I would hope that everyone has heard the old saying, 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.' Allow me, just for a moment, to expand upon that. What is one to do if the horse refuses to drink? Is he to stand there patiently while the horse dies of dehydration, is he to continually prod the horse in the hopes that it will drink, or is he to give up all hope for that horse and go on about his life, realizing that the horse was going to die?
That is how I often feel when I discuss issues of importance with people. I feel as though I am leading them in the direction they need to be led, so that they can begin to see the troubles that face this nation, and the reasons behind those problems, however, once presented with the facts they just stand there and stare at me, as if to say, 'Are you nuts?'
I understand that people have been lied to by so many people, their educators, the media, and their elected representatives, that it is hard to accept the truth when you finally confront it. Nevertheless, the truth is, just that, the truth. Anyone with an open mind should be willing to at least take a look at the information presented them, and do some research on their own to find out if there is any validity to what they have been told.
More often than not, people revert to name calling instead of taking the time to do some serious searching for the truth. In other words, if they don't hear it on the news, it must not be true.
Yet these same people are willing to admit that there are problems in this country, and they flock to someone like Barack Obama who promises them 'Change We Can Believe In.' However, this article is not about Barack Obama, it is about the people of this country, and their willingness, or lack thereof, to examine facts.
In many ways, the people of this country are like crack addicts. Just as a crack addict may realize that they have squandered their savings, lost their job, ruined their health, they refuse to admit to the real cause, their addiction to crack.
The people of this country realize that we have problems with our economy, crime, and a host of other issues, but they are unwilling to admit the true problem, that there is a concerted force at work to bring about the downfall of this nation.
Until people accept that, they can elect all the Barack Obama's they want, and nothing is going to change. To prove I am not just picking on Senator Obama, the media is now focusing its attention on John McCain's selection for Vice President. She is being vetted by the media, and the American people. Some like what they see, some don't, but that is not the point. The point is that she, while on her own, may be a fine choice for elected official, is only a side show, a distraction. John McCain is the candidate for President, not Sarah Palin, and John McCain is just as bad a choice for President as Barack Obama.
I find it interesting, that as our nation deteriorates, their is a distinct parallel between our inability to discern the truth, and our nations slump into immorality and indecency.
What was totally unacceptable, and unheard of, when I was growing up is now common place. The lyrics of songs, the language used on television, the content of television and movie shows, the open push for acceptance of homosexuals and abortion, these are all things that were taboo when I was young. These are also things that any preacher worth his salt would be openly condemning, no matter the cost to their personal reputation.
Our nation is on the road to ruin, of that there is no doubt in my mind. As I write my commentaries, I am only presenting people with the facts that they need to understand some of the problems we face, and some of the reasons for those problems. If they refuse to heed my words, then I cannot sit here and patiently wait until the light goes on in their head. By then it may be too late.
Just as when a weather forecaster warns of an approaching storm, and people wait until it is too late to evacuate, or at least stock up on essential items, I cannot wait forever for the people of this country to accept that what people like me are saying as truth.
Thomas Jefferson once said, "We, I hope, shall adhere to our republican government and keep it to its original principles by narrowly watching it." The American people have not done that and it is way past time when watching our government is going to do any good. To be blunt, our nations capital needs a good enema to purge the crap that has been putrefying their for a very long time. Unless that happens, this nation is going down the tubes, no if’s and’s or but’s about it.
So America, you have a chance, albeit a slim one, of waking up and saving it. However you must open your minds to the possibility that you have been lied to and deceived for all these years. Only then, when you are willing to examine BOTH sides of the story with equal enthusiasm, can things change.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Thursday, September 04, 2008
I Have Lost Faith
Imagine someone you know who lost a loved one in a tragic accident. Imagine that this person found out that there loved one had gone into a river and had been washed away by the current to drown. Then imagine that there had been some rafters aimlessly drifting down the river who could have helped, but they were too involved in having a good time to pay any attention.
That is about how I feel right now with the state of affairs in our country. It is rapidly on course to implode and people are too worried about their own little lives to take the time to pay attention to what is really going on.
I have lost faith in the majority of my fellow countrymen to do what is needed to change the course of this, once mighty, nation, to return us on a path to liberty and prosperity.
I remember being one of the mindless zombies that lived their daily lives, oblivious to what was happening around me. That all changed in the early 90's when I began writing letters to my elected officials concerning gun control. Guns had always been a big part of my life growing up and I was concerned about all the laws that were being passed to restrict the rights of gun owners.
I remember how happy I felt when I would receive a letter from my Congressman in reply to my letter to them. Yet the new gun laws kept coming. How naive I was to think that they actually cared what I had to say!
The next issue I began to be concerned about was illegal immigration. I added that issue to my list of subjects to discuss with my elected officials. Again I got polite letters in return and thought that they actually read them. Again, how wrong I was as the problem with illegal immigration kept getting worse.
About this time I began devoting time to researching these issues in depth to find out why these things were happening. What I discovered rocked my world! I realized that those who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and preserve and defend our nation had been selling us down the river. The news media, who up until this point I had trusted to tell me the truth, had been withholding this information from me.
That was my epiphany, or awakening to the severity of the problems this country faces. I began studying the Constitution in earnest. I gathered quotes by the founders and researched Supreme Court rulings on the issues.
There is a huge, conspiracy if you wish to call it that, to bring about the downfall of the United States of America. Believe it or not, but the truth exists. I would not have believed it twenty years ago myself, but I am willing to examine the facts for myself and make my own decisions based upon those facts. Far too many Americans are unwilling to even examine the facts, they blindly follow along, thinking that they are making a difference when they vote and write their letters to their elected officials, as I once did.
What is needed is a complete enema of our political system to flush out all the corruption, to be replaced by people who understand and are willing to support the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, as they were intended.
That is when I began writing my commentaries, and each day I learned more. I have also been told that my writing style has improved dramatically, and that I am among the top tier of those who write to save our nation. Of that I am not so certain. If that were the case more people would be listening to what I have to say and our nation would not be continuing on the path it is.
I heard awhile back that someone had said, in response to an article I wrote, that “they hate when someone quotes the founding fathers when it comes to our government.” I was dumbfounded that anyone could be so obtuse.
First off, if it weren’t for our founding fathers we would not have a Constitution, they wrote it after all. Next off, if we did not have a Constitution, we would not have the government as it is formatted today. So how can anyone say that the thoughts of the founding fathers are irrelevant? To say so only shows a depth of ignorance that is the true cause of all the problems this country faces.
If people would read the thoughts of the founders and then compare them to how our government exists today they would realize that something is amiss. Allow me to give you just a few examples of how wise our founders were, and how we would be just as wise to heed their words.
Political parties have divided this country so badly that the chasm that exists between Republicans and Democrats is impossible to overcome. What did our founders say about political parties?
George Washington had this to say, “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence was even more firm in his opposition, and said the following, “I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to Heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.”
These two founders both thought that political parties were something to be avoided, yet the people of this country are divided along political lines. I would like to ask those who belong to either of the political parties a simple question. Has anything truly been that much better for you, or for our country, when your party has been in power? Could it possibly be that both parties are beholden to their own cadre of special interest groups whose interests have nothing in common with the welfare of the nation? If that is the case, why do you still continue to support them and vote for their candidates? When you vote for the lesser of two evils, you are still voting for evil. Evil is not what this country needs.
Speaking of evil, what did our founders have to say about that subject? Again, I would like to quote George Washington, “ I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an Honest Man.”
Thomas Jefferson had this to say, “I never did, or countenanced, in public life, a single act inconsistent with the strictest good faith; having never believed there was one code of morality for a public, and another for a private man.”
John Adams, our third President had this to say, “Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure than they have it now, they may change their rulers and the forms of government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty.”
Now I would like to present a series of quotes about what our founders felt was the function of government.
George Washington said, “The power under the constitution will always be in the people. It is intrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and, whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can and undoubtedly will be recalled.”
Thomas Jefferson made the following two statements regarding government, “The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits.”
“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”
Finally, James Madison said, “[T]he powers of the federal government are enumerated; it can only operate in certain cases; it has legislative powers on defined and limited objects, beyond which it cannot extend its jurisdiction.”
These men are the same who deliberated in Philadelphia over the structure and powers that would be granted our government. They came to an agreement and that agreement is contained within the Constitution. Each person holding office takes an oath to uphold it and we, as citizens, owe our founders to at least be familiar with what it says.
If we would put aside our own personal interests, the interests of our individual political party, and read the Constitution and what it says our government can and cannot do, we might have a different perspective upon the candidates who seek office. We may also take a different look at the laws that are passed, often with our best interests in mind, or in our desire for action in response to an event that we feel our government should act upon.
Finally, I would like to ask you to look at the legislation our government has passed since September 11th to protect us from future terrorist attacks. Then I would like for you to read the following quotes by James Madison. Think about what these quotes say, and then ask yourself two things. First, ask yourself if the government has the power to enact these laws, then ask yourself if these laws are truly in our best interests.
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”
“It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad.”
In concluding, there is one last quote from Madison I would like for you to consider when it comes to people like myself who constantly write about the abuses of power by our government.
“As the cool and deliberate sense of the community ought, in all governments, and actually will, in all free governments, ultimately prevail over the views of its rulers; so there are particular moments in public affairs when the people, stimulated by some irregular passion, or some illicit advantage, or misled by the artful misrepresentations of interested men, may call for measures which they themselves will afterwards be the most ready to lament and condemn. In these critical moments, how salutary will be the interference of some temperate and respectable body of citizens, in order to check the misguided career, and to suspend the blow meditated by the people against themselves, until reason, justice, and truth can regain their authority over the public mind?”
When I write my commentaries, I gain nothing from them. I am not paid to do so, nor am I supported or subsidized by any group. I do so out of love for my country. I feel that we are on the verge of losing our liberties, and our sovereignty if more people do not wake up and begin to question the things that our government is doing.
If we are to survive there must be a complete, and total, cleansing of the scum that hold office. The ties to the special interests that are destroying this nation must be broken, to leave one single incumbent in office who is beholden to special interest groups is to allow them to retain some semblance of control over the acts of our government.
It may be too late, but if there is still a chance, this is a hail Mary attempt to talk some common sense into the people of this country, to do what is needed to save it from itself. But, as the title says, I have little faith that will happen.
That is about how I feel right now with the state of affairs in our country. It is rapidly on course to implode and people are too worried about their own little lives to take the time to pay attention to what is really going on.
I have lost faith in the majority of my fellow countrymen to do what is needed to change the course of this, once mighty, nation, to return us on a path to liberty and prosperity.
I remember being one of the mindless zombies that lived their daily lives, oblivious to what was happening around me. That all changed in the early 90's when I began writing letters to my elected officials concerning gun control. Guns had always been a big part of my life growing up and I was concerned about all the laws that were being passed to restrict the rights of gun owners.
I remember how happy I felt when I would receive a letter from my Congressman in reply to my letter to them. Yet the new gun laws kept coming. How naive I was to think that they actually cared what I had to say!
The next issue I began to be concerned about was illegal immigration. I added that issue to my list of subjects to discuss with my elected officials. Again I got polite letters in return and thought that they actually read them. Again, how wrong I was as the problem with illegal immigration kept getting worse.
About this time I began devoting time to researching these issues in depth to find out why these things were happening. What I discovered rocked my world! I realized that those who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution and preserve and defend our nation had been selling us down the river. The news media, who up until this point I had trusted to tell me the truth, had been withholding this information from me.
That was my epiphany, or awakening to the severity of the problems this country faces. I began studying the Constitution in earnest. I gathered quotes by the founders and researched Supreme Court rulings on the issues.
There is a huge, conspiracy if you wish to call it that, to bring about the downfall of the United States of America. Believe it or not, but the truth exists. I would not have believed it twenty years ago myself, but I am willing to examine the facts for myself and make my own decisions based upon those facts. Far too many Americans are unwilling to even examine the facts, they blindly follow along, thinking that they are making a difference when they vote and write their letters to their elected officials, as I once did.
What is needed is a complete enema of our political system to flush out all the corruption, to be replaced by people who understand and are willing to support the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, as they were intended.
That is when I began writing my commentaries, and each day I learned more. I have also been told that my writing style has improved dramatically, and that I am among the top tier of those who write to save our nation. Of that I am not so certain. If that were the case more people would be listening to what I have to say and our nation would not be continuing on the path it is.
I heard awhile back that someone had said, in response to an article I wrote, that “they hate when someone quotes the founding fathers when it comes to our government.” I was dumbfounded that anyone could be so obtuse.
First off, if it weren’t for our founding fathers we would not have a Constitution, they wrote it after all. Next off, if we did not have a Constitution, we would not have the government as it is formatted today. So how can anyone say that the thoughts of the founding fathers are irrelevant? To say so only shows a depth of ignorance that is the true cause of all the problems this country faces.
If people would read the thoughts of the founders and then compare them to how our government exists today they would realize that something is amiss. Allow me to give you just a few examples of how wise our founders were, and how we would be just as wise to heed their words.
Political parties have divided this country so badly that the chasm that exists between Republicans and Democrats is impossible to overcome. What did our founders say about political parties?
George Washington had this to say, “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence was even more firm in his opposition, and said the following, “I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to Heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.”
These two founders both thought that political parties were something to be avoided, yet the people of this country are divided along political lines. I would like to ask those who belong to either of the political parties a simple question. Has anything truly been that much better for you, or for our country, when your party has been in power? Could it possibly be that both parties are beholden to their own cadre of special interest groups whose interests have nothing in common with the welfare of the nation? If that is the case, why do you still continue to support them and vote for their candidates? When you vote for the lesser of two evils, you are still voting for evil. Evil is not what this country needs.
Speaking of evil, what did our founders have to say about that subject? Again, I would like to quote George Washington, “ I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an Honest Man.”
Thomas Jefferson had this to say, “I never did, or countenanced, in public life, a single act inconsistent with the strictest good faith; having never believed there was one code of morality for a public, and another for a private man.”
John Adams, our third President had this to say, “Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure than they have it now, they may change their rulers and the forms of government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty.”
Now I would like to present a series of quotes about what our founders felt was the function of government.
George Washington said, “The power under the constitution will always be in the people. It is intrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and, whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can and undoubtedly will be recalled.”
Thomas Jefferson made the following two statements regarding government, “The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits.”
“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”
Finally, James Madison said, “[T]he powers of the federal government are enumerated; it can only operate in certain cases; it has legislative powers on defined and limited objects, beyond which it cannot extend its jurisdiction.”
These men are the same who deliberated in Philadelphia over the structure and powers that would be granted our government. They came to an agreement and that agreement is contained within the Constitution. Each person holding office takes an oath to uphold it and we, as citizens, owe our founders to at least be familiar with what it says.
If we would put aside our own personal interests, the interests of our individual political party, and read the Constitution and what it says our government can and cannot do, we might have a different perspective upon the candidates who seek office. We may also take a different look at the laws that are passed, often with our best interests in mind, or in our desire for action in response to an event that we feel our government should act upon.
Finally, I would like to ask you to look at the legislation our government has passed since September 11th to protect us from future terrorist attacks. Then I would like for you to read the following quotes by James Madison. Think about what these quotes say, and then ask yourself two things. First, ask yourself if the government has the power to enact these laws, then ask yourself if these laws are truly in our best interests.
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”
“It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad.”
In concluding, there is one last quote from Madison I would like for you to consider when it comes to people like myself who constantly write about the abuses of power by our government.
“As the cool and deliberate sense of the community ought, in all governments, and actually will, in all free governments, ultimately prevail over the views of its rulers; so there are particular moments in public affairs when the people, stimulated by some irregular passion, or some illicit advantage, or misled by the artful misrepresentations of interested men, may call for measures which they themselves will afterwards be the most ready to lament and condemn. In these critical moments, how salutary will be the interference of some temperate and respectable body of citizens, in order to check the misguided career, and to suspend the blow meditated by the people against themselves, until reason, justice, and truth can regain their authority over the public mind?”
When I write my commentaries, I gain nothing from them. I am not paid to do so, nor am I supported or subsidized by any group. I do so out of love for my country. I feel that we are on the verge of losing our liberties, and our sovereignty if more people do not wake up and begin to question the things that our government is doing.
If we are to survive there must be a complete, and total, cleansing of the scum that hold office. The ties to the special interests that are destroying this nation must be broken, to leave one single incumbent in office who is beholden to special interest groups is to allow them to retain some semblance of control over the acts of our government.
It may be too late, but if there is still a chance, this is a hail Mary attempt to talk some common sense into the people of this country, to do what is needed to save it from itself. But, as the title says, I have little faith that will happen.
Where's The Justice?
In 1975 rock guitarist Ted Nugent recorded a song entitled Stormtroopin. In it he sang, "Where's the justice and where's that law. Raise your healthy voice." That was thirty three years ago, yet the question still arises, just where is the justice, and where is that law.
When one talks about who has the power in this country, I often find that people assume that the power lies with the government. That was not always so. Our very first president, George Washington, once said, “The power under the constitution will always be in the people. It is intrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and, whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can and undoubtedly will be recalled.”
That is a very powerful statement, yet for the people to hold on to that power they must be willing to exercise it, sometimes at great cost. For them to fear what may befall them should they go against the many agencies of the federal government means that they have willingly given up their rightful power and that the government, instead of being the servant, has become the master.
The federal government only exists because the Constitution for the United States of America grants it the power to govern. Article six of the Constitution states, “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 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, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”
James Madison, who many consider the author of the Constitution, declared in a speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, “[T]he powers of the federal government are enumerated; it can only operate in certain cases; it has legislative powers on defined and limited objects, beyond which it cannot extend its jurisdiction.”
Ten Years later Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force."
Even Alexander Hamilton, who stood for a loose interpretation of the Constitution stated, “No legislative act contrary to the Constitution can be valid.”
People assume that our Constitution grants our legislators whatever powers they deem necessary to govern the people. That is not the case. As Jefferson said, "[The purpose of a written constitution is] to bind up the several branches of government by certain laws, which, when they transgress, their acts shall become nullities; to render unnecessary an appeal to the people, or in other words a rebellion, on every infraction of their rights, on the peril that their acquiescence shall be construed into an intention to surrender those rights."
Short of open rebellion, what are a people to do when their government wields the ability to imprison them for violating laws that are blatantly unconstitutional? First off people must become familiar with the limitations our Constitution places upon our government. As long as we do not understand the true function of government, then we will remain slaves to it. James Madison once said, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
Yet even knowledge is not enough. People must be willing to stand up for their beliefs and use the law against those who would pervert it. Each of us, according to the Sixth Amendment, shall “...enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury...”
Therein lies our true power over an abusive tyrannical government. Thomas Jefferson said of this concept, “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.”
Therefore, if the people become aware of the limitations placed upon the government by the Constitution, and find themselves in a court of law for violating a law that is unconstitutional, there is one thing, which our government does not wish for us to know, which can clear us of all charges, that being jury nullification.
Jury nullification is when the jury finds a person innocent due to the fact that they find the law under which a person is charged null and void. This may sound radical by today’s standards, but consider what John Jay, our very first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court once said, “The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy.” Therefore, a jury may acquits any defendant due to the fact that the law he is charged with is unconstitutional. You have to remember, as George Washington said, “The power under the constitution will always be in the people.”
If the power under the Constitution lies with the people, and that juries consist of our peers, and that juries are also to “...judge both the law as well as the fact ...” then that is a mighty tool we wield to fight against usurpations of power by our government.
Jury nullification is something that was commonly understood by jurors, in fact it was explained to them by the judges themselves. However in the 1800’s the judges began questioning jurors to find if they were prejudiced against the governments position. If found to be biased against the government, they were dismissed.
Then, in 1895, the Supreme Court ruled that courts no longer had to inform juries that they had the power to veto an unjust law. In U.S. v Moylan, the Fourth Circuit Court affirmed the right of jury nullification, yet upheld the courts right to refuse that the jurors be notified of that right. In U.S. v Dougherty 473 F.2d 1113, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled similarly, stating that jury nullification is a de facto power, but they also ruled that a defense attorney may not inform the jury of that right.
Jury nullification is something very few are familiar with. Jurors are now instructed by the judge, as they are in California, “"It becomes my duty as judge to instruct you concerning the law applicable to this case, and it is your duty as jurors to follow the law as I shall state it to you . . . You are to be governed solely by the evidence introduced in this trial as the law as stated to you by me."
In 1788, during the debates for the ratification of the Constitution, it was argued, “If a juror accepts as the law that which the judge states, then that juror has accepted the exercise of absolute authority of a government employee and has surrendered a power and right that once was the citizens safeguard of liberty.”
John Adams, our second President once said, "...it is not only his right, but his duty – to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court." (Yale Law Journal, 1964:173)
Jury nullification is a powerful tool that can be wielded by the people against their government. Yet it can only be wielded by a people who are informed as to the true functions of their government according to the Constitution.
This is why I repeat, ad naseum, that our apathy is what is allowing this country to sink further towards our own destruction. How can we fight against an overwhelming government if we are not informed?
Jury nullification cannot work when only one person has the courage to stand up and argue against punishing our fellow countrymen for violating laws that are unjust.
As long as we blindly follow political parties who have no desire to uphold the Constitution, we have no hope of reclaiming our freedom. As long as we rely upon the news media to inform and educate us concerning the true function of our government, we will continue existing as servants to an ungrateful master.
As Ted Nugent said, “Where's the justice and where's that law. Raise your healthy voice.”
When one talks about who has the power in this country, I often find that people assume that the power lies with the government. That was not always so. Our very first president, George Washington, once said, “The power under the constitution will always be in the people. It is intrusted for certain defined purposes, and for a certain limited period, to representatives of their own choosing; and, whenever it is executed contrary to their interest, or not agreeable to their wishes, their servants can and undoubtedly will be recalled.”
That is a very powerful statement, yet for the people to hold on to that power they must be willing to exercise it, sometimes at great cost. For them to fear what may befall them should they go against the many agencies of the federal government means that they have willingly given up their rightful power and that the government, instead of being the servant, has become the master.
The federal government only exists because the Constitution for the United States of America grants it the power to govern. Article six of the Constitution states, “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 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, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.”
James Madison, who many consider the author of the Constitution, declared in a speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, “[T]he powers of the federal government are enumerated; it can only operate in certain cases; it has legislative powers on defined and limited objects, beyond which it cannot extend its jurisdiction.”
Ten Years later Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force."
Even Alexander Hamilton, who stood for a loose interpretation of the Constitution stated, “No legislative act contrary to the Constitution can be valid.”
People assume that our Constitution grants our legislators whatever powers they deem necessary to govern the people. That is not the case. As Jefferson said, "[The purpose of a written constitution is] to bind up the several branches of government by certain laws, which, when they transgress, their acts shall become nullities; to render unnecessary an appeal to the people, or in other words a rebellion, on every infraction of their rights, on the peril that their acquiescence shall be construed into an intention to surrender those rights."
Short of open rebellion, what are a people to do when their government wields the ability to imprison them for violating laws that are blatantly unconstitutional? First off people must become familiar with the limitations our Constitution places upon our government. As long as we do not understand the true function of government, then we will remain slaves to it. James Madison once said, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
Yet even knowledge is not enough. People must be willing to stand up for their beliefs and use the law against those who would pervert it. Each of us, according to the Sixth Amendment, shall “...enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury...”
Therein lies our true power over an abusive tyrannical government. Thomas Jefferson said of this concept, “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.”
Therefore, if the people become aware of the limitations placed upon the government by the Constitution, and find themselves in a court of law for violating a law that is unconstitutional, there is one thing, which our government does not wish for us to know, which can clear us of all charges, that being jury nullification.
Jury nullification is when the jury finds a person innocent due to the fact that they find the law under which a person is charged null and void. This may sound radical by today’s standards, but consider what John Jay, our very first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court once said, “The jury has the right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy.” Therefore, a jury may acquits any defendant due to the fact that the law he is charged with is unconstitutional. You have to remember, as George Washington said, “The power under the constitution will always be in the people.”
If the power under the Constitution lies with the people, and that juries consist of our peers, and that juries are also to “...judge both the law as well as the fact ...” then that is a mighty tool we wield to fight against usurpations of power by our government.
Jury nullification is something that was commonly understood by jurors, in fact it was explained to them by the judges themselves. However in the 1800’s the judges began questioning jurors to find if they were prejudiced against the governments position. If found to be biased against the government, they were dismissed.
Then, in 1895, the Supreme Court ruled that courts no longer had to inform juries that they had the power to veto an unjust law. In U.S. v Moylan, the Fourth Circuit Court affirmed the right of jury nullification, yet upheld the courts right to refuse that the jurors be notified of that right. In U.S. v Dougherty 473 F.2d 1113, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled similarly, stating that jury nullification is a de facto power, but they also ruled that a defense attorney may not inform the jury of that right.
Jury nullification is something very few are familiar with. Jurors are now instructed by the judge, as they are in California, “"It becomes my duty as judge to instruct you concerning the law applicable to this case, and it is your duty as jurors to follow the law as I shall state it to you . . . You are to be governed solely by the evidence introduced in this trial as the law as stated to you by me."
In 1788, during the debates for the ratification of the Constitution, it was argued, “If a juror accepts as the law that which the judge states, then that juror has accepted the exercise of absolute authority of a government employee and has surrendered a power and right that once was the citizens safeguard of liberty.”
John Adams, our second President once said, "...it is not only his right, but his duty – to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court." (Yale Law Journal, 1964:173)
Jury nullification is a powerful tool that can be wielded by the people against their government. Yet it can only be wielded by a people who are informed as to the true functions of their government according to the Constitution.
This is why I repeat, ad naseum, that our apathy is what is allowing this country to sink further towards our own destruction. How can we fight against an overwhelming government if we are not informed?
Jury nullification cannot work when only one person has the courage to stand up and argue against punishing our fellow countrymen for violating laws that are unjust.
As long as we blindly follow political parties who have no desire to uphold the Constitution, we have no hope of reclaiming our freedom. As long as we rely upon the news media to inform and educate us concerning the true function of our government, we will continue existing as servants to an ungrateful master.
As Ted Nugent said, “Where's the justice and where's that law. Raise your healthy voice.”
Things As I See Them
In response to, what I like to call my 'Sour Grapes Series' of articles, I have been told by one particular individual that I am too negative, and at the same time, too long winded. There may be some justification for me being called long winded, as I do tend to ramble on a bit once I get started on a subject. But to call me negative, now that is up for debate.
When I write I call a spade a spade. That is something my father taught me a long time ago. Although it has caused me some grief over the years, as I was told by others that I should have used a bit more tact. I may come across as being negative, but the way I feel is more desperate. I have tried presenting people with evidence; quotations and statistics, yet I am, for the most part, ignored or called some sort of a conspiracy nut.
I am just an average guy who, a few years back, awoke to the treasonous behavior of his elected representatives, I have since then been trying to inform others of their behavior. I have no special gifts other than the willingness to examine the facts with an open mind. I spend much of my free time trying to learn more concerning the damage that is being inflicted upon our nation by special interests and their bought and paid for lackeys in office.
If me, being a C average high school graduate, can see through the lies and deceptions, and learn the truth of what is really happening in this country, why can't those with an education equal to, or higher than mine? I have no sympathy for anyone who is so closed minded that they won't face the truth when it is presented to them. So, it may be true that I am a bit negative in some of my writings, but those who are on the receiving end of my articles deserve what they get, for they are blinded to the truth by their ignorance and their apathy.
These same people, the ones upon whom I speak about, are the same ones who idolize Barack Obama as if he is the next best thing since sliced bread. Sure he is a fine orator, has charisma, and is the apparent darling of the media. He speaks to them of change that they can believe in, and they swoon over him like the young women who swooned over Elvis and the Beatles. They are so intoxicated by his charm that they do not even bother to examine the details of this change that he is talking about.
Barack Obama is running on the same platform of socialist programs that have been the hallmark of the democrats for years. So what is this change he talks about?
Is his change going to include changing our national anthem to I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing? Is his change going to be removing the American flag from all governmental buildings because people of the world find it 'oppressive'? Is the change going to be his taking the oath of office on the Koran instead of the Bible? Or is his change going to be simply to be the first African-American elected as President?
But wait, that is not the case either. Barack Obama is half white, a fact he chooses not to embrace. He is part Arab, another part of his ancestry he does not openly embrace. Only a small portion of his heritage is true African, that on the side of his grandmother.
So what is Barack Obama? He is an illusion, created to woo us with his charm and his eloquence, when in reality he is a hollow man, totally lacking in the accomplishments we should be looking for in our next president.
I have been told that I should stop being so negative. I find that asking a bit much when I see the way that people refuse to examine the issues, and would rather vote based upon some warm fuzzy feeling they get about a person from a slick 30 second political advertisement. You have to remember, the devil must have been pretty smooth and charismatic to get Eve to take a bite from the forbidden fruit.
I will stop being so negative when I see that the American people have begun to think again, when they have begun to open their eyes and accept that they have been lied to, deceived, and most of all, defrauded of their liberties by those whom they entrusted to guard over them. That is when I will write sugary sweet commentaries about how wonderful America is. Until then....
When I write I call a spade a spade. That is something my father taught me a long time ago. Although it has caused me some grief over the years, as I was told by others that I should have used a bit more tact. I may come across as being negative, but the way I feel is more desperate. I have tried presenting people with evidence; quotations and statistics, yet I am, for the most part, ignored or called some sort of a conspiracy nut.
I am just an average guy who, a few years back, awoke to the treasonous behavior of his elected representatives, I have since then been trying to inform others of their behavior. I have no special gifts other than the willingness to examine the facts with an open mind. I spend much of my free time trying to learn more concerning the damage that is being inflicted upon our nation by special interests and their bought and paid for lackeys in office.
If me, being a C average high school graduate, can see through the lies and deceptions, and learn the truth of what is really happening in this country, why can't those with an education equal to, or higher than mine? I have no sympathy for anyone who is so closed minded that they won't face the truth when it is presented to them. So, it may be true that I am a bit negative in some of my writings, but those who are on the receiving end of my articles deserve what they get, for they are blinded to the truth by their ignorance and their apathy.
These same people, the ones upon whom I speak about, are the same ones who idolize Barack Obama as if he is the next best thing since sliced bread. Sure he is a fine orator, has charisma, and is the apparent darling of the media. He speaks to them of change that they can believe in, and they swoon over him like the young women who swooned over Elvis and the Beatles. They are so intoxicated by his charm that they do not even bother to examine the details of this change that he is talking about.
Barack Obama is running on the same platform of socialist programs that have been the hallmark of the democrats for years. So what is this change he talks about?
Is his change going to include changing our national anthem to I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing? Is his change going to be removing the American flag from all governmental buildings because people of the world find it 'oppressive'? Is the change going to be his taking the oath of office on the Koran instead of the Bible? Or is his change going to be simply to be the first African-American elected as President?
But wait, that is not the case either. Barack Obama is half white, a fact he chooses not to embrace. He is part Arab, another part of his ancestry he does not openly embrace. Only a small portion of his heritage is true African, that on the side of his grandmother.
So what is Barack Obama? He is an illusion, created to woo us with his charm and his eloquence, when in reality he is a hollow man, totally lacking in the accomplishments we should be looking for in our next president.
I have been told that I should stop being so negative. I find that asking a bit much when I see the way that people refuse to examine the issues, and would rather vote based upon some warm fuzzy feeling they get about a person from a slick 30 second political advertisement. You have to remember, the devil must have been pretty smooth and charismatic to get Eve to take a bite from the forbidden fruit.
I will stop being so negative when I see that the American people have begun to think again, when they have begun to open their eyes and accept that they have been lied to, deceived, and most of all, defrauded of their liberties by those whom they entrusted to guard over them. That is when I will write sugary sweet commentaries about how wonderful America is. Until then....
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