The Power of Article V
Reining in the Runaway Bureaucracy
By Brian Harris
The largest employer in America is the United States government, and it pays its workers, on average, $25k more per year than private citizens earn. The average American worker earned a salary of $51,168 in 2021. The average federal government employee salary in 2020 was $76,667. As of the same year, there were over 2.8 million federal employees spread across 732 agencies. Not only do federal workers earn more than their private citizen counterparts - they also have more generous retirement benefits. The size and scope of the federal workforce results in retirement payment obligations of over $90 billion annually. Shockingly, (maybe not) the federal retirement system has nearly a trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities. This reality is a far cry from the vision of our founding fathers.
Thomas Jefferson envisioned a simple and inexpensive federal government. He opined that “The true theory of our constitution is surely the wisest and best, that the states are independent as to everything within themselves, & united as to everything respecting foreign nations. Let the general government be reduced to foreign concerns only, and let our affairs be disentangled from those of all other nations, except as to commerce, which the merchants will manage the better, the more they are left free to manage for themselves, and our general government may be reduced to a very simple organization, & a very unexpensive one; a few plain duties to be performed by a few servants.” (Emphasis added)
The founders were also of the belief, as identified by Samuel Adams, that the qualities for holders of “any office of power” should be wisdom and virtue. Benjamin Franklin went on to warn his colleagues at the Constitutional Convention what would happen if our positions of honor (federal service) became places of profit.
“Sir, there are two passions which have a powerful influence in the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power and the love of money. Separately, each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but when united in view of the same object, they have in many minds the most violent effects. Place before the eyes of such men a post of honor, that shall at the same time be a place of profit, and they will move heaven and earth to obtain it. The vast number of such places it is that renders the British government so tempestuous. The struggles for them are the true source of all those factions which are perpetually dividing the nation, distracting its councils, hurrying it sometimes into fruitless and mischievous wars, and often compelling a submission to dishonorable terms of peace.”
Wow! Dr. Franklin just gave us a lot to ponder. Are we a divided nation today? Does the federal government seem distracted or off course today? Have we been involved in mischievous and fruitless wars? Have we submitted to dishonorable terms of peace? Each of those boxes can be checked in our time.
Freedom from the Press
By Jim MacDonald
Among other rights, the first amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits Congress from abridging the freedom of the press.
The Founders had great disdain for a centralized government over the people because they understood the drive for power instilled in man. They knew any authority given to man over another man must be corralled and controlled, or inevitably it would extend beyond its bounds and influence.
Understandably, the Founders felt the freedom of the press was vital because they listed it among such rights as the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom to gather and petition the government.
So, why would these men place such high value on the freedom of the press? Their knowledge of human nature produced fear in a strong centralized government. Their objective was to provide just enough authority to protect the people and not one “enumerated power” more. And if an honest press kept the sovereign people informed, the national government would be less likely to usurp power from the people.
What does the freedom of the press mean?
Let’s look at the definition the Founders’ understood from Noah Webster’s dictionary, first published in 1828. The meaning of the “press:”
- The art or business of printing and publishing. A free press is a great blessing to a free people; a licentious press is a curse to society.
- Liberty of the press, in civil policy, is the free right of publishing books, pamphlets, or papers without previous restraint; or the unrestrained right which every citizen enjoys of publishing his thoughts and opinions, subject only to punishment for publishing what is pernicious to morals or to the peace of the state.
What did Webster mean by pernicious and licentious?
- Pernicious: destructive; having the quality of killing, destroying or injuring; very injurious or mischievous.
- Licentious: indulging freedom to excess; unrestrained by law or morality; Exceeding the limits of the law or propriety wanton; unrestrained.
We live in a time when information is power. The control of information can lead a person to a pernicious lifestyle if not for a strong moral character—and unrestrained will lead to licentious dealings.
Freedom and liberty cannot survive, and a free world will come crashing down when the flow of information is tainted or perverse.
Unfortunately, the press (media) has become a corrupt government enabler. They seek to destroy any business or individual that did or could shine a light on the progressive Marxist schemes. They attack the wealth-producing companies or individuals who don’t comply with their narrative to transfer their wealth to the non-producing entity or progressive fatcat elitist. The media’s megaphone allows them to claim that the victim (the successful business) is, in reality, the perpetrator or crook, and the progressive favored entity is the actual victim.
Essentially, the Marxist left will perpetuate their scheme, then turn around and blame the right—and the media will capitulate and say: “move along, there’s nothing to see here.” They go along with the schemes, such as the Trump Russian Collusion. Or ignoring the story altogether as President Biden’s (Hunter Biden) missteps or not even reporting on the opposite side of the vaccine story.
“By Your Leave” Three Words That Drove the Colonists to the New World
By Marcy Brooks
I am an explorer, and I come by it, honestly. My great x5 grandfather was the second pastor in 1615 Jamestown, VA. My other great x5 grandfather, also in Jamestown, was a plantation owner who tried to warn the colonists of the coming Indian attack. It’s a long, wonderful story, but it encourages me to keep chasing the wonders out there and gives me a deep patriotic perspective.
One day, I was driving around and found an old shack out in the woods. It was made of logs, but not the huge, hand-hewn ones; they were fairly small, and the house was small. It was in deterioration now but still standing. I parked the car and walked around, using my imagination and picturing the family that possibly lived there. Since the cabin was so old, I could easily imagine some of our early Tennessee settlers built it. Greeneville is the second oldest town in Tennessee and filled with history, so it’s not difficult to connect to the people who settled here.
However, as I walked around the cabin, noting the size and style, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why would anyone leave the comfort of living in the East to come to this wilderness?” A quote from “Last of the Mohicans instantly came to me.”
In the movie, there are two instances where a certain phrase is used. The first one is by Hawkeye: When asked why people would risk the wilderness, this was his answer:
“After seven years indentured service in Virginia, they headed out here ’cause the frontier’s the only land available to poor people. Out here, they’re beholden to none. Not living by another’s leave.”
Later, in a discussion between Duncan, the officer who plays the nemesis to Hawkeye, and Cora, the woman he desires to marry, the phrase shows up again.
Duncan: “And who empowered these colonials to pass judgment on England’s policies, and to come and go without so much as a “by your leave?”
Cora Munro: They do not live their lives “by your leave!” They hack it out of the wilderness with their own two hands, bearing their children along the way!”
I found the following definitions/explanations of “by your leave” on the internet:
“By your leave might be said by an inferior person (by status or military rank) when making a request to a superior to do something. In modern-day language, it is equivalent to (I will do the thing) ‘with your permission.’”
“Nevertheless, unlike that nautical expression, which was probably the invention of a landlubber author, ‘by your leave’ is an authentic medieval colloquial phrase. It derives simply from the medieval meaning of ‘leave’, that is, ‘permission’. To ‘ask leave’ of someone wasn’t to request to depart their presence but to ask permission ...”
Now, think about our lives in America and how “by your leave” has permeated our society. If you replace “leave” with “permission” or “permit,” think of how many things you do every day for which you must receive permission: a driver’s license, a license plate, putting a water heater in your house, opening a coffee shop, getting onto the internet, carrying a gun, buying certain medications, building a deck onto your home, taking a lunch break at work, etc. As you can see, I could go on and on. We are regulated more than we’re aware of because it has happened so gradually. Even though our rights were God-given, we have to earn them back or fight for them once we give them away.
Isn’t it time to take our lives back and get rid of federal bureaucracies with their regulations and mandates? There is a direct correlation between responsibility and freedom or privilege. Every time we relinquish some level of responsibility, we also give away an equal amount of freedom. It won’t be easy, but as Thomas Paine said, “Heaven knows how to put a high price upon its goods, and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.” It’s time to take responsibility for our lives again and earn the right to live without “so much as a ‘by your leave.”
Tennessee is on the move...
Patriots from Ashland City, TN
Patriots from Bristol, VA
Patriots from Farragut, TN
Patriots from Greeneville, TN
Patriots from Johnson City, TN
Patriots from Knoxville, TN
Patriots from Sevierville, TN
Patriots from Shelbyville, TN
Patriots from Williamson County
Upcoming Events
Bristol, VA. Saturday, March 5th at Perkins Restaurant at 9:30 a.m.
Greeneville, TN. Saturday, March 12th at Catalyst Coffee Shop at 11:00 a.m.
Johnson City, TN. Saturday, March 12th at the V.A. at 1:30 p.m.
Sevierville, TN. Saturday, March 19th at King Family Library at 9:30 a.m.
Knoxville, TN. Saturday, March 19th at Cedar Springs Christian Store at 1:00 p.m.
Germantown, TN. Thursday, March 3 at Germantown Public Library at 6 p.m.
Gallatin, TN. Saturday, March 12, at the Gallatin Public Library at 10:00 a.m.
Ashland City, TN. Saturday, March 19, at the Bearwallow Church of Christ at 3:00 p.m.
Clarksville, TN. Saturday, March 26, at the Clarksville-Montgomery Library at 1:30 p.m.
BattleCry
Join Mark Meckler for the BattleCry every Sunday night at 8:00 EST on Facebook or Rumble
Biblical Citizenship in Modern America Class
Every Monday through March 7th. They will take a week or two off and start back with another 8-week class.
