This episode is made possible in part by the new Nullification Movie. Now available for order at tenthamendmentcenter.com/movie

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President Obama and Congress insist they have the authority to force every American to buy health insurance.

Last summer, the Supreme Court put its rubber stamp on that notion, ruling that the federal government does indeed possess the authority to force all 350-plus million Americans into a one-size fits all health care system via its taxing authority.

Florida voters will have the opportunity to tell the feds to go pound the plentiful Sunshine State sand on Nov. 6 when they consider Amendment 1, a health care freedom amendment.

If passed, the amendment will “prohibit laws or rules from compelling any person or employer to purchase, obtain, or otherwise provide for health care coverage.” The proposed amendment would also allow health care providers to accept direct payment for services.

Call it a tax or call it a penalty, in effect, the amendment would nullify the insurance mandate written into the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Amendment 1 would “exempt persons, employers, and health care providers from penalties and taxes for paying directly or accepting direct payment for lawful health care services; and prohibit laws or rules from abolishing the private market for health care coverage of any lawful health care service.”

The Florida legislature placed the amendment on the ballot. It passed the Florida Senate on March 9, 2011, by a 29-10 margin. The House overwhelmingly agreed, passing the measure 80-37 on May 4 that same year. To become part of the Florida constitution, the amendment must garner at least 60 percent of the votes when Floridians go to the polls.

Rep. Scott Plakon (R-Longwood) sponsored the Amendment in the House.

“I say keep your hands off my freedom.”

In Colorado and Washington State, two initiative measures that would nullify parts of the unconstitutional federal drug war are holding strong. If approved, Washington’s I-502 and Colorado’s Amendment 64 would end marijuana prohibition and treat pot in the same manner as alcohol. People would be allowed to grow, produce, sell, buy and consume the plant – in direct defiance to all three branches of the federal government.

The latest poll last week by Strategies 360 puts support for I-502 at a 54 to 38 percent lead. The previous poll on I-502 had shown support dipping to just around 50%, but this latest indicates that support is holding strong in the face of opposition attacks.

Public Policy Polling surveyed 904 likely voters in Colorado from October 23rd to 25th and found they support Amendment 64 by 53%. Only 43% were opposed and the number of undecideds has shrunk to 5%. The bump in support can be, in part, thanks to the closing of the gender gap, Women now support A64 by a margin of 50% to 46%.

Previous data, released last week by the Denver Post, had Amendment 64 holding onto a small lead, with 48% in support, 43% opposed, and 9% still undecided. It appears that the current campaign media blitz, including two television advertisements and a radio ad featuring Melissa Etheridge, may be having the desired effect for supporters. The number of undecided voters continues to dwindle and they look to be breaking in favor.

Bottom line? The federal government has no constitutional authority to mandate the purchase of a product. Or, ban the purchase of a product either. I-502 and Amendment 64 would be a major steps towards returning the power over agricultural regulations where it belongs – with the people of the several states.

From the Goldwater Institute, Nick Dranias warns about Health Care Compacts becoming a trojan horse.

Tea Parties across the country have been championing the idea of using interstate compacts—which are basically legal agreements among the states—as a way of delaying the roll-out of President Obama’s so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The most popular compact idea, the “Health Care Compact,” has already been adopted by Texas, Utah, Missouri, Indiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Georgia. It promises to move “the responsibility and authority for regulating health care from the federal government to the states.”

There’s only one problem. Section 1333 of the federal health care law specifically anticipates what it calls “Health Care Choice Compacts” and prescribes how such compacts must be organized, allowing them to exist only if they replicate nearly all of Obamacare’s most burdensome and costly regulations. In short, this little known provision could easily co-opt and subvert the growing Health Care Compact movement to ensure federal law continues to govern even the states that join the compact.

It is critically important that all health care compact initiatives explicitly reject section 1333 of the federal health care law. This is the only way for states to ensure that their compact will actually serve as a genuine vehicle for preserving state sovereignty and freedom of choice in health insurance. Any health care compact initiative that fails to do risks becoming a Trojan Horse for federal domination of health insurance markets.

From the New American Magazine, Joe Wolverton reports that Unconstitutional NSA spying will continue. The National Security Agency (NSA) says Americans should trust them to use their surveillance powers only for good. This from the group whose leader refused to say how many Americans they are spying on because it was “beyond the capacity of his office and dedicating sufficient additional resources would likely impede the NSA’s mission.”

But that shouldn’t be a surprise – the 4th amendment has been a irritation to government largesse for a long time.

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