Defending & Protecting the Constitution

The Jamestown Ohio Liberty Group (JOLG) is small, but we’re making a difference.  At the annual Lions’ Club Bean Festival we found over 300 patriots who were not only willing, but eager to sign The Ohio Project petition against nationalized health care.  Considering that people generally go to festivals for food, socializing, and entertainment, it was impressive to see so many people visit our booth to engage in civics.  Many sought us out specifically because of the buzz about what we are doing.

JOLG volunteers also distributed pocket versions of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence along with various pieces of literature about freedom.

Our home for the day!

Checking us out.

Another concerned citizen.

Waiting for the parade.

Taking a stand for freedom!

The festival is over.  But, we’re so jazzed that you can bet we’ll be at more fall events, carrying our clipboards and looking for patriots who are drawing a line in the sand against bloated and intrusive government.

God Bless America!

Mother and Son Patriots

It’s Sooo Sad!

On June 11, 2010, while comparing and contrasting the American Founders with today’s so-called “government leaders”, the following exchange took place.

Glenn Beck (Fox News Channel): “Today, I can’t in my own mind put together 10 people of this character, and this intellect, and this fame and accomplishment … Am I wrong?”

Colleen Sheehan (Villanova University): “Well if you can, they’re probably not in politics.”

‘Nuff said!

Biggest Project Ever! (for now)

Ohioans have the opportunity to send a great big “No Thank-You!” to Uncle Sam.  But, the window of opportunity is VERY small.  Go to www.theOhioProject.com and do your part today.

– CC

Thank-you Mr. President!

Those that know me could be confused about this headline so, let me explain. I have not flipped out and I am not being sarcastic. I am truly grateful to President Obama (and his accomplices in both parties) Here are eight reasons why:

1. He has demonstrated that words mean things. — We now know what “fundamentally transforming the United States of America” really means.  I think we’ll listen more carefully in the future.
2. He has given us a clear view of European-style socialism. — Oppressive levels of income redistribution justified by a growing appetite for government services and public demand to balance the budget is in retreat as a rapidly growing minority understands and begins pushing back.
3. He has created urgency. — We have reached the tipping point. How Americans respond in the coming months will determine if American freedom, as we once knew it, survives.
4. He has awakened a sleeping giant, millions of freedom-loving Americans. — People are making the cause-and-effect connection between growing government and loss of freedom. More importantly, these people are becoming more insistent that we do something about it.
5. He has opened the eyes of Generations X & Y. – Those historically least likely to be interested in government and the most affected by its shenanigans are waking up.
6. He is galvanizing the freedom-faithful politicians and restoring some who had lost their way. — “We the People’ and “limited government” are once again in vogue in political circles.
7. He has unintentionally put freedom back at the center of public discourse. — The argument is shifting away from “What’s in it for me?” toward “How does this impact our Constitutional rights?” The terms of political debate are reverting to what the founders intended!
8. He has proven the famous statement attributed to socialist Norman Thomas that America would eventually unknowingly adopt socialism under the name of liberalism.  However, he has underestimated the American spirit of liberty.

Thanks again, Mr. President. I really mean it!

Norman Thomas once said that America would eventually unknowingly adopt socialism "under the name of 'liberalism.'"

Dear John Letter

March 13, 2010

Dear “John”,

Here is my official notice that we are breaking up.  You have forgotten our American heritage of limited government.  To you, the principles and history of our nation’s founding are at best a nostalgic notion.  Let’s use the current health care debate as an example.  Whether or not you support this atrocious monstrosity is not the point!  The language is the point.  The debate should NOT be about cost, approach, fairness, or efficiency.  The ONLY thing that matters is whether any aspect of it is authorized by our Constitution.  I don’t mean the contemporary Constitution that has been stretched and distorted beyond all recognition.  I mean the original Constitution that the founders intended to restrain our federal government from sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong.  Uncle Sam has become a tyrant and the blame rests on every President and member of Congress that has signed, voted, and/or co-sponsored a bill that contains provisions which violate the Constitution.  Instead, the discussion needs to reflect your oath and recommitment to defend the Constitution.

If there is any hope that we can reconcile, I insist that you get counseling.  Start by reading the U.S. Constitution, The Federalist Papers, “The 5000 Year Leap” and your own oath of office.  Your own state’s constitution would be good, too.  If you publicly recommit to standing strong in words and deeds to the principles that once made America the envy of the world, we can talk about getting back together.  In the meantime, I am moving forward with divorce proceedings.  The papers will be delivered in November.

Sincerely,

Clancy Cross
Jamestown, OH

If Not Me, Then Who?

American citizens are responsible for their own governance.  It says so in our country’s founding documents.  If “We the People” don’t accept our civic responsibilities, someone else will.  Whose best interests will they have at heart, theirs or ours?  Who would you rather have calling the shots for your life, you or career politicians who are influenced by lobbyists and the trappings of money and power?

There is an alternative.  Politicians may have the advantage of position.  But, “We the People” have the power of numbers.  Politicians are clever.  They know how to say the right things to get elected.  Then, they spend the rest of their effort to shore up their power and stay in office.  But, when “We the People” stand up, politicians perk up.  When “We the People” stay on their backs and hold them accountable to the Constitution and their oath to defend it, we slow down the march toward tyranny.  If enough people stand up, we can even reverse it.  Otherwise, we must accept more of the same bloated, tyrannical, big brother government running our lives and running our country into the ground.

This is not a partisan matter.  Both major parties are responsible for the mess we are in, aided and abetted by the apathy of “We the People.”  Until everyday American citizens themselves reclaim their sovereignty, as “endowed by our Creator”, we will continue to see rising debt, job-killing regulations, and liberty-crushing laws.

So, what have you done in the last 12 months to hold your elected officials accountable? Take the assessment and grade yourself.  Then, challenge yourself to be more, do more.

My grade:

0-2:  Dead
3-6:  Asleep
7-11:  Beginner
12-18:  Leader
19-25:  American Patriot
26-30:  American Hero

What is Your Response?

Just wondering, do these quotes make you yawn, laugh, cry, or spew smoke?

“Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.”

“The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.”

“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.”

P.J. O’Rourke (1947- ), American political satirist.

New American Crisis Has Global Implications

U.S. concerns about man-made climate change, formerly known as “global warming,” may need to take a back seat to a more urgent problem facing America’s lower 48 states.  Dr. George W. Pequat, a world-renowned seismologist, announced the recent formation of a blue ribbon panel of scientists to investigate a new fault line developing along the Potomac River in Washington DC, which was inadvertently discovered during a routine environmental study.  At first, the observation appeared to be random “data noise.”  But, after further data collection and analysis, the fault line has not only been confirmed, it seems to be growing at an unprecedented rate.

The Potomac River region, specifically Washington DC, is not the only area at risk.  If predictions made by state-of-the-art computer models are accurate, the majority of the continent could disappear within 10-25 years.   The panel of experts agrees that the problem is unquestionably man-made and almost certainly caused by excessive “dead weight” located throughout the city.  However, they note that two points along Pennsylvania Avenue seem to be contributing disproportionately to the rapid growth of the fault line.  Apparently, the nation’s capitol is literally sinking and could drag the entire country with it.

A spokesman for the panel suggested that although there is still much to be learned, a quick response will ultimately be necessary to avoid a cataclysmic geological event.  Consequently, a range of possible solutions is already being discussed.  Following a scientific brainstorming session of elite panel members, Dr. Pequat insisted that “no solutions are off the table.  We must think creatively and let the rigors of science guide us.”   To demonstrate his commitment to this philosophy, Pequat continued by saying, “We must even consider such radical ideas as eliminating large portions of the ‘dead weight’ and redistributing the remainder evenly throughout the fifty states.”  The next step for such a drastic proposal would certainly require enlisting federal officials to the cause so they can help make a case to the American people the need to transfer the remaining burden to the state and local level.

In an unprecedented move, Congress, the President and his cabinet, and the Supreme Court are convening together behind closed doors to consider their response.

Copyright January 14, 2010, Clancy Cross.  All rights reserved.

If Not Now, When?

On Christmas day 1776, Washington’s army had collapsed from 30,000 Brooklyn in September to 2500. Less than 1 in every 1000 Americans had the courage to be with Washington on Christmas Day. Of that 2500, one third did not have boots. They wrapped their feet in burlap and they left a trail of blood marching the nine miles to Trenton. Washington decided to cross an icy river, at night, in a snowstorm — to march at night to surprise 800 professional German soldiers, win a surprise victory, capture all 800 and reestablish the legitimacy of the Revolution. Two weeks later he had 15,000 volunteers. The password that night was “victory or death.”

I want you to go from here … and look every successful person you know in the eye and look every patriot you know in the eye and tell ‘em, “The young men and women risking their lives all around this planet in uniform, in the State Department, in the intelligence community so we can be free. Don’t tell me how much you’ve given. Don’t tell me how tired you are. Don’t tell me how frustrating it is. This country was created by people who were willing to say ‘victory or death’ while marching in burlap bags in the middle of a snowstorm.”

We’re gonna have to find those people again. We’re gonna have to run people for 513,000 offices in both parties. We’re gonna have to isolate and crush the secular, socialist left, and we’re gonna have to replace their failed system with systems that succeed. This is work George Washington would have approved of. And this is work you need to take seriously for the next 3 years so we can give our children and grandchildren the greatest, freest and most prosperous country in history.

– Newt Gingrich, November 21, 2009 (watch the entire speech here)

As the late Paul Harvey would say, “And now, the rest of the story.”

While these inspirational words may lead us to take action, they may also be an example of a politician using the Constitutional movement for his own political agenda.  There are those who have closely followed the career of Mr. Gingrich who suggest he is one who is likely to sell out America’s sovereignty to a one-world government agenda if given the chance.  Each of us needs to decide for ourselves if Mr. Gingrich is such a person.  Then, thank Andy (one our movement’s many watchdogs) for providing the information below showing another side of this charismatic and ambitious politician.  Let it also be a reminder that JOLG is always about the principles of freedom and the message of liberty.  We might not agree on how to attain freedom and we might disagree on some of the finer points of how a particular viewpoint or piece of legislation impacts rights and freedom.  That’s okay.  But restoring a culture of liberty in America means we must consistently ask the question, “Does this protect or restore freedom or does it not?”  Likewise,  we must constantly ask, “Will this candidate or politician live up to the oath of office “to defend the Constitution?”  We can easily make mistakes when we put our trust in people who use powerful words to disguise their true intentions.  The following links may help you decide if Mr. Gingrich fits this description:

• Article: http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd449.htm
• Video: http://www.vimeo.com/6445068

– CC

Modern Slavery

There is forward and backward, good and evil, right and wrong, and right and left.  Each of these pairs of opposites have been used to describe our political landscape.  Let me suggest another pair that is relevant today: free and enslaved.  We don’t have to go back to pre-Civil War days to learn about slavery.  All we have to do is look at what our government is doing in modern times through out-of-control, heavy-handed, mismanaged and corrupt government.  A barrage of oppressive regulations, crushing taxes, and exploding debt of epic proportions are turning “we the people” into “we the slaves.”

What can we do? For starters, let’s take a page out of the weight loss industry’s handbook and create inspirational “before and after” pictures in our minds.  Today we are in chains.  Tomorrow the chains will be broken IF enough freedom-loving Americans wake-up, rise up, and take a non-negotiable stand against tyranny and for the Constitution.  Let’s start breaking those chains TODAY!