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Steven Howard [Message] P. O. Box 65 Mount Holly, VT 05758

“If the spirit of liberty should vanish in other parts of the union and support of our institutions should languish, it could all be replenished from the generous store held by the people of this brave little state of Vermont.”  Calvin Coolidge

Chapter One, Article 18 of the Vermont Constitution: “That frequent recurrence to fundamental principles, and a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, industry, and frugality, are absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty, and keep government free; the people ought, therefore to pay particular attention to these points, in the choice of officers and representatives, and have a right, in a legal way, to exact a due and constant regard to them, from their legislators and magistrates, in making and executing such laws as are necessary for the good government of the State.”

The Vermont Campaign for Liberty is guided by the sentiments quoted above and the philosophy of our founding fathers.  Our motto is "educate, empower, and motivate".  We seek to create a political environment here in the Green Mountains where liberty-minded candidates will find a welcomed reception and a receptive audience.  Change will happen not in Montpelier until change happens in the small towns and cities of the Green Mountain State.  We dedicate ourselves to educate our fellow citizens in the message of liberty, empower them to resume their sovereignty over their government, and motivate them to act on their new found power and elect a government worthy of the title "republic".  Liberty is not easy or without costs, but it is the only condition that allows us all to be the best we can be. 

How to Revive the Liberty Amendment Posted by jfkennedy

Posted 11/03/09 Last updated 11/03/09

The Liberty Amendment has been introduced and reintroduced in congress several times since 1952 and 6 times by Ron Paul since 1998, but it has not developed enough exposure and popular appeal to pass a constitutional amendment.   It is not long at less than half a page, and it is not hard to understand.   It is fiscally sound in that it would fund the loss of revenue occasioned by its fourth section which would repeal the Sixteenth Amendment.  Yet, it has been relatively impotent for nearly 30 years since Arizona, Indiana and Mississippi became the last of 9 states to adopt it.  This reveals that it has not found a way to attract the average taxpayer.  What it needs is a conveyance to introduce it to the public and to educate it.  It has no teeth, because it is not a popular threat to the income tax.  It would be an excellent companion for a serious popular threat to the income tax, but plainly from its history, it is not by itself a vigorous threat.  A real challenge would involve a public appeal stronger than that of the special interests. 

Since taxpayers make up the largest of all special interests, go figure why they have not rallied behind the Liberty Amendment to protect themselves from from all the grasping interests.   Have they lost patience with it?  After all, it was introduced almost 60 years ago and has stalled for nearly 30.  How about re-introducing it by way of a simpler, more direct first step?  Mobilize taxpayers now to vote for new candidates for congress or incumbents who support a temporary income tax suspension, say for a year.  Buying their votes with their own earnings is better than buying other people's votes with it.   Since they are the largest special interest in every congressional district, they could have a tremendous effect on next year's elections.   What better way to invigorate the Liberty Amendment and revive the momentum to pass it?

End Income Taxes Too Posted by jfkennedy

Posted 11/02/09 Last updated 11/03/09

Is there a legal way not to pay income tax without triggering an IRS audit?  Of course there is; vote for it.  With effective promotion,  taxpayers will vote for politicians to suspend income taxes, at least temporarily, say for one year.  If people will vote for vote-brokers to nationalize health care, start wars, and subsidize financial and industrial cartels, taxpayers will certainly trade their votes to keep their earnings for at least a year.  Suspending income taxes would allow those who earned the money to keep it versus transferring it to those who covet it by politicians buying votes or distributing favors.  Who deserves the money more, those who work for it or those who vote to take it away for their own or others narrow interests?  If voting to relocate income is fair, voting to keep ones own belongings must be at least as fair, and as such, is a morally more justifiable reason for voting.

The threat of a popular income tax suspension can be a powerful counterweight to profligate spending for special interests.  It does not matter how to pay for a tax suspension.  What matters is that it is possible to convince majorities in most congressional districts to unseat the rogues in congress who represent limited interests at citizen expense.  That is the pressure needed to get congress to recognize the folly of record deficit spending and to consider the real cost cutting, decolonizing, and selling needed to get the economy under control.  Returning income taxes to the citizens for a year would stimulate the economy, as it would add to consumption, savings, bank deposits, investments, production, and jobs.  It would certainly boost the economy better than bailing out over-exposed banks, unsound industries, and failed states.  It might even get voters used to the idea and stimulate the public will to abolish the income tax and the IRS for keeps.

This ultimate tax rebellion would overpower all narrower interests in favor of the largest interest group of all, the one that finances all the rest and pays the interest on the national debt.  Talk about leverage!  The group that pays holds all the cards, but inexplicably, it does not play them.  The special interests play hardball with their neighbor's money when they trade their votes and bribes for favors.  The people who pay the bills can sell their votes to politicians who know how to win fairly without plundering their neighbors.  They need an anti-statist to sponsor an income tax suspension bill in congress.  Then watch how exploited taxpayers flock to support it.

A Spine-Chilling Halloween Read Posted by jfkennedy

Posted 10/26/09 Last updated 10/26/09

If you are looking for horror stories this Halloween season, the scariest of all is The History of Money and Banking in the United States by Murray Rothbard, a free download at http://mises.org/books/historyofmoney.pdf.  Learn all about how the founding banksters created the most frightening monster ever to roam the earth.  Get right to the most terrifying part, The Origins of the Federal Reserve, pp 179 - 258.  It will raise your hair, rattle your teeth, and curdle your blood, but you will learn the true nature of the beast, the better to slay it.

Happy Anniversary!!! Posted by Steven Howard

Posted 10/05/09

It has been only a year and look how far we have come. On October 1, 2008, the Campaign for Liberty officially launched in Vermont with eight members and a little under 100 email only members. As of today, we now have 97 members and over 550 email only members. Back in October, 2008 we were only an on-line entity with little interaction with other, like minded organizations. Now we have a working relationship with several well established groups around Vermont and continue to support their efforts as our organization grows. In one year, we went from nothing to being an upcoming and important voice in Vermont Politics.

Over the last 12 months so much has happened. We have had a State Convention with over 50 attendees and some really great speakers. We have had regular quarterly meetings of our Local Coordinators. We have help create tea parties on April 15 and July 4^th. We sponsored a petition drive that brought all three of our Congressional Delegates to support the "Audit the Fed" effort. We had a hugely successful fair booth at the Rutland Fair this year. The Liberty Blog and the Vermont Campaign for Liberty site were launched. Finally, we have offered seminars to the public aimed at helping our fellow Vermonters become better citizens. Looking back we have accomplished a lot with such a small group in a very "liberal" state.

But our progress does not end there. Come this January, we will be holding our second State Convention. In the Spring another round of Citizen Forums will be held throughout the State. We will be having information tables at New Hampshire's Freedom Fest and The Free State Projects' Porcupine Fest. Finally, plans are in the works to increase our presence in Vermont through media expansion and publication of our own material.

All of this success has been as a result of our members contributing their time, wealth, and skills to further the Campaign. Make no mistake, this is your Campaign for Liberty and it can only grow and continue to succeed if you continue to help it.

So, with the successes of the last twelve months in mind, let's work together to make the next twelve even more successful. We can do it, if we all contribute.

On the Constitution, 10th Amendment, and the Fourth Branch Posted by Steven Howard

Posted 10/01/09 Last updated 10/01/09

Recently a discussion has arisen concerning the effectiveness of 10^th Amendment Resolutions as a way to address Washington's long history of over reaching its Constitutional Powers. As part of this discussion, a member noted that " Our hope is not in, nor should it ever be in the Constitution". After reading this entry, I felt compelled to write the following:

"The discussion over the Constitution misses a vital point that the previous writer has hinted at. Even the best crafted document is meaningless unless those it seeks to guide honor it. Classic examples are the Constitutions of the Soviet Union or Weimar Germany. Both, on their faces, are incredible documents which maximizes individual liberties, popular government, and a well reasoned system of governance. The only problem was that they also were only documents. Both the Soviet Union's and Germany's leaders hardly paid attention to either while paying lip service to them.

A nation of laws ruled by a government of men is a contradiction. If the rulers do not obey the law, then the law fundamentally is meaningless or at least unstable and subject to the whims of an elite, a mob, or personalities.

While agreeing with the previous writer that our hope is not in the Constitution, I disagree with his contention that "we must be good and elect good people to write good laws." Read Madison's notes on the Convention. Throughout the painful, slow process of crafting the Constitution, there was one assumption that all present held and periodically expressed. That assumption was that the American People, jealous of their liberties, would serve as a check upon the actions of a rouge government. In effect, they assumed that the Citizens would be a Fourth Branch of government. And, they felt that this assumption was so self-evident that they did feel the need to write it down.

For some reason we, as a people, have forgotten our traditional suspicion of government and our sense of ownership in our government. We, citizen's of the greatest republic known to man, failed to perform our office as citizens and let our vital role in that republic slip, leaving great power in the hands of those with great ambition, unchecked.

The simple passage of a resolution or even a bill will not effect the necessary change we seek. The fight over this bill or that piece of legislation will not alter the fact that government is treated as a separate and unrelated entity in the lives of Americans. Most Americans treat politics as a specialized field or as a seasonal sport and not directly effecting their daily lives.

For too long we have been trying to have good laws written, only to be bitterly disappointed by the works of our servants. For too long we have been trying to "elect good people", only to find that good people are few and far between despite the protestations of many claiming the role. If anything, history tells us that wanting and waiting for a white knight to come along is a sure recipe for dictatorship and disaster.

For the Constitution to work, we must make it work. We must hold everyone accountable to its provisions, regardless of party, for both have long abused this document for too long. We must demand that the lawgivers honor and obey the law first. We must keep everyone of their actions under scrutiny constantly and call them to account when they fail their office.

To do all of this requires something more than playing party politics or campaigning for this candidate or that one. It requires finding those few, precious few, citizens in a sea of people. Citizens who understand their role goes beyond Tax Day and Election Day. Citizen's who love their liberty and the fruits of it and are willing to work to maintain them. The reality is to effectuate change we don't need a majority, or a large minority. We only need an educated, motivated, and committed minority of people willing to work for the change we seek. To find that minority of citizens, true citizens, we need to look in our neighborhoods, churches, clubs, and workplaces. We must interact with the community and send out the liberty message and listen intently for a reply.

We all want liberty minded candidates to win. But in order to give them a fighting chance we must prepare the ground. Create an atmosphere in the public forum where his message will not be shunted aside. To do this, the public must be made fully aware of the message and create a network of liberty minded citizens willing to rush to his aid and work for his success. Ultimately, it requires us to model good citizenship for our neighbors and provide them with an opportunity to become involved"