Posted by PatArmstrong on 06/16/09
Last updated 07/05/09

Emails:

Please email Hagan and Burr to cosponsor S. 604,  let them know how you feel about the bill.

The letter below was created by Heather D from Illinois, feel free to use it or create your own.

Petitions:

I went ahead and made my own version of the S604 petition, you may have to edit it a bit when you copy and paste it into your word processing program.  I used the 1207 petition as a template, make enough copies so you can get signitures for both Hagan and Burr--Pat

________________________________________________________________________________
__________

Dear Senator [SENATOR'S NAME HERE],

Please cosponsor and support S. 604, the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009, introduced by the Honorable Bernie Sanders.

This bill will require an audit of the Federal Reserve, something that has never been done before. During this time of extreme economic crises, the Federal Reserve has been spending taxpayer money at a rate unequaled in history. Trillions of dollars of debt have been created, and financed by the taxpayers without their consent and with no oversight by Congress.

Every citizen in this country is required by law to account for every penny they come in contact with. As the taxpayer is required to pay for all of this spending, it is paramount that the Federal Reserve be required to give us an accounting of where and how our money is being spent.

House Resolution 1207, the sister to this bill, is currently enjoying bipartisan support. 

I am unable to come up with a single reason as to why ANY Senator would refuse to cosponsor and support this legislation.

As recent spending coming from Washington is taxing future generations long before they are even born, you have a Constitutional obligation to demand transparency so that we may know precisely where our money is going.

I look forward to seeing your name added as a cosponsor.

Respectfully Submitted,
[YOUR NAME HERE]

------------------------------------------------------Petition to copy and print out follows--------------------------------------------------------------- 

"Audit the Fed" Petition to

Senator_________________________

WHEREAS:  Congress, the Federal Reserve, and the U.S. Treasury have put

The American taxpayer on the hook for over $12 trillion in bailouts and loans; and

WHEREAS:  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently refused to tell Congress who have received trillions in these funds from the Federal Reserve; and

WHEREAS:  Allowing the Fed to operate our nation's monetary system in almost complete secrecy leads to abuse, inflation, and a lower quality of life for every American; and

WHEREAS:  Senator Bernard Sanders' S604 (companion bill to Congressman Ron Paul's HR1207) the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009, would require a full audit of the Fed for the first time in its history and would provide answers to the American people about how our money is being spent;

THEREFORE:  It's time to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to Congress and the American People.  I urge you to immediately cosponsor S604!

Signed:  _______________  __________________  __________________

             &n
bsp;    
           (NAME) &n
bsp;         
             &n
bsp; (ADDRESS)         
             &n
bsp;            (CIT
Y)

__________  ______________________  ___________________________

        (ZIP)            &nb
sp;             (PHONE)               &n
bsp;            &nbs
p;             
 (EMAIL)

Posted 06/16/09 Elaine Prairie City, OR

Here is my version of Audit the Fed letter. Heather's letter is great, but it is sometimes good to word things differently, as some newspapers do a search for the exact letter. So if you choose part of each letter--change some words to personalize, this shouldn't be a problem! Dear Sir, Recently it has come to light that there is little to no accountability to congress or the people on the part of the Federal Reserve. While the citizens of this country are required by law to give an accounting of every penny, the Federal Reserve has never been held to the same standard. During this time of extreme economic crisis, congress and U.S. citizens should be given an accounting. H.R.1207, an effort to audit the Federal Reserve, has been introduced. Currently there are 11 co-sponsors for this legislation, and it has strong bi-partisan support. Your efforts to support this important legislation would prove to your constituents that you not only hold the Federal Reserve to the same standard as you do your constituents, but it would also show that you believe in transparency. Anything less than support for this resolution suggests that you are in favor of secrecy and a lack of accountability to the people who pay the bills. Unlike the Bailout bill that you voted in favor of that had hundreds of pages and little time to study, this bill can be read in less than 5 minutes. I encourage you to take the time to read it, and then move to support it by becoming a co-sponsor. Thank you in advance for your attention on this important legislation. I have every expectation that you will do right by your constituents and support this measure. Sincerely,

Posted 06/16/09 Son Of Liberty Erie, PA

great letter, thanks!

Posted by PatArmstrong on 03/09/09

Buncombe County has held the first County Convention in North Carolina for the year 2009.  Here is a short synopsis of what was acchieved:

The State Sovereignty resolution was passed overwhelmingly.

Robert Malt C4L member) has been elected to County 1st Vice Chair.

The newly formed "Liberty Club" (an affiliate with the RLC) was approved as an official club of the County Party.

Several members are now on the Executive Committee and they have a sizeable contingent going to the State Convention.

Congratulations to the Buncombe County Liberty Lovers!  They have a very supportive County Chair and have worked very hard for their success.  Let's hope that we can continue that success across the state!

Pat

Posted 03/09/09 UiNiell Fayetteville, NC

Congratulations. I'll bring up the subject and your victory at the next cumberland county c4L meet

Posted by PatArmstrong on 12/21/08

I am so proud to announce that I have been selected by my NC 12^th District Chair, Marlynn Burns, to be on our State Platform Committee.  I’ve been on the 12^th District Executive Committee at-large for about 5-6 months now

No one was more shocked than me to get the news.  Marlynn had asked me if I would serve on the Rules Committee and I said yes, of course.  She and I have had many conversations on where the GOP has gone astray and where it needs to go in the near future, we think alike on many issues, but we have disagreed on some.  IMHO, she liked the idea that I wasn’t a “yes person” and that I had principles and stuck to them.  Marlynn’s not a C4L member, but I’m working on it!  I feel very lucky to have been chosen for this position, the lesson here is to show up, show up, show up.  I’ve been to every meeting called in the last six months, and it makes a difference.  My husband is active in the party as well; he is a GOP precinct judge.

We’re in for a big battle here in NC, the NC GOP State Chairmanship is up for grabs and there are a few good candidates, I’ll wait till things settle down a bit before I let you know who the players and the factions are.  It’s been very interesting to go to the Executive Committee meetings these past few months.  Now I will be seeing the inner workings of the state GOP.  The bottom line is that the NC GOP is fractured much worse than we may have ever imagined, but there are groups within the party that want us, the GOP, to represent the people again, not the country club set.  I hope we can build on the teamwork we started when we worked together to get Dr. Ada Fisher elected to the National Committeewoman position at the State Convention.

I don't know if I have the right words to describe how I feel about what needs to be done, but I do know, without a doubt, that the quickest way to any sort of "power" in this country; and to be able to do something about what's been done to our country, is to work within the GOP and take it over.  We did amazing things at the state convention last year, this time we will be MUCH better prepared and we will control the convention.

 If you haven’t joined the Campaign for Liberty yet, I would do so and become a paying member and a Precinct Leader as well.....it does help. 

The next few months will be a trial for some of us that are new to politics, just remember to stick to your principles.  Extend open arms to those who are interested in preserving the Constitution, regardless of their political affiliation.  Show up for all the meetings that you possibly can attend.   Most of all have fun, if we're not having fun while we go forward, no one will want to be a part of what we're doing.  (That's not to say that we’re not serious about saving our country.)

We have a very important job to do between now and the end of January.  We have to convince as many people as possible to switch their voter registrations to Republican and to come with us to the spring conventions. 

We also need to be working on our resolutions.  They must be ready by the county conventions and be similar, if not exactly the same across the state.  That way when we get to the state convention, we will be an organized, overwhelming force that cannot be denied by the powers that be.

I do see the resolutions as being fairly simple and straightforward,  The list needs to be small, and concise.  Here's an idea of what I mean:

1.  We support bringing all our troops home as soon as possible, except those needed to guard our embassies.  The Naval services shall be free to roam international waters.

2.  We support the abolishment of any UnConstitutional function of the Government asap.

3.  We support the removal of any UnConstitutional planks from the NC GOP 2009 Platform.

4.  We support a balanced budget at all levels of our Government

5.  Any NC Republican Party member will be expected to vote or conduct Party business in a way that supports the NC GOP 2009 Platform, as amended by the above resolutions.  (BIG GRIN!!!)

As to #5, we'll have to flesh this out and have a procedure to deal with this behind the scenes before a public censure.  It really pissed me off to find out that the GOP platform was really pretty good, as written, (of course it covered some unconstitutional areas.....) but no one expected any of our elected officials or party officers to actually follow the platform.  I'd like to see the other CFL groups in all of the states working on somewhat the same thing.  Imagine the headlines...............

The next challenge is to convince the majority of the Delegates that if the GOP is going to win elections again; it has to admit its own culpability in drifting from its core principles, and to then return to them, and to actually mean it.  The “Obama Bounce” will be over soon, when that happens, the GOP has to be ready to make a case for smaller government, greater individual freedom, sound money, and all those things we liberty-minded people hold dear to our hearts.  It's our job to remind the real conservatives in the GOP of those core beliefs that gave the GOP so much strength in the past. 

This is for those who have asked me how I got to this place in my life.  I am a libertarian leaning, fiscally conservative republican and strict constitutionalist.  I've been a life long democrat leaning socialist/communist (Don’t taz me bro!!) and I'm a Vietnam Era Veteran. I moved more to the Independent minded voting group in the mid 80's and found out about 8 years ago that I am a libertarian, small "l," by taking the "diamond" test. http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html   

I only joined the GOP so I could vote for Ron Paul.  Imagine my dismay/consternation when I discovered that I actually find myself agreeing with most of the NC GOP Platform    http://ncgop.org/documents/2008_platform.pdf   Ron Paul cured my apathy in the fall of ‘08, and I became involved, no, passionate about politics for the first time since the 60's.  I saw a need to stand up and do something about what was happening to our country and just did it. 

You can too.

Pat Armstrong

Interim Asst NC State Coordinator

12^th District Appointee to the NC State Platform Committee

12^th District Executive Committee At-Large

Southern Mecklenburg County Club Executive Committee

Posted 12/21/08 ChadSweigert Annville, PA

inspiring! keep us informed, its exciting to hear the thoughts of someone actually going into the motion and taking action.

Posted 12/21/08 Caleb Kinley Hot Springs, AR

Wow! That's truly great news. keep up the great work.

Posted 12/21/08 Elaine Prairie City, OR

Very well said, Pat! The RNC showed us that the Republican Party has strayed from ethical political action, and we need to hold their tootsies to the fire! The points you made about expecting elected officials and party officials to actually follow the Republican Platform (and the Constitution) are exactly what we talked about in our latest County Central Committee meeting! We intend to take this same message to our state party officials.

Posted by PatArmstrong on 07/27/09

This has been an incredible year for the C4L in NC, we've gone from fighting to hold on to a handful of Delegates to the National Convention to holding several imortant positions within the GOP.  

Today we learned that Robert Malt, who was elected GOP 1st Vice Chair in Buncombe County this Spring, will be taking over the GOP Buncombe  County Chairmanship this July 31st.  Dr. Tim Johnson, the current Chair, is not a C4L member, but has been extremely supportive to all new members to the party and was instrumental in accepting the Republican Liberty Caucus as an official club.  Buncombe County is the only county in NC where this has happened.  Dr. Johnson was elected in June as the NC State GOP Vice Chair.   Dr. Johnson said "We have a solid group of young and energetic officers who  are eager to move our party forward.  Robert is a strategic thinker who knows what it takes to win.  He is surrounded by a dedicated organization of voluteers who are willing to work hard to move our community and our country in the right direction."

Jacque Esslinger was elected as the Vance Co GOP Chair this spring and in addition to the excellent successes of Jacque and Robert, we have several 1st and 2nd Vice Chairs, and at least one Secretary in County and District organizations.  I was placed on this year's State Platform Committee.  There are over eighteen C4L people who are on the State level Executive Committee.

But the success goes further than "our" success, our coaltions helped get Dr. Tim Johnson elected as our NC GOP State Vice Chair and almost succeded in electing Chad Adams as NC GOP State Chair.  These coalition people also took important positions within the party.  There were several of our coalition friends elected to the State Executive Committee.  Together we were able to get more work done during our first session than had been accomplished in the last five years (according to some astonished long time Executive Committee members.)

Stay tuned for more news and announcements from the dynamic, energetic and dedicated NC C4L!

Posted 07/27/09 Son Of Liberty Erie, PA

Thats great news and a great job! Never give in, never give up, and never sacrifice our principles!

Posted by PatArmstrong on 07/15/09

National Party Home page:

http://www.democrats.org/

National Democrat Agenda

http://www.democrats.org/agenda.html

Link to the DNC's "Change Commission" which will change how delegates are selected.

http://www.democrats.org/page/content/changecommission

NC State Dem page:

http://www.democrats.org/a/local/south/north_carolina/

No one has stepped forward from the Dem party to help me find out how to help activists within the Dem party, so I've started to investigate on my own.  It's interesting that they are considering a change in the way they elect delegates to their National Convention, one goal is to have fewer "Super-Delegates."

Stay tuned for updates as they are warrented.

Posted 07/16/09 UiNiell Fayetteville, NC

The democratic party in cumberland county may be unreachable. they drink the kool aid.

Posted 08/06/09 PatArmstrong Charlotte, NC

There are a fair number of "blue dog democrats" in North Carolina and they are fiscal conservatives that we can count on. Social issues are of course a different tune...