States Distancing Themselves From The Federal Government

States Distancing Themselves From The Federal Government
Over 40 States Declare State Sovereignty
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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NINTH AMENDMENT to the US Constitution: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

TENTH AMENDMENT to the US Constitution: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

As I have observed over the past few months the “State Sovereignty Movement” continues to sweep the nation with well over three-quarters of the fifty states taking action, through their respective state legislatures, re-establishing their “sovereignty”.

It is being reported that there are over 40 states with state sovereignty declarations as of this writing. If true, that is heartening. There is no doubt the states have been relegated to second-class citizenship in the US. That is just WRONG and must be corrected!

We found reports on the Internet stating that THERE ARE 12 NEW STATE SOVEREIGNTY DECLARATIONS IN PROGRESS, RIGHT NOW!! THEY INCLUDE ALABAMA. NEBRASKA, Rhode Island, WYOMING, WASHINGTON, INDIANA, KENTUCKY, GEORGIA, KANSAS, MISSOURI, MISSISSIPPI, AND MARYLAND!

WYOMING is the newest constitutionally sovereign state. The bill was signed into law on March 8th, 2010. Utah did the same on the 25th of February 2010. The debate continues in my home state of South Carolina, but my guess is it will pass the state legislature and be signed into law by the “Sandlappers” very soon now.
Here in North Carolina, House Bill H849 “supporting the state’s right to claim sovereignty over certain powers under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States” has been filed.
Here’s the full text:

Whereas, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states, respectively, or to the people;” and

Whereas, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

Whereas, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and
Whereas, today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

Whereas, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

Whereas, Section 4 of Article IV of the Constitution of the United States says, “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government,” and the Ninth Amendment states that “The enumeration in the constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;” and

Whereas, the United States Supreme Court ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

Whereas, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States; Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

SECTION 1. The North Carolina House of Representatives supports the State’s right to claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government or reserved to the people by the Constitution of the United States.

SECTION 2. The North Carolina House of Representatives urges the federal government, as the agent of the State, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of any constitutionally delegated powers.

SECTION 3. The North Carolina House of Representatives further urges that compulsory federal legislation which directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed.

SECTION 4. The Principal Clerk shall transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation.

SECTION 5. This resolution is effective upon adoption.

Read more on North Carolina’s efforts to re-establish its sovereignty HERE.

I took a look in my crystal ball and, for the life of me; I could see no indication of the effect the sovereignty movement will have on future relations between the states and their “agent”… the federal government. Only time will tell. However, I must tell you, it does this old southern boy’s heart good to see “State’s Rights” again brought to the fore in the United States.

James Madison, The Founder we refer to as “The Father of the Constitution,” wrote the following: “To preserve the Republic, it is in the hands of the people. We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments"

As with all Americans we “Southerners” get a lot of things wrong. But we have been right on the issue of “State’s Rights” all along. See, southerners had a bit more than just a signature invested in the creation of the Constitution, itself. There was never any doubt, in our minds, about who “the greater” and who “the lesser” was/is in this association of states and federal government. I must tell you, I am more than a little pleased to find the names of several northern and western states, and even northeastern states, included in the list of the names of the states involved in the State Sovereignty Movement.

Washington would do well to take notice, serious notice, of this movement. The Congress and the President may have forgotten, but it is “the boss” filing this complaint. It is very easy to sit in Washington and spend North Carolina’s money, or the money of the folks from Texas or Oklahoma. But, believe me when I tell you that we have been paying attention and we do not like having our state’s treasuries looted by a heavy-handed federal government.

The current Congress would also do well to read up on the “Ordinance of Nullification” passed by my home state of South Carolina in 1828. You can read it for yourself HERE.

Suffice it to say State Sovereignty is NOT a NEW issue in this country. It appears we will have to visit it -- yet again.

J. D. Longstreet

The “Slaughter Solution” To Passing ObamaCare through the US House.

The “Slaughter Solution” To Passing ObamaCare through the US House.
How Low Will The Democrats Go?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

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The following excerpt is from the blog of Republican Representative John Boehner of Ohio:
“Democrats Prepare “Slaughter Solution” to Ram Unpopular Health Care Takeover Through Congress Without a Vote."

"The twisted scheme by which Democratic leaders plan to bend the rules to ram President Obama’s massive health care legislation through Congress now has a name: the Slaughter Solution.

The Slaughter Solution is a plan by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), the Democratic chair of the powerful House Rules Committee and a key ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), to get the health care legislation through the House without an actual vote on the Senate-passed health care bill. You see, Democratic leaders currently lack the votes needed to pass the Senate health care bill through the House. Under Slaughter’s scheme, Democratic leaders will overcome this problem by simply “deeming” the Senate bill passed in the House - without an actual vote by members of the House.

An article in this morning’s edition of National Journal’s CongressDaily breaks the story, starting with the headline: “SLAUGHTER PREPS RULE TO AVOID DIRECT VOTE ON SENATE BILL.” You may read the entire article HERE.

National Journal’s Congress Daily says: "House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter is prepping to help usher the healthcare overhaul through the House and potentially avoid a direct vote on the Senate overhaul bill, the chairwoman said Tuesday.

"Slaughter is weighing preparing a rule that would consider the Senate bill passed once the House approves a corrections bill that would make changes to the Senate version.

"Slaughter has not taken the plan to Speaker Pelosi as Democrats await CBO scores on the corrections bill. 'Once the CBO gives us the score, we'll spring right on it,' she said." Read the entire article HERE.

At the Washington Examiner they have an article titled: “House Democrats looking at 'Slaughter Solution' to pass Obamacare without a vote on Senate bill UPDATED!” In the article, the Washington Examiner asks the question: “Would House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow House Democratic leaders try to cram the Senate version of Obamacare through the House without actually having a recorded vote on the bill?

Not only is the answer yes, they would, they have figured out a way to do it….” Read more at the Washington Examiner: HERE.

Now, all of this happened a couple of days ago. But, I have to ask; just how low will the democrats stoop in order to ram this Socialized Medicine bill down the throats of the American people.

Now do you believe us? Now do you believe what we have been declaring for so long now? I mean, of course, our warnings that the Healthcare bill, ObamaCare, if you will, is NOT ABOUT HEALTHCARE? IT IS ALL ABOUT POWER! Yes! It is all about power for the Democrats, the Progressives, the Socialists, the Marxists, and the Communists that infest the White House and the Congress in America these days.

If America is to remain free, well, at least retain the few freedoms we haven’t already given away to a grasping federal government, we must, absolutely MUST, defeat the ObamaCare bill now floundering in the US House of Representatives.

My Congressman, Mike McIntyre, a democrat representing my US House District in North Carolina is sanding fast! He has consistently voted “no” on these outrageous healthcare bills. He is quoted into today’s Fayetteville Times as STILL standing pat with a great big “NO” vote. Larry Kissell, over in the neighboring US House district of North Carolina, has also flatly stated that he will vote “NO” on the ObamaCare Bill -- and North Carolina Senator Richard Burr stated he, too, will continue to vote “NO” on ObamaCare in the Senate.

As you can see by the Slaughter Solution, the cabal of democrats, Socialists, Progressives, Marxists, and Communists is bound and determined to grasp America by the throat and squeeze the freedom and liberties granted by the US Constitution to death. I mean, after all, they view the Constitution as an outdated list of suggestions that have outlived their usefulness and are, if anything, a roadblock, an impediment to their acquisition of absolute power over the people of America.

I read today a commentator who opined that republicans are telling Americans to be afraid. I have to tell you. If you are not afraid, in America today, then something is very wrong with you!

Americans ARE afraid – and they are angry! Need I remind the Socialists, Marxists, the Communists and the Progressives, there is nothing on the face of God’s green earth as dangerous as a P.O.ed American!

Even if we manage to kill ObamaCare aborning, the backlash has already begun. P.O.ed Americans are going to the polls this coming November on a mission. A mission to rid the halls of Congress of as many Socialists, Marxists, Progressives, Communists, AND DEMOCRATS as they possibly can.

We are fighting for our liberty these days. Most Americans, although slow to understand what was really happening with the Obama Regime’s assault on the constitution, have finally gotten hold to the truth and have awakened to the “clear and present danger” Obama and his minions present for freedom and liberty in America.

When Americans came to realize Obama had surrounded himself with Communists, Marxists, Progressives, and Socialists in the White House --, they were shaken to their core! Now, however, they are angry and they have vowed to take back their country.

We have a long and difficult summer ahead of us. The Democrats understand that the gig is up. They understand they have been caught red-handed and they also understand that their days are numbered in positions of power in the Congress and in the White House. So, between today, and Election Day in November, they will be trying every trick in the book to move their agenda forward. We, the conservative opposition, must be equally as cunning and as tireless in our efforts to block them at every turn, to hem them in, to box them in, and neutralize them until they can be voted out of office and our constitution and our country rendered safe once again.

In the meantime, we must not let up, one little bit, with our opposition to the socialized medicine bill referred to as ObamaCare. We absolutely must defeat it. The we must turn our attention to the “New Amnesty Bill” called The Comprehensive Immigration Bill, the intent of which is to provide a “pathway to citizenship” for those illegal aliens already in our country after having broken our laws and entered as a thief in the night, or burglars enter our homes. And then -- there is Cap and Trade -- a massive, massive, tax on energy for every American, man, woman, and child. Of course, there will be much, much, more.

America was sold a “bill of goods!” by the Obama Campaign. North Carolina bought that “bill of goods.” Today it is paying the price. North Carolina has the highest unemployment since the great depression at over eleven percent. Our sister state, South Carolina is in much the same condition. Both states have at least one “Progressive” senator. In South Carolina it is Lindsey Graham and in North Carolina is in Kay Hagen. Both must be called home and relieved of duty in the Senate as soon as possible. Barring that -- they must be made aware of the feelings of their constituents toward their behavior in lending “aid and comfort” to the Obama Regime and our “rogue” Congress. They must be brought in line and kept in line by public pressure until they can be relived at the ballot box.

Freedom isn’t free. One of the costs is “eternal vigilance.” We can never, not for one minute, take our eyes off the Congress and the White House.

If, as I suspect, our national economy goes from bad to worse, over the coming months, the struggle for complete and absolute power by the government over the people will heat up. We must resist. Somehow, someway we must not allow this great experiment, called America, to be
strangled by an All Powerful Central Government.

The former poet laureate of South Carolina, author James Dickey once defined a “Southern Gentleman” as “a man with a Bible in one hand and a cannonball in the other.” Well, as I like to think of myself as a Southern Gentleman, I have just served up my cannon ball, now -- I will offer my Bible. From the scriptures we glean this bit of everlasting wisdom:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14.

If you know HOW to pray, may I suggest that NOW is exactly the time for you to put it into practice?

“Deo Duce Vincemus” -- (Under the leadership of God we will conquer)

J. D. Longstreet

How Many States Plan To Disarm?

How Many States Plan To Disarm?
A Gun Ban in the US is Impossible
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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Text of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

What part of “SHALL NOT” do the gun control advocates NOT UNDERSTAND?

This time, the US Supreme Court has been asked to decide if the states have the right to take your guns away. We’re talking about the state governments – not the federal government.

The “gun grabbers” have not given up. Oh, no! They are “true believers,” choosing to believe in the myth and the fairy tale that if you take people’s guns away America will be a safer place. They believe this in spite of the facts out there for everyone to see.

See, those stubborn facts tell a different story. Those facts tell us that when you mandate by law that citizens must give up their guns, law-abiding citizens will do it. They won’t like it. They will grumble and fuss, but in the end -- they will give them up. On the other hand the citizens who do not abide by the law will not give up their guns and, as a result, a huge power shift occurs. Power is snatched from the hands of the law-abiding citizens and given to the government and the outlaws…. but I repeat myself. Next comes anarchy.

I’ll make a prediction here. If the time ever comes in America when the government, state or federal, forces the citizens to give up their guns and the bad guys begin their reign of fear, a cottage industry will spring up all across the land. It will be an industry turning out homemade firearms. Soon that will turn into a full-fledged black market where underground illicit firearms factories will be created to meet the demand from citizens seeking protection for their homes and their families.

There is something very important the elite in this country, apparently, do not know. That is -- just how easy it is to produce a firearm. Even “yours truly” produced homemade firearms while still a student in high school. I even had a single shot 22 caliber “zip gun” (made by me) sewn inside the sleeve of my black horsehide leather jacket! No Joke! I was serious then -- and I am serious now.

A fellow student produced a handgun so powerful it blew a nice fat, round, hole through the side of his father’s barn. And we were KIDS! How sophisticated do you think a couple of high school kids were about the intricacies of producing firearms?

The point is, just like prohibition, a ban on firearms in the United States will back fire and it will create more problems than ever expected by the gungrabbers and/or the government whether that government is state or federal. And mark this: neither a state government nor the federal government will be able to handle it.

Let us say, hypothetically, of course, that a state government decides to ban guns within that state. How long do you think it will be before thriving gun smuggling operations are set up to meet the demand for guns in that “gun-free” state? I’d give it hours. Maybe the leaders of the gungrabbers have not thought about this – but you can bet the ATF has!

Understand this. Banning guns in the United States is impossible. It cannot be done, except on paper. The citizens of this country will be armed.

The Supreme Court will, more than likely, hand down their decision before June of this year. The American citizens have already made their decision. They WILL have guns – one way -- or the other.

J. D. Longstreet

The Greatest Generation Should be Ashamed of Us Today

The Greatest Generation Should be Ashamed of Us Today
America No Longer Has the WILL to WIN!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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As I considered President Obama’s words concerning the war in Afghanistan a few days ago, I found myself embarrassed by them. To realize Obama had no intention of ‘winning” a war in Afghanistan, and that the word victory was never used in his entire speech, it became clear to me that Obama was only concerned with “ending” the war in Afghanistan -- not winning it. Now, let’s be clear about something. The United States could/can win a war in Afghanistan. The United States could/can win a war anywhere it chose/chooses.

Just nuke ‘em.

No, I am NOT KIDDING. Had we nuked the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan when we were sure Osama bin Laudin was hiding there, we would have been finished with the never ending search for him and we would have sent a powerful message to our enemies -- everywhere -- to attack the US is to bring unimaginable death and destruction down on the attackers and their loved ones. The price is not worth it.

The Commander-in-Chief could have ordered it done -- and -- in my opinion, SHOULD have ordered it done. We had the means and the wherewithal to do it. What we did not have was THE WILL!

Today as I think back to 1941 and the sneak attack by the Japanese on the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, I thank God that we had men of fortitude in charge of this country. Men of courage stepped forward and offered themselves, their futures, and their very lives to win a total victory over the Japanese and, as it turned out, the Germans, as well.

Today, as the few survivors of that great conflict watch America circle the drain, how sad they must be. They must be deeply depressed to watch the wishy-washy, limp-wristed, leadership of this nation apologize for being the world’s only superpower. To watch a President of the United States actually BOW to a Japanese leader must make them physically sick to their stomachs. To watch the American leader acting more as a naive boy, than a man, on the world stage has to be a bitter pill to swallow for the remnant of the Greatest Generation.

I have a similar reaction. Born just before the US was compelled, by events that took place 68 years ago today, to join the Second World War, my formative years were molded in that worldwide crucible of death and destruction. Yes, like so many of my generation who were mere children during that conflagration, I readily admit that it left me with scars and with definite ideas about freedom’s cost and the necessary sacrifices a nation MUST be prepared to make to preserve her freedom and liberty.

Firebombing the enemy's cities and killing over a hundred thousand men, women, and children to break the enemy's will to fight, was necessary, -- and they did it! Dropping a nuclear bomb on an enemy city to force them to surrender was necessary, and so -- they did it! Dropping a second nuclear bomb on a second enemy city, to drive home the point that we were relentless and had the will to kill as many of the Japanese and/or the Germans as was necessary to compel them to the surrender table was necessary, -- and they did it.

Horrendous? Yes! Necessary? ABSOLUTELY! Did it take courage? YES! More than you or I will ever know-- if we are lucky. But with current events as they are, with Islamofacists seeking the death of every American man, woman, and child, WE, YOU and I, MUST be prepared to take whatever necessary steps are called for to insure they fail. If that requires the use of nuclear weapons to completely wipe out a terrorist nest in the caves and mountains of the Middle East, then WE, YOU and I, MUST BE PREPARED TO USE THEM! I submit to you that the current leadership of the United States is NOT PREPARED to take the steps that may be necessary to insure the continuation of the freedom and the liberty those wonderful men and women of The Greatest Generation offered everything they were -- and everything they ever hoped to be -- to preserve for us.

My personal journey to becoming a conservative began at Pearl Harbor. My philosophy on politics had its birth on the morning of December 7th, 1941.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning in Paradise when ......... ......... .........

Around 8 AM, 68 years ago today, the Japanese swooped in, out of a brilliant blue sky over Hawaii, and bombed the port of Pearl Harbor to smithereens. Much of the muscle of our Navy was destroyed. Two thousand and four hundred US servicemen were killed.

I was seven months old.

In the next four years, as my consciousness grew, I became aware of all the activity around me. I saw soldiers in uniform. I saw my grandmother crying when the telegram came that her baby boy had been "Killed in Action" somewhere in Europe.

And finally, I remember guns being fired into the air, people running through the streets of our little South Carolina town, hugging and kissing each other. I remember folks saying: “It’s over!” And it was. But it left an indelible mark on my family and an equally deep and indelible mark on me.

Those first 4 years of my life, the formative years, were experienced under intense stress. I learned the cost of war right from the beginning stages of my life. I lost one uncle, in Belgium (the Ancestral homeland) another was machine gunned through both thighs and lay in a freezing stream in France, all night, until American troops found him the next morning. The icy water of that frozen stream saved his life. He suffered ”shell-shock” (referred to as "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome" today) the remainder of his life. A summertime thunderstorm became an instant German artillery barrage. He would race for cover. The flashbacks were ever with him.

Others of my family were in the Pacific fighting the Japanese. They, too, came home with stories of Japanese Kamikaze planes hitting their ships and, in one case, finding a woman… yes, I said a woman, pilot in one of them! She was alive. For whatever reason, the plane with the bomb attached, did not explode.

When we could get those veterans to talk, which was not often, I was spellbound by the stories of their experience. I soaked it up like a sponge.

You see, I learned, both from personal experience, and the second hand experience of my family members, who were in the hell of the Second World War, what war really is. And, I learned that you have no choice when the enemy brings the war to your doorstep, you must fight back, and you must prevail, no matter the cost.

Today, we find ourselves in another war, which was brought to our doorstep. In doing so, the enemy killed many more people with their sneak attack than the Japanese did with their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

I don’t suffer fools lightly. My generation shares that quality. Today we have people in our government who are advocating a policy of retreat for the United States in our war against terrorist in the Middle East. It does not seem to matter to those folks, that an enemy which has brought war to our shores, will not quit, and go home, just because we do. They will follow us back to our own country and continue to wage war against us here... in our land.

It makes no difference how many medals hang from a man’s uniform or suit jacket. For all the times he was right, represented by those medals, there are times when he is wrong.

Had the United States listened to the “doves” after Pearl Harbor, I would most likely be writing this missive in German rather than English. It was that serious then, and it is that serious now.

So, as we think, today, of the men and women who gave everything they had, including their lives, to insure that you and I would have a free country, let us think of the men and women serving today for the same reason.

On December 7th, 1941 the Japanese, and the Germans, wanted nothing less than the conquest of the world. Today the Islamofacists want the same thing.

You have to ask yourself… as an American… are you going to stand down, ground your weapon, and allow this evil from the deepest, darkest, depths of hell, to take your country? That is the question all Americans must ask themselves. For, understand, they will not stop with America. Once America is out of the way, the remainder of the world will fall to them as easily as dominoes.
The Men and Women (Caps Intentional) of 1941 had to ask themselves the same question. We had better thank Almighty God they answered in the affirmative.

Today, we honor them for it. But they will tell you, those who survive to this day, that there was no real question about what the people of America would do. It was simply understood that freedom was far to precious to allow the forces of evil to take it from us. And so they marched forth to stop it and preserve this country for you and me. And they did!

We can never thank them enough. Not only did they save America, they saved the world!

Are we, as Americans, prepared to give up our freedom today after that generation gave so much of their blood to preserve it for us?

I pray to God that America will finally awaken to the danger that threatens us and take the painful steps, whatever they might be, to preserve this country, and again, the world.



J. D. Longstreet

Memorial Day 2009. No Greater Love....

From the world wars of Europe to the jungles of the Far East, from the deserts of the Middle East to the African continent, and even here in our own hemisphere, our veterans have made the world a better place and America the great country we are today. --- John Hoeven

Happy Memorial Day, everyone, from J. D. Longstreet and the staff of INSIGHT on Freedom! Let us remember, in everlasting reverence, those who made the Supreme Sacrifice that we might enjoy FREEDOM in America.

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Memorial+Day+US+Military+Freedom+Honor+Remember

Today is Patriots' Day! ... by J. D. Longstreet

Today is Patriots’ Day!
By: J. D. Longstreet

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I’ll bet that you did not know that today is Patriots Day! Well, it IS! It is a real, live, CIVIC holiday set aside to honor, specifically, the minutemen who stood against the British at Lexington and Concord. These were the very first battles that kicked off the Revolutionary War in America, which led directly to our independence from Great Britain.

Here is a bit more from Wikipedia on Patriots’ Day:

Patriots' Day (sometimes incorrectly spelled Patriot's Day or Patriots Day) is a civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. It is observed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts[1] and state of Maine[2] (once part of Massachusetts), and is a public school observance day in Wisconsin[3]. Observances and re-enactments of these first battles of the American Revolution occur annually at Lexington Green in Lexington, Massachusetts, (around 6am) and The Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts (around 9am). In the morning, a mounted reenactor with State Police escort retraces Paul Revere's ride, calling out warnings the whole way.

You can learn more about Patriots’ Day HERE.

So, now that you know today is Patriots’ Day, how will you celebrate it? Good question, huh? We suggest you display the US flag outside your home or business today. We certainly hope you attended worship services at your church of choice today and gave thanks to God for the men and women who wrenched our freedom from the bonds of a monarch and for all those since who have worn the uniform of our nation’s armed services and sacrificed themselves in order to preserve that freedom so preciously paid for in blood.

At a time in our nation’s history when we stand at the brink of losing that hard won freedom, closer than we have ever been, in my opinion, we need to step back a bit and take a closer look at what we are about to lose. It is good to remind ourselves, and our government, that America is unique in the entire world. Our government is founded on a constitution, the foundation of all the law(s) of the land. Unfortunately, it becomes necessary to remind those who would govern this land that it is not they who have the final say in government, it is the constitution.

Just this week crowds, estimated at one million strong, took to the streets and gathered at their county courthouses, all across the country, in what were referred to as “Tea Parties” to protest our current government’s attempts to take away the rights won for us by the patriots of this blessed land.

There is an organization, called the “Oath Keepers” we heard about just this week. “Oath Keepers” is an association of law enforcement and military personal so dedicated to the Constitution that they have published a list of ten orders they will NOT obey. They will reaffirm the Oath to the Constitution today. (As a veteran, I swore the same oath.) Here is that oath:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

We suggest you visit the website of the “Oath Keepers”. You will find them HERE.

Here is the list of ten orders the Oath Keepers say they will NOT obey:

1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.

2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people.

3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.

4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.

5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.

6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.

7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.

8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control.”

9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.

10.We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

(Read the full declaration

here)

The Oath Keepers, on their site, go on to say the following:

“Oath Keepers is an association of currently serving military, veterans, and peace officers who will fulfill the oath we swore to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, so help us God.

Our oath is to the Constitution, not to the politicians, and we will not obey unconstitutional (and thus illegal) and immoral orders, such as orders to disarm the American people or to place them under martial law and deprive them of their ancient right to jury trial.

We Oath Keepers have drawn a line in the sand. We will not “just follow orders."

Our motto is “Not on our watch!”

Our nation is split apart this Patriots’ Day, much as it was in the years, months, and even days leading up to the confrontation between that scraggly bunch of “fringe” extremists who met the British Army at Lexington and Concord. Historians tell us that roughly one-third of the colonist wanted independence, while one-third of the colonists did NOT want independence, and one-third of the colonists couldn’t have cared less… one way or the other. The big difference today is the percentage of those who couldn’t care less is much smaller. We are closer to a 50-50 split today over the preservation of the liberty and freedom those patriots won for us.

This very day in America we tread dangerous ground. When Americans feel it necessary to form organizations such as the “Oath-Keepers” it tells us there is a deep concern among the people of the country for American’s freedom. It tells us there is a perception among Americans that their country is in peril. And, say what you will about us crazy Americans, when our constitution, and/or our liberty is in harm’s way we get our hackles up. They’re up now.

When one million normally quiet, reserved, conservative Americans take to the streets to protest government actions, taxes, and the direction the current Congress and Presidential Administration are taking America, THAT is a signal that something is desperately wrong in America.

J. D. Longstreet

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