H.R. 2613: Citizens Protection Act of 2011

H.R. 2613: Citizens Protection Act of 201 is a Bill pending before the House that would repeal the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and amendments to that Act.

The Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it a federal crime, "for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone." 44 U.S.C. S 922(q)(2)(A). School zone is described by the federal crime as follows:

The term “school zone” means—
(A) in, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school; or
(B) within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, parochial or private school.

44 U.S.C. S 921(a)(25).

The Gun-Free School Zones Act generously permits State licensed gun owners to transit school zones with their firearms as long as they are unloaded and in a locked container. 44 U.S.C. S 922(q)(2)(B). It also allows persons on private property within a school zone to own a firearm on their private property.

This means that a person licensed to carry in the State of South Carolina is in jeopardy of committing a federal crime if they pick up and drop off their kid while carrying . . . even when they have a concealed carry permit or license issued by the State of South Carolina. Basically, a South Carolina citizen licensed to carry a concealed weapon cannot drive by a school or drop of their kid while carrying their loaded, unsecured firearm.

The Gun-Free School Zones Act carries quite a pop if you are convicted. You could serve five years and pay a fine. The Congress has generously made this a misdemeanor crime instead of a felony.

Whoever violates section 922 (q) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the term of imprisonment imposed under this paragraph shall not run concurrently with any other term of imprisonment imposed under any other provision of law. Except for the authorization of a term of imprisonment of not more than 5 years made in this paragraph, for the purpose of any other law a violation of section 922 (q) shall be deemed to be a misdemeanor.

44 U.S.C. S 924(a)(4).

Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990's criminal statutes are currently on the books and are a menace to citizens who carry firearms for the protection of their property, family, and selves.

The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was well-intended by the nanny-like legislature. But it is misguided because of its unintended consequences. The killers at Columbine High School, and the subsequent copy-catters, were secure in the knowledge that they would be the only ones in the school who were armed.

If you believe in securing liberty, contact your local House Representative and urge him or her to co-sponsor the Citizens Protection Act of 2011 to repeal this dangerous criminal statute.

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The Liberty Message Unleashed on the Media: Revolution Pac

Author Tom Woods and other notable liberty activists are spearheading a super political action committee, Revolution Pac. The idea is to create a place where liberty activists may donate funds without the caps imposed by the Federal campaign finance laws. Under those laws, an individual cannot donate more than $2,500 to a campaign.

In 2008, several individuals supported Ron Paul by purchasing thousands of dollars of advertising. That activity was not coordinated nationally or even on a local basis by the Ron Paul 2008 Campaign. It was hit and miss.

The RevolutionPac will provide a vehicle to collect the funding, and to produce a coherent message. In 2010, the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) on grounds it violated the First Amendment. Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n, ( No. 08-205 ) (Jan. 21, 2010). Said the Supreme Court:

The law before us is an outright ban, backed by criminal sanctions. Section 441b makes it a felony for all corporations—including nonprofit advocacy corporations—either to expressly advocate the election or defeat of candidates or to broadcast electioneering communications within 30 days of a primary election and 60 days of a general election.

(Section III)

Governments are often hostile to speech, but under our law and our tradition it seems stranger than fiction for our Government to make this political speech a crime. Yet this is the statute’s purpose and design.

(Section V)

By striking down parts of campaign finance laws that limited corporate speech, the Court opened the door for formulation of super pacs, and electioneering communication without the limitations and caps under that law. Thus, a super pac may raise and communicate freely. The RevolutionPac is aimed at communicating ideas of liberty. Its Board is made up of individuals committed to the cause of liberty.

Ron Paul is a champion of liberty. The RevolutionPac is not connected with the Ron Paul 2012 Campaign. However, Ron Paul does appear on the banner of the home page. His message of liberty for American necessarily overlaps with the messages to be broadcast by RevolutionPac.

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Tailoring Your Message to Win

Here is a video from Ron Paul's campaign blogger, Jack Hunter, on how to communicate Constitutional liberty ideas to mainstream conservative Republican voters.

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Ready Ames Fire Money Bomb for Ron Paul Today

Click here to go to the Ready Ames Fire site.

In conjunction with the all-day money bomb, supporters will conduct a Radio Marathon that is streaming live over the Internet. Interviews of liberty activists will take place all day beginning at 9:00 A.M.

Personally, I hope to tune in and hear Bruce Fein at 11:00 A.M., Rand Paul at 3:30 P.M., Ron Paul at 6:00 P.M., and Doug Wead at 7:30 P.M.

Get banners graphics for your blogs here.

The purpose of Ready Ames Fire money bomb is described as follows:

The Ames, Iowa Straw poll is scheduled to take place on August 13, 2011. Because of this, it is imperative to catapult Ron Paul to victory in the straw poll, and defeat his fellow competitors, including Mitt Romney, who won the straw poll in 2007. On July 19, 2011, we will hold an online money bomb in support of Ron Paul for President 2012, with the goal to win the Ames, Iowa straw poll. A money bomb is a 24-hour fundraising event aimed at dramatically increasing funds for a specific candidate. In November 2007, Ron Paul raised more than $4.2 million in a single day. In December 2007, Ron Paul raised the most money in the history of American politics in a single day, raising more than $6 million; a record that still holds strong to this very day. More recently, Ron Paul raised $1 million on May 5, 2011 in a time when most Americans aren't concerned with politics.

Please invite your friends, and tell them that it is essential that we all donate to Ron Paul at RonPaul2012.com on July 19, 2011, in preparation for the Ames, Iowa Straw poll in August 2011.

The money bomb will be held on Ron Paul's official campaign website, which you can find at http://www.RonPaul2012.com

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HR 1098: Free Competition in Currency Act 2011

Representative Ron Paul introduced H.R. 1098: Free Competition in Currency Act of 2011. The Bill was referred by the Speaker Boehner to three House Committees: Financial Services, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary; for an indefinite duration.

The one-page Bill is beautiful in its simplicity. First, it repeals the federal legal tender statute, 31 U.S.C. § 5103, which deems federal reserve notes “legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.”

The effect of repealing this federal legal tender law is that it expands freedom of contract in America. Under current law, Americans cannot enforce a contract that specifies payment of the consideration in in precious metals like gold or silver. Such a provision would be unenforceable in court. One party could decide not to honor that aspect of the contract, and insist instead, that the other party accept Federal Reserve notes as full payment of the debt. If the aggrieved party brought a lawsuit, the Defendant would just site 31 U.S.C. § 5103 and the lawsuit would be dismissed as a frivolous claim.

The second part of Free Competition in Currency Act of 2011 is that it adjusts tax laws for both federal and state tax systems. The federal tax provision in Section 3(a)(1) of the Bill states as follows:

“no tax may be imposed on (or with respect to the sale, exchange, or other disposition of) any coin, medal, token, or gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or rhodium bullion, whether issued by a State, the United States, a foreign government, or any other person”

The federal government currently taxes the appreciation on gold and silver as a “capital gain.” Section 32(a)(1) would remedy the federal inflation tax. (See Inflation is a Regressive Tax on the Poor for more on this ultra-regressive and insidious means of taxing the poor and middle class.) As the Federal Reserves prints money it depreciates the value of the dollar. Federal Reserve printing of trillions of new dollars causes other currencies and precious metals to appreciate in value as the Dollar declines. The federal government then taxes the appreciation of the commodities as a capital gain.

Section 32(a)(1) makes it illegal for the federal government to tax any gold or silver coins, including coins issued by private mints. This provision protects persons who wish to transact business in other forms of currency from being unfairly taxed.

The state tax provision in Section 3(a)(2) states:

no State may assess any tax or fee on any currency, or any other monetary instrument, which is used in the transaction of interstate commerce or commerce with a foreign country, and which is subject to the enjoyment of legal tender status under article I, section 10 of the United States Constitution.

Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution contains a list of powers prohibited of the states. Among these are, "No State shall . . . coin Money [or] . . . make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts." The obvious intent of this prohibition is the limitation of State power to issue paper money. By specific authorization in Article I, Section 10, the Constitution allows States to make gold and silver legal tender.

However, Section 3(a)(2) would not prohibit a State from taxing any gold and silver coins that are not recognized as currency by foreign governments or the United States. Appreciation of the coins of a private mint could be taxed by a State under the Bill's provisions. This makes the Bill faithful to the Tenth Amendment.

On the other hand, a State could not tax U.S. issued gold and silver coins (American Eagle) nor currencies of other countries. Thus, if the Dollar collapsed substantially in value, a state could not tax citizens that had diversified their risk against inflation by buying Yuan or Euros to protect their savings. This is a sensible provision that would protect life savings. It also would permit a person to escape from a theoretical hyper-inflation scenario.

Finally, Section 4(a) decriminalizes the minting and use of gold silver for conducting business.

“In General- Title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking sections 486 (relating to uttering coins of gold, silver, or other metal) and 489 (making or possessing likeness of coins).”

The first crime the Bill repeals is 18 U.S.C. § 486.

Whoever, except as authorized by law, makes or utters or passes, or attempts to utter or pass, any coins of gold or silver or other metal, or alloys of metals, intended for use as current money, whether in the resemblance of coins of the United States or of foreign countries, or of original design, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(Emphasis added.) The federal criminal code make it a crime to run a private mint and make gold and silver coins. It also makes it a federal crime to "pass" such gold and silver coins as currency. Repeal of this criminal statute would immediately create numerous jobs in the United States as private mints would spring up to issue gold and silver coins, which are in great demand. The market place would determine the credibility of the coins. Clearly, the law is aimed at production of any coin as it prohibits even minting of coins of an original design.

Note that the Free Currency Bill would not prohibit prosecution of mints for fraud, such as might take place if a mint was misrepresenting the purity and weight of its coins. In fact, the Bill leaves two of the federal counterfeiting statutes, 18 U.S.C. § 487 and 18 U.S.C. § 488, on the books.

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Ames (Iowa) Straw Poll

The Republican Party of Iowa runs the Ames Straw Poll. It is an important event in the Republican presidential primary.

The Iowa Republican Party describes the reason for its importance. "[The Ames Straw Poll] started in 1979 and held in the early fall the year before the caucus in contested presidential cycles, the Straw Poll serves as a first indicator of the strength of a candidate’s organization and message." What is a Straw Poll, The Republican Party of Iowa (2011).

Doug Wead, former presidential advisor (George W. Bush) and historian, is on the Ron Paul Campaign staff. Weade has published How Ron Paul Wins, Step One. Every volunteer working for Ron Paul should read Weade's instructions, and his emphasis on how important it is for Ron Paul to make a strong showing in the Ames Straw Poll. This is wise advice from an experienced campaign manager.

According to the rules for the Straw Poll one need not even be a Republican to participate in the poll. The rules state as follows:

In order to vote in the Iowa Straw Poll, one must be at least 18 years of age on or before November 2012 and a resident of the state of Iowa. The Iowa Straw Poll is a Republican event – the Democrat Party does not organize a straw poll.

What is a Straw Poll, The Republican Party of Iowa (2011).

The Ames Straw Poll is set for August 13, 2011. Would be participants must purchase a $30 ticket from the Republican Party. The straw poll begins in a little more than 25 days. The Ron Paul 2012 Campaign has put together an inviting package for supporters of Ron Paul to participate. Instead of $30, you can get a ticket for only $10.

Plus, your ticket package includes EVERYTHING listed below:

+ A full ticket to the event AND the ability to vote for Ron Paul in the Presidential Straw Poll!
+ Free food, drinks, literature, music and games at the Ron Paul 2012 tent!
+ Bus transportation with your fellow Ron Paul supporters directly from your county the morning of the Ames Straw Poll and back again to your county that evening.
+ Official Ron Paul 2012 Campaign Merchandise

Register for a ticket at this link: IowaForRonPaul.

So what does this mean to those of us living in South Carolina and other places. Well, you do not need to be an Iowan to help Ron Paul win or place strongly in the Ames Straw Poll. The Ron Paul Campaign 2102 needs help. Here is a message I received from Allison Gibbs, who is coordinating volunteers. "The most important need we have is Homebanking here in Iowa. It is a huge endeavor and will greatly help us in winning the Republican nomination. Every person counts in this, and by giving us your time and talent- I know we will succeed."

The phone banking effort requires that you first volunteer with the IowaForRonPaul campaign.

Follow the link above, and volunteer. You will soon receive a message with instructions about how to set up a Google Voice and obtain a 515 (Iowa) Area Code number so you can start calling any liberty minded Iowan to see if they will turn out for the Ron Paul Campaign.

The idea is not to increase the turnout to the straw poll, but to increase the turnout of people who will vote for Ron Paul. Therefore, the Iowa Ron Paul campaign will provide a script to follow which helps to determine if you should help the person on the other line get to Ames for the poll.

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Conviction or Compromise

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Iowa Republican Caucuses

The Iowa Republican Caucuses are seen as the first state political event to kick off the Republican Presidential Primary election. The Republican Party of Iowa describes their caucuses as the "first step in the winnowing process for our nation’s presidential candidates." Because the Iowa Caucuses are first, collectively they an important event for the candidates. The results of the Iowa Caucuses will attract a lot of media attention as the touts try to forecast the horse race that is the Party's presidential primary.

The Iowa Caucuses are conducted at the Precinct level. Iowa has 1784 Precincts. The Registered Republican voters for each of these Precincts will gather on the date of the Caucuses to do the party business, which includes voting for a Party nominee to run for President. Technically, the Precinct voting for a presidential preference is non binding on the Republican Party of Iowa. However, the public vote of the Precinct participants is hugely important to the media as an indicator of a candidate's strength.

The Republican Party of Iowa Rules provide, "Any person voting at a precinct caucus must be a registered Republican in that precinct (or a person who will by the date of the next general election become eighteen years of age and indicates an affiliation with the Republican Party), and a resident of the precinct. A person may register to vote or change party affiliation at the caucus."

This means that virtually anyone who lives in one of Iowa's 1784 Precincts, and who is willing to participate in the Caucuses by registering (or affiliating) as a Republican, can participate in the political process of selecting the Republican nominee for President. For example, a person who believes that the federal reserve must be exterminated, that endless undeclared wars are costing the country money and influence, or that prohibition is a failure could go to a Precinct Caucus and vote for the Republican candidate who most effectively advocates those viewpoints.

In addition to voting for the best nominee as the Republican's candidate for President, voters at the Precinct also perform the typical Party functions of voting for Precinct officers and electing delegates to their respective County organizational meeting. Participants also vote for Party platform statements that the particular precinct considers worthy.

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Debt Limit Crisis?: Chance to Rescind Previously Appropriated Funds for ObamaCare

Much is being hyped about the phony claim the United States will default if it does not extend the debt limit by August 2. The claim is a false premise, much like the false claim that created a climate in which Congress passed the Crap Sandwich, the banker bailout bill of 2008, TARP.

Most thinking people realize that the government does not have to default on loans if the debt limit is not raised. There is more than enough income to pay our obligations. Plus, you have the Federal Reserve, whose borrowing the government need not pay back at all.

What gets dicey about not raising the debt limit, however, is the continued funding to pay for already enacted programs. Federal government programs will definitely risk losing a percentage of funding if the debt limit law is not passed soon. So the actual question is not whether we will default, but whether we should allow the government continue to fund lavish government programs?

Clearly, that answer to the true question is a resounding NO. Programs like ObamaCare are colossally dangerous spending programs for which the United States simply cannot afford to pay.

Unlike most laws, the 2,700 page ObamaCare law contained provisions that funded $105 billion for its implementation. M. Brownfield, Rep. Bachmann Helps Expose Secret Stash of Obamacare Cash, The Foundary (Mar. 7, 2011).

One big step in the right direction for handling the allegedly disastrous debt ceiling crisis (a manufactured crisis) is H. R. 1213. H.R. 1213 rescinds the previous appropriation of ObamaCare funding for its implementation.

Raum Emanuel, the former Obama Chief of Staff, advised us that one should never "let a crisis go to waste." With Tim Geithner and others in the Obama Administration alleging that the United States will plunge the world into financial Armageddon without passing a debt ceiling law, perhaps its time for Republicans to take Emanuel's advice. This "crisis" is a perfect time to argue for defunding the unpopular ObamaCare law. If we don't pass H.R. 1213 immediately, then our world will end.

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Ideas Are More Powerful Than Bombs or Armies or Guns

A thriving political party needs to follow leaders who have a clear understanding of the party's political philosophy. A party's philosophy is best found in its platform.

A party abandons its philosophy when it elects moderate leaders that try to appeal to voters by shifting away from its platform. This is because the moderate leader thinks a pure political philosophy will not appeal to independent voters. The problem with this campaign strategy is that it fails to understand the power of ideas.

Ideas are very important to the shaping of society. In fact, they are far more powerful than bombs or armies or guns. And this is because ideas are capable of spreading without limit. They are behind all the choices we make. They can transform the world in a way that governments and armies cannot. Fighting for liberty with ideas makes much more sense to me than fighting with guns or politics or political power. With ideas, we can make real change that lasts.

Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom

Independent voters are just voters who have not been educated. Moderate leaders express watered down ideas that demonstrate little difference in political philosophy. When the independent voters hear a moderate leader speak, they fail to hear an idea that motivates. Motivating independent voters to vote for a change in leadership is harder when the voter cannot see much of a difference in political philosophy. Thus, the moderate leader must win votes by charisma, or the cult of personality, or even an appeal to avarice or fear. This is exactly the problem with our American society. Moderate political leaders are like fast food. They are appealing at a cursory level and temporarily satisfying, but once you take the time to find out the ingredients, it makes you sick.

The moderate political leader erodes the power of the idea forming the foundation of a political party. Electing moderates as standard bearers for a party represents the gravest threat to a healthy political party. A political party cannot live on fast food.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has fallen into the trap of moderation. He sincerely believes the Republican Party must grow by reaching out to moderates.

I'm not going to leave the Republican Party," Graham said when one questioned asked him why he hasn't yet joined the Democrats. "I'm going to grow it. We're not going to be the party of angry white guys."

....

[He] said [the] GOP needs to build a broader coalition. Otherwise, he warned, those trying to purify the party will turn Congress over to the most liberal people in the world because somebody disagrees with you.

I'm going to find people in Maine, Delaware, Illinois and other places that can win, he said. And I'm going to help them, and we're going to move this party and this country forward. If you don't like it, you can leave.

Peter Hamby, Graham: GOP 'not going to be the party of angry white guys, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com (Oct. 13, 2009).

However, Graham's vision of growing the Republican Party by moderation conflicts with the necessary path of growing the party on the power of an idea. The philosophy of moderates is muddled, lacking clarity. Moderates build their political house on sand. When the rains come, the house will crash. (See Matthew 7:24-27).

It is difficult to persuade moderate leaders that they are leading the Party down a path of disaster. Ron Paul described it this way.

Moderates are somehow convinced that they are the saviors of the country, rescuing us all from the effects of philosophical differences. In fact, philosophical differences are healthy because they lead to the clarification of principles.

Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom

What the Republican Party needs now to grow it are leaders who forcefully stake out a political philosophy of liberty. The American Constitution, as originally enacted by the founders, represents the document Republican leaders should follow. If they believe in the Constitution, it will protect and preserve liberty in our Republic.

When a political party finds a leader who believes in the Constitution and in preserving liberty as the founders envisioned, and when that leader is given a chance to communicate the idea of liberty to the people, then hoards of people will flock to the Republican Party.

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Justice Department Fast and Furious Cover Up Unraveling Fast

The Justice Department's attempt to keep a lid on the controversial and colossally stupid Operation Fast and Furious is apparently coming to an end. The federal government, under the watchful eye of the anti-gun Holder Justice Department, armed the drug cartels of Mexico with almost 600 AK-47 automatic weapons as part of its "investigation" of gun trafficking.

After an ATF agent (Brian Terry) was murdered and some of the very same weapons were found by the body, the government finally pulled the plug on the two-year operation. The Republican controlled House Oversight Committee conducted an investigation. The House investigation was met with a stone wall of blacked out documents, some of which contained nothing but a page number as the rest of the page was "redacted." Such was the cooperation of the "most transparent" of all Administrations.

As things evolved, leaked documents fell into the hands of Chairman Issa. Those documents implicated the temporary head of the ATF, Ken Melson.

Soon after Melson's name became known as one of the top policy makers involved in orchestration of the dumber than dumb Fast and Furious plan, "unnamed sources" in the Obama Administration began to suggest to reporters Melson would soon resign. Thus, it appeared that the career Justice prosecutor Melson would become the "fall guy" for the Obama Administration.

Not so fast. Melson decided to hire a lawyer and show up on July 4 for a sworn statement in cooperation with the Congressional Oversight investigation. The Committee now has a detailed transcript of Melson's statement, and it apparently ain't so good for the Holder Justice Department.

After gathering information from Melson, information which confirmed that the Holder Justice Department is obstructing the congressional investigation, Chairman Issa (and Senator Charles Grassley) penned a nice letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

It is not every day that Congressional Committees write to the Attorney General and suggest that his Department has engaged in criminal obstruction. Yet, footnote one of the letter specifically suggests that the Justice Department's ongoing coverup and suppression of witnesses constitutes a criminal government coverup. "As you know, obstructing or impeding a Congressional inquiry is also a criminal violation under 18 U.S.C. § 1505."

Section 18 U.S.C. § 1505 is a serious crime. Persons convicted may be sentenced to as much as eight years in prison.

Considering that this is now an international matter, with the Mexican Government demanding the right to prosecute American officials responsible, it seems that the heat on the Justice Department is growing quite warm.

Issa's letter, which undoubtedly is now being widely and quietly circulated by the panicking Justice, Homeland Security, DEA, and ATF policy-makers, also suggests the Committee would entertain additional witnesses. "Department witnesses who choose to attend a voluntary interview with their own lawyer are free to exercise that right rather than participate with counsel representing the Department's interests."

This puts the Justice Department in a rather awkward position. It no longer controls the flow of information given to the Oversight Committee, and it no longer knows what is being disclosed. Continuing stonewalling raises the specter of criminal violation.

The next public hearing is set for July 18. It should be a doozy.

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Patrick Davis Writes and Performs Wingo and His Yardcocks during CWS

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