George Washington, Farewell Address

“The -- Constitution -- ‘till changed --,’ is sacredly obligatory upon all -- But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. --”

In The Face Of Terrorism, We Should Never Abandon Our Rights

Dear Friends and Fellow Citizens,

We should never surrender, or give away, that which has been and is being paid for with the blood of so many of our nation's heroes.

It is a fact that we are at war against terrorism. This is a war for our rights to life, liberty and for our right to pursue peace and happiness.

Those who use terrorism would have us trade one for the other. They would have us seek peace, or life, at the expense of our liberty.

The Declaration of Independence was an agreement to trust in the people's ability to govern themselves. It was a Declaration of Independence from any earthly power of oppression.

As a result of the September 11 terrorist attack, federal legislation was passed giving Government expanded powers to detect all persons whose actions or activities might suggest a profile that fits into the

Government's definition of a terrorist, or a possible connection with such defined terrorism.

Even though our Government now spends millions more in its war against domestic terrorism, it has not been able, or willing, to effectively defend our borders against aliens illegally entering into our country.

However, when all of those aliens now make the mistake of breaking our immigration laws to get here, they had better watch out. If they manage to be classified as citizens, they could face all of the anti-terrorist laws in Homeland Security and in the Patriot Act that we do. The problem is that these laws present measures that are contrary to the laws of our Constitutional civil liberties.

In the name of terrorism, people who have no faith in the right of the people to exercise their liberties have given us such questionable legislation as can be seen in the Patriot Act. What has been the result? According to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee ( http://bordc.org ), as of June 9, 2004, a total of "Four states and 324 cities and counties have passed resolutions to protect their 51,496,726 residents’ civil liberties. Hundreds more resolutions critical of the Patriot Act are in progress."

So, where is the enemy within our borders? Terrorism is a political tool and a weapon that can be used to achieve the political goals of any potential enemy against our freedoms.

Many of our elected officials, who voted to pass the legislation of the Patriot Act into law, will not even admit to having read it first. They, like all of us, are the targets of terrorism. When the September 11 terrorist attack put our country into a state of emotional shock, our elected officials forgot about the meaning and importance of our national character. Let’s remind them.

In character, we are a nation of people who are united in our liberty from oppression by our Declaration of Independence. At our beginning, when our people were militarily weak and judged to have little chance to

win our fight for independence against overwhelming military superiority, God answered our prayers of faith and produced the miracles that were needed to give us our gift of freedom. We then established our Constitution in order to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. Our nation became the great example as "a shining city on a hill."

Such faith as this, which is held by the American people in God and liberty, has been expressed in our society and made apparent in many ways, even by these words that are expressed in the Battle Hymn of The Republic which say, "As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free. His truth is marching on."

Many brave heroes have made the sacrifice for us, even giving their life so that we might have life complete with the blessings of liberty confirmed in the laws of our Constitution. Should we now put their

sacrifices to shame by giving up on the liberty that their sacrifices were for? Should we not join our voices in union with the growing numbers of cities, counties and states across this country who have drawn up and passed resolutions in defense of the laws of our Constitution?

It is only in God and in the laws of our Constitution that we should put our trust in and give our allegiance to. This is our beacon. This is the light in the "shining city on a hill."

If we fail to respect our law as our defense against oppression, then the oppressor will find his mark. If we fail to put our trust in God and in His kingdom for our help in times of trouble, then the chains of oppression will enslave us at the hands of those who would corrupt our law.

Our liberties are recognized in our Constitution. They are in the Bill of Rights and in our Constitutional right to vote for the election of those who represent us in our government.

Our liberty to express ourselves through our vote is fundamental to the power of the people. We should never allow this power of the people to be tampered with, or diminished in any way. This right to have a counted vote is a trust of power that has been handed down to us from those who had enough trust in God to pledge to each other their support for the Declaration of Independence that they believed in.

In the name of terrorism, the anti-rights people have even gone so far as to promote a resolution in Congress, among misguided patriots, for a constitutional amendment which, if it had passed, could have succeeded in giving powers to state governors to appoint our U.S. Representatives

for us.

Thanks to the efforts of some good Congressmen, who work with concerned citizens through an organization available to the public at http://www.thelibertycommittee.com , the resolution to move toward the creation of such a bad constitutional amendment was overwhelmingly defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 2nd, 2004.

The following information was taken from The Liberty Committee web site:

"The constitutional amendment, H.J. Res. 83, would fundamentally alter the nature of the U.S. House of Representatives. Our country’s founders clearly intended the U.S. House to be the body of the national government closest to the people which is why members of the U.S. House have always been elected, never appointed."

"Members of the U.S. House should always be elected by voters of the congressional districts."

"H.J. Res. 83 is unnecessary and dangerous. Vote "NO" on H.J. Res. 83."

"Elect, never appoint!"

"Let’s be clear. Any constitutional amendment denying the right of elected representation would accomplish what no terrorist could, namely striking a fatal blow to what has otherwise always been ‘The People’s House.’ — House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, May 5, 2004."

We must be vigilant to protect and keep all of our rights. Not the least in importance among our rights is our right to have a vote and to expect it to be counted and able to be verified through a recount anytime that such a recount might become necessary. In order to maintain our trust that we have such a vote that is counted and can be verified, it is vital that we maintain a verifiable original paper trail that can only be produced by the paper ballot.

Independent Americans ( http://www.usiap.org ) stand in support of a greater sense of patriotic union among all Americans for the defense of every American’s rights as expressed in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

The Independent American Party has its existence dedicated to preserving our law.

In Defense of Liberty Confirmed in Law,

Independent Americans for American Independence