If At First You Don’t Secede…

As most of you know by now, the economy’s in pretty rough shape. Unfortunately, this is just a symptom of a greater problem. While the ‘main stream’ media seems to delight in fanning the anti-capitalist flames by running story after story blaming ‘Big Business’, most people appear to be unaware that the actions of the Federal government of the United States have been the greatest contributor to the current problems. As the virus that is the Progressive agenda continues to spread through the extremities of our nation, all three branches of the Federal government continue to find new ways to expand their power and reach beyond the limits established by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution. But more and more citizens in the ‘flyover states’ are waking up to the egregious abuse of power being perpetrated by their elected representatives.

Right now, all across the Union, American citizens are doing their own research to fill in gaps in their education. Starting with the writings of the Founding Fathers, such as The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and the personal papers of Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, to essays by outside observers such as Democracy in America by French historian Alexis de Toqueville, to more modern works of research such as The 5,000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen, The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes, and American Progressivism by Ronald J. Pestritto, Americans are learning just how far away from the Constitution we have been pulled…and the more they learn, the more frustrated they become. The Progressives have perverted a phrase used by Thomas Jefferson in a letter he sent to a Baptist Assembly as justification for Federal interference in civic celebrations and local religious practices. The current nominee to be lead council for the Federal Department of State espouses the use of international law instead of the Constitution as the basis for rendering decisions in U.S. court cases. The U.S. Congress uses the “…regulate commerce…” clause in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution as a bludgeon to control everything from how much grain a farmer can grow for his family’s personal use to how much a local ‘mom and pop’ store has to pay their employees. And even though 60% to 70% of the citizenry oppose these actions, the politicians holding public office just say, “Well, you poor people just don’t have the capacity to understand what’s going on and we know better, so we’re just going to go ahead and do what we feel is best.” Is it any wonder most Americans are frustrated?

The problem is that unresolved frustration can quickly turn to anger. In bastions of individuality and liberty such as Montana, Texas, and Utah, State Legislators are introducing legislation in their respective State governments to force the Federal government to acknowledge and live by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. In Texas, however, there is a growing movement to go even further. For most of the history of the State of Texas, there has been a small minority that believes Texas should have remained a separate Republic, and that they should secede from the United States and reestablish the Republic of Texas. This movement first came to prominence when Abraham Lincoln was elected to the Office of the President of the United States on an anti-slavery platform right after the U.S. Congress passed regulations that violated Article I Section 8 of the Constitution by favoring northern manufacturers and mills over southern ones in government contracts and by imposing trade duties on southern states that were not imposed upon northern states. Unfortunately, 76% of Texans chose to join the Confederate States once they had seceded, instead of reestablishing the Republic.

Once past this dark period in America’s history, the secession movement in Texas became once again a small minority, but it never went away. Over the last 150 years, secessionists in Texas have made several attempts to gain popular support…including several legal challenges to the way Texas was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War. Over this same time period, several historical myths regarding Texas’ statehood have gained the status of ‘common knowledge’. The most popular of these myths is that the treaty that admitted the Republic of Texas into the United States contained a provision that Texas reserves the right to secede upon a two-thirds vote of the citizens of the state. I had been taught this myth as fact in one of the top ten public school districts in the nation when I took Texas History. It is so prevalent, that current Texas Governor, Rick Perry, actually made reference to it during a speech he made at one of the Texas Tax Day Tea Parties on 15 April 2009. Regrettably, my own research has revealed that this is nothing more than a modern historical myth.

The truth is that, between 1837 and 1844, the Republic of Texas presented several treaties to the United States in an attempt to gain statehood. However, fears that Mexico would retaliate and opposition to another ‘slave state’ from abolitionists resulted in the treaties being declined. When James K. Polk was elected as President of the United States in 1844, he convinced Congress that it was in America’s best interest to admit Texas to the Union. Finally, on 29 December 1845, both houses of Congress issued a joint- resolution annexing Texas as a constituent state of the Union. The annexation was approved by a majority of Texas voters. While the original treaties proposed by the Republic of Texas did include the clause allowing Texas to secede and reestablish the Republic, the annexation resolution did not, thus giving birth to the belief among Texans that the state has a right to secede.

It’s just as well that secession is put to rest. While I am a Texan, I am also an American, and I believe that running away is not the way to deal with our current problems. I firmly believe that it’s time for Texas to take the lead and bring the Federal government back into line. Texas has the spirit and the wherewithal to set the pace for the rest of America. In the words of one popular pundit, “Texas gets it. Texans still understand what it means to be a Republic and what it takes to maintain one.” Instead of investing time and resources into seceding and setting up a new nation, Texans need to lead a grassroots effort to restore the Constitution to its rightful eminence and remind our elected leaders that they answer to us and not the other way around.

The best way to do this is to let your elected representatives know how you feel. I understand that most of us have busy lives and find it hard to wedge in something else, but we’re talking about not only the current challenges our nation is facing, but the future of our children and grandchildren. Just take 5 – 10 minutes out of each week to either e-mail or call the office of those elected to represent you. You don’t have to be an eloquent public speaker or write a massive political treatise…just send them a few lines or leave them a message to let them know what you expect of them on specific issues. And I’m speaking to all Americans, not just Texans. Be professional and polite. Keep to the topic and don’t make it personal. Above all, make certain they understand that you do understand the Constitution, you do understand how to resolve issues, and that they were placed in their current position to represent the principles you and your neighbors hold…not to represent special interests that pay Millions of dollars every year for lobbyists. Here is the best resource for finding the contact information for your various elected officials:

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Now, get out there and make a difference. Don’t let them chase you off. Instead, stand up for the greatest system of government that has ever been developed by Mankind. I believe in the UNITED States of America. Do you?

Until next time, best regards!

Tax Day Tea Parties: 2 Weeks Later

As most Americans know, the 15^th of April every year is the deadline for American citizens to file their Personal Income Tax Return with the Federal government. For those of you who’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere, Wednesday, the 15^th of April, 2009 was more than just Tax Day. This year, hundreds of thousands of American citizens gathered in more than 800 cities in all 50 states in a grassroots movement to protest the direction our Federal government has taken over the last year or so. Even though two were scheduled for Austin…one around mid-morning, and one in the evening…I chose to attend the one in San Antonio because it was being held at Alamo Plaza in front of Mission San Antonio de Valero…the Alamo.

A Bit of Background

The Tax Day Tea Parties around the nation are the spiritual descendants of the Boston Tea Party; a grassroots action organized by Boston colonists on 16 December 1773 to protest a tax imposed upon the American colonies by the British Parliament. Many colonials believed this tax to be in violation of the colonial charter that stated they would only have to pay taxes imposed by their own elected representatives. At that time, the American colonies had no representation in Parliament, and therefore no voice in the decision to impose the Tea Tax. So, after nearly a year of protests and letters seeking redress that went ignored, the colonists decided to begin preventing shipments from being unloaded in colonial ports. Three other colonies were successful and the tea shipments returned to Britain, but in Boston, the Royal Governor refused to allow the tea to be returned, believing that everything would blow over in a few days and the ships could be unloaded. The night of 16 December 1773, somewhere between 30 and 130 men reacted by disguising themselves as Native Americans, boarding the three tea ships in Boston Harbor, and destroying the tea by tossing it overboard into the water.

Fast forward to 2009. Many American citizens feel the Federal government is out of control. The largest media outlets in the country (usually referred to as ‘The Mainstream Media’) have actively worked for several decades to keep America divided into two ideological camps: the Left-wing Liberals or Progressives (represented by the Democrat Party), and the Right-wing Conservatives (represented by the Republican Party). This has resulted in children in public schools actually being taught that America has a ‘two-party system’ instead of the truth: that our Founding Fathers intended individuals to be elected as representatives of the people based on their character and their personal values, not on a ‘party platform’ they may or may not support. The truth of the matter is that these two modern ‘wings’ probably make up only around 20% - 30% of eligible voters. The remaining 70% – 80% are not ideologues, choosing instead to vote either specific issues, straight party lines with no knowledge of the philosophy their party currently carries, or not at all. It’s the first group of voters out of the 70% - 80% who form the seed of the grassroots movement from which the Tax Day Tea Parties grew. These men and women have grown tired of what they perceive to be attacks on the Constitution…the very foundation of our great nation…not only from without, but from within. Time and again, those who are supposed to represent the people have ignored the will of those same people and enacted policies and programs that shake the very core of our republic…whether its President Bush’s ‘compassionate conservatism’ that basically made him look like ‘Woodrow Wilson Lite’ when it came to social issues, or the neo-Socialist philosophy President Obama’s administration is embracing that can best be illustrated by President Obama’s comment that “…FDR didn’t go far enough with the redistribution of wealth.” As one pundit is fond of saying, “this isn’t about Left and Right…it’s about Right and Wrong.” And the main thing that most of the attendees of the San Antonio Tea Party agreed upon was that both Parties had turned toward the Wrong and that, no matter for whom they voted in either party, the people would be ignored, thus effectively nullifying their representation in Congress. Once again Americans are, for all intents and purposes, facing taxation without representation.

Remember the Alamo

I first heard about the idea for 21^st Century Tea Parties through the user forums at the912project.com. People were fed up with being called “racists”, “Nazis”, “Holocaust Deniers”, “ignorant hicks”, and worse if they even asked for more information about a topic championed by the Liberal/Socialist/Progressives, let alone oppose it. They wanted to be able to get together with others, sit down, and logically and calmly discuss things such as global climate change, federal bailouts of private businesses, the confiscatory tax system, securing the borders (both South and North!), and the direction in which the Federal Government seemed to be moving the country since at least 1991. People started posting requests on meetup.com for anyone interested in such discussions to join them at various local establishments. Most of the organizers were stunned by what happened. As one of the Austin area organizers said, “I thought six or seven people would show up. I never dreamed we’d pack them in like this!” She had asked people to meet her at her favorite barbecue restaurant; never dreaming over a hundred people would show up. This was repeated all across the country. As these meetings became more and more popular, people from different meeting groups started talking with each other. One universal theme that arose from these cross-group discussions was, “how can we get our message to our elected representatives?”

The first protests in February were specifically targeted at the Trillion-dollar ‘Stimulus’ package that is alternately known (facetiously) as “Porkulus” or the “Generational Theft Act of 2009”. The first documented protest was organized in Seattle, not by a conservative lobbyist or a Republican strategist, but by a young conservative stay-at-home mom who blogs in her spare time. On February 19^th, a Chicago commodities trader named Rick Santelli called for a ‘new tea party’ while he was being interviewed on CNBC. Before long, three of the larger movements…Smart Girl Politics, Top Conservatives on Twitter, and the DontGo Movement…banded together and created taxdayteaparty.com as a ‘home base’ for all the Tea Parties that were starting to pop up around the country. By the end of March, the user forums at the912project.com were dominated by Tea Party information as well, so the site managers created a page just for those who wanted to exchange information about gatherings all over the country. It was here that I first saw the invitation video posted on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXGrQ9uiLSo) by the San Antonio Tea Party Committee. The video struck a chord with me and I decided that if I had nothing else planned that day, I would be in San Antonio.

Originally, the rally was planned for the steps of the Federal building in downtown San Antonio and the organizers were hoping for a couple thousand people to show up. Then, Glenn Beck saw the invitation video at the912project.com. He was impressed enough to contact the organizers to ask them if it would be okay if he covered their rally live. They were thrilled in his interest and, with his help, were able to get permission from the City of San Antonio and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to move the rally to Alamo Plaza…directly in front of the Alamo. Where better to hold a rally against the Federal Government overstepping their bounds than at the site where men of character from all walks of life chose to lay down their lives defending the very principles of freedom, liberty, and responsibility. A straw poll was set up online so that the organizers could get a general idea of how many people would show up. Within a few hours, over 5000 people had indicated they’d be there.

My youngest daughter’s school had already scheduled a half day off for April 15^th and Christina had indicated she wanted to go with me…especially when she found out Ted Nugent would be there (yes, she’s a huge fan of classic rock!). So, I picked her and her best friend up and headed south. We arrived and, by the time we made it through the traffic jam and found a parking place, it was about 3:45 pm. The Plaza was already packed wall-to-wall with people. Just from what I could see, I initially estimated that there were between 3000 and 5000 people there. A stage had been set up at the eastern edge of Alamo Plaza…about 50 yards in front of the Alamo itself. The girls and I started trying to make it through the jam-packed humanity in order to work our way around behind the stage, near the Mission. About that time, Glenn Beck and Ted Nugent began warming up the crowd. Forty minutes later, we’d made it around to the Southeast side of the stage. I stopped at that point to watch the stage while the girls tried to get closer.

From where I was, I could see that the Alamo Rangers were maintaining a buffer zone of about 25 – 30 feet between the Alamo and the crowd. I was also able to get a better view of the overall crowd and revised my estimate…to between 6000 and 8000 people. About this time, with the help of a Texas Historian, Glenn went over the history of the Alamo and what it means to the people of Texas.

For those of you who don’t know, the Alamo is not just a landmark or a historical site for Texans…it is actually an officially dedicated State Shrine owned by the state and in the custody of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. As Ralph K.M. Haurwitz once wrote in the Austin American-Statesman, “The Alamo is the principal touchstone of the state's psyche, an icon of liberty and a symbol of dedication against all odds.” The number of visitors allowed inside at any given time is limited, men are required to remove their hats, photography is prohibited on the inside, and everyone is asked to keep their voices at a respectful level. Anyone unable to comply with these wishes will be escorted out of the shrine by an Alamo Ranger, the uniformed security staff paid entirely by donations from visitors and sales in the gift shop. All of this is because, on this site from February 23 – March 6 1836, fewer than 200 men led by Colonels William B. Travis and James Bowie, and former Tennessee Congressman David Crockett held the Alamo against President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s Mexican force of 2000 – 3000 soldiers. The siege ended with the 182 Texians dead and 400 – 600 Mexican soldiers killed or wounded. The valiant efforts of the Alamo defenders allowed Sam Houston to consolidate his leadership of the Texas forces and gave the Texian army their battle cry…”Remember the Alamo!”

As I stood there with the Alamo over my right shoulder, I spent as much time watching the crowd as I did the stage. There were a handful of signs specifically targeting President Obama and the Democrat party, but the overwhelming majority addressed specific issues or policies…policies enacted by both parties and the last three Presidential administrations. It was clearly not a ‘Right-wing Republican’ crowd intent on ‘Liberal Bashing’. Quite the opposite, there were people there from all over the political spectrum; from Ron Paul supporters to members of the Republic of Texas Motorcycle Club…from Young Republicans to members of the Rainbow coalition…from buttoned-down business types to home-schooling soccer moms pushing strollers. Every one of them were there in support of the visionary ideal of the Founding Fathers as set forth in that miraculous document known as the Constitution of the United States of America. The people hungered for the leadership of a 21^st Century George Washington, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, or Thomas Jefferson. They protested against, not America, but against arrogant politicians from all parties who act as if the American People are too ignorant to know what’s best. They called, not for violence, but for reasoned discussion and adherence to the Rule of Nature’s Laws in which the Founding Fathers believed and laid our foundation. It was a beautiful exercise of the First Amendment in its purest form.

The Coverage

Fox News went to work providing on-the-ground coverage of the Tax Day Tea Parties from different points around the nation. Ignoring their editorial programs, they did a very good journalist job of providing an impartial view of the rallies. They randomly interviewed attendees instead of targeting extremists, they provided panoramic views of the crowds so the viewers could get a more accurate feel for the numbers, and they provided a more ‘fair and balanced’ look at the events of the day. Regrettably, The same can’t be said by the other major networks. Since the Tea Parties didn’t follow the Progressive Talking Points embraced by the present administration and constantly advanced by the rest of the ‘Mainstream Media’, the spin doctors went to work almost immediately. An L.A. Times article stated that those attending the Tea Parties were “steeped in insanity” while the Washington Post just called the attendees, “nut jobs”. Susan Roesgen, an opinion commentator for CNN who wanted to be a reporter, asked a father carrying his 2-year old son at the Chicago Tea Party why he was there, then kept interrupting, marginalizing, and dismissing him when he tried to explain that it was about more than protesting taxes. She concluded that “It’s not really family viewing” and that “It's anti‑government, anti‑CNN, since this is highly promoted by the rightwing conservative network Fox.” She totally ignored signs around her condemning not only the Democrats, but the Republicans and a history of out of control Federal spending to focus on signs that either specifically mentioned taxes or were specifically targeting President Obama. Anderson Cooper, once a respected journalist but who has appeared to have been drunk on the air on more than one occasion lately, compared attending the Tax Day Tea Parties to an act of homosexual oral sex. But the worst, most ignorant, and most vitriolic comment came from Janeane Garofalo (an individual long past her 15 minutes of fame) who stated this about the Tea Parties on Countdown with Keith Olbermann: “It's not about bashing Democrats, it's not about taxes. They have no idea what the Boston tea party was about. They don't know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up.”

Ms. Garafalo’s comments are very telling because they clearly display the way the modern Progressive Socialist movement works:

• First, they have nothing but contempt for Middle America. As far as they are concerned, the only part of the country that matters is the West Coast, Washington D.C. ‘Beltway’, and Chicago. They view the rest of America’s citizens as the peasantry responsible for keeping their mouths shut and supporting ‘those who know best’;

• Second, they only support Freedom of Speech when that speech is parroting their Talking Points. They immediately attack and/or shout down anyone who tries to express an opposing point of view;
• Third, when they can’t rebut an argument logically and with facts (which is most of the time), the resort to name calling…their favorite being, “Racist”.

The bottom line is that, in my opinion, Ms. Garafalo is a sad little has-been who hasn’t earned a job on her own merit for years, depending instead on the largesse of her friends in the entertainment industry. I will defend to the death her right to express her political opinions, even if she refuses to acknowledge that any other American has the right to express theirs…even when it is contrary to hers.

Conclusion

This blog is a bit longer than I would prefer…actually about twice as long as my original intent. However, I felt that the background information about both the original Boston Tea Party and the Alamo were important and needed to be included. Thank you for your perseverance in reading to the end. The bottom line is that I left the San Antonio Tea Party energized and feeling better about the future of our nation than I’ve felt for about a year now. I spoke with both Christina and her friend about their experience, and they were both happy to have been there to see this side of the American political process first hand. In fact, Christina feels as I do that the Tea Party movement will probably turn out to be a pivotal event in our nation’s history. I feel that, as was done once before in front of the chapel at the Alamo, a line has been drawn in the sand…this time in front of our elected officials. Their choice is to either step across that line and join us in restoring and defending the Constitution, or to leave office and return from whence they came. We the People who attended the Tax Day Tea Parties each believe in at least seven of these nine Principles:

1. America Is Good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

And to these twelve Values:

• Honesty
• Reverence
• Hope
• Thrift
• Humility
• Charity
• Sincerity
• Moderation
• Hard Work
• Courage
• Personal Responsibility
• Gratitude

At the end of the day, this is what the Tea Parties were all about.

By the way, my revised estimate as I stated earlier was that the crowd was around 6000 – 8000 people. I believe it was NBC that estimated the crowd at about 5000 people. Fox News estimated it at about 12,000 attendees. But the final word from the Alamo Rangers was that, throughout the entire day, between 16,000 and 20,000 attended all of the different events and speeches that made up the San Antonio Tea Party. Maybe I’ll see you there at the follow-up Tea Party tentatively scheduled for the 4^th of July this year. Until then…

Best Regards!



9 Principles and 12 Values © 2009 Mercury Radio Arts, Inc.


© 2009 James P. Rice