PUTTING ILLEGAL ALIENS AHEAD OF RETURNING VETERANS

Happy Independence Day.

Would the signers of the Declaration of Independence have thought it principled for the majority of U.S. politicians today to refuse to give even returning U.S. military veterans preference over illegal aliens for jobs?

Hardly.

IMAGINE GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE

You see, strangely enough, our Founders believed in something called a national community. (They CREATED the national community!) Government was to be BY and OF the members of that national community. But it also was to be FOR the members. EVERYTHING about our current immigration policies ignores any special treatment or consideration for the members of our own community.

These immigration policies serve the interests of the few against the many -- they serve the powerful and rich against the weak and poor.

PUTTING ILLEGAL ALIENS AHEAD OF RETURNING VETERANS

The high-immigration lobbies and their allies in Congress, in the White House and in most state legislatures have taken an extremely ANTI-4TH-OF-JULY approach to our current jobs depression. Official unemployment has now hit 9.5%. But all parts of the federal government and all but a few states have refused to require E-Verify to keep a dwindling number of U.S. jobs available for our fellow citizens.

Thus, I read today about the very sad lot of so many returning National Guardsmen who are returning to an economy that has no job for them. Yet, more than 8 million illegal aliens currently hold U.S. jobs. Wouldn't it make sense to require all employers to use E-Verify to open up those jobs for our returning military -- and so many others of our fellow citizens trying to survive economically?

Only 12 state legislatures have required E-Verify at least to some extent to protect jobs for veterans and other Americans. In 38 states, though, the illegal aliens with jobs have priority.

CORE PRINCIPLES BEHIND THE DECLARATION MAKE THIS OUR HOLIDAY

Perhaps no holiday is more fitted to those of us in the immigration-reduction movement than the 4th of July. For what was the signing of the Declaration of Independence about if not the defining of a new national community and the insistence that the government exists primarily to protect and provide for the quality of life of the members of that community?

There is a tendency to celebrate the individual liberty made possible by our form of government without recognizing the role of community which implies rights and responsibilities toward each other.

Government was said to exist based on the consent of the governed. The inalienable right of individuals to choose their own government was based on theories of natural rights, especially as propounded by the British philospher John Locke.

Our Founders had long believed in natural rights. But in the Declaration of Independence, they had reached a consensus that natural rights were inextricably tied to nationhood. We were a separate people from all other peoples. Unless individuals were part of a national community, there was seen to be little chance that they could achieve their natural rights. For all kinds of geographic, economic and cultural reasons, it was no longer practicable for the colonists to be a true part of the British national community. We had to have our own community if we were to have our individual rights.

Historian Ralph Ketcham concluded that the principles of the Founders were that:

. . . the legitimate powers of government were derived from the people, that government existed to promote the happiness and safety of the people . . .

Happiness.

What kind of happiness do our 15 million unemployed Americans derive from government policies that continue to import some 138,000 foreign workers a month (not counting illegal aliens)?

HIGH-IMMIGRATION ADVOCATES NOT SO SURE ABOUT NATIONAL COMMUNITY

But I have come to see that many high-immigration advocates do not really believe in the national community that the Signers of 1776 created.

We at NumbersUSA earnestly do believe in it. We would never put illegal aliens ahead of returning veterans, for example. We see radical immigration numbers and slovenly enforcement of immigration laws as a grave threat to the members of our national community.

We disagree with the majority of politicians, with the President, with the former President, and with most newspaper editorial boards that huge numbers of citizens of OTHER national communities have just as much right to the jobs, the infrastructure and the land in the United States as do those who are citizens of THIS national community.

Don't interpret me too narrowly. I believe -- as did the Signers of 1776 and John Locke -- in the national communities of peoples across the world. It is in their own national communities that they have the possibilities of fulfillment of their natural rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is in their ability to define the membership of their community and to maintain governments of, by and for those communities that any real improvements in quality of life are possible around the world. That is the global spirit of July 4, 1776.

Open borders and second-class status for members of our own community is not the Spirit of 1776.

ROY BECK is Founder & CEO of NumbersUSA

Source: NumbersUSA

"Legislate whatever you want; I will not obey...."

As you probably are aware, this Saturday is July 4th, Independence Day. As you may also know, on the afternoon of this July 4th, I'll be one of four speakers at Independence Mall, in downtown Philadelphia, at the "Tea Party" event there. My topic will be "You're Not the Boss of Me!" and this article is a sort of introduction to that rant.

The Declaration of Independence basically amounted to a bunch of guys telling their king, "You're not the boss of us anymore." The Declaration was an act of treason, written by a bunch of tax cheats and lawbreakers. It wasn't merely some people whining or petitioning the government to do something different. In fact, the Declaration describes how they had already tried that, and it hadn't worked. So they resorted to open disobedience. And it wasn't just one protest or demonstration, to make a point or try to convince their masters to change; it was a declaration that they were completely and permanently denying the right of the standing regime to rule them at all, ever again. And that's a pretty darn radical thing to do.

For all the parades, fireworks, picnics, and other events which will happen on July 4th to celebrate "Independence Day," how many Americans today do you think are capable of even contemplating the possibility of engaging in "illegal" resistance against "authority"? Not many.

What would the equivalent of the Declaration of Independence look like today? Well, we would have a lot more to complain about than the colonists did, with far higher taxes, far more intrusive regulation, and a much higher level of oppression all around. But what would the conclusion be? It wouldn't be, "So you better change those laws!" It would be more like this:

"Dear Federal Government, you're fired! We're not paying your taxes anymore, not obeying your laws ever again, and from now on we will resist your thugs when you try to enforce your will on us."

How many Americans would dare to even think such a thing, much less say it out loud, or write it down and send it to the feds? Very few, indeed. The truth is, the spirit of resistance is all but dead in this country. Even among those in the pro-freedom movement, the vast majority of efforts revolve around begging the masters to be nice, petitioning for or against this or that legislation, arguing over which politician should run our lives and take our money.

"Write your congressman and tell him to oppose ... "
"Promise to vote against any candidate who doesn't support ... "
"Sign this petition, to push legislation which will ... "

I have a better idea. How about if a few million of us send one message--and only one message--to those pretending to be our "representatives," those who claim to have the right to rule us. That message should be this: "Legislate whatever you want; I will not obey. And when you send your thugs to punish me, I will resist." That is the message of the Declaration of Independence. But on this July 4th, how many Americans do you think would even dare to think such a thing--even quietly and to themselves?

What this country needs is not a change in legislation, or a change of parties or candidates. It doesn't need another election, or another protest or demonstration, or another group lobbying the government for this or that. What it needs is a people with a fundamentally different mindset. What it needs is a population capable of saying, "You're not the boss of us!" But nothing the people ever hear from the mainstream media, or from those in government, or from the talking heads and political pundits, will ever endorse such an attitude. On the contrary, the only message you'll ever hear in the papers, on the radio or on the TV, from academia or from the government, will boil down to this: "You can whine and complain about what the government is doing to you, and you can beg your masters to change, but you must never disobey!"

As long as obedience to authority is taught as the highest principle--and it absolutely is almost everywhere in the country--this will be a nation of pathetic slaves perpetually yet fruitlessly whining at their sadistic, power-happy masters. Maybe this country should be something better than that.

If you're one of the few who would like to hear a drastically different message--one that is not premised on the assumption that we all have an obligation to bow to those who claim to be our masters--then be at Fifth and Market in downtown Philadelphia on the afternoon of July 4th. (The talks start at 3:00, and my rant might be first, so make sure you're there before that.) And while you're at it, bring along some obedient, unthinking flag-wavers, to see if they can handle some real advocacy of freedom. Let's see how they respond when their indoctrination as obedient subjects collides with the concept of true liberty.

Or, if you can't make it to Philly on the Fourth (or even if you can), order a few copies of "The Iron Web," and start "corrupting" the people you know by exposing them to the radical idea that they own themselves, and that they don't need the permission of tyrants in order to be free. Yes, understanding freedom requires a dramatic shift in mindset from the statist conformism that now plagues this country. On the other hand, it's getting downright embarrassing watching all the robbed, regulated and restricted American slaves wildly cheering about how free they are.

Source: Freedom's Phoenix

Helping the Mad Hatters Understand the Tea Party Phenomenon

In April, a large number of well-attended Tea Parties drove the media mad. The movement has grown, and we can tell that these displays matter because the Mad Hatters aren't ignoring them.

* On air personalities with maturity-levels rivaling Beavis and Butthead could not resist the juvenile references of calling the attendees "Teabaggers," which according to the Urban Dictionary is a sexual act. Gee, weren't they clever?
* Other alleged reporters sought to portray the attendees as uncontrollable nut jobs who didn't realize all this spending was good for them.
* A Hollywood celebrity joined in the fun, labeling attendees small-brained, delusional people with a racist vendetta.

As you can see, far from ignoring you, they've put your Tea Parties in Gandhi's ridicule stage... verging on the attack and burn stage.

Your Tea Parties are driving the media mad as a hatter. But if these rallies keep building, someday the Mad Hatters will be building monuments to you.

Here at DownsizeDC.org, we are opposed to Random Acts of Liberty. By Random Acts of Liberty we mean those tactics which require a great deal of energy, but have no future plan -- big ideas that don't build into something else. Schemes of this sort are as common as sand, and they can suck a movement dry.

But frankly, we're encouraged by the Tea Party movement. The size, the repetition, and the critical response to it, all indicate effectiveness. And more and more Americans will feel comfortable considering our ideas, not to mention associating with them, as these movements grow larger. Success breeds success.

Indeed, the tax parties are growing and spreading, and the folks coming out are getting signed up to join various groups -- to keep working after the big event is over. This is a huge key: Getting folks involved... Growing armies (Sound familiar?).

Obviously, we'd like to grow the Downsize DC Army. And there have been a lot of requests for Downsize DC materials for these protests.

I am pleased to announce that we've created two simple flyers. Both can be printed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, and are available at our website in pdf.

* One flyer, which we released a few months ago, is a general Downsize DC flyer, inspired by the mood of the April 15th Tea Parties. It has a simple, but nice graphical flair. It comes "two-up" on a page (every sheet you print is actually two); just cut each page in half.

* The other handout is full page sheet -- an introduction to both the Read the Bills Act and Write the Laws Act.

* In addition, you can order The Downsize DC Vision, our 16 page, color, glossy report (every new donor receives one). We can rush a package of 45 Visions to you in Priority Mail box for $99. If you want to order a stack, please contact us at Feedback@DownsizeDC.org

And if what we're offering here isn't what you're looking for, perhaps you can come up with materials of your own. If you do, please share them with us at the Feedback address.

In April, I was privileged to speak at one of these Tea Parties. It was Americana. Despite the smallness of the city, about 400 attended. They were polite and personally upbeat. They were not partisan, rather they cheered when I and other speakers scorned the major parties by name.

The assembled crowd seemed to love my talk, and one of the attendees invited me to the event I'm attending Thursday. The title of my presentation was, "A Three Trillion Dollar Federal Budget Cannot Possibly Be Constitutional."

I will give this same speech at the events I'm doing Thursday and Saturday. I'll point out that Congress has power to allocate funds or pass binding laws in 22 different areas, 20 of which are listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. This is the doctrine of Enumerated Powers.

A bill to require Congress to state where it gets the authority for any bill the body votes upon has been introduced by Rep. John Shadegg. It's called The Enumerated Powers Act, and today's Educate the Powerful action item is to send a message to your Representative and Senators to join Mr. Shadegg in sponsoring this bill.

* On Thursday, July 2nd at the Cadiz, Ohio courthouse, starting at 6:00pm.
* Then again on Saturday, July 4th at a rally that runs from 1:00 - 4:00pm in Pontiac Park, Defiance, Ohio.

Source: DownsizeDC.Org