Congratulations, Michael. We'll ship your blade to you Thursday. Everyone else: Patches are enroute to my shop now, and we'll turn them around and ship to you as soon as they come in.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to supporting our efforts to spread Liberty.
We are working hard delivering copies of III to Liberty to Virginia gun shops and on Capitol Hill, we are working to spread the concept of the III to local Tea Party groups, and working to build the III brand across the political spectrum.
I can only do so much by myself - all of you have helped tremendously and your support acts as force multipliers. I'll keep working in this direction as long as you think there is merit in what we are doing.
Thank you, and congratulations again Michael in Missouri!
Kerodin
III
Give me your books or pay up!
LEO shows up to collect overdue library books from a 5 year-old, at her home.
In a surprise: The family's dog was not killed...this time.
Here's the story.
Kerodin
III
Bump
Our sincere thanks to all who have contributed in the last week to help America527's efforts in Virginia. Our community is small, many of our households are running on tight budgets, and there are many prep items competing for your dollars, but we have been very happy with the support you have all offered.
I know you don't do it just because a knife or a patch is offered, but I am pleased we can offer something.
Anyone who contributes $20 or more through tonight will be in the running for the Benchmade Axis above, designed by Mel Pardue. We'll do the drawing Tuesday afternoon. Everyone who contributes at least $10 will also receive a III Patch.
Thank you all.
Here's the link.
Kerodin
III
Some in our community see value in trying to win hearts and minds.
I take the position that we only have one course to follow: Win.
I will spend energy to find allies who have awakened, but have not yet found our community. If I happen to change a mind or two in my travels, so be it.
The futility of trying to change minds and win hearts is demonstrated by the Columbia University professor who will give credit to her students for participating in Occupy. So far as I know, there was no credit given for participating in Tea Party events. This is just one more blatant case that showcases the bias in our education system, from kindergarten through Graduate school.
We can not compete with the entrenched Enemies of Liberty who dominate what your children see, hear, learn and experience.
All we can do is win.
By any means necessary.
For without victory, there can be no survival...
Here's the Columbia piece.
Kerodin
III
2.1 million registered voters in Iowa.
Yet only about 100,000 folks will participate in the GOP Caucus process.
5% assume the responsibility of Citizenship and participate.
5% of the voters in Iowa will have a tremendous impact on the process of electing the next President.
That remaining 95%: They are mostly the folks who will line up against Constitutionalists.
A significant portion of the 5% will also line up against Constitutionalists. About 20% believe in Mitt Romney's brand of R politics, for instance. Another 20% or so line up behind Santorum. So, right off the bat you have 40% or so who are voting for war with Iran, continued Entitlements, et cetera.
2.1 million registered voters and at most 30,000 are expected to cast a vote for Ron Paul and his ideals.
Of those 30,000, how many are willing to stand with the III on the Green. How many are physically able? Grim.
Apply this formula to the broader population.
There are roughly 55 million registered R voters.
If we assume 5% will stand with Ron Paul you end up with 2.75 million people. Again, filter out those who are unwilling and those who are unable to take the Green.
You need more of everything on your 2A shelf.
Use this information as you will.
Kerodin
III
Are people beginning to step off the porch?
Maybe. Maybe not.
The arsons in LA are interesting.
And someone rocked a mosque in NYC with a molotov cocktail.
An Iraq vet is on the run in Washington State after killing a Park Ranger during a traffic stop.
Denninger asked the same questions I was entertaining in my brain case.
Whether any or all of these events turn out to be One Man Ruckus events will be revealed in time. But this is what it will look like. Pushing the wrong person on the wrong day can have unexpected and dire consequences.
It will only take a few genuine events motivated by anger at Government abuse to lure many people off the porch.
Be careful for what you wish...
Kerodin
III
Most of us have seen the Declaration of War that is circulating as a result of NDAA. Several of you have sent me copies, and I have read them on blogs.
If you haven't seen it, here is a version at AP's place.
This Declaration is getting wide attention beyond just our community, and that is good.
But is it not just another toothless line in the sand that will not be defended?
So the men and women in Government have declared their authority to treat you as an enemy combatant and send you to Gitmo. The key word is declared. To date they have not done it. So, it is a threat.
And we have declared a state of war in response? Where is the shooting? Where is the war? If you sign on to this thing, are you leaving the porch now? Have you identified the first targets you intend to disappear?
More likely it will rise to the level of a bit of sabre-rattling and then we'll let it reside in the archive folder, just one more undefended bit of bluster.
Why do I reach this conclusion? Because nothing has changed with the signing of the NDAA and the particular legislation that has everyone hyperventilating.
The Enemies of Liberty already claim the authority to come for you. But they have actually been doing it for years, and to date there has been no action on any Green. No, we bluster and rattle our sabres with cries of No more Wacos, Not one more inch, No more Ruby Ridges., and we declare that the very legitimacy of the Government has been surrendered...and we do nothing about it when agents of Government cram the ultimata down our throats, daring us to make a move when they murder Guerena or march people out of homes in Alaska. Where is the action regarding ObamaCare, which is nothing less than mandated enslavement. No declaration there?
State of war? Really?
If you mean the words in the declaration, and you mean to back them up, carry on and good hunting.
I'll believe it when I see it. Unless you are ready to step off the porch on this one, right now, I would caution that more harm will be done by disseminating this declaration than not. The last thing we need is one more undefended line in the sand.
Kerodin
III
Lone Star has a good grasp of the forces in play regarding Ron Paul and the Establishment.
Read his post, here.
Kerodin
III
You work to feed your family, not to serve your fellow man.
Self-interest is a natural and healthy human trait, so long as you have the moral strength to prohibit yourself from invading the Liberty of another person to satisfy your wants or needs.
Here is a much better analysis by Walter Williams.
Kerodin
III
If you take the position that the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of Constitutionality, or that the Framers intended for such to obtain, then you take the position that the Framers intended to place the members of the Supreme Court above all men and even your Creator.
Consider: The restrictions upon Government articulated in the Bill of Rights are protections of Natural Law, unalienable. The Rights recognized in the Bill of Rights were deemed inviolable by our Framers. Why then would these same Framers place the power to infringe these unalienable Rights in the hands of men on the Supreme Court? The answer, of course, is that the Framers never intended any such thing.
Yet, as Jefferson noted, the Federalists retired into the judiciary as a stronghold.
It is from this stronghold that the Enemies of Liberty have waged their war. It remains today the primary weapon of the Enemies of Liberty who rule by the perversion of Judicial Review and precedent.
When you look at the efforts of the Obama Administration to undermine the Second Amendment, do not look at Gunwalker, for it is low-hanging fruit. The true assault has been sophisticated, stealthy, and generational in its approach. President Obama has seated two staunch anti-gun Justices on the Supreme Court, both of whom are relatively young.
John Lott notes that at the current pace, if President Obama is elected for a second term he will have appointed more than one half of all Federal Judges on the Bench.
Let that fact sink in for a moment.
Also consider how many more Supreme Court Justices the next President is likely to appoint.
If you accept that nine men have the authority and power to violate your Natural Rights, bestowed upon you by your Creator (or by nature of your birth if you are offended by the concept of a Creator), by merely choosing to declare a law to be Constitutional or not, I contend that you look cynically upon the very nature of the Constitution and prefer to see it as a tool of enslavement rather than a tool of Liberty.
That is your choice.
I contend that the Federalists retired into the judiciary as a stronghold precisely because the Constitution was written in such a manner as to help thwart their tyrannical aspirations.
Gunwalker, reporting requirements, bans on importation, et cetera, are all superficial skirmishes of little significance. They are diversionary. Sparklies.
If you are willing to live under a system that gives authority to the Supreme Court to determine what 2A means, whether you must purchase health insurance, whether you may use a cell phone in your car, then your political battles must be waged to keep Bad People from the Bench, for you accept the premise that other men have the Right to determine your level of enslavement.
However, if you believe that your Natural Rights are indeed inviolable and unalienable, then your political fight must be broader, you must engage every man or woman who chooses to violate the plain language and intent of our Founding Documents, from the President to the bureaucrats to the neighbors who vote for Enemies of Liberty.
For this I leave you with the only quote of value (to me) ever uttered by Abe Lincoln: We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.
We all know that Lincoln chose not to follow his own rhetoric on this topic, but the words hold value to anyone who chooses to live at Liberty.
Here is John Lott's piece.
Kerodin
III
I have personal experience in the phenomenon currently taking place in Virginia.
When the Establishment wants a particular outcome, they have no qualms about simply changing the rules or moving the line. If you take solace in the fact that you come "close" to the legal limits of a law, but you stay on the proper side, do not be surprised when the Establishment simply moves the line.
When the Establishment wants outcome X (or any outcome other than Y), they will change the rules shamelessly to advantage their goals.
This is what is taking place right now in Virginia, as the R Attorney General for the Commonwealth is working to put Newt and other R candidates on the ballot for the primary. Only Ron Paul and Mitt met the challenge set by the Board of Elections and collected the requisite 10,000 voter signatures, thus qualifying for the primary.
Here is the problem from the Establishment's perspective: In a 2-man race between Paul and Romney, what if Paul wins? The horror!
Now they are willing to change the rules of the game while it is being played. They want the entire field of candidates on the ballot, to ensure that votes are bled from Ron Paul.
This is why our system must be purged - the people involved are willing to do anything to secure their self-interests, while ignoring the oath they swore. As noted elsewhere recently, Lincoln's only significant contribution to mankind is his quote that: We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.
We have noted before that our Masters have dropped all pretense.
They mean to be good Masters...but they mean to be Masters.
That makes them unfit for political service, and for consideration as our Countrymen.
Here's the story.
Kerodin
III
We are leaving 2011 in a few hours, and entering what I suspect may be the most dangerous year ever faced for Liberty in our republic. I include 1860/1861 in my assessment. Those years marked the beginning of the end, and if we are not careful 2012 may mark the end itself.
Resolutions?
I resolve to do everything in my power, upon every front of the polygonal battlespace, to ensure that Liberty does not perish on my watch.
I know many of you have your bayonets pointed at the same Enemies of Liberty as do I.
Let this be the year we earn the respect of the original III.
Kerodin
III
ObamaCare is nothing but slavery wrapped in the pretense of good intentions.
If the law is allowed to stand, it joins many others in the pile of laws designed to enslave Americans.
The Supreme Court claims the power to decide the Constitutionality of the law.
Sorry, that is not the way the Founders intended the republic to work. No man, and no group of men, have the power to declare an unconstitutional law that violates Natural Rights to be lawful and Constitutional, something we must endure.
Sadly, defeating ObamaCare will not signal that Liberty remains alive. But not defeating it will leave those who intend to have Liberty with very few choices...
Here is TL's piece.
Kerodin
III
Here's an update from Bill about his Patriot gathering in a couple of weeks. It looks like he will have a good turnout, and I would suggest anyone with the time/ability to attend should do so.
This is how communities bond.
Here's the update from Bill.
Kerodin
III
"In questions of power," Jefferson admonished, "let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution."
The old influence we had over events in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan is slipping away. Even the Israelis tell Obama they will build on the West Bank when they wish, where they wish.
China, beneficiary of a decade of trade surpluses running into the trillions at our expense, now instructs us that the South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Taiwan Strait are territorial waters — and the U.S. Navy shall behave accordingly.
[America] Though fighting for a decade, she is unable to impose her will on Iraq or Afghanistan. She cannot control her borders. She cannot balance her budgets. She cannot get her spending under control. She cannot stop the steady hemorrhaging of her jobs and factories overseas.
America is losing control. Why? A failure to understand human nature and the lessons of history — and the mindless pursuit of Utopian dreams.
I have said it before and I will say it again: America messed up and perhaps lost our last chance at a peaceful Restoration when we failed to elect Pat Buchanan to the Oval Office.
Here is his full piece.
Kerodin
III
She has written an op-ed that says many of the right things, here.
How might she evolve with 4 or 8 years as VP to a President Paul?
Could she recover from her neo-con mistakes (PATRIOT) sufficiently to become a good President? Would she learn to read the Constitution as written and intended sitting second chair for a term or two?
I have been to two events when she spoke, and I found her charming, sincere, and not afraid to look anyone in the eye. Even with her weaknesses, I am convinced she'd be a better President than Mitt. And her first 100 days plan promises far more than Mitt, Newt and the others (except Paul) have dared.
Here's her op-ed.
Kerodin
III
The Buck Nighthawk is a knife that will be included in our Go Bag project. We have found it to be another outstanding blade.
Kent has some nice things to say about Buck as well, here.
Kerodin
III
On a modern assembly line each worker usually has one job - swing this robotic-assist arm in place and push the button, the computer will tighten to proper torque, or, put these 4 left-thread widgets on this muffler bearing, et cetera.
So...how does a modern assembly line miss a brake assembly without pads?
How does it miss 4,000+?
Simple: Let the Government own it and run it...
Here is the story.
Kerodin
III
Consider a 2012 election cycle media campaign for our community.
AP has fleshed out a draft, please read the thread and comment at WRSA, here.
Every bit of audience expansion is ground gained for Liberty.
Kerodin
III
Watch the rhythm of the war drums and escalations regarding Iran and consider how they affect the 2012 US election cycle. Americans tend to circle the wagons around a President in wartime. That is an old narrative, but not yet entirely obsolete. What is different today is that many Americans are tired of war, and the sitting President has started more than his share. Starting another with Iran will probably backfire if the goal is to solidify his domestic political base.
But, what if war with Iran is not entirely about the domestic political base?
Iran sits on the fourth largest oil reserves in the world. Any oil disruption will further negatively impact the world economy and the US economy, and perhaps be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Mo's folks have proved time and again during the Arab Spring that they can be relied upon, once unleashed from their current tyrants, to work stridently towards goals that are in their own interests and thereby destructive toward America.
Current economic programs in America are deliberate in their attempts to undermine and break the republic. Every economic decision taken, and even those avoided, facilitate a downward spiral of our economic health. The goal must be to implode and collapse, for the goals of Enemies of Liberty.
How better to ensure a timely implosion than to spend three years driving to the precipice, and in the final year give the final push, a push that is guaranteed to drive oil to $150+ per barrel, gasoline to $6+ per gallon, and effectively march the country into full-blown economic suicide?
War with Iran.
Look for a spring or summer conflict with Iran that drives the economy in the direction sought by our resident Communists. Their goal is the destruction of Liberty and Capitalism. They must push Americans further from their comfort zones and deeper into the arms of Government to succeed.
Their timing may have been ideal.
2012 will see the rise of the FSA in the name of Communism (though they will call it something more palatable).
2012 will see the final moments of Liberty and Capitalism, or it will provide the opening for Patriots to sweep away the disease in our midst.
You will have a vote that matters in this one.
Watch the headlines about Iran. Watch the rise of DHS. Connect the dots.
Do not be caught flat-footed. Be aware and prepared when the balloon goes up.
Mozart has a post that complements this topic, here.
Kerodin
III
