Concordia res Parvae Crescunt
from the official press release:
State Sen. Randy Brogdon said he was “elated†after the Senate joined the House in approving House Concurrent Resolution 1028, asserting Oklahoma’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. An earlier legislative attempt by Brogdon to stop the federal government from overstepping its bounds was vetoed by Gov. Brad Henry.
“HCR 1028 will not have to go to the governor—and with its passage today, it will go straight to President Obama and Congress. We are telling them loud and clear to end all federal mandates that are beyond the scope of powers specifically outlined in the Constitution,†said Brogdon, R-Owasso.
Brogdon said under the U.S. Constitution, Congress does have the right to regulate trade, mint money and maintain a navy.
“These functions are clearly outlined and should be handled by the federal government, but the Washington politicians have gone too far. They use the promise of money, or the threats of withholding it, to coerce states into giving up their sovereignty,†Brogdon said.
Brogdon said numerous federal laws, including the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind and federal homeland security requirements are examples of how the federal government has overstepped its powers. He said the federal stimulus program is a particularly alarming example.
“People think this is free money, but I assure you it is not free. We’re creating debt that will impact our children, grandchildren and probably even their grandchildren. Frankly, we may never be able to pay off this debt. Furthermore, there are strings attached to these funds,†Brogdon said. “I can assure you, the federal government does not have the authority to dictate Oklahoma’s budget, but that’s exactly what they’re attempting to do.â€
For more information contact:
Sen. Brogdon’s Office – 405-521-5566
(h/t Charles Henry)
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God Bless Senator Brogdon!!! May this be a first step towards freedom for the people of Oklahoma, and all the people of the Sovereign States. Liberty must survive.
I agree it would be a terrible thing if a violent war took place in the United States. That would not be the worst thing. The worst thing would be that vile state of apathy and moral corruption that would leave my countrymen in tyranny. Liberty is more important than life.
The 9th and 10th Amendments were drafted to serve precisely the purpose for which Senator Brogdon now cites them.
Bravo Senator Brogdon! May the light of liberty shine upon us all.
Was the 16th amendment ever ratified? I don't believe it was. If states take on the responsibility of its citizens while still paying in Federal taxes, then you can watch for all state taxes to rise significantly unless states find a new source of revenue such as legalizing and taxing pot. This should be done anyway since the current laws regarding drugs are unconstitutional to begin with. We start messing with the Feds money and we are taking on something even bigger and more powerful than the Federal Govt and that is the Federal Reserve.
It is wishful thinking that the feds and the blue states will give up their free ride without a fight. When they are forced to support themselves, they won't be able to do so. It will be interesting to see how the liberal leaders will motivate the welfare masses to tight.
Secondly, the 16 amendment does need to be repealed. Look and see where the bulk of the money comes from and where it goes. Of course with the federal government borrowing 50 cents of every dollar it spends, it does get interesting.
There is no question in my mind that Sen. Brogdon is leading the states in the right direction. But I recently ran across a post that claims that a Texas state congressman is against the idea of state sovereignty because the states derive their powers from the federal government, right? =^O So some of our state and federal government "leaders," including Obama, will need to be reconnected with Founder's intentions as reflected by the Constitution and its history in order for the restoration of state sovereignty to really gain momentum, in my opinion, not that misguided people like Obama would support the movement.
And to really put some fangs into the state sovereignty movement, I think that the states ultimately need to repeal the 16th A., the amendment that gives the feds the power to tax citizens directly. The problem with that amendment is that it has made it too easy for the corrupt federal government to lay constitutionally unauthorized taxes. In fact, the feds are wrongly ignoring the following case precedent established by Chief Justice Marshall which limits the power of the feds to lay taxes.
"Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States." --Chief Justice Marshall, GIBBONS V. OGDEN (1824) http://supreme.justia.com/us/22/1/case.html
And once the 16th A. has been repealed and the federal income tax eliminated, the state governments can finance the feds with higher state taxes. The reason for this is as follows. The states can use their greater constitutional powers to serve the people to fight a downhill battle with the feds, eliminating constitutionally unauthorized federal taxes, keeping as many tax dollars in a given state as possible. (Did you hear that California?)
And when state government "leaders" show their voters that they are more interested in protecting the welfare of the federal government more than that of their own state, then they can look for another job.
I think we may be seeing the next step in the form of the Firearms Freedom Acts currently beginning to appear. It's rather as if the Resolutions say "Here's your warning" and the FFAs are saying, "This is our first action".
I rather like Glenn Beck's remark on this as the "Civilest War". His approach being that the battle is fought in the State legislatures and not on the battlefield. Quite frankly, that would be the best route if we are allowed to take it. However, those in power rarely relinquish it without a fight, so secession will have to remain an option for the future.
Patrick Henry Lives -- no, we're not "just fooling ourselves", not by any stretch of the imagination. Technically states don't need sovereignty resolutions, but for most people there's just something about having things "formalized" in writing that makes them more willing to act, should the need arise.
The next step will be determined by Washington's response to the various states' reassertion of their sovereignty. Secession would be unwise except as a last resort, and would almost certainly result in martial law being declared, which in turn would bring about a full-scale civil war.
Take heart -- Americans don't HAVE masters; and though a usurper occupies the White House, the curtain will be pulled aside and it'll be just like in the Wizard of Oz, only a whole lot more satisfying.
While Resolutions are an important first step as a "petition for redress of grievance", they are essentially powerless and serve only to show the States' weak and beggerly condition, that they must come crawling on their kness to Fed-Gov for mercy against its usurpations. So, my question for Senator Brogdon is, what is the next step to restoring stater' rights against our fearful, usurpatious master? Unless and until we have the moral courage and resolve to secede, aren't we just fooling ourselves?
I took it back 2 more decades just because. Same trend. Go figure!
If the fed today was the size it was in 1950, our tax we'd each pay today would be $2,544.63. Due to federal growth, we each pay $8,317.30! This does not include the deficit. This is how much per capita we pay into the feds, irrespective of what the feds spend.
Stay tuned for refinements and more stats. As you know, these figures are per person. Once we eliminate children and the retired, that leaves a different population, which really is the working age population. That bumps the amount much higher. Then, of course, we have the working-age deadbeats of America. They don't pay, and our amounts go up yet higher.
I am big into stats, so I'll continue to post others.
Excellent! Congratulations Oklahoma!
I just created a chart to show what Brogdon is describing in general. It is at http://www.sovereignstates.net/fedstats/fedspendin...
Nice job Jeff - it's important to see some basic visualizations like that. Brogdon's doing some great work in OK - definitely pulling for him in the Gov race...
Tenther Radio!
"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."
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[...] Brogdon expressed the idea well enough. He said that Oklahoma is telling folks in Washington, DC, “loud and clear to end all [...]
[...] Randy is also a leader in the 10th Amendment battle to defend States’ Rights. He authored SJR10, otherwise known as, the 1oth Amendment Resolution, in 2008, designed to protect states rights and prevent the federal government from overexerting its legislative power. Thanks to his work on the 10th Amendment Initiative, he was invited to speak to the Pennsylvania State Legislature, in March 2009. [...]