You are routinely proud to proclaim your love of and dedication to Freedom. Sporting events ritualistically pay homage to Mother Freedom. Americans make a point of paying homage to men and women, many in their teens, buried on foreign soil and lying at rest at home — generations upon generations of them who “gave their last full measure of devotion.” Yet you must suggest all that patriotic posturing is just that — posturing — sincere and heartfelt enough, certainly, but inconsequential, as your precious Freedom crumples in the face of onrushing tyranny. You can hear the cries of derision now: “You’re nothing but a vindictive rabble rouser, spouting a gross, indefensible exaggeration. This is the freest country on earth.” Tell it to Tom Jefferson and ask if he agrees. He would tell you something about the “illusion of Freedom.” He would remind you that The Constitution gave the Federal Government “enumerated powers.” For those of you who don’t like to read, “enumerated” means “defined” and thus limited — in this case, very limited. Contrarily, the several States were given broad sovereignty over what you might call “domestic affairs.” The Founders had a reason for limiting the Federal Government to “enumerated powers.” Perhaps you have a sneaking suspicion what their motive was. Think back to that pivotal time in history. They had just defeated a King’s tyranny. America lives today because a few brave people hated that tyranny. No other reason. And these very people then set about to put into place a system that would place shackles on the power of any central authority that might one day mutate into tyranny — the one outcome Tom and his pals feared above all others. Well Tom, short of your beloved Republic being conquered by a foreign power, your greatest fear has been realized. Your Central Authority of these United States, step by step, has seized power and control over every aspect of American life. The 50 United States are neither united nor sovereign. Worse, they are irrelevant, having given away their sovereignty and bowed to “peaceful tyranny.” Your brilliant Balance of Powers is AWOL. Congress is a dysfunctional house of cards. The Supreme Court has completely eviscerated your master work. And Lady Justice weeps behind her blindfold, her scales mangled. The Central Authority regulates and controls banking, publicly held business, privately held business, energy, transportation, education, healthcare, human services, housing, urban development, labor, homeland security, immigration and agriculture, to name a handful of jurisdictions. The Federal Register lists 440 Federal entities. But no one knows how many really exist. No matter who is President, no matter how many new congressmen are elected or how many incumbents are reelected, no matter which party is in power, the Federal Government will continue to enlarge, spend indiscriminately, fall deeper into crushing debt and forever tighten its grip on the lives of the People. The States will collect taxes and spend that money precisely the way Federal agencies tell them to spend it. But in the midst of this political maelstrom, you do see the lamp of Freedom still shining brightly. It is no illusion. American citizens in 12 States have decided that publicly standing up to honor fallen heroes is not honor nearly enough — that allowing Freedom to fall with them is having them die in vain. Twelve states — Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas — have ratified the Resolution to hold a Convention of States for the purpose of restoring The Constitution and ending tyranny. Americans claim they love Freedom. Lawmakers stand and solemnly swear to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. You stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. You stand for the National Anthem. Standing isn’t enough. Is it, Tom?

www.coventionofstates.com