Blog

Will DC be the next “State” to Nullify Federal Prohibition?

 

Oh the irony to think that the capital city of these united states will be nullifying their own law even while their agents are raiding dispensaries in the states.  The voters in the city of DC approved medical Marijuana in 1998, and finally all of the licensing is complete.  The dispensary by the name of Capital City Care will be the first to open on the 22nd of April within blocks of the White House, and with a clear view of the US Capital.  This will be a huge victory for the forces of liberty, in the face of the growing police state.

After resisting the clear will of the American people for so long, DC could have to call it quits and accept the demise of the war on drugs (police state), as they join the 18 states that have already nullified the war on pot (as a legal drug) .  As I have always said, weed is much like the war on drugs.

Can DC enforce prohibition when They have dispensaries operating within their own house?

Can DC enforce prohibition when They have dispensaries operating within their own house?

Respectable opinion on weed seems to be that it is a “gateway drug”.  This is meant to give the impression that one puff of it will lead one through a gateway and down a path towards desperation, and dependence upon drugs for daily functioning.  Doing unspeakable things for the next hit of your current drug of choice.  Theft and violence will become the life of the addict or so says this paradigm.  In reality it is the war on drugs that is the gateway, it is a gateways towards tyranny, and authoritarianism.

It is ironically the so called “Constitutional” Conservative who are the biggest cheerleaders for this insane policy.  Even as they hold the correct position on so many policies that you should not pile additional laws on already illegal behavior (such as opposing gun control because murder is already illegal, or opposing hate crimes because the crimes they punish are already illegal.)  None the less they point towards the culture of crime that surrounds the drug trade (as surrounds all black markets regardless of the banned items for sale) and say “look drugs cause murders and robberies.”  Murder and theft are already illegal, so why is that an argument for prohibition?

It is the war on drugs itself (and not the drugs) that leads to black market criminals handling sales instead of pharmacists; it leads to meth labs handling product safety and quality instead of accountable farmers it leads to thugs with pistols handling justice instead of courts.  It leads to asset forfeiture laws instead of constitutional protections; it leads to militarization of our police forces, and disgusting incentives to seize assets with no cause and require proof of innocence prior to return.  It leads to the rules of war in civilian law enforcement.  In short the war on drugs was a gateway tyranny, and someday soon Uncle Sam will need to go cold turkey to get sober.

Maybe the nullification from Capital city will make the doublespeak to obvious even for career politicians to pull off.  I would hope that maybe this will be a tipping point, where DC just stops trying to enforce this unconstitutional and insane war against Americans free will.  I should hope that the next step will be full legalization of Pot such as has been accomplished by Co, and Wa, and is being pursued by Oregon, and 6 other states.

I should include the disclaimer that I have never smoked or otherwise used pot, I never intend to, I counsel my children not to use drugs, and in general conceed that it probably is destructive to the individual who uses it.  All drugs legal and illegal are, but we need to ask ourselves are we free individuals, are we adults, do we own ourselves or not?  If we own ourselves, then we can own the consequences of our actions.  If you make the case for the prohibition of drugs even disregarding the obvious legal paradigm of enforcing a law we have no standing to pass, you must make the case of why this behavior is one that merits such an extensive enforcement apparatus that it requires small invasions of other countries… Let that sink in for a while, the war on drugs requires actual military invasions of other countries to prevent non-violent Victim-less crimes.  I requires actions on the part of local police that would be unacceptable for any other state of affairs except during martial law… Doesn’t that seem like a little bit of overkill?

This is not an issue for the Federal government (which is barred by the Constitution from carrying it out).  It could be a job for the states, and localities.  There at least the citizens can stop it once its futility is discovered.  In reality, I think it should be a job for churches, families, and employers.

There is an argument to be made that we have to carry out this war on drugs to prevent our doctors and airline pilots from being high while performing their duties, and this seems like a reasonable argument, but it falls flat once you realize that the only reason those professions would fall victim to this is because the Feds have so hampered the freedom of association in this country that employers are no longer free to fire somebody for showing up to work drunk. The war on drugs makes the promise to prevent the self-inflicted wounds created by the host of equal employment agencies in America where employees who show up to work on nuclear reactors drunk can sue their employers if they are fired, and claim an addiction which will preserve their job.  A better answer to this problem would be to scrap the prohibition on free association, not enforce a war on victim-less activity.

Any way you slice it, the war on drugs has been an abysmal failure, and needs to be ended.  Let’s hope the courageous medical pot industry in DC will be a bold new step in that direction!  This is the clearest evidence yet of the success of nullification.

Help Stop Warrantless Drone Spying in Oregon

Copied from TAC blog. Thanks guys

no drones

Last week, the Oregon house voted to pass HB2710, a bill to nullify warrantless drone spying. The final vote was 52-7 and the bill now goes to the State Senate for concurrence. It’s first stop is the Judiciary Committee. This bill is scheduled for a public hearing and possible work session on May 8th.

HB2710 “provides that law enforcement agency may use drone to intercept communications only as provided under laws relating to wiretaps and other interceptions of communications.”

In other words? No warrant = no drone.

ACTION ITEMS

1. Contact the Committee Chairman. Thank him for scheduling the hearing, and encourage him to vote YES on HB2710.

Floyd Prozanski 503-986-1704 sen.floydprozanski@state.or.us

2. Contact the other members of the Judiciary Committee. Strongly, but respectfully, urge each of them to vote YES on HB2710.

Betsy Close 503-986-1708 sen.betsyclose@state.or.us

Jackie Dingfelder 503-986-1723 sen.jackiedingfelder@state.or.us

Jeff Kruse 503-986-1701 sen.jeffkruse@state.or.us

Arnie Roblan 503-986-1300 rep.arnieroblan@state.or.us

3. Attend the public hearing. show your support and testify in favor of HB2710.

Senate Judiciary Committee
Wednesday, May 8th. 8:30AM
ARRIVE EARLY
Room HR343

4. Encourage your local community to take action as well. Using model legislation from the Tenth Amendment Center, you can introduce legislation to nullify Drones in your city, town, and county with the Privacy Protection Act .

Model legislation here: http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/legislation/privacy-protection-act/

5. Share this information widely. Please pass this along to your friends and family. Also share it with any and all grassroots groups you’re in contact with around the state. Please encourage them to email this information to their members and supporters.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

While the state Privacy Protection Act applies to state and local law enforcement, and not federal drone us, it’s still a strong step forward to protect against federal plans for drone spying around the country. At this stage in the ‘drone game,’ the feds are relying almost solely to get states and local communities to start drone programs. Federal agencies are working hard behind the scenes to get states to operate the drones for them.

In fact, the primary engine behind the expansion of drone surveillance being carried out by states and local communities is the Federal government itself. Department of Homeland Security issues large grants to local governments so that those agencies can purchase drones. Those grants, in and of themselves, are an unconstitutional expansion of power.

In fact, this has been as much as confirmed by a drone industry lobbyist who testified in opposition to a similar bill in Washington State, saying that such restrictions would be extremely destructive to the drone market and industry.

The goal? Fund a network of drones around the country and put the operational burden on the states. Once the create a web over the whole country, DHS steps in with requests for ‘information sharing.’ Bills like these put a dent in this kind of long-term strategy. Without the states and local communities operating the drones today, it’s going to be nearly impossible for DHS plans to – take off.

Is Truth a Cliche?

Written By David Terry:

How many times must a truth be repeated, before
it becomes “cliche’”? Santayana, said, “Those who
cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat
it.” This truth has been quoted and paraphrased
millions of times, but the truth of it still remains

Charles Strong (Reader’s Forum, Feb. 15) thinks
my demonstrable fact is “vacuous”. Clearly he
has not studied history to any great detail, but
his idea that it is suitable for a bumper sticker,
is a great idea. Look for them on a bumper, near
you – soon!

Strong, asks rhetorically, what our founders had
in mind as a “well regulated militia”. If Mr. Strong
had read the Federalist Papers and other topical
writings by the founders, he would know that the
the thing they MOST feared was a “standing Army”
of full-time professional soldiers”

What our founders did not and could not invision,
was the “militarization” of law enforcement and
the creation of a potentially authoritarian police
state.

Both the Militia Acts of 1792 and 1903 mandate that
(a) the militia encompasses all able-bodied males
between 18-45; (b) all members of the unorganized
milita have the legal requirement and (c) right to keep
bear arms suitable for any potential military need..

The ONLY statement that Strong is correct on, is
that taking up arms against government is called
“insurrection”. In this context, Who is surprised that
our founders acknowledged the dangers from even the
government that they were creating. Acknowledging
that “vigilance is the price of liberty”

In 1765, Patrick Henry compared Caesar, Charles I
and George III, at which point he was interupted by
cries of “Treason!” by those whose who recognized
his comparison of George to assassinated leaders.

Henry paused, then calmly finished his sentence;
“If this be treason, make the most of it.

David Terry
1636 NW 8th St.
McMinnville, OR 97128

Stop Gun Grabbers at the Oregon Border!

Thomas Jefferson famously wrote “whensoever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force”.  How much more void could something be?  Well I’ll tell you, not only is the power to pass regulations regarding firearms not “delegated”, it is out and out forbidden in the bill of rights amendment number 2 states “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”.  Yes this does refer somewhat to the militia, but what was the militia?  It was all the people themselves  who formed a volunteer army to protect the individual states (preventing the need for a professional military). Make no mistakes, the amendment was written with every citizen in mind.  That the militia in most cases no longer practices as a unit does not remove the right and duty of the citizens to be armed and ready to defend our states and cities.  Every individual is entitled to protection from being disarmed by the Fed.s.

Enter the modern American government where Obama/Pelosi/Beohner etc. feel Americans place is to be ruled, not to be independent.  As far as DC is concerned there is no better place for the American than huddling together for warmth because the remotely controlled thermostat is at 60 degrees in the winter, eating grass from the hillside because they have crashed the dollar and our wages wont buy proper food, begging for the hospital to treat our grandparents heart murmur and calling 911 in terror because we heard somebody outside.   Representative Freeman has introduced the first step to stopping this vision.  It is the 2nd amendment protection act  One of my favorite quotes from the bill is “All federal acts, laws, orders, rules and regulations relating to firearms are invalid and may not be enforced in the State of Oregon.”  The beautiful thing about nullification laws is they all sort of read the same way they go like this.  You remember that Constitution that was ratified over 200 years ago?… Yeah we really meant that!


This bill will retroactively void all federal legislation in violation of the 2nd amendment.  Federal taxes, registration requirements, bans, executive orders etc.  I would like to thank Representative Freeman for his brave stand in defense of the natural rights of every Oregonian to self defense.  Remember for every properly prepared citizen in Oregon, there is one less person who needs the state to defend him. Please support Oregon  HB3006.

End Obamacare in Oregon A Challenge To the Liberty Movement

Senator Boquist was brave enough to sponsor another nullification of Obamacare for 2013 (SB282). We need to ensure this bill gets at least a hearing in the Senate. In order to do this I am challenging all of the followers of the Oregon Tenth Amendment Center to follow my lead and write one letter to the editor and one letter to be sent to every Senator in Oregon (it is only 30, and you can send the same letter to all if you choose. but make sure you send the letter to your Senator as a person to person email so he knows you are writing to him and him alone.)

A very close friend and political ally of mine once said there is no more moving story than your own personnal true story. With that in mind I am asking my followers to do something that is uncomfortable for many liberty oriented individuals. I want you to tell your story and how Obamacare directly effects you. Does it make your care more expensive, is it making you lose your insurance or job, What effect is this having upon your family? Since this will be uncomfortable for many of you I want to start with my story here (which has been sent to all of the Senators, and to the Oregonian.) I am of the opinion that with enough people doing this, the Senate of Oregon may act, and they may act decisively. It doesn’t take nearly the courage as it did 2 years ago after all more than a dozen states are currently in some stage of nullification against Obamacare, and more are jumping on that bandwagon every month. So here is my personnal story in the words that I sent to the Oregonian, and the Senate of Oregon…

 ”My name is Tim Reeves, and I’m a disabled Vet residing here in Hillsboro. As a sufferer of Multiple Sclerosis, I undergo infusion once every 8 weeks with a drug that holds most symptoms at bay. This procedure was a $30 dollar copay each time I went in, this was reasonable. At my visit this past January, however, I was charged $750! An astounding 2500% increase! I had a hard time getting a straight answer as to what would explain the increase in cost, but my sense of the matter is that it’s a technical change caused by the implementation of the PPACA (Obamacare).

This $720 increase represents 24 hard-working hours of my labor. How many of my daughter’s play performances could I attend in those 24 hours? 8. How many quarters of my son’s college would that have paid for? Well, 1. How many weeks of groceries would that buy for my family? 3+. My understanding, from what the President said when he sold this plan to a hesitant public, was that there would be no changes to existing plans, and that healthcare would be LESS expensive. Too bad there is no treatment for my MS using the free condoms and birth control pills that are now readily available. Interesting… the PPACA appears to be unconstitutional on a number of different points that are too complicated to describe in a letter.

I am calling on the members of the Senate of Oregon to pass Senator Boquist’s bill SB282 to nullify the PPACA, on the principle that the PPACA is unconstitutional, as I believe that the Constitution should be defended from usurpation.”

Remember the public (in the case that one of our letters gets published) and the Senate is ,ore moved by your material suffering than by vague referrals to liberty, they want to hear concrete impacts upon you. And especially for a letter to the editor, space is dear so be as concise as you can. I look forward to reading your letters, and I hope many of you get published.

P.S. If you think of it, please BCC me on your emails to the Senate, I’d like to post them on the OTAC facebook page.

Sheriffs are Leading a Small Scale War on Gun Control

Great news! Linn and Crook County Sheriffs just preemptively nullified any new fire arms legislation to come out of Washington D.C.  That means they have made it extremely unlikely that any action by the Federal govt. could ever effect the citizens of those counties.
In an open letter to the Vice President, Sheriff Tim Mueller of Linn County started:
“I am Sheriff Tim Mueller, elected twice by the citizens of Linn County Oregon who have entrusted me with a noble cause: to keep them and their families safe. My deputies and I take that responsibility very seriously and, like you, have sworn to support the Constitution of the United States. I take that oath equally as serious as protecting our citizens….
…and finished with a plain statement of what he intends to do:
“Any federal regulation enacted by Congress or by executive order of the President offending the constitutional rights of my citizens shall not be enforced by me or by my deputies, nor will I permit the enforcement of any unconstitutional regulations or orders by federal officers within the borders of Linn County Oregon.
In summary, it is the position of this Sheriff that I refuse to participate, or stand idly by, while my citizens are turned into criminals due to the unconstitutional actions of misguided politicians.
mueller holding letter
Shortly after, Crook County sheriff Jim Hensley sent an identical letter to the VP, changing only the header info and signature.  In the days since many more have made similar statements.At the time of writing this article, the total number of Sheriffs who have released some sort of statement backing the 2nd amendment in Oregon alone is 9.  This represents fully 1/4 of counties in Or.  Add to that several more in other states such as Minisota, Texas, Florida, and Kentucky and we have what is starting to look like a virtually impenetrable wall of local resistance to any future federal schemes aimed at disarmament.
These several sheriffs are bravely preserving the rights of the citizens under their protection!  If you live within their counties, you should give a bravo Zulu to them, and thank them for their courage!  If you live in a county whose Sheriff has yet to live up to their duty of protecting your rights, and the Constitution itself… maybe give them a little hint that you would support such an action.

The Tea Party Captured like the Conservatives were

If all we accomplished was to change the party affiliations of people committing the same crimes, what was the point?

If all we accomplished was to change the party affiliations of people committing the same crimes, what was the point?

If Republicans in Congress truly opposed socialized healthcare in general… Obamacare specifically, it would not be taking effect.  All spending bills must be approved by the House of Representatives (controlled by Republicans) at the Federal level!  This could have been done in 2011, when the new “Tea Party” Congress took over… It wasn’t.  It could have been done at any time during the campaign to get the Republicrat Romney elected (although this would remove the only reason a Conservative  might have voted for that particular pro-socialized healthcare, pro-gun-control, pro-Federal Reserve, pro-TARP, pro-bailout, big government RINO).  So now that their trap has failed to spring, and their candidate lost, how about feed simply feed us the cheese… and KILL OBAMACARE NOW!

 

I am under no illusions that the representatives in Congress will take any such actions.  I know that their agenda no longer has them taking any chances in the pursuit of liberty.  Sadly, given the choice between liberty and job security, Republicans who have resided in DC for 2+ years will choose job security every time.  How about limiting spending?  All spending bills have to go through the House of Representatives (again, entirely controlled by the Republican party).  We were promised that if we sent them to Congress in 2010, they would bring the spending under control.  So when they raised the debt ceiling (also entirely under their control), what was the ’carrot’ to their constituents?  They would create the ”super” committee to ensure spending cuts , with automatic spending cuts if it failed (to show how serious they were…) and how is that working out for us?  Listen to the wailing about the “fiscal cliff” (of which the promised “sequestration” is a component).  Republicans are abandoning ship like rats fleeing the Titanic!  One after another… promising to disregard their principles and raise taxes to prevent any reduction in spending.  Remember all spending must go through the House of Representatives, which is controlled entirely by the Republican Party, so then… why has the Party of Liberty not cut spending?  In 2013, the issue of the debt limit will undoubtedly have to be re-addressed (we have again maxed out our Visa), is anybody still under the illusion that the House of Representatives will stop that?  I have my doubts they will even object.  My point here is to point out that.. these are the the results not of failure… but of victory at the ballot box! 

To put a finer point on it for conservative who still think the Republican party represents their values.  In fact, if the Republican party truly opposed abortion (not what this article is about, but just a “Republican issue”)  they could simply remove the jurisdiction from the Supreme Court (Ron Paul’s idea) - and with that one action by the House alone (again, controlled entirely by Republicans), would make Roe vs. Wade IRRELEVANT!  Republicans don’t though, because not doing that allows them to strong-arm social conservatives into voting for them because they are rhetorically pro-life and anti-Constitution enough to make it a Federal issue (even though any crime that would charge somebody with for having/performing an abortion would be a state crime).  They say they are for these things, yet they do nothing about them because, well… to resolve these issues would free conservatives up to vote their conscience for other less emotionally charged issues! So, they allow these evils to stand because it empowers them to politically enslave the Conservative movement.
 

I bring these failures of the (admittedly, better than the Democrats, but barely so) Republican Party and their “small government” deficiencies not simply to rag on them.  They are, despite my constant derogations, still the better of the 2 main parties.  I bring these many failures of the “Tea Party” Congress  to light not as an insult to the Tea Party (that I consider myself a part of,) rather to show the failures of the system of which most Americans trust to guard their liberty!  In 2010, America rose up to oppose collectivist healthcare, to oppose obscene spending, to oppose bailouts of connected corporations, and to oppose an over-bearing, oppressive Federal government that knew no limits to it’s own power.  The uprising took place largely (although not exclusively) in the form of protests that led to people being organized to take part in the 2010 election. 

 

I just have to ask (to quote Dr. Phil)… how did that work out for us?  Did we stop the spending?  No! In fact, the debt limit increase went through as expected, and the feds have maxed out yet another credit card.  Did Obamacare get overturned?  Nope again… rather, it is now the law of the land (with several notable exceptions that I will talk about later).  Have privileged, private corporations stopped receiving billions in government handouts?  Nope… they are plundering us just as quickly, and with equally devastating consequences check all the green companies to be bailed out just to go bankrupt after paying the CEOs massive severances.  Did they overturn the NDAA indefinite detention policy?  They’re trying,  but still no.

So, all of these failures of the (most successful in decades) election of 2010, maybe people need to take a closer look at what is currently working.  While the Tea Party was going off the rails and supporting barely-discernible-from-the-competition candidates for Federal offices, and attempting to take over major parties so they could become part of the problem; and while the Democrat party was sharpening their rhetoric, and making any attempt at fiscal sanity look like suicide, the Tenther community has been scoring win after win!  Close to 20 states have refused to establish state exchanges – making Obamacare virtually unworkable in those states, and essentially removing the ability to enforce the mandates in those states (Chief Justice Roberts be damned.)   Over two dozen states have ‘medical marijuana,’ and two states now have legalized pot for recreational consumption (like booze).  More than a dozen localities have nullified the NDAA sections 1021 and 1022 (indefinite detention), as well.  To compare, the Federal courts have struck down (and then re-authorized) these profoundly anti-liberty sections of the military spending bill.  

 

While Senator and Representative Paul have attempted to get the Fed “audited,” Utah has re-legalized silver as a tender for exchange of goods, undermining some of the Feds power within the state of Utah. While the city of Chicago is busy taxing bullets at 1000% to get around the 2nd Amendment, in the city, seven states have passed Firearms Freedoms Acts, removing from DC any control(s) over firearms that do not cross state lines.  I could continue, but this article is already running long – and if you have not got the point by now, my continuing enumeration won’t give it to you. 

 

DC will never fix itself, nor will control over the Republican party yield control over Republicans – or DC for that matter. No election at the national level (no matter how successful) will prevent government from growing (if it did… abortion would be a state issue, Obamacare would be de-funded, and the debt limit would still be at 13 trillion), and the Supreme court will never limit the size of the Federal government (if it would, we wouldn’t have a war on drugs, Obamacare, the NDAA, the Patriot act, federal gun laws, departments of Education, Homeland security, Agriculture etc.).

DC only controls the things we are upset about because we allow it to at the State level.  Nullification does work, and if all the effort that the Tea Party put into getting Romney (of all people) elected President.. had gone towards nullifying Obamacare and Roe Vs. Wade instead (so these things could happen at the state level as the Constitution prescribes), as well as nullifying the Federal Income tax for items that are un-enumerated, etc., etc., -add infinite- …well, then they/we could have cut the size of the Federal government in half …instead of making it larger still (as it has grown since 2010).

We have a chance to learn from our mistakes here!  I beg of you… anyone who reads this article – Do not appeal for federal involvement for non-enumerated powers… and please do NOT comply with unconstitutional federal actions! Appeal to your respective State legislatures to nullify every usurpation in your state (even if they have to pass an identical law at the state level where it is legal first).  You never have to request permission (from DC) to succeed! Government works for US, not the other way around! If you think secession is right for your state, then tell your state legislature, dont request permission from DC!  Asking permission is for slaves.  Stop playing DC’s game by DC’s rules, officiated by DC’s ref. Time to play Jefferson’s game, and time to win! For America! For ours and our childrens’ future!

 

 

Monopoly Government

As both sides complete a major struggle over which path that our country was/is on, one of the finer points that has been ignored is the simple fact that neither vision of America is in pursuance of the Constitution.  The president is neither supposed to aid nor hinder business, in fact; he should be largely irrelevant not just to business… but to everyone but the most insider of government functionaries.  In fact, if we follow the Constitution, most people would not care who is president.  He could no more sanction infanticide than he could outlaw contraception; his view upon marriage (along with the rest of the Federal government’s view of marriage) would be as irrelevant as his ability to throw a fast-ball.  His views on the drug war would be moot.

Still, the problem with Constitutional govt. today is not so much that we don’t follow the Constitution (although following the Constitution would fix what is wrong) – (and besides, of course, being the policy that I personally believe we need to follow), rather, our particular problem can be summed up in just one phrase “Monopoly Government.”  Now… I am not speaking of the traditional definition of ‘monopoly’ here, but the state of affairs that has existed in American government – increasingly – since the 17th Amendment was passed in 1913.  With the passing of the 17th Amendment, state governments gave away their ability to compete with the Federal government for authority!

For those who don’t know, the 17th Amendment changed the way Senators are elected.  Prior to 1913, state legislatures appointed Senators.  This allowed the States to effectively neuter the Federal government by controlling what bills could leave the Senate; it also allowed a host of other positive things to happen, for instance, if you didn’t like the way your government spent your tax dollars, you could move to another state.  Or you could work to get elected locally, or lobby your state legislator in person.  The feds were very confined in the way that they raised taxes, and the states were also hesitant (after all, if you didn’t like the ways of your state, there were between 12 and 47 others that you could move to that would tax you less or take care of you better).

This limitation on government (of one sovereign – competing with not just one, but several other sovereigns) was referred to as “dual sovereignty.”  The idea being that by setting one govt. against another in an uneasy détente, neither would be able to implement tyrannical rule.  It worked (for the most part) and until 1913, combined peacetime spending of federal and state govt., never exceeded 5% of GDP, and government always returned to its antebellum size after the war was wrapped up.

The 17th Amendment was only one part of enabling the monopoly govt.  It gave DC eventual authority over all of American politics (at least they think they have this power).  Another part of the puzzle that happened in 1913 was the Federal Reserve Act.  With this act the feds gave themselves freedom from another check upon their power, the power to print money.  Until the Federal Reserve, the US never had a paper money standard for any length of time.  Although it would take until Nixon to sever the last control on federal spending, the Federal Reserve set up a fractional reserve banking system that would guarantee that politicians could always find unlimited funding for their projects.  Today, the Federal Reserve prints unlimited amounts of money to buy federal bonds to fund unlimited federal spending that is paid for by devaluing the savings of the entire nation.  This has resulted in a deterioration of the dollar of around 97% when compared to gold, and even more when compared with silver.

The effect, post-Nixon (when he closed the gold window), on federal spending has been breathtaking since money has ceased to be so dear to politicians; they spend it on wars, prohibition, drones, welfare, healthcare, and foreign aid.  Without the need to raise taxes to fund their spending sprees, they are given a free pass on what they spend since the taxpayers only pay for the extravagance indirectly.  Our unfunded liabilities are literally more than 15 years worth of production at our current GDP rate, and yet every new politician has a new idea of how to spend MORE!  We all saw what happens to a politician when they attempt to run on anything that looks like it might be constitutional govt. (like Ron Paul), or fiscal sanity (as with Gary Johnson).  This is because debt has ceased to matter to politicians (or even to voters).  In the past, if they didn’t have the money they would borrow the funds on the open market, and rates would go up to limit their borrowing, now they can simply have the Fed buy the bonds with printed money.  This gives the impression that there is still demand for US debt even though nobody would buy a bond guaranteed to be paid back with money that is worth less than the money it was purchased with, and of which pays virtually no interest .

The final component of monopoly government was the 16th Amendment.  This amendment (so the feds say) gave them the authority to impose an unlimited Income Tax.  This allowed the feds to make everyone dependent upon them.  By making it possible for them to rob Peter to pay Paul, they have in fact made everyone perspective “Paul’s” hoping to be paid with the loot stolen from Peter.  Ironically, this actually impoverishes all of America and distorts the value of money!  Since everyone is dependent upon government handouts, nobody is willing to be a party to the shrinking government… that government has not shrunk to its pre-1913 level , and we have not been on a peacetime footing since 1941.

With an unlimited purse, a dependent electorate, and with an unlimited authority- the feds have made a royal mess of things.  In fact, I truly believe that the Federal govt. today has a vastly superior level of authority than any KING ever did. Our founding fathers would have been in a full scale revolt by now.  In 1789, our founders established an ingenious system of government. They set up an eternal struggle between respective states and the federal government to force their successors to govern best (or their citizens would move to a neighboring state where government was governing less – or perhaps more, if their citizens so desired).

In 1913 the feds won.  With their victory they have established a full blown tyranny.  Complete with drone spying, perpetual warfare , government controls on food medicine and drink, suspensions of habeas corpus, extra judicial assassination by presidential order, childhood indoctrination, government-owned media, and a refusal to acknowledge any limits whatever upon government power.

The defenders of the feds’ monopoly powers would cite the need to “keep shipping lanes open overseas,” the welfare of the people who were unable to fend for themselves and terrorism, as well as citing ALL of these results of monopoly government as reasons that they must continue (but no one would be willing to acknowledge the simple fact that these things are only necessary now to combat the self-inflicted wounds of which they themselves created)!

It should come as no surprise once all this is taken into account that the wielders of such absolute power are unwilling to undertake any steps that will result in a reduction of such powers after all as Lord Acton famously remarked:

“All power tends to corrupt;absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

This is what we are talking about at the Tenth Amendment Center when we remark that we cannot expect DC to fix problems they have created as I have remarked many times, Redress is not available in DC, They are absolutely corrupt.

The monopoly government powers will only end when we stand up and simply refuse to comply with them.  When we insist that our states interpose against these unconstitutional power grabs!  Say NO to the Drug War, it is not authorized to the Feds. Say NO to unconstitutional federal gun laws and taxes, they are off sides. Say NO to the Federal Dept. of Education, it is not in pursuance of a constitutional power. Say NO to the NDAA, for it is in violation of the rights of the people per the 5th Amendment to not be deprived of the constitutional right to due process, say NO to federal ownership of over half of the lands in the west, this far exceeds the constitutional authority for ownership of lands in the Constitution!

In short, NULLIFY DC AND RECLAIM LIBERTY IN AMERICA!  If we start now, and we are diligent- we may be able to pull this nation out of the fryer… but if all we are willing to do is VOTE to cut spending by a percent or 2, or to raise taxes on people who earn more than us, then all is lost.  NULLIFY NOW before it is too late.

The Unraveling of a Gateway Tyranny

The Coalition to Preserve Arkansas Values filed a lawsuit with the Arkansas Supreme Court in August to remove Arkansas’ medicinal pot measure from the ballot. Arkansas Matters .com ran the following article on the lawsuit that I feel needs a thorough rebuttal. Seeing as here in Oregon I have heard several of the same false premises argued against our very own measure 80  to legalize pot and hemp statewide. I have taken it upon myself to correct some of the silly assertions made by Jerry Cox of the Family Council Action Committee in the article.

To begin with, Mr Cox asserts that the medical weed law is to use his words:

“… illegal because of federal statute passed by Congress. Only the federal government can change that. The Arkansas Constitution and the United States Constitution both prevent Arkansas from passing laws that blatantly defy federal law.”

Of course this assertion should not fool regular readers of the TAC, nor should it fool any person who truly understands the Constitution (US or Arkansas) or the American federal system for that matter, but for newcomers to the debate I will lay it out once more. The Supremacy clause only renders federal laws “in pursuance” of the Constitution’s enumerated authority the “supreme law of the land”.

If you search the US Constitution, you will find no authority whatsoever in the founding law for “prohibition laws” (this much can be demonstrated by noting the passage of the 18th amendment to enact prohibition in the early 20th century). If it was constitutional to pass prohibition laws, why did America go through such pains to Amend the Constitution the first time?  Also note that the Amendment allowing “prohibition laws” has been repealed (I might add with another amendment.)  So the authority the temperence movement fought so hard to achieve has been specifically rescinded.

As Hamilton said in Federalist33:

“acts of the large society, which are not pursuant to its constitutional powers, but which are invasions of the residuary authorities of the smaller societies, will become the supreme law of the land. These will be merely acts of usurpation, and will deserve to be treated as such. Hence we perceive, that the clause which declares the supremacy of the laws of the Union, like the one we have just before considered, only declares a truth, which flows immediately and necessarily from the institution of a Fœderal Government”

It follows then that regardless of the statutes that are passed by Congress, a medical weed law cannot violate the US Constitution so long as it is passed by the state of Arkansas or Oregon and NOT by Washington D.C.. What it does do is affirm the limits placed by the US Constitution on the Federal government in yet another state. So since the federal laws regarding Weed are blatant violations of the US Constitution and not the law at all, Mr. Cox’s statement is false at least, and silly to the people who understand the law.

Cox continues:

“This measure has little to do with compassionate care. If medical marijuana proponents had the best interests of patients in mind, they would lobby Congress to pass a legal measure that would let the medical community test marijuana for health applications. They would let the FDA prescribe unified treatment and dosing standards. That’s what the American Medical Association thinks they should do, and I’m inclined to agree.”

So After misrepresenting the US constitutions “supremacy clause” in his previous statement, he wants us to continue the proven non-functional method of getting relief. First as I already stated, the Federal government has no say in the legality or illegality of weed in the state of Arkansas or Oregon, and thus having them pass pass a measure would be of no effect, and having the unconstitutional FDA pass regulations that would be equally unconstitutional is just silly. The idea is to legalize pot for medical use, the necessary regulations are contained in the law, and in that form they are legal which is more than you can say about any federal drug laws or FDA regulations.

Other complaints from the FCAC relate to the length of the measure and the effectiveness of smoking as a delivery method. Thankfully the lawsuit was dismissed in court, so the citizens of Arkansas still have the opportunity to hammer one more nail in the coffin of the drug war. It seems the Arkansas court was no more fooled by such silly arguments than the average TAC reader, props to them.

So in conclusion, there are parts in every law that I don’t like. but nothing in this law can match in evil, the tyranny that we smoked when we tacitly accepted the drug war in clear violation of the US Constitution. The drug war imprisons the non-violent, as it rewards the violent, it has led to more violations of individual rights than any other war in history, it has replaced the businessman in commerce with the ruthless thug, it has replaced safe drugs with poison infested crack, and crank. The War on drugs is in short a gateway tyranny. The states are ending it one at a time, lets allow them continue this brave and honorable work.

No More Signing Statements, Veto Damn It!

Oftentimes, politicians try to make their atrocious acts more palatable by promising not to use the full scope of power that they’re usurping- but does it really matter what any single politician actually does in this respect if the succeeding politician has sworn to no such oath? If they are able to do it under the law, eventually they or one of their successors will! I would like to give a couple of instances where just such a thing has happened.

Everybody remembers Obama’s famous words while signing possibly the most UNCONSTITUTIONAL act in recent history (yes, that does include Obamacare):

” I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens,” wrote Obama. “My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law.”

Why, then, if he wasn’t planning on detaining Americans indefinitely, and he thinks (as implicated by aforementioned statement) that the offending sections of the law are unconstitutional, did he sign it? “The President” was understood, as per the Founding Fathers, to have an “axe” to kill laws should they violate the Constitution. The veto power is not restricted to killing bills that are in opposition politically to the favored groups of the President, it’s expected to be used to kill just such monstrosities as the 2012 NDAA. Instead, Obama just signed it and claimed that he wouldn’t misuse it. Has he…? Truth is, nobody knows anybody who is being indefinitely detained without trial would presumably be undisclosed and without trial implies no judicial oversight by default… Regardless, his or another successor will.

How about George W. Bush. When signing McCain Feingold campaign finance reform :

“However, the bill does have flaws. Certain provisions present serious constitutional concerns. In particular, H.R. 2356 goes farther than I originally proposed by preventing all individuals, not just unions and corporations, from making donations to political parties in connection with Federal elections. I believe individual freedom to participate in elections should be expanded, not diminished; and when individual freedoms are restricted, questions arise under the First Amendment.
I also have reservations about the constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising, which restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups on issues of public import in the months closest to an election. I expect that the courts will resolve these legitimate legal questions as appropriate under the law.”

Veto, It’s not just to kill your political oppositions bills,
It works to kill unconstitutional bills as well…

So again… why sign the bill if it’s -according to his own words- unconstitutional!? With the average Americans’ prevailing understanding of the Constitution, it’s safe to say that if the President thinks a federal law might be unconstitutional, then it most certainly is so. Still, he didn’t even promise not to exercise the authority in an unconstitutional manner; he just signed it as if to say “Yeah, I’m breakin’ the law… what are you gonna do about it?”

I could cite many more examples, and yet the question always turns into a personal insult on the current President. For instance, I remember during the George W. Bush administration, Rush Limbaugh would defend the Patriot Act simply by making fun of anyone concerned that it allows spying on citizens. George W. Bush’s claim was that if you’re calling someone a terrorist, then the feds should know about it. But what is ignored is that the law allows for much more than simply spying on terrorists. “It” allows for people to be able to check on which books ANYONE has checked out of the library, as well as the spying on of people- without any oversight!  Not to mention the biggest concern… There is nowhere in the Constitution any authorization whatsoever for the Federal government to spy upon American citizens. The administration claimed that they would never misuse it but how would we know if they did? And even more importantly, that someone won’t in the future? Just look at Obama… who has criticized said law his entire candidacy, and yet, not only is “it” still a law… but the Anointed One has expanded it AND renewed it three times!!!

When James Madison was asked to sign a law for transportation infrastructure of which he thought was a violation of the Constitution, he did not issue a “signed statement,” he issued a Veto. Here is the quote:

“Having considered the bill this day presented to me entitled ‘An act to set apart and pledge certain funds for internal improvements,’ and which sets apart and pledges funds ‘for constructing roads and canals, and improving the navigation of water courses, in order to facilitate, promote, and give security to internal commerce among the several States, and to render more easy and less expensive the means and provisions for the common defense,’ I am constrained by the insuperable difficulty I feel in reconciling the bill with the Constitution of the United States and to return it with that objection to the House of Representatives, in which it originated.”

THAT, my friend, is an appropriate response from a Federal officer who is faithfully ensuring a legal exercise of the role he has been entrusted with. We should try to elect the politicians who could be trusted to respond to offers of power as Madison did.with 2-letter answers of NO (actually, 4-letter answers of VETO, but you get the drift). Along side this electoral strategy, we should strive to nullify ALL of the laws that are enacted in clear violation of the Constitution (also known as the Supreme law of the land)