Articles of Freedom, part 7

This is a series of posts concerning the works of the 2009 Continental Congress. Two weeks ago I wrote about Article 5 of the Articles of Freedom, which was about the last privacy and the Fourth Amendment. Now I will continue with Article 6, the text of which follows. I completely agree with it.

ARTICLE 6.

PRIVATE PROPERTY AND THE 4^th, 5^TH, 9^TH, 10^TH

AND 14^TH AMENDMENTS

“Either you have the right to own property or you are property.” Wayne Hage, rancher

A. BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

The Founding Documents of the United States clearly acknowledge that the powers of the government are derived only from the consent of the governed. Under the American system, individuals decide and direct the terms of their lives; that each person is independent; that justice must be dispensed equally; and that each person has a natural right to his or her Life, Liberty and Property.

The United States is the only nation on earth specifically based on the premise of the right of individuals to own and control private property. It is the essential ingredient for Freedom and in the ability to build personal wealth. Private property ownership is the main factor in creating our national prosperity and it is the root of our individual Freedom.

Ownership of private property is essential to guaranteeing individual Liberty. Without private property, no other rights are possible. There can be no freedom of speech, no freedom of mobility, or no ability to be secure in our persons without the ability to own and control private property.

For half a century, unrestrained local and state governments have taken private property not for "public uses"—such as for bridges or public buildings—as permitted by the Constitution, but for private businesses in the name of "economic development." Through the arbitrary use of Eminent Domain, perpetrated by partnerships between government and private developers (Public/Private Partnerships), in the name of an undefined "Common good" for the community, private homes and businesses are being bulldozed, replaced by newer businesses and homes owned, not by the public, but by private, politically-connected individuals and corporations.

Internationally, there are outside forces threatening to establish an absolute tyranny over private ownership of land through a declaration that all property is part of a “Global Commons” which it declares cannot be owned or controlled by an individual. To that end, a hoard of private organizations, armed with international treaties, soft law policies, and arbitrary directives have fanned out across the nation transforming the American system of government, assuring private land is locked away or controlled to the point of rendering it worthless to the owners.

These actions subvert the principles of the Declaration of Independence and destroy the governing authority of the United States Constitution. Together, we can reverse this trend toward collectivism and uphold the Principles of Property enshrined in the Constitution, which should forever reign supreme.

B. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

1. Our Constitution for the United States is “the Supreme Law of the Land” and has supremacy over decisions of legislature
(Art. 6, Clause 1-3)

There can be no rule making or legislation which will abrogate the Rights secured by our Constitution. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 491 (1966)

"No right granted or secured by the Constitution of the United States can be impaired or destroyed by a state enactment, whatever may be the source from which the power to pass such enactment may have been derived…The nullity of any act inconsistent with the Constitution is produced by the declaration that the Constitution is the supreme law.” Connolly vs. Union Sewer Pipe Company, 184 U.S. 540, 558 (1902)

2. Our People of the United States are guaranteed the unalienable Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

“The three great rights are bound together as to be essentially one right. To give a man his life, but deny him his liberty, is to take from him all that makes his life worth living. To give him his liberty, but take from him the property which is the fruit and badge of his liberty, is to still leave him a slave.” George Sutherland, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1921.

3. The Rights of the People to their Property shall not be violated without probable cause, without due process, and without just compensation.

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.” Constitution, 4^th Amendment.

“No person…shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Constitution, 5^th Amendment.

4. “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain Rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the People.” Constitution, 9^th Amendment.

5. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the People.” Constitution, 10^th Amendment.

C. ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

The Creator has supplied the earth with an abundance of energy sources. Abundant energy is the foundation for all technological advancement. A high and improved quality of life is totally dependent on an abundance of energy. The Constitution does not grant the federal government the power to regulate, control, or establish a national policy for the generation and distribution of energy. Within the United States, there is a nearly unlimited supply of coal, oil, natural gas, and hydroelectric energy sources. Carbon dioxide generated from these sources is not an environmental pollutant, but is, in fact, an essential and vital element of life, enhancing life rather than negatively impacting it.

The extraction, transportation and processing of energy resources – our property – is fully our Constitutional right. So too is the production of nuclear energy. Some convincingly argue that nuclear energy is the safest, cleanest, and least expensive source of energy and that nuclear waste can be disposed of at the reactor site.

D. THE WILDLANDS PROJECT –

CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

The United States has assumed control of lands within several of the western states far beyond the authority granted to it by the Constitution for the United States. (See map). When the federal government assumes control, it does so by calling these seized lands such names as: “The Wildlands Project”, “Heritage” areas, “Land Management”, “Wolf and Bear Reintroduction”, and “Rails to Trails”, “Conservation Easements”, “Open Space”, and many more. Each of these programs is designed to make it more difficult and expensive to live on the land.

The federal government has established and expanded parks, preserves, recreation and wilderness areas with no regard for the economic impact, loss of livelihood, and custom and culture of residents of the areas. These types of projects are established often without the direct consent of the legislature of the state, or the people of the community, and without concern for the impact on the communities.

For example, the economy of the small communities of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is being heavily impacted. The residents of many similarly situated communities are suffering greatly when the federal government takes several million acres of land for use in these “wilderness” projects. In these projects, among other things, the watershed areas will no longer be under the guidance and care of the citizens of those communities.

E. REMEDIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO CONGRESS

We the People, find that the three branches of our government have violated the above provisions of the Constitution and therefore provide the following instructions:

1. Reintroduce and pass the "Property Rights Protection Act (S1313). This legislation, passed in the House of Representatives in 2005, was introduced to overturn the Supreme Court's Kelo decision. The legislation specifically called for cutting off federal funds to any community that uses Eminent Domain for community development of private property. It was blocked in committee in the Senate. Passing this legislation is vital to correcting the destruction to American property rights caused by the Kelo Decision.

2. Repeal all legislation related to terms such as, “sustainable development”, “social justice”, “global community”, or otherwise focused on land use, education, or population control/reduction;

3. Strengthen the Fifth Amendment by law (not a Constitutional Amendment) by requiring government at all levels to pay just compensation for regulatory takings;

4. Repeal and provide no funds to any agency working toward a “North American Union”, regional, or global governance of any kind;

5. Repeal all laws restricting the People’s Right to private property – its acquisition, its use, and its disposal;

6. Defund and repeal all Environmental Protection Agency legislation related to the United Nations movement to collectivize all property;

7. Reject or repeal all legislation related to public/private partnerships that relate to controlling population or setting new public policy aimed at making communal the property of the People;

8. Independently evaluate any determinations by the United Nations or any non-governmental international organizations that are supportive of their promotion of top down governance of society;

9. Reject or repeal any laws/legislation that does not conform to the requirements of the 10^th Amendment;

10. Refuse to enter into the Copenhagen Treaty;

11. Refuse to provide any funds to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs);

12. Discontinue any association or funding of any activities related to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (North American Leaders Summit);

13. Repeal all laws that take property from sovereign individuals merely “accused” or “suspected” of a crime;

14. Rewrite environmental laws to protect private property rights limited only by historic harm and nuisance provisions of common law, and mandate that federal lands meet their own standards;

15. Repeal all laws/regulations and funding related to National Heritage Areas;

16. Prevent Eminent Domain from being exercised to convert private property from one owner to another private owner for public advantage; Eminent domain is only to be used to convert private property to public “use” for at least 20 years;

17. Repeal all laws granting the Army Corps of Engineers control over land or water rights of private property owners;

18. Repeal all laws, regulations, and/or directives of any kind that regulate, control, or establish a national policy for the generation and distribution of energy; and

19. Let the free market determine how energy is generated and distributed.

F. REMEDIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO EACH OF THE SEVERAL STATES

1. Eliminate all taxes on private property, such as land, buildings/tenements, automobiles, chattels, estates, real estate, real property, personal property, or property tax assessments;

2. The legislatures shall develop laws and regulations required to establish a state policy for the generation or distribution of energy that is based upon free market principles and operates pursuant to the rights of the states under the 10^th Amendment;

3. Leave the regulation, generation, or distribution of energy to the free market;

4. Pass a resolution declaring that the federal government has no power to regulate, control, or establish policy for the generation or distribution of energy within the state.

5. Pass laws defining private property and blocking the use of Eminent Domain for community development of private property.

G. RECOMMENDED CIVIC ACTIONS BY THE PEOPLE

1. Encourage self-education of property rights protected by the Constitution;

2. Get involved concerning the benefits of free market solutions to the generation and distribution of all sources of energy;

3. Establish a petition drive throughout the state indicating that energy generation and distribution must be free from all government control;

4. Develop initiatives to place on the ballot that indicate your individual right to a free market in energy generation and distribution;

5. Contact your state senator, representative, and the Governor and demand that they pass legislation that ends the federal government regulation of energy generation and distribution within the state;

6. Educate yourself about the truth behind climate change and the reality that global warming is not caused by man through carbon emissions;

7. Go to city council meetings to listen and participate in discussions;

8. Inquire through your council members during a meeting, or by setting up a personal meeting, to determine the role of the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) in driving policy at the local level;

9. Build coalitions of like-minded groups in order to build opposition to the implementation of “Agenda 21” (“sustainable development”) at the local level;

10. Demand that your local government respect your right to a “republican form of government” as enumerated in the United States Constitution and the various state Constitutions by ceasing the use of the “consensus process” and predetermined outcomes and “comprehensive planning” in order to dictate policy and implement anything that interferes with private property ownership;

11. Reject the local reception of federal, non-governmental organizations (NGO), or foundations, grants and/or funding to the extent that they further the implementation of Agenda 21;

12. Actively oppose local government participation with federal programs or agencies that seek to further the implementation of Agenda 21 (“sustainable development”);

13. Actively oppose the creation of “public/private partnerships” (PPPs) between local government and private industry;

14. Educate yourself concerning methods to combat the “consensus process”, which seeks to manipulate the public into pre-determined outcomes;

15. Address, petition, and support all states to reassert and reaffirm the 10^th Amendment by passing legislation exerting 10^th Amendment powers for land use management;

16. Encourage, petition, and support county officials to notify all government agencies - state and federal - to comply with the 10^th Amendment and other Constitutional provisions;

17. Counsel and lobby Congress to return ownership of public lands, parks, preserves, recreation areas, and areas designated to the states in whose boundaries the land lies.

(from Articles of Freedom, the Works of the Continental Congress 2009)

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