The Second Amendment: Does Anybody But Me Understand It?

The Second Amendment: Does Anybody But Me Understand It?

By Russell D. Longcore

(Editor’s Note: I wrote this and first posted it in 2011. Since then, the Supreme Court issued the Heller decision. With the recent assassination of Justice Antonin Scalia, the 2A may be in play again. But even Nino Scalia, who wrote the opinion, didn’t get it right. I did…as shown below.)

The so-called conservatives say that there should be no restrictions to keep and bear arms for Americans. They say that it’s all about self-protection.

The so-called liberals beat the drum for outright bans on firearms, saying that disarming Americans will make our nation safer.

Both of them are wrong.

The Second Amendment to the US Constitution reads:

“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.”

Let’s spend a few minutes using our powers of reason to just simply read and understand.

Take the first two phrases. Any way you rearrange the words, the message is that a well-regulated Militia is necessary to the security of a free State. The Founders were talking about the thirteen sovereign nations, each considered a State in the same manner as any other sovereign nation around the world. They had no intention that the united States were to be considered a new nation. They were equals to Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, etc…and every one of the European nations used militias. For more about the use of militias in history, visit Militia at Wikipedia.

So the Founders were stating the obvious…that a free State had to have a well-regulated militia to be considered secure. What is “Security?” The ability to defend itself against invasion or aggression by another political entity.

What does “well-regulated” mean? In the common usage of the 18th Century, it meant the property of something being in proper working order. The opposite of a well-regulated militia would be a chaotic assemblage of men with weapons without training.

So, you could restate the first two phrases as: “A militia in proper working order is necessary to the security of a free sovereign nation.” This is especially important when you consider that under the Constitution’s Article I, Section 8, the Federal Government was prohibited from having a standing army for more than two years, as well as providing for and training the Militia.

The underlying reason for the Second Amendment was not individual self-defense. The underlying reason for the Second Amendment was the security of the new thirteen sovereign nations. Yes…that meant security even from each other.

Now for the last two phrases…”the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The phrases are starkly plain. You have to intend to misunderstand the words if you do misunderstand them or redefine their meaning. Let’s examine the penultimate phrase.

From whence does the purported right to keep and bear arms spring? Natural law. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are “among these,” not the only ones. (Read What Are Unalienable Rights?) The right of self-defense…to protect one’s self and/or others in your charge from harm…is so obvious it should almost not have to be pointed out. And “arms” are not only firearms. Nearly anything can be utilized as arms, or weapons.

But please consider: at the time of the Revolutionary War, did not the Continental armies possess the same technology of armaments as the Redcoats? Yes. Hadn’t the Colonial citizens owned and used firearms since the early 1600s? Yes! Did the English soldiers have cartridges for their rifles while the Colonials had only musket and ball? No. Musket, ball and cannon were the leading technologies of the day.

Actually, colonials had rifles more modern than the Redcoats. The rifles carried by the British were inferior to the long rifles of the colonials. A large number of the colonial rifles were the Pennsylvania rifles, made by German immigrant gunsmiths with spirally grooved barrels (rifling) that spun a ball leaving the barrel, increasing both its distance and accuracy. The British “Brown Bess” muskets were only marginally accurate to about 100 yards, while the long rifles of the Patriots could reach out easily past 300 yards. Colonials were also “armed” with hatchets, swords, daggers and bayonets. The Colonials also had modern cannon, as modern as anything the Redcoats used.

Did only the King have the ability to build ships, forge cannon and cannonball? No. John Paul Jones was a privateer, which is basically a government-sponsored pirate, preying on English ships. His first wartime command was aboard the ship Providence, owned by New England businessman John Brown. The Providence fairly bristled with cannons.

Yet the issue of advancing technology was not an issue that the framers of the Constitution even considered worthy of mention. These were learned men, and were well aware of the technological improvements that were made in weaponry just in their lifetimes. They knew world history and knew that guns and gunpowder were relative newcomers to the art of war.

Both of the combatants in the Revolutionary War had the same technology in armaments. The Continental armies consisted of fighting citizens, taking up their rifles and pistols, forging cannon and going to war against superior numbers in the British army and navy, but not against superior weapons.

Therefore, when it came time for the framers of the Constitution to write the Second Amendment, they did not even mention the possibility that the private citizen should be prevented from owning the same weapons as the military. Why? BECAUSE THE MILITIA WAS THE MILITARY!!! Could it be that they considered the threat of government tyranny greater than that of citizens owning military weapons? Why else would they write the Second Amendment in the words they chose?

Finally, the last phrase…”shall not be infringed.” The Webster’s Dictionary defines “infringe” in two ways pertinent to this discussion; from the Latin “infrangere”:(1)”to break; to violate or go beyond the limits of: (2) to encroach upon. The “right” is the thing not to be infringed by government. Therefore, the Second Amendment states that the right to keep and bear arms is one that is endowed by our Creator under natural law and shall not be broken, violated or encroached upon. It validates the concept of personal property ownership, in this case one’s own person, and the principle of self-defense.

The Second Amendment is not about hunting, or sports or being disarmed by any government. It’s not really even about personal self defense. The Second Amendment is about the security of a free State, and the necessity of a militia in keeping that state free.

So a proper understanding of the Second Amendment begs the BIGGEST question of all: If NONE of the states of the United States of America are sovereign any more, but are rather subservient to the Federal government in Washington DC, and the states have no need for militias, isn’t the Second Amendment entirely irrelevant?

I hope and pray that someday secessionists and state independence movements will fully embrace and openly discuss The Power Of The Sword.

Secession is the only hope for humanity. Who will be first?

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

The FRONA Corporate Model Of Governance

The FRONA Corporate Model Of Governance
by Russell D. Longcore

(Editor’s Note: “FRONA” is an acronym for the Free Republic of North America, that mythical new nation borne of secession and created in the fertile gray matter of your Editor. This is an update of an article that ran at LewRockwell.com in October 2009.)

The US Constitution is a dead document. It has been dead nearly from its inception. It is neither contract nor treaty, either of which would give it the force of law. It does not, and cannot bind any two persons to each other, nor can it bind any person to the rogue government called “The United States of America” that is the occupying force in Washington DC.

In this article, I will prove that the Constitution is without authority and that the subject of secession related to the Constitution is entirely irrelevant, and that any states need not concern themselves with the constitutionality of secession.

When you are able to wrap your mind around this truth, it may cause you some consternation. This means that all of the things that you learned about the US Constitution in elementary school, high school government class, college and any information you’ve learned since you became an adult…IS WRONG. If you went to law school and took Constitutional Law classes, they lied to you.

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that all of the debates that are made about the details of the Constitution are in error. We can all spend our days arguing about the articles and clauses and their meanings. But if the US Constitution is dead, and cannot bind anyone to it, arguing about the merits of constitutionality of any government action is simply an exercise in re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

A constitution, or any document organizing a government, must have authority and validity. But the US Constitution has no inherent authority or validity and has never had either. If we can learn what the US Constitution is and what it is not, we can understand the flaws in the old constitution and then craft a new constitution for any seceding state with authority and validity.

I believe that one of the major reasons that Washington is able to operate as it does, outside the strictures of the Constitution, is because those persons in power know that the Constitution is not legally enforceable. Absent a restraining legal document coupled with principals that have the power to enforce the terms of the document, the DC criminals do exactly what they wish and what they can get away with.

The US Constitution has the following words in its Preamble, showing the intent of the Framers:

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.

The Founder’s sentiments seek to secure blessings to themselves and their posterity, meaning future generation of citizens. But a loose agreement cannot by law or reason bind any future person to its details. Contracts cannot obligate persons who will live in the future, either. They can only obligate persons who are living presently and who sign and receive the contract.

Even though the old constitution wishes to bestow blessings and liberty on their posterity, it has no power whatsoever to achieve this goal. Further, it never showed any intention toward future generations other than to offer useful recommendations to their posterity toward the blessings of liberty. If they were in some way able to bind future generations to the Constitution, they would not have bestowed liberty but slavery upon their posterity, since their children would be bound to it from birth, like it or not.

So what exactly is this Constitution?

I think it could only be called a “loose agreement” between certain people at the time that it was written and ratified. It is not a treaty ratified between sovereign states, which would have the weight of law. It cannot be considered a legal contract, since legal contracts have characteristics that the old constitution does not have.

It was ratified by votes in the several states. But ratification in any form didn’t turn it into a legal document with enforceability and authority.

The US Constitution is not a legal contract. The Constitution never bound any two or more parties in a legal way, nor did it ever purport to bind anyone. A timeless principle in contract law is that the contract is not valid until the contract is signed by all parties and delivered to the parties, or the representative of any signatory party. Any party may refuse to sign or deliver a written instrument and thus invalidate the contract. The US Constitution was not signed by anyone or anyone’s legal representative. It was not delivered to anyone or their representative. No one in the USA, either alive or dead, has ever signed the Constitution as a legal contract between parties. So how could it be a legal document with binding authority or validity?

Contracts are also voluntary. The parties come together for a purpose, but are free to dissolve the contract based upon the terms of the contract. Even if they leave contrary to the contract terms, there may be consequences, but they can still leave.

Abraham Lincoln’s position was that, once in the Union, no state can ever leave. And if the US Constitution was an enforceable contract between parties, his position would have been rejected instantly and laughed out of any court in the land. But in light of the unenforceable nature of the Constitution, Lincoln was free to do what he pleased as it related to the Confederate States of America and war. But the Confederate states were also right to secede from a Union that could not bind them. Constitutionality was irrelevant then, just as it is today.

The Constitution is not a perpetual corporation. The perpetuity of a corporation would require that new members voluntarily assent to its laws and by-laws as old members die off. New members must accept in writing because without their legal signatures, they would not be members and could not vote on corporate issues. There is no evidence whatsoever that the Framers intended the US Constitution to be a corporation’s organizational document…at least not a corporation in the strictest sense.

“The United States of America” is the name given in the US Constitution to the organization that the states created. Compare the work of the Founders to a group of thirteen property owners that need a management company to manage their properties. So, they created a management company and gave it specific tasks and responsibilities. The property owners retained to themselves all other powers not specifically delegated to the management company. They also did not transfer ownership of their properties to the manager. The owners remained the sovereign principals, controlling the manager. But there is NOT ONE WORD in the US Constitution that purports to create a new nation. Look for yourself.

So we can see that the Constitution is not a contract. It binds no one, and never did bind any persons. We see that all those who pretend to operate under its perceived authority act without any legal and legitimate authority.

But we voted and elected these Representatives and Senators. They are our duly elected officials, aren’t they?

Are our elected representatives our personal agents with legal authority to bind each of us individually and collectively? No they are not. In order for you to have a legal representative, you must sign your name to a document that gives the representative the power to act in your behalf. This document is commonly known as a “power of attorney.” You must also deliver the document to the agent.

People regularly sign a “power of attorney” for health care decisions and other legal matters. But what would you do if a stranger went to your doctor and usurped your wishes for your medical treatment, stating that he had your power of attorney? Any reasonable person would require the stranger to produce a written document bearing your signature prior to any changes of treatment. How much more should there be a written power of attorney for the DC stranger who plunders your income and steals your liberty?

Did you ever sign a power of attorney so that any elected officeholder could make binding decisions on your behalf? Did you authorize any person to obligate you to laws, regulations or the payment of taxes to any governmental body? I know that I have not done so. Neither have you.

And the secret ballot makes the concept of any elected representative acting as your agent even more ridiculous. How could secret voters hire an agent? How could secret voters enter into a power of attorney agreement?

So we see that those persons acting as our elected representatives are acting unlawfully, and that we have both the right and duty to treat them as usurpers and frauds.

Then upon what authority does the Federal Government operate? Who gave them the authority to enact laws, tax, confiscate men’s property and kill other men who resist their machinations?

You could say that voters select their representatives by secret ballot, and so bestow authority upon them. But in matter of law and reason, this is not true. It would not be upheld in a court of common law. If you and three of your friends voted in favor of a proposal in which a fourth friend would take it upon himself to deprive me of my property or my life, he would be a robber and/or a murderer. If he presented himself at my door to do his work, he would be unable to produce any legal authority to complete his task. Absent legal authority, I should treat him as a robber and murderer and resist his efforts even unto deadly force.

In a courtroom, a judge would ask to see your representative’s written authority to act in your behalf. You would be unable to produce such written authority.

So voting is neither a contract nor a power of attorney. And secret ballots should never be considered legally binding, since no signed contract between parties ever existed. Further, if voters authorize another person to act as their agent, they should do so in an open manner so to accept responsibility for the agent’s acts. That’s called “liability,” and that’s what happens out here in “the real world.” But the US Constitution, in Article I, Sec. 6, says that “for any speech or debate (or vote) in either house, they (Senators or Representatives) shall not be questioned in any other place.” So your agent cannot be held responsible for any laws they make…and neither can you. So, if no one is responsible, who is responsible?

NO ONE.

And let’s return to the subject of legal authority. The Constitution has no legal authority to bind any two or more persons. If it did, you would possess a copy upon which you would find your own signature and at least one other person’s signature. But that document does not exist in any form and has not existed in over 235 years. So, absent that authority, voting is only theater. It is an exercise that makes the citizen feel that he is participating in a legitimate government.

The Federal Government in Washington has been illegitimate from its origin. There is no enforceable law or principal possessing superior force to restrain it from any act. It was only the morality and ethics of the earliest founders that restrained them from tyranny. Unfortunately for Americans, that morality and ethical restraint are a quaint memory.

OK. Convinced that the old Constitution is a cruel joke? Then, how can the new constitution be crafted to guarantee legitimacy and legality? If the framers of the new constitution write one like the old one, it will suffer the same illegitimacy issues as the old one.

Here are suggestions on how to write a new Constitution for a seceding State that wants to become a new sovereign nation.

The New FRONA Corporate Model of Governance

Form the new nation in the style of a corporation. Let’s call it The Free Republic of North America, or for short, “FRONA.” The Constitution, or Charter, can be its laws and by-laws. Each person will be given the option to subscribe to FRONA and become a citizen. That person would have to be presented with a copy of the Charter. Each person would have the choice to accept the Charter in writing. Once accepted, each citizen would be, in essence, a shareholder in the corporation, since a person could not be a citizen/shareholder without signed consent. Each citizen would pay one once of .999 purity silver and would be issued one share of common stock with one vote. No citizen could buy or own more than one share of common stock. That would also mean that those rejecting the Charter could not be citizens of FRONA. Minors could not be citizens until they were of legal age to enter into a contract, usually eighteen years of age. So, in FRONA, there would be two groups of people: citizens and residents. Residents would obviously not have the same legal rights as citizens.

FRONA might also issue preferred stock. The shareholder/citizens could actually invest their own money in preferred stock. This would provide the new nation with additional capital. Shareholders holding preferred stock might receive dividends if FRONA makes a profit.

FRONA would also be able to issue debentures and corporate bonds to raise capital.

As the corporate structure would be a closely-held private corporation, the charter could specify that the stock could not be resold to non-citizens. Only FRONA would be eligible to buy back the stock to be reissued to new citizen/investors.

The founders of FRONA would have the right to present the offer of citizenship to anyone anywhere on the planet. They could cherry pick the world for the best and brightest talent! It would be a powerful component of immigration policy.

Voting could be done by proxies (power of attorney), and the citizen could designate an elected representative as his proxy in writing. Or he could vote himself on any issue. This creates a hybrid between direct democracy and representative democracy.

Think this is unworkable? The largest corporations on the planet have been running this way for hundreds of years. GM (pre-nationization), Exxon, Standard Oil, all of the Dow Jones top 30…they all work this way just fine. Many have millions of shareholders, just like FRONA would have. In fact, Sweden’s Stora Kopparberg was incorporated by King Magnus Eriksson in 1347 and still operates today.

FRONA Monetary Policy

The new Charter must have an article about monetary policy. This article will authorize the private minting of gold and silver coins, and will mandate that coins only show their purity and weight, not any monetary value.

Banking, Entity Structure and Privacy

The new Charter must contain an article about banking. Specifically, Fractional Reserve Banking must be prohibited. In addition, strict protections of privacy must be enacted, shielding citizens from the tax laws of other nations.

The new Charter must contain laws that prevent tax treaties with other nations, thereby protecting FRONA citizens from predatory taxation by other jurisdictions. Statutes must also protect the privacy of business entities such as corporations.

Taxation

The sole method of taxation that is at once most restrictive to government yet least confiscatory to individuals is the sales tax. FRONA should establish the sales tax as the sole source of government revenue.

The Militia

FRONA must organize, train and equip a citizen militia, comprised of able-bodied men and women between the ages of 18 and 55. This will be an entirely voluntary militia, since requiring conscription is tantamount to involuntary servitude, and does not protect individual liberty. As the well-regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free State, the natural right of citizens to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Following the Swiss model of militia organization would be a good idea.

If the new FRONA Charter only had those articles about monetary policy, banking, taxation and militia, that would be sufficient to form a core government and bring FRONA to life. Because the power of the purse and the power of the sword make all else possible. There are many details that must be worked out that are not listed in this article. But this article was not written to form a new government. It was written to get you thinking about constitutions and how they directly affect YOU.

Thomas Jefferson’s shining jewel, the Declaration of Independence, states that when a government shows a long train of abuses meant to reduce the people under absolute despotism, it is the people’s right and duty to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security. The Free Republic of North America could be that new guard that secures the future of a new nation.

FRONA. A new model for governance on the American continent. An idea whose time is come.

Secession is the Hope For Mankind. Who will be first?

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

For a wider analysis of this constitutional issue, read “No Treason,” by Lysander Spooner.

Gun Control And The Well-Regulated Militia Update

By Russell D. Longcore

(Editor’s note: I wrote this back in May 2009. I’m updating it today. Apparently, sportscaster Bob Costas and other mindless state-worshippers still cannot wrap their brains around the concepts of Natural Law. Of course, they would have had to actually learn the concept in order to forget or ignore it.)

Gun control is today’s subject. The issue has regrettably popped up onto the national radar screen after Jovan Belcher, a nobody NFL player, shot and killed his girlfriend and then did the criminal courts system a favor by killing himself. (In the USA, there are about 221 homicides EACH WEEK in which a gun is used.* But the rest of those people weren’t major or minor celebrities, so they must not count.) Those who would outlaw gun ownership are undaunted and patient. They know that another celebrity shooting, school shooting or mass murder will eventually occur in the United States, and that the event will propel this issue back onto the front pages and lead stories in the news media. So, let us examine the issue of gun control in light of history and a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

For today, we will suspend the debate about whether the Constitution has any validity. Let’s just all stipulate that for this argument, it does.

The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States says:

“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”.

Any State with a well-regulated Militia would be capable of defending itself from Federal tyranny or foreign invasion. Over the past two hundred years, the individual States have forgotten that their security as a free State relies upon a well regulated Militia. The first two phrases in the Amendment shed light on today’s power structure in the United States. The Federal government now has standing armies, navies and an air force that far outnumbers any state militia. So, state sovereignty has been destroyed. Now states are more like counties…no sovereignty, only slave territories of a cancer-ridden, predatory Federal system. So the very opposite of the Second Amendment has become true, stated thus: “A Well-Regulated Militia, being unnecessary to the security of a Serf State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall indeed be infringed.”

Let’s consider the definition of the word “arms”.

The Second Amendment does not define the word “arms” but leaves it open to definition and expansion in the future. “Arms” were not only firearms, but any weapon that could be used to defend one’s life or property. Why then do the anti-gun advocates only single out firearms as the focus of their desire to disarm Americans? Why not archery equipment, swords, knives, or sharpened sticks?

Next, let’s look at the word “infringe”. The Webster’s Dictionary defines “infringe” in two ways pertinent to this discussion; from the Latin “infrangere”:(1) “to break; to violate or go beyond the limits of: (2) to encroach upon.” In order to further explain the Second Amendment, the definition of the word “right” must also be considered, and is: “something due to one by law, custom or nature.” The “right” is the thing not to be infringed by government. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson writes of mankind being “endowed by their Creator with certain Unalienable Rights.” The definitions above speak directly to rights endowed to humans by natural law, and to the nature of man as a created being subject to God’s authority. These rights were among those enumerated as “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Therefore, the Second Amendment states that the right to keep and bear arms is one that is endowed by our Creator under natural law and shall not be broken, violated or encroached upon by the Federal government. It validates the concept of personal property ownership, in this case one’s own person, and the principle of self-defense.

Read What Are Unalienable Rights? to grasp the concept of Natural Law and Unalienable Rights.

Many gun control advocates support, and have been successful in the criminalization of the ownership of certain automatic and semi-automatic weapons, the so-called “assault weapons”. They now seek to restrict the ownership of nearly all firearms by private citizens. Yet the issue of advancing technology was not an issue that the framers of the Constitution even considered worthy of mention. These were learned men, and were well aware of the technological improvements that were made in weaponry just in their lifetimes. They knew world history and knew that guns and gunpowder were relative newcomers to the art of war.

But please consider: at the time of the Revolutionary War, did not the Continental armies possess the same technology of armaments as the Redcoats? Yes.

Hadn’t the Colonial citizens owned and used firearms since the early 1600s? Yes!

Did the English soldiers have cartridges for their rifles while the Colonials had only musket and ball? No. Musket, ball and cannon were the leading technologies of the day.

Did only the King have the ability to build ships, forge cannon and cannonball? No. John Paul Jones was a privateer, which is basically a government-sponsored pirate, preying on English ships. His first wartime command was aboard the ship Providence, owned by New England businessman John Brown. The Providence bristled with cannons.

Both of the combatants in the Revolutionary War had the same technology in armaments. The Continental armies consisted of fighting citizens, taking up their rifles and pistols, forging cannon and going to war against superior numbers in the British army and navy, but not against superior weapons.

Therefore, when it came time for the framers of the Constitution to consider the Amendments, they did not even mention the possibility that the private citizen should be prevented from owning the same weapons as the military. Ladies and Gentlemen, the militias of the Colonies WERE the military!! Could it be that they considered the threat of government tyranny greater than that of citizens owning the latest, most advanced weapons? If the Continentals had the same technology in armaments as the British military, how is it that today’s politician has concluded that (a) semi-auto firearms are not necessary for a citizen to own, (b) full-auto firearms have mostly been outlawed, and that (c) firearms should be OK as long as they are used for hunting or sporting purposes? Where in HELL did this hunting and sporting idea come from?

One of the beauties of the Constitution is its simplicity. The Second Amendment is written with no ambiguity in clear, simple words. Words have meaning. For decades now, those who would subjugate our citizens with Federal and State tyranny have fought to redefine the words of the Second Amendment. They have been successful in passing unconstitutional laws that do in fact infringe upon our right to keep and bear arms. The framers understood that with freedom comes responsibility, and that the ideas and acts of men have consequences. Yet they entrusted to future generations this simple Amendment. They possessed the foreknowledge that this newly-formed government would have the same potential as governments throughout history to decline toward tyranny and totalitarianism.

Finally, you might want to take a look at Ammo: Isn’t It Obvious? which is likely the next logical step for Washington to take to disarm America.

Liberty lovers, tyranny is usually not completed in one grand sweep. There is no single foreign enemy that is going to invade America and enslave its people. It is much more effective when the tyrants enslave people a tiny bit at a time. Tyrants are patient, and the people are usually too busy living their lives to care. It’s death by a thousand little cuts. And you still end up dead.

The Right To Keep And Bear Arms is yet another great reason that secession is the ONLY solution for individual liberty and property rights in North America.

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

*CDC stats 2009

© Copyright 2012, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

Here Is How To Secede From The Union

Turn Your Smart Phone Into An ATM!!! Go to: INSTANT ACCESS!!

By Russell D. Longcore

(Editor’s note: This is an update of an article I wrote in 2010. I’ve learned some more things about secession since then.)

With all the furor in the Main Stream Media over the last couple weeks regarding those secession petitions lodged at the White House website, I think this article may be of service to those who love America but hate Washington.

A reader recently pointed out to me that I’ve provided most of the possible reasons why any state should secede at DumpDC. But she said I haven’t given a step-by-step procedure on how secession should work. I started this process in my article entitled Secession The Hope For Humanity, but I’m fleshing it out here. This is not complete by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s a place to start a lively dialogue about the steps to secession.

You may think that this article is too simplistic, and omits important issues. Perhaps. But I submit that if secession is not made so simple that a child can understand it, it will not happen in your state. Its logic has to be made so unassailable that only a fool would resist it.

So, here it is, my friends:

How To Secede From The United States of America

1. Philosophy

Each individual must come to his or her own conclusion that secession is the only way to regain liberty, and each state must make its secession decision independent of any other state.

2. Initiation

Secession should be solemnly deliberated by the elected representatives and the state citizens. Secession should be initiated at the moment that any state reaches the point at which it will no longer accept the despotic tyranny and laws coming from the US Federal Government in Washington, DC. Or, secession should be initiated upon a collapse of the Dollar, or the declaration of martial law by Washington DC in the event of social upheaval.

There is no written, formal method for initiating and completing an act of secession. If history can be our guide, we see that the states of 1860 completed their secessions by specially-elected conventions or by referendum. But the secession could also be initiated by a Governor and the State Legislature in assembly.

It would be excellent if a seated Governor would lead his state into secession. The easiest way for a state to secede would be for the State Legislature to draft a Declaration of Secession document and an Ordinance of Secession document. Then the Legislature should take a roll call vote and pass a Joint Resolution of Secession in legislature assembled, and have the Governor sign the Resolution instantly upon its passage. This process should be done on live TV, with all proceedings televised and recorded. Allowing the world to view this process in non-edited real time would be one of the most exciting and historic TV broadcasts ever made. The eyes of the world would be fixed on the TV feed and little else would be reported or discussed on its programming. Hell, run commercials and make some money for the state. Why should the networks get this historic event for free?

If the Legislature and Governor refused to support secession, a petition initiative could garner enough signatures of registered voters to force a referendum. Each state has statutes about petition initiatives for referenda. The Texas Nationalist Movement is doing a petition initiative right now, with the intent of presenting the petitions to the Legislature on day one of the 2013 legislative session. Follow the law in your state.

If there was a statewide referendum on secession it could be a simply worded ballot question like: “Shall the citizens of the State of XXXX repeal the 1788 ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America by the State of XXXX, and shall the citizens of the State of XXXX resume all the rights and powers granted under said Constitution?” A simple “Yes” or “No” vote will suffice.

If that’s too flowery for you, here’s an even simpler question: “Shall the citizens of the State of XXXX secede from the United States of America?” A “Yes” or “No” vote will suffice.

A simple majority of votes would pass the referendum.

The referendum should only be done with paper ballots that will be counted by hand, no machines, no electronic voting. Further, the referendum should not be scheduled for only one single day, but over at least three days, preferably a weekend…to facilitate the greatest possible participation by registered voters. Polling places should be open from 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight on voting days. Finally, a photo ID should be required as verification of identity for eligibility to vote. This ain’t the American way of widespread voter fraud…this is the state’s rights secession way. It’s also my article, and I can write the rules any way I choose.

Another method of moving secession along in your state might be to organize on a county-by-county basis. The County Commission could either call for a countywide referendum on the question of secession, or could nominate a delegate to participate in a Secession Convention.

3. Secession Convention

Each state’s Secession Convention, formed to contemplate, design and complete the process of secession, should draft a Declaration of Secession.

Many of the seceding states of 1860 wrote and ratified a Declaration of Secession, also known as a “Declaration of Causes.” Each Declaration enumerated that particular state’s reasons for secession, in like manner to the 1776 Declaration of Independence sent to King George by the Colonists.

Once the Declaration of Secession is prepared, the Chair of the Secession Convention or the Governor should see that signed original copies of the document are delivered to the Governors of all of the States that comprise the United States of America. The delivery of each Ordinance Of Secession to each Governor would make good TV.

As a mere gesture of courtesy and wry wit, copies of the Declaration of Secession should be sent by Federal Express (just for the irony) to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate. You must remember that states do not have to ask permission of Washington to secede. Their compact, the US Constitution, is not between DC and the states. The Constitution is between the several States.

4. Ordinance of Secession.

Then the seceding states must prepare an Ordinance of Secession. Here below is the simple, succinct wording of the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession of 1860:

AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the union between the State of South Carolina and other States united with her under the compact entitled “The Constitution of the United States of America.”

We, the people of the State of South Carolina, in convention assembled do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, That the ordinance adopted by us in convention on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, and also all acts and parts of acts of the General Assembly of this State ratifying amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed; and that the union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States, under the name of the “United States of America,” is hereby dissolved.

Done at Charleston the twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty.

That is the sum total of all the words necessary to complete the secession.

Once the Ordinance of Secession is prepared (televised live), the Chair of the Secession Convention or the Governor should see that signed original copies of the document are delivered to the Governors of all of the States that comprise the United States of America. The delivery of each Ordinance Of Secession to each Governor would make good TV also.

As a mere gesture of courtesy and wry wit, copies of the Ordinance of Secession should be sent by Federal Express (just for the irony) to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate. You must remember that states do not have to ask permission of Washington to secede. Their compact, the US Constitution, is not between DC and the states. The Constitution is between the several States.

That is the process of secession from the United States of America. That was the easy part. Then the REAL WORK begins.

The first thing the new sovereign state should do is to form a Constitutional Convention, and create a new government. See how I would do it at The New Corporate Model of Governance.

Questions? Do I see questions?

Question: What if Washington files a Federal lawsuit or injunction in Federal Court to stop the state from seceding?
Answer:Once the state formally secedes, it is no longer subject to US Federal Court jurisdiction, is it? Is it not a sovereign nation after secession, just like any other nation of the world? So, the seceding state could answer any legal maneuver by rejecting the jurisdiction of the US Federal Courts. Remember, Washington doesn’t OWN your state. Washington was formed by the states to be an errand-boy for the states. Who runs who?

Question: What if Washington invades our state with military forces?
Answer: That is the reason that your state needs a well-trained state militia. And when I say “well-trained,” I do not mean trained to fight on a 3rd Generation battlefield (like WWII or Vietnam). I mean a militia trained to fight with guerilla warfare (4th Generation) tactics, with a heavy emphasis on the tactics of General Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War.

Question: What will we do for money?
Answer: The state must make sure that the free market determines what is money in the new nation. Any state that creates a new national money built upon the same system of debt, fractional reserve banking and fiat paper money is a state created by the same sociopathic criminals that ran the Federal Government, and perhaps even running your state government. The state/nation’s new Charter must prohibit a central bank and fractional reserve banking. The only thing that the national Charter should say about money is that (a) coins must show the weight and fineness, and that (b) the penalty for issuing counterfeit money or altering money is death.

Secession is little more than breaking up with your girlfriend or divorcing your spouse. It’s a lot like being a card player in a big card game, then folding your cards, cashing in your chips and leaving the game.

Isn’t the process of secession much like writing this short note to end a relationship?

Dear Washington: It’s over. We’re leaving. We ain’t asking your permission to leave. We ain’t asking for a legal divorce. We’re just ending this relationship right here and now. We’re rescinding the authority we gave you in the year we ratified the compact. Leave us alone. Goodbye.

In conclusion, try to envision yourself and your family in a new nation created by secession. All the people you meet are excited and breathless in their anticipation of the future. The general opinion of the populace is pure unbridled optimism. The new nation’s economy is booming, the money is backed by gold and silver, and there is no inflation. “Now Hiring” signs are in all the shop windows. The newspaper’s “Help Wanted” ads are packed full. People seeking liberty are POURING over the American border to settle in the new nation. Prices for goods and services are low, and the stores are loaded with goods. Manufacturers are streaming into the new nation to take advantage of the rare pro-business atmosphere. Wages are climbing steadily in manufacturing jobs as companies compete for the best and brightest for their employees. New businesses are being created at a fever pace. Residential and commercial construction is at a high level to meet the demand of the new residents.

All because one state recognized this historic opportunity and realized the dream of liberty through the process of state secession.

Secession is the hope for humanity. Who will be first?

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2012, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

Keep Moving Folks. Nothing To See Here.

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By Russell D. Longcore

The title is what cops say to gapers and rubberneckers at accident scenes. And I’m telling you that this story about secession petitions is a non-story. But I could be wrong. Happened before…

I was on the air Monday on WJCN 1360 am in Philadelphia from 3:00 to 4:00, being interviewed about secession. Loved it…caught some drive time listeners. The host, Susan Payne, was all excited about the story she had seen about secession petitions that have been sent to the White House. She mentioned a Washington Post article about the petitions. She asked me to comment.

I read the Washington Post article which quotes excerpts from the Alabama secession petition. Then I went to the WhiteHouse.gov website and actually read all the petitions. And nearly all of them are written incorrectly, beginning thus: “We petition the Obama Administration to Peacefully grant the State of _______ to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own new government.”

That is not the method whereby a state secedes. This is tantamount to an employer asking his employee for permission to fire the employee. Although the petitioners and signatories are sincere in their desires, they exhibit a breathtaking ignorance of history, law and the Constitution. I am also a product of government schools, but I did not stop reading books when I received my high school diploma. So while I would like to blame Federal schools for the mind-numbed populace, the numbing was self-inflicted by “Them The People.”

Reminds me of the Pink Floyd song, “Comfortably Numb”… “Just a little pin prick…..”

There are certain states that do not need to ask permission to secede from the Union because the Federal Government in Washington DC is not a party to the agreement between the states. DC has no standing, as they say in court proceedings. Any state properly secedes when it prepares an Ordinance of Secession and presents it to the other states.

An Ordinance of Secession is not a petition. It is a declaration of independence that revokes and dissolves the union between that state and the other states.

I can assure you that these petitions are not being taken seriously in Washington. Fact is, they welcome the diversion from the CIA Petraeus story.

A crucial point sprang into my bourbon-sotted mind as I wrote this article. The US Constitution was written and ratified (allegedly) by the thirteen sovereign nations that were the original thirteen colonies that fought and won the First North America Secession of 1776. Get it? Thirteen nations…not 50. Later, West Virginia was carved out of the State of Virginia by Lincoln and his cronies. Texas was a sovereign nation when it was granted statehood. And Hawaii was a sovereign nation that was overthrown by DC and stolen. ALL THE REST of the states that now exist WERE NOT NATIONS prior to their statehood. Some states were formed when sovereign nations actually DONATED land to the Federal Government. Most of the states were TERRITORIES, and not sovereign nations. And the territories were owned by Washington DC.¹

A reasonable argument could be made that any current state that was not a sovereign nation at the time it was granted statehood might have a difficult time seceding from the United States of America and getting shed of Washington. Understand that I am not an attorney, and I’m only offering my opinion on this date. I have not read the State Constitutions of any of the US States. More information may come to me that will cause me to change this opinion.

Looks to me like Texas is the front runner in the race to be a new nation!

Dump DC: Six Letters That Can Change History.

Copyright 2012: Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

¹ Wikipedia – List of US States by Date of Statehood

State Sovereignty and Secession Part II

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by Sarah Goodwich

Here’s how to secede.
 The US is not a sovereign nation; if it were, then unilateral secession would be impossible, since there is no such thing as an “escape clause” from a sovereign nation.

Rather, each state is sovereign unto itself, via its People; that’s why the Constitution was ratified by popular vote in each state, not an act of the legislature. In essence, each state is a sovereign nation, and its People the ruling sovereigns.

The problem in 1861, was that the states defended themselves as an act of revolution rather than plain national defense; and by failing to assert the legal fact of their sovereignty as strongly as they could, they tacitly allowed the northern state’s claims of collective sovereignty to stand unopposed; this gave them the necessary domestic and foreign support needed to mount a successful military invasion and victory, while likewise prompting the Confederacy’ Napoleonic attempt at counter-invasion which met its Waterloo at Gettysburg.

This in turn resulted in a sustained occupation and censorship, which existed to date, with the truth only recently surfacing due to freed communication via the internet.

In order to secede, a state simply needs to assert the fact of its status as a sovereign nation by international law, via the recognition of two or more existing sovereign states– as with the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the Treaty of Texas, or the later recognition by the other American states formed out of its territories.

This likewise involves the historical declaration of each state being popularly sovereign, with its government deriving its powers by consent of its citizens, with the ensuing right to alter or abolish their government at will, along with its treaties and other foreign policy; for this was the manner in which they ratified the current Constitution to create a new federal republic among them.

Nor was this a national constitution in which any state relinquished its sovereignty as a separate nation in order to become a single collective sovereign state; but rather the sovereign People of each state expressly re-delegated powers differently from the prior federal republic formed by the Articles of Confederation– while the new, current federal republic likewise remained a strictly VOLUNTARY international association of sovereign nations.

Therefore, asserting these facts, the People of a state merely need convene as a sovereign People, and manifestly declare their intention to formally and officially withdraw from this international federal compact.

The federal government then has two possible responses:
 the first is that it can accept the declaration, and that is the end of it.

The second, is that it will refuse the declaration, fabricating a false history in order to justify it; and this can then be refuted and exposed, proving the federal government to be in hostile invasion and occupation of the state, while subjecting it to military duress. This will then require separate dealing, as with any hostile enemy occupying a sovereign nation in violation of international law and recognition.

That’s really all there is to it. Only one state needs to thus declare its sovereignty in order for to establish this precedent, which follows that likewise established in 1787 when each state unilaterally seceded from the 1781 Confederation.
 Some falsely claim that this was an existing union which simply changed its tenets, however plain history refutes this myth.

Therefore to recap, the People of a state must convene and assert their state’s national sovereignty, refuting the current regime’s claim of sovereign national authority over them; and the rest will be up to the regime in order to accept or refuse it, and the manner thereof; and the resulting course of action by the state in response.

In no case could there ever be a “civil war,” nor was there ever; for a civil war by definition is a domestic incident within a sovereign nation, never between separate ones as in 1861, as established by original intent of the states themselves. Post-invasive suppression and propagandizing of the facts are not history; they are merely censorship, and clearly cannot change prior original intent, or its retention of sovereignty.

As such, those who claim that a “civil war settled the law” are merely mistaken, since neither invasion nor hostile occupation and censorship can change a nation’s sovereignty by merely suppressing the fact thereof.

Convention, and declaration, thus remain the path to secession, accompanied by assertion of supporting fact and dissolution of contrary propaganda.

Sarah Goodwich can be reached at: sarahwitch@comcast.net.

State Sovereignty and Secession Part I

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by Sarah Goodwich

(Editor’s note: This is just brilliant. Just read the text and watch the video.)

It’s not simply secession, but sovereignty. A state doesn’t need to secede, but merely the ability to do so, in order to keep the feds in line; it’s like any defense, i.e. you have it so you don’t need to use it.

Otherwise, the federal government becomes an uncontestable ruling oligarchy which wields absolute power over every state, and there’s nothing they can do about it; as Thomas Jefferson wrote in The Kentucky Resolutions:
“Resolved, That the several States composing, the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general government; but that, by a compact under the style and title of a Constitution for the United States, and of amendments thereto, they constituted a general government for special purposes…. the government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since that would have made its discretion, and not the Constitution, the measure of its powers; but that, as in all other cases of compact among powers having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as of the mode and measure of redress.”

This was made clear by James Madison as he wrote in January of 1800 for the Virginia Assembly, in his Report on the Virginia Resolutions:
“It is indeed true that the term ‘states’ is sometimes used in a vague sense, and sometimes in different senses, according to the subject to which it is applied. Thus it sometimes means the separate sections of territory occupied by the political societies within each; sometimes the particular governments established by those societies; sometimes those societies as organized into those particular governments; and lastly, it means the people composing those political societies, in their highest sovereign capacity. Although it might be wished that the perfection of language admitted less diversity in the signification of the same words, yet little inconvenience is produced by it, where the true sense can be collected with certainty from the different applications. In the present instance, whatever different construction of the term ‘states,’ in the resolution, may have been entertained, all will at least concur in that last mentioned; because in that sense the Constitution was submitted to the “states;” in that sense the states ratified it; and in that sense of the term ‘states,’ they are consequently parties to the compact from which the powers of the federal government result.”

In other words, Madison holds, each state ratified the Constitution as a sovereign nation unto itself, and thus they are parties to the Constitution as sovereign nations.
Hence, he here held that the Constitution formed an international VOLUNTARY federal republic among sovereign nations.

Madison then goes on to illustrate the fallacy– and disaster– of construing the Constitution as a national compact among subordinate states:
“On any other hypothesis, the delegation of.. power would annul the authority delegating it; and… subvert forever, and beyond the possible reach of any rightful remedy, the very Constitution which all were instituted to preserve.”

And that’s PRECISELY what transpired under that construction, when presidents Jackson and Lincoln claimed a national compact among the states, with ensuing national authority to maintain sovereign integrity among the states via military coercion– as well as the dictatorial will to do so, and ensuing obsessive demagoguery and dogma to the resulting pseudo-state.

And thus we currently find ourselves in thralldom to a falsely established empire, which pretends itself a token democracy to exercise absolute power in the name of service to the people over whom it reigns– truly, as Madison stated, “the delegation of power annulling the power delegating it.”

Sarah Goodwich sent this to us as a comment last Friday. She can be reached at: sarahwitch@comcast.net.

State Sovereignty: America’s Final Solution to Tyranny

by Ron Holland

(Editor’s Note: It’s nice to see that some of today’s thought leaders are thinking about state sovereignty. And the reason I’m running this article today is so you can see the thought process that Mr. Holland is following. But his article presumes that the best solution is for states to remain in the Union. I have asked this question over and over: Name ONE benefit that any state enjoys as a state of the American Union. To date, no one has offered the first benefit. Secession is the only solution to Federal tyranny, and no further laws or legislation need be enacted. A seceding state need only LEAVE.)

At the end of this article is a copy of the proposed state sovereignty amendment that Ron and Donnie Kennedy are promoting as the final solution to federal abuse. They believe that anything less will only continue the course of federal supremacy and the ultimate destruction of real American liberty. I sadly agree with them.

Just following Congress, the 2012 presidential campaign and the inability of citizens to influence government policy makes it clear to every American how broken the US political system has become. A few powerful interests run the entire show and the American people are being forced down a dark road to economic destruction. History shows us that Washington is immune to conventional national political action under the present system. What can freedom loving Americans do?

• We can’t change Washington because Congress is owned and controlled by special interests.

• Neither can we take over the establishment control of either political party as the media elites can break, sideline or ignore any candidate that threatens the elite interests.

• Third party efforts at the national level are doomed to failure and an ineffective tool for promoting freedom principles when compared to the successful Ron Paul campaign effort inside the GOP.

• Finally, education, although important, is not a fast enough solution to save our nation when more than 50% of the electorate lives off the looting of taxpayers through government benefits or make-work jobs.

So do freedom advocates just give up or wait for the eventual collapse of the economy and the US political system? While this is a prevalent view in freedom circles, hyperinflation and economic collapse even if you are invested to financially benefit from this outcome is certainly not a recipe for restoring limited government and liberty to our country. Fascism and wealth confiscation are the probable result, just look at what followed the failed German Weimar Republic in the 1930’s.

There is only one effective, democratic and peaceful tool left to Americans to defend their liberties and restore the original republic of our founding fathers. It is the right of state sovereignty and nullification, so effectively explained by Tom Woods in his book Nullification: How To Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century. Nullification

Many other freedom advocates have proposed nullification and state sovereignty, including the Kennedy Brothers who have developed a State Sovereignty Amendment strategy that should be launched in all 50 states. Although the elites ruling our nation have total control over the federal government and the two-party system nationally, they have neglected to extend this top-down control to the state level. This is because over the last 50 years states have become mere powerless appendages of Washington without influence – and this is an opportunity for the Freedom movement.

Americans can, of course, continue feeling important and wasting time, money and efforts on establishment candidates for Congress and presidential campaigns claiming to represent our free-market views. But if we do, we are just playing in a rigged game to keep productive Americans busy at doing nothing that matters and does not threaten those in charge.

A decentralized national movement focused state-by-state at the legislature level is the only game left for us to play if we wish to be effective. When a state or states vote to nullify a congressional bank bailout, the sovereign debt of Washington or the Fed’s dollar policy, this will attract media attention, especially uncontrolled foreign journalists and the alternative freedom media. Media coverage attracts investor and market attention and as we see today in the European sovereign debt crisis originally born on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs, markets move politicians and governments.

This is our last and final solution available to restore freedom and limited government to these United States. Following the 2012 elections – regardless of whether Romney or Obama win or which corrupt political party controls Congress – this is the only real game left in town that matters.

What do you think?

After reviewing the sample sovereignty amendment below, you can reach Ron and Donnie Kennedy on their website at http://www.kennedytwins.com. Remember, a return to state sovereignty and nullification is our last chance.

Feel free to improve on the proposed amendment and make it more appropriate for the unique needs and situation of your state, but do something now before it is too late! – Ron Holland, email: skironholland [at] yahoo.com

THE STATE SOVEREIGNTY AMENDMENT (Sample)

These United States of America are a Republic of Republics deriving its authority from the consent of the governed residing within their Sovereign State. Each Sovereign State is the agent of the people thereof. The federal government formed by the compact of the United States Constitution is the agent of the Sovereign States. Federal authority shall be supreme in all areas specifically delegated to it by the Constitution. All acts or legislation enacted pursuant to the Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land. The Sovereign State reserves an equal right to judge for itself as to the constitutionality of any act of the federal government.

Section I. The Sovereign State specifically reserves the right to interpose its sovereign authority between acts of the federal government and the liberties, property, and interests of the citizens of the state, thereby nullifying federal acts judged by the state to be an unwarranted infringement upon the reserved rights of the state and the people thereof.

1. State nullification of a federal act must be approved by a convention of the state.

2. Upon passage of an act of nullification, all federal authority for the enumerated and nullified act(s) shall be suspended.

3. Upon formal acceptance of nullification by three-fourths of the conventions of the states, including the original nullifying state, the enumerated federal act(s) shall be prohibited in the United States of America or its territories.

4. Upon formal rejection of nullification by three-fourths of the conventions of the states, the enumerated federal act(s) shall be presumed to be constitutional, notwithstanding any judgment of any federal or state court.

5. Until or unless there is a formal approval or rejection by the conventions of the states, the nullified federal act(s) shall remain non-operative as to the original and any additional nullifying states. A state that in its convention ratifies a particular act of nullification shall be construed to have nullified the same act as enumerated in the initiating state’s nullification.

6. No federal elected official, agent, or any individual working within or associated with any branch of the federal government may harass or attempt to harass, intimidate, or threaten a Sovereign State or the people thereof for exercising their rights under this amendment. No federal elected official, agent, or any individual working within or associated with any branch of the federal government shall attempt to influence or use their office to attempt to influence the deliberations of the people regarding the nullification of a federal act(s) or the acceptance or rejection of a nullified federal act(s).

7. Any United States military officer, non-commissioned officer or federal official or agent who carries out or attempts to carry out any order by a federal official, officer or agent to deny or hinder the people of a Sovereign State from exercising their rights under this amendment shall be subject to the offended state’s laws and may be tried accordingly. Jurisdiction in such cases is specifically denied to all federal courts, military courts, or any other court other than the courts of the offended state.

Section II. The government and people of these United States approve the principle that any people have a right to abolish the existing government and form a new one that suits them better. This principle illustrates the American idea that government rests on the consent of the governed and that it is the right of a people to alter or abolish it at will whenever it becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established. Therefore, the right of a Sovereign State to secede peacefully from the union voluntarily created by the compact of the Constitution is hereby specifically reserved to each state.

1. An act of secession shall be executed by a convention of the people of the state.

2. The seceded state shall appoint representatives to negotiate settlement of all debts owed the federal government, the purchase of federal properties within the Sovereign State, and the removal of federal military installations and personnel.

3. Upon acceptable arrangement for the payment of sums owed the federal government, the representatives may negotiate treaties of friendship, common defense, and commercial relations. Said treaties are subject to the same constitutional ratification as other treaties.

4. Readmission of a seceded state shall follow the same constitutional requirements as for any new state.

5. No federal elected official, agent, or any individual working within or associated with any branch of the federal government shall attempt to influence the people of the Sovereign State regarding their decision to secede from, remain with, or join this union.

6. Any United States military officer, non-commissioned officer, or federal official or agent who carries out or attempts to carry out any order by a federal official, officer, or agent to deny or hinder the people of a Sovereign State from exercising their rights under this amendment shall be subject to the offended state’s laws and may be tried accordingly. Jurisdiction in such cases is specifically denied to all federal courts, military courts, or any other court other than the courts of the offended state.

7. The inalienable right of the people of each Sovereign State to govern themselves is a right that existed before this formation of the federal government, and therefore nothing in this amendment shall be interpreted in such a manner as to deem the federal government to be the donor of the rights enumerated herein.

© Copyright 2008 – 2011 The Daily Bell. All Rights Reserved.

It’s The Money, Stupid

“A criminal is a person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.” — Howard Scott

(Editor’s note: I have written over and over and over about how secession cannot be successful without The Power of the Purse. But what you may not have noticed is that Washington is dying for EXACTLY this reason. The Washington criminal class staged a financial coup d’etat in 1913 when they gave control of the dollar to the Federal Reserve. And ever since, nearly 100 years now, Washington and its banker have been stealing from the people of the earth.

Think about this. One of the most important duties that a government has is to protect individual property rights. And money is property. The government has a moral duty to protect the value of money…whatever money is being used. The Coinage Act of 1792, specified in section 19, established the death penalty for fraud or embezzlement by officers or employees of the mint, or of debasing or making the currency to “be of less weight or value.” No further remedy need be sought than through the criminal courts and prosecuting offenders for fraud or theft.

But when the government itself commits the acts of fraud and/or theft, it’s worse since they will do it and call it lawful. To allow money to be debased is to suborn fraud or theft. To perpetrate the fraud/theft, like Washington has been doing now for nearly 100 years, should be subject to the death penalty for the perpetrators. That’s you, Washington.

The American government is going to die because they screwed up the money. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. IT’S THE MONEY,STUPID. And it’s DC’s greed that will be its undoing. Fiat currency…the dollar…is an nonredeemable debt instrument. The dollar-based monetary system is 100% based in debt. Precious metals are money. They are 100% based in value. Redeemability provides stability, which produces predictability. THAT’S how you run an economy.

In the article following, Ron Hera of www.heraresearch.com writes about how states are beginning to seek ways they can survive in a post-dollar world. It’s almost like the states have been in a drug-induced coma, and are beginning to come back into consciousness. But we here at DumpDC applaud states like Utah. Liberty’s got to start somewhere.

U.S. States Seek to Break Financial Connection with Federal Government

Dear David,

I hope you don’t mind receiving this note. Let me say that I am not given to hyperbole. This is the most important message I have ever sent. I urge you to read it and to share it with others.

Earlier this week I attended the Utah Monetary Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah. As you may know, the state of Utah passed a Legal Tender Act earlier this year authorizing the use of federally minted gold and silver coins as money in the state of Utah. Now, legislators in other states, many of whom attended the Monetary Summit, are evaluating similar legislation.

Among other things, this means the United States is approaching a Constitutional crisis because states are beginning to financially break away from the federal government. This is no less serious than the American War of Independence or the War Between the States. The Utah Monetary Declaration (below) is a financial declaration of independence whereby states are beginning to opt out of the Federal Reserve System. A major confrontation seems inevitable.

The issues underlying this historic development include:

1. The unsound condition of large U.S. banks, which have inaccurate and crumbling balance sheets along with $250 trillion in high-risk OTC derivatives contracts;

2. The unstable nature of the U.S. and world financial systems, characterized by unworkable levels of sovereign debt and private debt and by over $600 trillion in OTC derivatives liabilities;

3. The excessive levels of federal government debt and unfunded liabilities combined with falling federal tax revenues prior to the start of the double-dip recession that began in the second half of 2011;

4. The radically inflationary monetary policies of the federal government and of the Federal Reserve, which promise high inflation or hyperinflation in the future;

5. The worsening condition of the real U.S. economy outside of large banks, multinational corporations, and Wall Street firms, where federal government bailouts and Federal Reserve monetary easing (money printing) transfer wealth from proverbial Main Street to literal Wall Street;

6. The rapidly escalating polarization of the distribution of wealth, which threatens not only the economic stability of the United States but also its social and political stability; and

7. The current, highly inflationary monetary system is plainly unfair and fundamentally immoral.

As a consequence of these grave, ongoing and growing problems, which are being largely ignored by the mainstream news media, state governments must take immediate action to ensure the functioning of local economies and of state governments, should the federal government / Federal Reserve System break down. Specifically, there is an urgent requirement for an alternative currency to the privately issued Federal Reserve Note, which is erroneously referred to as the “U.S. dollar.”

Replacing a stable form of money with ever expanding debt and inflation undermines capitalism and destroys jobs. The monopolistic monetary system of the United States today is inherently inflationary because it must continually expand in order to prevent a deflationary collapse. The underlying structure and root cause of the monetary system’s inherent and inescapable inflationary bias is the legal construction of money as debt with no direct link to real economic activity. Debt levels in the economy and bank profits are simply out of line with reality.

In addition to the unsustainable and unstable nature of such a system, an inherently inflationary monetary system destroys savings by devaluing the currency. Savings, which are the result of excess production, precisely define the term “capital.” Replacing capital with debt, while highly beneficial for banks that create money out of thin air (through lending), is a deeply flawed concept responsible for the systematic and ongoing breakdown of capitalism in America. This deep, structural problem is the absolute root cause of chronic, irremediable unemployment. As a consequence, there will be no genuine economic recovery in the U.S. and jobs will not return unless and until the monetary system is fundamentally reformed.

An ultimately more important issue is also garnering attention among state legislators, prominent (non Keynesian) economists, religious leaders, political activists and voters. Inflation, particularly if it is systematically understated by the federal government or Federal Reserve, robs savers of the proceeds of past labor and robs workers of the spending power of their wages, living standards and financial futures. Inflation robs the elderly of their retirement and robs investors of their capital by facilitating taxes on alleged gains created solely by currency debasement. Legal tender, created as debt, results in ever larger debt burdens thrust upon innocent future generations that will experience progressively lower living standards and reduced economic opportunity. Generations to come will be born into debt bondage, thus the monetary system is at the center of a profound moral crisis.

The morally and literally bankrupt nature of the current U.S. financial system is transforming America into a dog-eat-dog society where every person seeks to live at the expense of someone else rather than by producing wealth, because production is systematically stolen by the federal government and by banks through the clever device of an inflationary monetary system. The monetary system operates by exchanging fictitious “wealth” (debt based money created out of thin air by private banks) for the real wealth of borrowers, i.e., the proceeds of their labor. In effect, the monetary system is a massive scam purported to be legal but lacking any demonstrable legal authority. Specifically, there is no Constitutional or other legal basis upon which the federal government can force a private monetary monopoly on the states. In fact, the Constitution of the United States explicitly establishes the exact opposite.

The oversized banking system and federal government have grown in an unholy alliance in lock-step and now consume so much of the U.S. economy that, together, they not only pillage the real economy but threaten to kill, once and for all, what is left of the free country founded by the Declaration of Independence. The moral precedent and example set at the highest levels of the federal government and of the banking cartel is that profit, fame, success and wealth are (either directly or indirectly) rewards for immoral acts rather than for honesty in business. Moral corruption at the top–embedded in the very structure of the monetary system–has slowly spread its gangrenous effect, undermining totally the founding principles of the United States of America, enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and in the Bill of Rights. Rather than liberty, America’s legacy is fast becoming one of moral turpitude enshrined in financial injustice and oppression.

The challenge before our nation today–our moment in history–is not merely a financial or economic or political or legal / Constitutional crisis. It is also, and primarily, a moral crisis that could literally destroy the United States of America and all that it has stood for in more than two centuries. A stable society requires sound principles. A moral society requires sound money. Today, the United States of America has neither.

This message is a call to action. In the words of poet Dylan Thomas, let us say for America “Do not go gentle into that good night / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

I am personally asking you to read the Utah Monetary Declaration (below), which I, among many others, signed on Monday evening, September 26, 2011, in the Post Chapel on the University of Utah campus at Salt Lake City, and to forward it to all, especially to your state officials. Time is of the essence. Although its duration and pace are as yet unclear, the crisis is already upon us. Please act now and do not delay.

Ron Hera

Utah Monetary Declaration

WHEREAS, money, as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of measure promotes economic activity, growth and productivity by facilitating specialization and trade, the accumulation of wealth and its long-term investment, as well as accountability in setting prices, tracking progress, and settling accounts;

WHEREAS, natural money – precious metal coin – by virtue of its inherent qualities of recognizability, measurability, uniformity, divisibility, durability, portability and scarcity has reliably retained its purchasing power, notwithstanding periodic fluctuations, over the centuries and millennia of human history, serving as an effective medium of exchange and store of value often without any governmental declaration to require, legitimize or perpetuate its adoption and operation as such;

WHEREAS, sound money, by retaining stable purchasing power over time, best serves societal needs by substantially reducing the uncertainty of inflation risk for creditors and deflation risk for debtors as well as encouraging saving and investment among the general populace and benefiting the economic zone in which it circulates by stimulating the economy and by attracting foreign capital and commerce to the region;

WHEREAS, history attests that monopolistic monetary systems frequently engender currency debasement, resulting in serious consequences such as lost purchasing power, inequitable wealth redistributions, misallocation of productive resources, and chronic unemployment, and that, as the cornerstone of a free market and society, the right to choose, whether between suppliers of goods and services, political parties and candidates, or between alternative media of exchange, effectively promotes the general welfare;

WHEREAS, for the equal protection of all people, rich and poor, the open circulation of complementary and competing currencies should be fostered and promoted by every sovereign state, including those of The United States of America pursuant to their monetary powers (expressly reserved in article 1, § 10 and in the 10th amendment of the United States Constitution) to monetize gold and silver coin as an alternative, voluntary medium of exchange, and as an effective check and balance against debasement of the national currency by the national government which is constitutionally precluded from demonetizing state legal tender, through disparate tax treatment, discriminatory regulation, the threat of suppression and seizure, or otherwise;

NOW THEREFORE, we the undersigned hereby declare and affirm that:

1. As an essential element of true liberty and of the pursuit of happiness in a free society, all people enjoy the inherent and unalienable right to lawfully acquire, hold and use as a medium of exchange whatever form or forms of money they may prefer, including especially gold and silver coin.

2. All free and sovereign states bear the moral, political and legal obligation not only to refrain from debasing their own currencies (except under the most exigent circumstances) and from erecting barriers to the unfettered circulation of monies issued under the authority of their sovereign trading partners, but also to affirmatively defend and protect against fraud, counterfeiting, uttering, passing off, embezzlement, theft or neglect by requiring full transparency and accountability of all state chartered financial institutions.

3. No tax liability nor any regulatory scheme promoting one form of money over another should apply to: (a) the holding of any form of money, in a financial institution or otherwise; (b) the exchange of one form of money for any other; or (c) the actual or imputed increase in the purchasing power of one form of money as compared to another.

4. Except in the case of governmentally assessed taxes, fees, duties, imposts, excises, dues, fines or penalties, the authority of government should never be used to compel payment of any obligation, contract or private debt in any specific form of money inconsistent with the parties’ written, verbal or implied agreement, or to frustrate the intent of contracting parties or impair contractual obligations by invalidating the application of a discount or surcharge agreed to be dependent upon the particular medium of exchange or method of payment employed.

5. The extent and composition of a person’s monetary holdings, including those on deposit with any financial institution, should not be subject to disclosure, search or seizure except upon adherence to due process safeguards such as requiring an adequate showing of probable cause to support the issuance by a court of competent jurisdiction of a lawful warrant or writ executed by legally authorized law enforcement officers.

We hereby urge business leaders, educators, members of the media, legislators, government officials as well as judicial and law enforcement officers to use their best combined efforts to reinstate and promote the legal and commercial framework necessary to establishing and maintaining well-functioning, sound monetary systems based on choice in currency.

The signatories hereto concur in the general principles expressed in the foregoing declaration notwithstanding specific reservations some may have as to how such principles should be interpreted and applied in practice.

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2011, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

Why Texas Must Secede

by Lonestar Watchdog

(Editor’s Note: The Watchdog makes a brilliant observation about how Texas could take a TSA no-fly zone and spin it into wealth. And I can think of a hell of a lot more reasons for Texas to secede. Eventually, Texas secession will happen as a result of (a) some untenable Federal confrontation, or (b) the meltdown of the economy and the need for Texas’ very survival. But don’t look for secession to come from Austin.)

Before anyone says “we have to keep the union together. We go against secession of Texas.” These folks do not understand the people of the Lone Star State. It is about self-preservation and survival of the economic and culture legacy that sets Texas apart from the rest of the country. Many in Texas now see another reason why Texas should to declare independence. Texas has an unique culture, economy and people. Many Texans take much pride in their history from the settlement under Spanish rule to the Battle of San Jacinto that freed Texas from a tyrannical Mexican Military Dictator, General Antonio Lopez Santa Anna. This despot thought he was above the law and the Mexican constitution. His attitude oppressing the people of Texas caused Mexico lose the war trying to control the people.

Texas by its location can be more than just another republic. I can see many airlines doing transcontinental flights moving to Texas bypassing the rest of the United States if they do not have to deal with the TSA. The cost of fuel in an oil rich country would go down significantly which would benefit the airlines passing down the savings to the customers. The Tourist industry would boom because many people taking transcontinental flights might stay in Houston to go to the beach in Galveston, go to San Antonio to see the Alamo and might go to Dallas…a nice stop to enjoy a couple of days of Texas hospitality . This is just one of the benefits that will happen when Texas achieves independence. What is holding Texas back? Washington DC and the control freaks in Congress all the way to the White House.

The United States violated the Annexation treaty of 1846, which was never ratified by the US Senate. When Obama tries to confiscate the guns out of the hands of Texans or declare a siege over the skies if Texas reigned in the TSA, we could see an outcry for secession and demand for a political divorce from Washington DC. I believe Texas will do so much better on their own. As the 10th largest economy in the world and the second most populous state in America, Texas must secede for its own survival to preserve its economic and cultural heritage. Texas is tired of the Obama White House attacking the Texas economy which is very independent and insulated from the rest of the country. The Texas economy is still chugging along regardless were other states have theirs at a complete standstill.

Texas is the only state that flies its flag at equal height to the American Flag because Texas is still a Republic, not just a state. If the President keeps pushing Texas…If the State legislators ignores the will of the people…the people of Texas will make their own way to achieve independence. Texas should secede because the people are too independent-minded and serious about preserving its historical and cultural heritage. The United States is better off without Texas and Texas is better off without the Union. If Obama keeps messing with Texas like he is playing dictator, Texas could spell the end to the imperial empire in Washington. If the White House decides to try to conquer it will be the downfall of his reign. Washington is broken beyond repair.

Texas must secede for its own survival. There are no more options left.

Secession is the Hope For Mankind. Who will be first?

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2011, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.