A republic, if you can keep it

It’s been a while since I have posted anything.  I’ve been altogether too busy with work, family, the Moapa Valley incoporation thing, and so on.  I still don’t have much time, but this is is important enough that I took the time to write it.

I just finished reading this report from michellemallkin.com about a DHS report on “Rightwing Extremism.”

These are scary, sobering times we live in.

There are so many things wrong with this report, and while I guess I shouldn’t be, I am shocked that my country has gone this far this fast. As usual, Michelle covered every point, so I don’t need to restate what she has said, but this part of the report, found on page two, got my attention.

Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that…are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority.

Here is how fascism is defined by Merriam Webster:

A political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

Look at some of the bills that Congress is discussing, as well as those already passed.  Look at their actions, look at some of the things they say.   The current crop (that’s a pun - keep reading) of food related bills bill would cause grocery prices to skyrocket, and would make growing your own garden a federal crime (google HR875, HR759, and HR1332).  A proposed Internet bill would give the POTUS unilateral power to cut off parts or all of the Internet in the case of a “national emergency” while failing to define a national emergency (of course).  It would also give an unelected appointee power to see ANY and ALL Internet data (i.e. your online bank account statement, your online medical records, etc).  The GIVE act requires compulsory volunteerism at the organization of the governments choosing (no churches allowed).  Then there is socialized medicine, the “smartgrid”, cap and trade, global warming, monetizing the debt, assuming more and more debt and the way we are treating our allies and our enemies (Cuba, House of Saud and Iran), just to mention a few problems.  We have also already seen the federal government go after individuals here and here.  These issues just barely scratch the surface.
Are these not the actions of a fascist government?  The DHS now states that if you “reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority,” you are an extremist, so much so that the DHS feels it necessary to have a report about you.  Is this really where we want to go, what we want to be, and what we want to leave to our children?

The Founding Fathers created the union known as the USA from several sovereign states.  The Constitution clearly states that the federal government derives it’s power from the states, and grants - GRANTS - permission to the federal government to do 18 specific things.  It then goes on to state that ALL other rights are retained by the people, and that the enumerated powers of the constitution CAN NOT be used to weaken or deny other rights retained by the people. But now, according to the federal government, if you don’t acknowledge their complete and total power, you are a person who is just as threatening to them as Islamic terrorists, or members of the KKK, ALF, or ELF.

At some point, people are going to have to stand up to this evil.  And make no mistake, it is evil.  We have faced it before, a long time ago.  Remember that Lucifer proposed that no one would have the individual liberty to choose the wrong thing.  Ever.  The good of the group would be put above the good of the individual.  This would mean that all people would be successful, and he would get all the glory for the accomplishment. This proposal was soundly rejected by his Father, and by the majority of God’s children. One reason I suspect it was rejected (there were many) was because it violated one simple, eternal truth:  There must be opposition in all things.  How can one be successful when one can’t fail?  Without having the freedom to fail, or the freedom to make a wrong choice, how can you succeed or make a right choice?  It is not possible.  All of us at one point understood that, but it is amazing how many have forgotten that.   Let’s just say that Lucifer’s plan had been accepted by all in attendance.  So we would all be saved; we would all be “successful.”  But how could that be?  We all would have gone through life without ever learning what we need to learn to enjoy that success.  Even though all of God’s children would be present, none of us would be prepared to be exalted.  We wouldn’t know what to do, and as a result, all of us would be failures.  Our government is on the fast track to remove so many of our liberties that we no longer have the option to fail, or to make what in their mind is a wrong or bad decision (like having more than one or two children).  When that happens, we will all be “successful.”  But since we won’t know what to do, the only thing we could possibly be successful at is failing.  There “must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things,” and the reason for that is simple.  Opposition is the refiners fire that makes us all better.

It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed.  The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties.  Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised, and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant, wake into life and form the character of the hero and the statesman.

That is one of my favorite quotes.  Abagail Adams wrote that to her son John Quincy in 1777, in the middle of the Revolutionary War.  Challenges force us to look deeper into ourselves and draw upon powers and talents we probably don’t even know we possess.  We discover them, learn to use them, and as we sharpen those abilities, they sharpen and form us into the being that our Creator intends for us to be.

What actually scares me, even more than this latest DHS report (there have been others), is that I see so many people who know, who have been taught what evil is, yet choose to ignore it.  They have access to all of the truth, light and knowledge that exists in this life; while they don’t remember specifics, they know what they fought against before coming to Earth.  Clearly, since these people are part of God’s kindom on Earth, since they are living in these latter days, in this great nation that God created for a specific purpose, they did something special to fight this evil before.  Yet now so many sit and do nothing.  They simply say they will continue doing what they are doing, and pray for a good outcome.  Since faith without works is dead, how will that approach work?

In a previous life, you did something extraordinary.  Neither you or I know what it was, but because you are here, at this time, you can know you did something that was extremely valiant.  You did not sit on the sidelines and watch, you were very involved.  You were successful in fighting evil once, and now it is time to fight it again.  Lucifer was a fascist.  Like every other fascist who has followed him (Stalin, Lenin, Mussolini, Mao, Hitler, Castro, Che), he has morphed into something even more heinous.  Our current politicians are fascists.  History shows what road they take, so I ask again: is this what we want to leave to our children?

Tomorrow is April 15th.  Tax day.  You may have heard about the Tea Parties that will be happening throughout the country.  I would encourage you to go to one.  Most feel that it won’t make much difference, that those in DC don’t care, and they are probably right.  But it still needs to be done.  It is the next (still peaceful) step.  If you want to know where the nearest one is, click here. The Tea Party site is here.

Once again, it is time to stand up for freedom, liberty, truth and righteousness.  No doubt it is scary.  A latter day prophet has told us it may cost us in blood (last paragraph, but the entire speech is outstanding).  However, we are blessed with knowing the outcome, but we still have to fight for it.

I recently finished reading the fictional series “The Great & Terrible.”  At one point in the series, one of the characters explains his belief that when we can do for ourselves, God lets us do it.  But when we can’t, and it is necessary for the survival of the righteous, God intervenes and performs miracles.  The more trying the time, the more spectacular the miracle.  While this is a work of fiction, that sentiment makes sense to me, and seems to be borne out in scripture.  On several occasions, I have heard Glenn Beck say that we live in a time where we are soon going to witness many marvelous miracles.  If both sentiments are correct - and I mention them because I think they are - then we are about to go through an extraordinary time.  A separating of the wheat and the chaff the likes of which have never been lknown.  Just as in the pre-existence, you won’t find “wheat” sitting on the sidelines, it will be actively engaged, this time in saving the world.

We have been told of this time.  We have been told to prepare.  The time for preparation is over, it is now time to choose and act.

I was reading a thread on a firearm forum today that was discussing a hypothetical situation and how one could defend themselves while remaining legal.  It involved disarming a criminal who had attacked you, and then deciding what to do when they won’t follow your commands (to leave, lie down, etc).  Most people commented that it would be prudent to call 911 ASAP.  One person made this comment:

In my opinion, a pistol in the hands of a civilian for self defense is for just that, defense, not apprehension. If the guy runs away, then he runs away, call the cops and let them handle it.

Shortly after that, someone else commented about that comment:

Agreed. While I certainly wouldn’t be happy that he got away to menace someone else, the law doesn’t empower me to force his compliance so I’m not going to get myself into a legal quagmire.

Given the litigious world we live in today, I would have to agree 100% with both comments.  What bothers me though is part of the second comment.

…the law doesn’t empower me to…

Now in this particular case, the discussion is about using a gun for self defense, but in reality, there are many instances where the same statement could be said.  “The law doesn’t empower me to do something,” whatever that something may be.  That sentiment - while unfortunately true today, is entirely opposite of one of the key founding principles.

The law - or government - was never meant to empower an individual to do something.  In a just form of government, it is the individual who offers empowerment.

The principle in question can be summed up by saying that, “[T]o secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”  Now I hope you recognize that sentence.  It is based on the political and philosophical teachings of John Locke, and was written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.  What it means is that individuals can come together and as a group, delegate specific roles or responsibilities to the government.  The individual does NOT surrender or forfeit that right, they merely give authority to the government to do it for them.  The individual retains the right to do it - whatever it may be - for themselves at any time. This is necessary because the people thereby retain the right to take away authority or empowerment of the government at any time, for any reason.

As a society, we have done this with police services.  We have empowered law enforcement with authority to detain and arrest criminals.  For government to work properly, we, the people,  have to retain the ability to detain and arrest criminals.

We can’t grant that which we don’t have, and for government to work, we can’t give it away, nor will a just government seek to take it.

As a result, while I agree that the statement above is legally right, it is fundamentally wrong, and I think it shows us one of the root causes of the problems we as a nation are facing today. We have gone beyond just delegating tasks to the government and now freely surrender many rights.  It could be argued (not by me - I’m just saying it could be) that in past times, the people would completely forfeit a right, and the government would step in to take care of it, because someone has to.  Our present-day government has become so used to this arrangement that they now no longer wait for the people to forfeit something, they just unilaterally decide to take those rights.  Regardless of how we got here, we have - by definition - an unjust government, and an electorate that for the most part, doesn’t care.

For those who do care, we have a really tough question to answer: How do we fix this problem?

Straight from Drudge:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?

PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children’s health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.

That’s right, by reducing the number of people who are born - and you have to assume that she means with both pre- & post-conception contraception (cough cough abortion) - there will be fewer resources consumed.  Fewer people is better for poor planet earth, which can barely support us anymore.

Call this not just a foot but an entire leg in the door for eugenics, sign of the times or whatever you will.  We have been warned of this type of evil, and it is here in plain sight because it feels it is strong enough that it no longer needs to hide in the shadows.  We need to wake up & put a stop to it now.

For those of you who don’t know, I live in the small unincorporated township of Logandale. Since it is unincorporated, there is no mayor or city council, instead there is a 5 member Town Advisory Board (TAB) that hears things that would go before a city council. They vote on these items, and then those items go before the Clark County Board of County Commissioners (BCC), which takes the TAB’s vote into consideration and then makes a final decision. For many years (actually a couple of decades), there has been a straw poll taken at every election, and the 5 highest vote-getters have been appointed to the TAB. This seems to make sense, as it allows the voice of the people to choose their representatives, and history suggests that it has worked well.

But the times they are a-changin’. When the new BCC was sworn in recently, one of the first things they had to do was finalize all of the TAB’s in Clark County. Instead of listening to the voice of the people and appointing the 5 people with the most votes, they only selected 3. The other 2 positions went to people who, at least based on the number of votes they received, wouldn’t do a good job of representing the town of Logandale. The local paper, the Moapa Valley Progress has an article in this week’s paper that ought to throw up a HUGE red flag for all of us. I think it gives us a very clear idea of what sort of change might be on the horizon - specifically for residents in Logandale, but also for Clark County & even for all Americans. You see, the Clark County BCC is now 100% Democrat. They are further bolstered by a Democratic controlled Nevada legislature that has a veto proof majority, both Congressional representatives who represent Clark County are Democrats, and they have the ear of Senator Harry Reid as well as President-elect Obama. So they are no doubt feeling pretty good about themselves. This is evidenced by some of the statements and actions reported in the Progress article. Commissioner Tom Collins had the following to say when the Progress called him for a comment on this new break from democratic procedure and the new appointments:

“I have no comments for you on your paper. You know what I think of you. Have a nice day.” Then he abruptly hung up the line.

Collins knows that the Progress is the only paper in Logandale. If he wants to get a message out quickly to his constituents there, it is the fastest way to do so. Well, the message was received loud and clear. The residents of Logandale can pretty easily figure out just what Collins thinks of them, both by the way he listened to their voice on election day & in his comment to the paper.

When state assemblyman Joe Hardy called Collins to ask about the change in appointments, Collins said:

“He (Collins) told me that it was now a new era,” Hardy said. “He said that he wanted to break the mold and do things differently. He felt that the change would be for the better.”

What new era is starting now? Politicians have been ignoring their constituents for some time now, so that’s not new. What is new however is that this ignoring is now out in the open, and is being openly admitted by politicians like Collins - and embraced by many voters. I guess when your party controls everything, you can do what you want, thus proving the old saying about power.
So we now stand on the precipice of a new era. Well, it’s at least new to us, but not to this land. I seem to remember that 230+ years ago, people here had very similar issues. This new (to us) era is one where elected officials do whatever they want without any regard for those whom they claim to represent. And when questioned about it, are belligerent and rude in their response. After all, how dare those of us in the underclass question them?

I fear that we are in for a lot of this at all levels. This is certainly a bad sign of things to come in Logandale and Clark County, but I think it is also an example of just what we can expect from most of our elected officials at most levels.

Rick Eide was one of the people who had served on the TAB & had received enough votes in the straw poll but was not reappointed. I know Rick (not well, but I know him). He is very opinionated and honest. If he doesn’t agree with you, he will tell you, and he will explain why. While he can become animated, he’s not rude. I also, unfortunately, know Tom Collins. He is also very opinionated. He’s very pro-big government and knows everything, including what’s best for you. He’s one of those guys who feels it is his right to protect you from yourself while increasing the girth of the government’s waistline. He’s one of those people that Ronald Reagan warned us about when he told us what the 9 scariest words in the English language are (I’m from the government and I’m here to help).

Another unfortunate part of this sad affair is who was appointed in place of those who were the winners in the democratic process. I also have had the unfortunate experience of dealing with Rick’s replacement, Billy Mildice. Some may call him a dimwitted hack and a tool. I would argue that doing so is a huge disservice to dimwits, hacks and tools the world over. But he is Tom Collins’ tool, and Collins knows how to use him, and no doubt will use him well. It will be very interesting - in a sad, pathetic way - reading about his antics on the TAB, and I feel for anyone who has to go before that board, as well as the other members of the board.

Eide’s comment really sums up what Logandale residents and indeed all Americans are going to experience for the foreseeable future.

“The new Commission has proven right off in their very first meeting that the will of this community will not be heard. My concern is that this community no longer has any representation at all at the County level.”

Indeed, looking at the federal level and the bailout-palooza, they have largely ignored American citizens. The Clark County BCC, in one of their first actions, set the tone for at least the next 2 years, and probably longer, showing that they don’t feel it important to listen to their constituents, nor do they feel a need to explain their actions.

We’ll have to wait just a little longer to see what happens in the Nevada legislature this year. Last November, Nevadans overwhelmingly rejected tax hikes. The Democrats who have control are typical tax and spend liberals, and all but a few of the Republicans appear ready to roll over in hopes of getting their belly rubbed.

Will they do their will or the will of the people? It’s really not too tough to guess.

By now you have undoubtedly heard about the Russian professor who has detailed his prediction that the USA will cease to exist and break up shortly.  I think his “analysis” has been well documented and for the most part debunked, but I have a few comments to share.  Here is the map and what will happen:

Here are my observations:

1. After the dollar collapses and we have another civil war here, we will make sure to split along previously established state lines?  Right.
2. California and Utah will be in the same “nation.”  With current events, it’s a good thing that Nevada is there to keep the two separated, so when there is a chance for a realignment, they will choose to continue living together?
3. Texas - and most of the Southern States - are controlled by Mexico?!?  Maybe after all the Texans are dead.

Now, not everything he said was outrageous, for example, he predicts that the dollar will collase & civil war will ensue.  With what our elected officials are doing right now, the dollar could collapse.  If it does collapse, civil unrest - so bad that it could be considered a war - could occur, but I just don’t see America breaking up into multiple parts to be controlled by ilk from China, Canada, Mexico, etc.

Time will tell, but there is no doubt we are in for a bumpy ride.

For those of us who are paying attention, we can see that our government is completely out of control.  Politicians simply will not listen to voters, and when it comes time to vote, we are constantly left with a choice between bad and worse.  They act more like a ruling class, treating us as smelly, uneducated imbeciles who couldn’t possibly grasp the complexity of the worlds problems, and therefore need a group - such as themselves - to act in our best interests and even save us from ourselves.  The simple fact of the matter is we need to be saved, but from them, not by them.

It got me thinking, how does our current situation compare to the situation that Americans found themselves in when the Declaration of Independence was written?

The Declaration contains a section that cites 27 specific reasons for breaking away from England and establishing independent, sovereign states.  For reference here they are:

1. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

2. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

3. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

4. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

5. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

6. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

7. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

8. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

9. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

10. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

11. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

12. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

13. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

14. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

15. For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

16. For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

17. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

18. For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

19. For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

20. For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies.

21. For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

22. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

23. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

24. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

25. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

26. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

27. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

Now, are we being subjected to any of these same injustices today?  The answer is yes, but the question is, how many?  Here are my thoughts on which ones we are being subjected to.

1. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

This is a general statement, but it is safe to say that for the most part, the laws being passed today are neither wholesome nor necessary for the public good. Government interference is the norm, and as a result, we enjoy fewer liberties. Common sense laws are all but forgotten.  While not with holding their assent, they are passing laws so quickly that it makes ones head spin.  The result however, is similar.

2. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

This one may be a bit of a stretch, as it hasn’t happened in the same way, but I would argue that something similar is occurring. Little by little, we are told that if we want to make use of services provided by our tax dollars, we have to surrender some of our liberties. A perfect example is the auto bailout that is being discussed. Part of the deal that lawmakers want is that automakers – if they want money – have to make “green” cars. These are cars that Americans don’t want. Effectively, automakers forfeit their right to make cars that people will buy, they forfeit their right to run the business as they see fit. This relinquishing of the ability to make cars that will sell is similar to the relinquishing of the right of representation.

3. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

Our current leadership has done this, but has even taken it one step further. On the one hand, foreigners who have a valuable skill set – i.e. doctors, various types of engineers, etc – can’t get in without going through a lot of red tape, and even then, it’s tough to stay for more than a short period of time. However, if you have no real skill, can’t speak English or have a criminal background, you can sneak in, seek sanctuary in one of our many sanctuary cities & stay for free, with welfare and healthcare costs being covered by Joe Taxpayer. In 1776, the intention of preventing the population from growing was to keep American talent from growing.  King George was attempting to limit what would become know as the “American Spirit.” The idea was to keep America from thriving by limiting great thinkers and motivated people. Today, by not allowing educated people here, they are doing the same thing. By allowing uneducated people with limited or even no skill set to freely come here and live off of welfare and get free medical care, they not only limit the “American Spirit” that made this nation great, but they introduce a group of people that are a drain on those who do have the “American Spirit.” That makes it even more difficult for individuals – and therefore the country – to thrive and succeed.

4. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

Where do I start with this one? Feel free to read through the Constitution and then tell me what parts of it justify the existence of the following agencies: EPA, DOE, the other DOE (as in education.  I believe it is pronounced in your best Homer Simpson voice: ‘Doh!), OSHA, FCC, FAA, FDA, TSA, FDIC, HUD, and on and on. The list is almost infinite. Need I say more?

5. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

Like #4, this one is easy too. Ever heard of the United Nations? I also think that with the new “messianic” administration that is coming in, we may soon find ourselves subject to other foreign jurisdictions. Two I can specifically think of are the ICC and whatever replaces the Kyoto Protocol.

6. For protecting [soldiers], by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

Really the opposite of this is what has happened. Our troops have been demonized by our politicians.  Can anyone say Haditha? The purpose is the same. In 1776, redcoats were in America as an occupying force. They were meant to keep American morale down. By badmouthing our troops at every opportunity, politicians can keep American morale down. We are told on a regular basis that Americans are hated throughout the world because of our evil, dumb troops. Our elected officials are guilty of the same offense that King George was guilty of.

7. For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

Our ability to trade hasn’t been cut off, but is has been limited. It has been limited by making it increasingly difficult for companies to do business in America. As a result, they leave. Cutting off trade had the effect of limiting capital available to Americans. How often do we hear about evil corporations and their profits? How they steal from the poor to feed the rich and how they need to be taxed into submission?  Driving business out of the country via draconian and asinine legislature accomplishes the same thing.  We also have a recent comment by President Bush, that has to qualify as one of the largest piles of diarrhea ever to escape either end of a politician - quite the accomplishment Mr. Bush.  With our leaders thinking like that, how can we hope to ever have free trade or a free market?

8. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent

Just how are we going to pay for the financial bailout that was passed in September? What was the ratio of calls, emails and faxes that opposed that bailout to those that supported it?

9. For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

I would submit that we really aren’t a republic anymore. Our office holders don’t listen to we the people anymore. They also don’t adhere to the Constitution anymore, and openly say it is a fatally flawed, outdated document containing “negative liberties”

10. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

See #9 above.

11. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

Essentially this says that King George had encouraged the Indians to wreak havoc upon the American colonies. I would submit that by allowing our southern border to remain so porous, our current crop of “leaders” have done the same. Ask a cop about MS-13. Of course, this sort of thing couldn’t ever cause any domestic insurrections. Neither would this. And there is nothing to see here.

So, of the 27 injustices that American colonists dealt with, we are dealing with 11. The first thing that tells me is that even though it’s bad for us right now, it could be a lot worse. But why have we allowed it to get so bad? I would submit that we the American people still have a tiny (and quickly shrinking) window of opportunity to right our nation. If we don’t act soon though, we will either become some sort of socialist utopia, or we will be thrust into another revolution. I guess the choice is ours.

Since I have decided to name my blog site,  ” A republic, if you can keep it,” I decided that my first post would discuss how we appear to be losing the fight to keep our republic.

Have you ever heard of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, or ISI?  The ISI does many things, but one of their main programs is called the American Civic Literacy Program.  It is an annual test to see how much Americans - specifically college students - actually know about American history and the founding principals of this country.  While the numbers change some from year to year, they continuously tell the same story: Americans do not have even a basic understanding of American history, especially the founding and Civil War eras, nor do they have a grasp of the economic and political principles that are the foundation of this great nation.

The ISI website is here, and there is a lot of good information there, including a test to see how you compare.  Their findings are quite sad really.  For example, 89.2% of all test takers scored a “D” or lower on the test.  What does it say about our society when 21% Americans don’t know where the phrase, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” and the “separation of church and state” came from?

But unfortunately, there’s still more bad news.  The ISI has found that while most Americans think college should be teaching American history and its institutions, they are not. In fact, here is what the ISI found:

The average score for the college graduates who took ISI’s American civic literacy exam was 57%, an “F.” That was only 13 percentage points higher than the 44% earned by those who hold high school, but not college, diplomas.

There are more findings that you can read through on the ISI site.  While you’re there, take their test and see how you stack up.  Just so you know, I took the test online and only scored an 88%, so I have a bit of work to do myself.

Now, back to the title of this post.  What is so amazing, yet so easy to believe, is that elected office holders score WORSE than most Americans on this test.  I guess it’s no wonder that this country is in the situation it finds itself in today.

But that wasn’t how we started:

[Jefferson and Madison] stated their conviction that the university (of Virginia) would create leaders to preserve liberty: “Nor must we omit to mention, among the benefits of education, the incalculable advantage of training up able counselors to administer the affairs of our country in all its departments—legislative, executive, and judiciary—and to bear their proper share in the councils of our national government; nothing more than education advancing the prosperity, the power, and the happiness of the nation.”

As a nation, we have lost sight of Jefferson & Madison’s goal, and that is tragic.