On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 10:17 AM, MJ <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > *"In 1776, few imagined or looked to a future of central banks, massive > national standing armies, or a federal legal system that regulated the > daily lives of Americans down to the most minute details. In fact, had the > typical Revolutionary War soldier been told that such a future awaited his > country, he would have likely gone home immediately, as such a future would > likely appear even worse to him than staying subject to the British Crown’s > benign neglect." *July 4, 2015 > > *Five Laws to Repeal on Independence Day *Ryan McMaken > > Unfortunately, Independence Day has become a day for many to celebrate the > United States government. The actual historical event behind the day, > however the adoption of the Declaration of Independence was an illegal > act of political defiance that led to secession and the overthrow of an > entire system of mercantilist government in North America. > > Moreover, it is quite anachronistic to connect the modern unified > nation-state known as “the United States” to this event, nor does it make > sense to invoke anything having to do with the Constitution of 1787. > > Indeed, as Jeffrey Rogers Hummel has pointed out > <http://www.la-articles.org.uk/FL-5-4-3.pdf>, the Constitution we now > labor under represents a counter-revolution against the Spirit of 1776. The > Spirit of *1787*, in contrast, was about taking what the Declaration of > Independence repeatedly refers to in the plural as “free and independent > states” and hammering them into one unified state. > > Fortunately, the Federalists the now benighted and so-called “founding > fathers” partially failed and were beaten back by the anti-Federalists > who demanded a Bill of Rights the only *laissez-faire* portion of the > Constitution which temporarily crippled the centralizing efforts of the > Federalists. > > But just as the Constitution itself is contrary to what is celebrated on > Independence Day, we can also look to several Acts of Congress since 1787 > that have perhaps done some of the most damage in undoing what the > revolutionaries had intended. > > > > *The Judiciary Act of 1789 *Unknown to many, the entire federal court > system outside the Supreme Court stems from this one law adopted during the > first session of Congress. At the time, there was fierce opposition from > many in the United States who recognized that a federal system of courts > would allow for the extension of federal law into the allegedly independent > states themselves. The act created the office of the Attorney General and > the appellate system of courts which today allows the Supreme Court to > exercise appellate jurisdiction over pretty much every aspect of life > inside the United States. Without these courts, the Supreme Court would be > limited to its few areas of original jurisdiction. Thus, without the > federal court system, there would be no courts through which to regulate > things such as drug prohibition, marriage, abortion, wages, and the whole > panoply of the modern federal regulatory state. > > > > *The Louisiana Purchase Treaty *Thomas Jefferson announced the signing of > the Louisiana Purchase Treaty on July 4, 1803. Jefferson considered the > Purchase to be a great victory for his un-ironically named “ Empire of > Liberty > <https://www.lewrockwell.com/2006/11/ryan-mcmaken/the-unfortunate-history-of-american-nationalism/>” > scheme in which the United States would spread “liberty” by force across > North America. > > The Louisiana Purchase would have far reaching effects on the entire > nature of the American confederation and on constitutional law. Direct > Congressional control over lands in the west had always been a dream of > nationalists and centralizers, and the Louisiana Purchase gave the US > government access to vast new resources beyond the control of any state. > Defense of these federal lands necessitated an expansion of a federal > military force, and required a much larger apparatus of federal law to > administer the lands. > > Moreover, these new federal lands created the impression for many that the > states were created out of federal lands, instead of federal powers being > granted to the central government by states. The later claim by > anti-secessionists that the federal government created the states, and not > vice versa, owes much to the Louisiana Purchase, and to this day, the > federal government directly controls and owns over 50 percent of the land > in most Western states. > > > > *The Militia Act of 1903 *Prior to the adoption of the Militia Act, the > law was ambiguous about how the federal government could seize control of > state militias for use in the federal government’s wars. Some states > resisted use of their troops in the invasion of Canada during the War of > 1812, for example, and federal politicians faced the onerous task of > convincing state governments to offer up state militias for national > military service. > > Political realities meant that state governments were often more than > happy to oblige of course, but there nevertheless remained the risk that > the states could offer real and meaningful resistance to unpopular wars by > withholding military support. Naturally, this was very inconvenient for the > federal government, so in the name of repelling foreign bogeymen and > enhancing “efficiency,” the armed forces of the United States were unified, > allowing presidents to seize control of state militias whenever they liked. > Today, the militias have been replaced by the adjuncts of the federal > military known as the “National Guard.” > > > > *The Revenue Act of 1913 *In 1913, the US Constitution was amended to > allow Congress to levy personal income taxes. The amendment does not > mandate an income tax, however, so later that year, Congress passed > enabling legislation creating the income tax we know today. Since then, > federal budgets have ballooned, tax burdens have swelled, and it is now > simply accepted that the federal government should be able to examine every > aspect of your financial life to make sure you’re paying “what you owe.” > Financial privacy is now only a distant memory. > > > > *The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 *While the United States had had central > banks before, the Federal Reserve, created in 1913, is by far the most > enduring and most powerful. Over the years, the Fed has become a behemoth > that does everything from regulating the financial system to monetizing the > debt to creating never-ending liquidity for its friends on Wall Street who > thanks to the Fed never have to face the consequences of their bad > investment decisions. In other words, the Fed is a mercantilist’s and crony > capitalist’s dream institution, allowing the wealthy and powerful to > constantly and silently extract wealth from the powerless many who hold US > dollars and are subject to the whims of the too-big-to-fail financial > system. > > > > *What Are We Celebrating? *In 1776, few imagined or looked to a future of > central banks, massive national standing armies, or a federal legal system > that regulated the daily lives of Americans down to the most minute > details. In fact, had the typical Revolutionary War soldier been told that > such a future awaited his country, he would have likely gone home > immediately, as such a future would likely appear even worse to him than > staying subject to the British Crown’s benign neglect. > > Yet, in spite of all of this, nothing can change the fact that America’s > national holiday is founded on an act of treason and secession, and that > the Declaration of Independence was born out of a generation of smugglers > and “criminals” who refused to take orders from a far-more-powerful and > well-armed government. It’s a reality that may yet prove inconvenient for > our government and many others in the future. > > > https://mises.org/library/five-laws-repeal-independence-day > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- brine http://brineb.blogspot.com/ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
