... all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
Ñ Declaration of Independence
![[House of Cards]](cards-s.gif)
Is your children's future
a house of cards?
Remarkable Remedy
Jean Carpenter
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VII Remarkable Remedy
Simple Solution
TO REGAIN our financial independence and avert catastrophe, the monetary system prescribed in the Constitution by the Founders must be restored.
The fundamental reform needed is a President who will govern by the Constitution, meaningfully construed, and a few simple amendments to restore that original meaning and bring our government back under its sensible restraint.
The remedy lies in the constitutional preservation of the power of the People over government, our public servant. But the hour is late. What can an individual do? Must we pledge -- and risk losing -- our lives and our fortunes as our Forefathers did?
No. That price has already been paid. Brave men, at great cost, won our liberty and provided effective chains to bind our government. We have only to apply those chains.
In this chapter we will look at the keys we have at our disposal (recognizing the difference between delegated and ultimate authority); what has already been done; the opposition we may expect to encounter; how we let it happen (so we can avoid letting it happen again); and the two factors that undergird our freedom.
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Individual Initiative
When our forefathers shed the chains of the British monarchy, they ceased to be subjects of the sovereign crown. They established a government in which the public officials are the subjects -- subject to the sovereign authority of the People and their rule book, the Constitution. That is why we call them "public servants."
As responsible sovereigns we must constantly monitor them -- and recall, impeach, or not re-elect those servants not submitting to the authority of the Constitution.
That is our job. If we don't do our job, we cannot complain if our servants fail to do theirs.
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Keys to the Remedy
The remedy so remarkable it laid the foundation for a great nation is none other than the Constitution -- and, in particular, these few key clauses:
Article I, Section 10: No State shall make anything but gold and silver coin a tender for payment of debts; coupled with Article I, Section 8: Congress shall have the power to coin money. Real money is mandated.
The Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people; coupled with the Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Government power is restricted to that specifically delegated to it in the Constitution Ñ by the people, in whom, under God, all power resides.
Article VI: Treaties are to be made only under authority of the Constitution.
Article III, Section 2, Paragraph 3: The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases in Impeachment, shall be by Jury. The most important check on government, jury nullification of the law, is preserved.
With restoration of constitutional government we can have ...
... real money
... no public debt
... little or no tax burden
... privacy of records
... accountable public servants
... true free enterprise
... prosperity
Our nation will resume development of the most exciting political drama in the history of the world as people resume their responsibilities as citizens. Such concerns as hyper-inflation, depression, and massive unemployment will no longer be at issue.
With such a vision before us we can utilize the constitutional authority of each level of government to effect reform; and, based upon these keys, individuals can make decisions and take action ...
Thus, a nation consisting largely of middle-class citizens will not only be prosperous and self-reliant, but will prove also that a minimum of government is sufficient as well as salutary. In such a state, the rich, the over-privileged, and the paupers will be few in numbers. It will maintain an orderly and powerful organization; it will have no standing or central army, but a peopleÕs militia prepared at all times for defence.
-- Thomas Jefferson, In his Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1805
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Federal Authority
Is Delegated Authority
When the 535 people in Congress honor their oath of office, they will legislate always with reference to the Constitution, meaningfully construed.
They will propose amendments to restore the intended meaning to the Constitution:
to clarify the meaning of the Welfare Clause of Article I, Section 8
to clarify the meaningof the Treaty Clause of Article VI, Paragraph 2
to require all future legislation to bear citation of constitutional authority
to require juries to be fully informed of their authority
They will repeal the Federal Reserve Act, restore honest money, and provide for the disabling of all previous legislation relying upon faulty interpretation -- including unconstitutional Executive Orders.
The President can exert leadership by holding up the standard against which all legislation must be measured: the Constitution of the United States, meaningfully construed. He has the obligation (under his oath) to veto all federal legislation not specifically authorized by it.
The power of veto is a powerful weapon against wasteful or unlawful federal spending or legislation. To sustain his vetoes he requires only one-third plus one of one house (34 Senators or 146 Representatives). He can refuse to spend money that has been unconstitutionally appropriated. He can thus defund the IRS, for example.
When Judges honor their oath of office and uphold the Constitution they will arbitrate rather than legislate.
Congress may vote appropriations, "but he [the President] does not have to spend it É He does not spend anything he does not want to ...
-- Representative Hays, (D) Ohio, Feb 9, 1972, on the floor of the HouseOur peculiar security is in possession of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction.
-- Thomas Jefferson Letter to Wilson C. Nicholas, 7 Sept 1803I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground -- that all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states, or to the people (10th Amend.). To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.
-- Thomas Jefferson Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Ed. by H. E. Bergh, Vol III, p. 145
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State and Local Authority
Is Delegated Authority
Article I, Section10, of the Constitution -- to make nothing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts -- is still binding on the States. With simple adherence to Article I, Section 10 -- the "(gold and) silver bullet," the States can nullify the Federal Reserve Act .
The legislature of each State has authority unilaterally to refuse unconstitutional federal mandates. Colorado has taken first steps, and others are following.
The legislature of each State has authority unilaterally to reclaim its rightful legislative power in the Senate by declaring the Seventeenth Amendment fraudulently declared ratified and, therefore, null and void.
The legislature of each State has authority unilaterally to declare the Sixteenth Amendment illegally declared ratified.
The first state legislature to rise up and reclaim its rightful authority will give rise to others following suit. History will celebrate the event. Read about the beginnings of this in The Treasury, page 79.
County governments are already successfully challenging jurisdiction of the federal bureaucracy. Read about the refreshing wisdom of County Commissioners and the County Government Movement in The Treasury, page 75.
Judges at all levels have authority to rule in accordance with the Constitution meaningfully construed.
This section [Article I, Section10] I consider as the soul of the Constitution ...
-- Charles Pinckney, Delegate to Constitutional Convention from South CarolinaWhat other influence over, or check upon the General Government will the States possess, if their Legislature do not elect the Senate or second Branch of the National Government. I am unwilling to have the States without a self-protecting Power -- as I desire the continuance of the several States, I shall not agree to deprive them of the Faculty of self-Protection.
-- George Mason, Delegate to Constitutional Convention from Virginia, June 25, 1787It is clear by Article I, Section 10, of the United States Constitution and by Title 31, Section 371, of the United States Code, that this Court can only make gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts. However, this Court will accept other forms of money such as Federal Reserve Notes or personal check if voluntarily tendered.
Municipal Judge Larry E. Moritz, Spearville, Kansas Main Street Journal, Vol 1, No. 3, October 1981
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Ultimate Authority
Resides With the People,
Under GodThe People are not powerless.
We have power of veto in the jury box. Representing the People, the Constitutional Sovereign of this nation, one informed juror has power and authority to veto legislation in any given case. The key word is "informed." All enactments of government must pass the ordeal of any number of separate tribunals -- the checks and balances -- before they have the force of law. The last tribunal is the most important check of all: the Jury -- the People's tribunal. Who else is there to watch government but the people? But they can do it only if they are informed and aware of their own rights and responsibilities.
We have power at the polls. The citizen can make his voice heard at the local level on the school board and at the precinct meetings in the formation of party platforms. If the platform is ignored after the election, the People can form a new party. The People have power to defeat liars and elect people to office that may better represent them.
We have the power of the pen. Each can write letters to call our elected officials to account, and can inform family, friends, and neighbors of facts. Each can write "letters to editors."
We have the power to minimize our vulnerability. We can greatly reduce the degree of our exposure to the system that is devouring our property, by getting out of debt -- a personal survival tactic.
We have the power of education. We can teach our children and others their heritage, their authority, and their responsibilities to guard their liberties. We must each take responsibility -- and not entrust our children solely to government schools. One thing the master cannot leave to the servants to teach his children is how to manage and supervise the servants. We can also support the Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA), Helmville, Montana 59843, 406/ 793-5550.
We have the power of association. Many groups have lifted the standard of the Constitution -- among them, the Fully Informed Jury Association, and the Constitution Party.
All acts of the legislature apparently contrary to natural rights and justice are, in our law and must be in the nature of things, considered void É We are in conscience bound to disobey.
Robin v. Hardaway, 1 Jefferson 109, (Va., 1772) Lynn Johnston, WhoÕs Afraid of the IRS?, p. 33É if the people had reserved for themselves no veto upon the acts of the government, the government, instead of being a mere servant and agent of the people, would be an absolute despot over the people. It would have all power in its own hands, because the power to punish carries all other powers with it.
-- Lysander Spooner, the 19th centuryÕs authority on the jury system, in his "Essay on Trial By Jury" (1852). (See more excerpts in The Treasury.)
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Much Work Already Done
Much has already been done. The state legislatures of Arizona, Washington, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Alabama, and Texas, have already introduced or adopted legislation calling for the repeal of the Federal Reserve Act. Considering similar legislation are: Nebraska, Virginia, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Nevada, California, Iowa, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi.
The state legislators -- an average of only about 144 per state -- hold one of the keys to the remedy.
The States must reclaim their proper authority to regain prosperity if they, and we, would survive as the nation of free people we were meant to be. But the hour is late. The Constitution has been habitually ignored as we slept. The year 1913 was a year of infamy.
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Expect Powerful Opposition
"There ought to be a law É" is the theme song of mainstream media. The basic premise is that we should look to government to create jobs, alleviate all poverty, and resolve all difficulties Ñin short, to take care of us.
Major Media consistently avoids the central issue: the Constitution and honest money. Without these there can be no lasting solution to our economic problems. Its opposition to the Constitutional Restoration Movement is demonstrated by news blackout, discrediting people, and selective editing. (See "Rule 15," p. 105 in The Treasury.)
At least four serious and legally qualified candidates were not invited to participate in the 1992 presidential debates; nor were they ever interviewed or even mentioned by the mainstream media. Voters were given no opportunity to know their arguments existed, much less weigh their merits.
Money is plentiful for those who benefit from the status quo. They can purchase media time and can exert pressure by threatening to withdraw advertising. (Perhaps one requirement for an FCC license to use the public airways should be to provide equal and free media coverage to all qualified candidates.) This would allow the real issues to be covered. (See "Focus on Congress," p. 114 in The Treasury.)
Powerful opposition can also be expected from PAC's and other lobbyists, whose power will be threatened by reform.
Our divisions weaken us and are regularly exploited. While we argue with one another in utter frustration (not communicating), our attention is diverted from the real disaster that awaits us all dead ahead. When our children "wake up homeless on the continent [our] fathers occupied," most of these important issues will remain un-resolved. On the other hand, we may marvel at how many of these issues disappear with the restoration of constitutional government and clearly defined jurisdiction.
Facts are facts. Our energy would be better employed in holding the feet of our public servants to the fire of the Constitution. We can restore our Republic! Our independence was won in 1776 by only a small fraction of the population.
Righteous anger can be turned to positive action -- not blaming, but reminding our public servants of what has been forgotten. They are not the enemy. Probably most of them love our country and are victims of the same confusion which we all have experienced.
The logical principle of validating all laws by the authority of the Constitution has simply, but tragically, been lost from public consciousness .
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How We Let It Happen
The primary purpose of the Constitution was to define -- and to limit -- the power of the federal government, to put an end to inflation, and to secure to the States and to the People all their natural and inherent rights and powers. That purpose was achieved.
For more than 150 years the U.S. prospered and became one of the greatest nations in the history of the world. It did not tax wages and salaries. It was funded mainly by indirect taxes, such as import duties. For most of those years its currency was honest money. So, how could the events of 1913 have occurred?
We allowed them to occur, because we believed what we were taught in school: that our government was the best in the world. We trusted it. We have labored for years under nine basic delusions:
everything we learned in school must be true;
the government always works in our behalf;
the income tax is necessary;
expenditures cannot be reduced;
bank deposits are safe;
government can and will prevent another depression;
government programs will prevent hardship;
the value of money, by its nature, is subject to wide fluctuation; and
inflation is permanent.
All are myths.
The legitimate functions of federal government cannot be effectively performed by other entities. But the decisions of unchecked government are invariably dictated by special, not general, interest. The people become progressively more dependent and less self-reliant -- until dependency and complacency render them completely vulnerable to every whim of the ruling elite. A nation is only as great as the integrity and character of its citizens.
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The Basis of Our Freedom: Two Factors
Good government is our responsibility. What our Founding Fathers gave us was the best Constitution. Two principles make it unique in history and form the basis for our freedom: (1) its base of honesty in weights and measures (including money), and (2) all power, authority, and responsibility resident in the People (under God), with government operating only under limited delegated power. Only when these principles are operative do we have good government.
The amount of freedom we have is in direct proportion to how strictly we demand adherence to the Constitution -- correctly construed -- that was designed to protect that freedom.
Servants easily forget to do what their masters forget to require. Our elected public servants exploit our generosity and good will, making us sacrifice to pay for their past indulgences and flagrant oath-violations.
No one who drops the reins should be surprised when his horse takes off through the trees and his head is whacked by branches. Only the rider can bring the horse under control. Otherwise, the beast will always do as he pleases. Continual demand that our public servants cite constitutional authority for their acts, will be a constant reminder to them of their oath, thereby bringing the congressional beast under control.
The clear objective: survival requires that all laws conform to the Constitution, meaningfully construed ...
restoring sound money
restoring constitutional taxation
eliminating waste and debt
respecting private property
respecting personal privacy
and all officials must be required to honor their oath of office.
Government is necessary as an arbiter among selfish interests; but it must be constantly watched and severely limited in its powers. It must, in the words of that great statesman, Thomas Jefferson, be kept from mischief by being "bound by the chains of the Constitution."
What the Founding Fathers knew from experience must never again be forgotten: the gravest and most constant danger to any man is his own government.
While we shirk our responsibilities we allow our unalienable rights to be violated; we allow our citizens to be heavily and wrongfully taxed and plunged ever further into debt (by a Congress out of control), plundered by the monetary system, and ravaged by moral decay. All is promoted by an invasive education system; and the predicament will only grow worse, regardless of the amount of money and band-aids applied.
Such will be the order of the day until our boat, with all aboard, plunges over the brink to certain disaster ...
... or we exert our power to apply a remarkable remedy to turn our nation away from calamity.
Then soon will come a day when liberty prevails and true prosperity smiles on a nation as it resumes the most exciting political drama in the history of the world.
... a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government ....
-- from JeffersonÕs First Inaugural Address