Author Archive | Steve Baysinger

Texas House Bill 149 (HB149), The Texas Liberty Preservation Act (Larson; HD-122), was placed into the Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility Committee on 6 Feb 2013.

The objective of HB 149 is to stop indefinite detention by nullifying Sections 1021 and 1022 of the NDAA.  The bill includes criminal penalties for federal agents who attempt to carry out such “indefinite detentions” within the state of Texas – 1 year in prison and up to $10,000 fine.  (more information on the bill here)

Tenth Amendment Center-Texas requests your immediate help by contacting Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility committee members to express your support for HB 149.  We urge you to CALL and EMAIL.  Strongly, but respectfully, inform the committee members that you will accept nothing less than a YES vote, which will allow the full state house to debate and vote on the bill.

Committee members include:

Chair—Rep. Brandon Creighton (R) (brandon.creighton@house.state.tx.us  (512) 463-0726);

Rep. Cindy Burkett (R) (cindy.burkett@house.state.tx.us (512) 463-0464);

Rep. Eddie Lucio (D) (eddie.lucio@house.state.tx.us (512) 463-0606);

Rep. Scott Turner (R) (scott.turner@house.state.tx.us (512) 463-0484), and;

Rep. Armando Walle (R) (armando.walle@house.state.tx.us  (512) 463-0924).

SYNOPSIS:

President Barack Obama signed Continue Reading →

WHAT IT IS NOT.  Nullification is not secession or insurrection, but neither is it unconditional or unlimited submission. Nullification is not something that requires any decision, statement or action from any branch of the federal government. Nullification is not the result of obtaining a favorable court ruling.

IN THE BEGINNING.  Nullification has a long history in the American tradition and has been invoked in support of free speech, in opposition to war and fugitive slave laws and more. These principles are currently being invoked in the sovereign states within the republic in response to unconstitutional federal laws.

THE KENTUCKY & VIRGINIA RESOLUTIONS.  In the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, Thomas Jefferson wrote: “The several states composing the United States of America are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their general (federal) government” and “where powers are assumed (by the general government) which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy.”

James Madison, in his Virginia Resolution of 1798, asserted the core premise of all nullification laws—that State governments not only have the right to resist unconstitutional Federal acts, but that, in order to protect liberty, they are “duty bound to interpose” or stand between the federal government and the people of their state.

RESISTANCE BEGINS AT HOME.  Nullification begins with a decision made in your state legislature to resist federal law deemed to be unconstitutional. It usually involves a bill, which is passed by both houses and is signed by the governor. It may change your state’s statutory law or it might even amend the state constitution. Nullification is a refusal on the part of your state to cooperate with, or enforce, federal law(s) or regulation(s) the state deems to be unconstitutional.

Source: “Principles of Nullification” brochure, Tenth Amendment Center, http://tenthamendmentcenter.com

“Somebody ought to do something!”

“I’m tired of shouting at my TV but what am I to do? Write a letter? Send an email? A fax? What for?  “They” don’t care about us and they’re not listening!”

“What are we supposed to do?”

Sound familiar? Well, Patriots, there’s not one thing you can do—there are actually three options to choose from—as a 21^st century Patriot you can exercise one, two or all three at the same time!

Imagine, if you will, a trident—a long three pronged spear commonly associated with the classical god of the sea—Neptune(or Poseidon). The first prong is “educate,” the middle—“advocate,” the third—“participate.” The trident is the Patriots’ best weapon in the fight to save our republic from those hell bent on shredding the Constitution and replacing it with a “living” document. Here’s how.

Educate—First, start with educating yourself. Have you read the Declaration of Independence? The Constitution? How about the Bill of Rights? Remember them from civics class? Oh, that’s right; civics class has long since vanished from the majority of our schools. Only old guys like me remember learning about local, state and federal government and how they are supposed to work together; laws—and how they are to be created, argued and passed and how those laws are supposed to be interpreted, enforced and by whom. Continue Reading →

Nullify ObamaCare In Texas. Here’s The Words. Which Texas Legislators Will Add The “Music”??

Federal Health Care Nullification Act—TEXAS

(An Act to render null and void certain unconstitutional laws enacted by the Congress of the United States, taking control over the health insurance industry and mandating that individuals purchase health insurance under threat of penalty.)

WHEREAS, the People of the several states comprising the United States of America created the federal government to be their agent for certain enumerated purposes, and nothing more.

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution defines the total scope of federal power as being that which has been delegated by the people of the several states to the federal government, and all power not delegated to the federal government in the Constitution of the United States is reserved to the states respectively, or to the people themselves.

WHEREAS, the assumption of power that the federal government has made by enacting the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” interferes with the right of the People of the State of Texas to regulate health care as they see fit, and makes a mockery of James Madison’s assurance in Federalist #45 that the “powers delegated” to the Federal Government are “few and defined”, while those of the States are “numerous and indefinite.”

RESOLVED, a new section of law to be codified in the Texas Statutes as Section [NUMBER] of Title [NUMBER], unless there is created duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

RESOLVED, the Legislature of the State of  Texas declares that the federal law known as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” signed by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010, is not authorized by the Constitutions of the United States (and of the sovereign state of Texas) and violates its true meaning and intent as given by the Founders and Ratifiers, and is hereby declared to be invalid in this state, shall not be recognized by this state, is specifically rejected by this state, and shall be considered null and void and of no effect in this state.

RESOLVED, it shall be the duty of the legislature of this State to adopt and enact any and all measures as may be necessary to prevent the enforcement of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” within the limits of this State. Continue Reading →

Nullify NDAA Sections 1021 & 1022 In Texas. Here’s The Words. Which Texas Legislators Will Add The “Music”?

The Texas Liberty Preservation Act

(The nullification of Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012)

Whereas, the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the United States federal government authorization to exercise only those powers delegated to it in the Constitution (Article 1, Section Eight) and nothing more. The guaranty of those limitations on federal power is a matter of contract between the several states in general, the citizens of the state of Texas in particular, and the federal government of the United States at the time the Constitution was agreed upon and adopted.

Whereas, Article VI, Clause 2, of the Constitution of the United States provides that laws of the United States are the supreme law of the land provided they are made in pursuance to the powers delegated to the federal government in the Constitution.

Whereas, the enactment into law by the United States Congress of Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, Public Law 112-81, is inimical to the liberty, security, and well being of the citizens of the state of Texas, and was adopted by the United States Congress in violation of the limits of federal power authorized by the United States Constitution.

Whereas, the Office of the President of the United States has asserted the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Terrorists allows for the President to indefinitely detain, without charge, persons including United States citizens and lawful resident aliens, whether or not they are captured within the confines of the United States. Continue Reading →

cross-posted from the Texas Tenth Amendment Center

I ran across the following fable in a book called From Dictatorship to Democracy (A Conceptual Framework for Liberation) by Gene Sharp (Fourth U.S. Edition (May 2010), The Albert Einstein Institution).

Mr. Sharp, Professor Emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is known for his extensive writings on nonviolent struggle, which have influenced numerous anti-government resistance movements around the world. Known as the ”Clausewitz of nonviolent warfare,” Sharp has influenced resistance organizations around the world, most recently the protest movement that toppled President Mubarak of Egypt as well as the movements in Tunisia and Libya. This fable, a fourteenth century Chinese parable by Liu-Ji, offers insight into the nature of political power.

In the feudal state of Chu an old man survived by keeping monkeys in his service. The people of Chu called him “ju gong” (monkey master).

Each morning, the old man would assemble the monkeys in his courtyard, and order the eldest one to lead the others to the mountains to gather fruits from bushes and trees. It was the rule that each monkey had to give one-tenth of his collection to the old man. Those who failed to do so would be ruthlessly flogged. All the monkeys suffered bitterly, but dared not complain. Continue Reading →

Co-authored by Steve Baysinger and Brian Roberts

This week after a little time to reflect, Texans are wondering what happened to the TSA bill last week. A month ago it looked like shoe-in, then it looked dead, then it was reborn, then it was delayed in creative ways only to find the dustbin at the end of the special session. Barring reintroduction in a second special session, the bill is dead for the immediate future. But what happened? Why are Texas leaders refusing to step between the TSA agents’ fondling fingers and citizen’s dignity? Why are Texas leaders allowing the TSA to run around the clear limitations set forth in the Fourth Amendment?

Lots of questions. Very few answers.

But there is one answer that remains clear… the Texas leadership completely failed Texans!

Less than a month ago, the confidence level in passing the TSA bill was high. The Texas House had just passed the bill with a vote of 138-0. The Senate was next and was widely reported to have near unanimous support for the bill as well. Then it would be off to Gov. Perry’s office. This was a strongly worded piece of legislation that rejected outright invasive searches without probable cause. Few state representatives at the time were willing to side with a federal agency that groped innocent citizens and denied Texans their Fourth Amendment rights. At this point in time, passing the legislation looked like a sure thing.

Suddenly, without warning,  the Department of Justice engaged head-on  the Texas legislative process, threatening Texas with a no-fly zone should this legislation pass. From then on everything changed. Never mind, the DOJ letter was laughably inaccurate in its suggestion that the Supremacy Clause could be used to deny Fourth Amendment protections. Never mind,  the TSA is acting as a rouge agency without laws authorizing its behavior.  Never mind, that an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would be required to negate the Fourth Amendment so that such authority might be given to the TSA. Never mind, the wide range of confirmed incidence of overzealous TSA gropers of babies, pre-teens, grandmothers and even a Miss USA contestant. Never mind, the exact purpose of this bill was to say “NO” to the federal government!

Regardless, everything changed. Continue Reading →

On May 24, 2011, Texas Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) wrote Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, House Speaker Rep. Joe Straus and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott regarding HB 1937 (Texas push-back on TSA abuse) a letter. In that letter Rep. Simpson wisely stated:

Gentlemen, we find ourselves at a watershed moment today. The federal government is attempting to deprive the citizens of Texas of their constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 9 of the Texas Constitution. If we do not stand for our citizens in the face of this deprivation of their personal rights and dignity, who will?

As we all now know, Lt. Gov. Dewhurst, fearing federal threats of reprisals, convinced a majority of Texas senators, who had earlier committed their support to this bill, to flip-flop leaving the senate bill sponsor, Sen. Dan Patrick, high and dry. The bill died before it could be heard on the senate floor.

Following this fiasco, a tsunami of angry phone calls, emails and faxes and, in some cases, personal visits to Lt. Gov. Dewhurst and senate members resulted in the Lt. Governor reversing his earlier position by requesting Gov. Perry now make Simpson’s bill a subject of special interest, in essence, resurrecting HB 1937 and moving it to the senate floor for a hearing.

Two actions must now happen: (1) the bill must be filed (DONE!), and; (2) Governor Perry must request the bill be sent to him. Continue Reading →

Earlier this week, Shell Oil Company announced it must scrap efforts to drill for oil this summer in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska. The decision comes following a ruling by the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board to withhold critical air permits. The move has angered some in Congress and triggered a flurry of legislation aimed at stripping the EPA of its oil drilling oversight.

Shell spent five years and nearly $4 billion dollars on plans to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The leases alone cost $2.2 billion. Shell Vice President Pete Slaiby says obtaining similar air permits for a drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico would take about 45 days. He’s especially frustrated over the appeal board’s suggestion that the Arctic drill would somehow be hazardous for the people who live in the area.

“We think the issues were really not major,” Slaiby said, “and clearly not impactful for the communities we work in.”

The closest village to where Shell proposed to drill is Kaktovik, Alaska. It is one of the most remote places in the United States. According to the latest census, the population is 245 and nearly all of the residents are Alaska natives. The village, which is 1 square mile, sits right along the shores of the Beaufort Sea, 70 miles away from the proposed off-shore drill site.

The EPA’s appeals board ruled that Shell had not taken into consideration emissions from an ice-breaking vessel when calculating overall greenhouse gas emissions from the project. Environmental groups were thrilled by the ruling.

Do YOU support Texas independence from the EPA and Executive tyranny? Then tell Governor Perry TODAY to “pull” House Bill 3188 (Rep. Lyle Larson; R-Bexar) out of the House Select Committee on State Sovereignty and send it on its way through the legislative process!

HB 3188 is the only bill with “teeth” to enforce a Texas EPA pushback directive. With only 40 days left in the 82^nd legislative session, the clock is ticking down on this House bill.

Call, email, fax, etc. the Office of the Governor and tell them to MOVE HB 3188 to Calendars Committee so that HB 3188 can be debated and voted on the House floor.

Contact info: Senator Ken Armbrister, Legislative Liaison to the Governor, (512) 463-1830, fax: (512) 572-2211, ken.armbrister@governor.state.tx.us, P.O. Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711.

If emailing or faxing, cut and paste the following point paper and send it on. This is an easy and convenient way to battle tyranny from your home office. Do it today. Do it for you children. Do it for Texas!
Continue Reading →