Gregory Hicks: “I Swore an Oath to Uphold and Defend the Constitution”

Gregory Hicks: “I Swore an Oath to Uphold and Defend the Constitution …

I am Here to Honor That Oath.”

by Stewart Rhodes * May 09, 2013

One of the most moving statements made by star Benghazi witness Gregory Hicks during yesterday’s hearing was about his oath.  During his opening statement, Hicks said, “On February 19th, 1991, I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.  I am Here to Honor That oath.”

And honor it he did, with frank, honest, and heartfelt testimony that laid bare the horrendous fact that two inexplicable stand-down orders were given that left Hicks and Special Forces personnel in stunned disbelief and outrage, and left their brothers in Benghazi to fend for themselves.

Stand-down order #1 was when Hicks requested deployment of the special incident Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST), which is specifically designed to handle such attacks.  Hicks testified that the FEST team had dedicated aircraft capable of responding within four hours – which is exactly why that team was created after the attack on the USS Cole.  When asked why the FEST team was not deployed, Hick’s answered, “I don’t know.”

Stand-down order #2 was when the Special Forces team in Tripoli was all set to jump on a C-130 and fly to Benghazi and rescue their brothers, when their commander, Lt. Col. Gibson, was ordered to stand-down and stay in Tripoli.

As Hicks said, “I told him to go get our people and that is what he wanted to do.” When asked how Colonel Gibson reacted to being told to stand-down, Hicks said he “was furious.”

The SF Colonel also told Hicks, “this is the first time in my career that a diplomat has more balls than a member of the military.”

As to why the team had been ordered to stand-down and NOT try to rescue their brothers, Hicks said “I don’t know.”

Clearly, Colonel Gibson needs to be called to testify, and that testimony could be explosive, especially if that career Special Forces officer is still furious about he and his men not being allowed to do what they are trained to do, and what they LIVE to do.

Taking the fight to the enemy to save comrades in arms or hostages is something that every special operations warrior would be chomping at the bit to go and do, and being told to inexplicably stand-down and let your brothers hang in the wind, when you are their only known chance of rescue, goes against every instinct and creed of such men.

Frankly, under such circumstances, I’m surprised they didn’t have a sudden, inexplicable failure of commo when talking to the ball-deficient general – “sorry sir, you are breaking up, I can’t hear you” and just carry on with what was right, and needed to be done to back-up fellow Americans already engaged in combat.

The media has been focusing on the obvious cover-up and spin afterwards, with the disclosure that the Administration knew, the very next day, that it had been a well organized attack, not a spontaneous riot, but nonetheless insisted on repeating that false “riot” talking point in numerous interviews and press conferences.

Certainly, that is important, but nowhere near as important as finding out why the FEST team was not deployed and why the Special Forces personnel who were on their way to conduct a rescue were ordered to stand-down.

This is only the beginning, and who knows what else may come to light, but that intentional withholding of life-saving military support is a smoking gun all on its own.

Stewart Rhodes
Founder of Oath Keepers

PS – I am at the Boston Bombing Hearing in DC, which is beginning now.

Statists Use Twisted Logic To Attack The Bill Of Rights

This article was written by Brandon Smith and originally published at Alt-Market.com
Also posted at oathkeepers.org

In the war for the continued existence of our Nation’s Constitutional principles, I had long wondered whether statists were simply confounded by the Bill of Rights and ignorant of its function or whether they were maliciously inclined, knowing exactly what it means but seeking its destruction anyway. In recent years, I have decided it is a combination of both faults.

Statists are people who view every aspect of society through the lens of government power. If you want to know the primary difference between Constitutionalists and anti-Constitutionalists, you have to understand that some people in this world only want control over their own lives, while other people desperately clamor for control over other people’s lives. Why do they do this? Usually, it’s fear. Fear of the persistent unknowns in life. Fear that they do not have the intelligence or the will to take responsibility for their own futures. Fear that they will be forced to take care of themselves. Fear that their ideologies will be found lacking. Fear that if others are allowed freedom, they will one day indirectly suffer for it.

This fear makes statists easy to manipulate by the establishment and easy to use as a tool for the expansion of government dominance. Because statists are so weak-minded and fainthearted, they become very comfortable with the idea of other people making their decisions for them; and they will always attempt to answer every perceived problem with more government control.

When confronted with a proponent of liberty, the statist typically reels in horror. He has so invested himself in bureaucracy that he sees himself as a part of it. To attack the bureaucracy is to attack him. To deny the validity of the bureaucracy is to deny the validity of his existence. His very personality and ego are tied to the machine, so he will spit and rage against anyone who refuses to conform. This is why it is not uncommon at all to find a wild collection of logical fallacies within the tirades of the average statist. Statists act as though they are driven by reason; but in reality, they are driven by seething bias.

A perfect example of this insanity is the article “There Are No Absolute Rights,” published by The Daily Beast.

Let’s first be clear about the kind of rag we are dealing with. The Daily Beast was launched by Tina Brown, a former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker who was also a British citizen until 2005. I would say she’s a kind of female Piers Morgan. For anyone who might take that as a compliment, trust me; it isn’t. Brown and Morgan are European collectivists who immigrated to America just to tell us how our Constitutionally conservative heritage of independence is outdated; meanwhile, the EU is in the shambles of failed socialism. We used to drive such people into the ocean, and now they breathe our oxygen while telling us what is politically “fashionable.”

In 2010, The Daily Beast merged with Newsweek, a magazine notorious for its statist crush on the Federal government (and now out of print). To say that The Daily Beast is a socialist platform and a mouthpiece for the Administration of President Barack Obama is an understatement, but I would point out that the website also tends to agree with politicians and judges on the right that also promote a “living document” interpretation of the Constitution. Whether right or left, if you believe that the Bill of Rights is up for constant interpretation and revision or outright destruction, then you are the bee’s knees in the eyes of The Beast.

The article focuses on gun rights and how silly conservatives foolishly cling to the idea that some lines in the sand should never be crossed in terms of personal freedom. In a rather mediocre and rambling analysis, The Beast uses two primary arguments to qualify this stance, essentially asserting that:

      1) Compromises have already been made to the Bill of Rights; therefore, nothing is sacred.

      2) Even some Republicans agree with compromises to the Bill of Rights when it comes to other Amendments, so why are we being so childish about “reinterpreting” the 2^nd Amendment?

First, the revisionist methodology of the Bill of Rights consistently ignores the history of its writing. The colonists and Founding Fathers of our Nation, having successfully triumphed in a bloody revolution against what many then considered the most advanced elitist military empire on Earth, had absolutely no trust whatsoever in the concept of centralized government. Many of the colonials were anti-Federalists who believed that an overly powerful central government was a threat to future liberty. They felt that an immovable and unchangeable legal shield had to be created in order to ensure that a tyrannical system never prevailed again.

Thomas Jefferson said:

“[A] bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse.”

This statement includes modern governments as well. Technological advancement does not change the rules surrounding timeless inherent moral principles, as much as statists would like to argue otherwise.

The colonials demanded the inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution as a prerequisite for the establishment of the Federal government. This means that the Federal government owes its entire existence to a very strict agreement made on the Bill of Rights. By extension, if the Bill of Rights is politically diluted or denied, then the legitimacy of the Federal government must also be denied, for it has violated the very charter that gave it life.

The writer of the article, Michael Tomasky, lists numerous transgressions against our Constitutional protections; but he does not do so in the spirit of activism. Rather, he lists them as examples of how “compromise” on our freedoms is necessary (or somehow inevitable) in the name of the collective good. He claims Republicans are perfectly willing to sacrifice certain liberties, like freedom of speech, privacy or even Miranda rights, in the name of political expediency.

I wholeheartedly agree that our civil liberties have been whittled away by the establishment. I also agree that many so-called Republicans have betrayed the founding values of our culture and even voted to diminish or destroy the 2^nd Amendment. But let’s think hard about the faulty logic behind Tomansky’s position. Do two wrongs or hundreds of wrongs really make a right? Tomansky is saying that because we have failed as a society to fully protect our freedoms and because our government has been successful in criminally neglecting them, we should simply give in and relinquish all freedom.

He would respond to this accusation by claiming that he is not calling for the relinquishment of all liberties, only the liberties he thinks are dangerous to society. The problem is, that is not how the Constitution was designed. Amendments can be made, yes. But amendments contrary to the Bill of Rights are not Constitutional as per the original agreement made after the revolution. The Bill of Rights was meant to be sacrosanct, untouchable — period. No Federal law, no State law and no Amendment can be enforced that violates those protections. The Bill of Rights was not created as a rule book for what the people can do; it was created as a rule book for what government cannot do. Once you remove hard fast restrictions like the Bill of Rights from the picture, you give the government license to make its own rules. That is how tyranny is born.

As far as Republican attacks on the Constitution are concerned, Tomasky has obviously never heard of the false left/right paradigm. He finds solace in the totalitarian actions of neocons because neocons are not conservative; they are statists, just like him. Ultimately, there is no right or left. Only freedom and decentralization, or slavery and collectivism. There are those who revel in control, and those who rebel against control. The rest of the debate is nonsense and distraction.

Tomsky opines: “Imagine what conservatives would think of a group of liberals who insisted, while threatening an insurrection, on a pure and absolute interpretation of the Fourth or Sixth Amendment–and imagine how ridiculous they would look to average Americans.”

Actually, any true conservative would be standing right beside those liberals, as many of us in the liberty movement have done in the past in activism against the transgressions of fake conservatives like George W. Bush or Mitt Romney, with his dismal anti-Constitution voting record. Frankly, who cares what “average Americans” think about our battle for what is right? Does Tomasky base all of his personal convictions on what happens to be popular at the moment? I think so.

What statists also don’t seem to comprehend is that there is a factor in the fight over Constitutional law that goes far beyond the Constitution itself.

The Constitution, as a document, is not what we as Americans and human beings obtain our rights from. The Constitution is only a written representation of the inborn freedoms derived from natural law and inherent conscience. We are born with a sense of liberty and that includes a right to self-defense from any enemy, foreign or domestic. No amount of political gaming, twisted rationalizations or intellectual idiocy is ever going to change these pre-existing rights.

Tomasky insists that: “[T]he idea that any right is unrestricted is totally at odds with history, the law, and reality.”

He uses the tired argument that some restrictions on personal liberty, including restrictions on gun rights, are “reasonable” given the circumstances of the times. And, it only follows that he and other statists should be the ones to decide what is reasonable.

I disagree, along with millions of other Americans; and believe me, this is a serious problem for statists. If Tomasky and The Daily Beast want to impose their collective worldview on the rest of us and dismantle our individual freedoms guaranteed in natural law and the Bill of Rights, then I’m afraid they’ll have to fight us for them. In the end, legal precedence is irrelevant. Political precedence is irrelevant. Political party is irrelevant. Historical precedence is irrelevant. The theater of words is irrelevant. Statists need to understand that there is no alternative. There is no “silver bullet” argument that will make us forget what is fundamentally true. There is no juxtaposition of logic that will muddle our resolve or confuse our principles. Some rights are indeed absolute; and we will not yield them, ever. The statist “reality” is a far cry from what actually is; and soon, I’m afraid, they will learn this lesson the hard way.

HELP US PUT AN OATH KEEPERS CAR ON THE NASCAR TRACK, DRIVEN BY JEFFREY EARNHARDT!

Who: Oath Keepers / Jeffrey Earnhardt

What: Public Awareness Campaign to bring the Oath Keepers’ message to the NASCAR audience and general public by running a NASCAR race car driven by Jeffrey Earnhardt. Oath Keepers is asking like-minded Americans to donate to get the Oath Keepers race car on the track and get our message about defending the Constitution out to millions.

Where & When: Dover International Speedway Dover, DE. Saturday, June 01 02:30 PM ET - TV: ESPN – Radio: MRN. The television audience is 1.5 million people average for this race (Should exceed this number with the move from ESPN2 to ESPN), Race attendance for the NNS race will be 40,000 people.  Jeffrey will also do media promoting the Oath Keepers message leading into the race weekend, reaching millions more. In addition, the social media push using the Earnhardt brand will get attention and help spread the Oath Keepers message to millions prior to the race.

WHY: To get the message out to the public that our Constitution is at risk and those of us who took the Oath to protect and defend it cannot sit quietly by while it’s dismantled. There are millions of veterans and active duty NASCAR fans who need to hear our message about their oath responsibilities.  Jeffrey Earnhardt is an American patriot who gets it and wants to do what he can to help carry the message.

 ”Oath Keepers are those who stepped forward, raised their hand and are willing to die to protect and defend our Constitution; that means everything to me and I’m honored to be a part of this.” – Jeffrey Earnhardt

RECAP: Jeffery Earnhardt will take a stand for liberty on June 1st by driving the Oath Keepers car at Dover Delaware .   We need you to help us put the car on the track.
This car represents the values we share as Americans who stand ready to defend the constitution at all costs.  Oath Keepers is comprised of active duty military, police, veterans, first responders, and any freedom loving American who shares the enlightened vision of the founding fathers.  Your donation will speak loudly to all the foes of our Republic, both foreign and domestic, so please be as generous as you can to help preserve the liberty we cherish.

NOTE FROM STEWART RHODES, FOUNDER OF OATH KEEPERS:
This is a rare opportunity to bring the Oath Keepers message to millions of NASCAR fans.  Many of them are veterans, and there are also a large number of active duty military who watch NASCAR.   Jeffrey Earnhardt comes from a legendary family of racers, and we are most honored that he has stepped up to help us defend the Constitution.   He brings great credit to his family and to his sport by doing this, and he deserves our full support.  All donations go directly to getting this car on the track.  It will take $30,000.00 to get it done, but I am confident that with your help, we can do it.  This is the first of what we hope will be many races run with an Oath Keepers car.  The potential exposure is in the tens of millions.  This could help make Oath Keepers a household name, and help to spread our message about the oath to millions of Americans who may not yet be fully awake to the ongoing assault on our Bill of Rights, and the rapidly increasing destruction of our Republic.   You know how late the hour is.  Help us awaken the “Sleeping Giant.”  And besides, just imagine Mark Potok’s face when he sees this car on the track.  Priceless!  - For the Republic, Stewart Rhodes (U.S. Army Airborne disabled Veteran, Yale Law graduate, and Founder of Oath Keepers).

Oath Keepers to Muster on Lexington Battle Green, MA on April 19, 2013: Stewart Rhodes Will Conduct Oath Renewal Ceremony

Original article at oathkeepers.org

Captain John Parker:  “Stand Your Ground.  Do Not Fire Unless Fired Upon.  But If They Mean To Have A War, Let It Begin Here.”

Oath Keepers will be mustering on Lexington Green, in Lexington Massachusetts, this April 19, 2013!  Stewart Rhodes, Founder of Oath Keepers, has been invited to speak at a rally being held on the Green by the Massachusetts chapter of Gun Rights Across America.   The organizers of the rally have also extended an invitation to all Oath Keepers to attend the rally and take part in honoring our fallen heroes of the first battle of the American Revolution, and in taking a stand in defense of our right to bear arms.

At the conclusion of Stewart’s speech, he will lead the audience in an oath renewal ceremony.

EVENT UPDATE:   Pastor Chuck Baldwin (Oath Keepers National Chaplain) will speak at both the Lexington Battle Green event, and at the later rally in West Springfield, Massachusetts.   He is a dynamic speaker, and will add tremendously to both events.

Here are the details on the Lexington gathering:

Gun Rights Across America “Muster on the Battle Green” Rally.

Lexington Battle Green, Lexington, Massachusetts

APRIL 19, 2013

12pm to 4pm

From Gun Rights Across America: Massachusetts:
Gun Rights Across America: Massachusetts, cordially invites one and all to attend our Pro-Second Amendment Rally.

Please join on us on April 19th, from Noon to 4:00pm, on the Lexington Battle Green, in Lexington MA. for the “Muster on the Battle Green” rally.

We will have many keynote speakers to charge the rally. We want our elected officials to hear the voice of the majority, the law abiding, Constitution loving Patriots.

Tell one and all that we will be rallying on the Battle Green that changed America forever. Where the famous “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” occured. It’s time to call on the ghosts of our ancestors and forefathers to engergize us into continuing the good fight to protect our 2A rights.

Like and share this, lets make this a rally to be remembered!

Please remember concealed carry only. No open cary of any type of firearms.

Go to the Muster on the Battle Green Facebook Page for more info.  And here is a local newspaper write up about the event.

Pastor Chuck Baldwin, the Oath Keepers National Chaplain, will also be speaking.    Larry Pratt, of Gun Owners of America, has also been invited, and we are waiting on confirmation that he can make it.    Other speakers are being lined up now.

Please note that there will also be an additional rally on April 19^th 3 – 7 PM, at the West Springfield Town Common, West Springfield, Massachusetts, conducted by Massachusetts Oath Keepers (see below for details).

NOTE FROM STEWART:

Oath Keepers, I never expected to have another chance to stand on Lexington Battle Green and conduct an oath renewal ceremony, like we did back on April 19, 2009 (which is listed as our official birth-date and place, as an org).  But here we are, in 2013 and we have been handed yet another opportunity to do something remarkable, yet again.   Hat’s off to Stephen Redfern of Gun Rights Across America, Massachusetts for jumping through all the hoops to get the permit to use the Green, and for inviting us to participate.

If you missed the chance to stand on the Lexington Battle Green  in 2009 and renew your oath, you now have that chance, this April 19.   And if you can make it, I urge you to do so (we apologize for the short notice, but that really couldn’t be helped).

I can tell you that it is a very moving, powerful experience to stand on the exact spot where Captain Parker and his men stood, where patriot blood watered the tree of Liberty, and the “shot heard round the world” was fired on April 19, 1775.   And even more powerful to do so on the anniversary of that battle, April 19, and to then stand on that “venerable spot” and renew your oath to defend the Constitution – a truly amazing, once in a lifetime kind of experience.

When we conducted an oath renewal ceremony on the Battle Green in 2009, we were not doing something novel that had never been done before.  To the contrary, we were following in the footsteps of men of the Founding generation who had also stood on Lexington Battle Green in 1798 to renew their oaths.   Men of the First Brigade of the Third Division, Militia of Massachusetts  – some who had fought in the battle back in 1775, along with their sons who now served in the militia – stood on Lexington Battle Green in formation and renewed their oaths, and then sent a proclamation to President John Adams, describing what they had done, and why.   It is President Adams’ formal, written response that we quote on the back of our green “Lexington” shirt:
Oaths in this country are as yet universally considered as sacred obligations. That which you have taken and so solemnly repeated on that venerable spot, is an ample pledge of your sincerity and devotion to your country and its government. – President John Adams

The men of the Militia of Massachusetts had felt compelled to gather on the Battle Green and renew their oaths in a time of crisis in America, during the Quis-War with France, when many Americans were very divided politically, and passions were high.   The men considered it essential that in that time of crisis they should come together and make it clear that their loyalty was first, and foremost, to the Constitution they swore to defend.   And it should be noted that similar oath renewal ceremonies were conducted in multiple states, and by both Federalists and by Jeffersonian Republicans.   Americans of both political parties renewed their oaths.

So, when we stood on Lexington Battle Green on April 19, 2009, to renew our oaths, we were merely honoring our forefathers and walking almost directly in their footsteps.   And from that day forward we have conducted similar oath renewal ceremonies wherever we gather, as Oath Keepers.

It came as no surprise (a sad sign of the times) that immediately after our muster on April 19, 2009, we were viciously attacked by the radical left, and in particular by the Southern Poverty Law Center.   Apparently, current serving and retired police and military are not supposed to renew their commitment to defend the Constitution, and specify certain things we will not do if ordered.   The radical left considers that dangerous.  Instead, according to them, we who are still serving have a duty to “just follow orders” and do whatever we are told to do.   And the very existence of this organization, devoted to sincere keeping of oaths, and the improvement of constitutional knowledge among the current serving and veterans, is considered “dangerous” by the Marxists on the far left.  So be it.   We expected it.

But oddly enough, we have also at times been criticized by people on the Right for conducting oath renewal ceremonies, with some of them asserting we are asking people to take some additional oath, to Oath Keepers, or that we are being foolishly redundant.  I have heard some say “I already took the oath, so why are they taking it all over again?”  They are, of course, free to do as they please, but they display their ignorance of our own history when they condemn us for doing exactly the same thing the Founding Generation and their sons did back in 1798.  Again, a sad sign of the times.

I invite you to join me on the Battle Green, on April 19, 2013, and renew your oath on that venerable spot, and by doing so, help revive and expand, and make it once again true, that fundamental requirement that “Oaths in this country are as yet universally considered as sacred obligations.“    We know that among the political class in this country, that is certainly not the case, but we can make it so among the warrior class – among our brothers-in-arms. And by doing so, we can change history.  Let us lead by example.

And let us also revive the tradition of showing honor and respect to our war heroes of 1775, by making April 19 a day of remembrance and celebration for their having the courage and sense of duty to take up arms, in resistance, against tyranny.  Let us honor them.  April 19 – Patriots Day – SHOULD be celebrated across the land, just as solemnly and energetically as we celebrate Veterans Day or Independence Day.  Let us make it so.

If you cannot join us, this April 19, on Lexington Battle Green or at the following rally by Massachusetts, then hold a gathering of remembrance and celebration wherever you are this April 19.   Hold  a rally if you can.  But even if it is just you and a few friends at the shooting range, or having beers in a pub, take a moment to remember the men who stood their ground and only fired when fired upon, and their brothers who turned the tide at Concord Bridge, and then chased the bloody Regulars back to Boston, with their tails between their legs.  Say a toast to them, give them a cheer, and then pledge to each other your mutual commitment to make sure that all their sacrifice was not in vain, and that you will do your part to keep alive the Sacred Fire of Liberty.

As you know, this nation is now following almost exactly in the same footsteps our Forefathers experienced in the lead-up to the American Revolution.  Like them, we have suffered a long train of abuses, and our backs have been pushed up against the wall.   Let us look for strength and courage by remembering their example, and by seeing clearly how we are standing in an unbroken line of defenders of liberty, that began at Lexington and Concord, and stretches through history to us here, today.

It is our watch now.  Let us pray to God for the fortitude to do as they did, to defend home and liberty, at all costs, when our moment comes.

For the Republic!

Stewart Rhodes

Founder of Oath Keepers

ANNOUNCEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS OATH KEEPERS RALLY ON APRIL 19, 2013, from 4pm to 7pm

Oath Keepers

Massachusetts Chapter

Press release: For Immediate Release

Contact: Bryan Doe 413-348-7190

Date/Time: Friday, April 19^th 3 – 7 PM

Location: West Springfield Town Common, West Springfield, Massachusetts

Local group announces Rally to Support Second Amendment

A local group has organized a rally in support of the Second Amendment. The Massachusetts Chapter of Oath Keepers will hold a rally on the West Springfield Town Common on Friday, April 19^th from 3 to 7 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

The rally is being held in reaction to hastily passed and poorly written laws and proposals proven to have no effect on criminals and public safety, infringe on the Second Amendment, and turn law-abiding citizens into criminals, according to the event organizers.

For more information, contact

Bryan Doe

Oath Keepers

Massachusetts Chapter

413-348-7190

oathkeeper4liberty@gmail.com

Oath Keepers of Orange County Presents: A Night of Resistance – Featuring: Stewart Rhodes

Click Image to Enlarge

Click here for Black & White version for printing. – PDF Download

Please visit the links of our Sponsors:

Oath Keepers – www.oathkeepers.org

Orange County Archery

The Old World – www.oldworld.ws

Civilian Arms Training Source – www.civilianarmstraining.com

Combative Fighting Arts – www.combativefightingarts.com

Stewart Rhodes Speaking in Grass Valley, California – February 19, 2013

 

 

‎Stewart Rhodes, Chuck Shea, and John Oetken will be gathering with the Oath Keepers in the area to formalize a Northern California Chapter. Please get the word out and spread this information and share the picture.

We will also be fundraising for the Oath Keeper Billboards to put up near Beale AFB California.

https://www.facebook.com/events/417066241709857/

Sheriff Mack and CSPOA: 225 Sheriffs Oppose Gun Ban

January 29th, 2013

Utah Sheriffs Stand for the Second Amendment

Original Article on oathkeeper.org: Sheriff Mack and CSPOA: 225 Sheriffs Oppose Gun Ban

Editor’s Note: The list of County Sheriffs who are standing up for the Second Amendment now totals two hundred twenty-five brave defenders of the U.S. Constitution. Oath Keepers salutes Sheriff Mack for spearheading this drive.  However, on January 31, 2013, I have removed one name from the list below, based on the quotations found in this article:

http://blog.al.com/montgomery/2013/01/montgomery_county_sheriff_shar.html

From that article:

“I am a strong supporter of a person’s right to keep and bear arms; however it is time to institute some stiffer laws concerning assault type weapons and semi-automatic handguns with extended load magazines,” Marshall wrote in his January newsletter posted on his website.

“These type weapons have one, and only one, purpose and that is to kill people and sometimes many people, he said. “A person can very easily defend themselves or their loved ones with a gun that holds fewer rounds. Today guns, be they assault type rifles or semiautomatic handguns, hold up to 100 rounds of ammunition. Even a novice shooter could empty a 100 round magazine in less than a minute. In my opinion these weapons are nothing more than weapons of mass destruction. I believe that it is time to pass another Federal Assault Weapons ban such as the one that expired in 2004. Limit the number of rounds a weapon can hold without reloading and at least make a mass murderer have to drop a magazine and put another one into his weapon. That one act alone may save untold lives and misery being caused today.”

Well, that is enough to cause me to remove the Sheriff’s name from the list below. If you read the Sheriff’s newsletter you’ll see yet more reasons why he is an imposter if he tries to claim that he is a Constitutional Sheriff who will honor his Oath to the Constitution.

Salute!

Elias Alias, editor

-

In addition to the 225 individual Sheriffs listed below, there is one Sheriffs Association (Utah) which has publicly stated their opposition to the current Administration’s intended damage to our Constitution. In New Mexico 30 of a total 33 Sheriffs have stood up to oppose any new gun bans from Washington D.C.1. The Utah Sheriffs Association (pdf for letter to President Obama)

2. http://www.guns.com/2013/01/19/new-mexico-sheriffs-say-they-stand-by-the-second-amendment-in-the-face-of-bans/

-

Here are the 225:

	Name	County	State
1	Blake Dorning	Madison	Alabama
2	Ana Franklin	Morgan	Alabama
3	Andy Hughes	Houston	Alabama
4	Jay Jones	Lee	Alabama
5	[Removed by Elias Alias]
6	Scott Mascher	Yavapai	Arizona
7	Joe Arpaio	Maricopa	Arizona
8	Tom Sheahan	Mohave	Arizona
9	Paul Babeu	Pinal	Arizona
10	Adam Christianson	Stanislaus	California
11	Jon Lopey	Siskiyou	California
12	Tom Bosenko	Shasta	California
13	John D’Agostini	El Dorado	California
14	David Hencraft	Tehama	California
15	Dean Growden	Lassen	California
16	Dean Wilson	Del Norte	California
17	Mike Poindexter	Modoc	California
18	Thomas Allman	Mendocino	California
19	Mike Downey	Humboldt	California
20	Margaret Mims	Fresno	California
21	Greg Hagwood	Plumas	California
22	Bruce Haney	Trinity	California
23	Martin Ryan	Amador	California
24	Jerry Smith	Butte	California
25	Donny Youngblood	Kern	California
26	James W. Mele	Toulumne	California
27	Justin Smith	Larimer	Colorado
28	Terry Maketa	El Paso	Colorado
29	John Cooke	Weld	Colorado
30	Stan Hilkey	Mesa	Colorado
31	Lou Vallario	Garfield	Colorado
32	Rick Dunlap	Montrose	Colorado
33	Jeff Christopher	Sussex	Delaware
34	Bill Snyder	Martin	Florida
35	Frank McKeithen	Bay	Florida
36	Mike Scott	Lee	Florida
37	Rick Beseler	Clay	Florida
38	Bill McCarthy	Polk	Florida
39	Michael Adkinson	Walton	Florida
40	Grady Judd	Polk	Florida
41	Stacy Nicholson	Gilmer	Georgia
42	Scott Berry	Oconee	Georgia
43	Roger Garrison	Cherokee	Georgia
44	Neil Warren	Cobb	Georgia
45	Butch Conway	Gwinnett	Georgia
46	Gary Gulledge	Paulding	Georgia
47	Joe Chapman	Walton	Georgia
48	Roy Klingler	Madison	Idaho
49	Kieran Donahue	Canyon	Idaho
50	Daryl Wheeler	Bonner	Idaho
51	Chris Goetz	Clearwater	Idaho
52	Doug Giddings	Idaho	Idaho
53	Doug McFall	Jerome	Idaho
54	Brian Brokop	Lewis	Idaho
55	Joe Rodriguez	Nez Perce	Idaho
56	Tom Carter	Twin Falls	Idaho
57	Dave Resser	Benewah	Idaho
58	Edward Motley	Edgar	Illinois
59	Mike Emery	McLean	Illinois
60	Jerry Parsley	Clark	Illinois
61	Brad Rogers	Elkhart	Indiana
62	Warren M. Wethington	Cedar	Iowa
63	Frank Denning	Johnson	Kansas
64	Denny Peyman	Jackson	Kentucky
65	Michael A. Helmig	Boone	Kentucky
66	John Snedegar	Bath	Kentucky
67	Scott F. Harrison	Powell	Kentucky
68	Charles A. Jenkins	Frederick	Maryland
69	Dar Leaf	Barry	Michigan
70	Ted Schende	Benzie	Michigan
71	Larry Stelma	Kent	Michigan
72	Robin Cole	Pine	Minnesota
73	Bill Rasco	DeSoto	Mississippi
74	Billy McGee	Forrest	Mississippi
75	Cecil Cantrell	Monroe	Mississippi
76	Brad A. DeLay	Lawrence	Missouri
77	Charles Heiss	Johnson	Missouri
78	Steve Cox	Livingston	Missouri
79	Mick Epperly	Barry	Missouri
80	Stephen Stockman	Mercer	Missouri
81	George R. Underwood	Oregon	Missouri
82	Michael Dixon	Osage	Missouri
83	Tom Rummel	Sanders	Montana
84	Jay Doyle	Lake	Montana
85	Scott F. Howard	Powell	Montana
86	Chris Hoffman	Ravalli	Montana
87	Darby Harrington	Wibaux	Montana
88	Mike Linder	Yellowstone	Montana
89	Ed Kilgpore	Humboldt	Nevada
90	Benjamin D. Trotter	Churchill	Nevada
91	Tony DeMeo	Nye	Nevada
92	Douglas R Dutile	Grafton	New Hampshire
93	Dan Houston	Bernalillo	New Mexico
94	Shawn Menges	Catron	New Mexico
95	Patrick R Jennings	Chaves	New Mexico
96	Johnny Valdez	Cibola	New Mexico
97	Jim Maldonado	Colfax	New Mexico
98	Dennis A. Cleaver	De Baca	New Mexico
99	Todd Garrison	Dona Ana	New Mexico
100	Scott London	Eddy	New Mexico
101	Raul Holguin	Grant	New Mexico
102	Michael R Lucero	Guadalupe	New Mexico
103	Herman Martinez	Harding	New Mexico
104	Saturnino Madero	Hidalgo	New Mexico
105	Mark Hargrove	Lea	New Mexico
106	Rick Virden	Lincoln	New Mexico
107	Marco Lucero	Los Alamos	New Mexico
108	Raymond Cobos	Luna	New Mexico
109	Benny House	Otero	New Mexico
110	Joe Schallert	Quay	New Mexico
111	Joe Mascarenas	Arriba	New Mexico
112	Darren Hooker	Roosevelt	New Mexico
113	Ken Christesen	San Juan	New Mexico
114	Benjie Vigil	San Miguel	New Mexico
115	Robert Garcia	Santa Fe	New Mexico
116	Joe Baca	Sierra	New Mexico
117	Phillip Montoya	Socorro	New Mexico
118	Miguel Romero Jr	Taos	New Mexico
119	Heath White	Torrance	New Mexico
120	William Spriggs	Union	New Mexico
121	Louis Burkhard	Valencia	New Mexico
122	Tony Desmond	Schoharie	New York
123	Richard Devlin Jr.	Otsego	New York
124	Donald Smith	Putnam	New York
125	David Cole	Steuben	New York
126	Coy Reid	Catawba	North Carolina
127	Adell Dobey	Edgefield	North Carolina
128	Jerry Jones	Franklin	North Carolina
129	Charlie McDonald	Henderson	North Carolina
130	Ed McMahon	New Hanover	North Carolina
131	Jimmy Thornton	Sampson	North Carolina
132	Eddie Cathey	Union	North Carolina
133	Donnie Harrison	Wake	North Carolina
134	Carey Winders	Wayne	North Carolina
135	A.J. Rodenberg	Clermont	Ohio
136	Sam Crish	Allen	Ohio
137	Bob ‘Big Block’ Colbert	Wagoner	Oklahoma
138	Johnny Tadlock	McCurtain	Oklahoma
139	Roger LeVick	Jackson	Oklahoma
140	Glenn E. Palmer	Grant	Oregon
141	Gil Gilbertson	Josephine	Oregon
142	Tim Mueller	Linn	Oregon
143	Craig Zanni	Coos	Oregon
144	John Hanlin	Douglas	Oregon
145	John Bishop	Curry	Oregon
146	Larry Blanton	Deschutes	Oregon
147	Jim Hensley	Crook	Oregon
148	Pat Garrett	Washington	Oregon
149	Dan Staton	Multnomah	Oregon
150	Mike Winters	Jackson	Oregon
151	Brian Wolfe	Malheur	Oregon
152	Mitchell Southwick	Baker	Oregon
153	Frank Skrah	Klamath	Oregon
154	Jason Myers	Marion	Oregon
155	Bob Wolfe	Polk	Oregon
156	Jack Crabtree	Yamhill	Oregon
157	Jim Muller	Adams	Pennsylvania
158	Eric J. Weaknecht	Berks	Pennsylvania
159	Clinton J. Walters	Bradford	Pennsylvania
160	Jeffrey C. Krieg	Elk	Pennsylvania
161	Al Cannon	Charleston	South Carolina
162	Chuck Wright	Spartanburg	South Carolina
163	Wayne DeWitt	Berkeley	South Carolina
164	Jim Matthews	Kershaw	South Carolina
165	James Metts	Lexington	South Carolina
166	Leon Lott	Richland	South Carolina
167	Jim Ruth	Bradley	Tennessee
168	Jim Hammond	Hamilton	Tennessee
169	Larry Smith	Smith	Texas
170	Terry Box	Collin	Texas
171	Joel W. Richardson	Randall	Texas
172	Jack Brandes	Austin	Texas
173	Johnny Brown	Ellis	Texas
174	Michael Cox	Hill	Texas
175	Bob Alford	Johnson	Texas
176	Earl Howell	McCulloch	Texas
177	Parnell McNamara	McLennan	Texas
178	David Medlin	Oldham	Texas
179	Tommy Gage	Montgomery	Texas
180	Dane Kirby	Fannin	Texas
181	Cameron M. Noel	Beaver	Utah
182	David Edmunds	Summit	Utah
183	James Tracy	Utah	Utah
184	Robert Dekker	Millard	Utah
185	Frank Park	Tooele	Utah
186	Joseph Yeates	Box Elder	Utah
187	G. Lynn Nelson	Cache	Utah
188	James Cordova	Carbon	Utah
189	Jerry Jorgensen	Daggett	Utah
190	Todd Richardson	Davis	Utah
191	Travis Mitchell	Duchesne	Utah
192	Greg Funk	Emery	Utah
193	James D. Perkins	Garfield	Utah
194	Steven White	Grand	Utah
195	Mark Gower	Iron	Utah
196	Alden Orme	Juab	Utah
197	Lamont Smith	Kane	Utah
198	Blaine Breshears	Morgan	Utah
199	Marty Gleave	Puite	Utah
200	Dale Stacey	Rich	Utah
201	Rick Eldredge	San Juan	Utah
202	Brian Nielson	Sanpete	Utah
203	Nathan Curtis	Sevier County	Utah
204	Jeff Merrell	Uintah	Utah
205	Todd Bonner	Wasatch	Utah
206	Cory Pulsipher	Washington	Utah
207	Kurt Taylor	Wayne	Utah
208	Terry Thompson	Weber	Utah
209	Merv Gustin	Duchesne	Utah
210	Than Cooper	Garfiled	Utah
211	James B. Nyland Sr.	Grand	Utah
212	Gene Ercanbrack	Morgan	Utah
213	Mike Lacy	San Juan	Utah
214	Kay P. Larsen	Sanpete	Utah
215	Phil Barney	Sevier	Utah
216	Kenneth Vanwagoner	Wasatch	Utah
217	Kirk Smith	Washington	Utah
218	Ken Bancroft	Asotin	Washington
219	Tom Jones	Grant	Washington
220	Dave Brown	Skamania	Washington
221	Brett Myers	Whitman	Washington
222	Ken Irwin	Yakima	Washington
223	Mike Harper	Roane	West Virginia
224	Ken Merritt	Wood	West Virginia
225	David A. Clarke Jr.	Milwaukee	Wisconsin

Video: Dr. John Eastman at Oath Keepers of Orange County, CA General Meeting on November 27, 2012

Dr. John Eastman gives a constitutional presentation at the November 27, 2012 General Meeting of the Orange County Chapter of Oath Keepers.

Special privilege to have have Dr. Eastman speak at our chapter. Thank you Dr. Eastman.

(Note: Turn up the sound on your computer.)

NDAA 2013: Let’s Identify The Traitors To The U.S. Constitution

This article was written by Eric Blair and originally published at Activist Post

By now anyone who pays attention to politics knows that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012 contained a provision that allows for the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without charge or trial.

Section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA states that anyone suspected of being involved in terrorism or “belligerent acts” against the U.S. can be detained by the military under the so-called Authorization for Use of Military Force, including American citizens.

In other words, the war on terror has been officially declared on U.S. soil and everyone is now considered a potential combatant in this war.

Senator Lindsey Graham pretty much summed it up when he said, “The homeland is part of the battlefield and people can be held without trial whether an American citizen or not.”

Even though this clause is a direct violation of citizen’s rights under the 6th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, there was scarcely any dissent and hardly a peep from the corporate media when Obama signed it into law under the cover of darkness late on New Year’s Eve 2011.

This year Senator Rand Paul once again blocked the passage of the NDAA for 2013, which the Senate hoped to rush through before the Thanksgiving recess. Using a filibuster, Paul is attempting to force a vote on his amendment to exempt American citizens from the indefinite detention clause.

Rand Paul’s amendment simply reaffirms the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
A citizen of the United States who is captured or arrested in the United States and detained by the Armed Forces of the United States pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40) shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.”

Compare that to the 6th Amendment of the Constitution:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

It’s sad that it is so difficult to get elected officials to debate, let alone vote on, legislation that is in direct violation to the Constitution that they swore an oath to uphold. But these are certainly Orwellian times where normal thinking no longer applies.

As Rand Paul points out in the video below about the 2012 NDAA vote, “The senate voted 55 to 45 to allow indefinite detention of US citizens without jury trial. We have become Orwellian without even knowing it.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ALN7LTeLxtI#!

When the Senate resumes after recess, the NDAA 2013 will likely pass even with a recorded vote on Paul’s amendment, but at least the traitors will put themselves on display for all to see.

If there are any true oath keepers in positions of power, this would be a perfect time to arrest those who vote against this amendment. Their treason to the Constitution couldn’t be any clearer.

How To Deal With A Government Checkpoint

This article was written by Mac Slavo and originally published at SHTFplan.com

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.  -  The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

With local, state and DHS checkpoints randomly popping up all over America many of our citizens believe that we must comply with what more often than not amounts to unlawful requests and orders from law enforcement officials.

While driving through California, Steven Anderson came upon three such checkpoints and he chose not to play ball with officers who asked him, among other things, to prove his citizenship, prove his identity and pull over for further inspection and questioning.

When asked whether he was a citizen Anderson’s immediate response was, “that’s my business.” When advised that it was the officer’s job to ask the question, Anderson calmly responds by saying, “I don’t have to answer you, because I have rights as an American.” The law enforcement official courteously asks Mr. Anderson to do him a favor and pull over for further questioning, no doubt expecting Anderson to comply. But not today, as Anderson patently refuses to do so per his Fourth Amendment Constitutional protections. He subsequently makes his own request, saying to the officer, “no thanks, I’d like to just go on my way.”

All of it was recorded on a digital camera in Anderson’s car and out of view of officers.

What you’ll see below is a crash course in exercising your Constitutionally protected rights when faced with the threat of detention, interrogation and random searches by Federal or local law enforcement officials. You won’t see this one in mainstream media, and it’s something they certainly don’t teach in college:

Anderson: Is this Nazi Germany now, that I have to show my papers?

Officer: It’s a simple yes or no. I need an answer or we can detain you until we figure out whether you’re a U.S. citizen.

Anderson: Well, you know what’s more simple is the fact that my freedom is a little more important than you seem to think. Setting up checkpoints where people have to prove that they’re a citizen is not something that America is supposed to be about. So, I’m not sure if you understand that.

Supervisor enters scene: Grunt

Anderson: Grunt

Supervisor: Just pull up over there (points to line of detained cars)

Anderson: No, thank you… I want to go free on my way. Here I am just going about my own business and I don’t need to stop at a checkpoint to prove who I am because this is America. Correct me if I’m wrong – did I stumble into Mexico or is this still the United States?

Supervisor: This is the United States.

Anderson: Therefore, I should have the freedom to travel unmolested, because I’m in America here.

(pause)

Supervisor: Ok, go ahead and go.

Score one for liberty and the US Constitution.

It really is that simple.

Sure, some officers will overstep their bounds in an attempt to intimidate and instill fear, but in this case cooler heads prevailed and the officer in charge understood that Mr. Anderson was on the right side of the law, and that their requests for him pulling over and showing identification at a random checkpoint were nothing more than requests, as no such mandate exists without probable cause that criminal activity is taking place.

Mr. Anderson stood up for his rights – his own individual rights. To be free and to enjoy the liberties reserved and protected for the people by the Constitution of the United States it falls upon each of us, as individuals, to ensure the rule of law.

On another day Mr. Anderson may have been detained, perhaps even arrested (unlawfully).

But today in America freedom prevailed.