Florida Senate President Calls for Hangings

krisannehall.com

Monday December 3, 2012, I met the Republican leader of the Florida Senate Don Gaetz after speaking to the Senate Committee on Healthcare Exchanges.  I explained to him that I wanted to teach on nullification and why the Healthcare Act is unconstitutional.  He mocked the Founders of this nation to my face, implying they are irrelevant to the interpretation of the Constituion.  He laughed at my support of Constitutional principles.  He then shouted out to me as he left the room that he would read anything that I sent him.  This morning I sent him an email explaining the Founders' position on State Sovereignty and nullificaion.  

After sending Senator Don Gaetz my letter explaining the positions of James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton on State Sovereignty, Mr. Gaetz says that citizens who agree with the writer of the Declaration of Independence should be summarily shot and hanged.  Does that means Don Gaetz is in favor of shooting the many Catholic Bishops and other religious leaders who have said that they will not comply with this mandate?  Notice the double-speak in his email below.  He affirms his support for the Constitution and then demonstrates his utter ignorance of its meaning and purpose.

Here is a copy of his email:

Thank you for your email and for your passionate views.   
Like you, I believe Obamacare is unconstitutional and wrong-headed policy. I have consistently voted in the Florida Legislature for legislation that affirms our state's options, obligations and sovereignty under the United States Constitution. I am working every day to ensure the election of national candidates who will repeal and replace this extraordinarily bad policy. 

As to nullification, I tend to favor the approach used by Florida's first Governor, Andrew Jackson: 

It is said that one evening, while he was president, General Jackson was interrupted in his reading in his bedroom by an alarmed military aide who breathlessly reported, "Mr. President, the "nullifiers" are in front of the Executive Mansion with torches and guns. They are screaming that each state has the right to decide for itself which federal laws to follow. They threaten to burn us down if you will not agree with them." 

Without lifting his head from his reading, Andrew Jackson said, "Shoot the first nullifier who touches the Flag. And hang the rest." 

Chaplain, I have sworn an oath on my father's Bible before Almighty God to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and government of the United States. And that's exactly what I intend to do. Count me with Andrew Jackson. 

Senator Don Gaetz 

I can only assume since this overbearing blowhard is used to getting his way, he thinks such intimidation will make us shut up and go away. Well, Mr. Gaetz is sadly mistaken.  

While Mr. Gaetz may only give lip-service to the Constitution so that he can continue his political reign, there are those of us who actually believe in the Constitution and plan to support and defend it, no matter what!  If it means being threatened or shot at by tyrannical oligarchs, so be it.  Just know that this path was not our choice Mr. Gaetz. You fired the first shot!

Mr. Gaetz, stand all you like with Andrew Jackson, we will be the ones across the way standing with Patrick Henry!

United Nations threatens Colorado, Washington state over marijuana decriminalization laws

Thursday, November 29, 2012 by: J. D. Heyes

(NaturalNews) Likely empowered by a U.S. administration that favors the kind of nanny state politics a ruling global entity would no doubt embrace, the head of the United Nations' International Narcotics Control Board feels comfortable telling federal officials they should move to challenge measures in Colorado and Washington that decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults 21 and over.

Raymond Yans lectured the voter-approved measures - part of the United States' democratic process, something most UN member countries are not familiar with - send "a wrong message to the rest of the nation and it sends a wrong message abroad."

In an interview with The Associated Press, Yans said he would like to see Attorney General Eric Holder "take all necessary measures" to ensure that marijuana possession remains illegal throughout the United States.

Does the UN remember that Obama inhaled? 

Currently, both states are awaiting the implementation of plans to regulate and tax the drug because officials there are waiting to see if Washington will assert its federal authority in the matter. At present, pot is a Schedule I controlled substance, in the same category as LSD and heroin. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has said that marijuana has a high potential for abuse and "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States," the New York Times has reported.

Yans' outrage makes us wonder here at Natural News if he read reports back in 2006 when then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama told the American Society of Magazine Editors that he did, in fact, smoke marijuana.

 "When I was a kid, I inhaled," he said. "That was the point."

Also, is Yans oblivious to the fact that the Netherlands has essentially legalized pot by decriminalizing both its possession and sale? Or that Portugal, in 2001, became the first European country, according to Time magazine, "to officially abolish all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine?"

At the time, critics of the policy change warned that drug use would skyrocket in a nation where hard drug use was already the highest on the continent. But a subsequent study by the libertarian-leaning CATO Institute in 2009 found no appreciable increase in usage. In fact, in the years after personal possession of drugs was decriminalized, illegal use among teens in Portugal dropped while rates of new HIV infections caused by the sharing of dirty needles also fell. The number of people seeking treatment for drug addition; however, more than doubled - but that figure was an acceptable alternative to incarceration because the Portuguese government had previously determined that treating offenders would be cheaper than jailing them.

"Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success," Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research, told Time. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does."

"I think we can learn that we should stop being reflexively opposed when someone else does [decriminalize] and should take seriously the possibility that anti-user enforcement isn't having much influence on our drug consumption," Mark Kleiman, author of the forthcoming When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment, and director of the drug policy analysis program at UCLA, told the magazine.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/038140_United_Nations_Colorado_marijuana_prohibition.html#ixzz2Dhv6IqS6

Texas has backup plan for keeping feds (NDAA) at bay

WND EXCLUSIVE

Considering proposal to make cooperation with specific program a crime

by Bob Unruh

Presumably, a proposal being developed in Texas right now won’t be necessary should its petition on the White House website to secede from the union be successful.
But if not, the Lone Star state apparently wants to be prepared to challenge whatever it views as a federal encroachment on the rights of the state, or its citizens.
So it will be reviewing a legislative plan that not only would make it illegal to cooperate with the federal National Defense Authorization Act in Texas, but could make an offender subject to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine.
The NDAA was signed into law by Barack Obama at the end of 2011, and it includes sections 1021 and 1022, “Which, in essence, create a new power for the federal government to ‘indefinitely detain’ – without due process – any person. Indefinitely. That’s little different than kidnapping,” said a report from the Tenth Amendment Center, which focuses its work on the rights reserved to the states and the people under the federal Constitution.
Michael Boldin, the center’s founder, told WND, “With four more years of the man who not only signed ‘indefinite detention’ into law, but has vigorously defended it in court, there is absolutely zero chance for repeal in Washington, D.C. Our last hope is to stand up and nullify.”
He cited House Bill 149 by Rep. Lyle Larson in Texas.
The “Texas Liberty Preservation Act” specifically finds the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution lets Washington “exercise only those powers specifically delegated to it under Article I, Section 8.”
The bill itself explains that the president “has asserted that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, enacted in 2001, authorizes the president to indefinitely detain, without charge, any person, including a citizen of the United States or a lawful resident alien, regardless of whether the person is apprehended inside or outside the borders of the United States.”
The NDAA sections specifically allow “indefinite detention of persons apprehended within the United States without charge or trial.”
That, however, violates “The Texas Constitution, the limits of federal power authorized by Article I, Section 8″ and “the legal doctrine of Posse Comitatus.
Oh, and it also violates habeas corpus, the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Fifth Amendment, the Sixth Amendment, the Eighth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, the legislation explains.
That would be the right to petition government, being free from unreasonable searches, the prohibition of the deprivation of liberty without due process, a speedy trial, the ban on cruel and unusual punishment, and others.
Since those sections, 1021 and 1022, “Violate portions of federal law, the United States Constitution, and the Texas Constitution,” they are “invalid and illegal” in Texas, the legislation says.
But it goes further. A lot.
It specifies that “A person who is an official, agent, or employee of the United States or an employee of a corporation providing services to the United States commits an offense if the person enforces or attempts to enforce a statute, a rule or regulation, an order, or any law of the United States in violation of this subchapter.”
Such violations would be punishable by a jail term of a year, a fine of not more than $10,000.
Or both.
“Rep. Larson will likely be derided by the establishment, so if you live in Texas, he deserves your praise and relentless support on this issue,” Boldin told WND. “If you live anywhere else in the country, the time to act is now. Get on the phone with your state legislators and press them to show the same kind of courage that Lyle Larson has done. When enough states stand up and say NO to unconstitutional federal acts, there’s not much that Obama and his gang can do about it. The Constitution and your liberty will win.”
The organization has reported that sources suggest that at least 10 other states will be considering similar legislation in the coming year.
“And potentially dozens of counties and cities can be expected to move along these lines as well,” the report said.
Already, cooperating with the NDAA provisions are illegal in Virginia. Michigan is considering a similar move, and more than 15 local communities have take the same action.
The pushback against the NDAA started with a few local communities in Colorado before Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed House Bill 1160, making that state the first to pass a law not only rejecting the federal act, but fully banning any state agency from cooperating with the feds on it.

WND previously has reported on a court case over the sections, where the Obama administration has battled vigorously for its right to detention.
The fight is on appeal right now, after U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest issued a permanent injunction against the sections.
In her order, Forrest had written, “The government put forth the qualified position that plaintiffs’ particular activities, as described at the hearing, if described accurately, if they were independent, and without more, would not subject plaintiffs to military detention under Section 1021.”

 

 Full story HERE

Oklahoma To Jail Enforcers Of Obamacare

 

By Live Free or Die

(Will we soon see a vast influx of new Oklahoma residents when this Bill becomes law?)

President Obama will not like this. He thinks his word alone is law. He thinks the American people must submit to his achievement called Obamacare. Despite the mass protest and phone calls flooding capital hill saying to our elected congressmen saying “do not pass this bill into law”. The congress ignored the American people and passed the law anyway.

Now after the anger has cleared about the US Supreme Court Ruling in favor of Obamacare. Many state governors have told the federal government they will not implement Obamacare. I will believe that when the state actually interposes themselves between the people and the 16,000 new IRS agents.

In Oklahoma, State Rep. Mike Ritze drafted a bill not only nullifying Obamacare, but criminalizes any federal agent who tries to enforce this unconstitutional law in the state of Oklahoma. This Bill being drafted actually has teeth in it, not another non binding resolution that really has no effect stopping anything. I just hope the Oklahoma lawmakers do not get cold feet when the DOJ comes and tries to twist the arms of the state lawmakers like they did in Texas when the legislature tried to criminalize the TSA grabbing peoples’ crotches. I just hope the Sooner State has the guts to be the first state to mean what they saying they will put in jail IRS agents who try to enforce Obamacare. I just hope this is not election rhetoric just to get votes without doing anything.

Here is the press release announcing drafting the bill from State Rep. Mike Ritze’s Website.

Read more @ http://www.thelonestarwatchdog.com/2012/07/18/oklahoma-lawmaker-drafting-bill-to-jail-enforcers-of-obamacare/

 

RECALL: Montanans Organize to Remove Senators Who Voted For Traitorous Detainment Bill

Mac Slavo
December 27th, 2011
SHTFplan.com

Americans were outraged after our elected representatives in Congress moved forward with over a trillion dollars in emergency bailout funds for banks, investment firms and failing corporations in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis. After tens of thousands of phone calls to the Congressional switchboard, overwhelmingly against the bailout funds, the American public was largely ignored by the majority of their elected representatives, who would eventually saddle taxpayers with a long-term debt in excess of $20 trillion.

In March of 2009, the American public resoundingly rejected the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obama Care) after it was made known that the bill would mandate, by force if necessary, that every citizen would be required to acquire health insurance. Not only did Congress and the President pass legislation that would, in a supposedly free country, require every American to forcefully pay for a service they may not want, but the more than 1000 page bill was written, introduced and approved before any Senator or Representative had a chance to read it, with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi famously saying:

“You have to pass the bill before you can find out what is in it…”

While those laws may be shamelessly contradictory to the fundamental Constitutional law of the land, and as outrageous as it was for Congressional representatives to ignore the American public’s calls to reject the bills, none of those come even remotely close to the most recent transgressions against the people with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act.

As Americans enjoyed themselves with the holiday shopping season, Congress and the Executive branch worked tirelessly to destroy the 4th and 6th Amendments of the US Constitution, which protect an individual’s natural right “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures” and ensure due process with evidence, witnesses, and public trial. The passage of the NDAA has prompted Senator Rand Paul to warn Americans that they could be considered terrorists for seemingly innocent activity and an an op-ed in the New York Times titled Guantanamo Forever? by U.S. Marine generals Charles Krulak and Joseph Hoar argued that the new legislation would essentially nullify aspects of the Constitution, saying “due process would be a thing of the past.”
One thing is clear with the passage of this legislation, and that is those Senators and Congressman who voted for its passage are violating their oaths to support and protect the Constitution of the United States, because everything in the bill is counter to the principles outlined in our founding document. As such, concerned citizens around the country are now actively pursuing grass roots efforts to utilize a never-before enacted power of the people: the recall.

Via The Daily Kos and Sherri Questioning All:
Moving quickly on Christmas Day after the US Senate voted 86 – 14 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (NDAA) which allows for the indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial, Montanans have announced the launch of recall campaigns against Senators Max Baucus and Jonathan Tester, who voted for the bill.
Montana is one of nine states with provisions that say that the right of recall extends to recalling members of its federal congressional delegation, pursuant to Montana Code 2-16-603, on the grounds of physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of certain felony offenses.
Section 2 of Montana Code 2-16-603 reads:
“(2) A public officer holding an elective office may be recalled by the qualified electors entitled to vote for the elective officer’s successor.”

While the Montana Constitution (and those of other states) allows for a recall to take place, there is some question about whether these powers, which are technically undefined by the US Constitution, can be used to remove acting Congressional representatives:

The website Ballotpedia.org cites eight other states which allow for the recall of elected federal officials: Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wisconsin. New Jersey’s federal recall law was struck down when a NJ state judge ruled that “the federal Constitution does not allow states the power to recall U.S. senators,” despite the fact the Constitution explicitly allows, by not disallowing (“prohibited” in the Tenth Amendment,) the states the power to recall US senators and congressmen:

“The powers not…prohibited…are reserved to the States…or to the people.” – Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The issue of federal official recall has never reached the federal courts.

Nonetheless, we may soon find out, as Montana is spearheading the movement to remove both of their Senators from office, as per the petition draft that is now circulating:

“The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees all U.S citizens:
“a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed…”
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (NDAA 2011) permanently abolishes the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, “for the duration of hostilities” in the War on Terror, which was defined by President George W. Bush as “task which does not end” to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001.
Those who voted Aye on December 15th, 2011, Bill of Rights Day, for NDAA 2011 have attempted to grant powers which cannot be granted, which violate both the spirit and the letter of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
The Montana Recall Act stipulates that officials including US senators can only be recalled for physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of a felony offense. We the undersigned call for a recall election to be held for Senator Max S. Baucus [and Senator Jonathan Tester] and charge that he has violated his oath of office, to protect and defend the United States Constitution.”

While there may be eight other states whose Constitutions allow for the recall of federally elected officials, the US Constitution itself has reserved these rights for the people of each state, suggesting that such a recall movement can gain steam all over the country, and may be our last best hope of restoring Constitutional rule of law to America.

OREGON SHERIFF GIL GILBERTSON CONTINUES STAND AGAINST U.S. FOREST SERVICE

By Sarah Foster
November 23, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

Josephine County, Ore. -- Two months ago Gil Gilbertson, the sheriff of this rural county in southern Oregon, drafted a 10-page report exploring the origins and extent of federal power within a state and emailed his findings to various parties, asking for comment.

Since the report was in rough-draft form he was somewhat surprised that it went viral, but it shows there are a lot of people hungry for information about how much power (particularly law-enforcement power) the federal government actually wields within a state, where that power comes from, and the limits to that power.

Gilbertson continued his research and recently completed a 13-page revised and updated version, retitled: Unraveling Federal Jurisdiction within a State. It is highly footnoted with references to statutes and court decisions.

This a “must read” for anyone concerned about infringements against the 10th Amendment and federal encroachments in general – like road closures, Wild Lands and Monument designations, mining and other resource uses. In other words, this is for anyone and everybody with an interest – no matter how casual -- in accessing the public lands, either as a “resource user” (a rancher or miner) or simply a casual vacationer who enjoys weekend camping.

“If you’d told me two years ago that I would be writing such a document, I would have probably walked away from you shaking my head,” the sheriff notes in the introduction.

“This paper is a result of a clash with the federal [U.S. Forest Service] law enforcement in this county, from citizens complaining of what can only be described as harassment and violations of their rights,” he explains. “The first time I approached the USFS the door closed regarding any discussion. The USFS advised me to file a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. “

Eventually Gilbertson was able to discuss the issue with the Forest Service. “Most of my questions were answered except for one: Where does the USFS’s authority come from? (bold-face in original). The answer(s) were surprising.”

Finding the answer is one of five tasks he set himself, which he lists as follows:

1. Identify true jurisdictional authority of the Federal Government
2. Examine and expose how the reserved powers of the States are usurped by federal agencies writing and enforcing their self-imposed codes and regulations
3. Examine how the health, safety, and welfare of the Citizens within the State are undermined
4. Provide a positive and equitable solution
5. Coordinate with like-minded Sheriffs to take a formal stance on these issues.

Mission Creep

To sum up his conclusions regarding federal authority in a very small nutshell: the original idea was for the federal government to hold public lands within a state in trust, with the intention being for eventual disposal. Gilbertson writes:

“The public lands (out West) were considered by many as the ‘problem lands.’ However, the approved procedure, since the passage of the Resolutions of October 1780, was that the central government held the lands in trust. Upon a state being admitted to the Union, the federal government had the trust authority and obligation to dispose of the lands for expansion, exploration, occupancy, and production by setters.

“Slowly, over the years many of these ‘public lands’ held in trust seemingly became more desirable to retain, rather than for disposal. Newly formed federal regulatory agencies worked their way into existence, each taking an increasingly expanding role (enter ‘mission creep’). By 1976 complete and total disregard for the trust obligation to dispose of public land was made clear in the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), which states: ‘…that it is the policy of the United States that the public lands be retained in Federal ownership.’”

Sheriff Gilbertson talked with NWV about his report, expanding on his views about the division of power between federal and state governments.

[Book predicts the safest place in America to ride out the coming apocalypse is Josephine County, Oregon]

He strongly questions the legality and constitutionality of executive orders and various regulations, as well as laws like FLPMA, observing that Congress has the sole authority to make law, not the president, not the agencies. Not surprisingly he takes sharp issue with President Obama who has declared he’ll “circumvent the Constitution” through the use of executive orders.

“The Constitution is clear on who has police and legislative powers. Those executive orders are not law,” said Gilbertson.

And while FLPMA is a congressionally passed statute, it delegates undue powers to the agencies. “Congress cannot give an agency the ability to write rules and regulations and enforce them as if they were law,” he said. “Congress has to do that. These agencies write their own rules and regulations as they go along and enforce these as law.”

“The big issue, as I see it,” he continued, “is that all these things combine. You have DEQ, EPA, all these federal entities. And as all these federal agencies evolved over the years, there’s been mission creep. They decided, well, we need to fix this; this gives us more powers, and so forth, so we’ll just write down more rules and regulations. They were allowed to get away with it for whatever reason, and now they enforce those as laws. But it’s clearly stated that that can’t be done -- I spelled that out in my document,” he said.

Moreover, “Forest reserves were not federal enclaves subject to the doctrine of exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the United States. Local peace officers were to exercise civil and criminal process over these lands. Forest Service rangers were not law enforcement officers unless designated as such by state authority.”

The federal government sees it otherwise, so in addition to expanding claims for general regulatory power agencies like the Forest Service are attempting to extend the reach of law enforcement authority – a matter that adds to Gilbertson’s concerns.

“The U.S. Forest Service and BLM are really stepping outside their authority in that the Constitution does not give them that,” he observed. “The Tenth Amendment clearly reserves police rights to the states.”

Law Enforcement Power Grab

Sheriffs in other counties have taken note of this development. In his report Gilbertson refers to a one-page position paper by the Western States Sheriffs’ Association that concurs with his observations, and in fact grew from his earlier one. He writes, quoting from the WSSA statement:

“The USFS recently sent out a communication dated July 15, 2011, titled Federal Register publication of Final Proposed Rules [Title 36] 262, 261, and 212 purportedly to clarify and expand their authority.

On Sept. 21, the Western States Sheriffs Association responded with a position paper to this USFS publication by writing: “The membership of the Western States Sheriffs Association has reviewed the proposed rule changes and believes they exhibit the following: (1) an absolute disregard for the sovereignty of the individual States, (2) a disregard for the authority of the Office of Sheriff, and (3) A continued inability of the Forest Service to understand the mission and function of its Law Enforcement component."

Additionally, “This effort is viewed as an unnecessary and unauthorized expansion of federal police powers. The ultimate legal and constitutional authority for the protection of the public and the land within an individual county is vested in the Office of Sheriff. The Roles and responsibilities for the Office of Sheriff are well enumerated within the laws of each State, and the Sheriff possesses the authority to extend enforcement powers as appropriate.

“It is the position of this committee that the membership of the Western States Sheriffs’ Association utilizes all appropriate methods and resources to oppose this effort.”

Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations deals with the U.S. Forest Service. Section 212 is about Travel Management within the national forests.

NWV contacted Dave Brown, Sheriff of Skamania County, Wash., for additional information. Sheriff Brown is the chair of the Public Lands Committee of the WSSA that drafted the Position Paper. He said he hoped to have it adopted by the association at its annual meeting.

“It has not been adopted, but my hope is that it will be at our spring conference next March when it’s presented to the entire membership,” Brown said.

Brown said his committee relied for background on the first report Gilbertson sent out in mid-September. His further observations to NWV were particularly chilling.

“Essentially they are nationalizing their ability to do law enforcement. Right now the ability for them to enforce is based on … rules that are made at the district ranger’s office or the forest supervisor’s office,” he said. “They want to take that authority away from local rangers and forest supervisors and basically put it into their back pocket to do consistent enforcement nationally.”

A National Police Force in the Making

And this is about more than simply the road closures which are going on in all the national forests. As Brown sees it, these new provisions spell the way to a national police force. The new rules will give the federal law enforcement the authority to enforce state laws on county roads across national forest land and on roads outside the national forests.

Asked if they’d be enforcing all laws and ordinances on land outside the national forests, Brown said, “no – They would essentially be enforcing those state traffic laws that we would currently enforce and some drug enforcement laws, abandoned property issues, things like that.” “Most people don’t follow this or pay attention to it, but if we don’t [the federal government] will have everything they want to basically create a national police force,” he said.

Which is why the proposal has created a “firestorm” among western sheriffs. “We recognize it as them kicking us in the face and saying, ‘We don’t really care about you being the sheriff: we are going to give ourselves this authority,’” Brown said.

Corralling Runaway Government

The question for concerned Americans is how to stop the train, something easier said than done, though not necessarily impossible. “The real solution is to encourage Congress to comply with, and enforce the Constitution with the intent and guidance as written,” Gilbertson writes. “The PEOPLE vested the authority in Congress to accomplish this task. Put law enforcement aback where it belongs, within the several states. “It is my hope this letter [report] will serve as an awakening to the public and for elected officials to exercise the proper conduct to stop this runaway government. It is also my hope that Sheriffs throughout the United States will join to bring our Republic form of government back to the people.”

NOTE: Josephine County is on the California-Oregon state line across from Siskiyou County, a county that ranchers, farmers, miners and their allies are calling “ground zero” in the intensifying battle over land use and access to public lands. Siskiyou County is where the federal government, in lockstep with local environmentalists, seeks to remove three clean hydro-power dams on the Klamath River – an action that will wipe out what’s left of the once vibrant ranching and farming communities. A fourth dam, in Klamath County, Ore., is also slated for demolition.

On Oct. 22, eight brave sheriffs – seven from northern California and one from central Oregon -- put their careers in law enforcement on the line by addressing an audience of nearly 1,000 people at a rally in Yreka, the county seat of Siskiyou County. The event was sponsored by Support Rural America and other groups; the panel was introduced and chaired by Jon Lopey, Sheriff of Siskiyou County.

“By their testimony these fine sheriffs’ verbally documented the assault on sovereignty and the abridgement of individual rights … that they have personally witnessed,” says retired Sheriff Jim R. Schwiesow in a recent NewsWithViews column.

Sheriff Gilbertson was not among the eight panelists. He and his wife had made vacation plans and reservations over a year ago and it was not possible to change these. But although not able to attend in person, his report on federal jurisdiction speaks eloquently for him.

The event was videotaped and posted at ConstitutionalSheriffs.com.

Contact Sheriff Gil Gilbertson

Earlier Story

1 - Sarah Foster: Oregon Sheriff Stands Up Against the U.S. Forest Service: July 2, 2011

Archive of articles by Sheriff Gilbertson

1 - Unraveling Federal Jurisdiction within a State, Nov. 8, 2011
2 - Federal Jurisdiction Within a State: Posted by US-Observer, Oct. 8, 2011 (10 pages)
3 - Sheriff Wants Holders of Concealed Weapon Permits to Remain Private: 11-28-08
4 - Sheriff Seeking Stable Funding for His Office: 7-22-08
5 - Introducing Sheriff Gil Gilbertson 10-30-07

For More Information

1 - Public Lands Committee, WSSA: Position Paper: Re. Proposed Rules Changes by the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement: Sept. 21, 2011

U.S. Sheriffs Rise Up Against Federal Government: Sheriff Threatens Feds With SWAT Team ~ Grass Roots Take Charge!

Political Vel Craft

November 14, 2011

Sheriff Threatens Feds With SWAT Team

As more people became dissatisfied with federal government controls and land grabs, it was inevitable that local law enforcement would eventually see the bigger picture. At the northern California fairgrounds of Yreka last month, seven California sheriffs and another from Oregon gathered with a large group of citizens to say that they are finally going to do something about it.

“A giant has been awakened,” said Plumas County, Calif. Sheriff Greg Hagwood, “and they didn’t count on that,” speaking of the federal bureaucracy.

With exposure of the Emergency Management Center in San Luis Obispo a few decades ago, California began to offer the rest of the nation some evidence of the psychological conditioning aimed from the federal level at state, county and city law enforcement.

• Nevada Sheriff Tony DeMeo Stops Federal Government: Feds Engaging In Illegal Confiscation Of Cattle And Water Rights Of County Property Owner.
• Oregon Sheriff Gil Gilbertson Gives Federal Agents The Boot: Feds Have No Jurisdiction!

Dean Wilson, sheriff of Del Norte County (Sacramento), is a great example of this great awakening. He received the loudest and longest applause for his candor in confessing past faults after apologizing for not understanding the central government assault and land grab being committed against the people and what he should have been doing about it. Only in the past year has he done a turnaround and begun to behave as a county sheriff instead of an extension of federal law enforcement.

• Obama’s Federal Stooges Beginning To Understand The Power Of Sheriffs: Sheriff Warns Federal Agents They Will Be Arrested If They Interfere!
• Arizona Sheriff: ‘If Decapitating Police Officers Is Not Terrorism, What is?’: More Troops At Korean Border Than Deadly U.S. Mexican Border.

“I had spent a good part of my life enforcing the penal code, but not understanding my oath of office,” he told the audience. “I was ignorant and naïve, but now I know of the assault against our people by the federal government.”

• Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office To Launch Drone: Texas Sheriff Gains Bird’s-Eye View To Keep Check On Crimes By Federal, Domestic, Or Criminal Aliens!

Host sheriff John Lopey of Siskiyou County, speaking about the federal environmental intervention, said: “I have told federal and state officials over and over that, yes, we want to preserve the environment, but you care more about the fish, frogs, trees and birds than you do about the human race. When will you start to balance your decisions to the needs of the people?” Later he told the audience, “We are right now in a fight for our survival.”

Glenn Palmer, sheriff of Grant County, Oregon, said, “If an elected official has not taken an oath of office, he does not belong in office.”

AFP readers are familiar with the work of former Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack, who has spent the latter half of his life teaching sheriffs that they are the top law enforcement officers in their counties despite continuing federal intervention attempts. The ears that were deaf for so long may finally be starting to hear.

• States Of The Republic: Correcting Their Wayward Child ~ New Laws Constraining The Federal Government.
• Stop Homeland Security Agents Cold In Tennessee: McNairy County Sheriffs!

“It’s becoming a national movement now,” Mack told AFP, citing Immigration and Naturalization Service failure at the Mexican borders, the phony drug war, plus IRS and other unconstitutional intervention within these states.

His plans to take this movement national will be launched at a January meeting, where he anticipates 200 sheriffs will be in attendance.

“The county sheriff is the last line of defense guarding our people’s liberty,” he said.

Retired USAF Col. Richard Niemela of Reston, Va. has been exposing the federal monster for years.

He told AFP: “It’s the surreptitious domination by international globalists insidiously using unauthorized and illegal tactics to render null and void those historic and unique powers of the sheriff.”

American Free Press

• Police Lock Down Bank Of America: Florida Homeowner Forecloses On Bank Of America ~ Police, Movers, & Lawyer Orders Furnishing To Be Removed From Bank For Auction!
• U.S. District Federal Judge Aleta Trauger Orders Police To Stand Down: Orders Tennessee Police To Stop Arresting Occupy Protesters!
• High Noon Sheriffs In America: Battle Against Rothschild’s Richest 1% ~ The International Wall Street Banking Cartel.
• Arizona Sheriff Babeu: ATF, DOJ Accomplice to Murder – Holder Had Knowledge Of Project Gunrunner In 2009.
• The States Nullify Unconstitutional Federal Laws, Even When Endorsed By Supreme Court: Public Opinion & Support Make It Easy To Resist Federal Tyranny.
• Nullification 10th. Amendment
• Rothschild’s Obama ~ Establishes Domestic Terrorism Group By Signing His 86th. Executive Order #13575 : U.S. Farmers & Landowners Stripped Of Their Liberty & Given To Communist RURAL “Stake Holders”. Agricultural Dams Being Removed In The USA U.N. Agenda 21
• Obama’s Natural Born Status To Enter Senate Ethics Committee!
• BREAKING => “April 2, 2009″ DOJ Document Condemns Eric Holder: Brags At Mexican Conference In 2009 ABOUT Obama’s Stimulus Funding Of 2009 Gunrunner Project.

Sheriff Swat Team

Related articles

• Wyoming Sheriffs Told Federal BATF & IRS Agents To Abide By The Constitution Or Face Immediate Arrest. (politicalvelcraft.org)
• Gun Lake Tribe Donates K-9 to County Sheriff’s Department (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
• Convicted former O.C. sheriff’s official due $362,000 in back pay (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Obama’s High Noon: Sheriff’s Eligibility ‘Posse’ Sparks Media Whirlwind. (politicalvelcraft.org)
• Arizona Judge Stood Firm With Sheriff Mack (unmasker4maine.wordpress.com)

Sheriffs Stand TALL for the Constitution

(a class "A" video that shows there may be still hope for our country . . .)

by ReddingPatriots on Oct 29, 2011



Here are eight county sheriffs from Northern CA and Southern OR speaking on at panel at the Defend Rural America event October 22, 2011 in Yreka. Despite the low media coverage there were about 700 people in attendance from all over California, Oregon and as far away as Wyoming. The sheriffs made it perfectly clear that they are the last line of defense for their citizens and given authority by the 10th Amendment. YOU will be a source of information beyond the lame stream media by forwarding this link! For further information:
http://www.SiskiyouCountyWaterUsers.com/
http://www.DefendRuralAmerica.com/
http://www.PieNPolitics.com/
For information on the Constitutional Sheriff
visit http://www.sheriffmack.com/index.php/sheriffs

A Tree Party Rebellion

G. Edward Griffin: Sheriff of Otero County, New Mexico, warns federal agents he will arrest them if they try to stop the cutting & thinning of trees in a forest that is a wildfire danger. This is yet another case where states are exerting their constitutional power to reject federal laws.

finance.townhall.com

Marita Noon

Communities all over the country feel that their hands are tied with one-size-fits-all DC Brand Red Tape. The rules and regulations prevent them from doing what is best for their specific circumstances. The situation has escalated to the point where elected officials are now taking charge to do what is local and logical.

What took place this weekend in the rural New Mexico town of Cloudcroft could become the model for all who want to cut the red tape. Hundreds of people were at what is being called the “Otero County Tree Party” in support of realigning the federal government and putting them back where they belong.

Ten years ago, the New Mexico State Legislature passed SB1, which was signed into law by then-governor Gary Johnson. The legislature overwhelmingly voted for it, believing that it was a necessity borne out of “Uncontrollable, but preventable wildfires, and unresponsive federal agencies.” The Forest Service’s (USFS) inaction to reduce or remove the fuel buildup put “the lives and property of the citizens of New Mexico” at risk.

SB1 exerted local sovereignty over public lands. But it had never been tested.

Then, in 2011, the Wallow and the Las Conchas Fires left severe economic and social impacts—much like the 2000 Los Alamos Fire that prompted SB1.

For the past decade, the folks in Otero County have been trying to work with the USFS to solve the problem of the Lincoln National Forest. It was unhealthy, like a tinderbox. Each time the county leadership thought the members were making progress with the Forest Service officials, the officials were transferred. The stall tactics worked until the summer of 2011, when the county declared a state of emergency.

Ronny Rardin, chairman of the Board of Otero County Commissioners, told me they didn’t want to be the next disaster. People’s lives were in grave danger. The commissioners drafted the Emergency Forest Management Plan. On September 9, a public hearing was held. One-hundred twenty people supported the plan. Two opposed it. The commission voted to move forward.

For the past 20 years, since the Mexican Spotted Owl was listed as an endangered species, New Mexico’s forests have become overgrown. Thousands of jobs were lost, sawmills closed up. Fires became wild.

A study done earlier this year by the USFS’s Pacific Research Station, and validated by work done by Sandia National Laboratories, shows that the healthiest forests in the arid climate of the Southwest have approximately 50 trees per acre. Many of the forests in the Southwest have as many as 2,500 trees per acre. Forest management practices that aim to restore owl habitat, rather than that of an overall healthy forest, have contributed to increased fuel loads and fire severity.

The forest density is a serious fire danger, as the trees are thin and unhealthy. Many small trees lead to high-intensity fires where, by contrast, forests with fewer and larger trees have low-intensity fires. Additionally, there is not enough water to support all the trees—which also makes them more susceptible to disease, and dead trees burn more easily than healthy ones.

The water issue is dangerous for more than just the trees’ health and fire prevention. With the current forest density, the trees are sucking up the limited water supply and threatening the local communities who depend on the near-surface aquifer.

The nearby forests of the Mescalero Tribe provide a case study on forest management. Rather than following USFS policy, they manage for the health of the forest and practice uneven age management—meaning they log selectively. When there are forest fires—a reality in the arid mountains of the Southwest—in the Lincoln National Forest, the fires quickly become wild, threatening people, livestock, structures, and livelihoods. When the same fire rushes on to Mescalero lands, due to the healthier trees and less density, it lays down and becomes a more manageable surface fire. An added bonus: their forests have several spotted owl protected activity centers.

Keeping the forest healthy through thinning costs about $600 per acre, but fighting a forest fire can cost nearly four times more. Additionally, rather than going up in smoke, thinned material can be used for wood products and biofuels. The thinning helps the watershed store more water and limits erosion, which fills up reservoirs and streams with silt from the flash floods on mountains with no vegetation to hold the water back. It also helps maintain the mountain ecosystem and allows the snow to melt and filter into the ground water rather than evaporating from the branches, reduces structure damage and insurance issues, and maintains the recreation economy.

So, why has the USFS fought the citizens of Otero County, who want what is best for their community? Why were Congressman Steve Pearce and county commissioners threated with incarceration if they cut the tress as planned? Like “Why is the EPA fighting farmers?” answers to these questions remain left to our imagination.

What we do know is that on Saturday, September 17, the Otero Country Tree Party put the Forest Service on notice. They did not ask permission; they realigned the government and took back their right to manage the lands owned by the state and county. The 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires that the lands be managed in coordination with the state and local governments and New Mexico state law gives local sovereignty over public lands.

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez supports the county’s efforts but could not attend because of the state’s special legislative session going on at the same time. A letter from Lt. Governor John Sanchez was read at the rally before the tree cutting ceremony.

The Sheriff’s Department had an obvious presence with a SWAT vehicle and riot gear. But the only trouble was a lone environmentalist holding up a sign in opposition of the tree cutting efforts.

While the “Tree Party” on Saturday was largely symbolic, it let the Forest Service know the County is serious. If the Forest Service doesn’t follow through with the Emergency Forest Management Plan the County has drawn up, the County will have no choice but to move forward on its own. The actions taken by the Otero County Commissioners are being watched closely by the National Association of Counties.

The Otero Country Tree Party has worked to stay within the law and asked people to leave their pitchforks and chainsaws at home. The trees were cut by professionals, who safely dropped them, as a cheering public looked on. Congressman Steve Pearce cut the first tree under the direct supervision of the professionals. The Tree Party supporters then helped clean up—doing what the USFS should be doing.

The Otero County Commissioners believe that in addition to saving lives and property through reducing the fire danger, their Emergency Forest Management Plan can provide as many as 1,000 jobs for the local communities. Chairman Rardin said: “We are just trying to fix our problem. This is what America wants.”

The Otero County Tree Party is a movement that could change the nation as other counties realign the government by putting them back where they belong.

Feds order California pot dispensaries to shut down - despite being legal under state laws

(a perfect issue for the Federal government to attack the states with, where if you support the states, you are labeled as a kook . . .)

[A power struggle is coming to a head in 16 states that have legalized medical pot. The feds claim that federal law supersedes state law. The states say that the Tenth Amendment authorized them to nullify any federal law that is unconstitutional. The outcome of this contest will shape the future of America. - G. Edward Griffin]

By Associated Press

6th October 2011

Federal prosecutors have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores that they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges.

They also threatened to confiscate their property even if they are operating legally under the state's 15-year-old medical marijuana law.

In an escalation of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. government and the nation's burgeoning medical marijuana industry, California's four U.S. attorneys sent letters on Wednesday and Thursday notifying at least 16 pot shops or their landlords that they are violating federal drug laws, even though medical marijuana is legal in California.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2046224/Feds-order-California-pot-dispensaries-shut--despite-legal-state-laws.html#ixzz1aC0gb5up

Texas state officials groped by the TSA

(hmm . . . another story scrubbed from a FOX local station's website. . .)

Uploaded by SupportDignity on Jun 15, 2011



Barry Smitherman, Chairman of the Texas Public Utilities Commission, and Texas State Rep. Barbara Nash tell about their experiences with "aggressive" TSA groping. State Rep. David Simpson discusses his bill to prohibit the TSA from groping innocent travelers without probable cause. Fox 7 Austin's Camille Williams reports.

Texas Senator Compares TSA Fight To Revolutionary War

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars
Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Texas Senator at the forefront of the fight against invasive TSA pat-downs has likened the stand-off between state and federal authorities over a bill that would criminalize TSA groping to the revolutionary war against Mexico, calling the situation a “Come and Take It” moment once again for Texas.

In a message to constituents welcoming Governor Rick Perry’s decision to place SB 29 on the agenda of a special legislative session, State Senator Dan Patrick, the leading sponsor of the bill, said that Texas would prevail in the battle against the feds and become the “symbol of freedom and liberty for the rest of the nation.”

“And like the Texas Revolution it was our citizens rising up to make their voice heard. It just makes us remember why we love Texas,” wrote Patrick, adding, “This is a “Come and Take It” moment once again for Texas.”

“For those who ask how can a state pass a law that trumps federal law, there is no federal law requiring these invasive searches. It is simply TSA policy. As a legislator I have a right and a duty to protect our citizens liberty. We should not be threatened or bullied by the Federal Government simply because we choose to stand up for our rights,” said Patrick.

“Come and take it” refers to the Battle of Gonzales, the first battle of the Texas Revolution against Mexico, where a fiercely committed small group of Texans resisted Mexican forces who had been ordered by Juan Gomez to seize a cannon that had become an object of Texas pride.

In the 21st century, the object of Texans’ pride is their right to privacy and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, a liberty that is fast being eroded by an army of TSA goons.

Under the VIPR program, the TSA is being turned into a literal occupying army manning security checkpoints not just in airports but throughout the country.

“As part of the TSA’s request for FY 2012 funding, TSA Administrator John Pistole told Congress last week that the TSA conducts 8,000 unannounced security screenings every year,” reports Mother Jones. “These screenings, conducted with local law enforcement agencies as well as immigration, can be as simple as checking out cargo at a busy seaport. But more and more, they seem to involve giving airport-style pat-downs and screenings of unsuspecting passengers at bus terminals, ferries, and even subways.”

As we highlighted recently, the TSA is now even being used to grope high school teenagers at their local prom night.

There are currently 25 VIPR teams conducting grope-downs of Americans but TSA officials want to add 12 more over the course of the next year. Earlier this year, the agency announced its intention to expand the VIPR program to include roadside inspections of commercial vehicles, setting up a network of internal checkpoints, with private vehicles also in the cross hairs as a Sovietized America comes to fruition.

Full story HERE

TSA On The Ropes; Budget Slashed, Texas Grope Ban Returns

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has “change of heart,” sends HB 1937 to Rick Perry

Image: Flickr Commons

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Friday, June 3, 2011

Days after a top TSA official conceded that the agency would be forced to reconsider its policies in the aftermath of a nationwide backlash against invasive screening procedures, the agency was dealt another two huge blows yesterday with the news that the TSA budget would be slashed by $270 million, in addition to the return of a bill in Texas that would make grope-downs a felony.

The Texas bill that would have made invasive TSA pat-downs in the state a felony, legislation that was nixed after the Justice Department issued a threat to shut down Texas airports and impose a federal blockade, has risen again like a phoenix from the flames.

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the man responsible for turning Senators away from the bill which had looked set to pass having sailed through the House unanimously, has reversed his position and “asked Gov. Rick Perry to include the measure in a special session of the Texas legislature,” reports The Hill.

Texas state Rep. David Simpson (R), one of the main backers of the bill, told visitors to his Facebook page that Dewhurst has had a “change of heart,” which may have something to do with the firestorm of criticism the Lt. Governor received after his actions, in addition to promises by Simpson and others to oppose Dewhurst’s future political aspirations in the state.

“The Lt. Gov. sent a letter to Gov. Perry asking him to include the TSA bill HB 1937 in the special session!,” Simpson wrote on the website. “Please call the Governor and tell him you agree with Lt. Gov. Dewhurst!”

There shouldn’t even be a debate as to whether or not TSA workers can stick their hands down your pants or fondle a woman’s breasts. Not even a police officer or an FBI agent can legally lay a hand on you unless it’s in the course of an arrest. Though welcomed, there isn’t even any need for a law to be passed in Texas, all state police have to do is enforce existing laws.

As Steve Wagstaffe, the District Attorney in San Mateo County, told Alex Jones last year, merely touching someone against their will is a felony in California, just as it is in Texas and across the country.

“If it is skin to skin, if someone were to take their hand and put it underneath somebody’s blouse and touch someone inappropriately and go skin to skin, that’s a felony, and if it’s done simply over the clothing, according to California law, that’s a misdemeanor,” said Wagstaffe.

If police merely did their job and enforced existing laws by arresting TSA agents who molest Americans, whether that be in airports, at train stations, highways, bus terminals, prom nights or wherever else TSA workers are used, then there would be no need for new legislation.

Full story HERE

Utah To Follow Texas Lead In TSA Grope-down Revolt

Steve Watson
Prisonplanet

Utah looks likely to be the next state to follow the example set by Texas in attempting to make TSA grope downs a felony.

Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman has introduced a bill into the Utah House of Representatives that would ensure TSA agents would have to abide by the same Fourth Amendment limits that police do when performing searches on Americans.

“It is a work in progress,” Wimmer told the Utah Daily Herald. “What it would do right now is simply say TSA agents are not exempt from the requirement of reasonable suspicion or probable cause to pat down a citizen.”

Like the bill that was recently unanimously passed in the Texas House, Wimmer’s legislation would make it an offense to touch the private parts of the person on the receiving end of the pat-down.

Read more »

Rage Against The TSA: Protesters Storm Texas Capitol

Demonstrators led by Alex Jones chant “treason” in response to federal government threat to close down Texas airports

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, May 26, 2011

Alex Jones’ spontaneous decision calling on Texans to protest the government’s egregious threat of a federal blockade if the Texas Senate passed an anti-TSA groping bill resulted in hundreds of protesters storming the Capitol in Austin yesterday afternoon.

As we reported yesterday, the TSA and the Department of Justice resorted to financial terrorism by threatening a federal blockade that would have closed down Texas airports if the Texas Senate had followed the House in unanimously passing a bill that would have made TSA groping in the state a felony.

“There’s never a dull moment at the Texas Legislature. The House and Senate were going about their regular end-of-session business on Wednesday when loud screams could be heard coming from the rotunda. Outside the chambers, a group of mostly men and a few women were screaming, “Cri-mi-nal! Cri-mi-nal!” and “Treason! Treason!” reports the Texas Tribune.

The quickly arranged demonstration was announced during Jones’ radio show just hours beforehand. Next time around, there would be 50,000 protesters in attendance, he promised.

Media reaction to the event was mixed, with some accurately reporting the protest and others resorting to the usual brand of sneering arrogance we’ve come to expect from the corporate press.

Despite the fact that the intimidation tactics of the federal government, which will surely backfire as a massive shot in the arm for the states’ rights movement, scuttled the anti-grope bill in Texas, there are numerous other states that are already debating or preparing to introduce similar bills.

The feds cannot keep relying on mafia-like behavior to preserve the ability of their criminal army of minimum wage perverts to molest children, at some point down the line lawmakers will have the guts to stand up and say no, and at that point a wave of TSA resistance will sweep legislatures across the country.

Watch more videos of the protest below.