LittleLightShining
07-07-2009, 06:40 AM
After speaking at the tea party I had a number of people asking me for copies. Since then I've been informed that it's being emailed all over the place and it was featured as an op-ed on the local conservative radio web-page (http://www.truenorthradio.com/) after being mentioned twice on yesterday's show! Here it is in it's finished entirety (I posted a thread last week and ended up having to edit it even further than the last version I posted there).
Happy Independence Day!
Earlier this year I read a modernized version of the Declaration Of Independence written by a man named Micah Nelson. It rang so true to me that I have to share it with you today—abridged, because like the original it is very long.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The nature of our sentiments regarding The United States is manifest in our deeply held regard for the Ideals which she has but recently, so proudly hailed– Personal Liberty, Justice and above all Freedom.
It is for the protection of these Ideals our Founders established the government set forth in the Constitution of the United States, based on the precepts of Liberty as recorded in our Declaration of Independence.
Our rights and freedoms stem from our nature as men, not from the governments we choose to establish among ourselves. The legitimate and noble role of government is the defense of those rights from violation or infringement- be the perpetrator our fellow man or a tyrant.
At the Birth of our nation, many believed our Bill of Rights would be unnecessary; it is now clear that our Bill of Rights stands as the final levy against a flood of tyranny.
The History of our government in the last century has been marked with the eroding of our Liberties as Free Men.
To Prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid Nation.
All ten of the Amendments we commonly know as the Bill of Rights have in some manner been weakened without our consent– dressed as necessary legislation to keep us safe.
Our government has matched the expansion of its power with an expansion of its budget, trillions beyond what we as a nation can honestly afford.
It has abdicated its legitimate role of defending our borders and caring for the Veterans who sacrifice their safety for our liberty;
It has decimated the sovereignty of state laws and courts.
It has created a complicated bureaucracy for every situation-- from taxation to homeland security--- in an attempt to exhaust citizens into compliance.
It has interfered with the pricing of our commodities and services, placing basic medical and energy needs in jeopardy.
It has established a welfare system which unfairly takes from taxpayers to provide for the poor, subsidizing mediocrity with no incentive for success, trapping our most vulnerable citizens in an endless cycle of dependence.
It has used the general funds of the government to subsidize private industries and corporations, altering the principles of a free market and artificially controlling prices to the detriment of the consumer.
It has placed the burden of these excesses on our children’s children– taxing the future, of wealth they may never see.
It has limited our freedom of speech in the name of fairness, vilifying opinionated political speech- the very speech the first amendment was conceived to protect.
In every stage of these oppressions we, collectively, have done nothing.
We have entrusted to a few self proclaimed elites the political destiny of our nation– naively hoping in their wise discretion.
It is clear now that we have failed in our duty as citizens to hold our government accountable to the Constitution.
Instead We have blamed the conservatives and the liberals, the establishment and the nonconformist, the fundamentalists and secularists, the Republicans and the Democrats.
In reality we have no one to blame but ourselves.
We, therefore, the Citizens of the United States, Recognizing the importance of the preservation of American Liberty, hereby affirm that Citizens of this great nation are, and by right ought to be free men. We affirm that our government does and by right should, belong to the people; and that we will no longer condone the use of fear, false patriotism, or desire for security in wresting hard fought freedoms from the grasp of the common man.
For the support of this Affirmation, we mutually pledge to each other the assurance of vigilant attention to the care of our rights and responsibilities so that they may be a blessing to generations to come.”
*
Usurpations and abuses of power are nothing new to humankind. From the rebellion of the barons in England which led to the creation of the Magna Carta to the Continental Congress which led to our own beloved Declaration of Independence, people have testified to and preserved in writing their status as free people.
The patriots were NOT protesting taxes for government social programs. They would never conceive of the government fulfilling this type of role! No, they were protesting taxes and impositions in the name of empire, war, and mercantilism.
Sound Familiar?
The authors of the Magna Carta and the United States and Vermont Constitutions secured for posterity the right to petition for redress of grievances.
Because our petitions have gone unheeded or met with repeated injury, we must take a page from our Founders.
Later this year, elected delegates representing the people of each state will convene as a national assembly to debate our Constitutional Crisis and establish practical strategies the People can take to peacefully reclaim Liberty and restore Constitutional Order.
These historical proceedings will be known as the Continental Congress 2009.
Fliers are being circulated today with information about the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education and the We The People Congress.
It’s time for us to wake up from our complacency and work together to impose the yoke of Law upon our servant federal government.
*
Are we going to stand up or down for our freedom? Will we protect the Constitution at all costs? Even if it makes you unpopular?
So long as those of us who claim to care about freedom and liberty accept personality and politics as a substitute for real leadership and governance we will never be able to turn back the tidal wave we’re facing.
Vermonters have a duty to principle. The 18th Article of the Vermont Constitution bears this title:
Regard to fundamental principles and virtues necessary to preserve liberty
It doesn’t get any plainer than this, folks:
“That frequent recurrence to fundamental principles,
and a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, industry, and frugality,
are absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty, and keep government free;
the people ought, therefore to pay particular attention to these points, in the choice of officers and representatives, and have a right, in a legal way, to exact a due and constant regard to them, from their legislators and magistrates, and in making and executing such laws as are necessary for the good government of the State.
It is UNCONSTITUTIONAL for you to vote for someone who is wishy-washy in regard to the law, decadent and self-indulgent.
It is UNCONSTITUTIONAL for you to vote for someone who will reward idleness, wastefulness and partiality.
It is YOUR DUTY to consider the fundamental principles of justice, moderation, temperance, industry and frugality when you vote! They are ABSOLUTELY necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty and keep government free!
After the votes are counted our elected officials swear an oath or affirmation. This is what they say:
“You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that as a member of this Assembly, you will not propose, or assent to, any bill, vote or resolution, which shall appear to you injurious to the people,
nor do, nor consent to any act or thing whatever, that shall have a tendency to lessen or abridge their rights and privileges, as declared by the Constitution of this State;
but will, in all things, conduct yourself as a faithful, honest Representative and guardian of the people, according to the best of your judgment and ability. So help you God. Under the pains and penalties of perjury.”
I know more than a few of you can think of more than a few instances where this oath has been flagrantly ignored and violated.
It is YOUR DUTY “to exact a due and CONSTANT regard for them from your legislators and magistrates!”
The Constitution will not defend itself. It is up to WE THE PEOPLE to protect it—for future generations.
*
We have a situation in our state in which a bill was passed- which contained an unconstitutional provision. -- (H442, commonly known as the supplemental budget)-
The legislature was warned by the attorney general before they voted on it that the provision to require the administration to get permission from the legislature before eliminating any state employee positions was unconstitutional.
Whether or not you agree with the idea behind the provision, it is still unconstitutional.
Whether or not you liked other parts of the bill, it is still unconstitutional.
The executive branch may not give some of its authority to the legislative branch. It violates the separation of powers.
Every person who put their name on that bill violated their oath of office.
This is wrong. I don’t care who you are, what party you belong to, what other wonderful legislation you’ve been party to—this still violates the Constitution.
I want to remind our legislators that their job is to craft responsible legislation, not to spend weeks on a single issue that wasn’t even on the radar at the beginning of the session, or to pawn off legislative duties onto unelected committees because they lacked the proper time to do the jobs they were elected to do.
I want to remind our legislators that this behavior during the worst recession since the great Depression was irresponsible and led to sloppy and unconstitutional legislation.
Our infrastructure is falling apart, the unemployment fund is starting to make that sucking sound that comes when you drain a bathtub and private sector job growth in Vermont for the last decade--s at 0%!
I’ve discussed this with legislators. To be honest I’m disappointed and disgusted with the explanations and excuses I’ve received. The Bible says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
It’s not about personalities and politics! It’s about principle!
I’ve been told that “this is why we have three branches of government… now it’s up to the courts to decide.” THIS from legislators who have taken an OATH OF OFFICE to “make no law injurious to the people or that will have a tendency to abridge their rights under the Constitution.”
Some might think, “Big deal, it’s just a part of the governor’s job.” But it IS a big deal because the government belongs to the people.
We have ceased to recognize this for far too long and this is part of the reason we find ourselves in the situation we are in today—being “ruled” by a group of elites who treat us as subjects rather than employers!
So I ask you, WHERE is the principle? Why should we allow elected officials to abrogate the duties of a branch of government?
Why should we allow the Federal Government to abrogate the duties of our state?
The Tenth Amendment states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
That’s it. If the Constitution doesn’t directly specify powers to the Federal Government and if the Constitution doesn’t forbid the states from them then the states alone are responsible for those powers.
With this in mind, any federal attempt to legislate beyond the Constitutional limits of Congress’ authority is a usurpation of state sovereignty - and unconstitutional.
Do you support Federalized health care? No Child Left Behind? Cap and Trade? Bailouts of private companies? Subsidizations of industries?
The VT Campaign for Liberty has drafted a proposal for a State Sovereignty resolution. There are copies of our proposal available here today for you to read and consider. If you agree with the resolution I ask that you sign and send a copy to your state representatives and Senators.
It is only by standing up and claiming your rights that the government will respect them. Do not sit down, do not be discouraged. There are many battles which must be fought if we are to win the war. Our objective—to retain our God-given rights as free people.
Happy Independence Day!
Earlier this year I read a modernized version of the Declaration Of Independence written by a man named Micah Nelson. It rang so true to me that I have to share it with you today—abridged, because like the original it is very long.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The nature of our sentiments regarding The United States is manifest in our deeply held regard for the Ideals which she has but recently, so proudly hailed– Personal Liberty, Justice and above all Freedom.
It is for the protection of these Ideals our Founders established the government set forth in the Constitution of the United States, based on the precepts of Liberty as recorded in our Declaration of Independence.
Our rights and freedoms stem from our nature as men, not from the governments we choose to establish among ourselves. The legitimate and noble role of government is the defense of those rights from violation or infringement- be the perpetrator our fellow man or a tyrant.
At the Birth of our nation, many believed our Bill of Rights would be unnecessary; it is now clear that our Bill of Rights stands as the final levy against a flood of tyranny.
The History of our government in the last century has been marked with the eroding of our Liberties as Free Men.
To Prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid Nation.
All ten of the Amendments we commonly know as the Bill of Rights have in some manner been weakened without our consent– dressed as necessary legislation to keep us safe.
Our government has matched the expansion of its power with an expansion of its budget, trillions beyond what we as a nation can honestly afford.
It has abdicated its legitimate role of defending our borders and caring for the Veterans who sacrifice their safety for our liberty;
It has decimated the sovereignty of state laws and courts.
It has created a complicated bureaucracy for every situation-- from taxation to homeland security--- in an attempt to exhaust citizens into compliance.
It has interfered with the pricing of our commodities and services, placing basic medical and energy needs in jeopardy.
It has established a welfare system which unfairly takes from taxpayers to provide for the poor, subsidizing mediocrity with no incentive for success, trapping our most vulnerable citizens in an endless cycle of dependence.
It has used the general funds of the government to subsidize private industries and corporations, altering the principles of a free market and artificially controlling prices to the detriment of the consumer.
It has placed the burden of these excesses on our children’s children– taxing the future, of wealth they may never see.
It has limited our freedom of speech in the name of fairness, vilifying opinionated political speech- the very speech the first amendment was conceived to protect.
In every stage of these oppressions we, collectively, have done nothing.
We have entrusted to a few self proclaimed elites the political destiny of our nation– naively hoping in their wise discretion.
It is clear now that we have failed in our duty as citizens to hold our government accountable to the Constitution.
Instead We have blamed the conservatives and the liberals, the establishment and the nonconformist, the fundamentalists and secularists, the Republicans and the Democrats.
In reality we have no one to blame but ourselves.
We, therefore, the Citizens of the United States, Recognizing the importance of the preservation of American Liberty, hereby affirm that Citizens of this great nation are, and by right ought to be free men. We affirm that our government does and by right should, belong to the people; and that we will no longer condone the use of fear, false patriotism, or desire for security in wresting hard fought freedoms from the grasp of the common man.
For the support of this Affirmation, we mutually pledge to each other the assurance of vigilant attention to the care of our rights and responsibilities so that they may be a blessing to generations to come.”
*
Usurpations and abuses of power are nothing new to humankind. From the rebellion of the barons in England which led to the creation of the Magna Carta to the Continental Congress which led to our own beloved Declaration of Independence, people have testified to and preserved in writing their status as free people.
The patriots were NOT protesting taxes for government social programs. They would never conceive of the government fulfilling this type of role! No, they were protesting taxes and impositions in the name of empire, war, and mercantilism.
Sound Familiar?
The authors of the Magna Carta and the United States and Vermont Constitutions secured for posterity the right to petition for redress of grievances.
Because our petitions have gone unheeded or met with repeated injury, we must take a page from our Founders.
Later this year, elected delegates representing the people of each state will convene as a national assembly to debate our Constitutional Crisis and establish practical strategies the People can take to peacefully reclaim Liberty and restore Constitutional Order.
These historical proceedings will be known as the Continental Congress 2009.
Fliers are being circulated today with information about the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education and the We The People Congress.
It’s time for us to wake up from our complacency and work together to impose the yoke of Law upon our servant federal government.
*
Are we going to stand up or down for our freedom? Will we protect the Constitution at all costs? Even if it makes you unpopular?
So long as those of us who claim to care about freedom and liberty accept personality and politics as a substitute for real leadership and governance we will never be able to turn back the tidal wave we’re facing.
Vermonters have a duty to principle. The 18th Article of the Vermont Constitution bears this title:
Regard to fundamental principles and virtues necessary to preserve liberty
It doesn’t get any plainer than this, folks:
“That frequent recurrence to fundamental principles,
and a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, industry, and frugality,
are absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty, and keep government free;
the people ought, therefore to pay particular attention to these points, in the choice of officers and representatives, and have a right, in a legal way, to exact a due and constant regard to them, from their legislators and magistrates, and in making and executing such laws as are necessary for the good government of the State.
It is UNCONSTITUTIONAL for you to vote for someone who is wishy-washy in regard to the law, decadent and self-indulgent.
It is UNCONSTITUTIONAL for you to vote for someone who will reward idleness, wastefulness and partiality.
It is YOUR DUTY to consider the fundamental principles of justice, moderation, temperance, industry and frugality when you vote! They are ABSOLUTELY necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty and keep government free!
After the votes are counted our elected officials swear an oath or affirmation. This is what they say:
“You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that as a member of this Assembly, you will not propose, or assent to, any bill, vote or resolution, which shall appear to you injurious to the people,
nor do, nor consent to any act or thing whatever, that shall have a tendency to lessen or abridge their rights and privileges, as declared by the Constitution of this State;
but will, in all things, conduct yourself as a faithful, honest Representative and guardian of the people, according to the best of your judgment and ability. So help you God. Under the pains and penalties of perjury.”
I know more than a few of you can think of more than a few instances where this oath has been flagrantly ignored and violated.
It is YOUR DUTY “to exact a due and CONSTANT regard for them from your legislators and magistrates!”
The Constitution will not defend itself. It is up to WE THE PEOPLE to protect it—for future generations.
*
We have a situation in our state in which a bill was passed- which contained an unconstitutional provision. -- (H442, commonly known as the supplemental budget)-
The legislature was warned by the attorney general before they voted on it that the provision to require the administration to get permission from the legislature before eliminating any state employee positions was unconstitutional.
Whether or not you agree with the idea behind the provision, it is still unconstitutional.
Whether or not you liked other parts of the bill, it is still unconstitutional.
The executive branch may not give some of its authority to the legislative branch. It violates the separation of powers.
Every person who put their name on that bill violated their oath of office.
This is wrong. I don’t care who you are, what party you belong to, what other wonderful legislation you’ve been party to—this still violates the Constitution.
I want to remind our legislators that their job is to craft responsible legislation, not to spend weeks on a single issue that wasn’t even on the radar at the beginning of the session, or to pawn off legislative duties onto unelected committees because they lacked the proper time to do the jobs they were elected to do.
I want to remind our legislators that this behavior during the worst recession since the great Depression was irresponsible and led to sloppy and unconstitutional legislation.
Our infrastructure is falling apart, the unemployment fund is starting to make that sucking sound that comes when you drain a bathtub and private sector job growth in Vermont for the last decade--s at 0%!
I’ve discussed this with legislators. To be honest I’m disappointed and disgusted with the explanations and excuses I’ve received. The Bible says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
It’s not about personalities and politics! It’s about principle!
I’ve been told that “this is why we have three branches of government… now it’s up to the courts to decide.” THIS from legislators who have taken an OATH OF OFFICE to “make no law injurious to the people or that will have a tendency to abridge their rights under the Constitution.”
Some might think, “Big deal, it’s just a part of the governor’s job.” But it IS a big deal because the government belongs to the people.
We have ceased to recognize this for far too long and this is part of the reason we find ourselves in the situation we are in today—being “ruled” by a group of elites who treat us as subjects rather than employers!
So I ask you, WHERE is the principle? Why should we allow elected officials to abrogate the duties of a branch of government?
Why should we allow the Federal Government to abrogate the duties of our state?
The Tenth Amendment states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
That’s it. If the Constitution doesn’t directly specify powers to the Federal Government and if the Constitution doesn’t forbid the states from them then the states alone are responsible for those powers.
With this in mind, any federal attempt to legislate beyond the Constitutional limits of Congress’ authority is a usurpation of state sovereignty - and unconstitutional.
Do you support Federalized health care? No Child Left Behind? Cap and Trade? Bailouts of private companies? Subsidizations of industries?
The VT Campaign for Liberty has drafted a proposal for a State Sovereignty resolution. There are copies of our proposal available here today for you to read and consider. If you agree with the resolution I ask that you sign and send a copy to your state representatives and Senators.
It is only by standing up and claiming your rights that the government will respect them. Do not sit down, do not be discouraged. There are many battles which must be fought if we are to win the war. Our objective—to retain our God-given rights as free people.