AWA: Americans With Attitude

October 19, 2011

by Bob Moriarty

(Editor’s note: The penultimate paragraph is one of the most sobering I’ve read in many months. And it’s nearly impossible to argue with the author’s conclusions. Blood will likely be spilled, and that may just be the beginning of the end.)










Bob Moriarty is president of www.321Gold.com.

Copyright ©2001-2011 321gold Ltd. All Rights Reserved

This Is Texas Independence Week

March 1, 2011

(Editor’s Note: We started yesterday with an announcement about the “Line In The Sand” Rally on Saturday, March 5th. That’s this coming Saturday. So let’s dedicate this period from today to March 10th to Texas Independence, culminating with the Saturday the 5th rally on the south steps of the capital in Austin.

Today, you’ll read an article by the Director of Membership for the Texas Nationalist Movement. We ran this article on September 20, 2009.)

Why I Joined The Texas Nationalist Movement, And My Thoughts On How I Can Make A Difference.

By Cary L. Wise

On the 19th of September, 2009, I made one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made as an adult. After long hours of research, and careful thought about me and my family, I joined the TEXAS NATIONALIST MOVEMENT, for the establishment of an independent REPUBLIC OF TEXAS. A new nation among the world’s nations, free of the government of the United States, and all that has come to mean. A new nation free to once again establish and follow a constitution written by the people, and for the people, that will assure the freedoms and rights as established in the original constitution of the U.S. A new nation that will be free of over two hundred years of judicial activism that has bastardized that constitution to where now no one in government pays attention to it, or in some cases even bothers, or attempts to follow it.

I have chosen to join and lead because I will not live just taking whatever Washington DC chooses is the best way for me. I will not just stand by and be denied the rights of a citizen to share and prosper as an individual because of an over burden of taxes, a denial by my country to the riches of its natural resources, because of fringe environmentalists, and the greed by some to prosper by the denial of those God given rights.

I choose not to take it anymore when it comes to politicians who can see the masses, and the masses disagree, but the masses are ignored. I’m done being silent of career politicians, whose number one priority is their own pocket book. I’m done with welfare and equal opportunity mandates that have ruined what the US was all about when it was born. I’m done with not being able to speak the truth, and if you do, you are labeled a racist, or a bigot. What happened to being able to disagree and speak what one knows to be the truth? Political correctness, that’s what happened. It has destroyed the ability of people to debate, converse, decide, and make common sense decisions based on the welfare of all involved.

Yes, I believe the US has grossly gone astray from what the founding fathers had in mind. I also believe it has gotten this way over the last 70 to 80 years, while the public was not watching, and when they began watching, the political correction of our time was too much pressure for people to bare, so we have just been quiet, and took it! I believe that the politicians in Washington are so corrupt, that they are rendered useless. My proof is when “czars” are appointed by Obama, that are functioning completely outside the constraints of Congress, and not one Congress person yells foul, unconstitutional, stop! Not one! Where is the outcry that Congress is being usurped every day, on TV, and no one says a word? Why is it we now see trillions of dollars being given away to curb a crisis that for all purposes, was started by the government?! These are not the people I choose to represent me!

So why was the decision so tough for me? I am 59 years old. All my life I have been all about the red, white and blue. I served in the Air Force for 4 years during Viet Nam. I was a flight crew member in Viet Nam. Although I hail from Texas, I spent 15 years in Michigan, serving as a state trooper in the Michigan State Police, one of the finest police organizations in the US. I have always been about law and order, and discipline, and self improvement, and taking care of yourself. I have been in business for 28 years teaching people how to be successful and how to win by always DOING WHAT IS RIGHT! I was, and have always been a patriot to my country and what it has stood for.

I have come to the sad conclusion that those ideals no longer exist as I knew them in the US. I can no longer support a government that blatantly steps on the rights, the dreams, the ambition, and the blood so many of us have spilled to maintain what we once knew was the best country in the whole world. I have traveled the world; I knew that to be true! I don’t see that anymore as corruption has spoiled that vision.

So I make my decision with a heart full of passion and belief, that the Republic of Texas can once again make that vision return. I know that Texas, and people from Texas are indeed unique. If you have ever traveled the world, or gone anywhere where you were the only Texan present, you know this to be true. We have grown up with a huge sense of state and historical pride. We have a history of straight talking and if you don’t like it here, you are damn sure welcome to leave as fast as you got here! We understand and love our tradition, our brave history, our heroes, our willingness to take a stand, and even die for it if we know it to be right! I have traveled the United States extensively. Many other people do not understand this, and they never will. They were raised differently in their home states…we are unique. That is the bond that has held Texas and Texans together forever. I understand it, and so do many here within our wonderful state.

To the Texas Nationalist Movement: I have also read all the documents, the articles, the opinions, the good and the bad, the legality of such a movement, and I am convinced that done the proper way, which is legally and through established legislative procedures, this can be accomplished. I am adamant that I do not want to fight the civil war again. I don’t want conflict with the U.S. federal government. I don’t want Texans turning on other Texans. I want the same set of circumstances that our founding fathers found themselves in. Do not stand for a tyrannical government abusing your rights! Declare your desire for independence and follow the proper procedures to do so. It is NOT against any law for the people of Texas to hold a referendum and choose independence! It violates no one’s constitution, the U.S. or Texas. If we can return our beloved Texas to one of the leading independent countries in the world, instead of being run into the ground now and for generations to come, we owe it to ourselves and our children and grand children to be the next “FOUNDING FATHERS AND MOTHERS” of a new shining light on the hill. It can be done, and it should be done!

This concept of education, and learning, and speaking of the real issues, is what will make the movement happen. I fully understand that many people are “red, white, and blue.” They do not get involved because that’s hard! They do not protest because that’s uncomfortable! They don’t want to rock anyone’s boat because their own life is still kind of OK yet.

Here is what people MUST UNDERSTAND! For 70 to 80 years, the progressives have been chipping away at the US. Now, they are in power. Look what has happened in the last 9 months alone. Connect the dots, folks. Bailouts, czars, national health care, GM, bank bailouts, headlines of a page full of new taxes, the race card being played from the WHITE HOUSE! Texans, if nothing else, things are getting even worse than they were, and they’re going faster. Whatever Obama gets from his long list of things that are happening now, will NEVER BE REVERSED! Fellow Texans, it can only, and will only get worse. Unless you are ready to give more and more of your pay away, ready to NOT be allowed some of the financial, religious, political and social freedoms we used to enjoy, you must start thinking in a reality mode.

Sticking one’s head in the sand won’t get it anymore. We must be REALISTS!! If we are not, we will wake up real soon, and wonder what the hell happened! That’s when the frustration and anger will boil over, and there might be violence. There is no need for that! Start now, plan now, prepare now, for a peaceful and legal transition into a new Republic that has term limits on politicians, laws that are clear, concise, and upheld, a foreign policy with animosity to no one, a trade policy that is good for Texas, and immigration and education policies that can again turn Texas to a world leader.

These are the reasons why I joined, and why I believe in the dream of achieving great things. It takes great people, and a great venue to achieve great things. WE HAVE BOTH!

Cary L.Wise
Hondo, Texas

Apostates of Liberty

February 21, 2011

by Alvie D. Zane
Cliffs of Insanity

(Editor’s Note: It isn’t just Rush. Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, Neil Boortz, Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Bill Kristol…the list goes on and on. These people are the lamprey eels on the liberal sharks, feeding on their blood but not killing them. If any one of them began beating the drum for secession, it could turn the tide BEFORE the economic collapse. But these folks are like movie critics, and no statue has ever been erected to a critic. The only national voice that I respect is Mike Church, who actually supports secession.)

The blowup in Wisconsin is merely the beginning of the same kind of Greece fires we saw last year.

According to unions consisting of civil servants, the solution is to every problem is to raise taxes on the rest of us. Wow, if only I could do that at my job. A bunch of us get together to bang our silverware on the high chair and demand of our employer that they give in to every ridiculous demand. It’s Starving The Monkeys 101. Nothing more.

Democrats flee the state capitol when it’s time to vote-knowing that they don’t have the votes to stop it, but that they must at least be present for the vote to be legal.

I’m partial to Denninger’s solution.

The Governor is entitled to fire them all. And he should do so.

Right now.


I caught a blurb of Rush while at lunch. He was raising a fuss that the leadership of the left sits on their hands while their thugnuts using vicious and violent rhetoric.

As if…. Sigh. I used to listen to Rush, but now, I may only be able to tolerate a minute or two. He refuses to get it.

This behavior from the thugnuts is precisely what the left wants. It’s what their leaders instruct and program them to do and they dutifully obey. Why would they call for civility now? That’s part of the Rules for Radicals. Why would they call for Wisconsin unions to stop comparing Gov. Walker to Mubarak? Or Hitler? It’s precisely what they want. Besides if a state like Wisconsin can roll back something this big, then what could more conservative states do? (Note: Coming soon to a state capitol near you.)

Having made a living for 2 decades off the behavior of the left, you’d think Rush would not be surprised or outraged at the leaders of the left sitting on their hands.

Rush and many like him have the ability to steer the discussion, to set the agenda, to go on offense. And they largely refuse. Instead, we get flash stories about what Justin Bieber thinks about America. Or a Journolist who gets treated badly by a mob. Or birth certificate, ad infinitum. (And ad nauseum!) But never enough to actually encourage people to….DO anything.

Rush could be the George Soros of the right if he wanted to-funding the restoration of liberty at every turn. People who have been in this fight a lot longer than me have been saying it for decades and yet Rush and others like him seem pathologically incapable or unwilling to make the leap of imagination. It’s not that there can be no common ground (future tense). The reality is that there is no common ground (present tense, right now, period, full stop). Then again, having made millions for 2 decades off the behavior of the left, why should Rush be in a hurry to see it come to a close? Why should any of the “conservative” media like Drudge, Joe Farah, Bill O’Reilly, or National Review be in a hurry to achieve victory that would mean an end to their power, position, and maybe their prosperity?

Perhaps that’s why they all sat on their hands for Restore The Constitution last year.

Perhaps that’s why they’re all sitting on their hands for Project Gunwalker now.

“Follow the money”, right Rush?

On the one hand, it’s easy to kick collectivists as enemies of liberty. I’m not so sure the greater threat to liberty isn’t posed by Rush and those like him. It’s interesting that on the one hand, he and others like him have prospered from the outrage at collectivist tactics and strategy, yet that seldom translates into real results. It’s like perpetually keeping the tea kettle at 211 degrees. The pot rumbles a little, a low, wet, gurgly, annoying whistle starts to happen. But never any boiling. Tea Party indeed! It seems like someone claiming to be a leader who was actually interested in victory might have actually…you know, reached 212 and put that steam to work rather than backing off every time the pot made a little noise.

Our founders wrote in the Declaration of Independence,


The attitude typified in the conservative media-and among many “conservative” politicians could best be embodied by this adaptation:

“We pledge to sacrifice our honor for the rest of our lives for your sacred fortunes.”

To bend a verse of scripture slightly, it is as if they have a form of Liberty, but are denying the power thereof. I therefore crown them as Apostates of Liberty.

I have a simple message for them all:

Join the forces of liberty today, or join them tomorrow.

Some will join today and help the fight. Others though are waiting to join until later-perhaps hoping that if we’re wrong. If history is any guide though, then these late-comers to liberty could simply have their own corpses thrown on top of those they refused to help. What an irony, by not succeeding in not being the first killed for freedom, they would still be, “on top of the heap” so to speak.

If you fail to join us as free men to stand up today, then you may join our corpses tomorrow at the bottom of an unmarked pit.

And in the spirit of the Fair Warning to The Collectivists, let me offer a fair warning to the Apostates of Liberty. You may continue to commit idolatry against Liberty, worshipping money as your god while it lasts. But when it all hits the fan, the man who in good times begged for your help while you plugged your ears may not lift a finger to help you when times are bad.

When we get right down to it, the only difference between the Apostates of Liberty and the Collectivists is that the Collectivists have taken off the mask. At least we can know them by their deeds.

© Copyright 2011, Alvie D. Zane

The Will of the People

February 13, 2011

by Linda Brady Traynham

Anyone who thinks Egypt has just witnessed the triumph of democracy in the usual misuse of that term go back to losing your favorite computer game and do not even consider a career in politics. The world just became a far more dangerous place for all concerned, and I’m not even talking about increased chances for war in the Middle East. The rules changed suddenly, and not for the better. One big short term winner is Swiss bankers, who self-righteously froze “Egypt’s” funds for a period of three years just as they sequestered those of Tunisia last month. The uncontested use of several billion dollars for a lengthy period is good for a bank’s bottom line, but the long term cost will be storing funds elsewhere. If a numbered account is no longer sacrosanct–and it isn’t–of what use is it? Facts are sketchy and may always be, but as nearly as I can determine from news reports and other sources Mr. Mubarak can smile tranquilly–supposing he is not within the borders of Egypt; abdication is always safer from a distance– because he had at most 10% of his private fortune in Bern, and more probably on the order of 5%.

The unemployment rate among young males in the ME is at least 25%, meaning that it will continue to be very easy to whip up mobs to protest against powers and policies. The Muslim Brotherhood has no scruples against expending a little cannon fodder, and the prize of toppling Egypt will egg it on. So what if only one “popular uprising” in a dozen succeeds–at first? As they say, “We love dying more than you love living.”

What is any sensible despot to think of all this? My guess is “NIMBY.” No sirree bobtail, not in MY back yard. At the very first sign of dissidence come down on the trouble makers with whatever it takes. If there is anything there is an excess of in most countries it is ignorant, violent, young fanatics. Their mothers may love them (although one wonders, under Sharia law) but no one other than a few Western liberals will scream over maintaining the peace, and how many guns do they have?

I suppose my readers will howl again that I am a disgrace to journalism, a “right” wing activist, and non-objective, and my reply will be the same. I am a columnist and an analyst, not a journalist. (In general “journalists” work for the New York Times and Arriana Huffington.) They will end again charging that I write “diatribes.” This may be one, but they have legitimate uses, such as warning others of danger. The demographics in our big cities have many characteristics similar to those in Cairo, and this revolution was Cairo born and led. If a crowd of 100,000 or so can cause a mess like that in a city of eighteen million…what could happen in Chicago, Detroit, Houston, D. C., or Los Angeles? True, it is easier in smaller countries with fewer cities, but it is possible anywhere 3% of the people get together and push.

Mr. Mubarak may have been no prize, but the chances of the new regime being non-oppressive are slight. The philosophy is all wrong, and human nature and history argue against it. The only legitimate purposes of government are to defend borders and provide safety for citizens. Governments cannot create productive jobs, and so long as they support 40% of a population in idleness it is difficult to accumulate enough private capital to create them. One of the biggest problems in Egypt appears to have been that the bulk of the police were conscripted for three year periods, not really trained, and paid poorly. What can a new government do about that? Replace them with the heroes of the revolution? Pay better wages? Getting the money where? Reduce graft, corruption, and vice, which are endemic in the area? How? When populations reach critical mass what IS there to do? Egypt’s only real sources of production are cotton and tourism. Tourists don’t like domestic upheaval and damaged antiquities. You can’t eat cotton.

I stopped to read this much to my dear Charles, who enchanted me by how he answered these questions: “You are now Pharaoh Charles the First. How will you save Egypt? Where will you begin?” I gave him an urchin-like grin and asked, “Raid the treasury?!” My darling replied first, “Of course I won’t raid the treasury. Everybody who wants to do business will need my permission and there will be fees.” He then proceeded to lay out exactly how I would go about it, as stated in an article he didn’t hear I sent to the Texas Ring.

The answer is very similar to telling your computer to go back to the last known configuration that worked. For three thousand years Egypt thrived under the Pharaohs until the Greeks messed things up. Egypt’s wealth, power, and stability were based on the Nile River, a stratified society, and full employment, so go back to what worked and parcel out favors to those who have demonstrated the ability to handle wealth and commerce, which would also improve tourism enormously. Egypt was built on the powers of the ruler, a system of nobles, multi-theism, and at least limited opportunity for those who were smarter, more talented, and worked harder. So…pick out all the most successful businessmen and grant them patents of nobility (with land in proportion to their achievements) and lesser amounts of land to others as small holders.

Dredge the Northern end of Lake Nasser to create thousands of hectares of fertile land. Drain the Aswan until it is possible to dredge it for the rich, accumulated silt, thereby uncovering antiquities not seen in decades. Divide the farm land into smaller portions under what are basically tenant farmers who owe a tithe–literally, 10%–of what they grow to the Nome in which they are in–to the Lord who grants them the right to farm the land only so long as production meets his standards. The Nomes tithe 10% to the Pharaoh and are also responsible for providing troops in time of war.

I can hear some of you now: “Mrs. Traynham! Are you out of your B.C. mind?!” Not at all, my dears. It depends upon what you want most, the world as it is or a world of prosperity at the cost of Statism and reasonably wide-spread electricity. This is pure genius!

Now, once the Aswan Dam is dismantled, sure, you’ve got an electricity problem–but what you get is the period when the Nile floods, spreading rich topsoil so that you can grow all the wheat, barley, cotton, and other crops you need and ample to export. Given YOUR choice, would you choose plenty over mercury-vapor lights? There are generators that work fine on propane, gasoline, and oil. Better than that, you have a period of several months during which the banks of the Nile are flooded…and a very pretty penny in the Royal Treasury you can spend employing the people to build temples, public buildings, roads, and quite possibly some new hydroelectric plants where the cataracts are, if you still think everyone needs electricity. So what if they aren’t as efficient as Brown and Root and General Dynamics? So long as anything reasonable gets done and people have a steady income during the rainy season, who cares?

Bring back the old gods and give the priesthoods a moderate amount of power. Encourage stone masons and discourage Muslims. Cow-headed Hathor was more fun. Outlaw the use of Arabic script and don’t even settle for Demotic: go back to the writings of the gods, AKA hieroglyphics. Teaching people to read causes many problems. Go back to a scribe class (a high status position) and restrict learning to the priests, scribes, higher nobility, and the palace. Sure people will attempt to circumvent your regulations, providing ample employment for Egyptologists and translators. Drive the rest of the world crazy by conducting all diplomatic correspondence in hieroglyphics. I guffawed over the thought of a chain that might be required to get from hieroglyphics to English, to French, to Mandarin Chinese. Hey, bring back mummification while you’re at it because that employs priests and workers mummifying and building private tombs. (Are you moaning in dismay, yet? Worse, do you suppose I’m spoofing? I’m really not!)

Certainly, this would require careful timing, because the big problems are Islamofascists and unemployed trouble-makers. Crops take time to grow, but if you increase land “ownership” quickly and provide at least seeds six months from now there will be a crop and large numbers who think you are a hero. Yes, it will take several years to restore full productivity, but every person who benefits from your efforts makes a two-fold difference: one more “vote” for you and one less for those who seek power but have no plan for how to use it other than spreading Islam. Terror and fanaticism will lose every time to full bellies, fat, healthy babies, stability, and hope for the future. Besides, think of the amusement value of seeing the next ruler of Egypt clad in a see-through pleated linen kilt, a Nemes headdress, a broad collar of gold and semiprecious gems, and very uncomfortable golden sandals, hissing to his Wazir, Dr. Zawi Hawass (Egypt’s premier Egyptologist, although we have much better) “What’s the transliteration for ‘No way, Jose?'” Imagine the current ruling politician describing himself with a straight face as “Raging Bull.”

In time, have a discussion with Sudan about the traditional boundaries of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms. Kemet and Desheret, the Black Land and the Red Land…it seems probable that titular overlordship by your Egypt at a price of 10% taxes on those who produce and reasonable fees for doing business might look very good to the Sudanese.

The problem with Statism isn’t just that you run out of other people’s money, but not knowing what the average person wants: secure borders, safe streets, and the ability to succeed by our own efforts and keep 90% of what we produce. Sure, mobs can bring down current administrations, but can they keep what they won? Unlikely, even with cheerful willingness to shed blood. If Mr. Mubarak had had any sense he would have restored ancient Egypt or retired as an elder statesman ten years ago. If he has any sense now he will get himself and his family out of Sharm El Whatever-it-is and outside the borders of Egypt. In a world where Dubya can’t travel freely lest he be put on trial for “torture,” I cannot think Egypt is a healthy climate for the Mubarak family.
When I return I think I’ll begin a series on building multi-generational wealth. In the meantime, contemplate whether Egyptians or even you and your family would fare better in a society structured as I suggest or the current system. Half of all you make goes to government at some level. I really want to know: do you genuinely care that much about false claims that we’re harming the sacred environment and it is our “duty” to support 40% of the population that does not work, or not? Feel free to lambaste me thoroughly, but back your words up with statistics and psychology. If you have a better idea on how to produce a stable, prosperous Egypt, let’s hear it.

Linda Brady Traynham is a former editor and analytical project report writer and is now a Whiskey & Gunpowder field correspondent on a ranch in the Republic of Texas. She studied Counseling at Boston University and got her Masters degree in Philosophy from the University of Hawaii.

The Template for Societal Destruction

February 2, 2011

By Russell D. Longcore

Around the world, human beings are rising up and expressing their desires for freedom. And around the world, governments have not protected human rights but have trampled them. Further, the governments of the world, led by the rogue government of the United States of America, have robbed their citizenry of their wealth by issuing counterfeit currencies and creating money from thin air through the fractional reserve banking system.

Notice what is happening in Egypt, Tunisia, Greece, Yemen, Jordan and other nations:

• Peaceful demonstrations by citizens
• Some looting
• Some violence
• Night time curfews and neighborhood blockades to protect citizens
• Internet shut down by government
• Journalists controlled
• Banks closed, ATMs don’t work
• Grocery stores emptied out, panic buying
• The government hanging on to power by any means

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will likely step down soon and skedaddle for asylum. If he has any brains at all, he will skedaddle for asylum under cover of night and announce his departure from safer environs. Beats the hell out of ending up like Nicolae Ceauşescu, the president/dictator of Romania, who was last seen in December 1989 lying in a street gutter with nice clean bullet hole in his skull.

Ladies and gentlemen, what we are witnessing in other nations around the world can just as easily happen in the United States. In fact, you should expect these events to occur in your neighborhoods at the point when the dollar collapses and hyperinflation begins the final destruction of the dollar.

The thugs in Washington will not go gentle into that good night (thanks Dylan Thomas). Knowing that they are not constrained by any such thing as law, like the Constitution, you should expect martial law to be declared early on. But martial law Washington-style will be tough to administer. Local law enforcement organizations will likely be called upon to help. But those police officers live in neighborhoods and have civilian friends. Will they agree to open fire on civilians? Will they turn their backs on the US Constitution and their own oaths of office? The same questions can be asked of the active duty military personnel. This is the HUGE ugly black fly in Washington’s ointment.

Remember, there are 300 million of us, and only a handful of them. If you think about it, there are probably only about 1,000 – 1,500 elected officials and bureaucrats in Washington that rule over the entire USA. And they only have the power that WE THE PEOPLE allow them to have over us. Think about this: Egypt has 80 million people. At no time in the last two weeks have there been crowds in Cairo numbering more than about half a million…perhaps a million. 80 million people did not demonstrate…less than 1% demonstrated. THAT is what happens when the citizens rise up.

As I have written over and over, I believe that economic collapse in the United States will be the trigger for secession. Further, I do not believe that any other event is big enough to trigger secession. Another false flag “terrorist” event could trigger the collapse of the economy, and surely something will have to trigger the economic collapse. But Joe Citizen won’t support secession until he begins missing some meals.

The televised events of chaos in other nations is the template for societal destruction and the precursor to secession and liberty in North America once again.

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

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.


Secession and the Impossible Constitutional Convention

May 9, 2010

Tom DeWeese wrote an article recently about the beginnings of a movement toward a Constitutional Convention. The first and only “con-con” was held in 1787.

This article proves the insurmountable challenges to either repairing or replacing the US Constitution and maintaining the United States of America in its 50-state configuration.

Perhaps the Tea Parties, the Tenth Amendment devotees, and all the other liberty activism groups that are demonstrating, waving crude signs and dressing up in ridiculous costumes will finally begin treating secession with the sobriety and urgency it deserves.

Powerful Forces Calling For a Constitutional Convention

By Tom DeWeese

In December, 2008, my American Policy Center (APC) led a fight to stop Ohio from becoming the 33rd state to call for a Constitutional Convention (Con Con). In the 1980’s 32 other states had passed Con Con resolutions for the specific purpose of passing a balanced budget amendment. Had that resolution passed the Ohio legislature, we would have been just one state away from such an event. We argued then that one cannot call a Con Con to discuss just one issue. Once a Con Con is in place, there is no controlling the agenda.

We fought to stop the Con Con because of fear. Today there is massive ignorance among the American people about the Constitution. Worse, there are powerful forces who consider that document to be antiquated and a hindrance to their vision of an all powerful government. These things, and more, make today the worst possible time in our nation’s history to mess with the greatest governing document of all time.

We stopped the effort in 2008, but the battle is on again as an even more determined plan is under way to gather support from the nation’s governors and state legislatures to pass Con Con resolutions. Again, this is not the work of wild-eyed leftists intending to gut the Bill of Rights. This is an effort by conservative legislators who are alarmed by the growing power of government.

The new plan making its rounds in state capitals is much more ambitious than the 2008 Ohio resolution to simply discuss a balanced budget. Now an entire package of ten amendments to the Constitution is being proposed and promoted to state legislatures through a powerful and well funded campaign.

The main groups pushing for a Con Con are the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative association of state legislators; and a new group calling itself the 10 Amendments for Freedom, Inc, chaired by William Fruth, President of POLICOM Corporation, which provides independent economics research

While ALEC is working behind the scenes to build support for a Con Con among state legislators, Fruth and his 10 Amendments for Freedom group has moved into the public eye to sell the Con Con idea to mainstream America. In March, Fruth kicked off his campaign by mailing out a slick, expensive package to conservative leaders and to over 7,000 state legislators. The package contained a book written by Fruth entitled “10 Amendments for Freedom.”

In the book, Fruth lays out an argument for the need for, not just a balanced budget amendment, but a total package of 10 Amendments to the Constitution including, the balanced budget; repay the national debt in 50 years; government transparency; line item veto; term limits for Congress; control illegal immigration; English-speaking nation; no foreign law shall bind us; government restraint (preventing the Federal Government from growth beyond constitutional powers; and finally, an amendment declaring “in God we trust.” Of course, there is no doubt that these amendments have great appeal for most conservatives, answering their growing frustration and fear of government expansion.

Arguing that Congress “will not likely take any action to cause the 10 Amendments for Freedom to become law of the land,” Fruth calls for all ten amendments to be packaged by state legislatures to be passed in a resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention. His package would include specific instructions to Congress as to how the delegates would be selected and outlining rules that would be enforced to assure only the ten amendments would be voted on.

Arguing the advantages of the Con Con, Fruth says, “Can you imagine the excitement in the nation leading up to the Convention? Schools will have to dust off history books which teach how our nation was founded. Many people for the first time will read the Constitution. The issue will be discussed at length, exposing what happened to our country over the years.”

Fruth then scoffs at our fears of a Con Con and efforts to stop it. He says, “Simply, it is not reasonable to assume there can be enough delegates sent to a convention who will propose amendments which ‘repeal the Bill of Rights’ or ‘legalize socialism.’ Even if they did, the amendments would never be ratified,” concludes Fruth.

Anticipating opposition to his scheme for a Con Con, Fruth says that those who opposed the effort in the 1980’s, to call for a Con Con for a balanced budget amendment, told the American people that the delegates at the convention can “change the Constitution any way they want.” Argues Fruth, “We know that is not true.” He says, “it is both irresponsible and disingenuous for anyone to publicly say that the convention can change the Constitution.” And he says, “any recommended changes must be approved by three-fourths of the states.

These are the arguments now being presented to every single state legislator and Governor in the nation as Fruth and ALEC put on a full-court-press to call for a Constitutional Convention. While the intention may be an honest desire to reign in the power of government, the fact remains that every one of these arguments for a Con Con is wrong.

The fact is, once 34 states petition Congress to convene a Constitutional Convention, the matter is completely out of the States’ hands. There is absolutely no ability to control what the delegates do in the convention. Attempting to instruct delegates to discuss only a specific issue like a balanced budget – or the whole package offered by the 10 Amendments for Freedom group — is absolutely impossible. Instead, once the convention starts, the delegates become super delegates which can take any action they desire concerning the Constitution. In short, at the convention the Constitution can be literally put on an operating table and the delegates can take a “scalpel” (pen) to it and change any section or even the entire document if they desire.

What proof do I offer? Here are the exact words of Article V of the Constitution: “…on the application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, (Congress) shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which…shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States.”

Article V gives absolutely no guidelines as to how it will be run, how delegates can be selected and who can do the selecting. Once the 34 states make the request, the entire matter is in the hands of Congress to decide. It does not matter if the states passed resolutions as Fruth proposes, containing absolute guidelines for delegate selection. The Constitution provides no rules – it is up to Congress to decide how delegates are selected and what qualifications they will have. The guidelines proposed by Fruth carry absolutely no weight in the final process – even if every state passes the exact same resolution including those rules. Again, Article V simply says that when 34 states have called for a Con Con the Congress “shall call a Convention…” Period.

And there is more legal proof in support of the argument that delegates are not bound by any instructions or resolutions from the states.

First, of course, is the famous letter written by former Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger to Phyllis Schlafly, President of Eagle Forum. In the letter Burger writes, “…there is no effective way to limit or muzzle the actions of a Constitutional Convention. The convention could make its own rules and set its own agenda. Congress might try to limit the convention to one amendment or to one issue, but there is no way to assure that the convention would obey. After a convention is convened, it will be too late to stop the convention if we don’t like its agenda. The meeting in 1787 ignored the limit placed by the confederated Congress…”

And there is more legal documentation proving that Congress or the states can control the agenda of a Con Con. Corpus Jurus Secundum is a compilation of State Supreme Court findings. The following is the collection of findings regarding the unlimited power of the delegates attending a Con Con. (From Corpus Jurus Secundum 16 C.J.S. 9) “The members of a Constitutional Convention are the direct representatives of the people (1) and, as such, they may exercise all sovereign powers that are vesting in the people of the state. (2) They derive their powers, not from the legislature, but from the people: (3) And, hence, their power may not in any respect be limited or restrained by the legislature. Under this view, it is a Legislative Body of the Highest Order (4) and may not only frame, but may also enact and promulgate, Constitution. (5)” The footnote numbers after the citation quoted reference the particular cases from which the citations were made. (1) Mississippi (1892) Sproule v Fredericks (11 So. 472); (2) Iowa (1883) Koehler v Hill (14N.W. 738); (3) West Virginia (1873) Loomis v Jackson (6 W. Va. 613); (4) Oklahoma (1907) Frantz v Autry (91 p. 193); (5) Texas (1912) Cox v Robison (150 S.W. 1149).

Clearly, the position put forth by Fruth, and ALEC, that state legislatures can pass a resolution dictating the rules of the Con Con is simply wrong.

Delegate selection is another dangerous trap waiting to spring. Again, Article V provides no guidelines. The process is left for Congress to decide. That means the current Congress could control the entire delegate selection. Under the rules that Congress could set, States may not even be represented. If the states are allowed to choose delegates, then what would be the method? Again, Congress will decide. Will the governor or the state legislature appoint delegates? Or could it be a bicameral panel or blue ribbon commission?

Or could it be a plebiscite – a vote of the people? If so, then who would be eligible to vote? Would it be all eligible voters? Or taxpayers only? Or would we possibly, in the interest of “enfranchisement,” allow all citizens, and potentially foreign nationals (illegal immigrants) to vote for this “special election?” There are no guidelines and anything is possible.

And what would be the qualifications to be a delegate? Would it be exclusively lawyers? A mix of professionals? So-called “proportional representation” of all special interest groups – NGO’s? Will some be excluded because of “extreme” convictions? Of course, according to the Federal Department of Homeland Security, “extreme convictions” includes those who want to protect the Constitution. So, what will the criteria for eligible delegates be? All of these choices would be made by Congress – that same one now controlled by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

But again, none of that will matter, according to those calling for the Con Con. William Fruth argues that no matter what such a convention does, it still must be ratified by two-thirds of the states, making it very difficult to do bad things against the will of the people. A history lesson is in order.


However, as soon as the delegates arrived at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, they closed and locked the door, pulled down the shades and met in secret for a month. When they were finished, they had created an entirely new nation. We were very lucky that the convention was attended by men like Ben Franklin and James Madison. They produced the most magnificent document ever devised for the governance of man.

Today, we have Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. These are the people who will decide the rules for the convention, including delegate selection. Keep in mind, these are the people who just managed to ram through a health “reform” bill that the overwhelming majority of Americans opposed. These are the same people who managed to pass the bailout package opposed (according to polls) by almost 80% of the American people.

Do you trust them to follow the rules dictated by state legislatures? Do you think Pelosi and Reid would pass up an opportunity to set their own rules to guarantee a Constitution to their liking? Do you think for one minute that they would take any steps to protect our Constitution? We live in an era when the Supreme Court looks to foreign laws to assure our own laws are worthy. We live in an era when many believe that the Constitution is out of date for our times. Barack Obama has expressed his belief that the U.S. Constitution needs to be interpreted through the lens of current events. Pelosi and her cohorts are itching to get their hands on the old parchment. And as history has shown, once a Con Con is called, delegates (picked though a Pelosi process) can do anything they want to it, including writing a completely new document.

And there is more. Concerning the argument that no matter what the delegates produce, the states still must ratify it – thus serving as a safeguard to tomfoolery, consider this fact: The Articles of Confederation required that any changes be ratified by 100% of the states. That was the document that was the law of the land – until something else was put into place. But, when the new Constitution was put to the states for a vote of ratification, suddenly they needed only two-thirds to approve it. Why? The fact is, Article V of the new Constitution was used – even before the Constitution which contained it was approved. Now, what do you think Reid and Pelosi and company would do with that precedent? What if the new document produced by the Con Con said ratification only required a vote of Congress – or some special commission? The precedent of 1787 says that could happen. So much for protection by the states.

And rather than an excitement in the nation with a rebirth of study of the Constitution, as Furth envisions, there would in fact be a long, hard, ugly and expensive battle over the process, guaranteed to leave the nation split along ideological lines. It’s not difficult to envision civil unrest, riots or even civil war as a result of any re-writing of the current Constitution.

These are the reasons why I, and many others around the nation, adamantly oppose a Constitutional Convention at this time. We fear a Con Con because the subject matter cannot be controlled. And if the worst happens, there is no guarantee that we can stop ratification. There has never been a worse time in the nation’s history to consider changing this grand document. The Con Con delegates could literally put the Constitution on an operating table and use their scalpels to slice it up, creating an entirely new form of government.

That new document, as precedence has shown, could be enforced without ratification by the states. Remember, our current Constitution was not ratified by the rules set forth in the Articles of Confederation, but by an Article V that wasn’t yet law of the land. Now that the precedence is there, it can happen again. The Pelosi’s of the nation, proven to have the power and the will to twist any issue or initiative as they desire, are rubbing their hands together at the prospect of a Con Con.

No doubt there is great need for several of the amendments Fruth and his group propose. But he seems to ignore the fact that there is a powerful, organized opposition. Again, I call your attention to the continuing battle over health care. That’s child’s play compared to what will happen in a Con Con. Do Americans really want to risk that in these uncertain times? Every freedom-loving American must stand up against this misguided call for a Con Con. Tell your state legislators NO.

© 2010 Tom DeWeese – All Rights Reserved

(540) 341-8911

When Will The Texas Offense Take the Field?

March 23, 2010

”The best defense is a good offense.” Vince Lombardi

I’m using a football analogy today, since football is a religion in Texas. So, this is a “come to Jesus” altar call in football parlance.

Two teams are playing in a winner-take-all game. It’s Texas versus Washington for all the marbles. The game is now in sudden-death overtime, and the clock is winding down, with no time outs available for either team.

Washington’s offense has been pushing Texas up and down the field throughout the whole game. But the Texans have mounted a mighty defensive stand here in the final stanza.

It’s time for the Texas offense to take the field.

There are a lot of actions that Head Coach/Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Legislature can do RIGHT NOW to “take the field” and start pushing back against the Washington team and win this game…once and for all.

Think about this scenario for just a moment. In this media-driven, 24/7 worldwide ocean of information and content, consider what would happen if Coach Perry called a news conference and read the following statement:

“Over the past few decades, The United States Federal Government in Washington DC has enacted law after law that taxes the citizens more, while regulating away more and more individual liberty. The passage of the Health Care legislation in Congress was the final act of tyranny to be forced upon the citizens of the state of Texas. I’m announcing that as of this date, we in the State of Texas will begin serious and solemn consideration of the sovereign act of secession from the United States of America. Within a few days, we Texans will come together in a Constitutional Convention to write a new constitution for a New Texas.

Enough is enough. To quote Sam Houston, Texas will again lift its head and stand among the nations.”

That’s all Perry needs to say. It would only take him 40 seconds if he was a slow reader.

Such a proclamation would galvanize the world media. Little else would be covered for days, perhaps weeks on all the major new outlets worldwide.

Then the Coach and the team would have to put up or shut up.

Here are ten “plays” for the Texas offense that could be run even before a Constitutional Convention was organized and gaveled to order.

1. Call an emergency session of the State Legislature to meet within 30 days with the following agenda:
2. Enact legislation that required each Texan who pays state taxes of any kind to pay the tax in gold or silver coin, or Egold.
3. Enact legislation to provide for the private minting of gold and silver coins as Texas legal tender.
4. Enact legislation that formally nullifies all Federal laws in Texas.
5. Enact legislation that strengthens the law enforcement powers of county Sheriffs in Texas, making the county Sheriff the top law enforcement officer in each county. As part of the Sheriff legislation, enact a statute that requires any Federal employee or sworn officer to obtain written authority from a county Sheriff to enforce any US Federal law upon a Texas citizen, with criminal penalties for any non-Texas officer violating the law.
6. Enact legislation that rejects the jurisdiction of any US Federal Court in matters of Texas sovereignty and nationhood.
7. Enact legislation that reorganizes the Texas Citizen Militia, comprised of all able-bodied men and women between the ages of 18 and 50. This bill would provide for immediate training and provisioning of the militia.
8. Authorize the Constitutional Convention and set the date within 90 days.
9. Draft a Texas Declaration of Independence and post it on the state’s website so that people around the world could read it before it’s delivered to Washington.
10. Draft a Texas Ordinance of Secession and post it on the state’s website so that people around the world could read it before it’s delivered to Washington.

How’s that for a sudden-death offensive series?

And what could the Washington team do in response? Breathe out threats? All that Texas is doing is “laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness” (from Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence 1776).

Football fans and lovers of Texas, one of these two teams is going to win. There will be no tie. Either Texas leaves The United States, or The United States turns Texas into a perpetual serfdom. There is no third option.

Who will win this game? Secession is the Hope for Mankind.

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.
