Enemies of Liberty are ruthless. To own your Liberty, you'd better come harder than your enemies..

Sunday, November 25, 2012

III Congress


I have said before and will again: Every single problem facing Patriots today has been asked and answered already.  We have the blueprint for recovering Liberty.  I am not writing this post to debate any of my assertions, so please don't bother.  The only thing I want to hear at the end of this post is: Does the proposal improve our odds of success, or notDo we move forward on this path, or not?

I am proposing the below and I want everyone to know that I am still deciding if *I* will move forward.  I don't want to waste anyone's time, resources or energy.  I want to make sure we can actually accomplish something useful.  I want to make sure we do no harm.  Two of those minimums are as I stated below: TL and CA must sign on publicly and serve in the Congress.  So your comments are helping me decide as well.  If I am going to sign on, there are certain minimums upon which I will insist, or someone else can take point.   

But since no one else is doing that - taking point - here I go again.

The Proposal:

The organization should be modeled after the Continental Congress, and called the III Congress. The political party should be known as III Patriots Party.

Patriots band together under the III Brand with a nationally recognized organization that will serve multiple purposes.  The goal of the organization is to grow our ranks, build morale and cohesion, establish a legitimate political presence, ratify our political platform, serve as a venue for Patriots from across the country to meet, coordinate, plan, network, establish mutual defense agreements, protocols, tripwires, et cetera, and otherwise further the goals of Liberty.  If the Platform is a broad-brush plan of action, then the national organization should be prepared to issue calls to action and to provide for legal defense funds and aid for families of Patriots who are incapable of providing while performing their duties.  "Calls to Action" should be designed to raise awareness and add to the noise being made by secessionists.  One example: III Liberty stickers on designated targets in response to a specific act of Government, etc.  Low risk, high PR reward.  Mock and ridicule TPTB and the system they advocate.  The Congress should have the power to vote on such calls to action and issue the order.  We need to make the notion of "Resist" a verb and a daily, tangible act.

The original Continental Congress offered legitimacy to the Sons of Liberty.

The organization should seek political legitimacy by seeking addition to the recognized political parties of the 50 states.  Idaho requires 14,000 signatures, and we will have genuine Constitutional legitimacy, whether you think that matters or not, most of the people who will (or will not) support the III DO care about Constitutional legitimacy.

The organization shall officially advocate the Restoration of the Constitution and government restraint based on the DoI, Constitution as ratified, including the BoR.  Every Amendment after ratification should be re-introduced.  I can make the argument that every Amendment ratified post RevWarII was done so by an illegal and invalid Government that illegally overthrew the Constitutional Government of America.  If you have goals other than Restoration - keep them to yourself until after we hit Restoration.

The organization should be Membership based with monthly dues of $10 per Patriot, funds to be used to further the reach of the organization, accomplish its goals, and service the aforementioned defense & PR funds.

The organization should be organized by state.  Patriots from each state will be responsible for electing delegates to the organization, growing their members, training, networking, getting petitions signed to get on the state ballot, et cetera.

In the early days, members of the Congress should be any III Patriot who chooses to be seated at the table.  As we grow, each group within a given state should send one delegate to represent the group.  Not all members, obviously, will be interested in serving in the Congress, but simply as Members.  Not all groups are willing to expose themselves, but perhaps they can participate by proxy.

All delegates are equal, and all votes of the congress require 2/3 to pass.  Some sort of quorum standard should be set.

All members shall sign a public post/thread affirming the oath to protect & defend the Constitution, and anything done by a member to injure the goal of restoration shall be grounds for impeachment by the Congress.

Ranks: I suggest all Members hold some sort of militia type rank, even delegates in Congress.  However, the rank means nothing in Congress itself, when in session they are delegates only.  When they go home to their group, the rank engages.

I think that is enough of a thumbnail minimum.

Since this effort is designed to bring unity to the III/Liberty movement, I would suggest that anyone willing to take the oath and abide the rules is welcome and should be invited, including MBV, Bill Nye, AP, Mullenax, Baugh, Wirecutter, et cetera.  I have secured IIICongress (blog) and the rule on that blog should be zero tolerance for ad hominem attacks.  Attacking ad hominem = immediate impeachment and public rebuke by ALL members/delegates.  Of course, anyone may say anything they like on their own site, but at the III Congress site, decorum matters.  The original Continental Congress had mortal enemies in their ranks, if we claim to be their heirs, then we'd better damned well act like it.

Local Local Local is happening, far more than many may realize.  I think a properly run national can help build the local so long as it is a genuine Congress, not a Command Center.

It has been said that real men do not need Leaders.  I won't argue that point.  But real men must work together to achieve Liberty, or it will die. If you are worried about a Fed behind every tree and in every meeting, it's time for you to grasp the notion that you have no secrets anyway - and Patriotism should not be practiced in the shadows and darkness of basements, in ciphers and codes.  Liberty demands that we stand tall, sign our names to our work, and fuck anyone who doesn't like it.  They won't like it.  So what?  Isn't that why we are doing any of this work - to send such Enemies of Liberty packing?  They are coming for you anyway, stand up and let 'em come.

As you consider this post, let's not try to work out minutia, let's paint with broad brushes and save the details for other threads.  Right now, what's your gut?

I intend to live my life in such a manner that John Parker would welcome me at his shoulder, and I don't care who knows it.

Kerodin
III

19 comments:

  1. Have you considered participation or alliance with folks who have already been doing this?

    I recall watching the live web-cast of the 2009 Continental Congress.

    Video from that Congress is on the web at http://www.cc2009.us/

    Hans
    (in the NC woods)

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  2. Sam, I understand your commitment to the III community and to the nation. The nation is LOST, brother. There's no getting it back and I'm not spending another dime on national-level political parties because it's a waste of time and money. If you want to make a III Party, let's do it in Benewah County. I'll be there in a few short months. Let's politically take over Idaho but there just aren't enough of us to do this nationally.

    The III Congress - what will it even do? Provide unified vision and enable better organization? We can't be the hammer on the national anvil; we CAN be the hammer on the regional chisel. If we want a nation, we have to carve it. Unified vision and effort will achieve much more on a regional level, a la the American Redoubt, than it will on a national level. We're what - a few hundred thousand max? And how many of them consider Liberty worth their life? What's said on the internet is different than what happens in reality. There are a handful of us combat vets who are willing and maybe a few more Patriots crazy enough to join us; but if we want to honor John Parker then we need to do what the Founders did. They didn't sail back to Britain and institute a new government; they sailed the seas to the New World and made a new nation. We can do the same in the American Redoubt. I deplore y'all: don't waste Patriot resources by sustaining this as a nationwide movement because our voices will be too diluted to be heard.

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    1. Partisan: Don't put too much significance on my call to get on state ballots as a party - we'll never vote our way out of this mess. But as a tool for finding like-minded Patriots, it is a no-brainer. Additionally, when it comes to "Legitimacy" by that group of people who will never fight, but who will lend aid and support, every scrap of legitimacy will help.

      As to what the national will do: Instead of a dozen blogs herding a few thousand individual cats with no unified voice, we can "try" to get everyone focused on the same goal at the same time. But the real value is that we can network - we can help put local elements together that have otherwise been unable to meet each other. We can put out a call to action when needed. We can rally several thousand people backed by an "Authority" we respect (our own Congress), and if one of our own gets in trouble, we will be honor-bound to take care of our own.

      Our Founders had a Congress for a reason - to permit the individual groups among the several Colonies to work together. It had no real power, as every act ultimately reverts to the individuals in the field.

      K

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  3. fwiw: as of this morning, i have begun researching the process of registering a new political party in Maine... I have no idea where this will lead but action in at least some reasonable direction is better than no action at all... Maine is notoriously a 2-party state to the point of it's own harm... we have a vested interest here as we recently purchased a piece of land as "our place to go when" which is large enough for "close family"... though the likelihood of relocation(ie, to the Citadel) is not on our agenda at present, I'm willing to join the III effort from this end of the Continent...

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  4. You might want to consider including the amendment to allow women to vote to sneak in. Otherwise, you will allow the pesky press/MSM to ridicule the movement as another "war on women". And we need our wives, girlfriends, daughters, neices, etc. to be on board with us.

    Dee Jay

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    1. Dee Jay - Every state in the union already protects women and minorities on topics about which the Constitution was silent. Going back to "As ratified" doesn't impact women at all. Yes, some people will try to make hay oput of it anyway, but there will never be a day when our enemies aren't trying to diminish us anyway.

      K

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  5. My opinion:

    No, having a national 'III' congress won't improve the odds of success because there is no perception of legitimacy by either outside parties or many within the 'patriot' movement.

    The addition or requirement of 'rank' assures this, because: A - Way too much ego involved with position and title; B - The infighting subsequent to the adoption of 'rank' will most likely factionize the 'congress' (worse than the patriot 'movement' is currenlty) to the point it is paralyzed almost immediately, and C - The 'congress' willmost likely be perceived as a paramilitary organization with political overtones underscored with the threat of violence against the government of the US, especially by any MSM who cover it. Example: Look at how the Oath Keepers are categorized, and they've distanced themselves from even promoting 'militia' type training.

    As to existing factions, JM had it right when he said that the blogosphere authors need to be allies, not excluding each other (http://mountainguerrilla.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/pissing-in-your-wheaties-and-skull-stomping-your-sacred-cows/ Paragraph 7)

    Until such time, if any, that egos can be put in check (on all sides), bygones allowed to be bygones, this idea, while a good one, is doomed to fail.

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    1. Trainer: I am not wedded to the rank idea, at all. I think it has a proper place in the militias, and some folks expressed an interest, so I added it. It can be cut and I'd be happy.

      As to personalities and moving forward: I have extended (again) the opportunity to work together in an environment that mirrors the environment our Founders used. I added the no ad hominem rule. I'm willing to show up. I can't speak for others. And if they self-exclude, we all see who is willing to work for the greater good, and who is not.

      I'm not confident at all that this national entity will work, and I know it won't work if people don't commit. It could make things better. It could flop. If we don't try, we'll never know.

      And if insufficient people show interest, screw it. I tried, and I already have a full desk. But the next time ANYONE puts out a general call for "Certain People" to put aside personal differences "for the good of us all", I will respectfully tell them to eat shit and die.

      Kerodin
      III

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  6. K, like usual you have made a convincing argument. Count me in.

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    1. Thanks, Miss V. I think this "could" be a benefit to our ongoing projects as well by bringing new blood into our community. I'm not sure if I'm up to the constant head-banging from within our own community that will come with this. As we are seeing again, often our biggest critics are "our own" people. ;)

      Many of the objections thus far are reasoned. Others are "You can't do it, so don't bother..." Those are the ones that bug me.

      Hope you are feeling better each day.

      K

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  7. Kerodin - I agree with you more than you know (CA can vouch for me on this) regarding ad hominem attacks. They have absolutley no place in the patriot community and do nothing to move toward the objective.

    Your offer to move forward for the sake of the movement and ensure everyone who still wants a 'place at the table' can have one demonstrates your determination for our overall objective: Restore Constitutional government. FWIW, I applaud and congratulate you for rising above the fray and putting the objective ahead of self.

    As to others who may choose not to do the same as you do, and I do mean anyone, by default self-eliminates from meaningful participation in any national alliance, network, political party, or other organizational entity as either a spokesman or leader.

    As an addendum to ideas on a national 'entity' have you considered working from the bottom up? County chapters, State Representatives (chosen from county chapters) and then national representation chosen from the State Representatives? Might be an effective way to start it out...groundswell v. national umbrella. A thought, anyway.

    Lastly, as to telling ANYONE to "eat shit and die" if, after it's been clearly demonstrated that certian people will not accept olive branches offered for good of the movement, I'll tell them in harmony with you....respectfully, of course.

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    1. Trainer: Thank you.

      As to ground up, here's my thinking: Do we not already have "Local, local, local" growing? OVM, your own group, the NC PatCom, the Georgia ground game, Texas and Florida California from SD to SF to the High Desert, have III on the ground, and scattered small clusters and individuals all over the place?

      A national Congress would help immediately to connect these dots, and give them an additional recruiting tool, allow them to send delegates for face-to-face discussions, establish comm channels, et cetera.

      We don't have the ground game we'd all like to see, but we aren't quite at zero, either. I think one of the failings of the Tea Party was they failed to create a national voice that could defend them from the R machine. Their voices were hijacked at the national level.

      K



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    2. I don't see the movement at zero either; I see us at a point not developed enough to go national as a political entity....yet. We're still putting the ground team together.

      The TEA (Tea) Party is a good example. In my opinion (formed with only public information available all over the net) they were ripe to be co-opted simply because the local groups didn't consolidate their base values and non-negotiable objectives within and between the different groups within each State before getting involved on the national level with the major events. If memory serves, there were several 'national' TP groups, all fighting each other for the crown of 'legitimatcy'. Because of this, the TP had no sense of itself and viewed their allies of the same (or very similar) names as their competition, which created a vacuum in purpose and leadership, which was quickly filled by the GOP for their own purpose.

      Brainstorming here: Imagine what may have occurred if the TP had first consolidated within their states through, say, a 'clearing/vetting' house (of sorts each with a Stage page and each state page with a County page) and had their Basic beliefs requiring agreement to get inside the 'clearing house', (in our case, "Restore Constitutional Government" or "I own myself" or "No Communism Allowed!" or whatever (again, just brainstorming), and then had their counties elect State reps for inclusion in the "national congress"? I'm betting they wouldn't have been co-opted so quickly, and would have had a fighting chance at achieving their goals.

      And if we followed that model of "grow, consolidate, expand, consolidate," etc, so might we....

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  8. Hey Trainer...as I mentioned there, I thought that Paragraph 7 was a classic at the other blog. Words to take very seriously IMO because they're important on many different levels. If I'm gonna live in a free society, then my neighbors must also, even if they've got a screw or two loose. Nobody has to like the next guy, or even deal with him; they just need to be able to live on the same planet. If they keep their paws off each other, that shouldn't be a problem.

    One day, I hope we cross paths here in Michigan so that I can explain a little better what ego is all about. Contrary to your frequent implications, devotion to a mission, or any sort of team really, DOES NOT involve restriction or subordination of the ego.

    Quite the contrary, success of any mission--especially like the one being considered here--requires STRONG egos, so that the individuals involved have the strength and bravery to understand the mission to which they're committed. Only a STRONG ego fulfills his commitments, and only a STRONG person is worth a shit anyway to the team. You're not looking for cannon fodder; let the other side have all of those.

    I know that's the opposite of what everyone's been taught forever. We're taught that we must sacrifice ourselves for the "greater good." That's been the snooker all along, and it's basically how we got here. That's WHY we've got otherwise good grunts doing the dirty work of the Bad Guys and that's HOW an entire country was conned into believing the supposed "benefits" of communism and one big happy village. "Put yourself down; make the community your highest goal."

    That's bullshit and it's specifically what the Founding Documents were intended to prevent. America has always been about the individual...not alone, but free to cooperate and trade with other individuals, ALWAYS in his own self-interest as HE judges it to be. This is the key to Capitalism, and why BOTH parties to a free trade BOTH benefit.

    Take a look at Sam, Trainer...you might notice that he's not exactly a weak-willed character who sacrifices his goals and desires for others. He wants to work with others, sure, but he's not really looking for the go-along-to-get-along sort. He's looking for those who know what they want to do and can do it. WILL do it. Q.E.D.---that's the hallmark of a strong ego, not a weak one. And it doesn't matter what he SAYS; what he DOES makes the point.

    Alright, sorry to wax philosophical since I know you're trying to get work done. That's a good thing, and it'll be even better when free individuals understand WHY they want to get the work done. Thanks for the space, Sam; I won't ramble any more for a while. I hope you succeed in getting done what you wish.

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    1. I think you misunderstand my position.

      I'm well-equated and agree with the concepts you've outlined and also know why I'm working with you and others to get the job done.

      As to crossing paths, I'd be glad to meet and discuss various topics.

      Drop me a line at ravenswoodent@sbcglobal.net and see if we can meet. Know, however, all my email is actively monitored by .gov

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  9. Know, however, all my email is actively monitored by .gov

    Been there, done that, didn't even get the lousy T shirt.

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  10. K, you know all you need to do is tell me where and when. We'll be ready when it's needed.

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  11. I don't think we will have the time to actually organize something this big. Someone mentioned the fact that a Continental Congress was held, in 2009. That was the We the People Foundation. Bob Schulz was the head of that. Very smart guy, knew the Constitution very well. He had a big organization which covered all the States. They had their CC in 2009 and it went no where.
    There is also a Constitution Party already formed if Im not mistaken. There are so many groups and patriot organizations all going in their own direction. There were some guys, I forget the name of the group, they came out of Ct, pushing for Committee of Safety's another dead end. They were organized and went no where.
    We have to ask ourselves why? Why do these movements fail?
    The tea party is over, sunk, co oped. They had great momentum then got sunk.
    I think the general idea is great. I think we really do need to get everyone going in the same direction but I really dont know how to do it or where to start.
    Maybe we can reach out to some of these already formed groups that seemed to have lost steam and see what we can do with that. Why not just take over the Constitution party?? Its already established.

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    1. "We have to ask ourselves why? Why do these movements fail?"

      from my perspective, the failure occurs mainly because there is no one, singular common issue intense enough to cause the groups to coalesce... each seems to have their own central, driving focus even if it is nothing more than autonomy itself... please, don't anyone misunderstand - I am FOR autonomy... being an "independent baptist"(meaning no committed association with any denominational organization), I understand the autonomy thing... here comes the "but": at some point there must come the realization that in order for any effort to survive, there must come a sense of necessary unification that, while recognizing and respecting the autonomy, will allow for the banding together for effort's sake... the question then becomes: "What will cause each group or individual to work beyond it's/his own autonomy in support of the proposed common objective?" Identify that, and this movement has the potential of taking off like a rocket(with the necessary minute course corrections/adjustments) as did the efforts of our Founding Fathers...

      as for America being lost - i would temper that to almost lost as we can still walk around without papers and can still voice our thoughts here - whether monitored or not... this nation can be reclaimed but the cost would be high... somewhat higher than, in my view, even what those who initially came to this wildeness paid... we're considering going head-to-head with a bloated leviathan on our own soil with no "new wolrd" to run to... we will have to reinvent that wheel...

      i can be rebuffed @ godfamilycorps@hushmail.com

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