Declare YOUR Independence

"It [the Declaration of Independence] is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment. Independence now, and independence forever." - Daniel Webster, in an August 2, 1826 eulogy to Thomas Jefferson and John Adams; both had died on July 4th.

Subject: Does the government have your consent on this July 4th?

Every Election Day tens of millions of Americans consent to be governed, at least in theory. The politicians constantly point back to the election as justification for the things they do. But is this really valid? What about all the people who now feel betrayed by the office-holder? What about all the people who...

* voted for the lesser evil or
* voted for candidates that lost or
* would have voted for "none of the above" if the option had been available or
* didn't vote at all because they didn't want to endorse or encourage any of the candidates?

Do elections really confer consent? We don't think so.

What does confer consent? Silence.

If we don't inform our elected representatives that we object to their policies, then we shouldn't be surprised if they assume their election to high office implies consent to their actions.

Those who mostly favor what our government is doing can celebrate July 4th content in the knowledge that they're getting what they want. But what about the rest of us?

A case can be made that the transgressions of our government today are vastly greater than those against which the Founders rebelled on July 4, 1776. If we applaud what they did then, we should be willing to emulate at least to a certain, peaceful extent.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Jefferson and the other Founders withdrew their consent and listed their reasons for doing so. Shouldn't we do the same on this July 4th, and on every July 4th for as long as our government violates our inalienable rights?

You can peacefully state your discontent using a special, temporary campaign on DownsizeDC.org's Educate the Powerful System. That campaign is titled, "Does the government have your consent on this July 4th?"

Please use your personal comments to tell your Representatives in Congress that you don't approve of the job they're doing. Let them know that you're tired of them expanding the government's size, power, and expense far, far beyond what the Constitution provides.

Then, please encourage others to join you in making their Declaration. We'll be pulling this campaign down in a few days, and getting back to the grind of fighting legislation.

And if you're moved by this campaign, please Digg it on our blog.

If you've never used Digg before, registration is easy and free. Each Digg helps spread the word about DownsizeDC.org. That means a bigger army. And a bigger army means YOUR voice is better heard. You can join Digg here.

Thank you for being a part of the rapidly growing Downsize DC Army,

Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

P.S. It took just 59 days to grow our subscriber base, our army, from 25,000 to 26,000. Can we expand by the next 1,000 subscribers in 58 days or less? Well, we're already 17% of the way there with 26,177 subscribers, and it's only been three days.

John Adams said that July 4th, 1776 "...will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore."

We heartily agree with Adams, and wish you an enjoyable holiday. But the battle for liberty and smaller, Constitutional government remains un-won. So please use opportunities that may arise with family and friends, to tell them about DownsizeDC.org. I'm going to be doing that at two Tea Parties.

Source: DownsizeDC.Org

"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