Adopted by the Maine Republican State Convention on May 8, 2010

Preamble:

In the course of a nation’s history, it is natural that political philosophies will evolve which run contrary to the original principles evident at the time of that nation’s founding. A nation founded in tyranny will by its nature spawn sentiment in direct opposition to that tyranny. Conversely, a nation which is dedicated to protecting the rights of its people, and seeks to bind the excesses of power which naturally accrue to governments, is subject to the evolution of factions which strive to throw off those shackles of restraint and gather power and influence over the people. Freedom is not a pre-existing condition into which everyone is delivered. Freedom and personal liberty are conditions of existence which are hard fought for and once won, must be maintained. Each generation must be taught anew the importance of eternal vigilance against those who would disregard the limits imposed on government, and usurp powers not granted to them by the people.

Today this state and the nation are in crisis precisely because we as a people have failed to maintain that vigilance. We have failed to pass down from one generation to another the critical knowledge and lessons that history provides. We have let rot from within, the foundation upon which freedom and prosperity must be built for it to survive.

This election cycle is unique in the history of both this state and our nation. We are presented with a situation in which WE THE PEOPLE, must re-educate ourselves and our neighbors, and put the knowledge of liberty to work in the elections this November. Years of neglect have allowed factions detrimental to the core principles of this nation, to entrench themselves in both political parties, and undermine the education of Constitutional principles vital to the survival of the republic.

The Tea Party movement is reminiscent of the principled revolt that led to the birth of the Republican Party in 1854.  In June of that year, Horace Greeley referred to the newly formed Republicans as “…united to restore the Union to its true mission of champion and promulgator of Liberty…”.  This year it is incumbent upon those Republicans who strive to protect and defend our Constitution, to reclaim that heritage.

It is within this context that We, the citizens of Maine united by free association as Republicans, dedicated to seeing the principles which brought forth the birth and ascendance of this State and these United States once again made dominant and pledge our unwavering allegiance, not to a political party, but to the Constitution of the State of Maine and the Constitution of the United States of America. The Republican Party is the vehicle through which we seek to better unify and promote those in pursuit of these goals.

The principles upon which the Republican Party was founded, to which we as Citizens seek return, and to which we demand our elected representatives abide, are summarized as follows:

1. The Constitutions, both State and Federal, are the framework to which any and all legislation must adhere.
2. State sovereignty must be regained and retained on all issues specifically relegated to the States by the constitution.
3. National sovereignty shall be preserved and retained as dominant over any attempted unconstitutional usurpations of such by international treaty.
4. It is the responsibility and duty, of “We the People”,  to educate both ourselves and others; to demand honest elections free of corruption, and to hold our elected officials to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and loyalty to the constitution.
5. In pursuit of these principles we endorse and shall promote the following initiatives.

I. To Form a More perfect Union

a. All legislation must adhere to the restrictions outlined in the Constitution to protect the individual from intrusive government.

b. Direct the State of Maine to join with other states in asserting our 10^th amendment sovereignty rights which protect us from unconstitutional federal government intrusions.

c. Insist on strict adherence to our 2^nd amendment right to keep and bear arms.

d. Pass a “Read the Bill” act, to insure clarity, and eliminate the corruption associated with side issues, earmarks, pork or riders.

e. Oppose “Localism and Diversity”, the Fairness Doctrine or whatever else such attempted restrictions are labeled. Any restriction on speech is by definition NOT free speech.

f. Reject the Employee free -choice Elimination- act, as an unconscionable affront to the right to a secret vote.

g. Restore integrity to the electoral process:

i. Prohibit any public funding of advocacy groups such as ACORN, no matter what it or its affiliate organizations rename themselves; New York Communities for Change, New England United for Justice etc.; Conduct thorough investigation of their activities and voter fraud and prosecute violations.

ii. Eliminate motor voter and other voter fraud mechanisms; institute secure voter registration and identification systems.

iii. Reject any effort to give foreign citizens the right to vote in the US in any situation or capacity.

h. Oppose any and all treaties with the UN or any other organization or country which surrenders US sovereignty. Specifically:

i. Reject the UN Treaty on Rights of the Child.

ii. Reject “LOST” the Law Of The Sea Treaty.

iii. Reject any agreement which seeks to confiscate our firearms.

i. Restore the process of assimilation of immigrants to preserve the benefits of an advanced educated and prosperous society.  Rescind Maine’s sanctuary State status. No amnesty, no benefits, no citizenship -ever- for anyone in the country illegally. Arrest and detain, for a specified period of time, anyone here illegally, and then deport, period.

j. Pass a Congressional reform act which includes the following provisions:

i. Term Limits: 12 years only, in any capacity.

1. Two Six year Senate terms

2. Six Two year House terms

3. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms

ii.  No Pension

iii. Congress participates in Social Security under the same rules as the general public.

iv. Congress can no longer vote themselves a pay raise.

v. Congress participates in the same health care plan as the general public. No preferential plans or treatment.

vi. Congress is subject to and must abide by all the laws they impose on the general public.

II.                  To Establish Justice:

a. Restore “Constitutional law” as the basis for the Judiciary.

b. Reassert the principle that “Freedom of Religion” does not mean “freedom from religion”.

III.                To Insure Domestic tranquility:

a. Promote family values.

i. Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman.

ii. Parents, not government, are responsible for making decisions in the best interest of their children, whether disciplinary, educational, or medical.

iii. We recognize the sanctity of life, which includes the unborn.

IV.  To Provide for the Common Defense:

a. Discard political correctness, make public the declaration of war (Jihad), made against the US on  23 Feb 1998, and fight the war against the United States by radical Islam to win.

b. Seal the border and protect US citizens along the border and everywhere, as is the prime directive of the Federal Government.

V.  To Promote the General Welfare:

a. Return to the principles of Austrian Economics, and redirect the economy back to one of incentives to save and invest.

b. Cut spending, balance the budget, and institute a plan for paying down debt. Proclaim that generational debt shifting is immoral and unconscionable and will not be tolerated!

c. Pass and implement Fed bill #1207 (Introduced by Ron Paul), to Audit the Federal Reserve, as the first step in Ending the Fed.

d. Return to transparent and honest reporting of economic statistics free of gimmicks and distortions.

e. Require the government and all its agencies adhere to the same GAAP accounting rules that businesses must follow.

f. Restore the provisions of welfare reform removed with the stimulus bill.

g. Defeat Cap and Trade, investigate collusion between government and industry in the global warming myth, and prosecute any illegal collusion.

h. Freeze current stimulus funds, prohibit any further stimulus bills, and apply all unspent funds towards the debt they created.

i. Promote energy independence aggressively by removing the obstacles created by government to allow private development of our resources; natural gas, oil, coal, and nuclear power.

j. Institute Zero based budgeting on all programs.

k. Espouse and follow the principle: It is immoral to steal the property rightfully earned by one person, and give it to another who has no claim or right to its benefits.

l. Clarify that healthcare is not a right. It is a service.  As a compassionate society we will aid those in need. However, the government takeover of healthcare is not only unconstitutional, but detrimental to the entire healthcare system.  Only market based solutions will solve the problems.

i. In the state of Maine:

1. Remove the restrictions on health providers, (as was done in New Hampshire), to increase competition, drive down the costs, and increase the options available.

a. Bring Maine standards in line with national average.

b. Allow purchase of insurance across state lines. LD 290

c. Enact tort reform as exemplified by Texas.

d. Eliminate Dirigo

VI. To Secure the Blessings of Liberty:

a. Restore a vigorous grounding in the history and precepts of liberty, freedom, and the constitution to the educational process. As Thomas Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

i. Eliminate the Department of Education and restore schools to local control as specified in the constitution.

b. Repeal and prohibit any participation in efforts to create a one world government.

 

WesternFront America

HCR 2034: If Martial Law, Arizona Will Secede

1. “That when or if the President of the United States, the Congress of the United States or any other federal agent or agency declares the Constitution of the United States to be suspended or abolished, if the President or any other federal entity attempts to institute martial law or its equivalent without an official declaration in one or more of the states without the consent of that state or if any federal order attempts to make it unlawful for individual Americans to own firearms or to confiscate firearms, the State of Arizona, when joined by thirty-four of the other fifty states, declares as follows: That the states resume all state powers delegated by the Constitution of the United States and assume total

sovereignty; … …”
You will find this story HERE.

***********************
”Arizona Becoming First State to Secede From Union”

This is a VERY interesting article by Will Bunch and you will find it HERE.
***********************

“The Civil War and Arizona”

“Arizona’s Civil War story is a colorful one. Colonel John R. Baylor of the Confederate States of America (CSA) defeated Union troops in Arizona and New Mexico in March 1861. Arizona became a Confederate Territory when it was annexed by the Confederate President Jefferson Davis who was also the ex Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln.”
Read the rest of this very interesting article HERE.

***********************

“What will Washington do about the Arizona immigration law?”

You will find this article HERE.

***********************

Now — these are but a small sampling of the articles on the Internet.

What you are seeing unfold between the political left in America, and the sovereign state of Arizona, over Arizona’s legal right to regulate illegal immigration into their state is but a small part of the overall plan the political left has of being rid of both the US/Mexican border and the US/Canadian border. Arizona, you see, just tossed a fly into the left’s “ointment,” if you please. That ointment? Why “Global Governance,” of course — a “one-world government.” With a one-world government there will be no borders. None will be needed.

Arizona just spat in the faces of the political left all over the world. And they are seriously PO’ed!

Look, even a fool knows the US government could close, seal, and secure the borders — if it wanted to. The simple truth is — the American government does not want to secure her borders.

The progressives in the US government have been working for decades to pave the way for global governance, which would include the US. A global government would override the US Constitution, making it null and void. The same group has been working feverishly to destroy the US Constitution of 1787 by claiming it is a “living document” and crying out for a new US Constitution for the 21st century.

Understand: the proposed global government would be a socialist/marxist/communist government. The socialist Obama Regime (which actually believes it is running the country), the socialist Congress — including both the US House and the US Senate, were necessary to move the progressive agenda for global governance to fruition. The so-called “Shadow Government” now has control of the Executive and the Legislative branches of the US Government and it is closing in on control of the third branch of our government – the Judicial branch. Anything that gets in the way of the socialist progressives must be crushed. I give you: the political left’s War on Arizona!

If you have read the articles we pointed you towards (above) then you know that Arizona has prepared the way for the state’s secession from the USA. She has set the stage to claim, that which is hers — her sovereignty.

We have warned countless times, in our scribblings, that what is happening in Arizona today was going to happen. History does, indeed, repeat itself.

We Southern folk know the history of this country leading up to the secession of the states that formed the Confederate States of America. We know the REAL history, not the bunk taught our children in the “government schools,” or “indoctrination centers.”

Look, dear reader, Arizona was mis-treated by the federal government, in exactly the same way as the Southern states were mistreated from, at least, 1820 until Confederate troops fired on Ft. Sumter in April of 1861. The “so-called” Civil War was NOT an overnight thing — and it was not about slavery. The issue of slavery was a peripheral issue and NOT THE ISSUE that brought us the “War for Southern Independence.” It was, in fact, “State’s Rights!” It is the very issue we are dealing with today as the sovereign state of Arizona bucks the overgrown US federal government.

Just as they are today, the federal government was dictating to the states and simply ignoring the constitutional rights of those states. It went on for decades with the southern states continually warning the federal government that if the disrespectful treatment continued, at some point, the southern states would leave the union! Southern Senators and Representatives told the Congress and the President — plainly — they would be forced to secede.

Are Americans of the 21st century ready to revisit the dark days when US federal troops face off with Arizona National Guard troops — or militias? Are we ready for another “brother against brother” confrontation? It is important to ask, for that is exactly where we are headed.

Rest assured the federal government stands ready to quash the sovereignty of ANY US state that tries to assert those rights. To the Obama Regime the US Constitution is an outdated piece of paper not applicable to 21st century America. They will walk all over it to ensure that Arizona does nothing that might lead to the securing of the open border between Mexico and America.

Any amateur historian can tell you where this all is leading. We are living in the early stages of the dissolution of the United States. The Rubicon has been crossed.

© J. D. Longstreet

J. D. Longstreet blogs daily at INSIGHT on Freedom at: http://www.csadispatch.blogspot.com/

 

WesternFront America

States Distancing Themselves From The Federal Government.

NINTH AMENDMENT to the US Constitution: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

TENTH AMENDMENT to the US Constitution: 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.

As I have observed over the past few months the “State Sovereignty Movement” continues to sweep the nation with well over three-quarters of the fifty states taking action, through their respective state legislatures, re-establishing their “sovereignty”.

It is being reported that there are over 40 states with state sovereignty declarations as of this writing. If true, that is heartening.  There is no doubt the states have been relegated to second-class citizenship in the US.  That is just WRONG and must be corrected!

We found reports on the Internet stating that THERE ARE 12 NEW STATE SOVEREIGNTY DECLARATIONS IN PROGRESS, RIGHT NOW!! THEY INCLUDE ALABAMA. NEBRASKA, Rhode Island, WYOMING, WASHINGTON, INDIANA, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, KANSAS, MISSOURI, MISSISSIPPI, AND MARYLAND!

WYOMING is the newest constitutionally sovereign state. The bill was signed into law on March 8^th, 2010. Utah did the same on the 25^th of February 2010. The debate continues in my home state of South Carolina, but my guess is it will pass the state legislature and be signed into law by the “Sandlappers” very soon now.

Here in North Carolina, House Bill H849 “supporting the state’s right to claim sovereignty over certain powers under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States” has been filed.

Here’s the full text:

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

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

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

Whereas, today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

Whereas, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

Whereas, Section 4 of Article IV of the Constitution of the United States says, “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government,” and the Ninth Amendment states that “The enumeration in the constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;” and

Whereas, the United States Supreme Court ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

Whereas, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States; Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

SECTION 1.  The North Carolina House of Representatives supports the State’s right to claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government or reserved to the people by the Constitution of the United States.

SECTION 2.  The North Carolina House of Representatives urges the federal government, as the agent of the State, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of any constitutionally delegated powers.

SECTION 3.  The North Carolina House of Representatives further urges that compulsory federal legislation which directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed.

SECTION 4.  The Principal Clerk shall transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation.

SECTION 5.  This resolution is effective upon adoption.

Read more on North Carolina’s efforts to re-establish its sovereignty HERE.

I took a look in my crystal ball and, for the life of me; I could see no indication of the effect the sovereignty movement will have on future relations between the states and their “agent”… the federal government. Only time will tell.

However, I must tell you, it does this old southern boy’s heart good to see “State’s Rights” again brought to the fore in the United States.

James Madison, The Founder we refer to as “The Father of the Constitution,” wrote the following: “To preserve the Republic, it is in the hands of the people. We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments”

As with all Americans we “Southerners” get a lot of things wrong.  But we have been right on the issue of “State’s Rights” all along.  See, southerners had a bit more than just a signature invested in the creation of the Constitution, itself. There was never any doubt, in our minds, about who “the greater” and who “the lesser” was/is in this association of states and federal government.  I must tell you, I am more than a little pleased to find the names of several northern and western states, and even northeastern states, included in the list of the names of the states involved in the State Sovereignty Movement.

Washington would do well to take notice, serious notice, of this movement. The Congress and the President may have forgotten, but it is “the boss” filing this complaint. It is very easy to sit in Washington and spend North Carolina’s money, or the money of the folks from Texas or Oklahoma.  But, believe me when I tell you that we have been paying attention and we do not like having our state’s treasuries looted by a heavy-handed federal government.

The current Congress would also do well to read up on the “Ordinance of Nullification” passed by my home state of South Carolina in 1828.  You can read it for yourself HERE. Suffice it to say State Sovereignty is NOT a NEW issue in this country.  It appears we will have to visit it — yet again.

© J. D. Longstreet

J. D. Longstreet blogs daily at INSIGHT on Freedom at: http://www.csadispatch.blogspot.com/

 

WesternFront America

We have long wondered what Al Gore’s ulterior motive is. Now we know. The man is pushing for a “One World Government.”

Earlier this month at the Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford, in the UK, Gore said this: “I bring you good news from the U.S….Just two weeks ago, the House of Representatives passed the Waxman-Markey climate bill…very much a step in the right direction.” It was then that Gore removed the mask and revealed his true self and his true aim in pushing the Global Warming Hoax. He said: “But it is the awareness, itself, that will drive the change and one of the ways it will drive the change is through global governance and global agreements.” You will want to read this excellent report HERE.

It is important to understand that all this drama about the earth melting, etc, is nothing more than frightening theatre to hopefully scare you to death so you will not mind paying the world wide carbon taxes they are hell bent on levying on the entire planet. What we have here is – more socialism at work. When you clear all the smoke away, you readily see this is nothing more than the redistribution of the world’s wealth just as the Democrat/socialist are attempting to do at this very moment in the USA.

All of this in the US, in the UN, and all over the planet, is one big push to institute socialism on a planet-wide scale and in one fell swoop.

I have spoken with a number of people, (men AND women) over the past few months, and there is one thing we all have in common – and that is a feeling of “general unease.” It’s a feeling of impending disaster. It is a certain anxiety with an unspecified causation. In other words, we all share a feeling that something “bad” is about to happen. It seems folks around the globe share this “feeling.” Nobody knows why this anxiety exists or what it is about. Nevertheless, it is real and very widespread.

In the past few months I have come to believe that maybe, just maybe, it is the old “fight or flee” syndrome at work in our minds.

The folks who seem to experience this anxiety also share another common trait and that is the fact that they are “plugged-in.” By that, I mean that these people are in tune with, and to, the world around them. They are aware of the “OpFor” (opposing forces) at work in our world as they (the OpFor) seek to gain the most control and power for themselves and/or their common benefactor. Now, before you consign these few remarks to the trash bin and the author to the looney bin, take a couple of minutes and hear me out… first.

I am an observer – and/or a “perceiver.” I observe and I perceive. . That’s what I do… observe and perceive. No magic is involved and no special skills are required. We all have the ability but most of us choose not to use it very much so it sort of withers and dies, much like untended fruit on the vine. After observing and perceiving my fellow travelers on this globe of ours, for nigh onto seven decades, I have concluded the following:

There is an unseen eternal war that rages just outside the consciousness of most human beings. Every now and then some of us accidentally brush up against that invisible sphere and we are shocked at the malevolence we feel emanating from it. I have also concluded that since the invention of the Internet and the worldwide instantaneous communication provided us by it, we have (all of us) become more aware of our surroundings, the unseen ties that bind us, every man woman and child on this planet, one to the other. As a result, more of us are coming to realize an extremely important truism. That is: whoever controls the governments of the earth, controls those of us who live here. By “here” I mean anywhere on Earth.  Nationalities and borders have little meaning to us now that we can speak with anyone, anywhere, practically anytime, regardless of borders and languages and the many factors that kept us apart before the World Wide Web. This ability to talk, one to another, and share ideas, and opinions (and so much more) was quickly recognized as a threat to ALL governments everywhere. It is difficult, enough, to control the human animal at anytime, under any circumstances, with the implementation of government rule. More people means more governments because, try as they might, “our keepers” have not been able to stamp out the “tribalism” which is alive and well and, indeed, thriving, in the hearts and minds of the homo sapiens who inhabit this tiny, little, world to which we lay claim. Still, however, multiple governments means multiple problems for those who would control the lot of us. So – the concept of a one-world government seems to be the answer. And they are going for it.

People like Al Gore and Barack Obama, who claim to be “citizens of the world,” are in the vanguard of the Big Push for a single government to rule the entire planet. If this sounds like a concept from a science fiction novel, it is not. However, it has been the foundation for, or an integral part of, many a science fiction story.

I apologize for appearing to ramble here, in this piece, but it is necessary for me to make the point that the Global Warming Hoax, currently, is the great motivator used by the “powers that be” to drive the human race, like lemmings, to the cliff of Global Governance. Please notice how they have changed the names of, and phraseology in reference to, these motivators and goals to make them more palatable and to fog their meaning(s) a bit more. For Instance “Global Warming” is now: “Climate Change.” “One-World Government” is now: “Global Governance.” This did not happen by accident.

Ok, OK. I can hear you readers muttering beneath your collective breaths: “Ole Longstreet’s paranoia is REALLY having a field day today!” But, as a friend of mine once said, Paranoia doesn’t mean there is no one out to get you!

Now, I’m no seer, no clairvoyant, no prophet, no fortuneteller, none of that. I’m just an old country boy, whose parents raised him to aways be aware of his surroundings and to take note of minute changes in those surroundings and to determine what those tiny little changes mean. That’s all. And I have done that, and what I have determined, honestly, makes me more than a little nervous.

We had better become used to the idea that Global Governance is not a dream (or nightmare – depending upon your point of view) but, in reality, it is a work in progress and has been since the years immediately following the Second World War.

If we are to combat this threat to our freedom, we must first understand the Global Warming Hoax is just a scare tactic to get your attention, or avert it from the “man behind the curtain” while he goes about the business of solidifying their strangle hold on the world’s money and vital resources. And from MOST reports it is working.

We need to look far more critically at the current worldwide financial “dust-up.” Did it feel a bit “pat” for you? It did for me. The timing was impeccable. It went from being a US problem to being a worldwide problem at roughly the speed of light! While we mull that over, let us see what others are saying. (Remember, we must always follow the money!)

During the 2007 United Nations Climate Conference, Emma Brindal, a climate justice campaigner coordinator for Friends of the Earth said the following: “A climate change response must have at its heart a redistribution of wealth and resources,”

Back in November of 2000, Former EU Environment Minister Margot Wallstrom said, “Kyoto is about the economy, about leveling the playing field for big businesses worldwide.”

During a speech at The Hague on November 20, 2000, then French President Jacques Chirac said: “For the first time, humanity is instituting a genuine instrument of global governance,” Chirac went on to say. “From the very earliest age, we should make environmental awareness a major theme of education and a major theme of political debate, until respect for the environment comes to be as fundamental as safeguarding our rights and freedoms. By acting together, by building this unprecedented instrument, the first component of an authentic global governance, we are working for dialogue and peace,”

If you are asking yourself what the point of this piece is, I’d have to honestly answer that I am making a feeble attempt at drawing the collective attention of the consumers of conservative thought on the Internet to the very real effort,, in progress now to bring all the nations of the world under the authority of a single government – a One World Government, referred to these days as “Global Governance.” We also hope to stir your attention, a bit, and re-focus it on the bigger picture. As plainly and simply as I know how, we are trying to alert you to an ongoing scheme to strip the world of your country and ALL countries and have only one country, one nation, “Earth,” remaining. For Americans that means the lost of our Representative Republic, our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, which includes the Bill of Rights, and all the freedom and liberty we ever had causing the US to be absorbed into some “glob” of restless humanity ruled over by the world’s elite.

It is time to begin paying attention. I came across an extremely interesting article titled: “Our Global Neighborhood” while doing some research for this piece. We suggest that you look it up and read it in it’s entirety. You will find it HERE.

“Fifty years ago, another generation, recoiling from the horror of war and the unleashed potential for human self- destruction, sought to secure a future free from fear and free from want. The result of that effort was the United Nations system, established in the name of the peoples of the world. Today, with the need as great and urgent, and with a heightened sense among people of an endangered future, humanity must renew that effort.

It is a call for action on many fronts, but essentially for better global governance–better management of survival, better ways of sharing diversity, better ways of living together in the global neighbourhood that is our human homeland. There is no question of capacity to take the action for which the Commission calls. There is only a question of the will to take that action.

Removed from the sway of empires and a world of victors and vanquished, released from the constraints of the cold war that so cramped the potential of an evolving global system throughout the post- war era, seized of the risk of unsustainable human impacts on nature, mindful of the global implications of human deprivation–the world has no real option but to rise to the challenge of change, in an enlightened and constructive fashion. We call on our global neighbours, in all their diversity, to act together to ensure this–and to act now.” (From “Our Global Neighbourhood.” which you will find HERE.)

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE, dear reader. Eternal vigilance is a must if we wish to remain a free people. Equally as important is the will to do that, which will secure our freedom, our liberty, our AMERICA!

© J. D. Longstreet

J. D. Longstreet blogs daily at INSIGHT on Freedom

 

WesternFront America

Lawmakers in 20 states are pushing to regain their states sovereignty from the US Government under the ninth and tenth amendments to the US Constitution!

We warned this was coming many months, even years ago, in this very space. Many readers gave me grief saying that I had no idea what I was talking about, that I was blowing smoke, that I was a dumb ole redneck looking to secede from the Union. None of that was, nor is, true. The fact is that I live in the real world where people are not afraid to speak their minds.

Some months (possibly even years) back, I pointed out to readers there was information that indicated there were, at that time, 22 active secessionist movements within the United States. That information was brushed aside. So, we come to today.

Today we have lawmakers, in the state legislatures of at least 20 states, introducing bills to assist their states in re-establishing their constitutional sovereignty from the Federal Government. The federal government has just become entirely too overbearing as strong central governments always do. You might even say… as our current federal government has become.

There is an excellent article on this HERE.

Now, as an amateur historian, very amateurish, I stress, I have spent a good deal of time studying the period in the early to mid 1800′s when the US had reached a point similar to the one we find ourselves at today.

You see, by 1860 the Gross National Product of the southern states of America was three times that of the northern states. The southern states were providing well over 60% of the money necessary to keep the US afloat. The US government was demanding more and more of the southern states and simply would not listen when my southern ancestors complained about it to the Congress. Finally, the southern states threatened to leave the Union and set up their own country. The US Constitution did not; repeat… did not … forbid the secession of any state, at any time, for any reason. (The Articles of Confederation did bar secession unless all the states seceded. Not so, the Constitution which followed.)

Eleven states, plus parts of two more states, left the US and formed the Confederate States of America with a Constitution, a Congress, a President, an Army, a Navy, a Marine Corp, and a land area several times larger than that of the 13 original colonies when they left the Mother Country to form their own nation.

Unfortunately, the history of what happened next, over the next four years of war and then the abomination called reconstruction, has been rewritten to favor the Federal Government’s side of the dispute and it has given a permanent black eye to my region of the country. I maintain that the south would be a separate, prosperous, country today had my ancestors not been dragged back… forced back… into the Union at the point of a bayonet… all quite illegally.

I expect that many of you will be will be surprised to learn that the Federal Government was created by the states to act as a agent of the states, taking direction from the states. That has all been changed today. Today the states take orders from the Federal Government, which was originally meant to be an inferior agency. Some people around the 50 states are beginning to wake up to this fact and when enough get riled up, there will be hell to pay… all over again.

The Ninth Amendment to the US Constitution says:

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

The Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution says:

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.

Now, you can argue this point every which way from Sunday, and it has been. But, when the smoke clears away, the tenth Amendment makes it absolutely clear that the Federal Government is limited only to the powers granted to it in the Constitution. It says so… right there in the tenth amendment!

To see that the Federal Government has exceeded it’s authority all you have to do is look around you.

We, the people, are swamped with rules, and regulations, and laws handed down by the Federal Government that are smothering the states and draining our state treasuries, just as the Federal Governement did before the American Civil War. It is plain to see that the states and the Federal Government are headed for some kind of confrontation … and it won’t be pleasant.

I am convinced that the Congress we have seated today, and the President in the Oval Office today, will do more to bring about the dissolution of the United States than any government since that of Lincoln in 1860. We warned, even before the President was sworn in, that his government would over-reach. They began almost immediately. The so-called “Stimulus Bill” could well be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Eight states have introduced resolutions declaring state sovereignty under the Ninth and Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, including Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Washington (state). Some analysts expect that in addition, another 20 states may see similar measures introduced this year, including Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, Maine, and Pennsylvania. We recommend you read an article titled: “State Sovereignty Movement Quietly Growing.” You’ll find it HERE.

No less than James Madison, himself, one of our Founding Fathers, wrote in “The Federalist” the following: “The powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, [such] as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people.”

Interestingly, James Madison was one of the chief writers of the US Constitution. I think it is safe to take his word as an authority on what it meant.

The plain fact is… as one state lawmaker has said… the states are tired of being treated as branches of the Federal Government. The profligate spending by the Federal Government and those unfunded mandates dumped on the states are strangling the states… just as they did to the Southern states in the 1800′s.

We Americans don’t know our own history. America has a couple of generations of Americans who believe history started they day they were born. Those of us, who have studied the past, see the warning signs flashing all around us. We are headed for a constitutional crisis, which may tear the country apart. And I am not writing of this recession, which is nowhere near as bad as the current government would have you believe. I am pointing to a power struggle between the “creator”(the states), and the “created” (the federal government).

This Americans, who do know their history, know, all too well, that America is in another situation very similar to the one over which she fought the American Revolution and, approximately 80 years later, the American Civil War.

Am I worried? You’d better believe I am worried!

© J. D. Longstreet

J. D. Longstreet is a conservative Southern American (A native sandlapper and an adopted Tar Heel) with a deep passion for the history, heritage, and culture of the southern states of America. At the same time he is a deeply loyal American believing strongly in “America First”.

J. D. Longstreet blogs daily at INSIGHT on Freedom

 

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