This is not a partisan issue. Politicians and Presidential Administrations from both sides of the aisle have greatly increased the infringements on our liberties.
It is time to counterattack.
Key features of this counterattack include these:
1) This counterattack must be peaceful and lawful. The time may come when things become violent, but let out-of-control federal authorities begin the violence, and let this happen despite the best, most honest efforts of the American people to fix this country's problems peacefully and lawfully.
2) The counterattack needs to be something Americans can do by themselves and in small groups, especially in informal, ad-hoc groups. Americans are their own leaders, and do not need some big, bureaucratic political party or political action committee to save them from a big, bureaucratic federal government.
Target: The Transportation Security Administration
The TSA presents a clear and present danger to our liberty, so we might as well begin with it.
The TSA is veering farther and farther outside the boundaries of legitimate, Constitutional conduct. Every day we hear new stories of TSA personnel committing crimes and violating our rights under the color of authority. Contrast these daily stories of TSA excesses with our rights under the Fourth Amendment:
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.
Here is a list of specific, actionable things anyone can do to begin this counterattack:
1) Contact President Obama (Note: use of the title "President" with Obama's name does not constitute acknowledgement that Mr. Obama lawfully occupies the office of President of the United States; use of this title merely acknowledges that he is acting in that role, whether Constitutionally or not).
Specifically, feedback to the White House can be made in accordance with guidelines and via addresses accessible from the White House contact page. Let Mr. Obama know that the TSA, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, is part of the Executive Branch of government, as outlined in Article II of our Constitution and that, ultimately, Mr. Obama will be held legally responsible for the excesses of TSA employees. Point out that these excesses represent a pattern of conduct; they are, specifically, "a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object" and their pattern "evinces a design to reduce [the American people] under absolute Despotism".
We will work to remove Mr. Obama from our White House. What is negotiable at this point is the question of how many crimes he will be prosecuted for. If he will exercise his power to end the TSA's violation of our rights, then we will consider an amnesty regarding crimes in this category.
It is important to keep in mind that an amnesty does not mean Mr. Obama will go free. It means that prosecutors representing the American people will consider any extenuating circumstances while deciding what charges to press and what punishments to seek. The more he does to end the unlawful oppressions of TSA personnel, the more consideration Obama will be given as we consider, in court, Obama's culpability.
2) Contact the Department of Homeland Security and let Secretary Janet Napolitano know that we will work to remove her from office, and we will work to hold her accountable for violations of our rights. Remind her that a defense in court that she was "just following orders" will not be adequate. Point out that if she immediately begins to rein in her TSA personnel, amnesty in her case will be considered, proportional to the extent with which she begins to reverse unconstitutional actions taken by her subordinates.
3) Contact the TSA itself. There is a contact page, which specifically allows for input regarding civil rights violations. Also, familiarize yourself with the TSA's senior management. Together with the routing information on the contact page, you can send letters to specific senior managers in the TSA. Make sure they understand that their organization is committing crimes as part of official policy. Consequently, following the precedents of the SS in the wake of World War II, all TSA personnel can be held to some degree accountable for the actions of what will surely be found to be a criminal organization. Mere membership in the TSA is at least suspicious; as senior management, these people are aware of the crimes. Ask them what they are doing to stop the crimes being committed under color of authority. Make sure they understand that persistence on the TSA's present course of action nearly guarantees them a prison term at some point, whereas efforts to acknowledge and correct the problems they have, efforts made immediately and with great zeal, will mitigate their situation.
The above people can be removed from office by Congress. Congress has the power to impeach not only the President, but other officeholders as well. This is spelled out in Article I of our Constitution.
And this brings us to our Legislative and then Judicial Branches.
4) Contact your Congressional Representatives. It is simple to figure out who your representative is: merely go to the House Website and type in your zip code. Alternatively, if you know what Congressional district you are in, you can go to the list of representatives. Let your representative know that you are unhappy with the TSA. Your representative needs to cut funding for the TSA, and introduce articles of impeachment against Obama, Napolitano and other officeholders. Your representatives need to understand that we will be removing some of them from office, whether or not they fight the TSA. But, what happens afterward is still negotiable. They are going to want their Congressional pensions; they will seek other elected offices; they will work in the business world after they leave Congress. For all these things, they will need the good will of the American people, and without our good will, pensions, votes and clients for their business activities might evaporate; they can become persona non grata to the American people, and any business activity with which they are associated can be boycotted. Warn them to do their job, or they will see how fast they can become so many walking stink magnets.
5) Contact your Senators. You can find out who they are from the Senate Webpage and from the Senate's List of Senators. Let them know they need to cut off funding for these violations of our rights, and that they need to vote in favor of impeaching Obama and his minions. Explain to them how our dissatisfaction with them will manifest itself if they fail to do so (loss of votes, loss of customers for any business with which they are associated once they leave the Senate, etc).
6) Any federal judge who rules that the TSA's activities are Constitutional needs to be removed by impeachment. Get the judge's name and the specifics of the ruling, then advertise the problem. Make sure your Representative knows that articles of impeachment are in order, and that your Senators understand which way they need to vote on the impeachment.
Farther down in the Executive Branch:
7) Consider contacting your FBI Field Office. Point out that, as federal agents, their duty is to protect your rights under the Constitution. Explain how the TSA routinely violates these rights, committing sexual assualt, theft and other crimes under color of federal authority. Keep in mind that, while there is a tremendous amount of corruption among the senior leadership and in the Washington area, the field agents tend to be hard-working and honest, and perhaps even still idealistic. There may not be much that they can do, as any actions they undertake will probably be undercut by higher-ups (such as our Attorney General Eric Holder, who likes to arm Mexican drug cartels), but remind our lower-level FBI agents of their duty. Most of them would risk their lives for America; let's see how many will risk their careers. And, perhaps this investment will pay off as honest agents get promoted in coming years.
Transitioning from federal to state government, we continue:
Contact your governors and state officers. You can find out who they are by visiting Politics 1. Specifically, go to the page for governors and statewide candidates, and from there click on your state. You will see links to official websites of state legislatures and governors' administrations, as well as to the campaign websites for candidates for statewide offices.
8) Contact your governor. Remind the governor that it is the duty of the states and their political subdivisions to provide equal protection under the law to all the states' citizens, per our Fourteenth Amendment:
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Let your governor know that federal authorities, in this case TSA personnel, are out-of-control and are committing crimes under color of federal authority. It is the legal responsibility of state law enforcement authorities to arrest TSA personnel for their thefts, sexual assaults and methodical, warrantless searches and seizures. Your governor needs to understand that state law enforcement personnel should in no way be collaborating with illegitimate activities of TSA personnel, such as establishing checkpoints for systematic and warrantless searches and seizures along roadways.
If the Obama regime wants to play hardball, and threatens to make your state a no-fly zone because the governor refuses to allow TSA personnel to abuse decent, law-abiding citizens, remind the governor that intrastate travel is off-limits to federal authorities, and that federal authorities are Constitutionally prohibited from interfering with interstate travel. Interstate commerce can be regulated in manners other than gate-raping and porno-scanning innocent travelers. If Obama threatens to shoot down passenger aircraft that take off without his FAA's approval, state governors can mobilize Air National Guard fighters to escort those civilian aircraft safely to the border of their individual states, and Army National Guard air defense units on the ground can supplement the state's ability to target any federal fighter aircraft threatening a passenger jet; should that federal fighter open fire on a passenger plane, it, in turn, will be fired upon by aircraft and air defense systems loyal to state authorities and to the US Constitution.
As some added thoughts in this category, I should like to point out that the Constitutional crisis is already upon us. The question is, how are we going to respond? Also, during America's first Civil War, President Lincoln was determined to preserve our Union. Slavery was an abomination, and the Republican Party was formed to abolish it, but the war was actually sparked over states' rights issues, with rebel forces firing the first shot at Fort Sumter. To me, another question presents itself: Were Lincoln physically among the American people today, what would be his thoughts? I can't imagine he would be in favor of saving the Union at the cost of our Constitutional form of government. Rather, I think he would be on the side of our Constitution, hoping to preserve it against an out-of-control federal government. I also think he would insist that those Americans who seek to support our Constitution against domestic enemies in the halls of power in Washington move forward with peaceful, legal means, and only resort to armed force in self-defense, leaving it to the federal authorities to fire first. In the winter of 1860-1861, rebel states seceded, then fired the first shot at Fort Sumter. We are neither seceding, nor firing the first shot.
9) Contact your state legislators and candidates for state legislative offices. State legislatures should pass resolutions calling upon the US Representatives and Senators from their states to cut off funding for TSA activities and to impeach federal officers who are violating our laws. Legislatures should also resolve to call upon the governor to stand up to federal authorities who are violating our federal Constitution, and to call upon local law enforcement personnel to arrest TSA personnel who are committing crimes under the color of authority.
10) Contact your local mayor, and have the mayor direct municipal police to take TSA personnel into custody when those TSA personnel violate our rights and commit crimes. Contact your city council, and have them pass resolutions calling upon the mayor to do this. Contact your local sheriff, and have the sheriff arrest TSA personnel who execute unlawful searches and seizures and who otherwise violate our rights. Remind local law enforcement authorities that it is their duty under our Fourteenth Amendment to protect our Constitutional rights.
Other things you can do:
11) If you have to travel by air, get to the airport early. Depending upon your stomach for confrontation and your willingness to be unlawfully detained, you can choose to not cooperate with anything you deem to be excessive or a violation of your rights. While standing in line, talk to the people around you. Find someone you can pair up with, and if TSA personnel want to conduct an intimate search of you, insist that this person witness the activity. Exchange contact information with this person, make some notes about what happened and how, and get the name and identifying data of the TSA personnel who are searching you. File charges against this TSA person, and have your airport companion offer to be a witness in court.
12) Take pictures of your TSA handler. Your TSA handler is an official government employee in a public place performing official duties, so take a photo of that person, and then exercise your First Amendment right to write about the incident at a blog or on Facebook or wherever you hang out online. Let everyone know who this TSA employee was and how this government employee treated you. Have others in line take pictures of this employee for you. If someone who is not traveling with you can accompany you to the airport, have that person film, photograph or otherwise record your experience. Make sure your TSA handler knows that violations of the law will be prosecuted. Sooner or later, justice will be done, and their uniforms and their orders will not protect them from justice any more than uniforms and orders protected Nazi officials and SS men decades ago.
Please keep in mind that most TSA personnel are trying to be decent, law-abiding Americans, and are trying to ensure our safety. Most of them are being misled and victimized by those in power in Washington. When TSA personnel deliberately make an informed decision to abuse their power and violate our rights, that is when they cross a moral line, and deserve far less consideration; until then, help them see the error of their ways, and warn them of what will happen if they insist on conducting themselves in a criminal manner.
Other resources to determine who your government officials are include links at Common Cause and at USA.gov.
From our Declaration of Independence:
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
