Author Archive | Benjamin W. Mankowski, Sr.

Liberty, Raw and Natural

In Minnesota, a man accused of the illegal sale of raw milk was acquitted, not because he did not violate Minnesota state law, but because the jury decided the law itself was unjust, and therefore no law at all.  The story by JG Vibes was reported in September of 2012, but is certainly worth reviewing as a blueprint for using the power of the jury to nullify unjust federal, state and local laws.

The concept of jury nullification is older than the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation and even the Declaration of Independence.  In 1670 (h/t Dr. Julian Heicklen), William Penn and William Mead were out on trial as Quakers for “unlawful assembly,” as Quakers did not have the freedom to worship in England.  The jury refused to convict the two men, even under orders from the judge to go without food or drink until a guilty verdict was delivered.  After further refusal to convict, the jurors were jailed, but their sentence was overturned on appeal in the Common Court of Pleas. Continue Reading →

Continue Reading

Oklahoma Bill Would Nullify Agenda 21

A bill in the Oklahoma House that would nullify United Nations Agenda 21 was passed by the State’s Rights Committee, yet another step in that state’s attempts to resist implementation of the international agreement.  The committee vote was 9-4 (see how representatives voted here)

The bill, HB1412 now has to pass through the House Calendar Committee before it can be brought up for a full vote on the House floor.

The Senate version of the bill, SB23, was introduced December 12, 2012, and referred to the Energy Committee on February 5, 2013.  So far, it has received no votes.  If passed, participation by any state, county or municipal agency in Agenda 21 or its local offshoot, ICLEI, would be prohibited.

HB1412 states, in part:

The state or any political subdivision of the state shall not adopt or implement policy recommendations that deliberately or inadvertently infringe upon or restrict private property rights without due process, as may be required by policy recommendations originating in, or traceable to United Nations Agenda 21/Sustainable Development and any of its subsequent modifications, a resolution adopted by the United Nations in 1992 at its Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and commonly known as the Earth Summit and reconfirmed in its Rio+20 Conference held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012, or any other international law or ancillary plan of action that contravenes the Constitution of the United States or the Oklahoma Constitution.

Objections to Agenda 21 include a variety of concerns, including the violation of personal property rights, the erosion of state and local authority, and the binding of the United States to international agreements that would violate our Constitution.   Continue Reading →

Continue Reading

Boehner May Be Onto Something

After what seemed like endless negotiations, empty rhetoric and so on, it appears the House and Senate have managed to kick the can further down the road.  For those familiar with the euphemism if not the reality, that means they have “avoided the fiscal cliff” for the time being.  And there was much rejoicing…yay!  This did not occur, however, before tempers flared in the White House lobby.

Yesterday, according to the Huffington Post, House Speaker John Boehner approached Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and told him to perform an act with himself our basic biology courses used to tell us required two people to complete.  When Reid asked Boehner what he was talking about, Boehner repeated said instructions.

Some people maybe offended by the Speaker’s choice of words, while others may applaud them.  Others still may appreciate the sentiment, but see a lack of action to back it up.  After all, Reid got what he wanted, a bill that raises taxes, does nothing about rampant spending, and does even less about the oversized, overreaching assortment of unconstitutional federal agencies designed to bully the States and the People into submission.  These will continue to grow, claiming more power today than yesterday, but less than tomorrow.  Yes, John Boehner’s words to Harry Reid may sound tough, but there is no substance to them.  If only there were someone or a group of people who regularly said those words and meant them.  Oh, but there is.

Founded in 2005, the Tenth Amendment Center this year will celebrate eight years of telling the Feds to go delete an expletive with itself.  Our founder Michael Boldin has spent years spreading the word about what Presidents, be they Obama or Bush, House Speakers, whether Pelosi or Boehner, Senate Majority Leaders, regardless of whether they go by Reid or McConnell, as well as nameless, faceless bureaucrats, what they can do with their statist, anti-constitutional so-called laws.  Every time a Governor, State Legislature, county or municipal government or general populace of a state nullifies an unconstitutional federal act, every time they refuse to implement unjust policies past and present, they are heeding the call of the Tenther and saying, “We don’t need no stinkin’ permission to exercise our rights.”

So this year, when Congress wants to push for implementation of the ObamaCare exchanges, or tell us we really, really need to implement REAL ID this time, or crack down on marijuana, or the People have to give up their guns, we know what to tell our state and local officials to tell them.  It’s what the Tenthers have been saying all along, and thanks to our illustrious Speaker of the House, we have another…interesting way of saying it.

Continue Reading

A Look Ahead – Time To Plan

As the year 2012 draws to a close, the New Jersey Tenth Amendment Center is looking ahead to 2013 knowing there is a lot of work to do.  A few short weeks ago, we gave thanks for the victories we achieved due to the hard work of activists in our group as well as other organizations.  We can add to that a second veto of the health care exchanges, which could fall under Mike Maharrey’s “few slices of warm, buttered bread” analogy in this week’s Tenther Radio.  We’d rather the unconditional veto on constitutional grounds, but we’ll take what we can get for the moment.

Governor Christie‘s veto of the health exchanges can be used as a turning point to take control of the ObamaCare debate in this very blue state over the next year.  We need a renewed push for the Federal Healthcare Nullification Act in the State Legislature.  Governor Christie spoke of the control the federal government gives to the states over the health care exchanges.  The focus needs to be on urging state legislators of both parties to TAKE control of health care reform in our state, making decisions within New Jersey and out of the control of DC.  Even if the debate gets vicious, let it occur in Trenton and in our local communities.

Another area that needs a great deal of effort is opposing the NDAA through the Liberty Preservation Act.  Despite the claims of Feinstein Amendment supporters in the 2013 NDAA, the final product is highly unlikely to have much if any protection against the indefinite detention clauses in the 2012 NDAA.  We will need to push for those protections in Trenton, as well as the county and municipal levels.  Those who are able must get to their Town Council and County Freeholder meetings to make sure these issues are discussed.  County Sheriffs will be useful if we can win them over.  For issues like this, there is the possibility the State Legislature and Governor won’t do anything unless they see action at the local level.  We will be looking for volunteers and other organizations to help with this outreach.  See our facebook page to join the planning . Continue Reading →

Continue Reading

What Do We Get In Exchange, Governor?

Just two days remain until New Jersey’s deadline for Governor Christie to make a decision on the health care exchanges outlined in the Affordable Care Act.  The federal deadline was to be December 16.  Our State Legislature, in the interests of our State’s autonomy, told DC they couldn’t tell us what to do, and then proceeded to move the deadline ten days earlier.  I guess Trenton showed HHS who’s boss around here.

As in the case of the previous health insurance exchanges, Governor Christie has been very vague regarding what he intends to do.  There is the option of setting up a state exchange, a joint federal/state exchange or letting the federal government operate the exchange themselves.

On the one hand, as quoted in northjersey.com last month, he has said “if ObamaCare is going to be the law of the land,” he’s “going to comply.”  I wonder how many Governors in the North said that about the Fugitive Slave Act in the 1850s? And does this also mean you’re planning on backing off the push for sports betting?  Those were two federal acts masquerading as the law of the land.

On the other hand, he has said “[the White House] won’t answer our questions, so I can’t evaluate how much this will cost my State.”  How about our health care freedom, Governor?  Is that costly enough to say no to the exchanges? Continue Reading →

Continue Reading

Twelfthers?

It is amazing that during Thanksgiving week, there are still some obsessing publicly over the presidential election earlier this month.  A recent article from World Net Daily details how the Electoral College could be prevented from selecting a president.  To add to a Tenther’s list of reasons to be thankful, let’s include no longer being wrapped up in this nonsense.

Technically, Judson Phillips is correct as he outlines the ways in which the Twelfth Amendment can prevent President Obama from serving another term.  In order for the Electoral Votes to be certified, a quorum of two-thirds of the 50 states must participate in the Electoral College.  If seventeen of the twenty-four states can be persuaded to do this, the Electoral College will not have a quorum and will be unable to renew Obama’s lease at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Phillips calls on readers in what could call dubbed the “Twelfther” movement to contact the Secretaries of State in the states Romney carried and tell them not to participate in the Electoral College in the hopes of denying Democratic states the necessary quorum.

If the Electoral College does not choose a president, the decision constitutionally goes to the Congress, with the Republican-dominated House being likely to choose Romney as president and the enlarged Democrat majority in the Senate reelecting Vice President Joe Biden to his post.  If that happens, what then?

Phillips admits Romney would not be a great president, but he would be better than Obama.  How much better, in terms of results, would a Romney presidency be given the current makeup of Congress?  Let’s explore this. Continue Reading →

Continue Reading

Do the Secessionists Have As Much Courage As the Nullifiers?

By now, anybody who even casually follows the Tenther movement and the liberty movement in general has likely heard about the secession petitions circulating.  Yesterday, I had personally gone from only hearing about Louisiana, to hearing my State of New Jersey had one too, to hearing the count was up to twenty States.  That could be an old number by the time this makes it into the Tenth Amendment Center blog.

The language of these petitions is interesting, as they “ask” the federal government to let said States peaceably withdraw from the United States.  Although I confess to having signed, originally for Louisiana upon first finding out, and then for New Jersey, it was more out of curiosity than anything else.

Apparently, any State circulating these petitions requires a minimum of 25,000 signatures within thirty days in order to receive a White House response.  Texas has nearly double the required signatures, and Louisiana is likely a day away from hitting the threshold.  Several states are beyond halfway there.  Check to see if your State is on the list.  While you’re at it, go ahead and sign, so you can get your response.  The most likely response from the White House is a familiar word to anybody in the nullification movement, “No.” Continue Reading →

Continue Reading

Don’t Miss the Debates. The Important Ones!

In an election year such as this, there is a sense in the air that the 2012 elections could be the most important ever.  However, it is not for the reasons the Republican and Democratic establishments like to tell us.  Whether Obama is reelected or Romney successfully makes him a one term President, whether current majorities in the House and Senate remain, one chamber changes parties, or they reverse, the way of DC will remain the same.  Authoritarian, top-down rule will be the name of the game.

So why is this year so important?  Why shouldn’t we miss the debates?  Because I’m not talking about the Presidential debates, even the third party ones that allow some discussion outside the “acceptable spectrum” as Tom Woods has called it.  We also have local debates and elections.  County and municipal elections will be occurring throughout New Jersey, and we need a major change, starting as locally as possible.

I personally will be attending the South Plainfield Borough Council debates. Continue Reading →

Continue Reading

Obama the Nullifier? Again?

Hollywood would never dream of a plot line in which the power hungry tyrants in their country’s capital actively encourage anyone to disregard the rules that are spewed from the same capital.  Yet, in DC, the hardened statist’s paradise, the Obama Administration has actively encouraged military contractors to ignore the WARN Act, according to Timothy H. Lee of the Center for Individual Freedom.   To put it another way, President Obama has embraced nullification of federal legislation.

The WARN Act is a federal law that requires companies that employ 100 employees or more to provide 60 days notice before any layoffs or plant closings.  The idea behind the bill is to give families an opportunity to adjust their finances, seek other employment or get training for a job search.  This covers a wide of employees from managers and supervisors down to entry-level.

Companies that violate the WARN Act can face serious penalties anywhere from paying back pay and benefits to class action lawsuits.  Greater minds than mine can discuss the constitutionality  of the WARN Act, but for all the joking about “Obama the Nullifier,” the President is playing with the lives of the workers he vehemently claims to care about just to gain reelection.

The WARN Act, as mentioned earlier, requires 60 days notification before a layoff. This decision by the Obama Administration just happens to come out fewer than 60 days before the election.  How convenient after the official unemployment rate just finally got under the 8% Obama told us we wouldn’t even see if his stimulus passed.  The official rate was over 8% for over three years!  Obama cannot afford to have the public find out it will increase again right after the election, or to have rumors of layoffs begin circulating.

And the military contractors affected?  How were they convinced to break federal law when they faced stiff penalties for doing so?  The Obama Administration offered to pay any penalties resulting from this action.  I am certain those who tell us Congress can do anything in the name of the common defense, general welfare or interstate commerce, or that we cannot simply cherry pick the laws we want to follow will be all over the Obama Administration for this, right?  Don’t count on it.

Those in power don’t truly believe in their arguments over what is or is not constitutional.  They just use it to push their own agenda and hold onto their own power.  That desperate need to cling to power while pretending to stick up for the people, if not seen for what it is, can make truth seem stranger than fiction, and the drama in DC more unreal than anything in the movies.

Continue Reading

“Handlin” the Health Care Debate from Home

Most politicians, and consequently many voters who bet all their chips on the federal government’s actions, think of Congress and the President and maybe the Supreme Court when it comes to health care issues.

It matters little to none whether the politician is a Democrat pushing for that next step toward a public option or even single payer system, or a Republican mistakenly pushing tort reform from DC while preaching the merits of limited government.  It was not until ObamaCare that Governors (including one Democrat) and legislators across these 50 States mentioned not implementing the federally mandated health insurance exchanges.

Although we as a state have a long way to go toward beginning to act like a state again, there are small sparks of hope that need some fuel poured on them.  Governor Christie vetoed the bill that would have implemented the health insurance exchanges, and we are hoping he will do so again. Continue Reading →

Continue Reading