabs. There are fields we can still develop, and there are alternative sources of supply. My point is, were it not for our presence in the Middle East, radical terrorists would have no motivation to attack us. Eliminating their motivation strikes me as a much more effective defense strategy than the one we are currently pursuing.

"Promote the general welfare"? Dependence on government is not welfare. Enabling the economy to work with minimal governmental regulation lets the free market do the heavy lifting to ensure the prosperity of all of us.

"Secure the blessings of liberty"? Clearly, the record since at least 2001 has shown the Feds moving in the opposite direction.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence,

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from consent of the governed -- that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." (Emphasis added).

Mr. Pitts, there are times in history when unconditional loyalty is dangerous. Consider where we would be if the Thirteen Colonies decided to put King and Country first. Consider how different the world might have been if the Germans in the 1930s had decided that there were values higher than country.

Our founding fathers taught us that loyalty should be conditional. If the Federal government acts in our interest, we will respond with deep and enthusiastic loyalty. If it does not, and all other means of asserting our will fail, then we have an obligation to ourselves and our posterity to institute new government. We may decide that the problem was that governmental power is too big and too distant to keep us safe and happy, and if that is the case -- and many of us are convinced it is the case -- then secession is a peaceful remedy that gives the greatest respect to the rule of law. The only alternative is violent revolution. I, for one, would prefer not to annihilate myself and a large percentage of my countrymen in its pursuit.

Is America dead?

This is lifted from LostLiberty (take a virtual buckeye, PhreedomPhan!), who lifted it off another site (that I am not linking because it is noted for being a bit crude and off the wall). While I would not state the case in exactly this way, it reflects my sentiments in plain English that might especially appeal to younger adults:

"Is America dead? I have to ask this question because the answer may have serious ramifications to our lives. Each successive generation does not know what it has lost from the previous generations.

"This country has been in a steady decline to the point we find ourselves now. This country as of this moment represents absolutely none of its former glory. Think about that for a moment and what that means. We are no beacon of light to the world. Oh sure, third worlders view our nation as an improvement, but to a roach... a kitchen is Shangri La.

"People have been under an organized attack for a long time, and due to our lack of resistance they have been taking our liberties slowly and deliberately. Our state of affairs is so poor that our flag should be flown upside down in a state of emergency. Our constitution is so weak from our lack of interest that it barely protects us anymore.

"Inch by inch America is being overthrown. September the 11th was the incident that put an already in motion agenda on a fast track. We are one step away from total chaos with tyranny looming in the background.

"What is their one big dilemma? How to get an armed society to surrender it's guns and submit to a high tech nanny state. Take off your shoes citizen, your flip flops may be wired. Get chipped citizen, your identity must be known. Give up your sovereignty citizen, the global community awaits.

"Citizen slave. This is your reward for not giving a shit, for not resisting, for caring more about Paris Hilton than your own freedoms, for allowing yourself to be divided on every issue. And it's not just this generation. This result is the outcome of the apathy of our parents and grandparents as well. For allowing the Central Banks to steal our gold standard from us in the dark of night, to waging bogus wars for empire in our name... on and on.

"Get pissed off and fight. Not against smokers or old cars that smoke... but for your freedom. Fight for America not in foreign lands, but here at home. Take your own oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. Don't accept being put on a terrorist watch list for some trumped up reason you don't even know of. Stop acting like a caged animal and identify what freedom means to you and fight for it. What do you have to lose? A bunch of shit you don't own anyway? A night without American Idol?"

In other words, get off the couch and do something! Talk to your friends, your neighbors, your associates at work and remind them of just what it is we are losing!