THE MAYFLOWER, PLYMOUTH AND THE AMAZING LIFE AND DEATH OF WILLIAM SHURTLEFF

As we celebrate this 389th Thanksgiving, I thought it would fun to remember, celebrate and share the role the Shurtleff family played in the beginning of our wonderful and blessed Nation.

As you know, the Puritans wanted to separate themselves from the Church of England to worship according to their free will and closer (or more “pure”) to the original Church of Jesus Christ as based on scripture. They began to call themselves Separatists. A branch of these Separatist Puritans removed to the north of England, and began gathering in the town of Scrooby in Yorkshire. They later felt the need to separate themselves physically from England itself and immigrated to Leyden, Holland in 1608. Wishing to further distinguish their faith from that of other Puritans who wanted to remain within the Church of England and work for biblical reform from within – they chose to call themselves Pilgrims. In 1620, seeking a new start in the New World, they boarded the Mayflower and set sail, arriving at Cape Cod in November of that year.

Arriving far north of their intended landing, the Pilgrims and the non-religious members of the crew determined that if they were to succeed as a new community in a new land, they would have to put aside their differences and work together as a community. On November 11th, 1620 they entered into the Mayflower Compact, to live according to the Rule of Law and equality. The Mayflower Compact became known as the “anchor” and the inspiration and template for the U.S. Constitution 160 years later.

The signers of the Compact declared, “…do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.”

So how do my Shurtleff ancestors factor into these historic events?

The first Shurtleff to come to America was my 8th Great Grandfather William. He was born in 1624 in Ecclesfield Hall in Hallamshire, West Riding, Yorkshire, England. He was the first to spell our name S-H-U-R-T-L-E-F-F when he came to America. His father was William Shiercliffe, son of Nicholas, son of Nicolas, son of Alexander, son of Thomas, who we know lived in that part of Yorkshire since before 1500.

Ecclesfield was just twenty miles north of Scooby where the Pilgrims had lived for many years before leaving for Amsterdam. Many stayed behind but followed with great enthusiasm the travels of their brethren and began following them to Plymouth Colony throughout the 1920s and 30s.

As stated in a history book written in the early nineteenth century, “therefore it is not unreasonable to suppose that he [William Shurtleff], living so near the nestling place of the Leyden Pilgrims and being of an enthusiastic age and ardent temperament, became fired by the spirit of adventure or inspired with the holy zeal of the Puritans, and thus became one of the first settlers of the town of Plymouth and one of the forefathers of New England.”


At the young age of ten, William became an indentured servant to Thomas Clarke for the term of eleven years commencing on May 16, 1634, as is made apparent by the following entry preserved on page 70, vol. 1, of the Plymouth Court Orders: "September 1 William Shetle [sp] hath put himselfe an aprentise to Thomas Clarke for the terme of eleuen yeares from the 16 of May last and at the end of the sayd terme the sayd Thomas is to cloth him with two sutes fit for such a seruant and also eyght Bushells of Indian Corne."

Indentured servants contracted to work for their master for a term of years and at completion were granted their own land. Apparently our cunning great grandfather negotiated an extra bargain of two suits and eight bushels of corn (to seed what would become his lands in the New World when he turned 21.)

William was obviously not at the First Thanksgiving, but likely participated in many November feasts of thanksgiving in Plymouth Colony. His master, Thomas Clarke was a carpenter [and some say was the same pilot of the Mayflower] and one of the first Pilgrims to be buried on the Old Burial Hill just across the road from the current Plymouth Rock, Pilgrim Monument and the rebuilt Mayflower . William’s son, Captain William Shurtleff, would later be buried in that same small graveyard where his gravestone can still be seen today. He associated in life with the likes of William Bradford, Miles Standish, Perigrine White (first child born in America aboard the Mayflower just prior to the first landing.) His name appears with these and others on the Plymouth Founders Memorial [pictured here] as "William Shurtle[ff] and his wife Elizabeth."

William did his mandatory military service for Plymouth Colony during the last two years of his indenture. He was apparently a feisty young man being “fyned” for “breaking the peace vpon John Smyth" on June 5, 1644; and on Oct. 2, 1650, the authorities "present James Cole of the towne of Plymouth for making of a batterie vppon William Shirtley[sp]” [sp]ofthaforesaid towne."

In 1646 Grandpa William appeared in a list of names comprising the townsmen of Plymouth and at the General Court of the Colony held at Plymouth. On October 18, 1655 he married nineteen year old Elizabeth Lettice, who had been born in Plymouth in 1636 and on an unrecorded date in 1657 (300 years before my birth in 1957) Grandma Elizabeth gave birth to their first child, William.

On June 3, 1656 Grandpa William entered public life, being chosen one of "the Surveyors for the highwaies" for the town of Plymouth. In recording this event his name is written "William Shirtley"; and again he is found serving as juryman on Oct. 6, 1657, in a controversy between two residents of Plymouth. On June 7, 1659, "William Shurtley" was chosen constable for Plymouth and on the same day, as "William Shirtley," he was first on a list of names of "such as stand propounded to take vp their freedom." That year Elizabeth gave birth to twins Martha and Thomas.

The following entry is made in the Colonial Court Orders under date of the first of May 1660; probably it is the last during his connection with Plymouth, of which he was then Constable: "William Shurtlife -) were admitted freemen… att this Court." Freemen were those adult male citizens with full rights to participate in all public and political aspects of life in the community.

He probably removed north to Marshfield about this time, as his name cannot be found any later in any of the records of the town of Plymouth. From an instrument recorded with the Old Colony deeds, it is ascertained that he sold meadow land in Plymouth to Gabriel Fallowell on Mar. 27, 1660, at which time he was called "of Marshfield."

While in Plymouth he resided on his estate at Strawberry Hill near the Reed Pond and not far from the present bounds of Kingston, after which he dwelt in the easterly part of Marshfield in the neighborhood of White's Ferry, near the mouth of the North River, where his dwelling house was destroyed by fire in the early part of the year 1666; and on this account he was sojourning at the house of his near neighbor, John Phillips, at the time of the occurrence of the lightning which caused his death.

You have likely heard the family lore of our ancestor killed by lightning which came down the chimney of a home. The following are the historical accounts of his death that made a significant impact on Plymouth colony.

While Grandpa and Grandma William and Elizabeth and their children were “partaking of the hospitality of Mr. Phillips, it appears that one of those dreadful droughts occurred which were so very distressing to our early planters and which threatened to destroy all the fruits of their spring labor. On this account the good people of several neighboring congregations observed a day of fasting and prayer as they were wont to do in those days when suffering under afflictive dispensations. Soon after this, on June 23, 1666, happened the terrific thunderstorm which is so graphically described in a letter of Rev. Mr. Arnold. At the time of this storm there were fourteen people in the common sitting-room of the house of Mr. Phillips [including]; William Shurtleff, wife Elizabeth and their two sons, William and Thomas; and finally Timothy Rogers, the individual who related the circumstances to Mr. Arnold, the writer of the letter which has been the means of preserving many of the particulars of this sad event. They were mostly seated around the room. Mr. Shurtleff was sitting beside his wife, holding her hand in his and having one of their children in his arms, the other being between him and a table, under which was a dog. The storm of rain came on with great violence and Mrs. Phillips requested to have the door closed. Whereupon a stroke of lightning passed down the chimney, which it rent to pieces, smote down most of the people if not all, instantly killing Mr. Shurtleff, Mrs. Phillips and Jeremiah Phillips, and then passed out through the door, splitting it into fragments. This occurred on Saturday and they were buried on the following day, being the twenty-fourth, according to an entry made in the Marshfield town records.”

The account is related in a letter from Rev. Samuel Arnold of Marshfield to Rev. Mather of Boston, 1638, as follows: “There were, at the house of John Phillips, fourteen persons. Instantly a terrible clap of thunder fell upon the house and rent the chimmey, and split the door in many places, and struck most of the persons, if not all. There were mortally struck with God's arrows, that they never breath more. They were the wife of John Phillips, and his son, aged about 10 years, and one Wm Shertley (Shurtleff). Who had a little child in his arms, which was wonderfully preserved. This Shertley had just before been burnt out of his own house, and with his family, was at this time; a present sojourner at said Phillips."

Another survivor wrote of the tragedy: "The woman of the house calling earnestly to shut the door which was done, instantly a terrible clap of thunder fell upon the house & rent the chimney & split the door in many places & struck most of the persons if not all. Timothy Rogers told me that when he came to himself he saw the house full of smoke & there was a terrible smell of brimstone.”

Grandpa Shurtleff was buried in a Cemetery in Marshfield called the Old Winslow Burying Ground. Unfortunately his grave marker has long been lost. We do know that the great Daniel Webster shares the same burial ground.

A final interesting fact tied Elizabeth and children to the signers of the Mayflower Compact. Three years after the tragic death of Grandpa William, Grandma Elizabeth the mother of four children (having given birth to another son, Abiel, a few months after William’s death) remarried a Jacob Cooke. She joined her four children to his seven and together they raised thirteen children. Jacob was the son of Francis Cooke who was on the Mayflower and was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact. So beginning at age twelve, our 7th great grandfather was raised by his stepfather and step grandfather who signed the Great Anchor Document. Young William would grow up to become “Captain William Shurtleff” one of the prominent citizens of the growing Plymouth Colony.

This interesting additional detail of the fatal lightening strike is included in the book Signers of the Mayflower Compact, page 50:

In 1865 Jacob Cooke married Elizabeth Lettice Shurtleff, “the widow of William Shurtleff who was killed by a stroke of lightening at Marshfield ‘while sitting while sitting with a child in his lap and holding his wife’s hand to encourage her, but he alone of his family was hurt.’ Goodwin tersely tells that ‘this storm immediately followed on a fast on account of drought and ended in a hurricane – prayer was too efficacious.’ "

William grew up and moved back to Plymouth and in 1683 married Susannah and became a very prominent member of the now “county” of Plymouth. He served as a selectman and was a representative to the State Assembly, and active in other offices of honor and trust. He was especially prominent as a military man among the pilgrims, rising to the rank of Captain of the local Militia. His remains were interred on Cole's Hill, the first burying lot of the Plymouth pilgrims, and his headstone bears this inscription: "Here lyes ye body of Capt. William Shurtleff who Decd Febry The 4th, 1729-30, in The 72d year of his age."

I have a transcription of his Last Will and Testament including his bequests to each of his children and also of his estate inventory if any are interested.

Captain William and Susannah had thirteen children, including 6th Great Grandfather Ichabod, who was born in Plymouth on Nov. 8, 1697. The direct lineage to me is as follows:

Jonathon Shurtleff, (1736 Plymouth, MA)

Elisha Shurtleff, (1774 CT)

Vincent Shurtleff, (1814 MA)

Harrison Tuttle Shurtleff, (1841 MA, and was a member of state legislature, Utah Constitutional Convention, and an original signer of the Utah Constitution)

Harrison Smith Shurtleff, (1867 UT)

James Henry Shurtleff, (1900 UT)

James Leonard Shurtleff (1930)

Mark Leonard Shurtleff (1957)

I am very thankful for my wonderful heritage and all of my family who continue centuries of family love and unity, patriotism and service to God and Country.

5 Keys to Comprehensive Immigration Reform:

Media accounts of the Attorney General's immigration ideas have thus far been incomplete. Immigration reform must be comprehensive and multi-faceted to be real, successful and sustainable.

1. Secure the Borders

We must continue to insist that the federal government to its job of securing the border. Until that is done, an Arizona style "round 'em up" law will only take state and local police officers away from their job of enforcing state law and keeping us safe, and those rounded up and deported will be right back.

2. Security

Any solution must increase, not decrease the security of U.S. citizens. Making the police force the immigration force overburdens law enforcement while robbing them of the tools needed to protect our citizens. For example, my office has a Criminal Alien "SECURE" Strike Force that works with federal and local officers to aggressively go after the violent felons who are in our state illegally for one purpose: violate Utah laws by dealing drugs, gang-banging, murdering, stealing identities and running fake ID mills. We rely on otherwise law-abiding undocumented aliens to cooperate with police in going after the "worst of the worst" who put us all at risk. In less than a year the strike force has arrested more than sixty of these dangerous criminal aliens.

3. Immigration

Recognizing that the job line is separate from the immigration line is a critical step toward providing a real and sustainable solution. Placing someone at the bottom of the job AND immigration lines, for crossing the border illegally or committing crime while he or she is here, creates an economic incentive to do the right thing.

4. Economics

The root of the illegal immigration problem is economic. People come to this country and remain illegally in order to feed their families. In doing so they work hard and do jobs that are essential to our own economy. Any sustainable solution needs to address the needs of industry. Public policy that ignores the economics is not sustainable. Creating economic incentives for industry and immigrants to do the right and legal thing is a sustainable public policy. Requiring E-verify must be paired with a legal guest worker program. I suggest a pilot program between Utah and a Mexican state to use the current law to make legal, documented temporary immigrant workers available for those jobs that companies can prove cannot be filled with U.S. citizens.

5. International Cooperation

Working cooperatively with Mexico and other nations whose citizens are coming to the U.S. is essential to a sustainable solution. It is in our best interest for these nations to prosper economically and politically so that their citizens will stay home. Actions perceived as anti-Mexican or anti-Latino drive a wedge between nations. We want to cooperate with our neighbors to the South so they will secure their side of the border and provide incentives to their citizens to use the legal process already in place and encourage legal immigration and legal guest worker activity. Anti-Mexican rhetoric ignores the fact that the Mexican government is in a war against the drug cartels that has left over 20,000 dead. These drug cartels exist largely to support America's insatiable drug habit, and U.S. weapons are being used by drug traffickers and other criminals to murder police and government officials. Joint efforts to win that war and help Mexico prosper are essential.

MEMORIAL DAY 2010

“LET FREEDOM RING!”

Utah Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff

 In the solemn oath, “I will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United Sates against all enemies foreign and domestic”- LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the proud “Off we go into the wild, blue yonder;” “Anchors away my boys;” “Over hill, over dale;” and “From the Halls of Montezuma;” and in every “Oo-rah” “Hu-ah” “Atta-boy” and “Semper Fi”- LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the wail and warble of the sirens of emergency responders rushing to protect and to serve; (and the heavy breathing of firefighters and police officers running up hundreds of stairs on Sept 11 as everyone else was running down) - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the halls of justice with the rap of the gavel and with every “objection,” “if it please the court,” and “we find the defendant….” - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the “voice of the people” rolling off of Capitol Hill with every “will the representative yield?” “point of order,” and “all in favor say AYE, opposed, NAY”- LET FREEDOM RING!

 With every “Dear editor, I am appalled!;” “Thanks for taking my call;” and “In my opinion;” and in every phone call, email and letter to an elected official - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In classrooms across this nation with the squeak of chalk on the board, the swish of pages turned in lesson books, and children proudly declaring, “I pledge allegiance to the flag…” - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In every “play ball!’ Crack of the bat, and “Take me out to the Ball Game!” Every “Da-da-da-da-ta-da, CHARGE!” and “Boooooozerrrr!” Every “GOOOOOALLLL!” Every “Let’s get ready to rrrrrrumbllllllle!” Every “Touchdown [pick your team]!”- LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the most quiet and solemn place of all, the voting booth – Let Freedom Ring.

 In the buzzing of the bedside alarm that roles us out of bed and sends us to work every day to create, innovate, improve and provide products and services that enhance the quality of life - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the roar of the combines and harvesting machines, the zip, zip, zoom of the Interstate, the hum of the turbines, the cacophony of the assembly line, the ring of the bell followed by the din of the stock exchange, and the lonely echo of the night train delivering goods from sea to shining sea - LET FREEDOM RING!
 Through whispering pines in the woods and templed hills; the sssshhh of amber waving grain; from the babbling of small brooks to the roar of mighty rivers; in the call of the wild, the nocturnal hoot of an owl and screetch of a bald eagle - LET FREEDOM RING!

 As the sun settles out over the Great Salt Lake, and families gather around the dinner table, with the saying of “Grace,” and in every clink of glass, “please pass the salt,” smack of the lips, and every story and joke and tease - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In every newborn baby’s cry – LET FREEDOM RING!

 Every time someone mentors an at-risk youth or young single mother, coaches a little league team, or serves on a soup line - LET FREEDOM RING!

 With every “rip” as a charitable donation is torn from the checkbook, and in every “plink” of a coin dropped in the Salvation Army bucket in unison with the clapper of the bell - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In each “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to help other people at all times - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the scent of fresh baked bread or cookies as they are offered in welcome to new neighbors, a hand extended in friendship - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In every smile, hug, hand-up; with all arms extended in fellowship and brotherhood, and every shoulder made wet from tears of the comforted - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In the sizzle from the backyard BBQ, the splash in the pool, the metallic tunes from the circling ice-cream truck, and the crackle of fireworks, all intermingled with the laughter of children - LET FREEDOM RING!

 And as music swells the breeze from the sweet string of the twilight concert in the park; the proud cymbal, fife and drum of the marching band; by every voice raised in harmony, “My country ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims pride, From every mountainside - LET FREEDOM RING!”

 As mortal tongues awake in conversation, and with every “I’m sorry,” “I forgive you,” “I’m proud of you,” “I love you!” - LET FREEDOM RING!

 From each pew, pulpit and sanctuary in every church, temple, mosque and synagogue across this blessed land - LET FREEDOM RING!

 In solitary, humble prayer on bended knee, with bowed head in gratitude and supplication to that great Author of Liberty - LET FREEDOM RING!

 And last - though foremost on this Memorial Day - in the muffled hooves of the horse-drawn caisson baring the body of one who paid the ultimate sacrifice; the proud and powerful report of 21 guns; the grateful piping of “Amazing Grace;” and the mournful hum of taps - LET FREEDOM RING!

UTAH VS OBAMACARE

Nineteen states have now joined (with more joining on every day) Utah  in suing the federal government on the grounds the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. (Click here for a .pdf copy of the complaint.)

Never before in the history of our nation has the federal government required every U.S. citizen to buy a product or service or pay a stiff penalty! The federal government only has such power over our lives that is expressly granted in the Constitution. Otherwise all power and authority is left to the states. An individuals decisions as to what health care procedure to undergo, who will perform it and how they will pay for it IS NOT interstate commerce "at its core," and therefore the Obama administration cannot mandate those choices under an expansion of the Commerce Clause Power.

Our nation is based on the Rule of Law and the process of how government effects our lives matters. It matters not how laudable the goal or how bad Congress and the President want to do something. They have to do it lawfully and constitutionally.

Federal District Court Judge Vinson has set our case for a scheduling conference on April 14th in Tallahassee Florida. We urge all citizens to ask their state attorneys general to join with us in protecting the legal rights of their states and citizens against this unprecedented federal power grab and radical usurpation of individual and states rights.

Read a great Wall Street Journal editorial editorial "ObamaCare and the Constitution, If Congress can force you to buy insurance, Article I limits on federal power are a dead letter" at http://bit.ly/c7C1bS.

It concludes, "the AGs should not be deterred, because the truth is that ObamaCare breaks new constitutional ground. Neither the House nor Senate Judiciary Committees held hearings on the law's constitutionality, and we are not aware of any Justice Department opinion on the matter. Judges have an obligation not to be so cavalier in dismissing claims on behalf of political liberty. Under the Constitution, American courts don't give advisory opinions. They rule on specific cases, and the states have a good one to make.

Democrats may have been able to trample the rules of the Senate to pass their unpopular bill on a narrow partisan vote, but they shouldn't be able to trample the Constitution as well."

SALT LAKE CITY WEEKLY TABLOID

Q. “What is the difference between the Salt Lake City Weekly and your run-of-the-mill Supermarket Tabloid?”

A. “You have to pay for the Supermarket Tabloid.”


Writer Ed Grabianowski stated, “In a highly regarded newspaper like the New York Times or Washington Post, the facts in a news story are meticulously checked and confirmed with multiple sources (when everything goes as it should). Editors and writers conform to journalistic standards and work hard to maintain an overall sense of objectivity. Tabloids don't seem to follow any of these rules.”

For years, Utah’s “Alternative” weekly, has masqueraded as a “newspaper.” In fact, its stories are nothing more than “yellow journalism” of the common supermarket variety. Pulitzer Prize winner Frank Luther Mott could have been speaking of the City Weekly when he defined “yellow journalism” as using misleading headlines in huge print, lavish use of imaginary drawings and dramatic sympathy with the "underdog" against the system.

Tabloids also use their ink to falsely attack those who call them what they are. Ever since I asked the above question on a televised debate on KUED with my former opponent for AG, City Weekly founder and senior editor, John Saltas, and his tabloid have been on a vendetta using every opportunity to defame and slander me with the yellowest of journalism. A few cases in point:

The cover of last week’s edition of the City Weekly, pictured here, is for a story entitled “2010 Legislative Wrap-up” and prominently features me presumably as a Nazi. (Apparently Saltas and editor Jerre Wroble don’t know the difference between Nazism and Communism.) The cover is from a famous Socialist worker poster. But why include me on the cover at all? I am not a lawmaker and nothing in the “wrap-up” criticizes my involvement in the session. What I am is the Weakly’s favorite whipping boy in that I dare call them what they are, enforce the rule of law and stand for everything good and decent about our community to which they proudly proclaim they are the “alternative.”

The City Weekly has run a series of stories alleging ethical concerns about me and the Attorney General’s Office. The weekly tabloid should dust off a copy of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics and take a look at its own practices before throwing stones. Two of the main standards in the SPJ Code are “Seek truth and report it” and “Be Accountable.” Their March 16 story “The Company You Keep” by Eric Peterson fails on both counts. In that story Peterson insinuates that I have meddled in the way administrative citations were handled against Mentoring of America. What the story did not include was this information given to Peterson on March 9, 2009: “The decision on how to resolve proceedings against Mentoring of America was made by the Division of Consumer Protection, not the Attorney General’s Office.” This information was provided to Peterson by the Utah Attorney General’s Office and confirmed to him by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. It was also included in City Weekly’s latest records request. No new evidence is provided that I interfered in any decision regarding Mentoring of America because it simply did not happen. But that fact would leave Peterson without his salacious story.

The story then suggests that attorneys within my office were “questioning” my acceptance of campaign donations. Assistant Attorney General Blaine Ferguson brought the issue up in an e-mail because City Weekly continued to question the donations. Blaine Ferguson knows personally that I have never put any pressure on anyone to give favors to a donor. In fact my record shows that this office has sued and convicted donors, fellow party members, friends and relatives.

The second e-mail in question was from Chief Deputy Attorney General Kirk Torgensen about vetting potential campaign contributors. Torgensen mistakenly assumed that no vetting took place on a potential donor because of Peterson’s reporting. However, the e-mail does not reflect that Torgensen learned later that the vetting was done. This information was shared with Editor Jerre Wroble but was not included in the story.

City Weekly also reported that Tim Lawson worked for my campaign even though the newspaper was told Lawson was not a campaign staff member. Lawson was mistakenly listed as staff on an inauguration guest list because the list was needed in one day. I corrected my mistake. City Weekly did not.

Finally, most of the records obtained by City Weekly were not posted on the newspaper website but they include an e-mail to City Weekly’s publisher containing a long list of errors and outright falsehoods in Eric Peterson’s previous stories. Click here to read a copy of that email. A longer list of blunders could be made based on Peterson’s subsequent story. However, City Weekly has never published any corrections to any of Peterson’s fairy tales.

The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states that journalists should “Admit mistakes and correct them properly.” Scandalmonger Eric Peterson and The City Weekly tabloid continually show a complete disregard for truth, fairness or accountability.

Salt Lake City Enquirer Weekly stories remind me of a question Abraham Lincoln once asked a fibber like Eric Peterson,

"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?

“Five,” replied the ink slinger confidently.

“Four,” explained Lincoln. “Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."

The Line in the Sand for States Rights

Utah Meth Cops Project

ParentsEmpowered.org Featured on Good Things Utah

UP TO JERUSALEM

Up to Jerusalem - “L’shana ha’ba-ah b’Yerushalayim”[1]

“Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.” Ezra 1:3

Driving East we passed old olive trees and new cotton fields, climbing 1400 feet into the Judean Hills, from the “new” city of Tel Aviv, backward in time thousands of years to Jerusalem. Ascending the road marched by Maccabees, Romans, Crusaders, Arabs and British, we passed Latrun fortress and the damaged hulks of “armored” vehicles (seen here) destroyed during the ’48 War of Israeli Independence, now sporting a new coat of paint and arranged in a monument to those brave Israeli's who fought and perished trying to save the Jews trapped in the Old City. Inspiration to face overwhelming odds and never give up, when it means preserving life and freedoms.

This road was critical to the survival of the new Jewish nation and the scene of intense fighting as Arab armies fired down from both sides of the high hills flanking the roadway. After the Arabs successfully closed this vital link to the Jews besieged in Jerusalem, the Israeli’s under the command of American Micky Marcus [3] (pictured here) built the famous “Burma Road” at night, around the blockade, bringing relief to Jerusalem on June 9th - just days before the UN negotiated cease-fire. But for the convoys making it through, the Jews remaining in Jerusalem would have starved or surrendered.

“New” Jerusalem

As we reach the zenith of our climb up to Jerusalem, the ancient terraced Judean hills are replaced by bastions of Jewish housing in cream and rose “Jerusalem Stone.” During the miraculous Six Day War, Israel not only held the Lebanese on the Northern Border, but liberated the Old City, pushed the Jordanian armies back to the Eastern bank of the River Jordan, the Syrian Army off the Golan Heights above the Sea of Galilee, the Egyptians over the Suez Canal, and, thereby creating the “Occupied Territories” of the West Bank, Golan Heights and Sinai. So as to firmly establish its historical and future claim to the Holy City of Jerusalem, Israel “reunified” or annexed vast tracts of land surrounding the city, thereby creating a modern or “new” Jerusalem totaling 123,000 dunams (approximately 31,000 acres.) In the nearly forty years since, Jews have made aliya from around the world building fortress-like homes, apartments, condos and office buildings on the crowns of all the surrounding hills, wrapping a security belt, or stitching a “seam,” around the new city. Today, this new, impregnable Jerusalem is the largest city in both geography and population with 730,000 inhabitants (10% of total population.)

The governor doesn't arrive until tomorrow and so we spent our afternoon walking along the parapets of the Old City of Jerusalem and then down to the Western Wall as the sun was setting. Depicted below are some of the photos I took of the Old City of Jerusalem today. In the evening we went to the best falafel shop in all of Jerusalem "Doron's" and enjoyed he wonder flavors of deep-fried mixture of chopped-up chick-peas, salad and dressing stuffed in pita bread. All is well with the world and we look forward to a very busy second day.
____________________________

[1] “Next year in Jerusalem”
[2] Joshua 10: 12-14.
[3] In one of the great stories that cemented the American-Israeli partnership, West Point graduate and WWII veteran Michael Stone moved to Israel to offer his services, changed his name to Mickey Marcus. Recognizing his talent and leadership, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion appointed him to be the first “Israeli General” since Judas Macabee fifteen centuries earlier.

DAY ONE (5/10/09) - “MiToch Bitachon B'Tzur Yisrael”[1]

Homecoming

Ten hours after leaving the United States, we landed at Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv and, as always, the plane eruped in spontaneous applause. I immediately felt the same spiritual peace that I have felt on previous trips, but this time my heart and mind are troubled by the recent fighting in Gaza and the 2006 War in Lebanon. William Kristol wrote in the New York Times:

“Even though the security of Israel is very much at risk, the good news is that, unlike in the 1930s, the Jews are able to defend themselves, and the United States is willing to fight for freedom. Americans grasp that Israel’s very existence to some degree embodies the defeat and repudiation of the genocidal totalitarianism of the 20th century. They understand that its defense today is the front line of resistance to the jihadist terror, and the suicidal nihilism, that threaten to deform the 21st.”

This is my fifth trip to the Holy Land – the one place outside of the United States I most feel at home. Although I am not Jewish, Israel is nonetheless the birthplace of my Savior, who was. I can relate to my Jewish cousins, past and present, who long for the land of their inheritance. Away from Israel, the words of a Twelfth Century Spanish Jew beckon:

My Heart Is In the East, By Yehuda Halevi (c. 1141)
My heart is in the east, and I in the uttermost west--
How can I find savour in food? How shall it be sweet to me?
How shall I render my vows and my bonds, while yet
Zion lieth beneath the fetter of Edom, and I in Arab chains?
A light thing would it seem to me to leave all the good things of Spain --
Seeing how precious in mine eyes to behold the dust of the desolate sanctuary.

This return marks thirty years after my original pilgrimage and six-month long Christian “coming of age.” The sanctuary is desolate no longer but has blossomed as the rose (physically, culturally and democratically,) and we are here to learn, and learn we must, for the words of Eric Hoffer forty years ago seem even more true today: “I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel, so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish, the holocaust will be upon us.”

[1]The 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence ends with this phrase that has a double meaning: "With faith in the God of Israel," or alternatively "From the strength of Israel."

ISRAEL 2009 - SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES

PROLOGUE TO PEACE

5/9/09 - I'm sitting in Kennedy Airport in NYC awaiting my flight to Israel. In 2004, as founder and chairman of the Utah Chapter of the America Israel Friendship Leauge, I invited the then Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Danny Ayalon to Utah. While here, he invited Governor Huntsman to lead a Trade Mission to Israel it begins today. This will be the first of a daily post from the Holy Land. Since we won't arrive in Tel Aviv until Sunday afternoon, for my first post, I copying my journal entry from my last trip to Israel as part of a fact finding mission at the completion of the war in Lebanon. Two days ago I sent out a tweet that nine attorneys general and I had sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning Hamas for committing "war crimes" with bomb attacks on civilian targets in southern Israel, and defending Israel's right to defend itself. Read about our letter at: http://jta.org/news/article/2009/05/06/1004954/10-attorneys-general-defend-israel.

Sadly not much has changed since my last trip, and therefore, I think my2006 post is a fitting prologue to this trip. It begins on September 11, 2006:

Five years ago today terrorists attacked America and awoke a sleeping giant to the reality that radical Islamic Jihadists had declared war on all infidels. It is a war that began when the British pulled out of Palestine, and expolded on May 14, 1948, the day that David Ben-Gurion declared the birth of a democratic nation in the Middle East. Millions of Arabs massed to “push the Jews into the sea and soak the land with their blood.” Israelis have not known peace from that day on. Terror has filled their days and fear their nights. In the spirit of Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous quote “that which does not kill us makes us stronger,” Israelis pulled together with nationalistic pride, solidarity and faith and did not just survive – but prospered.

Eleven minutes after the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel at 6 o'clock PM (Washington D.C. time) the USA became the first country to formally recognize the State of Israel. But that wasn’t the beginning of our alliance. From the moment that first GI Joe cut the locks and opened the gates to the liberation of the survivors of the Holocaust, Americans and the Children of Israel have been locked together as “Partners in Democracy.”[1] In the sixty years since that moment, our alliance has been tested, the bonds have been stretched and our friendship often challenged. But because of our common commitment to freedom and peace, democracy is alive and well and forevermore firmly rooted in the State of Israel.

Today I sat in the Newark, N.J. “Liberty” Airport waiting for my El Al flight. Looking out the window across the Hudson river I had a clear view of the New York City skyline. There was the Empire State Building. It is the most famous and recognizable skyline in the world. But five years ago it changed forever, and is now not so easily identifiable. So how have Americans responded to our “involuntary enlistment” into the War on Terror? Before 9/11 we had grown lazy, selfish and complacent. We did not appreciate our freedom, prosperity and safety. All that changed with the flames and smoke and screams of that awful morning. American naiveté was swallowed up in the choking avalanche of dust that down the canyons of Manhattan that fateful morning. But what emerged from the settling dust was the natal heartbeat of America. Patriotism, community and service were reborn and ALL Americans wept, then prayed, then cheered, when President Bush, standing atop the twisted metal consecrated by its fusion with the sacrifice of so many innocents, boldly and spontaneously proclaimed to our collective soul: “I hear you, and the world hears you. And the people who knocked down those buildings are going to hear from all of us soon!"

A scant five years later and despite decisive victories that have kept the terrorists occupied “over there” so they can’t hurt us “over here,” our country is torn nearly in half. It is being ripped apart, not by Jidhadists bent on our destruction, but by Americans split on party and ideological lines with a hatred and viciousness previously reserved only for our deadliest enemies.

As the blue Star of David of the Israeli flag on the wing of our jet passed that diminished New York skyline I asked myself: “What am I looking for in Israel? What is there to learn? How can what I’m about to experience over the next week benefit those I serve?”

I hoped to find the answer in the mission. I’m looking to one of our strongest allies; an oasis of democracy and freedom in a desert of despotism and repression; a light on a hill that cannot be hid; an example of solidarity and national resolve to win a war on terror for nearly sixty years. I believe there is much we can learn from them. As the massive tires of the 747 left the soil of America and I watched the Big Apple grow small and disappear, I couldn’t help but wonder, “what becomes of us if Israel fails her latest test?”

[1] "America is now at Israel’s cradle – virtually as its mother. As such it has a high responsibility… there is much nursing and nurturing to be done to make the new nation live and grow to fulfill the two-thousands year old dream, hope and prayer of the Children of Israel." -Letter to President Harry S. Truman from Rabbi Samuel Thurman of the United Hebrew Congregation, May 17, 1948.

FELIZ CINCO DE MAYO - WHY WE CELEBRATE IN AMERICA

Throughout the United States today, Americans of all races and origins will celebrate Cinco de Mayo. In recent years with the immigration debate, some have criticized the celebration in the U.S. of a "Mexican holiday." Perhaps a brief tutorial will show why we here in the United States should be grateful for the brave Mexicans who, on Cinco de Mayo ("Fifth of May") in 1862, stood against a vastly superior French army and help preserve our own Union!

In 1861, in response to Mexico's refusal to pay off debts, Britain, Spain and France sent troops to Mexico. The new democratically-elected government of President Benito Juarez made agreements with the British and the Spanish, who promptly recalled their armies. But the French refused to negotiate. French Emperor Napoleon III had a much larger goal in mind: Conquer Mexico and install his cousin, Archduke Maximillian of Austria as ruler of Mexico; and then assist their allies, the Confederate States of America, in their war against the North. The French were unable to supply the South with desperately needed arms and supplies because of the Union's naval blockade of Southern ports. Once they ruled, Mexico however, Napoleon III planned to supply and support President Jefferson Davis through the confederate state of Texas.

In 1862, confident of a quick victory, 6,500 French soldiers marched on to Mexico City to seize the capital before the Mexicans could muster a viable defense. Along their march, the French already encountered stiff resistance before General Ignacio Zaragoza struck out to intercept the invaders. The battle between the French and Mexican armies occurred on May 5 at the town of Puebla when Zaragoza's ill-equipped and under-trained militia of 4,500 men, mostly farmers, encountered a well armed French force that hadn't lost a battle in fifty years. However, Zaragoza's small and nimble cavalry units were able to prevent French dragoons from taking the field and overwhelming the Mexican infantry. With the dragoons removed from the main attack, the Mexicans routed the remaining French soldiers with a combination of their tenacity, inhospitable terrain, and a stampede of cattle set off by local peasants. The invasion was stopped and crushed!

Zaragoza won the battle but lost the war. The French Emperor, upon learning of the failed invasion, immediately dispatched another force, this time numbering 30,000 soldiers. By 1864, they succeeded in defeating the Mexican army and occupying Mexico City. Archduke Maximillian became Emperor of Mexico. Fortunately for the United Sates of America, it was now too late to help the South turn the tide back in their favor and our Union was restored!

Fortunately Maximilian's rule was short-lived. Mexican rebels opposed to his rule resisted, seeking the aid of the United States. With the Civil War over, the unified and strengthened U.S. military returned the favor and began supplying Mexicans with weapons and ammunition, and by 1867, the Mexican freedom fighters finally defeated the French and deposed their puppet Emperor. The Mexican people then reelected Benito Juárez as president.

So eat your favorite Mexican food today, strike a Pinata, listen to a Mariachi Band, and send a big "Muchisimas Gracias" to our amigos to the South and best wishes for a Muy Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

2009 TEA PARTY - "This meeting can do nothing more to save this country!"

This past Wednesday, April 15th, I had the privilege and honor of addressing over 2000 patriots who braved the cold and snow in Salt Lake City to raise their voices in union to protest a federal government run amock with out of control spending and taxation, socialism and nationalization and anti-federalism. Many have asked for a copy of my speech. Because of the weather and outdoor noise, I gave an abbreviated version of the following speech.

I. INTRODUCTION – A History Lesson

The original Boston Tea Party occured on Decemeber 16, 1773 as 7000 Americans stood all day on the wharves of Boston Harbor braving the the damp cold and icy winds refusing to let the East India Compay onload their shipment of tea off three ships. Parliament had created a tea monopoly in East India Company, and tried to trick the colonists by lowering the price of tea but keeping it taxed believing the Americans would not give up the tea but they would “have them” if they paid their tax. On that historic day, the Crown appointed Governor refused the ship captains’ request to sail away with their cargo. And a stalemate insued.



Just up the street at the Old South Meeting House, the leader of the Massachussetts Sons of Liberty, Samuel Adams gave the final secret mesage to the raiding party: “This meeting can do nothing more to save the country," signalling that the time for talk was over, and it was time for ACTION! We gather here today for the same reason and with much the same purpose. Last night on KSL Nightside Project the host said that he will declare today’s participants are "hypocrites" if all we do is talk and take no action and make no changes in Congress.

And so at the signal, the other Sons of Liberty leader, Paul Revere, led 200 Sons of Liberty down to the dock disguised as Mohawks and threw the tea into Boston Harbor. King George III was particularly angered at this insult to his authority. It so angered him that he had Parliament pass the Intolerable Acts which: 1. Closed Boston Harbor so food couldn't get in or out (justice, common defense, life, liberty, property) ; 2. the colonists couldn't hold town meetings without government approval (free speech, peaceably assemble or petition for redress of grievances); and 3. New Quartering Act so colonists HAD to house British troops (3rd and 4th amendments).
Just sixteen months later on April 17th, 1775 Paul Revere set out on his famous ride to warn the country side, including Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Lexington, that the British were coming to arrest them and to capture the weapons, guns, cannon and powder stored in Concord.

Share with me in the spirit of that night through some of the the words of Longfellow's famous poem, Paul Revere’s Ride,

"…You know the rest. In the books you have read

How the British Regulars fired and fled,---

How the farmers gave them ball for ball,

From behind each fence and farmyard wall,

Chasing the redcoats down the lane,

Then crossing the fields to emerge again

Under the trees at the turn of the road,

And only pausing to fire and load."

A few weeks ago I walked along that road and felt the spirit of those brave minutemen who answered the call when their country needed them. At the dedication of the minutemen statue, George William Curtis said the following about these men:

“The Minuteman of the Revolution!—he was the old, the middle-aged, and the young…He was Deacon Josiah Haynes of Sudbury, eighty years old, who marched with his company to the South Bridge at Concord, then joined in the hot pursuit to Lexington, and fell gloriously… at Bunker Hill. He was James Hayward of Acton, twenty-two years old, foremost in that deadly race from Concord to Charlestown, who raised his piece at the same moment with a British soldier, each exclaiming, “You are a dead man!” The Briton dropped, shot through the heart. James Hayward fell mortally wounded. “Father,” he said, “I started with forty balls; I have three left. I never did such a day’s work before. Tell mother not to mourn too much; and tell her whom I love more than my mother, that I am not sorry I turned out. This was the minuteman of the Revolution, the rural citizen trained in the common school, the church, and the town meeting; …whose gun, loaded with a principle, brought down, not a man, but a system.”

I also walked across that "rude bridge that arched the flood" in Concord and offered a prayer of gratitude to those men who there met and turned away the greatest army in the world, the conquerer of conquerors. The words of Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson are imortalized in the statue and pillar raised in honor.

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood,

And fired the shot heard round the world.

You are today's Son's and Daugthers of Liberty, modern day Minutemen and Minutewomen who stand up and step forth to demand a return to the Constitutional and democratic principles of self governance that made us the greatest nation on earth.

II. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. (The Promise.)

he proper role and purpose of government was set forth first in the Declaration of Independence that Governments are instituted among me for one purpose only: to secure our God-given rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness! Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Those in Washington need to be reminded that they are not our masters, but our servents. Glen Beck is absolutely right when he reminded us that “WE SURROUND THEM!”

III. CONSTITUTION (The Fulfillment)

Today is Tax Day and We are Here as Patriots to Lodge our Protest.

Vice President Joe Biden during the campaign said it is “patriotic” for Americans to pay more taxes. What do you think of that?

Like 18th Century England and the East India Company, our Congress created and maintained a government sponsored monopoly in FANNIE-MAE and FREDDIE-MAC
and through government protectionism, over-regulation and meddling in the real estate free market, social reengineering through such laws as the Community Reinvestment Act, not to mention manipulation by the FED – they created the artificial bubble which burst and now they want you and me and our children and grandchildren to pay for it!

England feigned its “benevolence” by lowering the cost of tea believing we would be sucked in and so grateful to have our “spot of tea” that we wouldn’t mind the taxation (and hence tacit support of the Crown and Parliament.)

Congress has feigned its “benevolence” by pork and earmarks (as it has done for decades) and has now proposed $5 TRILLON IN NEW SPENDING (thank you for taking care of our every need from cradle to grave… wipe our nose… put a Band-Aid on our booboos, make sure we can’t fail, and put a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.. and they expect us (1) to be grateful for their benevolence and (2) to pay for it - $1.4 TRILLION IN NEW TAXES!

In response to our Tea Party here today, the Chairman of the Utah Democratic Party is quoted in the paper this morning as saying we should be grateful for all the wonderful things the current Administration and Congress have done for us.

Obama and his Congress have decided we ALL need to be more patriotic and pay more taxes.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele: “Taking your hard earned dollars to redistribute the wealth; put our kids and their kids in hock to pay for the spending and destroy the savings of middle class Americans. I love the bumper sticker I say yesterday: "President Obama: I’ll keep my Money, my Guns and my Freedom – you can keep the “Change!”

But it isn't just the current Democratic leadership of our country we protest here today. I love this sign up front here that says, "I'm not a Republican or a Democrat, I'm an American." The prior Republican administration and our Republican in Congress our as much at fault for where we are today.

Of the hundreds of Tea Parties right now across this great country, It's an honor to be with you great patriots here today who like Sam Adams and Paul Revere and the 200 men who boarded those three ships in Boston Harbor, cheered on by 7000 on the dock, who are not fooled and who will not sit back quietly and watch as our income, and our freedoms our stolen from us by the unprincipled and un-American actions of a few Washington D.C. You are all great Americans who may I add have the good fortune of right now standing in one of only three states in our union that had the good sense to reject the 16th income tax amendment to our Constitution. Some of you might call for a repeal of the 16th Amendment. At the very least, it's time for a simpler, tax structure: A flat tax, or a national sales tax, just about anything is better than what we have now.

Our Constitution for more than one hundred years prohibited a graduated income tax and the fourth amendment expressly preserved "the right(s) of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers"; which in turn prohibited a tax audit from ever occurring.

Prior to the 16th amendment, which gave congress the "power to lay and collect taxes on income from any source whatever..." Federal taxes were apportioned per population of the states and mostly gathered by the states and then sent by the states to the Federal government. That is was what the founding fathers believed: A balance of power consistent with the creation of power. Government of the People.

But now things are different. Frankly now things are a mess. And I'm not talking about the economy, which is awful. I'm talking about the state of our nation: The balance of power between the Federal government and the States - the balance of power between government and the people.

How is it that as nation we have awaken to find ourselves embracing socialism? The government now thinks it is its duty to make the citizens happy rather than preserve our liberties so that we can pursue happiness on our own. And it goes about accomplishing its errant pursuit by plundering those that through their labors have been successful by means of excessive taxation and redistributing wealth to those who have achieved less success. The most notable, recent example that comes to mind is the TARP $700 billion bailout of Wall Street last October: A perfect example of government reaching beyond its power, compelling the taxpayers to go into debt to give to Wall Street.

I wonder how it is that most of the leaders in Washington have forgotten what it is that made this nation great?

Is it our social programs or entitlement programs? NO!

What is it? One Word: FREEDOM! (Ask them to repeat.)

Its our freedom to innovate, to succeed, to create jobs, and -- dare I say it -- earn a PROFIT and use that profit to take care of our families, neighbors and friends.

The nation must be very careful about the tax burden it places on the citizens. It was predicted by Karl Marx that our form of government would slowly change to socialism, which is naturally just one step away from communism. And the catalyst for that change Marx said is higher and higher taxes.

Have the leaders in Washington forgotten why they are there?

Who are they there to serve? WE THE PEOPLE!

Why are they there? To grant us rights and privileges?

NO – TO SECURE OUR GOD GIVEN RIGHTS!

John Adams reminded us that "we are a nation of laws AND NOT OF MEN!"

Our laws are based on that inspired bedrock charger: the Constitution, which set the parameters and established The Rule of Law!

The Constitution is the fulfillment of the promise of the Declaration of Independence and it purpose is to form a more perfect Union and to, among other core functions, to secure the blessings of liberty (life, liberty, and the possession of property – granted us by our Creator.)

An illustration of this principle is in order. Can you go to your neighbor and demand that he pay for your mortgage payment if you get behind and are in jeopardy of losing your home? You may ask him to help, but can you compel him to make the payment or even a portion of the payment? Of course not! You have no right and no authority to do so. For the right of your neighbor to keep his property and enjoy the fruits of his labor is natural right.

To compel a man to part with his money in your behalf would be in violation of the most basic of laws: Thou shall not steal.

It is just as the great philosopher John Locke said, “For nobody can transfer to another more power than he has in himself, and nobody has an arbitrary power of himself, or over any other, to destroy his own life, or take away the life or property of another.”

Yet isn't that what government is doing when it takes your earnings and gives it to another to pay down their mortgage. And by so doing Government steps beyond the power the people hold and sets itself up to be our master; when in fact, it us that should be its master.

Through its tax laws and policies, it has legalized the plunder of your wealth and become an accomplice to the feat through the collection of excessive taxes that are redistributed to those who have earned less and who government deems should have more.

Let me give you another example, can a father legally indebt and obligate his son of less than 18 years to pay for the debt incurred by the father today? Of course not, in modern history there is no legal precedent for that.

But again, isn't that what the federal government is doing now? Our government is running record deficits without regard for growing the national debt as it tries to be the guarantor of entitlements to all people. And who will pay for this debt, our children and grand children, some of whom have yet to be born. This generation's life style of excesses is the next generation's burdens of debt – and it is wrong and it’s immoral!

During the Presidents inaugural address, he said “we must be careful to not burden future generations with a debt they cannot pay.” Say what!!?? He’s got it wrong! Our duty is not to estimate what level of debt future generations are capable of paying, rather our duty is to leave them with no debt at all!

Of course that line of reasoning is hard to find in the halls of congress today.

For as government’s desire has grown to provide for the actual well being of its citizens rather than just for preserving the opportunity to fare well, so has its unquenchable thirst for your tax dollars grown. That’s just the way it is. Government is not a producer – It’s a consumer. It needs you and I to fund its every whim.

And don’t think for a second that Government is going to selflessly give you back your money. They will find a way to blow it. The only way to slow the growth of government is to do as Ronald Reagan said and “put government on a diet.” And that means tax cuts, across the board. It also means a balanced budget amendment. No more government IOUs to be paid by future generations. And if you think about, how can the future generations not yet of adult age protect themselves from today’s tyrants. Did they vote the tax and spend culprits into office? No, nor can they remove them. So how then can today’s politician claim the power and the authority to obligate future generations to pay for today’s gross lifestyle of consumption? They have no power. They have no authority. It’s time for a balanced budget amendment. And it’s time to balance it based on tax cuts and less spending!

Back when congress and the nation were considering the 16th amendment, the running joke about it was to refer to call it the "soak the rich" amendment. The less affluent thought they could get rich off of someone else's production. But the last laugh was on them. Affluent people are smart. They didn't get their money by accident. They got it through industry. Do you think that the rich are going to let the people just take their hard-earned money. Of course not, they are going to lobby for favorable laws to protect their earnings. It's a constant back and forth of special interests between those that have accumulated property and those who covet their property.

For example, take the community reinvestment act which requires loans to be made to people of lower incomes whom the bankers know would likely default. These are people who should have been renting. And many of those loans were guaranteed by the quasi-government “government sponsored” organizations known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Of course, when the loans began to default did the financial institutions who made those unwise loans take the hit? No they did not. They came to our agents, the Federal government, and to your Senator, and your Representative asking for you and I to help them recoup their loses through a taxpayer, financed government handout.

Some of you may be familiar with the late pastor, Dr. Adrian Rogers. He truly said it best when he said, “You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of the nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”

Let me repeat, “you cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”

Now, If you think government has NOT usurped more power over the people than the people have granted it, if you think we are still the masters of government in a free market society, I ask you only to look back to last October again. When congress was considering the bill to authorize billions of tax dollars to bailout Wall Street the people made their voices known. Calls by the citizens to their representatives and Senators were grossly in opposition to the action. Some reports had it that over 80% of the constituent calls to Congress were opposed to the bailouts. The results of survey from national pollsters overwhelmingly echoed those same sentiments. But despite those reports of opposition government thought it knew best and Congress passed the bailouts into law. The majority of congress showed us exactly where they think we the people stand in the pecking order. Well those congressman's names are known and while we have devolved into a quasi-socialist state, we have not yet lost all power. We still have our elections (Declaration, “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,”) and we will make our voices heard and they will know where we stand.

Before we go any further, I don't want you to think that I'm against all taxes. There are just causes for Federal taxation supported by our constitution. Like the raising of a military to defend us. Or at my request, the creation of an Attorney General Criminal Alien Strike Force!

It is our responsibility and our honor bound duty to pay for our fair share of our collective government’s protection. But our taxes should be uniform, they should be of a single rate, without diminishing deductions and prejudice based on a graduated income scale.

These days most of our Federal taxes are for services that should be rendered by the Feds, but by states or not at all. I believe strongly in this principle: Taxes should be levied at the lowest level possible, closest to the people where they can monitor and evaluate and mold how the money is spent. When the Federal government collects the taxes, well, then the Federal government gets to decide how it will dole it out to the states according to their notion of what is fair and what is needed. This is exactly opposite of what the founders believed and frankly I do not have a lot of trust in the Federal government right now.

So how did we get to be in this awful situation? We let our elected officials ignore the constitution. We let government grow its power beyond in rightful scope. And government has thanked us with higher taxes and entitlement programs for all.

Now, You may be asking yourself how do we get control back? How do we restore order to chaos?

We start today! At this very hour!

We’ll get the government we deserve back only if we stand up like those Sons of Liberty of old and say “We’re mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it anymore!"

May I propose that in taking action, we look to that great statesman, the former Secretary of the Agriculture, Ezra Taft Benson who decades ago saw firsthand where the nation was headed through unconstitutional socialist spending programs.

He suggested a three-step approach to getting control of our nation and our government back:

First, Freeze spending on unconstitutional federal programs.

Second, Do not renew unconstitutional federal programs after their funding runs out.

Third, Plan for and phase out unconstitutional federal programs, that are indefinite in nature.

And if I may be so bold to add a Fourth step: Put in place the safe guards to stop it from happening. Pass a balanced budget amendment.

It is up to us to do it. It may take years, or even decades to accomplish but it is up to us.

It is up to us to send statesmen to Congress who understand our constitution and who will chart a return course to its principles.

The stakes have never been higher. We must succeed or we will suffer the fate of all those governments that have failed before us – totalitarianism – being servants to the state.

The American experiment is not yet over. There is still hope.

Finally, let me return to the two leaders of the Massachusetts Son’s of Liberty who led the original Tea Party – and so much more, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, with the hope and the prayers that they, if not I, will inspire you and motivate you to action.

“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you and may posterity forget that ye were once our countrymen.”

So through the night rode Paul Revere;

And so through the night went his cry of alarm

To every Middlesex village and farm,---

A cry of defiance, and not of fear,

A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,

And a word that shall echo for evermore!

For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,

Through all our history, to the last,

In the hour of darkness and peril and need,

The people will waken and listen to hear

The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,

And the midnight message of Paul Revere

It is a wonderful site to see all of you. You are my countrymen! We are once again in an hour of darkness and peril and need. Will you listen? Will you awaken? Our cry today is one of defiance and not of fear. Ours is a united voice in broad daylight. Let it be a knock on the door of the White House and the U.S. Capitol! Our voices united in Three Words that shall echo for evermore: WE THE PEOPLE! (Repeat it with me: several times so Obama, Pelosi, Reed and our own delegation can hear.) WE THE PEOPLE!

I hope you leave today committed to make a difference. Leave with a conviction of conscience to make every effort to be worthy of this constitutional framework that was given to us. America needs you to do it. Your family needs you to do it. Your future descendants need you to do it. The world needs us to do it. And it starts right here, thanks to the inspiration and leadership of patriots like Glen Beck and Adam Gardiner and Candace Salima. And it is a force today emanating from these Purple Mountains Majesty, and spreading across the fruited plain and growing in power and efficacy from sea to shining sea. It is the power of WE THE PEOPLE!

As our voices are in harmony, we must remain united in purpose. For as Alex de Toqueville so appropriately stated, “in a democracy, we get the government we deserve.” and we deserve only that which we defend.

And so I leave with you the last words that Samuel Adams spoke to the Sons of Liberty on a cold December evening in 1773 that sent them on their task that lit the match and ignited the fire that would end only in our independence and our freedom and the establishment of the greatest nation in the history of our world:

And so I say to you today, “This meeting can do nothing more to save the country!" The time for talk is over.

It is in your hands – it is time for action – and may God bless us in our just cause!