Revoluton or Reformation

Here is a great post by Enola Gay.  I think she really has some great thoughts this topic.  However our Founders said from time to time the Tree of Liberty must be watered with the blood of both tyrants and patriots.

Samuel Adams said, "It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."
Samuel Adams

So I agree in part that the reformation or revolution, if you will, began in the minds of men first:  
     "What do we mean by the Revolution? The war? That was no part of the revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected from 1760–1775, in the course of fifteen years, before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington." (John Adams)

"No oppression was ever overthrown by a bunch of readers  and philosophers. Liberty is usually dirty and bloody work, and if we don't have the option of providing our masters with a real  fight, then they will perennially call our wussy  bluff." Quote from Boston T. Party's Boston's Reply to Critics of "Molon Labe"
http://www.freecolorado.com/2004/02/bostonreply.html 
Paratus Familia Blog: Revolution or Reformation?

Second Amendment Clarity

I was just thinking of the confusion that arises in the minds of our Law Enforcement folks.  What a dilemma?  On one hand the State of Illinois is telling them that Subject only to the power of the legislature the Illinois citizen has the right to keep and bear arms (RKBA).  “We the legislature make the rules and the citizens are to follow our laws.”  “The police are to enforce our rules!”  On the other hand some chiropractor and a host of petitioners from Podunksfield, way south of Chicago where the important Rulers live, is telling them that the RKBA is a fundamental right that shall not be infringed by any government agent, local, state, or Federal.

Now that is a fair question.  It deserves a reasonable answer!  So let’s see what we can come up with… 

The officer is just trying to do his job, which can be really risky, then go home to his family and try to be a good dad or mom that their kids and family can look up to.  Now the State in all its wisdom comes along and says you must ENFORCE our edicts.  You are to leave the thinking part to the elected officials and/or bureaucrats and judges who are to determine how you think.  The honchos say, “you will enforce the FOID act and Unlawful Use of Weapons Act because it’s the law.  As an officer of the law your job is to follow orders.”  

Each officer is charged to uphold and defend the Constitutions of Illinois (IC) and the US.  Therefore you have to read the US Constitution (USC) and Bill of Rights or the IC and its Article 1 Bill of Rights.

Then you have this chiropractor, with no law degree, trying to say that he and all mankind have a fundamental, God given right to keep and bear arms and that the FOID card and all laws disarming the law abiding public are void.  So it is a fair question.

The Second Amendment (2A) to USC states, “…the right of the People to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”  The Illinois Bill of Rights states, “Subject only to the police power (power of the legislature), the right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.  Here is our first conundrum.  The 2A has no enforceable preface, while the Illinois Constitution states, “Subject only to the [legislative power]. . .  So which one has authority when there is a clash?

We better have good authority or we will be in trouble.  The answer is found in the Sixth Article of the USC, paragraph 2, wherein it states:

“This Constitution . . . under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”

So it would appear that any laws made contrary to the Constitution of the United States are void.  At least that is the way it reads to me.  Since the Illinois Constitution is more restrictive, then it should be safe to say that the USC will prevail.  Further see McDonald vs. Chicago and you will see that the US Supreme Court agrees that 2A applies against the states.

Let’s pretend for moment that a judge has written an order of protection on behalf of some threatened soul.  Now in this order it states, “The property of Joe Schmoe shall not be infringed by Iam Sly, widget maker.”  Now that is simple enough.  Even for a chiropractor with no law degree.  The order states, “shall not be infringed.”  Now you, as Law Enforcement Officer, need to enforce this order. 

Now how far is Iam Sly allowed to step or encroach onto Joe Schmoe’s property?  Is it one inch or four feet?  Or perhaps he can go up to the door?  Or maybe one step into the house?  What constitutes an infringement?

Infringement – A breaking into; a trespass or encroachment upon; a violation of a. . . right.  See also Encroachment; Trespass. (Black’s Law Dictionary, 6^th Edition)

So if you are to enforce this order, how far onto Joe’s property is Iam Sly allowed to go?  You are a sworn police officer, with training, and the respect of your friends and family and the general public.  You passed certain criteria in the course of your training.  You must have exhibited some measure of common sense.  However I, a legal amateur, would say he is not to even touch the property line.  Isn't this order written so that Iam Sly, a widget maker, can understand it as well?

That brings us to the FOID card, and all these unconstitutional laws that the Chicago Rulers have foisted on the People.  What are you, the Law Enforcement Officer, going to do when it comes to enforcing what is an obviously unconstitutional law?  Will you say, “My commander said to enforce it no matter what?”  My boss said, “You will follow the law of our Chicago Rulers no matter what.” 

Remember, our founding documents were written to be understood by the common person with common understanding.  How much more clear can it get?  Will you the Law Enforcement Officer tell your children, or the guy in the mirror, “I was just following orders?”

It states, "Shall not be infringed."  How is that for clarity?
 

If you would like to correspond with me on this contact me at:  editorial@pike912.org or leave a message at 217-285-2134, or follow my blog at: pike912.blogspot.com.

Why do out-of-staters have more rights in Illinois?

It has recently come to my attention that a nice little town in Montana, a lot like Pittsfield, IL., where I live, has had a beloved school teacher abducted and presumed murdered.  The story is that a few days ago a teacher in Sydney, MT, may have been abducted or any number of things along the road she usually ran for exercise.


In Montana you have the right to carry for any lawful reason.

While your are at it you may want to view this Youtube video of a cop who encourages carrying a defensive firearm on a regular basis... WARNING, this is a very audibly disturbing video with an elderly defenseless lady on a 911 call.  She is being brutally beaten to death.  You will not want children present as this is viewed due to the audible component.

Somehow we need to become aware that in Illinois only out-of-state people are allowed to carry a gun with no FOID card.  Illinois residents are not allowed to carry or own guns without a FOID card.

I would like to know what makes out-of-staters such trustworthy folks but Illinois residents are so horrible?  Ask every legislator this question, ask every judge, every official that you meet why Illinois citizens are so suspect that they must ask permission of the state to own or carry a firearm?

Further, only out-of-staters are allowed to buy ammo with just a drivers license showing they are from out-of-state.  Same question... It is time to get in YOUR FACE with these people...

If you would like to correspond with me on this contact me at:  editorial@pike912.org or leave a message at 217-285-2134, or follow my blog at: pike912.blogspot.com.

Is Government My Brother's Keeper?

     In the Good Book an “expert in the law” asked a pivotal question of Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus turned the question around on him and said, “How do you read the law on this question?”

     The response was, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

     “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

     But the expert wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

     At this point Jesus tells a story about the Good Samaritan who helped an injured, beaten and robbed man who had been abandoned and left lying in the road bleeding.  The victim had been passed by a preacher and another leader in the Law.

     The question was then asked of the “expert,” Which of these three do you think was the neighbor to the victim?

     The expert replied, “The one who had mercy on the on the victim.”

     Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”

     I see nothing here about calling together a committee of the legislature to pass a law to take money from some citizens to help the down trodden. 

The American Dream

     I keep hearing People talk about the American Dream.  The “Dream” is often referred to as nice home on some acreage with a two car garage and a couple of kids and a decent job with a pleasant wife or husband.  Well that sounds good to me.  However I can’t help but let my mind wander back into the recorded early history of our country. 

     We have just celebrated another Thanksgiving Day a few weeks ago.  Were the Pilgrims and others who came to the New World looking for a nice home on a little acreage too, you know with a few stalls in the barn?   Or what really brought them through a long and burdensome voyage with little to eat and severe hardships.  What was the dream?  It was the yearning to be free.  Free to worship and live their life in the manner of their choosing.  They had no assurance that they would have any decent home.

     Their dream was to escape tyranny and hopefully find a measure of Liberty.  Their only assurance was that the road they had committed to was going to be hard and they may die.  However if they died, they would die free.  They would die following their conscience.  They would not die in shackles or burning at the stake.  The tyranny they faced in the New World was the honest hardship of hacking out a new life in wilderness, facing “savages,” and maybe wild beasts.  These uncertainties were preferred over fighting the shifting political winds of change over the method and manner of their particular exercise of faith.

     As we enter the New Year it is my sincere prayer, it is my sincere hope, that the People will closely scrutinize the candidates and figure out who is most likely to return our Country to Constitutional form of government.  The defeat of tyranny was achieved by a rag tag motley crew of down home grassroots backwoodsmen.  I fear if we don’t raise up a host of People who have the original American Dream in mind that this great experiment in Liberty will be swept into the trash can of history as one more failed form of government.

     Our kids and grandkids deserve our very best attempt at restoring Constitutional government.  We must study and learn so that we will have some of the same knowledge that the Founders acquired.  Hopefully we can begin to put the ‘out-of-control’ state and federal governments back in their chains.

     If you would like to correspond with me on this contact me at:  editorial@pike912.org or leave a message at 217-285-2134, or follow my blog at: pike912.blogspot.com.

An Open Letter to my Children

Autumn, Kody, Carson & Kit,

     Times are a changin’ kids.  I am at the same time optimistic and spooked.  For the first time in a long time I feel that the “environment” is right for the People of our country to begin to reassert that which is right, by restoring Constitutional government and, consequently, an increased measure of Liberty.  As you know I have struggled a long time with fear of the complete overthrow of our US Constitution.  Not by one major coup but rather by the inch by inch encroachment of so called politicians robbing us of our liberty using phrases such as: “It’s for the children,” and, “In the name of public safety…,” and, “due to terrorism we need to be able to snatch and grab and detain even American citizens as long as we want without charges pressed…,” “spy on our citizens’ bank accounts etc…”

     However with election of our current president a great awakening is occurring that is sweeping across the land.  In this awakening the People are beginning to search for the truth.  They are beginning to ask hard questions of the politicians who have been robbing the People of their Liberty.  Questions like, “just how far can the Feds go under the so called authority of the “commerce clause?”  “What does the phrase, “shall not be infringed” mean?  Who is watching the so called “watchers” to see that they are doing right?  Does the government really have the authority under Article 1, Section 8, to tell me what kind of bulbs I can use, what I can eat, or drink? Questioning authority is becoming a national pastime.  That, kiddos, is good thing.

     I can remember as a kid some of the comments about World War II when the big “excuse” for killing people by the millions in Nazi Germany was, “I was just following orders.”  Many of our police officers are in the same boat.  Well, not killing people, but many of the laws they enforce are blatantly unconstitutional.  These are police officers who take an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.  On the good side, I see a great awakening and possibly some of the “lack of knowledge” is being cleared up as the People begin to do their own research.  Just following orders was no excuse years ago and is no excuse now for enforcing unconstitutional law.

     As you kids know I have been involved in what I call a fight for clarity on certain issues involving Liberty.  I felt that one day you kids would ask me, “What did you do to preserve Liberty in your lifetime for us, Dad?”  As you have seen, I have been joined by many other Liberty loving citizens in an attempt to preserve some measure of Liberty by making the second amendment (2A) clear to our citizens and enforcers as to what the 2A means.   These same People are asking the same questions, “How do I preserve that which I know to be right, in the sight of God, my children, the Founders, and the man in the mirror?

     In Illinois unscrupulous or maybe they were well meaning “do gooders” have perverted our Illinois Constitution by using the words “Subject to the police power…” in the Illinois version of the 2A.  This travesty must be stopped.  I am confident that long term it will be, either by the courts with awakening judges and juries, or by the awakening of the People or hopefully all three.  It is not too hard to understand the term “shall not be infringed.”  Any young person understands it.  It is the old folks and highly educated types who want to rule other People’s lives that have the most difficulty.

     It is my sincere hope that our County law enforcement and other elected officials will recall their oaths and be able to look their kids in the eye and say that they did their part to uphold the oath.  My advice to you is that at all costs you choose Liberty and fight tyranny in any form that you see it.  Remember our Country was founded with the ideal of maximum Liberty and minimal government.  I like Thoreau’s comment, “That government governs best which governs least.”

Love, Dad

Comments on Pike County Illinois Constittutional Carry of Arms

By  Dan A. Mefford, D.C.

On Tuesday November 29, 2011 the Petition for the “Constitutional Carry of Arms” ordinance of Pike County was submitted to the Pike County Clerk.  I along with Rick Rodhouse, of Pl. Hill, IL, presented the petition to Clerk Donnie Apps who reviewed it page by page and then accepted it.  It is public record and therefore subject to review by the public for a period of time.

The petition came about following the highly significant US Supreme Court cases Washington DC vs.  Heller and McDonald vs Chicago.  In essence Heller confirms that 2^nd Amendment (2A) secures right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms, while McDonald stated that the 2A applies to the states.  This is important legal precedent since it now clears the way to challenge the Illinois Constitution at Article 1 Section 22 which states: “Subject only to the police power, the right of the individual citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed [emphasis mine].”  The term “police power” refers to the power of legally constituted governments to make laws to preserve public safety and health etc.   The term does not refer to the power of police to enforce law.

I have reviewed all four of the Illinois Constitutions and could find no reference to the bearing of arms in the first three.  Only the fourth constitution had any phrase regarding arms that I was able to see.

The concept of passing the ordinance was conceived by me while the authoring of the ordinance was a collaboration of several people including myself, Dick Metcalf of Barry, IL, a constitutional scholar and historian who taught on the history of the Constitution at Cornell University, and some others, who reviewed our work. 

The petition quickly became a popular one in Pike County since there are so many self reliant and independent minded people.  Volunteers to collect signatures came from all parts of the County and collected an amazing 1300 plus signatures in just a few weeks.  What these people seem to have in common is the desire to have the same rights as the founding fathers had and that criminals have today.  That is the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, friends, and property. 

Criminals do not ask permission of government to keep and bear an arm.  They are not subject to a waiting period, a caliber, or particular style of weapon.  They do not ask permission to carry a knife or gun or baseball bat.  When a criminal needs to defend himself he does not need to call 911, since he is already armed.  Only the law abiding people need to jump through the hoops to see if they are fit to keep and bear an arm.

Illinois is the last state in the entire Union of States to not have a concealed carry law.  Alaska, Arizona and Wyoming have joined Vermont in the Constitutional Carry of Arms, which is in essence no infringement at all.  Other states are considering this as well.  The Constitutional Carry of Arms refers to the acceptance that the founders intended that there be no infringement of the people to carry arms.  That is what the simple language, “shall not be infringed” means.  I am not sure how you interpret “shall not be infringed” other than, “shall not be infringed.”  In the 2A the founders did not choose to say, “shall not be infringed very much.”

What the people must understand here is that we are dealing with what the founders termed an unalienable right.  That is a right endowed by our Creator or a right that you are born with.  It is a right that is natural and fundamental to be able to live in Liberty.  It is no different than the right to breathe air.  The very fact that we have unalienable rights denotes that we have a right to defend those rights. 

Tim Nerenze, a libertarian, states in his blog:  “…guns are the only product or service mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.  While we also clearly have a right to keep and bear food, healthcare, clothing, shelter, and many other necessary things, the framers did not deem any of them important enough to warn the government against any form of infringement – only guns.  Think about that.”

We are the only country in the world that I know of who recognizes that unalienable rights are granted at birth and not by government.  What a government can grant, government can take away.  In Illinois the Chicago Machine leads the People by the nose.  It is time for them to leave us alone.  Remember the Second Amendment does not say “Subject to the police power!”

What are some of the Sheriffs up to around the Country?

      I don't have time right now to comment but the Sheriffs of this country have a power and authority that many do not fully comprehend.  However if they want to keep their toys from the Feds they may run into trouble...  some articles below are worth reviewing, in my opinion.

      This next article is very detailed listing authorities and sources etc.  It also is based on very recent issues.  Some sheriff's do have balls!

U.S. Sheriffs Rise Up Against Federal Government: Sheriff Threatens Feds With SWAT Team ~ Grass Roots Take Charge!

 

Nevada Sheriff Tony DeMeo Stops Federal Government: Feds Engaging In Illegal Confiscation Of Cattle And Water Rights Of County Property Owner.

 

Taking a Stand

     On Christmas day 1776 George Washington’s army had collapsed from 30,000 to 2,500 men.  One third of those men wrapped their feet in burlap and marched many miles in the snow, leaving a trail of blood to finally cross the icy Delaware River in a snow storm.  These dedicated men finally captured the trained professional army of German soldiers.  That took guts.  Now if George Washington and his men had been living in Illinois they would have had to ask the government for permission to keep and bear an arm, by acquiring a FOID card so they could buy a gun and the ammunition to go in it.  Unless, of course, they are from ‘out-a-state,’ in which case they don’t need no ‘stinkin’ FOID card.  How many think he would have been granted a FOID card if King George would have been in charge?

     Within a few days we will be turning in our Petition to place Pike County’s version of the 2^nd Amendment, commonly known as the “Constitutional Carry of Arms” ordinance, on the ballot so that we have some semblance of a chance of exercising a God given right to keep and bear arms in the manner of our forefathers.  I have been told repeatedly by various officials that County law cannot supersede state law.  I agree.  However no law, including state law, can supersede the US Constitution (USC).  The USC secures, via the 2^nd and 14^th amendments, the right to keep and bears arms to every individual.  It says, “Shall NOT be infringed.”  The FOID card and all laws requiring permission of government or King George, to exercise a fundamental right to keep and bear an arm are blatantly unconstitutional.

     As with George Washington’s men, who stuck it out with him in the worst possible conditions, we may have to call on the People of Pike County to come out in the worst weather and at inconvenient times, to stand together and see this thing through, to help the officials understand by sheer numbers that “shall NOT be infringed,” does not mean, “shall not be infringed very much!”  I suspect that none of us will have to stand with our feet wrapped in burlap. 

     I defy any attorney, any official, no matter how high up the honcho line they go to tell the People of Pike County with a straight face that any of the signers of the Declaration of Independence should have to ask permission of Pat Quinn or the like for a FOID card so they can own and carry an arm in defense of themselves, their family, their friends and their Country.  That was a mouthful; however the People of Pike County are just as “equal” in the fundamental natural rights as any of the signers.  The signers pledged their very lives, their sacred honor and their fortunes that we might have Liberty.  Many of the signers lost it all except their honor in that war for Independence.

     If you would like to correspond with me on this contact me at:  editorial@pike912.org or leave a message at 217-285-2134, or follow my blog at: pike912.blogspot.com.

If The Foundations Be Destroyed. . . ?

     “If the Foundations are destroyed, what shall the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3.  This country was begun on a simple but solid footing, that being, all men are equal in the sight of our Creator and that each individual has equal rights to Life, Liberty, and Property, among others.  All other government systems in the world, other than perhaps, ancient Israel, were based on rights being granted by government, such as a king or emperor, or whatever.  The consequence of basing the footing and foundation on these fundamental principles means that no mere man or government is allowed to take these unalienable rights away.

     The whole emphasis of our form of government is to grant certain powers to government in order that justice may be served, and to provide for the common defense of the nation.  In order to do this a list of powers or functions which government was to oversee was made by the Founding Fathers (FFs) and listed in Article 1, Section 8.  Beyond these powers the congress could not go.  The same procedure was used for the states.

     The chief concern of our FFs was that the general government would eventually shatter the “chains” of the Constitution and move into usurpation of powers and then tyranny.  Can there be any doubt in anyone’s mind that the Federal government and even the State governments have easily become what the Founders feared the most.  It has happened through the ho hum attitude of the People.  As much as we would like to blame the legislators the real truth is that We the People have been asleep and allowed the rulers to rule with impunity.  The Declaration of Independence states clearly that the People will prefer to suffer while Evils are sufferable, however if we don’t wake up and call a halt to the theft of Liberty by the legislators we will continue our downward spiral into the abyss of totalitarian rule by government.

     Politicians think that the People are too stupid to figure out what is best for them.  Consequently they come up with stupid laws such as seat belt laws and how many lights you can have on the side of your vehicle and laws such as “no humming allowed on public streets on Sunday” (Cicero,IL).  We have all heard of and a laughed at some of the stupid laws that have been passed and thought how stupid or dumb can these people be?  But the truth is that even these laws no matter how silly they seem carry with them a potential sentence of death, if they are intensely enforced and subsequently resisted.

     In order to exercise our Liberty we need to be able to live our life as each individual chooses with minimal interference from our neighbor or our government.  Our right to choose should only be limited at the point we begin to interfere with our neighbor’s right to enjoyment of his rights.  Liberty is about choice; choices on how to live one’s life, even if the decision is a potentially destructive one in most people’s opinions. 

     Now we come to who is charged to preserve our Liberty?  If the legislators fail who do we turn to?  It has to be the courts.  I have read many court cases that had to do with a claim by an individual that some law has “taken” a fundamental right.  The courts will state over and over that the state has the duty and responsibility to preserve “public safety.”  Meanwhile the court may never mention that the higher calling is the preservation of fundamental rights of the individual.  It appears so much of the time that the courts would look for every possible excuse to preserve the law intact at the expense of a fundamental right.  We can have so much “safety” that we have no Liberty.  What is safety without Liberty?

     I have come to appreciate this quote from Ayn Rand a Russian escapee:

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.  "Atlas Shrugged" 

     The way I see it our judges have a trust, an obligation, a duty above all to preserve individual fundamental rights, against the state, except in the truly important issues.  The state/government has no end of reasons why it is important that the person in a private vehicle, for instance, should wear a seat belt but our kids riding in school buses don’t need one.  Try and reason that one out.  The courts must preserve the Foundations or Liberty is lost. 

     This is a subject whose time has come.  If you would like to correspond with me on this contact me at:  Follow my blog at: pike912.blogspot.com/ or editorial@pike912.org or leave a message at 217-285-2134.