Archive | June, 2011

State vs. Federal Government: What’s the Difference Anymore?

by Lewis Goldberg, Missouri First

NOTE: Missouri First is an official supporter of Nullify Now! Kansas City on August 20, 2011. Get tickets here – http://www.nullifynow.com/kansascity/ – or by calling 888-71-TICKETS

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An examination of the structure of most state governments reveals few differences from their masters at Federal, lending credibility to the attitudes of some people that we ought to do away with state government altogether. Things were not always this way. State government bureaucracies were developed to meet the needs of the people, and to function as a national government (and still may, if necessary,) while the Federal was designed to be a government of the state governments, not of the people directly. Indeed, all Federal laws passed that deal with crimes or conditions of individuals, are constitutionally invalid; that would include laws against murder, drugs, gambling, any proposed ‘hate-crime’ legislation in the works, as well as all social programs, student loans, etc.

If one reads the US Constitution [available at The American Colonist's Library, among many other documents,] and it is a tough read if one is not empassioned by this sort of thing, one will find scant mention of the relationship between the Federal government and its citizens. Most references to ‘people’ or ‘persons’ in the Constitution deal with the rules of election to, and holding of, office; crimes of treason; and servitude. Provision is also made for extradition, which has more to do with regulating cooperation between States of the Union. Nowhere in the Constitution is the Federal government charged with providing public housing, welfare payments, medical care, or retirement funds. But we have all grown up in a nation where these functions, and more, have been the status quo of Federal operations. Continue Reading →

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$2 Trillion in Cuts in Perspective

Congressional Republicans have said that spending cuts must be at least as large as an increase in the debt ceiling. Negotiations over lifting the debt ceiling are ongoing, but the “magic number,” so-to-speak, would be around $2 trillion in spending cuts.

Cutting $2 trillion in federal spending sounds like a lot, but it’s actually relatively small because the cuts would likely occur over ten years. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s most recent budget baseline, the federal government will spend almost $46 trillion over the next ten years.

The following chart shows what $2 trillion in spending cuts over the next ten years looks like when measured against the CBO’s baseline. Even with the cuts, federal spending would still increase by $1.8 trillion:

Rather than actually cutting spending, federal spending (and debt) would continue to grow – just at a slightly lower rate. And as Chris Edwards continues to warn, there is a strong possibility that some or all of the “cuts” could be phony.

cross-posted from Cato-at-Liberty

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A First Step To Sound Money

Editorial of The New York Sun | June 28, 2011

…It’s called the Sound Money Promotion Act, and The New York Sun is happy to lay claim to being the first newspaper to endorse it. The measure, as it is characterized in a press release posted by Senator DeMint, would remove the tax burden on gold and silver coins that have been declared legal tender by either the federal government or state governments…

…It seeks to block tax authorities from treating gold and silver coins as though they were mere commodities and start treating them, at least in tax law, as though they were what the Founders of America thought they were, which is money. Gold and silver coins are already treated this way, as legal tender, inside the state of Utah, whence Senator Lee was elected.

This is because Utah was the first state in our modern time to exercise its constitutional power to make gold and silver coins legal tender. It did so earlier this year, ahead of as many as a dozen states that are at various stages of looking in to the question of how to protect themselves against the collapse of the United States dollars that are being issued by the Federal Reserve. They are all being energized by the fact that the value of the dollar has collapsed to barely a fifth of what it was, if that, at the start of the 21st century…

…How far the three senators will get with the Sound Money Protection Act is hard to say. Its implication — a recognition of gold and silver as the true constitutional money — is, in the current context, radical. But it’s no more radical than the Founders, who, when they twice used the word “dollars” in the Constitution, were referring to a coin containing 371 ¼ grains of silver. They codified that as the definition of the dollar in the Coinage Act of 1792. They also referenced gold in the 1792 Act, with a value of 15 times that of silver. We are in a time when understanding the concept of constitutional money will point the way to the policies needed to steer our country out of its current difficulties.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE…

 

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Texas TSA anti-groping bill fails; fight just beginning

AUSTIN, Texas (June 29) – Last ditch efforts to save a bill that would restrict the TSA’s ability to conduct invasive pat-downs in the Lone Star State failed Wednesday afternoon.

The Texas Senate passed its own version of the anti-groping legislation (SB29) 19-11 Tuesday evening and promptly adjourned, leaving representatives just one day to consider the bill.

The House passed the second reading of the Senate bill 106-27, with 16 representatives absent.

But with the end of the special session looming, House members had to vote to suspend the Texas Constitution’s three day reading rule and allow a second vote on SB29 later Wednesday. Several representatives left after the second reading, and the vote to suspend the rules fell short of the 4/5 majority needed on a 96-26 vote. Continue Reading →

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TSA: A Modern Day Prima Nocta?

Prima Nocta was an unconscionable policy whereby kings were rumored to have authorized regional lords with sexual rights to other men’s brides on the night of marriage. In clearer terms, rape of the populace, authorized by the king.

I can hear the apologists whispering from the past:

“Well, if you don’t want to be raped by the resident lord, don’t get married.”

If implemented, the primary goal of Prima Nocta in medieval times would have been to bring a population to it’s knees in absolute submission. Kings would have done so to exert unchallenged power over an occupied territory, thus proving their superiority. Since the regional lord held both the physical power and this support of the political system no peaceful recourse would be left to the people. The psychological impact would have been great leading to rapid submission, at least for a time.

At the hands of the TSA, Americans are increasingly faced with a limited implementation of Prima Nocta as our own family’s private parts are fair game to the groping fingers of this federally supported agency. While the TSA’s current actions do not amount to rape, the desired effect of the practice is the same. The apologists today are already making the following argument: Continue Reading →

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My letter to the TSA. And their response

I wrote a letter to the TSA about there Keystone cops antics;
Subject: Northwest Florida Regional Airport
From: “Dennis Bamford”
Date: Mon, June 27, 2011 5:22 am
To: “TSA-”
Mailer: SquirrelMail/1.4.21
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file | | Add to Address Book

How far is the TSA going to go in making our country look like morons?

http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2011/06/tsa-forces-eldely-dying-woman-to-strip/

TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz told the newspaper she could not address
specific cases, but noted that agents treat all passengers the same to
ensure national security.

“TSA cannot exempt any group from screening because we know from
intelligence that there are terrorists out there that would then exploit
that vulnerability,” she said

And now we have 95yr olds from Florida being called terrorists!? common on
guys,your supposed to be our best and brightest. The job that your doing
is thankless because you make it that way,TSA agents should be able to
access the person that is in front of them and make the call by which that
person is handled. Continue Reading →

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Nullification in Kansas City

by Matthew Silber, Missouri Tenth

NOTE: Missouri Tenth: A Citizen’s Guide to State Sovereignty is an official supporter of Nullify Now! Kansas City on August 20, 2011.  Get tickets here – http://www.nullifynow.com/kansascity/ – or by calling 888-71-TICKETS

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As reported on the June 22, 2011 edition of Tenther Radio, Michael Boldin (with host Phil Russo), made the following announcement:

“We’ve actually just signed the contract and sealed the deal for Nullify Now in Kansas City on Saturday August 20. We’re really excited about it, and we’ve got an interesting cross-section of groups that are going to be involved. Join us for an amazing educational seminar in our fight for liberty through nullification. Hear great guest speakers, like Tom Woods – the best selling author of Meltdown, the Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, and of course Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st century. For more details and to get your tickets right now, visit nullifynow.com/Kansascity.” Continue Reading →

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Happy Birthday TAC!

Michael Boldin, founder and executive director of the Tenth Amendment Center, shares a few thoughts on TAC’s 5 year anniversary, how political winds shift, and how you’ll always be under attack when standing for the Constitution: Every issue, every time. No exceptions, no excuses.

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Tenther Radio 06-29-11. Guest, Jim Babka

Please join us for TRX: Tenther Radio on June 29, 2011 right here – listen live by clicking the play button at that time on the right. Join the conversation with your comments and questions by calling (323) 843-6008.

We’re honored to have as the show’s guest, Jim Babka. (http://www.downsizedc.org) Jim is a writer, activist, and former radio talk-show host. He currently serves as president of the Downsize DC Foundation and DownsizeDC.org, Inc. Jim has been a featured speaker at 3 Nullify Now! events, and as more are being planned, you can expect to see his name in the featured speakers section. Continue Reading →

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