Tenth Amendment Remembered

...from Tenth Amendment Center This article is today’s Tenther newsletter, which everyone in the nullification movement gets daily or weekly.  Be one of them  – and  Become a member here  to support the TAC. When the local government sued TAC communications director Mike Maharrey, they probably figured he’d just back down and shut up about their mass surveillance programs (funded by Washington D.C., of course). But Mike isn’t one to scare off too easily.  We’ve got a number of updates below. Here’s the back story.  On Oct. 9th, we emailed to let you know what was going on. Mike even recorded a short podcast with the details ( you can listen here ). Here’s an overview: Mike filed an open-records request to find out what’s going on with surveillance in his city – stingrays, cameras, license plate readers, and the like. The city released some (with a lot of redactions), but held back a lot. Mike appealed. The state Attorney General sided with Mike and told the city to give him t

...from Tenth Amendment Center During a recent radio interview with Attorney General Jeff Sessions , conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt blasted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, calling it “as unconstitutional as any agency I’ve ever seen.” Sessions enthusiastically agreed. During that same conversation, Hewitt urged Sessions to crack down on states with legal marijuana. Sessions opined about the federal government’s authority to do just that. Sorry hypocrites. You don’t have the manpower. In the first place, these people don’t care anything about constitutionality when it gets in the way of their policy preferences. Hewitt implored Sessions to use RICO statutes to go after marijuana businesses in states where it’s legal. “A lot of states are just simply breaking the law. And a lot of money is being made and banked. One RICO prosecution of one producer and the banks that service them would shut this all down. Is such a prosecution going to happen?” Sessions was

...from Tenth Amendment Center American Federalism evolved out of lessons learned through the 18 th century as a structure to protect and preserve liberty. But today, bureaucratic socialism controls our governing approach, and calls for a restoration of constitutional federalism are portrayed as ever more radical. Nevertheless, as one of the cornerstones of American federalism, the Tenth Amendment still offers a solution to the problem of overreaching government. The destruction of America’s limited constitutional system happened slowly over time, but it began almost from the beginning. Early in our history, the negative the American Constitution put on government power was butted by the positive powers of governing centralization and factional divide. Supreme law stood only as long as factional warfare was checked and people demanded their self-governing right to liberty and personal responsibility for securing freedom of choice. John C. Calhoun matured during a time of early frac

...from Tenth Amendment Center In most countries, government has begrudgingly granted snippets of personal liberty to keep those who are demanding it at bay. Throughout history, kings and other tyrants have, from time to time, given in to pressures from folks to recognize their natural rights. These instances of “power granting liberty,” as the practice has come to be known, usually have come about to avoid further bloodshed. In the United States and in Switzerland, however, the opposite took place. In both countries, sovereign states came together to establish a central government peacefully. This model is known as “liberty granting power.” Indeed, the Swiss Constitution is modeled on our own, whereby free and independent states delegated some of their sovereignty to a new, limited central government. Today, however, the two countries are embroiled in a below-the-radar dispute over whether U.S. federal courts can try Swiss nationals who have diligently followed Swiss law and who h

...from Tenth Amendment Center LANSING , Mich. (Oct. 30, 2017) – Two Michigan House bills would add impediments making it more difficult for state-level officials to enact coercive vaccination mandates, and would set the stage to nullifying in practice federal programs designed to facilitate vaccinations. House Bill 5162 ( HB5162 ) was introduced by Rep. Steven Johnson (R-Wayland) and House Bill 5163 ( HB5163 ) was introduced by Rep. John Reilly (R-Oakland). The legislation would remove power from unelected bureaucrats to impose more stringent rules regarding vaccinations. Under these bills, the state legislature would have sole discretion to setting these rules. “As chair of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, I often see state departments proposing rules that attempt to go beyond the scope of what the legislature originally intended,” Johnson said in a press release . “This is not simply because we have an out-of-control bureaucracy, but also because the legislature has

...from Tenth Amendment Center Gun people talk tough. “You can have my gun when they pry it from my cold, dead hand.” But all the bluster disappears when talk turns to the Supreme Court and the possibility of an opinion that undermines the Second Amendment. Last year’s prospect of a Hillary Clinton Supreme Court nominee turned millions of gun rights advocates into quivering bowls of Jello. Granted, Hillary made some comments in the presidential debate that reveals she’s no friend of the individual right to keep an bear arms. (But we knew that, right?) Her comments regarding the Heller decision sent the gun people into abject panic. Social media lit up with pro-Second Amendment types imploring everyone they have to vote for Trump to keep Hillary from “shredding” the Second Amendment (Never mind that Trump has a squishy history on the Second himself.) One Facebook poster glumly predicted that Hillary would “take all of our guns” if elected president and allowed to appoint a justice

...from Tenth Amendment Center The following post is excerpted from the script for Nullify: Season 1.  Watch all the videos from this series at this link  – and  Become a member here  to support the TAC. In his famous 1830s “Notes on Nullification,” James Madison railed against a specific nullification proposal from South Carolina claiming the power of a single state to legally overturn any congressional act. Drafted by John C. Calhoun, the proposal also claimed that the federal government would immediately have to obey a single state declaring a federal act unconstitutional, and could only stop this process by getting 3/4 of the states to overturn the action of the nullifying state. Mainstream conservative and liberal “experts” take this out of context, and intentionally misconstrue Madison’s opposition to what he called “the doctrine of South Carolina.” At the same time, they conveniently forget to mention Madison’s other statement in support of nullification in that same docu

...from Tenth Amendment Center TAC memberships  help us produce more educational tools like this. Members can download this video and read the full transcript here . “When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different; liberty, sir, was then the primary object.” -Patrick Henry (1788) FOLLOW TAC: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TenthAmendmentCenter RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/tacdailydigest Twitter: http://twitter.com/tenthamendment Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tenthamendmentcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenthamendmentcenter/ Email Newsletter: http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/register Become a Member: http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/members/ Michael Boldin October 27, 2017 at 11:15AM

...from Tenth Amendment Center Recently, Laura Donahue, a professor at Georgetown Law and an expert on digital privacy, came to the  Originalism Center  at the University of San Diego to talk about her recent article, “ The Original Fourth Amendment .”  The article is a long one, nearly 150 pages long in a law journal, and it covers the development of search and seizure law through English, Colonial and American history. One of the messages that comes across is the familiar one that the Americans were Whigs, who took one strand of English thought that was protective of liberty, and wrote it into the Constitution.  (Another area where some have argued this was true was the First Amendment.) One interesting question is the meaning of the famous language in the Amendment prohibiting “unreasonable searches and seizures.”  Many people who reject originalism or embrace a nonconstraining originalism argue that this language is inherently vague or a delegation to the future.  In essence, t

...from Tenth Amendment Center A press release about the lawsuit filed against me by the city of Lexington, Ky., relating to an open records request I filed seeking information on surveillance generated a ton of local media coverage, including an appearance on Kruser and Krew, the afternoon-drive show on WVLK AM. Kruser and I talked about the city’s efforts to hide information about its surveillance cameras. I started off the interview with a bang. “You know what’s really ironic about this? I’m trying to get information about surveillance whenever you do that, people will give you the, ‘Well if you don’t have anything to hide, you don’t have anything to fear.’ And yet, I’ve got stacks of redacted documents and a lawsuit, and I’m wondering what Lexington’s got to hide and what they’ve got to fear.” Kruser tried to push me a bit, arguing that maybe the police were justified in hiding some information about their surveillance programs. I think I pretty much obliterated that argume

...from Tenth Amendment Center If you’ve been following our  Activism 101 Podcast , you know that I’ve been involved in local activism taking on the surveillance state in my hometown of Lexington, Ky. Well, my efforts have gotten me sued! The good thing about getting sued is it creates a lot of media buzz – including spots on the local news. My interview with the local CBS affiliate was particularly good. It gives a good overview of the surveillance issue in Lexington. The reporter hit all the major points, and my sound bites came out solid. The only negative was my TAC pin was crooked. WATCH IT: Local action is a powerful way to address the federal surveillance state. We need more people pushing their cities and counties like this! Mike Maharrey October 26, 2017 at 10:51AM

...from Tenth Amendment Center MONTGOMERY , Ala. (Oct. 25, 2017) – A bill prefiled in the Alabama House for the 2018 session would exempt the purchase of gold and silver bullion from state sales and use tax, encouraging its use and taking the first step toward breaking the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money. Rep. Ronald Johnson (R-Sylacauga) prefiled House Bill 19 ( HB19 ). The legislation would exempt the gross proceeds from the sale of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion and coins from sales and use tax in the state. Imagine if you asked a grocery clerk to break a $5 bill and he charged you a 35 cent tax. Silly, right? After all, you were only exchanging one form of money for another. But that’s essentially what Alabama’s sales tax on gold and silver bullion does. By removing the sales tax on the exchange of gold and silver, Alabama would treat specie as money instead of a commodity. This represents a small step toward reestablishing gold and silver as legal tender an

...from Tenth Amendment Center Patrick Henry didn’t want to make America “great.” Michael Boldin October 25, 2017 at 12:26PM

...from Tenth Amendment Center This is the first of a five-part series on Founding Father John Dickinson, who published his highly influential “Farmer Letters” exactly 250 years ago. The series was first published by the  Washington Post’s blog, The Volokh Conspiracy . This year marks the 250th anniversary of one of the most influential series of writings in American history. The series was John Dickinson’s  Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania . The “letters” were twelve newspaper essays, the first of which was published in November, 1767. In accordance with the  contemporaneous understanding  of freedom of the press, Dickinson chose to remain anonymous: He signed the letters “A Farmer.” The letters argued that Parliament’s Townshend duties were improper and unconstitutional, and explained how Americans should resist them. The Farmer  took America by storm. The essays were widely reprinted individually, and they were collected as a book. There were editions in Britain and Europe

...from Tenth Amendment Center MADISON , Wisc. (Oct. 25, 2017) – Last week, a Wisconsin Senate committee unanimously approved a bill that would legalize commercial industrial hemp production in the state, setting the foundation to end federal prohibition in effect. A bipartisan coalition of 12 senators introduced Senate Bill 119 ( SB119 ) in March. Under the proposed law, industrial hemp would be treated as an agricultural crop subject to regulation by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Under SB119, the department would create a license authorizing the planting, growing, cultivating, harvesting, and processing of industrial hemp for “commercial purposes or research.” The licensing program would be “shall issue,” meaning the department would be  required  to issue a license to any person meeting statutory requirements. Without this section, the department could deny applications for a myriad of reasons. SB119 would require DATCP to promulgate r

...from Tenth Amendment Center For Immediate Release Oct. 24, 2017 LEXINGTON , Ky. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky will represent Michael Maharrey in  a lawsuit filed against him  by the city after he attempted to obtain documents relating to surveillance cameras owned and operated by the Lexington Police Department (“LPD”). “Honestly, I think it’s a bullying tactic more than anything,” Maharrey said. “I think the city thought it could just slap me with a lawsuit and I’d go away. Newsflash – I’m not going away.” The LPD denied Maharrey’s records request citing a statute that exempts certain documents relating to homeland security, along with a second statute exempting certain “investigative reports.” On appeal, the attorney general’s office rejected both exemptions claimed by the LPD. At that point the city sued Maharrey. “One of the fundamental principles of our government is transparency. The public has a right to know the actions of government officials and di

...from Tenth Amendment Center This is the 22nd installment of a podcast following local activism efforts I am spearheading to address the surveillance state in Lexington, Ky. Through this series, you will get an inside look at boots-on-the-ground activism as it happens. The goal is to create a step-by-step how-to on tackling issues at the local level. You can access the other episodes  HERE . In the last episode, I talked about how the lawsuit the city of Lexington filed against me over an open records request has created some challenges – specifically in keeping focused on our ultimate activism goals. But getting sued has also created some great opportunities – in particular, an appearance on the InfoWars show Real News with David Knight . The key was being willing to move quickly when the door opened. In this installment of the Activism 101 podcast, I talk about the importance of seizing the day and taking advantage of every opportunity as it pops up. SHOW NOTES Interview: Su

...from Tenth Amendment Center by Ron Paul This week President Trump revealed his final five candidates for Federal Reserve chair. Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, all five have strong ties to the financial and political establishment. The leading candidates are former Federal Reserve governor and Morgan Stanley banker Kevin Warsh and current Fed governor, former investment banker, Carlyle Group partner, and George H.W. Bush administration official Jerome Powell. Gary Cohn, current director of the president’s National Economic Council and former president of Goldman Sachs, is also on Trump’s list. Trump is also considering reappointing Janet Yellen, even though when he was running for president he repeatedly criticized her for pursuing policies harmful to the middle class. Of course candidate Trump also promised to support Audit the Fed and even voiced support for returning to the gold standard. But, he has not even uttered the words “Audit the Fed,” or talked about any chang

...from Tenth Amendment Center MONTGOMERY , Ala. (Oct. 23, 2017) – A bill prefiled in the Alabama Senate would abolish marriage licenses in the state and effectively nullify in practice both major sides of the contentious national debate over government-sanctioned marriage. Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Bay Minette) prefiled Senate Bill 13 ( SB13 ) in September. The legislation would abolish all requirements to obtain a marriage license in Alabama. Instead, probate judges would simply record civil contracts of marriage between two individuals based on signed affidavits. According to the bill summary, SB13 would “eliminate the requirement for solemnization of a marriage for it to be considered valid” and “specify that the judge of probate would have no authority to reject any recording of a marriage, so long as the affidavits, forms, and data are provided. must record certain affidavits, forms, and data regarding the marriage.” During the 2017 legislative session, Albritton introduced a s

...from Tenth Amendment Center A bipartisan push in Congress could lead to a national database containing personally identifiable information on college students. States can act now to limit collection and sharing of such data to stop this unconstitutional threat to privacy. The Higher Education Act of 2008 banned federal educational databases containing personal identifiable data. But there is an ongoing push to lift the ban and allow the Department of Education to gather and store large amounts of information on post-secondary students. The Bush administration first proposed a federal student unit-record system in 2005. A coalition of organizations, including the ACLU, Parents Across America  and the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy recently sent a letter to the federal  Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking opposing any type of federal database. “We strongly oppose any proposal that would lead to the creation of a central federal clearinghouse or linked data sets co

...from Tenth Amendment Center I’m currently working on a project that has reminded me just how far the Tenth Amendment Center and the nullification movement have come in the last several years. Earlier this month, I started working on the 2017 State of the Nullification Report. We like to think of it as a prospectus, of sorts – an… Mike Maharrey October 23, 2017 at 11:17AM

...from Tenth Amendment Center We have gotten to this point in American life. I predicted it when I wrote  The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers . If you admire the founding generation or the Constitution, you are “extreme.” How do we know this? Because  three “esteemed” law professors tell us this is the case . Their aim was Senate candidate Roy Moore, whose participation in the 2010 Tenth Amendment Summit in Atlanta, GA served as the backdrop for a thinly veiled hit piece at CNN, home of “fake news.” Moore is a…gasp…”Tenther.” What the heck does that mean, anyway? Jefferson would be a “Tenther.” So would Madison and a host of other members of the founding generation. They also supported the Third Amendment. Does that make them a “Thirder?” Do we call people who support the Fifth Amendment “Fifthers?” Stupid. But what else can you expect from this brain dead crowd. Even more hilarious was the fact that the authors of the piece probably weren’t aware that M

...from Tenth Amendment Center Back in August, Suzanne Sherman and Carl Jones outlined why the National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill would be a Trojan horse for the Federal government. Today, it is more important than ever that we let states decide this issue on their own. And I’ll explain why. When I first decided to start carrying a gun, I took all necessary measures to ensure that I was going to be a responsible, law-abiding gun owner. I went for training. I read any and all literature I could find on the subject. And I familiarized myself with the gun laws in my home state. First and foremost, I applied for a concealed carry permit. Residing as I do in the great State of Virginia, such preparation wasn’t really a requirement. To receive a five-year concealed carry license , all that was required of me was to fill out a form, get it notarized and send it to the applicable department with a check for fifty dollars and a copy of my hunter’s safety card . There were no laws i