Seeking redress, M.V. Times Letter

Hey, gues what? I sent a letter to the editor of the Martha's Vineyard Times, the Cape Cod Times, and the Vineyard Gazette, and the M.V. Times published it. I don't know if the Cape Cod times published it... I'll have to find a copy, and the Gazette doesn't come out 'till tomorrow, so we'll see then.

For now, here's the text of the letter:

Seeking redress

To the Editor:

Monday, June 30, may be remembered in history as the day Americans began, in earnest, the moral and solemn process of holding their servant government accountable to the constitution, under threat of withdrawal of allegiance, support and tax money.

To secure this end, the people have begun to claim and exercise a little known, but unalienable, "Right of Redress," rather than depending upon the will of the majority as defined by precinct voters, those who cast votes on Capitol Hill, and those that vote from the inner sanctums of our courthouses.

Most do not know that this profound natural right, first articulated 800 years ago in the Magna Carta, is embodied and protected by the petition clause of the First Amendment, the same amendment which protects your voice in the defense of freedom. Very importantly, academic research since 1986 makes clear that the right to petition for redress is not a redundant statement of the right of speech. It is in fact, the individual exercise of popular sovereignty.

To be sure, the widespread exercise of this Right holds significant implications for our nation and is most worthy of your interest. Here's what some of the Founders, sitting as the first congress, had to say:

"If money is wanted by rulers who have in any manner oppressed the people, they may retain it until their grievances are redressed, and thus peaceably procure relief, without trusting to despised petitions or disturbing the public tranquility." - Journals of the Continental Congress, 1:105113

On June 30, approximately 1,200 American citizens will begin the process of exercising the right by formally serving a legal notice and demand for redress upon the president, the attorney general and every member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, at their local district offices. This includes our own.

Demanding an official response within 40 days, the notice includes seven petitions for redress of grievances regarding substantial violations the constitution:

1. The Iraq invasion in violation of the war powers clauses.
2. The Federal Reserve System's violation of the money clauses.
3. The USA Patriot Act's violation of the privacy clauses.
4. The direct, unapportioned taxes on labor in violation of the tax clauses.
5. The federal gun control laws in violation of the Second Amendment.
6. The failure to enforce immigration laws in violation of the "faithfully execute" clause.
7. The construction, by stealth, of a "North American Union" without constitutional authority.

We the people cannot elect our way out of tyranny. Any assertion that by electing either Sen. John McCain or Sen. Barack Obama we can cure the ills that now plague America is simply naive or based on a lack of information regarding the corrupting forces that truly influence and control our government and political process.

Remember, when our president originally led us to war in Iraq, he did so with the majority support of not only Congress, but of the people. Credit or blame for whatever actions our government takes, whether it turns out to be for better or worse, cannot be laid upon just one man, administration, or congressional gathering. Whether through apathy, ignorance, vigilance, or brilliance, all our nation's citizenry have some responsibility for what our government does.

We urge you, the media, to learn about this profound right and to cover this event. Our republic faces a watershed moment no less historically compelling or newsworthy than the emergence of the civil rights movement. If liberty is to survive through peaceful means, you must embrace your ability to bring this critical information to your readers.

I know our local papers don't usually cover national news so much, but this really does have the potential to affect us all personally.

I also must admit that I am not as well versed in constitutional law as some, but in the past couple of years I do feel I have learned enough to support this cause and wish that others would do the same. If you wish you may visit www.givemeliberty.org/revolution for details about the plan to restore constitutional order.

I also recommend that every citizen take a closer look at our constitution than most of us do. Some of it is a tough read, but during a time when there is significant discussion about what it's all about and how important it is, I think it's a good thing for every one of us to take a good look at.

Christopher D. Osborn
Vineyard Haven

I look forward to seeing what people have to say about it in the comments section of the website. Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod, and Massachusetts in general actually is a great haven for big government Democrats.

Ron Paul's Campaign For Liberty | The Revolution Continues

With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign is at an end. But the larger campaign for freedom is just getting started. Therefore, I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty.

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A Letter From Ron Paul:

Dear Supporter,

These past 17 months have been among the most exciting and eventful of my life. Together you and I delivered a message of freedom the likes of which American politics had not seen in decades. I wasn’t sure the country was ready for it. But it was a message, I discovered, that many Americans had been waiting for a long time to hear.

I have been blessed with the most informed, well read, and enthusiastic supporters of any presidential campaign. Your extraordinary efforts in organizing and fundraising grabbed the attention of millions of Americans and shocked just about everyone in politics and the media. I still cannot get over all the fantastic work you did.

Something of great significance has just occurred in our country’s history.

With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign is at an end. But the larger campaign for freedom is just getting started. Therefore, I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty.

The work of the Campaign for Liberty will take many forms. We will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We’ll have our own commentaries and videos on the news of the day. I’ll work with friends I respect to design materials for homeschoolers.

Politically, we’ll expand the great work of our precinct leader program. We’ll make our presence felt at every level of government, where just a few people with our level of enthusiasm can make a world of difference. We’ll keep an eye on Congress and lobby against legislation that threatens us. We’ll identify and support political candidates who champion our great ideas against the empty suits the party establishments offer the public.

We will be a permanent presence on the American political landscape. That I promise you. We’re not about to let all this good work die. To the contrary, with your help we’re going to make it grow – by leaps and bounds.

This is the most ambitious venture of my political career, and I think it can achieve great things. But I can’t do this alone. I need you to help me. I need your energy, your creativity, your ideas, and your dedication.

People frustrated with our political system often wonder what they can do. I have founded this organization to answer that question, to give people the opportunity to do something that really makes a difference in the fight for freedom. Please join me by becoming a member of the Campaign for Liberty. Our goal is 100,000 members by September. Can we reach it?

Our campaign netted 1.1 million votes in the primaries of a shrinking Republican Party. Millions more support us. I need you to help me reach them – and to keep making new converts to the cause. What a force we can be, if only we rise to the occasion.

Now what about the Republican Convention in St. Paul? Our delegates will attend, of course, and I expect our contingent to have a visible presence there. Without disruption, we will do whatever we can to influence the party and its platform, and return the GOP to its limited-government roots. This is very important.

This brings me to my second announcement. I invite you to join us at Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday, September 2nd, for a grand rally. We intend to draw over 11,000 people. We’ll have live music and entertainment, and special guests. I’ll address you all as well. A massive rally will generate still more interest in our ideas. And what a great time it will be.

Remember that it was Senator Robert Taft, who shared our views, who was called Mr. Republican. But we are not merely the Republican Party’s past. If the enthusiasm of young people for our campaign is any indication, we are also its future.

Right now I will need your patience and input as we develop our program and assemble just the right team of individuals. But it is my intention to launch the Campaign for Liberty in its full capacity at our rally in Minneapolis this September.

Over the past week we’ve learned that the Democratic presidential nominee, supposedly an antiwar candidate, is committed to the same rhetoric, the same propaganda, and the same aggressive intentions toward Iran as the Bush administration. As usual, the major parties refuse to offer Americans a real choice.

The Campaign for Liberty will lay the groundwork for a different America, the kind of America you and I, and millions of our fellow countrymen, want to inhabit.

“Dr. Paul cured my apathy,” a popular campaign sign read. Others said our campaign cured their cynicism. We have now reached a moment of great moral decision: will we let ourselves retreat into apathy and cynicism once again, or will we dig in for the long haul and fight all the harder? Will we retire from the scene quietly, or will we give the establishment the fight of its life?

“In the final analysis,” I wrote in my new book The Revolution: A Manifesto, “the last line of defense in support of freedom and the Constitution consists of the people themselves. If the people want to be free, if they want to lift themselves out from underneath a state apparatus that threatens their liberties, squanders their resources on needless wars, destroys the value of their dollar, and spews forth endless propaganda about how indispensable it is and how lost we would all be without it, there is no force that can stop them.”

The time has come to act on these words. May future generations look back on our work and say that these were men and women who, in a moment of great crisis, stood up to the politicians, the opinion-molders, and the establishment, and saved their country.

Join us, and be a part of it.

For liberty,

Ron Paul