Pivotal moments affect every nation. Originating from crises that are both external and internal in nature, these moments demand critical attention.

Unfortunately, history is littered with crisis after crisis contrived only to advance an agenda. An ever-increasing interventionism is at the heart of that agenda. How many politicians have you heard say, “from chaos comes order”?

United States’ pivotal year was 1913, culminating in a Congressional coup-d’état.  Follow me as I detail the takeover timeline.

While breaking from English control, many founding fathers still favored the private central banking construct of London. Beginning with the Bank of North America in 1781, this group led by Robert Morris established the first central bank in the history of the United States.

Four years later the bank was shut down due to massive corruption.

Six years later Alexander Hamilton spearheaded another movement establishing the First Bank of the United States. Strident opposition was found in Thomas Jefferson who knew the danger of corruption involved in financial speculation and manipulation. Five years later Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States, a copy of the first.

Twenty years later, President Andrew Jackson fought for the American people in destroying this bank with corruption again being the culprit. The ability to manipulate finances through market speculation bred corruption, as Jefferson warned.

A quarter-century of freedom from central banks was enjoyed by the populace until the Congressional coup began with the National Banking Act of 1863 which again centralized national banking operations into private banking institutions.

Prior to this, banking was governed by State banks that would issue currency. Currency issued had to be backed by appropriate reserves and could be exchanged for value with other State banks. The NBA of 1863 centralized this process with a charge to the State banks of 10% for currency exchange effectively eviscerating profitability for these banks.

Imperfections created by the NBA of 1863, namely with liquidity (sound familiar), led to the Panic of 1907. Government economic manipulation led to a crisis. A crisis led to a fervent public outcry for economic stability. Public outcry was capitalized on by the government to intervene and gain more control.

How would they do it?

I couldn’t wait to take part in my first election. Growing up, I often accompanied dad to the voting booth and even occasionally pushed the lever.

My time to vote finally arrived and I thought I was well acquainted with my role in the booth. Yet, I had no clue about the people for whom I was voting. Needless to say, I don’t remember who got my first votes in 1994.

In 1996 I covered the election for my college television show, ASU-TV. I got the opportunity to wait with the candidates as votes were counted at the courthouse and then join them afterward for the watch parties at the hotel for the state and national elections.

Most everybody I knew, except for one goof, was a Democrat so naturally I voted mostly Democrat, except for President and I voted for some third party guy named Phillips.

After realizing the perilous danger spending was putting our nation in, I became captivated by the contract with America. I voted Republican in 1998, 2000, 2002 believing that GOP control of Congress and the White House would result in decreased spending. Newt and Dubya were good at selling, but bad at delivery!

Disenchanted with the spending Republicans and socialist Democrats I voted for the lesser of two evils in 2004, 2006, and 2008. However, something changed in 2004. I met a man named Jim Holt who ran as a Republican, but had the support of a group called the Constitution Party.

Admittedly I had a scant memory of the little public school education I had received on the Constitution, so I began to study. I comprehended the fact that the Federal government I saw in the news was nothing like what the Constitution described.

Our founding fathers gave us a Republic. Our Federal government has been prostituted for political benefit. Republicans spent like crazy when they controlled Congress. The Democrats use that as an excuse to spend even more now that they are in control. Very little of this spending is constitutionally authorized!

Americans deserve the Republic their fathers left them. Not the Oligarchy the Republicrats are building for the financial elite.

In this way Political parties are a lot like Christian denominations. They divide us on issues that aren’t essential. Non-essentials seem to keep the full power of the Christian church divided while Satan runs amok in our world.

Non-essentials likewise keep the full power of the American people divided while sinister forces are dismantling the nation we love. By non-essentials I mean non-Constitutional…those things that the Federal government does outside of the authority of the constitution.

On this note, a preacher was talking about Christian denominations. He said that when Christians get together they first have to identify themselves as Baptist, Pentecostal, Episcopalian, etc. He then asked, why can’t we say, “I’m just a Christian, a Christ follower”?

Have you noticed the latest poll numbers on party identification? I’ll use Rasmussen Reports April 2009 polling because it shows the highest number for both parties. Rasmussen’s polling shows 38.7% Democrat and 32.6% Republican. Do you happen to notice that these don’t add up to 100%?

Nearly one-third of the national viewpoint goes unrepresented in the beltway. And they wonder why voter turnout is so low? When voters can’t identify with the candidates, they will stay home.

Who are the other 28.7% that claim no identification with Democrats or Republicans?

As one of them, I’ll say that, “I’m just an American, a Constitution follower!”

So we must ask the honest question: How do we get the ‘just Americans’ involved in the election process?

I believe the main issue for them is choice. Our illegitimate two-party system disenfranchises them. It isn’t for lack of common thought, but rather for lack of opportunity. Restrictive laws prevent Americans from getting to honestly evaluate other viewpoints on how Federal government should operate.

Let’s remove the restrictive laws and see what happens when people have the choice. The Republicrats inhibit the ability of third parties and independents to organize through the unnecessary laws they’ve passed to prevent them from doing so.

Of course, the Republicrats would argue that the laws protect the legitimacy of the ballot. Unfortunately, they don’t tell you that they didn’t have to clear the same hurdles when they organized. As usual, those in power keep their power by passing laws to prevent others from encroaching on their power.

Third parties and independents are a threat to the Republicrat establishment. Republicans know this all too well, themselves being a third party response to the failures of the Whig Party in the mid-to-late 1800’s. Have you ever heard of Abraham Lincoln?

Republicans have the most to loose today. Rush Limbaugh is pleading with his listeners to avoid the temptation of joining third parties. He knows, as well as do Republicans, the fear of replacement. The same circumstances that lead to their power will now take them from power.

If you really want a choice this election then support a third party. We know that at least a third of the country wants something different. So why don’t say it with me?

“I am not a Republican or a Democrat, I am just an American!”

Restoring the Republic

Mark “True Patriot” West

What is this “swine” influenza?

A mutation of the H1N1 subtype…yet this is the same subtype as the USUAL flu we deal with every year.

An epidemic… yet  91% of the cases and 100% of the deaths have occurred on the same continent…North America.

A mix…never before seen of bird, swine and human influenza.

 A combo…strangely of European, Asian, and North American swine flu strains.

Yet, no pigs were infected…until Sunday when the first case is confirmed…in Ottowa, Canada!

But wasn’t Mexico City the epicenter?

Strange barely describes what we are witnessing. Don’t be afraid to ask the question…could this flu be manufactured?

Our mainstream media is effectively spreading the hysteria. Did you know that approximately 36,000 Americans DIE of the flu annually? And we are being whipped into hyper-frenzy over ONE in a month?!

This frenzy is so strong that schools, towns, and businesses are being locked down. Aha, we have uncovered the real story…involuntary quarantine.

 This “outbreak” is nominal compared to the regular flu, yet the media has been in a hyperventilating panic. When the media acts this way I find it beneficial seek and find what else is going on. Then I add it all up to get a picture of what I should prepare for next.

What else is out there? The census bureau is going to GPS mark your home. The DHS is cracking down on “right wing extremism”. Certain provocative speech may soon be considered a hate crime.

Combine these with an overblown case of the flu and you have a viral concoction that threatens to sweep our liberties from under our feet in the name of public protection. NorthCom is manned up and ready for helping with crowd control or civil unrest.

Balloon animals play an important role in our society by placating the minds of our children…and some adults. Watching a balloon animal artist, my own term, captivates me because of the delicacy of the process.

Proper inflation is key! Too little air makes a wimpy critter, too much air is a bust! The artist needs a suitable supply of air to make the perfect balloon animal.

“It is an established rule of construction,” wrote Thomas Jefferson, “where a phrase will bear either of two meanings to give it that which will allow some meaning to the other parts of the instrument, and not that which will render all the others useless. Certainly no such universal power was meant to be given to them. It was intended to lace them up straightly with in the enumerated powers, and those without which, as means, these powers could not be carried into effect.”

Huh? Basically, the federal government is intentionally limited by and to constitutional restraints. If a phrase isn’t clear, it is to be interpreted to limit rather than expand federal authority.

Federal government is like a balloon animal. Too little authority makes a wimpy critter, too much authority is a bust! The people need a suitable supply of authority to make the perfect federal government.

Did you know…the federal government is only constitutionally granted the authority to provide for our common defense? Our constitution is violated every time the federal government seeks to provide education, health care, financial aid…anything other than common defense.

The Tenth Amendment gives such priorities are to the States and to the people.

Our federal government is constitutionally given the role of economic promoter, not provider.

It’s shameful that almost every candidate for federal office openly campaigns on promises to violate the constitution and then swear an oath to uphold and defend it. And somehow we keep voting for them rather than holding them accountable.

“But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” – Philippians 1:23-24

Did my Resurrection Day missive leave you a little lost? My wife said it jumped around and didn’t really make much sense.

Honestly, I meant to do that! I was conveying the disjointed, busy-ness that accompanies every annual Resurrection Day celebration. Eggs, candy and family dominate this event each year.  Time for thoughtful introspection is hard to find.

As I took time to think, I remembered a trip that I took to Pennsylvania as a child to visit my grandparents. My first night ever being so far away from home, I cried in fear because I just wanted to go home.

Do you ever feel like you just didn’t want to be here anymore? Like somehow this world wouldn’t miss a beat if you abandoned your instrument? Don’t you ever just wanna go home?

I often struggle with the desire to go home. I want to escape the pressure of letting people down. I’m tired of doing things that I’m certain disappoint God. Yet, as soon as I entertain such a thought, I always recall that my local band still needs me to play.

As far as the grand portrait is concerned, I’m insignificant…but my little Polaroid affords me substance. My wife needs my love, support, and security. My children need my discipline and direction. My cats…well…they need a new home! Does anybody want a couple of knucklehead cats?

We struggle with our desire of a painless existence of peace and harmony. However, we must accept that it isn’t our time. God still has a reason for our being here.

“the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Tea Parties took place across the nation on Tax Day. In case you missed it we had about 150 people at the one here in Batesville. I was one of a thousand at the Jonesboro protest.

Unfortunately, according to the news tube, these were nothing more than unpatriotic, ungrateful, right wing attacks on President Obama. Realistically, the parties were a legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights as noted above.

Labeled tax protests, our parties aren’t getting their props. Our gatherings are about so much more than just taxes. Admittedly, we type-cast ourselves by sharing the name used to describe Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty’s tax protest against the British.

But we were protesting more than just taxes!

Media minions driven by either agenda or sloth, take your pick, are focusing on some version of Obama-phobia to describe the events.

While some attended to protest Obama, but most of us were protesting a system in which they feel unrepresented. A system marked by decades of renegade government excess that has imperiled our Republic!

So we assembled and petitioned for a redress of our grievances…many they are, many they have been, many they will remain until we see resolution.

Don’t you want to wake up to a new dawn that is free from the oppression of a Congress disarmed of its foremost weapon against us…the income tax?

In America’s next chapter, you, your children and grandchildren will be free to fully enjoy the produce of your labors rather than some government transfer of wealth program.

In order to get there, we first have to close the book on this dreadful chapter in our history because currently, we are fading into financial fascism.

That’s right! I said fascism…fascism recognizable by its faith, language, and tactics…fascism recognizable because we’ve seen it before in the dark corners of times past.

You have helplessly witnessed an out-of-control Congress spending your tax dollars bailing out banks, as your protests fell on deaf ears. You were told such an act was necessary to preserve the “national best interest”.

The “national best interest” is the faith statement of financial fascism! This is a faith that will make us subjects us to the financial industry, a situation normally found only in the emerging nations of third world fascism!

Having a “national best interest” isn’t the problem…the problem is when our leaders exploit it to rationalize illegal policies that enslave the electorate by putting taxpayers on the tab for unconstitutional spending and influence.

Using fuzzy financial terms, elite financiers invoke a privileged perch as the arbiters of the “national best interest”. We are manipulated by the language of the elite into trusting them to do what they tell us only they can do.

Our natural, patriotic response to this manipulation should be protest and revolution!

Fascism generally uses a form of bait and switch tactic to take and keep control. We’ve swallowed the bait of taxable private property; they have set the hook of financial control.

Fascism influences the economy through centralized government to control production.

Congress, through taxes and subsidies, and the congressionally mandated Federal Reserve Bank, through interest rates, exert control over our financial well-being.

Our economy is by no means a free economy. We are heading down a bleak and treacherous path.

We are on this path because we have drifted…drifted from the moorings of faith and liberty, exchanging them for wealth and security. We are practicing the faith of financial fascism!

But, it is not too late to turn around and choose a better path. However, it will require action that must begin now!

We must abolish the income tax by amending the constitution to repeal the 16^th Amendment and free ourselves from bondage to financial control!

We must eliminate the Federal Reserve Bank which will inhibit the influence of financial elites while liberating the financial prowess of the people.

We must restrict the federal government to its constitutional limits. Federal fiscal responsibility begins by holding Congress to it limits established by the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment.

We must beg for the mercy of God! We need more mercy…not more money!

Nearly a century ago, our leaders held out their hands to us with their palms up and said, “Show us the money”, as they legalized the income tax and Federal Reserve Bank.

We’ve paid our taxes and been swayed by the central bank, it is time for us to hold out our hands, fists clenched and demand they show us the results!

The only results I see after this century of financial slavery are more debt, more deficits, and more divisions! Basically, our money isn’t worth what it used to be.

I am not happy with these results! Are you?

A true people’s revolution begins in the hearts and minds of “we the people” and it is enabled by the blessing of God…but…it requires us to take action!

We must act now, with swift persistence until we are successful in restoring our republic to its rightful owners…”we the people”.

When you lay your children down to sleep do you ask Almighty God to bless their tomorrow and they ask you for a bed time story, what story will you tell them?

Will you tell them about a generation of apathy…a generation that remains on the path of self-slavery to the agents of financial fascism?

Or will you tell them of a generation of action…a generation that carves a new path away from financial tyranny…a generation that shatters the chains of financial fascism…a generation that saves the republic from the brink of self-destruction?

We get to choose the story of this generation!

We can end this fade into financial fascism! I’ve told you how we can do it! The question is, “Are you willing?”

If you are, then we must stand up together and say, “We are angry! We are Taxed Enough Already! We are not going to be taxed anymore!” Are you willing to stand? Are you willing to stand together until we have seen this through?

"I do not understand the things I do. I do not do what I want to do, and I do the things I hate…What a miserable man I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death? I thank God for saving me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” –Romans 7:15 & 24-25

As I scribe my first online Resurrection Week missive I’m also baking some fish sticks for my kiddoes, and myself. So if I have to take a minute to tend to dinner, I’m sure you’ll understand.

I must say that I’m looking forward to waking up Resurrection morning and making eggs, sausage, and biscuits for the family. OK, its time to scrap my plans…must have breakfast for dinner! Just kidding, we are sticking with the sticks for tonight.

Tell me, who could really feel depressed on Good Friday?

Maybe a man whose hope seems perpetually deferred? Whose desire is to let go and lay hold yet he is so trapped by the clothing he wears.

It doesn’t feel like Resurrection week to me this year. I’m sure some of it has to do with the week that has found me this year. Disappointment, stress, frustration, anger, fear, failure…and that was just Monday. Just so you’ll know, improvement wasn’t the motif this week!

Or was it? Why do I recognize the darkness I thought I left behind in the rear-view mirror also riding in the backseat of my life. As Mark Hall wrote in the Casting Crowns song ‘East to West’,

The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight

As I look around I see everybody else getting it right while I continue in my shameful floundering. Who is the man I see in the mirror? Where is the joy he once had to face another day? Has he always been this short? When did he get, well, so…ordinary?!

True criticism begins within…or as Jesus said, “First, take the log out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your friend’s eye.”—Matthew 7:5

Suddenly realization hits…is that burning fish sticks I smell? Excuse me a moment while I get dinner on the table…

OK, I’m back! Where was I? Oh yeah, the sudden realization section. Is it just me or is it true for you too? When I’m looking at someone else I can always find an easy comparison…for better or for worse…depending on the mood that I’m in at the moment!

Sin and secrecy seem to stain even the most sterile parts of our lives. Paul wrote, “When I want to do good, evil is there with me.” –Romans 7:21 I promise that is not just my OCD talking.

Have I mentioned that I love the radio station K-Love?

Why is it that the kiddoes’ dinner so often becomes daddy’s after dinner snack?

Do you ever feel like this:

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

…that also happens to be from the song ‘East to West’!

I guess I’m challenging you, and myself, to Resurrection living. Too often we spend this life on Good Friday, pulling Jesus’ bloody corpse from the cross when we should be receiving His resurrected glory from the grave.

It’s too easy to bath in our shame, sadness and disappointment instead of grappling with the concepts of faith, hope and love that should be the hallmark of our new life.

Did I mention that I train in Jiu Jitsu (grappling)?

Take some time this weekend and think about how different life would be if we spent more time realizing His glory instead of writhing in our shame.

Man, I only got one stinkin’ fish stick! Oh well, guess I blessed to have leftovers from my lovely wife’s cooking!

Awesome and gruesome, such are the mixed emotions of someone, like me, whose brother and cousin both serve in our armed forces. Awesome because of the honor they are bringing to their family and country. Gruesome because of how dangerous the voyage to honor can sometimes be.

Our family has served in wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. My cousin is now serving in Afghanistan and my brother is headed there in October.

So please forgive my angst at Obama’s speech in France this week. Americans are arrogant! While he attempted to temper his comments by also calling out the “Anti-Americanism” of Europe, such does little to blunt the blow struck by his prior comment.

I guess it was arrogance that led America into World War II after thousands died in the sneak attack of Pearl Harbor left 2,403 Americans dead.

I guess it was arrogance that led America to recognize the German threat and side with the Allies against them.

I guess it was arrogance that led America to storm the beach at Normandy leaving the lives of thousands of our young men…brother, cousins, fathers, grandfathers…on French soil.

I guess it was arrogance that led America and the allies to beat back the Axis forces of Germany, Italy and Japan when we only really had a beef with Japan.

I guess it was arrogance that led America into the Cold War that saw the downfall, for a time, of Communism in the then Soviet Union.

I guess it was arrogance that led America into a global war against Islamic terrorists after they blew up the twin towers killing nearly 3,000 civilians even if she had to stand alone.