Telegraph UK Link for the "Stay Alert" post

For those following the Stay Alert post, here's the link to the UK Online Story I referred to.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/6110621/Our-quarter-century-penance-is-just-starting.html

Stay Alert

A friend posted on my facebook this morning a very troubling trend reported by the American Liberty Alliance. Essentially, they report that California was forced to abandon and retract the use of the term "tea bagger" when describing those who assemble peacefully to protest an out-of-control government. I'll spare you the need to look up the term, suffice it to say, it's not a pleasant experience nor a term that in any way accurately describes our movement.

So, as our movement continues to grow, be alert to the realities of our opponents desire to paint us as; wing nuts, terrorists, radicals, anti-American, evil-mongers, and yes, "tea baggers." The way I handle this is by using a bit of shame as I did on Fox News when I emphatically plead offense at their desire to call me something other than I am. Shame may not work with the person using these terms, but it may have an effect on the people hearing the phase being used.

Stay alert and don't be afraid to shame your accuser.

Healthcare Insurance is...Insurance.

Many citizens have forgotten the fact that we are not entitled to everything we want or even need to survive. We’ve come to expect that we deserve a job or a meal like it was our birthright. Hopefully, enough people will be brave enough to compassionately remind the citizenry that our birthright is that to be free. Once we trade the smallest pieces of our freedom for a morsel of security, our newly bound dependence charges us with the implication that we deserve neither freedom nor security.

The current national conversation around the Healthcare reform debate is one near and dear to all of us. It is a complex issue when one focuses on the specifics of the legislation or on the emotion that entangles us when we think about our personal Healthcare struggles. However, if the situation is broken down to its most basic elements, one can begin to grasp the significance of some core principles and get less caught up in the useless back-and-forth that the current conversation seems to always include.

1. Importance of Authority – Our federal government was designed with limited powers. Our founders enumerated 18 powers given to Congress in Article 1 Section 8. Because they were historians, the founders knew that when unlimited power in the hands of a centralized government always resulted in tyranny. Their goal was to design a functional union of states, which held authority in all matters not defined for the federal government within the US Constitution. Until We the People again assert the founders intentions related to certain Constitutional clauses (i.e. General Welfare, Commerce, Necessary and Proper), we will be at the mercy of those who have inappropriately redefined these clauses to change our society. They have done so because they knew they could not change the law; We the People would not have let them. To the point of Healthcare, authority was never given to the federal government to provide Healthcare to its citizens. Doing so without going through the constitutional amendment process is usurpation of authority and creates null in-void legislation. Until We the People direct our state legislatures to pass nullification bills, we will face the real potential of our federal representatives usurping more power from us and becoming more tyrannical by the day. This continued cycle can only ultimately lead toward some form of Oligarchy or worse.
2. Healthcare as a Right – Our founders did not craft the Constitution or the Bill of Rights to enumerate every right the people had. Conversely, it did enumerate the powers of the federal government. If it didn’t provide an exhaustive list, then one might ask how we can determine what is a right and what is not. The answer to that question is found when we understand (as the founders did) that rights came from our Creator (i.e. Unalienable Rights). Once we explore their writings and speeches as well as the historical figures that they studied, we begin to develop an understanding and appreciation of what they believed at their core. One such example is that the government could not force an individual to provide for another individuals needs. Providing for another’s needs is an example of Unalienable Duties, however this is outside the realm of government intervention. An individual does not have the right to Healthcare at another individuals expense, period. An individual does have the right to not have a third party interfere with someone providing healthcare to the individual. One might ask how such statements can be made or that we already provide for the welfare of the downtrodden. They would probably be the first to call someone a monster who says that the government has no place doing such things. However, I would wager that those “monsters” on average provide more assistance to the downtrodden and hurting.
3. Insurance – The basic premise for having insurance is to transfer risk. We’ve come to expect that having insurance means any of our healthcare needs will automatically paid for by our insurance provider. Thinking that through the entire healthcare cycle, that can’t even pass the common sense sniff test. Jack Whelan recently said that Health Insurance "is not pre-payment of service, it is the transfer of risk of the financial impact of a potential event from yourself to a company." I can’t make the point any better than what is stated in the following article that was passed to me by a friend: Article HERE.

We who disagree with the current Healthcare legislation are not opposed to reforming Healthcare in this country; we are opposed to how it’s being forced upon us…and to who’s doing the forcing.

By what authority?

By what authority?
by Joshua Lyons
Originally published August 11, 2009 in the Frederick News Post

I want to be the first one to stand up and commend Rep. Roscoe Bartlett when such action is appropriate, but I will similarly stand up to hold him accountable when he strays from the oath he took to support and defend the constitution; for I am an equal opportunity accountability partner.

Click here for the full LTE:
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/archives/display_detail.htm?StoryID=100270

Healthcare legislation is not about healthcare

The healthcare legislation is not about healthcare - it's about centralizing control in the hands of the federal gov't. This is what our founders tried to protect our nation from. We're at a full sprint toward rulers law being propagated by both political parties. Each citizens fate will be in the hands of a elite few.We must take our eyes off the specifics of the issue and focus on the authority granted to our federal representatives by the people (see the enumerated powers given to congress found in Article 1 Section 8 of the constitution). Otherwise, we'll continue in a losing back-and-forth game of arguing the issues where the ball keeps getting pushed a few more inches down the field toward the Nanny State endzone.

If you believe the founders had the answers to the problems that we face today, please join us at:
www.wesurroundthemfrederick.com

General Welfare Clause

Mark posted the link to this article on the MeetUp.com site in the discussion forum. I thought this was one of the best articles I've read on the topic in a long time. I highly recommend that everyone read this article and do their best to commit it to memory. Please post any comments below. Enjoy!

Congress: A Wealth-Eating Virus
Originally posted on 04 August 2009
by Bob Greenslade

With the nation in the midst of an economic crisis, many groups and individuals are questioning the massive spending and so-called economic stimulus bills recently passed by Congress. This includes bailouts and appropriations known as earmarks and pork-barrel spending. Since the constitutionality of federal spending is never part of the debate, we need to re-visit Congress’ power to tax and spend.

The Taxing and Spending Clause
Congress’ power to tax and spend is found in Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution for the United States of America. This Clause grants Congress the power:

“To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States.”

Click on the following link for the rest of the article:
http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/08/04/congress-a-wealth-eating-virus/