Reclaiming Your Liberty

"America in Distress"

"Reclaiming Your Liberty: Because you shouldn't have to work this hard to be this poor."

America, it's time to come out and say it: We are in trouble.  Continuing on this path can have only one logical outcome, and I think we all know what that is.  Our system is rampant with inefficiency and corruption.  It no longer works.  It's time for a real change.

Our leaders lack even the basic vision required to accept one inescapable fact: America is in distress.  We have some serious problems.  Because they will not accept reality, how can We the People ever hope our leaders will fix the issues we now face?  Rather than accept the facts, Washington bickers back and forth over petty issues and never makes useful agreements on matters of importance.  Instead, they continually kick the can down the road, which is only making the inevitable crash much more devastating.  America is on a bus hurtling towards a solid brick wall at 200 miles an hour, and Washington is squabbling over where they are sitting.  The few voices who try to bring attention to where the bus is headed are lauded as alarmists and ignored.  We need more leaders who see, accept, and rise to the challenges of our time.  We need representatives with enough vision to correct our current path to destruction and restore our once-great nation.

We have far too many lawyers in our leadership.  Somewhere along the line, an unspoken agreement that a law degree is needed to run for office seems to have been enacted.  Where are all the doctors?  The scientists?  The farmers?  The mechanics?  The tech workers?  In short: Where are all the Americans?  All I see are people who, by some stroke of chance, were born into money and power.  In 2010, the average campaign budget for the House of Representatives (the lowest position in high office) was $1,163,231.  While just 1 percent of Americans are millionaires, 66 percent of senators are millionaires, as are 41 percent of House members.  The Constitution ordained a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  Clearly, we do not have the type of leaders the Framers intended.  Instead, we have droves of wealthy lawyers making our laws.  The laws being made are so chalked full of ambiguous jargon, only people with a law degree can make sense of them. These laws are practically impossible for the average American not to break, and when they inevitably do, the lawyer friends of our "leaders" get to profit from your suffering.  All of this is unacceptable, and it needs to change.

Our system is rank with crony capitalism.  It is designed in such a way that a mega corporation like Monsanto - whose current and former members now occupy 18 positions in our government - can sell its "food" to hundreds of millions of people without adequate testing.  Even with the safety of the product in question, the system does not require any sort of labeling.  At the same time, the "mom and pop" organic farm is burdened with impossible regulations and licensing requirements before they are allowed to sell to even their neighbors.  People who try to grow food in their own front yards are being harassed by city officials.  Many laws on the books are subtly designed to allow large corporations and people in positions of power to do as they please while restricting the average American as much as possible.  This is the exact opposite of what our country needs.  "Leaders" who are more interested in money than your freedoms have complacently allowed our nation to come to this.

The fiat money system has created a situation in which we are being quietly robbed of our wealth every single day.  Each new dollar the Federal Reserve prints (and they print in excess of 85 billion per month) takes away just a little bit more of the purchasing power of the dollars you already have.  Combined with our unconstitutional tax system, this helps to explain why it is already too hard for most families to keep food on the table.  Bills consume most peoples' lives and distract them from the larger picture of the world around them.  Our "leaders" use your distracted state to start unconstitutional wars and pass laws that provide unlimited protections to corporations like Monsanto, and it's all done without any challenge from you.  They take your silence as consent.  This too needs to change.  We need to return to sound, gold-backed currency.  We need to eliminate the Federal Reserve's ability to destroy the dollar.  We need to stop attempting to draw Iran into the next world war.  Most importantly, We the People need to realize what is happening and explicitly withdraw our consent.

Despite President Obama's "eloquent" speeches and what the (borderline fraudulent) unemployment numbers claim, our economy is not recovering.  If we don't change directions, it will never recover.  The jobs that are being added are largely low paying, part time jobs.  Meanwhile, we are losing more full time jobs than we are gaining part time jobs most months.  Misleading free trade agreements have led to a mass exodus of manufacturing jobs.  As a result, we have been importing more than we have been exporting for far too long.  America has been living beyond her means for too many years.  The credit card is maxed out, and the bill collectors are knocking on our door.  This, too, is a major problem our leaders refuse to acknowledge.

The verdict is in and the results are all around us: The policies of our current leadership are failing.  It's time for some fresh ideas and a new direction.  Obama promised us "Hope and Change," but he has broken every promise he ever made.  He has delivered the opposite of "Hope" with the only "Change" being a further reduction of personal Liberty. Our leaders seem to have forgotten what they swore to when they took their Oath of Office.  We need more representatives in government who know and care about what the word "Constitutional" means.  Representatives who hold their Oaths of Office in the highest possible regard, as was intended by the Framers.  Representatives who will swear to and then actually protect, defend, and preserve the Constitution of the United States of America.  In short: We need representatives who will protect your individual Liberty instead of a corrupt system.

The time has come for a Return to Liberty.  Whether or not this return is successful will rest on the actions of We the People.

The True Nature of God

Think back to your happiest childhood memory.  Maybe it was building forts with your brother in the back yard.  Or helping your mom harvest vegetables from the family garden.  Perhaps the first time you rode a bicycle successfully.  Live in that memory for a minute.  Recall the little details: The smell of the soil; the sound of the rain; the warmth of the sun on your skin.  A truly beautiful day.

What if I told you you weren't really there that day?  As you may recall from reading "You Are What You Eat," every single cell in your body (with the exception of neurons, which make up about 10% of the brain) is replaced every 7 to 10 years.  In other words: If the memory you were just reliving was from more than 10 years ago, not one bit of your current physical make up was actually present that day.

Stop and think about that for a minute.

This means that whatever it is we as Humans are, it is not the physical stuff of which we are made.  It seems easy to make the argument that we are the values we hold and the thoughts we think, but are we really?  Consider this: Your thoughts and emotions are products of the physical makeup of your brain and body.  Without the brain cells and synapses in your head and physical existence of the rest of your body, you would not be able to think or feel emotion.  As thought-provoking as this is, it's nothing compared to recent scientific discoveries.

Atoms - which are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons - are the smallest unit of measure for what physically makes up everything in the known Universe.  Modern scientists are able to closely examine the physical structure of the individual atoms that make up all matter, and here's what they see:

• The nucleus which is located at the heart of every atom makes up more than 99.9% of its mass, but only a trillionth of its total volume
• At only 1/1,836th the size of a proton or neutron, electrons contribute almost nothing to an atom's mass, but are the most active component of an atom, responsible for bonding
• More than 99.9% of an atom's volume is empty space.  If an atom's nucleus were the size of a basketball, its electrons would be zipping around several miles away
• When electrons jump between energy levels, they don't move through the space between.  Instead, they disappear from one level and then instantly reappear on another level
• Atomic nuclei are held together by a strong force, which is 1,038 times stronger than gravity, but only operates on the minute scale of a nucleus

What does this mean?  Among other things, all matter in the known Universe - the chair you're sitting on, the screen you're looking at, every part of your very body - is more than 99.9% empty space.  Solidity is an illusion.  At the atomic level, you are made up of innumerable microcosms of the entire Universe.  The very same vastness of the Universe is within you.  On top of this, every atom in your body is made up of charged particles.  Quite literally, you emit energy into and absorb energy from the world around you.  This suggests the old tried-and-true adage "what goes around comes around" is based on scientific truth.  If you put positive energy into the world you will get positive energy back.

Due to the laws of conservation of matter, we know that matter is never created or destroyed.  It only changes form.  In other words, every single atom that makes up your body has been in existence since the beginning of the Universe.  You are literally made up of "star stuff."  In fact, at any given moment, you have approximately 200 billion of the same atoms that once made up William Shakespeare within your own body.

What holds it all together?  What can take more than 99.9% nothing and create the illusion of solidity we experience?  What underlying intelligence could drive everything in the universe that is not controlled by thought?  The beating of your heart, the electrical firing of the synapses in your brain, cellular growth of all living organisms, the structural makeup of a rock, the rotating of the Earth on its axis and within our solar system...all of it is driven by the same underlying intelligence, the same life force that flows through all that exists.  

This is the true nature of God - the underlying intelligence of all that has ever been or will ever be.  Earlier this year, quantum physicists proved the existence of this intelligence with the discovery of the Higgs Boson.   This is the true nature of what you are as well: Everything you are is a part of God, as is everyone you will ever know.  Conversely, God is all that exists, including all of us.  We are all truly one.  This is another fatal flaw of organized religion: It makes God less than it really is by trying to objectify "Him" as a bearded deity.  This puts God into a box in which God clearly does not fit.

Right now, there is a massive and ever-accelerating awakening happening as humans everywhere are stilling the chatter of their brains and reconnecting with God, and so, each other.  But how can you remember this connection?  By quieting your mind and realizing the one basic, irrefutable, immeasurable truth: All we ever have is this moment.  Chronological time is an illusion: Right here and right now are all that ever truly exist.  Everything else is a construct of your brain.  The past happened, but it happened now.  The future will happen, but it will happen now.  When you realize this and take your full attention into the present moment, you find God.  When your full attention is focused on right here and now, the actions you need to take to effect meaningful change become crystal clear, and together, we change the world.

Stilling your mind is the hard part.  The voice in your head is constantly chattering away and distracting you from issues of real importance.  You begin to quiet this voice by listening to it.  Don't judge it or analyze it, just stop and really listen.  When you do this, you become something more than your thoughts - you become the silent watcher.  When you realize you are not the voice in your head, it becomes possible to quiet that voice.  With practice, you can completely master your thoughts.  When your thoughts no longer run rampant, your brain ceases to be the source of your suffering and instead becomes a powerful tool of change.

Eckhart Tolle has written several books on this matter that are becoming a powerful tool in waking up Humanity.  Two are "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth."  Both ring with truth and are worth reading.

Humanity is on the verge of an unprecedented evolutionary leap, but it cannot happen without you.  It's time to awaken.

"You are the Universe expressing itself as a human for a little while." -Eckhart Tolle

Organized Religion

Throughout history, people have sought religion as a way to find purpose and direction in their lives.  On the surface, turning to religion can seem like a much better alternative than a Godless and lonely existence.  For many, this is absolutely true.  And the majority of good people who choose this path are some of the best people you'l ever meet.  But for others, it's a different story.  Does organized religion truly offer the brightest path to follow in this existence?  Should we seek to live our lives according to the belief structures set out in Christianity's Bible or the Islam Quran?  Lets look at what has happened historically as a result of doing just that.

Throughout history, and in the name of religion, Christianity has killed roughly 6 million people:

• 4 million during the French Wars of Religion: 1562-1598
• 1.5 million killed during the Crusades to the Holy Land: 1095-1291
• 17,500 killed during various Christian Inquisitions: 1184-1860

Sound like a lot?  It is, but it doesn't compare to Islam, which accounts for more than 15 million:

• 12 million during the Panthay Rebellion in China: 1855-1877
• 3 million in the Bangladesh atrocities: 1971
• 3,000 in the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York: 2001

The real "winner" is an organized religion that insists there is no God.  Atheists have killed about 67 million:

• 10 million in Holodomor: 1932-1933
• 11 million during the Nazi genocides: 1941-1945
• 43 million in the Great Leap Forward famine: 1959-1962
• 3 million in the Khmer Rogue Repression: 1975-1979

Without even accounting for all historical killings, we already have a total of 88 million people killed in the name of someone's religion or God.  Of course, these stats are completely dwarfed in comparison to Democide (death by government), which has killed about 262 million people in the last century alone, but that is a side point.

If I was going by the numbers alone, I would avoid organized religion as though it were the city of Detroit.  But I know lots of people out there can easily dismiss cold hard numbers, so I decided to break out my Bible.  Here are a few of the hundreds of verses and stories I came across:

"Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.'  And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him [because God liked Abel's animal sacrifice more than Cain's vegetables]." -Genesis 4:8

"Every living substance that I have made will I destroy." -Genesis 7:4

"That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him.  He was not aware of it when she law down or when she got up.  The next day the older daughter said to the younger, 'Last night I lay with my father.  Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.'" Genesis 19:33-34

Because King Abimelech believed Abraham's lie that Sarah was his sister, and before he ever touches her, God comes to Abimelech and threatens to kill him and all his people.  To make penance for the crime he never committed, Abimelech is made to give sheep, oxen, slaves, silver, and land to Abraham. -Genesis 20:3-18

"But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.  Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel." -Exodus 11:7

"You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you." -Leviticus 26 (Reward for Obedience):7-8

"They (men, wives, and children) went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned: the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community [for questioning God]." -Numbers 16:33

"Now kill all the boys.  And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." Numbers 31:17-18

"And when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.  Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy." Deuteronomy 7:2

"But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them - bring them here and kill them in front of me." Luke 19:27

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Ephesians 1:4

Most religious texts teach a lot of the same lessons seen in the above verses.  Looking through these, it makes sense that 88+ million people have been killed in the name of religion.  Christianity alone seems to condone (or at least not condemn) merciless murder, mass genocide, incest, slavery, dishonesty, extortion, division, rape, intolerance, a lack of personal responsibility,  and above all, unquestioning obedience.

Given the above, I would argue that organized religion has been used by those in power as a way to maintain a complacent and obedient population while they commit atrocities.  More recently, it seems religion is no longer adequate to maintain control, which is why the propaganda machine that is the mainstream media has stepped up to the plate.

The biggest mistake in Human history was to take God and Spirituality and build religious belief structures around them.  Hundreds of millions of people have died and killed "in the name of God."  People should be decent human beings because it's the right thing to do, not because they live in constant fear of purgatory if they do not.

It's time to remove the shackles of organized religion and wean yourself from the mainstream propaganda machine.  It's time to start thinking for yourself, accepting personal responsibility, and asking your own questions.

Rufus: "Are you saying you believe?"
Bethany: "No. But I have a good idea." -Dogma

Rings of a Redwood

February 29th, 2012. Leap day. A day I will never forget.

Mother Nature had given us a rainy, cloud-filled sky on the day I asked Kimberly to marry me. We knew before we arrived at the Redwoods that I was going to officially propose while we were there. "I'm giving you the ring back before we get there," she said as we wound our way down the 17. I smiled and squeezed her hand. "I know." As always, we seemed to be sharing the same thought.

We parked at the Visitor's Center and made our way to the main trail entrance to the forest. The day's volunteer, a kind faced man in his fifties with a walking stick, greeted us warmly and showed us two banana slugs that had decided to come out and enjoy the rain. After some idle banter about the forest, he left us with "Feel free to stop in and warm up before you leave today!" We decided to take one of the tourist pamphlets with us to learn more about the points of interest along the trail, and set out into the light drizzle.

We strolled along the trail at a relaxed pace, taking in the majesty of the forest. We both feel a strong connection to nature, and the forest felt particularly alive with the extra nourishment brought on by the rainfall. Everything seemed greener and more vivid, especially the moss that grows on the fallen trees. We stopped at each point of interest and read the entry in the pamphlet about it, sometimes backtracking if we'd missed one.

My heart quickened when the tree I thought I wanted to propose under came into view. Even though I knew the answer I would get, I was still incredibly nervous. As we slowly approached the tree and walked in a circle around it, I realized this wasn't the place. It just...didn't feel right. And although I had my hand around the ring in my jacket pocket, I did not take it out. I didn't know of any other place yet, but I knew we would find it before we left. And, of course, we did.

At one point in the trail, we had the option of deviating from the main tourist path. Naturally, we struck out into less traveled territory. We walked deeper into the forest along a river trail, loving the sound of the flowing water. After another half-hour or so, we came across a scene that looked like it was out of a Robert Frost poem. Trees seemed to frame a spot at the top of a small cliff. Green shrubs grew almost directly under where the trees met above. You could hear the gentle sound of the water flowing in the river below.

I was almost positive this was the spot I wanted to ask Kimber to be my wife. Almost.

We stood under these trees holding each other and enjoying everything about the moment: The feel of the forest, the sound of the river, the smell of the rain.  Each other.  I closed my eyes and pulled her close, breathing her in as I did. In that very moment, for the first time all day, the sun found a break in the clouds above. It bathed us in the full radiance of its warmth, and we both knew. I pulled back and looked into her eyes. "This is it," I whispered. "Yes," she agreed. I took a step back, reached into my pocket, and got down on one knee. "Kimberly, would you do me the honor of being my partner for the rest of this life?"

She smiled. "Yes."

Jordan Suwinski
3/4/2012 - 1:32 AM

A Letter to Rep Luke Messer - Indiana

Dear Mr. Messer, 

I was very disappointed today to learn you voted against Amash's amendment that would have defunded the unconstitutional collection of all Americans' phone records by the NSA. I had hoped you would work to defend Liberty and stick to your oath to defend, protect, and preserve the Constitution of the United States of America. To learn you do not hold this Oath in a high regard is upsetting. I sincerely hope you change your views on your duty to our nation. In the meantime, I will be paying close attention to your actions while you represent me and informing as many of my fellow men as possible. 

Sincerely, 

Jordan Suwinski

Here is a list of the votes: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll412.xml

Reach out to your own representatives, especially if they did vote for the Amash amendment.  The representatives who are pulling for us need to know we have their back.

The War On Common Sense: Cannabis in America

"D.A.R.E. to stay off drugs!"
"Drug use is life abuse!"
"Mary Jane ruins the brain!"
"Just say no!"

We've all heard the slogans, seen the reasons, and witnessed the propaganda against drug use.  Generally speaking, the reasons are valid.  After all, drugs like methadone, cocaine, and black-tar heroin have been irrefutably proven to be extremely addictive and horrendously damaging.  But have you ever wondered why marijuana seems to be the poster child for most anti-drug ads?  It gets lumped in with black-tar heroin and all the other hard drugs so people can easily dismiss it as "bad," but have you looked into the facts behind cannabis?  What you find there might interest you.

Industrial hemp cannot get you high and has vastly untapped uses: Food, fuel, clothes, paper, building materials...Because almost any product that can be made from wood, cotton, or petroleum can also be made from hemp, there are more than 25,000 known uses for this plant.  One acre of hemp can produce as much usable fiber as 4 acres of trees or 2 acres of cotton.  It could essentially solve our food, energy, deforestation, and trade deficit problems, grows easily, and is much less damaging to the environment than industrial cotton.  In spite of all this, hemp was made illegal along with cannabis.

In 2002, the US Government Accountability Office was forced to admit cannabis use successfully treats AIDS, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, anorexia, cachexia, cancer, Crohn's disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV, migraines, multiple sclerosis, nausea, pain, spasticity, and wasting syndrome.  There is strong anecdotal evidence that suggests marijuana can successfully treat far more diseases, but adequate research has not yet been done.  It could replace every expensive pill from Advil to Vicodin and beyond.  Despite these findings, cannabis remains classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic by the DEA, which means it has "no currently accepted medical use in the United States."  Much like hemp, it grows easily with negligent (if not positive) impacts on the environment.

There have been several studies conducted on the addictiveness of cannabis when compared to other commonly used substances.  In order from most to least addictive, the results were: Heroin, cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and marijuana.  A primary indicator of whether or not a substance is addictive is the withdrawal symptoms suffered after quitting.  While it is not common, alcohol withdrawal has been known to cause death.  The most difficult withdrawal symptom of quitting cannabis is a moderate to severe mental desire to get high.  Interestingly enough, every year in America:

• 443,000 people die as a direct result of smoking cigarettes
• 98,000 people die as a direct result of preventable medical errors
• 75,000 people die as a direct result of drinking alcohol
• 38,000 people die as a direct result of prescription drug overdose
• 0 people die as a direct result of using cannabis: Historically, there has not been a single recorded death that was directly attributed to marijuana

Any time you think of the pitfalls of smoking marijuana, one "fact" inevitably comes to mind: Smoking marijuana kills brain cells and makes you dumb.  What you may not know is there was only ever one study done that "proved" this to be the case.  In this study, they placed a sealed gas mask on monkeys, then filled the mask with nothing but marijuana smoke.  As a result, the monkeys started to suffocate.  As you might imagine, one of the first side effects of a lack of oxygen to the brain is cell death.  Subsequent studies have shown marijuana to stimulate brain cell growth and activity, but these studies are not given the light of media attention.

Despite the mountains of factual evidence demonstrating the benefits and disproving the dangers of cannabis, it remains illegal in America.

Did you know that in America, the prison industry is largely privatized?

Let that sink in for a minute.

This means there are wealthy business owners all across America that stand to make money from your incarceration.  In fact, the average yearly revenue for the industry is $1.7 billion.  This helps to explain why America, which accounts for only 5% of the world population, has 25% of the world's prisoners.  Of these prisoners, about half are in prison on non-violent drug charges.

Here's the icing on the cake: There have recently been cases of police mistakenly invading the wrong home for drugs.  In one case, a 61-year old man in Tennessee attempted to defend himself and his wife against an apparent home invasion and was shot to death by police.  The officers involved have been declared "not at fault" by their supervisors and were placed on paid administrative leave.

As asinine as all this seems, there is an easy explanation: Billionaires want to remain billionaires.  If hemp is allowed to compete in the industry or cannabis is decriminalized, some very rich corporations stand to lose a lot of money.  The top 5 interest groups lobbying to keep hemp and cannabis illegal are as follows: Police unions, private prisons, alcohol and beer companies, pharmaceutical corporations, and prison guard unions.  And of course, dealers don't want cannabis legalized either for the same reasons: Money and power.

Don't get me wrong: Marijuana can absolutely be abused.  But so can cigarettes, alcohol, exercising, pornography, and cheeseburgers.  It's time we started blaming the abuser, not the herb.

The War on Drugs has been waged in the name of profit with unspeakable collateral damage to individual Liberty.  It is insane, it is expensive, and it should be brought to an immediate end.

Want to learn more?  The best documentary I have found on the matter is called The Union: The Business Behind Getting High, and can be viewed in its entirety on Netflix or Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT-UIe7l3-Q

What Should America Become?

If you've read my other articles and are still with me, one thing should be getting pretty clear: Our country cannot go on like this.  Our Founding Fathers would already be horrified to see what this once-great nation has become.  After all, they started a revolution over a breakfast beverage.  And it wasn't even coffee.  If we continue to spiral down this path, the Land of the Free will cease to exist, replaced instead with the land of corporate profits, mass starvation, out-of-control government, and constant police-state oppression.

One thing is certain: There is a storm coming.  This storm has already sparked what can only be described as the next American Revolution.  A government far more corrupt than the one we worked to throw off in 1776 has crept into our lives and is tightening its grip on us.  But what should America become?  It will not be enough to simply remove the current set of leaders and replace them with new puppets.  For as long as the government is able to be controlled by the Federal Reserves and Monsantos of the world, the system itself will be the greatest enemy of the People.

Many people believe it is too dangerous to have any form of central government; it is too vulnerable to corruption and growing out of control, as has happened in our case.  These people believe that nothing less than the total abolition of the central Federal Government is necessary.  From there, local governments (that don't all have to abide by the same principles) could make decisions at the local level, and edicts from a central power would not override the values of the people living under that local system.  This could work, but we would have to unanimously agree on one thing: Nonviolence.  Nobody is to initiate violence against another person for any reason, especially in order to force their beliefs (be they political, religious, ideological, etc.) on them.  Any acts of violence would need to be met with overwhelming response from all nearby communities.  This, coupled with a universally accepted basic bill of human rights (Life, Liberty, Self-Determination, Trial By Jury, etc.) would allow us to choose the type of community we want to live in without having to force everyone in the country into the same mold.  You like socialism?  Great!  Settle in with the people who also like socialism and form a community.  Is a Constitutional Republic for you?  Awesome!  Do the same.  Prefer to live without any form of government?  Join the Anarchists!  But understand that other ideologies exist, and accept that they are allowed to do so.

I would choose to live in a Constitutional Republic, much like the one the Framers intended.  However, I would remove many of the laws now on the books and replace them with a simple idea: You can do anything you want to do, just don't hurt anybody else.  Who determines what constitutes "Hurt?"  A jury.  Everything else would be procedural.  However, I would make some changes to the ideas behind the Constitution and our current situation:

1. We should transition back into a gold and silver-backed currency; fiat money should be permanently outlawed once this transition is complete
2. Term limits should be instituted for all Representatives; this would ensure a steady flow of new people and ideas and phase out the (inevitably corrupt) career politician
3. All corporate campaign contributions should be outlawed; only individual contributions from the constituents themselves should be allowed
4. The process to pass new laws should be drastically simplified and made 100% transparent to the public:
• No new bills should exceed 10 pages in length
• New bills should be written in plainly understandable English and avoid jargon
• All sections of a new bill should be directly related to the title of the bill (For an example of what NOT to do, see The Patriot Act, which was the most unpatriotic piece of law ever written)
• All new bills should be published and freely accessible (on the Internet) for 14 days prior to being brought up for debate in the House or the Senate

Sound like the kind of system you might like to live in?  Well lets link up after and make it happen!

When this storm hits, a lot of people will lose their lives.  What happens next will be up to us.  It's absolutely critical that we are on the same page, working towards the same goal.  If we are not, the American Ideal will truly cease to exist, and the revolution will have been for nothing.  Do you agree?  What kind of community would you choose to live in?

Related Video:
Revolution: An Instruction Manual

The Rising Police State

There is a growing beast in our midst.  It is biding its time until circumstances are right to overtake the people of this country.  This beast reared its ugly head in the city of Watertown shortly after the 2013 Boston Marathon.  It has made quick and quiet appearances in major cities all across the country to perform exercises as if rehearsing for some future event.  It harbors an ever-growing insanity that is so far-fetched, most people are not able to comprehend what it could mean for them.  This monster is the growing police state in America.  And it's coming to a city near you.

Are you ready to see police with military-grade tactics and equipment on the streets of your hometown?  Will it make you feel safe to see an "officer" aiming his fully-automatic assault weapon at you from the top of his APC, as in the above photo?  During the lockdown of Watertown, police in military-grade gear went door to door, openly violating residents' 4th Amendment Rights in their search for the alleged Boston Bomber.  Currently, it is "legal" for police to search your home without a warrant if it is in the interest of "public safety."   It has become the norm in American society to completely push the Constitution aside any time circumstances call for it.  This selective disregard is eroding the validity of the law.  It is unacceptable, and should not be allowed to continue.  Watertown is just one example of the militarization and growing police state in the United States:

• Ongoing: DHS purchasing billions of rounds of ammunition (could currently put 5 rounds into every American), thousands of assault weapons and armored vehicles for use domestically.  Most of the ammunition purchased is hollow point, which is not only more expensive than full metal jacket rounds, but also illegal in the theater of war due to the damage it causes.  Weapons and vehicles are being distributed to police departments across the country.
• 4/5/13: Americans who refuse to submit to unconstitutional police activity labeled as "Soverign citizens;" police train to "handle" these citizens as domestic terrorists
• 4/29/13: Police conduct unannounced "shooter drill" at Oregon school; teachers and students only learn this is a drill after shooters open fire with blanks
• 5/14/13: Pentagon grants authority to U.S. military to police American cities without requiring prior local consent or Presidential directive
• 5/14/13: Police with no warrant break into home of couple who did not want or need them there.  They were both tazed into submission, all due to a report of a "domestic disturbance"
• 6/5/14: New York bill in the works to make it a felony, punishable by 4 years in prison, to "annoy" a cop
• 6/7/13: LAPD counter-terrorism unit conducts live drill on closed off city streets
• 6/12/13: IRS agents now training with AR-15 rifles
• 6/13/13: Secret Service invades home of Obama critic, apparently because he had large Twitter following and had made anti-Obama tweets
• 7/1/13: College minor arrested for buying bottled water after six plain-clothed officers storm her car, thinking she had bought alcohol.  In her panic to escape the apparent attack, her vehicle grazed an officer; she was charged with assault and evading police
• 7/1/13: Ohio police set up fake checkpoint; drivers who turn around before check are pulled over using the fact they turned around as probable cause
• 7/1/13: Hawthorne, CA police arrest man for filming him (a legal activity), then shoot his dog for trying to protect its owner.  Pay attention to this one: The officer lunges at the dog 3 times to get it to lunge back, then kills it
• 7/3/13: DHS conducts "terrorism drill" in major transportation hubs across the country; random bag searches are conducted
• 7/3/13: Henderson, NV police accused of violating Third Amendment for arresting homeowner who would not allow them to occupy his home to gain "strategic advantage" over neighbor
• 7/11/13: UK man dies after being tased by police
• 8/2/13: Police storm an animal shelter and kill a previously injured baby deer who was set to be released back into the wild the next day
• 8/5/13: Police in riot gear storm a retirement home and kill a 95-year old World War II veteran in a walker with tasers and bean bag rounds because he refused to undergo life-threatening surgery

These examples go on and on, and will continue to do so.  Meanwhile, as untold funds are spent on the insane goal of militarizing an ever-increasing state of police tyranny, a woman in Oregon calls 911 during a home invasion attempt.  She is told by the dispatcher that "because of budget cuts," there is not an officer available to assist.  The woman's home is subsequently invaded, and she is raped.

At this rate, it will soon be completely against the law to stand on your God-given, Constitutionally-enforced rights.  The phrase "Might Makes Right" comes to mind when looking at the trends.  It's time to wake up and smell the tyranny while it is still within our power to put a stop to it.

So what can you do?  More than ever, now is the time to reach out to your local law enforcement officers and anybody you know in the military.  Ask the hard questions: "What would you do if an order came down from Washington to confiscate all firearms and any stocked up food, water, and medical supplies?  Do you understand what the reasons behind such an order would be?  How would disarming law-abiding citizens make them any safer?"  We must wake up the members of the enforcement arm of the government and instill in them the necessary will to look their Commanding Officer in the eye and say "No" to an unjust order.  Once again, it's up to us.

The Assault on Our Rights

Have you ever heard of the Oath of Office taken by every person who becomes a public servant in our government?  It varies from office to office, but  the overall Oath is the same.  It goes a little like this: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."  Take note: This Oath does not say anything about solemnly swearing to "keep the American people safe and secure" or to "pursue and eradicate terrorism."  It plainly says "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."  Also conspicuously omitted: "The parts of the Constitution which I deem relevant."

Here are just a few examples of how our "leaders" are completely ignoring this solemn Oath:

• Signing of the National Defense Authorization Act, which permits indefinite detention of American citizens on American soil (a direct violation of Habeus Corpus and the Sixth Amendment), twice
• Creation a Presidential Kill List that has included American citizens, authorizing (and executing) their termination without any sort of trial by jury
• Authorizing the use of drones in American airspace, directly violating Americans' Fourth Amendment right to be free from "unreasonable searches and seizures"
• Extending the Patriot Act, which permits limitless and warrantless wiretapping of any American citizen's phone, another direct violation of the Fourth Amendment
• Relentless attempts at limiting Americans' right to bear arms[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
• Allowing the continuation of the NSA's collection of all phone records in America, a massively pervasive violation of the Fourth Amendment
• Using the IRS to silence conservative groups who would educate the public about their rights and the Constitution, a direct violation of the First Amendment
• Setting up unconstitutional checkpoints across America, blatantly violating the Fourth Amendment as well as the right to travel freely

It is in the name of "safety and security" that these (and many more) violations of our rights are being committed.  And there's a very good reason most Americans simply accept it.  It was Winston Churchill who said "Never let a good crisis go to waste."  Particularly since September 11, 2001, our leaders have held those words near and dear.  They use terrorist threats and attacks to justify stripping our liberties just as readily as they use domestic mass shootings (i.e. Sandy Hook), and they have even used natural disasters to confiscate legally owned firearms.

You may have heard the term "False Flag Terrorism."  This term was solidified by our own government using the (now declassified) "Operation Northwoods."  The basic premise behind this idea is as follows: One entity (i.e. the FBI) allows or stages an attack and makes it appear as though another entity (i.e. Osama Bin Laden led Al Qaeda) carried out the attack.  Generally, the motivation behind a false flag attack is to whip a certain group (i.e. the American people) into the "right" state of mind so that they will not only be willing to go to war, but clamoring for it.

While a willingness to go to war may have been the original idea behind false flag attacks, there is a mountain of evidence suggesting a willingness to give up essential liberty is the new objective.  There are two very different schools of thought about what really happened on September 11, 2001.  One is the official narrative we all know because it has been blasted out by the mainstream media.  Take the time to watch this Youtube video outlining the other, then make up your own mind on the matter.

"Those who would give up essential liberty to obtain some temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security."  -Benjamin Franklin

Know Your Rights

There is a growing epidemic in this country of a general lack of knowledge, particularly when it comes to the Bill of Rights.  Our schools no longer teach the importance of the Constitution and the civil liberties afforded us by the first Ten Amendments.  It is always important to understand your rights, but it is absolutely critical for the times in which we now live.  It is the duty of We the People to stand up to tyrannical behavior wherever it may show itself, but we cannot do this if we do not understand and stand on our rights.

It is also worth understanding that your rights end where the rights of another begin.  For example, while we may have freedom of speech, you are not free to create and speak lies to defame the character of another person.  Speaking truths, on the other hand, is completely protected.  Just be sure you can prove it.

Amendment I:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."  This means we have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, and freedom to petition the government.  When the government uses the power of the IRS to prevent groups with a certain political ideology (conservatives or anyone with "Patriot" or "Tea Party" in their name) from being heard in a public theater, it is a direct violation of the right to free speech.  When the Department of Justice seizes the phone records of the entire Associated Press, thus intimidating those reporters into silence on certain stories, it is a direct violation of the freedom of the press.  When the President mandates that you purchase health insurance that pays for abortions, it is a direct violation of freedom of religion.

Amendment II:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."  This right is important; it protects the rest.  The right to bear arms is in place not only as a defense against common criminals, but also as a last line of defense against a government that has been overrun by corruption.  If the People cannot peaceably petition the government and make or stop changes through the normal channels, a well armed population is the only thing that keeps a corrupt politician in check.  The recent gun grabbing hysteria that has been perpetrated by almost all levels of government has been nothing less than an all-out assault on this Amendment.  California Senator Dianne Feinstein is a prime example of an open oath-breaker: "If I could have gotten an outright ban - Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in - I would have done it."  Barack Obama has also broken every promise he has ever made about the Second Amendment and is pushing to strip as many gun rights as he can without crossing a dangerous line.

 Amendment III:

"No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."  You rarely see this one violated, but there was recently a case in Nevada where a homeowner was arrested for not allowing police into his home so they could use it as a vantage point against his neighbor.  This was a clear violation of the Third Amendment.

Amendment IV:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."  This comes down to one basic right: The right to privacy.  The Fourth Amendment means you are not required by law to consent to a random warrantless search of your backpack, car, or home.  You can politely decline: "I'm sorry officer, I don't consent to searches."  A figure of authority must have probable cause to search you for anything, and this includes information.  For example, if you come across an immigration or DUI checkpoint, you are literally not required by law to answer any questions or allow any agents to look through your vehicle.  Here's the magic question: "Am I being detained?"  If you are not - and you cannot be without probable cause - then by law, you are free to go.  Just be sure the checkpoint officers give you the go-ahead, or they will take your driving past as "fleeing the scene" and use it as probable cause.

Amendment V:

"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."  There are a few rights that come out of this: It must be a Grand Jury that indicts you for capital crimes, you cannot be charged twice for the same crime (double jeopardy), you are not required to incriminate yourself, and your rights cannot be arbitrarily revoked without a trial.  The IRS violates this amendment for every single tax paying American citizen every year: If you make even one mistake on your income tax return, you can be severely punished.  This is just one of the many reasons the Income Tax is illegal, as I covered in "1913: A Masterstroke Against Liberty."

Amendment VI:

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."  This Amendment grants the right to a trial by jury.  The trial by jury essentially ensures that one person in a position of power is not able to falsely convict you of a crime you may not have actually committed.  This is why it is the most sacred duty of a rank-and-file citizen to serve on a jury when called, and also why it is illegal for an employer to prevent you from serving jury duty.  Related to this: According to Article I, Section IX, Clause II of the Constitution, you cannot be detained indefinitely without being formally charged with a crime, even though Obama's NDAA says otherwise.

Amendment VII:

"In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."  This allows civil cases (i.e. breach of contract, car accident) to be tried by a jury.

Amendment VIII:

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."  When a man in California is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for stealing merchandise worth a total of $153.54, the right to be protected against cruel and unusual punishment has been violated.

Amendment IX:

"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."  This means that the Bill of Rights is not an exhaustive list of rights afforded the individual, and other implicit rights are also protected.  For example, you have the right to the presumption of innocence as well as the right to travel freely.

Amendment X:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."  This means that any power the Constitution does not explicitly grant to the federal government is reserved for the states or People to decide.  Examples include driver's licenses, marriage, voting, state taxes, worker's rights, and many more.  A Federal mandate that every American citizen must purchase health insurance without having put it to a vote by the People is a violation of the Tenth Amendment.

In America, we have seen a steady erosion of our rights.  The topic deserves its own article.  It is absolutely critical that you stand on your rights.  If you allow them to be violated, they will cease to hold their weight and eventually disappear.

The Dollar In Turmoil

In "1913: A Masterstroke Against Liberty," you learned about the fraud that is the federal income tax.  You learned that a private entity has the power to create unlimited money out of nothing.  You learned that, when compared to 1913, the dollar today is worth about 4 cents.  What you have not yet learned is the full extent of the damage the dollar has suffered and what is knocking on our front door as a result.

The choices our policy makers have made over the last several decades have taken us from a prosperous productive nation (circa WWII) to a poverty-ridden, crime-filled, government-dependent wasteland:

• Since January of 2009, America's manufacturing industry has laid off an average of 129,855 workers per month
• Last year, Detroit began proceedings to file for the largest municipal bankruptcy in history for debts totaling about $18 billion
• In California alone, 3 cities have successfully declared bankruptcy, and another 10 are on the verge
• Because they cannot afford to build more prisons, California is currently pushing criminals back onto the streets before they have served their full sentence under the Prisoner Realignment Program
• In 2001, there were just over 17 million people on food stamps - about 5.4% of the population.  Today, there are almost 47 million people on food stamps - about 15% of the population (or more than 1 in 6 people).  This is an increase of almost 300%
• Today, 4 out of every 5 Americans struggle with near-poverty, joblessness, or reliance on wellfare for at least part of their life

There are many more examples of the results of poor decision making by our leadership, and there is one common undercurrent running through all of these issues: The dollar is sick.

While the situation is bad for individual cities and states, it is far worse at the federal level.  At the time of this writing, our national debt is in excess of $17.5 trillion.  It is difficult to comprehend this number, so lets put it into perspective.  If you stacked 17 trillion one dollar bills on top of each other (not end-to-end), they would extend for 1,153,722 miles.  Yes, that is over one million miles.  Put another way, the US national debt could  make 2.4 round trips to the moon.  This must not be enough insanity: our leaders are - once again - working on raising the debt limit so they can borrow even more.  At this point, it has become a mathematical impossibility to repay the US national debt.

Currently, the US dollar is used as the worlds Reserve Currency.  This means that most other countries trade in dollars: If Japan wants to make an exchange of goods with Australia, Japan will first buy dollars, which they will then exchange for Australia's goods.  It has been this way since World War II.  However, because of the irresponsible treatment of the dollar by US leadership, many other countries are quickly moving away from the dollar as a medium of exchange, opting instead to trade in their own currencies.

This may not sound like such a big deal, but what will happen when the world no longer trades in dollars?  What will happen when other countries do not want our dollars, so they no longer buy our debt?  What will happen when the only source of additional dollars to fund our government is the money created by the Federal Reserve?  In short, the 2% per year inflation rates we have seen will become a bittersweet memory.  America will experience something that can only be described as Hyperstagflation.  We will wake up one day and find that a gallon of gas costs $50, a loaf of bread $75.  While our leaders could stop this by declaring bankruptcy and guiding the ensuing crash, they will not.

What will this mean?  Unfortunately, we live in a nation full of people who are struggling so hard to keep food on the table, they cannot pull their attention out of the endless cycle of bills.  They suffer from a perceived normalcy bias and vehemently refuse to accept that a collapse of this scale could happen.  Case in point: You can blast on the news, 24x7 for a week straight that we are going to have the worst storm in recorded history strike the East coast, and you still have people digging through dumpsters for food and physically assaulting each other over gasoline.  When the dollar collapses, it will be far worse than the aftermath of Katrina, and it will be on a national scale.  During the Great Depression, 80% of the population had access to a family farm, so very few people had to go hungry.  Today, only 2% of the population has this access.  If We the People do not adequately prepare, this will mean nothing less than the death of America as we know it.

We can get through this.  And when we do, the world can be a much better place to live.  But right now, it's time to prepare.  Get to know your neighbors and build a solid community.  Stock up on food with a long shelf life.  A year supply for you and your family is a great start.  Stocking up on heirloom seeds so you can grow more food is also a great idea.  The best deal I have found on these (and other survival) items is from www.mypatriotsupply.com.  It's also time to stock up on clean drinking water - at least 50 gallons - and a way to filter more.  Medical supplies are also needed.  Most importantly, it's time to stock up on protection.  There will be hundreds of millions of people who are trying to feed themselves and their children, and your survival will mean little to them.

There's a storm coming, and it's time to lay out the sand bags and board the windows before it hits.