Tenth Amendment Center

Speech by Michael Opitz of Madison Forum

Bryce Shonka — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:38:40 +0000

Michael Opitz Tea Party Speech, Marietta Georgia, July 3, 2009
Good evening my Name is Michael Opitz and I am President of the Madison Forum, a civic non-partisan organization focused on “Good Government” through understanding truth and facts.
I want to give special recognition to Madison Forum Member, Richard Gruetter, self-taught Constitutional Scholar from whose research provided much information for this talk.
One of my favorite quotes is “Knowledge is Power … Ignorance is Slavery.”
“A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and to prize the rights God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of IGNORANCE that tyranny begins.” Benjamin Franklin
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” –Thomas Jefferson to Charles Yancey, 1816. ME 14:384
The U.S. Constitution is our foundation for freedom, it was not written in hard to understand legal terms it was written, so that every man of that time could understand the words, meaning and intent. After the Constitutional points were established by the delegates to that convention, it was then submitted to the people in each state and not the state legislators. It was published in every newspaper, so citizens could discuss and understand it. They did not need lawyers and judges then to tell them what the words meant. Think about that! Perhaps a higher percentage of the people then knew the Constitution better than we do today. The citizens of our country voted to ratify the Constitution without the advice and interpretation of legal scholars.
Over the years people have come to rely on lawyers and judges to tell us the meaning of the sacred scrolls, and we, the people have trusted them to tell us the truth. But they have not told us the truth, and we have accepted it without question.
We have been told that federal and Supreme Court judges have a life time appointments. That is not true. The Constitution does not grant lifetime appointments to judges. Article states III Section 1. States: “The judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their office Offices during good behavior.”
Regarding the jurisdiction of Congress to impeach, Hamilton said in Federalist 65, pg. 265:
“Their jurisdiction extends to offenses proceeding from the misconduct of public men. Or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. The offenses may properly be called POLITICAL, since they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to society itself.”
Justice Joseph Story, appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court by President James Madison (1811-45); considered the founder of Harvard Law School and its Professor of Law (1829-45); his contributions to American law have caused him to be called, … the “Father of American Jurisprudence.” 3
Story said:
“… an impeachment … is not so much designed to punish an offender as to secure the state against gross official misdemeanors. It touches neither his person nor his property, but simply divests him of his political capacity.”
“The offences to which the power of impeachment has been and is ordinarily applied as a remedy are … political offences, growing out of personal misconduct, or gross neglect, or usurpation, or habitual disregard of the public interests… unconstitutional opinions … attempts to subvert the fundamental laws and introduce arbitrary power”
A Federal Judge who makes rulings based upon anything but our U.S. Constitution, and those laws and treaties that flow from U.S. Constitutional authority, is violating his oath of office.
So when some Supreme Court judges such as Breyer, Ginsberg, and others who are consulting other countries’ constitutions are legislating their personal intent and therefore should be removed from office.
If a Judge changes the original intent of a law, or the U.S. Constitution he is legislating, setting public policy, or imposing his own will.
Remember what Justice Story said :
“The offences to which the power of impeachment has been and is ordinarily applied as a remedy are … political offences, growing out of … usurpation, or habitual disregard of the public interests… unconstitutional opinions … attempts to subvert the fundamental laws and introduce arbitrary power”
Now that brings us to the XIV Amendment.
Thomas Jefferson admonished Supreme Court Justice William Johnson:
“On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.”
Justice James Wilson (one of only 6 who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and was the second most active member of the Constitutional Convention) similarly explained:
“The first and governing maxim in the interpretation of a statute is to discover the meaning of those who made it.”
In the 1866 Senate ratification debate, the Citizenship Clause’s proponent, Jacob Howard of Michigan, said it was:
“… that every person born within the limits of the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, is by virtue of natural and national law, a citizen of the United States. … This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners,[or] aliens, …”
“James Doolittle of Wisconsin … wanted it clear that Indians were excluded because they owed allegiance to their tribes. The Citizenship Clause’s drafters were careful to exclude Indians … from U.S. citizenship because they were not fully subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.”
“Pennsylvania’s Edgar Cowan discussed citizenship’s limits. ‘If a traveler comes here from Ethiopia, from Australia, or from Great Britain, … he has a right to the protection of the laws, but he is not a citizen in the ordinary acceptation of the word.’
Lyman Trumbull of Illinois, chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a key drafter of the 14th Amendment, explained the jurisdiction requirement. The provision is, that ‘all persons born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens.’ That means ‘subject to the complete jurisdiction thereof.’ … What do we mean by ‘subject to the jurisdiction of the United States?’ Not owing allegiance to anybody else. That is what it means.”
“The … jurisdiction requirement, affirmed by its drafters’ expressed intent, is that after dealing with the special case of freedmen, the Citizenship Clause confers birthright citizenship only on citizens’ children.”
HYPERLINK “http://www.amconmag.com/2004_09_27/article.html”http://www.amconmag.com/2004_09_27/article.html
The bottom line is this – the federal courts have no authority to allow children who are born in our nation of alien parents, here legally or illegally, to automatically become citizens of the United States of America. That was NOT the intent of the 14th Amendment!
U.S. Supreme Court
IN SLAUGHTER-HOUSE CASES, 83 U.S. 36 (1872)
The Court ruled:
“… to establish a clear and comprehensive definition of citizenship which should declare what should constitute citizenship of the United States, and also citizenship of a State, the first clause of the first section [of the 14th Amendment] was framed.
‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.’
“… and it overturns the Dred Scott decision by making all persons born within the United States and subject to its jurisdiction citizens of the United States. That its main purpose was to establish the citizenship of the negro can admit of no doubt. The phrase, ’subject to its jurisdiction’ was intended to exclude from its operation children of … citizens or subjects of foreign States born within the United States.”
Today, however, courts are ruling that a child born on our soil, who’s mother is here illegally, is a citizen of the United States.
Chief Justice Marshall stated in Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. 264
“We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction which is given, than to usurp that which is not given. The one or the other would be treason to the constitution.”
The courts do not have the authority to change our nation’s citizenship requirements! When they do, they violate their only requirement to stay in office, found in: Article III, Section 1, …“shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour,” by violating their oath to protect and defend our Constitution.
As can be seen in “Cohens” above – they also commit: “…treason to the constitution.”
A couple weeks ago at a Cobb County Republican Breakfast, I had a conversation with Congressman Nathan Deal on Birthright Citizenship. He stated that he was looking for a test case to go to the Supreme Court for a current ruling. I asked that if the Supreme Court issued a favorable ruling supporting the original intent of the 14th Amendment, by what mechanics could the ruling be enforced? He replied that he did not know, and that no one had ever asked that question before. I pressed the question. He then stated that it must start with the state’s issuance of the Birth Certificate.
My reply was that if Georgia passed legislation that instead of issuing a standard Certificate of Birth, Georgia issued a “Statement Foreign of Birth” with the following qualification: “This Statement of Birth” is the official record of foreign birth and does not grant citizenship in compliance with the 14th Amendment.”
I then discussed the idea with Representative Bobby Franklin and State Senator Judson Hill. They both supported this idea. Bobby said he would be willing to introduce it in the Georgia House and Judson stated he would introduce it first in the Georgia Senate.
This is responsive leadership; please offer your strong support to them and this legislation which I believe will be offered in many states across our country. The 10th Amendment has meaning, and this will help us solve a critical problem which if not addressed properly, will forever change our nation.
We all must gain knowledge. It is not enough to gather in crowds to protest without knowledge. Armed with knowledge and facts, we can visit congressional offices across the country to help educate them on the U.S. Constitution and their responsibilities to us … “we the people.” That is the next step, and that is “Good Government.”

New Group: Georgia 10th Amendment Meetup

The Truth About the Healthcare Bills

Leon Moe — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:44:04 +0000

The Truth About the Health Care Bills

Posted August 12, 2009

Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected.

To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.

The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats and most of them will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled.

However, as scary as all of that it, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.

The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people and the businesses they own. The irony is that the Congress doesn’t have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with. I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.

This legislation also provides for access by the appointees of the Obama administration of all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this is a direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4^th Amendment to the Constitution protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3^rd and 4^th Amendments may provide.

If you decide not to have healthcare insurance or if you have private insurance that is not deemed “acceptable” to the “Health Choices Administrator” appointed by Obama there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a “tax” instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5^th Amendment. However, that doesn’t work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the “due process of law.

So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much out the original ten in the Bill of Rights that are effectively nullified by this law. It doesn’t stop there though. The 9^th Amendment that provides: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;” The 10^th Amendment states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.

I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to “be bound by oath or affirmation” to support the Constitution. If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.

For those who might doubt the nature of this threat I suggest they consult the source. Here is a link to the Constitution: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

And another to the Bill of Rights: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html

There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken

from us.

Michael Connelly

Retired attorney,

Constitutional Law Instructor

Carrollton, Texas

mrobertc@hotmail.com

Posted by Patriot Moe of Cottage Grove, MN. You may well want to pass this on to all you come in contact with.

Health Care Town Hall Meeting – Clearwater FL – 9/15/09

Michael Boldin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:51:29 +0000

Writes Scott Plakon:

Join us for a public meeting to discuss the Florida Health Care Freedom Act ( House Joint Resolution 37). Citizens will have the chance to voice concerns, ask questions and learn more about how to get involved with this great cause.

This is the third meeting in a series of town halls that Senator Baker and Representative Plakon have planned to advocate for the passage of the Florida Health Care Freedom Act.

Representative Plakon says, “Our bill (Florida Health Care Freedom Act HJR 37) seeks to prohibit any law or rule from forcing people into a “one size fits all” federally- mandated health care system, such as the one being rushed through Congress.”

Another House co-sponsor, Representative Sandy Adams says, “Today health care is at the top of all our minds. Whether you are a family, a senior, a single parent or a recent college graduate, you are concerned about how the massive changes being proposed in Washington will affect you and your loved ones.”

Senator Baker adds, “We are drawing the line in the sand… Congress’ plan even penalizes people that want to pay for their own lawful health care services. That’s just wrong.”

Each one of these proactive leaders are for health care reform! But, they all agree we must protect our citizens from further federal intrusion into our private lives. We don’t want another inefficient bureaucracy situated between the decisions we make with our doctors.

We welcome all Patriots to this meeting, but seating is limited to 230 so get there early! We respect all viewpoints and want to have another healthy and respectful dialouge, as we did in Altamonte Springs about a week ago.

Don’t forget…Health Care Town Hall Tuesday September 15th from 7pm-9pm at Tuscon’s Southwest Grill, located at 13563 Icot Boulevard, Clearwater, FL 33760.

Action Alert: Michigan Sovereignty Bills Committee Meeting

Ohio Sovereignty: Hearings on Sept 15

Michael Boldin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:45:16 +0000

Writes Joe Bozzi at the Ohio Freedom Alliance:

The Ohio Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee has scheduled a second hearing on SCR-13. The hearing will be at 10:00am on Tuesday, September 15th in the South Hearing Room, and will allow for public testimony. See www.ohiofreestate.com for more information, for instructions on how to contact your represenatives, and to sign our online petition.

From Sovereignty Declaration to Implementation

Pete Ketcham — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 07:26:06 +0000

by Pete Ketcham

IN THE BEGINNING

Several months ago I started my efforts to promote action on the 10th Amendment in Idaho. This effort was based on the encouraging fact that the Idaho Legislature passed House Joint Memorial No.4, a sovereignty declaration not requiring the Governor’s signature. My original motivation in this effort was not to promote partisan politics. It was not an emotional effort to “strike a blow for freedom”, nor was it a revengeful effort to put the Federal Government “in its place”.

It was and still is a matter of SURVIVAL.

I saw then as now, an out of control Democratic President and Congressional majority with a socialist agenda proposing bills and mandates so illogical, that the impact in Idaho would be catastrophic. I believed then and still do, that the only entity strong enough to mount a defense against this usurping Federal Government was the states using their 10th Amendment rights.

I then authored a petition requesting the Legislature and Governor take action to enforce the statements put forth in their declaration, and to refuse to comply with usurping mandates and guidelines required by Federal funding grants to the state. The petition was relative well circulated throughout Idaho by contact with the various teaparty groups, whom I urged to form a strong statewide political coalition. I felt confident at the time that this petition was going to have a significant effect on the Legislature and Governor. I sent a copy of the petition to all one hundred five (105) Legislators and Governor, plus a special “Letter of Concern” to the Governor urging him to publically state his support for states rights.

The results for these efforts are as follows:
1. I have to date received a positive response from two (2) legislators and a negative response from one (1). I am actively working with one of these legislators.

2. Have heard nothing from the Governor’s office except after a follow up email, a staffer called and said his office would contact me. A month has passed and still waiting.

3. The teaparty group leaders have helped out to a degree, but their priority has been, and continues to be, teaparty activities in their own area, and the upcoming 9-12 rallies in DC and around the nation. They also continue to reflect very little inclination to form a structured statewide political coalition and they believe they can win their war at the Federal level. I equate this viewpoint as standing on the deck of the Titanic waiting for the rescue ship and passing up the lifeboat.

THE REALITY SETS IN
Where does the fault lie for the marginal results thus far? Obviously with my own apparent inability to organize supporters, and influence legislators, but the greater responsibility for Idaho sitting dead in the water in it’s 10th Amendment voyage is the Idaho Legislators and Governor themselves. They are fully aware of the unconstitutional actions of the President, and the impending radical laws and mandates to be imposed on the citizens of Idaho, yet they have not made one significant move past their initial declaration. One would wonder why they are not self motivated by the common circumstances that are impacting us all.

The political reality is, they are in sitting in a political comfort zone completely out of danger. They are not getting blamed for the state of the economy and chaos in DC. They are not getting hammered by the mainstream news media. They are not getting out in the street rallies and townhalls and being pushed around by “union thugs “. They are not facing protest rallies in their home towns or state capitals against them. Sitting in this enviable political position there is simply no motivation for them to take on a fight with the Federal Government and risk losing Federal funding or exposing themselves to criticism.

I feel certain, that as 10th Amendment advocates in other states begin the implementation process, they will encounter the same reluctance for action by their governors and legislators as I have experienced in Idaho. It is one thing for state legislators and governors to vote on a Sovereignly declaration, but an altogether different matter to bring on a fight with the Feds and risk losing Federal funding. There is also great resistence by various state agencies to the idea of “rocking the federal funding boat”, i.e. taking on the Feds.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Thus, we who are engaged in the 10th Amendment issue do have options to motivate legislators, governors, and agency heads to action, but it is going to take a great deal of work. Listed below are some tasks that I believe must be taken on if we are to realize our goals.

1. Form a nationwide 10th Amendment proactive cooperative coalition.

2. This coalition would need to initiate a statewide information campaign informing state citizens that the very state they live in has the means and muscle to throw back the intrusive Federal usurpations. I have found that the general public is basically uninformed of the 10th Amendment option, and are frustrated, fearful, and angry as they focus at the national level. A petition requesting action on passing a sovereignty declaration, or putting force of action to one already passed can serve as a good information vehicle.

3. Contact the teaparty, 912 type patriot groups within your states, and solicit their help and cooperation. They can be a tremendous asset, but as I have previously stated, they are defiantly focused in on their local sphere of influence as it relates to the federal issues, and so far have provided somewhat tepid cooperation. This is especially evident with the upcoming 912 activity.

4. Organize statewide political rallies demanding 10th Amendment action by the legislators and governors. This action is going to have to be unprecedented, comprehensive, and some what shocking to the incumbent politicians. At first it seemed that we could achieve victory by one nullification bill at a time in order to check the Feds. But it is now apparent that the blitzkrieg of federal laws and mandates are coming so fast that full time state legislative sessions would not be able to keep up. This action must take the form of a complete state plan of action, a plan of action that we as 10th Amendment advocates need to formulate and present to our legislators and governors for action. Each plan of action would have to be tailored to fit the unique characteristics of individual states. Below is plan “B” I have formulated for Idaho. This plan is preliminary, general, incomplete, and somewhat audacious, but it’s primary purpose is to start the process of planning.

IDAHO SOVEREIGNTY
PLAN “B”

ONE
Create a new state agency (as if we needed more agencies) called “Federal Relations” This agency under the direction of the legislature would be tasked with official communications between The state of Idaho and the Federal Government concerning all 10th Amendment / State Sovereignty issues. This agency would also be tasked with accumulating the following information:

A. The accounting of all federal and Idaho state taxes paid by Idaho citizens.

B. The budget requirements of State agencies and entities.

C. The amount of Federal funding that is being received by any entity in the state whether direct or through state channels. This will require all County and city governments to report these funds.

D. Search out and define any and all federal programs, mandates, or laws that are currently in violation of Idaho’s 10th Amendment rights, and in particularly the school system, as in my opinion needs to be brought back out of any Federal control into state/ school district control.

E. Present a report of the above information to the Legislature and Governor.

TWO
Through the “Federal Relations” agency issue a memorandum to the Feds that the State of Idaho will no longer recognize or comply with any federal programs, mandates, or laws that are currently in violation of Idaho’s 10th Amendment rights, and then list them. The memorandum could start out like this:

“Please be advised that the State of Idaho can not and will not comply with funded or unfunded federal programs, mandates, or laws that are currently in violation of Idaho’s 10th Amendment rights. This action has now become necessary due to the recent illogical, and economically disastrous legislation being mandated by the Obama Administration in cooperation with the Democratic controlled Congress. These funded and unfunded federal programs, mandates, and laws are listed below:” etc. etc.

THREE (SCENARIO, the fight is on)
At that point the Feds will probably withhold Federal funding in an attempt to bring Idaho back into compliance.

FOUR
In lieu of the loss of federal funding, Idaho will be forced to impose a property tax on all Federal real estate and improvements lying within Idaho.
(The Feds own approximately 3/4 of all Idaho lands)

FIVE
The Feds won’t pay it.

SIX
Idaho will be forced to confiscate all federal taxes due within the state, in order to meet the state budget. This is not violating the 16th Amendment, as the Feds can continue to tax away, the state is just temporarily confiscating the Fed’s money into a temporary state fund in order to meet state budgets needs until the Feds resume the federal funding the state has become depended on.

If one state could get this fight going it might encourage other states to join in with their own agenda, primarily confiscating federal income taxes, thereby de-funding the Feds.

It is my hope that this article may illustrate the hurdles to be overcome, yet promote real action by the advocates of the 10th Amendment movement.

Pete ketcham

Introducing the Louisiana State Sovereignty Committee

Walt Garlington — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:48:08 +0000

by Walt Garlington

After all the Tea Party protests and town hall meetings, the question still lingers in the minds of many Louisianans: “What can I really do to stop the policies in Washington, D. C., that seek to make the federal government all-powerful in many areas of my life and the life of my state?”

I am happy to announce the creation of the Louisiana State Sovereignty Committee (http://lassc.wordpress.com) as one answer to that pressing question. A brief aside: It is not a secession movement.The federal government, as far removed as her officials are from the citizens they serve, should have responsibility mainly for those duties that affect us generally and remotely – foreign policy or helping to resolve disputes between states – as the Framers of the U. S. Constitution intended (or so they said).

However, when the Federal Register, which contains all federal laws and regulations, exceeds 70,000 pages, disorder has entered the republic – something unnatural and foreign to the traditions of the United States.

What is the natural political order of the United States? Divided government; power close to the voters. Fisher Ames explained their benefits during Massachusetts’s ratifying convention: “A consolidation of the States would subvert the new Constitution…. The State Governments represent the wishes and feelings, and local interests of the people. They are the safeguard and ornament of the Constitution; they will protract the period of our liberties; they will afford a shelter against the abuse of power, and will be the natural avengers of our violated rights.”

To have the federal government absorb the powers and responsibilities of the state governments into itself, warned Mr. Ames and others, would be detrimental to all but the rulers of the new centralized empire and those they favor. And this we have seen developing for the last 100 years as the federal government has grown to its present morbid corpulence.

So enters the Louisiana State Sovereignty Committee (LSSC). We are Louisiana citizens organized into parish chapters dedicated to state-level action to defend the rights and authority of Louisiana and her citizens against any further encroachments upon them by the federal government.

Our main strategy is to encourage the state legislators representing any part of our respective parishes to pass legislation or amendments to Louisiana’s Constitution to protect us from harmful and unconstitutional acts of the federal government. Other actions are contemplated in the charter on the web site.

State-level action of this sort has recently resulted in a major victory: The REAL ID Act of 2005 that would have turned state drivers’ licenses into a national ID card, signed into law by Pres. Bush, was abandoned by the Obama administration earlier this year after the 24th state passed legislation refusing to comply with its provisions.

Presently the states are moving forward with other initiatives to regain self-determination for themselves and their citizens: Firearms Freedom Acts to exempt guns and ammunition made, bought, and used solely within a state’s borders from federal regulations; and state constitutional amendments to exempt a state’s citizens from any socialized medical plan that is passed by the federal government – to name two.

None of this is novel. During roughly the first 75 years under the U. S. Constitution, states from all sections of the Union nullified federal measures they deemed unconstitutional – sometimes by quietly ignoring them; other times by energetically opposing them.

I invite everyone to become acquainted with this seldom mentioned part of our history. J. J. Kilpatrick has produced the best chronicle I have found in his book The Sovereign States (free HTML copy available at http://sovereignstates.org/books/The_Sovereign_States/SovStates_Contents.html). Forrest McDonald’s book States’ Rights and the Union is also recommended.

The legislators of the Virginia Assembly in 1790 declared themselves “guardians … of the rights and interests of their constituents, … sentinels placed by them over the ministers of the Federal Government,” determined “to shield [their constituents’ liberty] from [the Federal Government’s] encroachments, or at least to sound the alarm when it is threatened with invasion….”

The LSSC desires Louisiana’s legislators, and all of our state’s elected and appointed officials, to wear again the mantle of Guardian and Sentinel. I hope you will join us today in pursuing that goal at http://lassc.wordpress.com.

Strong 10th Amendment Support in FL

Cheryl Couture — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:09:03 +0000

by Cheryl Couture/SWFL 9.12 Project

Support for the Tenth Amendment was strong in Naples, FL the evening of Aug. 17th. Matt Hudson, Representative for Florida’s 101st District, informed a packed room of citizens about House Memorial 19. HM19 urges Congress to honor the provisions of the Constitution of the United States and the United States Supreme Court case law which limit the scope and exercise of federal power.

Rep. Hudson went on to explain that HM19 serves as a notice and a demand by the people of the state of Florida as expressed through their legislature to the Federal Government to cease and desist from going beyond the scope of and issuing mandates beyond it’s constitutionally delegated powers. It also reasserts Florida’s sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Rep. Hudson encouraged the audience to fight back against this federal power-grab! He asked Floridians to go to FLFreedom.org and sign up to become citizen co-sponsors, share the website with other Floridians, and phone and write Florida representatives and senators encouraging them to support HM19.

In addition, Rep. Hudson asked the audience to go to www.myfloridahouse.gov to the Legislative Tracker and sign up for HM19. If the bill is heard in committee, those signed up with be notified so they can put an alert out to call their phone tree and to flood the committee members with phone calls and emails.

Those who sign up to track HM19 will also be notified of committee meetings and floor sessions that relate to HM19 so they can watch the meetings and sessions on a live broadcast on the internet.

For more information about HM19 contact FL Rep. Matt Hudson at: matt.hudson@myfloridahouse.gov .

The Counsel for Constitutional Principles sponsored the meeting. Members for the SWFL 9.12 Project and Naples Tea Party were also in attendance.

Action Alert: Michigan Sovereignty Bills Committee Meeting

Michael Boldin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:09:54 +0000

Here is what we need to do:

ATTEND the Committee (Judiciary) Meeting for the two 10th Amendment State Sovereignty Bills to show support. This is a public meeting so we need as many to attend as possible. This TUESDAY Aug. 18th 1:00pm Room 210 Farum Bldg. 125 W. Allegan Street Lansing, MI 48933

Phone: Clerk Phone 373-6920

You can also speak by filing out a card when arriving. Be polite and articulate

SR 17 (Patterson) A resolution to affirm Michigan’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not enumerated and granted to the federal government.

SCR 4 (Patterson) A concurrent resolution to affirm Michigan’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not enumerated and granted to the federal government.

Here are links to the bills:

SR0017
SCR-0004

If you CANNOT ATTEND, click here to read more at the Lansing Tea Party

UPDATE 08-19: Both resolutions passed favorably out of committee and a floor vote is expected soon.

The Mighty 10th: Our Beachhead

Brian Roberts — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:23:44 +0000

By Brian Roberts

Article 3 in Series, Restoring Freedom: An Entrepreneur’s Perspective
part 1, part 2

We must bring our revolutionary product of individual freedom to market, and soon; otherwise servitude, Washington D.C.’s product of choice will monopolize and we will see out market share for freedom disappear and our great experiment in self-government fail.

Crossing the Chasm, a book focused on bringing technology products to market, presents an analogy based on World War II Europe. After Hitler took control of Europe, the Allies were left without a front to counter Axis aggression. At the time many considered Europe lost. The Allies, faced with an impossible task, developed a strategy to liberate Europe. That’s what we need: a strategy to liberate freedom itself.

Here’s what the book says about crossing the chasm: “This is not the time to focus on being nice. As we have already said, the perils of the chasm make this a life-or-death situation for you. You must win entry into the mainstream no matter what resistance is posed. So, if we are going to be warlike, we might as well be so explicitly.”

So here’s our strategy, we cross the English Channel and re-take Normandy, therefore reclaiming state sovereignty; then we use this beach head as a front to re-take Europe, demanding individual freedom and smaller federal government. In order to cross the English channel we must first assemble the right invasion force, which is a strong mix of grassroots individuals, state level politicians and any national level politicians willing to give power back once they get to Washington. We will need to have the right message that is suitable for the early majority. Remember, the early majority will not be interested in the 10^th amendment for historic or visionary reasons. They will want to know how a movement based on the 10^th can help them improve their daily lives or their children’s future. This communication will be easier over time as more pain from socialism becomes apparent, but reversing the trend right now would be much easier. So we can’t wait, we need to move forward today.

In 2010 our goal is to take over state governments thus liberating our Normandy, state sovereignty; but in preparation we must put together the invasion force. That is our goal for the next 12 months. To achieve this goal, every bit of effort must be placed on the task at hand. As individuals, we must regain control of state governments at all costs. And then we must focus these state governments on the federal government as a legal counter to federal power. For if we do not reclaim this undeniably legal front, guaranteed by the 10^th, then all is lost and we may find ourselves years from now resorting to a much less attractive option, guaranteed by the 2^nd. No doubt this will happen if we continue our unfocused strategy of attacking whatever issue of the day the media or the politicians tell us to focus on.

As individuals, we must regain control of our state governments and use this to as our “beachhead” to defend our life, liberty and property.

So now that we know what needs to be done, let’s get to it. Just as the Allies faced a fortified beach head when the amphibious assault landed on the Normandy shores, we face massive barriers as we attempt to reassert the 10^th amendment. In 1913, states were stripped of much power when the 16^th and 17^th amendment were ratified. Since then, states have been thrown to the wolves of the progressive movement and judicial rulings have supported abuse of the interstate commerce clause and the welfare clause. This federal abuse of the Constitution is clearly at odds with our Founder’s intentions. Our goal must be to destroy these fortifications as we move forward with our invasion force.

As visionaries supporting the 10^th, many of us find the concepts behind it a strong enough argument to support the movement. The early majority, or the mainstream, does not share this enthusiasm but they can be reached. Consider the following tactics:

Completely satisfy buying objectives of mainstream. We must clearly communicate the reasons for buying individual freedom in terms of the 10^th amendment. Then we must accomplish all buying objectives for our supporters. In other words, by working at the state level, we are working within a system that we can put together the resources to make significant changes in the short term, and we must develop tangible results to further grow the movement.

Establish word-of-mouth marketing. For this develop there must be a critical mass of informed individuals who meet from time to time and by exchanging views reinforce the value of the product being sold. We should challenge unconstitutional laws based on the Constitution an the 10th amendment to increase exposure. Additionally, educating existing grassroots movements is key to this tactic.

Become the market leader. This is very important. The early majority buys products from the market leader. That is why most people feel like they only have a choice between the Republicans and the Democrats. State sovereignty needs to be positioned and then marketed as the market leader in solutions for regaining individual freedom. This can be accomplished by making the 10^th amendment one of the top priorities of the Tea Party and 9/12 movements, recruiting vocal state legislators, supporting and putting in place dedicated governors and then working resolutions and bills at the state level that challenge unpopular federal laws. Until a stronger movement is developed, targeting changes at the federal level will be very difficult because there will be very little incentive for a national politician to give back power to the states. This will have to be demanded at a later time. However, we should champion national leaders that are dedicated to our cause.

Many may claim that their individual “most important” issue should be the rallying point for regaining our freedom. However, any other issue, regardless of its popularity, does not have the ability to provide a more local, legitimate base of political power. Consider this business analogy… when a startup company seeks investment they must convince the venture capitalists that they have a revolutionary product with a disruptive technology and a management team capable of bringing the product to market. They understand that the only way to create massive change and thus massive wealth is to provide undeniable value to customers and fundamentally improve the way the customer does business. Therefore, they usually seek to invest in companies that can provide a core, fundamental platform that has the potential to provide the foundation for many other complementary products. They typically do no invest in the add-on products.

Every social, political or economic freedom must be defended first by a political power base that is specifically accountable to individuals intent on defending those freedoms at all cost. You can think of state sovereignty as the core technology and anything else as an add-on product. Winning state sovereignty is the key.

Just like the plan to re-take Normandy provided the allies with a front to retake Europe, a plan built on the 10^th provides a front to retake individual freedom. So are we ready to send in the amphibious assault… not so fast, we need to assemble the right forces, determine the right message for the early majority, and dedicate ourselves to the political fight of our lives. Then we might be ready.

Brian Roberts is the President and a founder of an innovative software company in Texas. He has joined the tenth amendment movement as the meetup organizer of Texas Tenth Amendment Center. Follow Brian on Twitter, bcroberts_99.

Tenth Movements: We Can Stop the Pendulum

Thomas Grady — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:37:41 +0000

by Thomas Grady

We all know how life’s (and music’s) pendulum swings. Methodically, left then to right, back to left – and back and forth and back and forth. Tick tock. Politics is no different. Since America is recognized generally as a center-right country the fulcrum of our pendulum doesn’t hang over the center but over a notch or two to the right of the center.

Today the pendulum has swung so far to left that the folks occupying center-right have become abruptly terrified and have hit the streets in tea parties, organized into Glenn Beck 9-12 groups and 10th amendment movements. They’re frantically grasping at the pendulum and will surely take possession and haul it back toward them. With effect.

Let’s assume with some certainty that the pendulum swing-back, because of the nationwide protests, will cause conservatives to gain seats in both chambers in the 2010 Congressional elections. Let’s assume further that this Congressional shift and President Obama’s declining poll numbers (which will continue) will cause a blistering battle for the 2012 presidential elections (outcome not predicted here).

But even if President Obama is re-elected, any agenda he mounts will be damaged before it ever gets to Congress; any progressive policy will be vilified and rejected.

When all this transpires (and this commentator surmises it will) the center-right will have flung the pendulum past themselves toward the far right, causing more drastic changes in 2014 and 2016. I suspect many of us would be okay with this. But….

…what then? Are we finished with our 10th movement duties? Do we settle back into our life-patterns assuming the pendulum will get stuck permanently up on that outer right edge and we have no more worries? That’s usually what happens; we go to sleep.

I implore our 10th Amendment Movement founders and members to resist with tenacity this pull toward contentment. We must strive hard and fast to institutionalize the “effects” of the 10th Amendment. The Mighty 10th itself is already institutionalized in the U.S. Constitution. But the effects are not. That is the responsibility of all the 10th movements materializing across our country.

It will be easy, and commonplace, for tea party movements and 9-12 groups to creep slowly toward dormancy after that pendulum hits “high-side” to the right. They will have accomplished their goal of bringing the country back to their bosom, where it belongs, and they will return quietly to the fruits of a conservative country.

Our 10th Movement must stand firm against this complacency. Each 10th Movement must establish rock-solid organizational groundwork and a statewide pledging process that will remain in place and become a firm barrier between the pendulum and it’s outer most leftward swing. This endeavor is not a three or five year project. It is a project that must become permanent in as many state as possible.

Thomas Grady is the founder of the Missouri Sovereignty Project.