Posted by BeTheWheel on 09/22/09

On September 22, 2009, Congressman Tim Walz was supposed to be at the county library in Fairmont, MN to meet with his constituents in our area.  Due to other obligations in Washington, Congressman Walz was unable to attend but sent two members of his staff in his stead, Mr. Rick Howden and Ms. Ann Spicer.  The following is the text of the statement I intended to make to Congressman Walz directly but instead made to his staff members and the others present:

Congressman Walz, thank you for coming today and welcome to Fairmont.  With all the talk about healthcare reform, I'd first like to applaud you for co-sponsoring what I feel is the most important legislation currently in the works in Washington, which is HR 1207, the bill to audit the Federal Reserve.

Mayer Rothschild, who was founder of the Rothschild family international banking dynasty, and was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the "Twenty Most Influential Businessmen of All Time", said "Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes the laws."  No truer words could have been spoken when you look at our current monetary system in the United States.  Our Constitution gave authority to regulate the value of our money to Congress, and demanded that the money in circulation be backed by things with value such as gold and silver.  The dollar bills you and I have in our pockets used to say "Gold Certificate" or "Silver Certificate" on them.  It was basically a receipt that said you owned a dollar's worth of gold or silver.  That is what gave the piece of paper in your hand value.   When the Congress printed more money, they paid no interest on it. 

Thanks to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, Congress has handed over this Constitutional obligation to a secretive board of private bankers and created an institution more powerful than any of our elected offices, including the Presidency.  Besides the fact that nowhere in the Constitution does it give Congress the authority to relinquish their Constitutional obligation to any other body such as the Federal Reserve,  we have allowed Congress a clever way to acquire funds for every government program under the sun without having the ask We The People for it first.  Whenever they spend too much money, they borrow money from foreign countries, and the Fed prints money out of thin air to cover the shortfall.  Then we are told as citizens, we must do our patriotic duty and pay our taxes.

Now, we're supposed to believe that the paper in our pocket is the actual money.  That paper now says "Federal Reserve Note".  It is exactly that, a note.  It is something that we owe, rather than own.  And now, I have read that every baby born in America today, before it even takes its first breath of air, owes somewhere in the ballpark of $30,000 of our national debt.  And that is only based on obligations we've already incurred.  I have also read, when you factor in future entitlements to which our government has obligated the taxpayers, the number reaches closer to $200,000.  When the government reaches its debt ceiling, they simply raise the debt ceiling. 

I am no economist, but even I know the more paper dollars we have in circulation, the less they are worth.  When the Fed prints more and more money out of thin air, meaning it is not backed by anything of real value, it makes every dollar that you or I carry in our pockets worth less than it was before.  This is inflation, and there is no one that is harmed more by inflation than those who already have a hard time making ends meet.  So, government programs intended to help the poor, inevitably harm the very people they are intended to help when the government has no money to pay for the program and inflationary monetary policy is employed.  It is a hidden tax that no one talks about.  It is irresponsible as well as immoral.  Even Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has admitted to Congress, under oath, that inflation is a hidden tax that primarily harms the poor.  We have evolved from an economy based on capitalism and free enterprise to a mostly fraudulent economy that is based on consumer spending and easy credit and would be more accurately described as corporatism or economic fascism than capitalism.  This is made possible by a central banking system that protects all of its Wall Street friends from the consequences of ineptitude and risky business practices and has indebted future generations of Americans by encouraging all of us to not live within our means.  Well, what happens when foreign countries no longer wish to loan us money because we continue to pay them back with increasingly worthless U.S. dollars, ultimately resulting in a collapse of the U.S. dollar? 

We have already heard rumblings coming out of the UN of a new international currency.  Well, let me revisit the words of Mr. Rothschild.  "Give me control of a nation's money, and I care not who makes the laws".  If those words are frightening as they apply to our current monetary system, imagine if we operated under an international monetary system controlled by private bankers.  It's no wonder that even though we hear the campaign slogan of "change" every four years regardless of which political party happens to be in opposition, we never see any change.  If continued government growth and intervention into our financial, medical, and personal lives is what we want, then I guess our government is operating to perfection.

If liberty is what we desire, then I feel it is time to start holding our representatives accountable to their oaths of office, which is simply to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.  If we do that, then many of the other debates we are currently having become irrelevant.  We as a people will only have the freedoms and liberties that we are willing to fight for.  History has proven that.  It is up to us, not just Congressman Walz and his colleagues. 

Once again, Congressman Walz, I applaud you for cosponsoring HR 1207 to audit the Federal Reserve, and I ask that you continue to fight to make sure that this bill passes the House and eventually is signed by President Obama so that we can finally find out where all of our money is going.  You no doubt will meet heavy opposition from outside special interests in this fight.  I also ask that you simply uphold your oath of office to defend and protect our Constitution.  It is the moral and honorable thing to do.  You certainly will never make everyone happy by doing this, but you will never need to defend yourself for doing what is moral and honorable, which is to honor your oath.  There are thousands who will support you in that effort. 

The Constitution, and in particular the Bill of Rights, was written to restrain the power and scope of government, not to grant powers to it.  We are a Constitutional Republic, not a pure democracy.  That means there are certain things the government may not do, regardless of how many votes they can muster in the House or the Senate or how much favor and goodwill they enjoy in the court of public opinion.  The power of the government is derived from the consent of the governed.  In order to expand the power of the government beyond its constitutional limitations, We The People must give our consent through our elected representatives by amending our Constitution.  We, the governed, have consented to too much unconstitutional intervention into our lives, and as government has grown out of control over the decades, we are now subjected, on a daily basis, to government interventions into our lives to which we never consented. 

There is one verbal commitment I would ask that you would make to all of us here today, Congressman Walz.  It is no secret anymore that Congress often passes legislation without even reading the bills prior to voting.  This is unacceptable and indefensible.  I would ask that you make a vow to personally not vote for any legislation that you have not personally read and of which you have not had sufficient opportunity to obtain a thorough understanding, and that you will fight to prevent a vote on any legislation if you have reason to believe that your colleagues have also not done so.  Other than an imminent threat to our national security, there is nothing that you will ever vote on that is so urgent as to require such irresponsible and hasty measures.

In times like these, I believe it to be proper to seek counsel from the wisdom of our founding fathers, and I'd like to close with a couple of quotes that I believe are relevant to the issues of today.

The first is from Thomas Jefferson, and I'm assuming this statement was made sometime after the creation of America's first central bank, which I believe was name the First Bank of the United States, and was later dismantled.  Jefferson said, "The Central Bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the principles and form of our Constitution. . . . I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the Government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs. If the American people ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

  In order to climb out of the hole we are in, we must first stop digging.  We often hear talk of reaching across party lines, and setting aside partisan politics in the name of "getting things done".  Unfortunately, "getting things done" usually means further shackling our kids and grandkids with the financial burdens of our generation's irresponsibility.  Rather than uniting to "get something done", it is time We The People set aside our partisan politics and unite in the name of Liberty.  We have created a huge mess because of our willingness to allow all of the governing to take place in Washington.  We must return to the guidance of the Constitution and the principles of self-government.  The concept of self-government means that we have the right to govern our own lives without government interference as long we do not interfere with the rights of others to do the same.  For those that believe the Constitution is outdated and no longer meets the needs of today, let us remember that autocratic rule and oppression are as old as history itself.  In the grand scope of history, liberty and self-government are still in their infancy, but are sadly on life support.  Our founders called our system of government the "Great Experiment" in a time when Thomas Paine said, "We have it in our power to begin the world over again."  Does it really only take 200 years for the concept of liberty to lose its luster?  What would those who sacrificed so much to create something never before seen in history say about what we have done to our country?  Our early patriots revolted over a 1 cent tax on tea, yet the tax burden that we now bear is staggering in comparison. 

Thomas Paine said, "If there be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace".  Well, we have trouble in our day.  I pray to God that we will choose to find a remedy that does not further burden the generations of those who do not yet have a voice.  Will posterity refer to us as the generation that reignited the torch of liberty, or will they look back on us with contempt for leaving behind a legacy of lost liberties, indebtedness, and corruption?  I believe the answer to that question lies not in Washington, D.C., but with We The People.  An understanding of true freedom and liberty requires an ability to respect the differences of others and a willingness to allow others to pursue happiness in any way they choose as long as it does not interfere with the rights of anyone else to do the same.  It requires a willingness to refrain from imposing your beliefs or your goodness on others.  I believe that message, if delivered properly, is a powerful one and one that needs to be delivered now more than ever. 

Troy Stenzel

Fairmont, MN

Posted 09/22/09 BeTheWheel Fairmont, MN

In fairness to Mr. Walz, it has come to my attention that Mr. Walz was never scheduled to be in Fairmont, rather it was going to be his staffers all along. My apologies to Congressman Walz, as the beginning of my post probably gave the impression that he backed out on his scheduled appearance. Nevertheless, my message would have been the same.

Posted by BeTheWheel on 11/05/08

Let me begin by saying I am joyful this morning knowing that a minority candidate can be elected to the highest office in this country.  I have to admit that I allowed myself a moment last night to pause and appreciate the social, political, and historical significance of last night's events.  I hope you all know there is a great, big BUT coming.  BUT, that is where my joy ends.

As I watched the mainstream media this morning debating what happened to the Republican party, where they went wrong, and where they go from here, the answers to those questions seemed too obvious to me (and I'm sure to you as well)  to even require comtemplation.  Last night, the Republican party reaped what it has sown.  It got what it deserved.  I'm sure many who came out to vote last night were casting their votes FOR Barack Obama, because of the perceived hope that he brings to the country.  But I also believe an equal amount of voters came out in protest of the Republican party.  For all of the economic hardship, the dismantling of our Bill of Rights, the increasing foreign entanglements, or the massive growth of authority now in the hands of unelected bureaucrats, did we really need a Republican in the oval office?  I think a Democrat would have been more than capable of accomplishing these things, however George W. Bush and his fellow Republicans (with the exception of a few of course) embraced the "everything to everyone" mentality.

I first discovered the Constitution Party about 7 years ago.  As I was reading the CP platform on their website, I decided out of curiosity to go to the Republican party website to compare the two platforms.  Now I haven't made that comparison since then, but at that time, what I found was that the two platforms were almost identical.  Both parties claimed to promote a very strict adherence to and interpretation of the Constitution.  So the obvious question I had to ask was, "why does the Constitution Party even exist"?  Of course, the reason I was on the Constitution Party website and searching for a new representative of my political views in the first place was also the very same reason that that question was rhetorical. 

As we have heard Dr. Paul say a million times, the Republican Party has lost its way.  And though I have a deep respect for those in the Constitution Party and I personally voted for Chuck Baldwin yesterday, I also agree with Dr. Paul that our most likely and most expedient path to victory would be through changing the Republican Party back to what it is supposed to stand for.  This may very well prove to be impossible, in which case our task is certainly more difficult, but nonetheless crucial to the survival of our Republic.  It may just be, however, that this resounding defeat of the RP may just be the wake up call that was needed and may just be the window of opportunity, small though it may be, for us to charge through with our arsenal of truth.  For this reason, our country needs the C4L now more than ever.  Dare I say that this could be a blessing in disguise?

Maybe not, but this morning, those on the side of victory are raising their hands and voices in hope and optimism.  With the expansion of government bureaucracy, higher taxes and government spending, and the expansion of interventionist foreign and domestic policies that are certain to come our way in the next four years, when will our message of truth, constitutional restraint, honest government, and self-reliance ever be needed more desperately or resonate more clearly?

That is my silver lining, and that is why I also choose to have hope this morning.