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New England Nullification Movement Grows

By on May 10, 2011 in Big Government, Constitution, Federalism, Government, Liberty, Nullification, Sovereignty Movement 0

Back in March, the town of Sedgwick, Maine courageously voted to nullify certain unconstituional federal regulations dealing with local food production.

The ordinance was passed in response to S.510, the odious Food Safety and Modernization Act, written by agricorps like Monsanto to put their smaller competitors out of business, and passed by Congress under the cover of darkness on Christmas Eve last year. 

The Sedgwick ordinance stated in part that

“Sedgwick citizens…[may] produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of their choosing,”

and declares that

“It shall be unlawful for any law or regulation adopted by the state or federal government to interfere with the rights recognized by this Ordinance.” 

As I pointed out in March:

This is so basic and yet so revolutionary.

In these days when petty tyrants seem to be at the helm of every government agency, imposing their arbitrary and destructive will upon a cowering citizenry, it is refreshing to know that there are still people with the courage and capacity to stand up and say “Not in our town.”

Now another town has joined the fight.

Voters in Blue Hill, Maine have adopted a similar ordinance to protect their own local food producers.

Nullification, the legal and moral equivalent of peaceful non-cooperation, marches on as more and more Americans discover that tyranny cannot exist without the people’s consent.  

h/t LRC

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Oklahoma governor puts taxpayers’ money where her mouth is

By on April 15, 2011 in Announcements, Big Government, Constitution, Delegated Powers, Federal Funding, Federalism, Founding Principles, Health Care, Liberty, Nullification, Originalism, Sovereignty Movement, State Sovereignty, Tenthers 4

Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin just set an important precedent. By rejecting $54.6 million in federal money to begin implementation of ObamaCare, the governor has firmly set herself against the unconstitutional law and with the citizens of her state.

From Fox News:

To make it clear Oklahoma will develop its own plan, the state will not accept a $54.6 million federal grant for setting up a system where Oklahomans could shop for health insurance, Gov. Mary Fallin said Thursday.

Fallin said the state instead will use state and private money to form the system.

This is a step that advocates of nullification in many states have long sought. After all, it’s pretty obvious that threats of non-compliance with the feds are empty to the point of pathetic when state budgets still depend on grants of federal money (which is siphoned from their citizens to begin with).

However

Fallin’s announcement reverses her decision two months ago to accept the federal money.

Obviously the governor is bowing to some form of public pressure. In this age of  rampant and flagrant TSA molestation, it’s nice to see that pressure can still occasionally be successfully applied to public servants.

Perhaps other states whose legislatures have passed a version of the Health Care Freedom Act should consider following Oklahoma’s example.

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Who’s the real hypocrite?

By on April 2, 2011 in Commentary, Constitution, Federalism, Founding Fathers, Founding Principles, Government, Nullification, Tenthers 0

Some guy named Doug Thompson took a cheap shot at Ron Paul recently in an incoherent article titled “The Constitutional hypocrisy of Ron Paul.” From what I could gather, Thompson’s claim is that Ron Paul supports nullification and the 10th Amendment, therefore Ron Paul is a racist because a document published in 1956 called the Southern Manifesto once alluded to nullification.

No mention of the Virginia or Kentucky Resolutions, or of Thomas Jefferson. Continue Reading →

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New England Nullification Tradition Marches On

By on March 10, 2011 in Announcements, Big Brother, Big Government, Commentary, Constitution, Delegated Powers, Drug War, Economics, Federalism, Founding Fathers, Founding Principles, Government, Judiciary, Law, Liberty, Nullification, Originalism, Sovereignty Movement, State Sovereignty 1

Though many living in New England today might be loathe to admit it, there is a long history of nullification being used in the region to defy unconstitutional federal edicts. This week, the town of Sedgwick, Maine voted to carry on that proud tradition by nullifying certain federal agricultural regulations.

They did so through what might be the most legitimate form of democratic expression left in America: the New England town meeting. (Which have been held in the Sedgwick town hall since 1794.)

According to one report, the residents of Sedgwick voted to enact a law that not only permits

“Sedgwick citizens…to produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of their choosing,”

but declares that Continue Reading →

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South Carolina reps see the light on Commerce Clause

By on March 7, 2011 in Big Government, Constitution, Delegated Powers, Federalism, Firearms Freedom Act, Founding Principles, Government, Originalism, Politicians, Sovereignty Movement, State Sovereignty, Tenthers 1

Two state representatives in South Carolina are pushing back against a federal ban of incandescent light bulbs set to begin in January of 2012. There is no constitutional authority for Congress to impose such a ban on the citizens of the several states, and it’s nice that South Carolina noticed.

From NetRightDaily:

“State Representatives Sandifer and Loftis are taking the lead in protecting the rights of South Carolina consumers, who don’t want the federal government telling them which light bulbs they must use,” Bill Wilson the President of Americans for Limited Government said.

“The basic concept of the bill is to allow the citizens of South Carolina to be able to continue to buy incandescent light bulbs,” said State Representative Bill Sandifer, Chairman of the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee.

“It is my strong belief that the feds have overstepped the Tenth Amendment, and now are venturing into telling us what kinds of lighting we can have in our homes,” Sandifer added.

Their bill (H. 3735) is essentially a version of the Firearms Freedom Acts and Intrastate Commerce Acts that have been popping up all over the country. Essentially, any light bulb manufactured and sold exclusively in South Carolina would not be subject to federal regulation.

Which is already the case, but it never hurts to repeat the obvious for emphasis when dealing with a government as corrupt and insular as the one in Washington, D.C.

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Splitting Arizona: Support grows for 51st state

By on February 27, 2011 in Constitution, Federalism, Nullification 9

Outraged over efforts in the Arizona State Legislature to nullify unconstitutional federal commands and prohibitions, a growing number of Pima County residents and even a few of their state legislators are proposing that they be permitted to break away from the rest of Arizona in order to form their own state. If they are eventually successful, Tucson would almost certainly be it’s capital city.

I’ve been saying that this is what needs to happen for more than a decade. Perhaps a majority of the people who reside in what is known to be the more left-leaning, southern parts of our state, have long been fed up with the north’s social and fiscal conservatism. Now they are completely outraged over our movement to nullify every last federal act that a majority of our state legislators deem to be unconstitutional, but which they consider to be perfectly within the sphere of legitimate federal power. Continue Reading →

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VA Senate Kills Intrastate Commerce Act Without a Vote

By on February 24, 2011 in Announcements, Big Government, Constitution, Delegated Powers, Elections, Federalism, Firearms Freedom Act, Originalism, Politicians, State Sovereignty 0

Another year, another trip to the Senate Death Star for the Intrastate Commerce Act (HB1438). Without even recording a vote, the elected “representatives” on the Senate Commerce and Labor Sub-Committee #1 left Virginia residents and businesses exposed to the economic and regulatory ravages of every federal agency from the EPA to the FDA to the BATF.

When will enough be enough for Virginia voters? Statewide elections in November…

Members of the C&L Sub-Committee #1 (who should be retired to private life in 2011)

Sen. Richard L. Saslaw (D) (804) 698-7535 district35@senate.virginia.gov (chairman)
Sen. John S. Edwards (D) (804) 698-7521 district21@senate.virginia.gov
Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D) (804) 698-7509 district09@senate.virginia.gov
Sen. Thomas K. Norment, Jr. (R) (804) 698-7503 district03@senate.virginia.gov
Sen. John C. Watkins, (R) (804) 698-7510 district10@senate.virginia.gov

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Virginia Blogger Calls Tenthers “Intellectual Boobs”

By on February 19, 2011 in Commentary, Constitution, Federalism, Founding Fathers, Founding Principles, Government, Originalism, Sovereignty Movement, State Sovereignty, Tenthers, The Opposition 2

Dan Casey of the Roanoke Times recently embarrassed himself with a juvenile, ad hominem attack on the Tenth Amendment movement titled “The Whole Tenth Amendment Business is Dumb and Crazy.”

While it’s unclear whether Casey actually expected his “arguments” to be taken seriously, it is clear that he cannot make his point through the use of logic or fact. Therefore, Casey’s piece is chock full of historical inaccuracies, mis-characterizations and outright falsehoods regarding the original intent and meaning of the Constitution.

So many, actually, that I cannot list them all here. However, I did respond point by point in a piece of my own to be published soon.

Here is a sample: Continue Reading →

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VA Intrastate Commerce Act up for key vote tomorrow

By on February 14, 2011 in Activism, Announcements, Commentary, Constitution, Federalism, Firearms Freedom Act, Founding Principles, Government, Nullification, Politicians, Sovereignty Movement, State Sovereignty 0

Last year in Virginia, activists scored a big victory for the Tenth Amendment with the passage of HB10, the Health Care Freedom Act, but they also suffered a significant defeat. The Firearms Freedom Act (FFA), which forbid the federal government from enforcing its gun regulations on weapons and ammunition made and sold exclusively in Virginia, passed the House of Delegates in 2010 only to be killed in the Senate’s notorious ”Death Star” sub-committee.

The siginifcance of the FFA was of course not just about firearms freedom. It was also about the precedent such a law would have set for returning the federal government to its constitutional role, and restoring some measure of state sovereignty. Unfortunately, by killing the bill, a tiny minority of Virginia Senators left the entire commonwealth open to federal attack on issues that go well beyond gun control, up to and <a href="http://www.tent Continue Reading →

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Montana lawmaker seeks to create state militia

By on February 10, 2011 in Constitution, Federalism, Government, Military, Originalism, State Sovereignty 0

In a move that will hopefully be copied nationwide over the next few years, Montana lawmakers are considering forming and training an armed volunteer force of “home guards” certified by the governor and not subject to federal oversight. These home guards would be under the direct authority of the county sherriffs and the governor during any state emergency.

According to the Billings Gazette:

Supporters said the bill is not about arming citizens but to provide additional emergency services as some other states do.

A number of states have a state defense force like a “home guard” for responding to emergencies but few states have an armed force like the bill proposes.

As you might expect, the idea of a sovereign state organizing its citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights has met with considerable shock, outrage and hyperbole from the Left. Continue Reading →

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