If Voting Isn't the Answer, What Is?

Last Saturday, while tending a booth at the Sensible Mountain Preparedness Seminar, I wore my America's Remedy "Voting IS NOT the answer" t-shirt. As is usually the case with this t-shirt, I was asked the following question on more than one occasion: "If voting isn't the answer, what is?"

It isn't too surprising to get such a question. After all, most people today believe that the only way to fight for anything in this country is to get someone elected to office. And in a time of such economic and moral chaos, now is the time to vote, vote, vote....right?

So how do I respond to this question. Well, I'll tell you what I told every person who asked me. The answer is... rather than "requesting rights" from a man or woman whom we elect to office, we should realize that our rights are God given and inherent, and assert them! We don't need to "change" the laws, but should begin determining the constitutionality of those laws which are so enforced. We owe no allegiance or obedience to laws which defy the Constitution. In fact, it is actually our duty to disobey laws which violate it.

To me, it now seems incredibly simple and obvious. This is the way the system was designed! Electing an individual isn't going to "change" anything except perhaps the point at which we reach total annihilation. Who has more power to change things -- one guy in office trying to represent everyone's point of view, or 300,000 bold state citizens who are asserting their right to lawful, constitutional government?

If people want to turn this country around, we're going to have to take responsibility for this rapid decline and actually DO what is right, rather than first asking legislators for permission. The mainstream misleadia uses the term "lawmakers" to describe politicians. WE THE PEOPLE are the lawmakers! We have to realize this. Fear, complacency, apathy, these all stand in our way. If we know what type of government that we want, then why do we continue participating in one which has overthrown the government which was put in place by our founders? It's easy. It's convenient. But is it RIGHT? Did our founders sound like folks who would have just "settled" for voting? Was our independence won in a voting booth? No. Voting is not the answer. Never has been and never will be. We must do as the founders did and assert our right to lawful, constitutional, provable government.

If you agree with this concept and want to spread the word, boy do I have great news for you! You can buy your own "Voting IS NOT the answer" t-shirt right here! Better yet, if you not only agree but would like to better educate yourself and others about rights, the Constitution, citizenship, and states' rights, contact myself or John Ainsworth to schedule a short 2-hour presentation in YOUR area. Get a group of friends together and make a day of it! I PROMISE that you'll learn something you didn't know before.

Voter's Registration Cancelled

Back in June of 2010, I became a state citizen. A while back I learned of some shocking historical facts about our country. These facts tell me the following:

1. This country is not broken. It has been overthrown.

2. A U.S. citizen has but one right: the right to reside. A U.S. citizen is NOT a party to the Bill of Rights (whether you think you are or not).

3. Because of Constitutional violations dating back to the time of the Civil War, a person who participates, votes, or otherwise supports the current de facto government in any way is actively supporting the overthrow of lawful state governments.

A person who votes or participates in more than one body politic is fraudulent and dishonest. So after much delay, today I am sending in an official cancellation letter, requesting that my voter's registration through the North Carolina State Board of Elections be cancelled, and receipt of this cancellation be mailed to me in return. Even though I have not voted in that government in quite a while, and my loyalty to our Republic has for a long time been steadfast, this long overdue letter will be yet another firm legal indicator of my oath of citizenship. Here is the text of the letter.

June 7, 2011

North Carolina State Board of Elections
PO Box 27255
Raleigh, NC 27611-7255

RE: Voter’s Registration Cancellation -- Receipt Requested

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing in regards to the voter registration currently listed in your system as account number xxxxxxxxxxx and listed under the name xxxxx xxxxx.

Based upon my recently acquired knowledge as detailed below, I would like to formally request that this voter registration account be cancelled and removed from your system, along with my name and any associated personal information. I would also like to request receipt and/or proof of cancellation and removal, in writing, to be mailed to xxxx xxxxxxx Rd., xxxxxxx, xx xxxxx.

Through a study of history, I recently discovered that there are two separate body politics currently operating within the territorial boundaries of the state of North Carolina. The first state called North Carolina entered the American Union as the 12th state on November 21, 1789. The second state called North Carolina purportedly entered as the 39th state on June 25, 1868. This second state (the seal of which is being used by your organization) entered the Union by military order (see attached “Military Order No. 120”). This was after Reconstruction. During this time, actions by the 39th Congress overthrew and in fact annulled that first state two years after the Civil War was over, and a full year after peace had already been declared. Contrary to what I was originally taught, I have learned the little known history that the object of the Civil War at the time, and according to the 37th Congress, was about defending and maintaining the “dignity, equality and rights of the several states unimpaired” (see attached “Congressional Globe: Object of the War”). However, it has become obvious to me that the original object of the war is at total opposition with its actual outcome! A brief overview of this sequence of events is as follows:

• 1865 - Confederate Army surrenders to overwhelming opposition.
• 1865 & 1866 - North Carolina is considered back in the Union to the degree that they participate in the amending of the National Constitution abolishing slavery.
• 1866 - Peace is declared
• March 2, 1867 - With the Reconstruction Acts, Congress changes the object of the war two years after the war is over and one year after peace is declared.

Reconstruction also resulted in the 14th Amendment. I’ve discovered that this is the only congressionally coerced Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in our entire American history. Section five of the Reconstruction Acts stated that states would not be entitled to representation in Congress unless they first adopted the 14th Amendment AND only if the 14th Amendment became part of the Constitution of the United States. This nationalized citizenship, making all Americans subject to Washington, rather than to local self-government. With these facts and many others which I have learned, I must, from this point forward, truly consider the unconstitutionality of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 and 1868, which purportedly put this new body politic into place which calls itself North Carolina. These blatant violations are numerous, and cannot be ignored:

Constitutional Violations of Reconstruction

Article 3, Section 3 of the Constitution states that “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort...” The 39th Congress’ defiance of the original object of the War was in fact a new war upon the States, our founding principles and the Constitution. Reconstruction and its maintenance, therefore is nothing less than statutized treason.

Article 4, Section 3, Clause 1 states that “...no new states shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state...” As has been explained above, a new state called North Carolina was erected within the same jurisdiction as the old state, while the original body politic was still lawfully operating.

Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution states that, “No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed". The constitution of every State also expressly forbids bills of attainder. A bill of attainder is an act of a legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a judicial trial. In total violation of this concept, section 5 of the first Reconstruction Act stated that all who participated in the rebellion were to be disfranchised.

Article 4 states, “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion;...” When Congress changed the body politic, putting the new state in place, this was NOT guaranteeing a republican form of government to the community of free citizens of the original state.

Article 5 of the Constitution states, “The Congress,...shall propose amendments to this Constitution,...provided that ...no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.” In contradiction to Article 5, the original state called North-Carolina was not allowed to vote in the U.S. Senate during the proposal of the 14th Amendment. The first Reconstruction Act, Section 5 says that a state would not be entitled to representation in Congress (which is what makes it a state), unless that state first adopted the 14th Amendment. This begs the question, if this original North-Carolina was not a state, then how could it pass an amendment?

The 5th Amendment makes these statements, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime....nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...” The Reconstruction Acts declared an entire body of people to be guilty; not allowing them to have their own form of government unless they first adopted the 14th Amendment. This is a total violation of the due process law that is represented in this 5th Amendment.

I have attached a copy of my Affidavit of Citizenship and Domicile, signed and sealed June 12th, 2010, which clearly shows my legal and lawful status as a citizen of the State of North-Carolina American Republic, the twelfth of the original thirteen states to enter the American Union, and as re-established on December 1, 1997.

According to your voting requirements as listed at the website located at http://www.sboe.state.nc.us, U.S. citizenship is a requirement that must be met in order for one to register and vote in your state. Due to the facts which I have stated, along with my actions taken to reclaim my original state citizenship status, it would appear that I no longer meet this requirement. Furthermore, due to these Constitutional violations which I have listed, I can find no lawful origin or past pedigree for your state or body politic. Therefore, I kindly request that my voter’s registration be cancelled, my name and any additional information removed from your system, and that receipt and/or proof of this removal be mailed to the address listed above.

Sincerely,

Cliff Muncy

Government Shutdowns? Great!

For good reason, my wife and I don't have cable, dish, or over-the-air television. We don't watch the news and we don't take the newspaper. Usually when something major goes down, we hear about it from friends, or we may see it on the internet or sometimes on Facebook.

Here recently we've been seeing posts about that recent fear of a government shutdown. People are worried about the government delaying various social programs and of course we've seen plenty about military payment delays and pay cuts. Now, don't get me wrong. I feel for those people. A slow decline of government services would be far preferable to an immediate halt. However, the fact that this country's "cancer" has grown so large that we are finally forced to recognize it? That's fantastic!

There are gobs of posts on Facebook with people who are just furious that the military might not get paid to fight all these wars the government has decided to engage in. Again, I feel for the families who have this fear. And I also don't believe you should just cut someone's pay 'cold turkey' without some sort of extended notice. But has anyone actually stopped to consider what we're doing in these other countries anyway??

We have now been in a permanent state of national emergency for over 140 years. Today we have standing armies. Rather than protecting our borders, the de facto government has decided to use military power to police the world. Eisenhower warned about the Military Industrial Complex back in the 60's. Our motto today is "to spread Democracy", even though we were originally founded as a Constitutional Republic. Our own country has been overthrown, is totally broke, in debt, and is ruled by tyrants, thieves, and perverts -- and we want to use our "power" to "help" our neighboring countries? Are we even listening to ourselves here?

Yes, I DO feel for these military families. I feel for them because they have all been duped. They've been duped into believing that their beloved husbands, brothers, and sisters have been hired by an honest and upright employer who has their best interests in mind. They have been told by propaganda left and right that military jobs are "cool". So many I see signing up with this military machine are young guys, with little drive, who just don't know what else to do with their lives. The government sees these boys as fodder to brainwash with the "coolness factor" and then puts them into a situation that requires self-sacrifice, all for the purpose of building a global empire, ruled by the elite.

This de facto government will eventually shut down for good. It may not be soon. But it will happen. And when it does, we don't want anarchy. We need to already be exercising our rights to lawful, provable state governments. Remember, we as state citizens created the Federal government to be an entity limited and bound by the chains of the Constitution! By its very design, it is to be our servant, not our master.

Shutdown Defined

Just for fun, I looked up "government shutdown" in Wikipedia. It defines it as,

"a government shutdown is when the government stops providing all but 'essential' services."

This begs the question, "what is essential?" Well, based upon what I just stated about the origins of lawful government, the Federal government has certain tasks delegated to it, by the states, through the Constitution. The responsibilities and limitations as defined by the Constitution are indeed the "essentials". And yet, it is the very return to these essentials that we fear??

Government de facto: A government of fact. A government actually exercising power and control, as opposed to the true and lawful government; a government not established according to the constitution of the nation, or not lawfully entitled to recognition or supremacy, but which has nevertheless supplanted or displaced the government de jure. A government deemed unlawful, or deemed wrongful or unjust, which, nevertheless, receives presently habitual obedience from the bulk of the community.

--Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition

This government is NOT my lawful government. But many people in this country recognize it as their own. That is the very definition of 'de facto.' For those people feeding at the Federal trough, a shutdown would be quite painful. So what is the solution?

The solution is NOT provided to us by "our representatives" or "our congressmen". The solution can only be provided by the fourth branch of government -- THE PEOPLE! We feed this monster by depending on its services and giving it allegiance. Self-reliance, independence, freedom, liberty, creativity, personal responsibility, morality, honesty, and sacred honor. These words have been so far removed from our American vocabulary. But getting back to these ideals is the fix to our problems. We should all stop suckling at the teat of this overgrown beast, start exercising our right to lawful, provable state governments, and allow the beast to fall away like a rotting organ. If a shutdown involves getting back to the "essentials", then by all means, pull the plug.

Pastor, Will YOU Take a Stand?

I stumbled upon a random church website recently discussing "The Christian and Government". After reading some of the article written by the pastor of said church, I decided to write an email to the pastor. Churches often use Romans 13 to convince their congregations to submit to anyone showing color of authority. As a Christian patriot, I believe it is our duty to first determine 'who' or 'what' is our lawful authority, prior to giving our allegiance and obedience. It is a scary thing to attend a church that would criticize, place under church discipline, or otherwise abandon or betray one of its own body for taking a stand against unlawful government.

Pastor ******,

I came across your website after a Google search for a verse I was looking for in Romans 13. Upon arriving on this page...

**************

...I continued reading some of your article/sermon that I found there. I am not sure you are aware, but there are quite a few things which aren't taught in school about the current government which is in place today. I myself attended a private school during my childhood, and my wife was home-schooled. Neither of us had ever heard some of the things that we've recently learned during the past two years.

We are both Christians and have studied the relationship between people and government, Biblically, for ourselves. However, we have also studied the law concerning this government. I will give you a few examples of some of the things we have learned. Stay with me, as some of these may sound a bit "looney" if you've never heard them before.

We live in a little town called Tobaccoville in North Carolina. So I'll begin my explanation of some of our studies with the history of this state. Many people do not realize that there are actually TWO states called North Carolina. The first state of North-Carolina (with a dash) was the 12th state to enter the American Union. Then, after Reconstruction, a second state called North Carolina (a new body politic) was forced upon the people of this state. It was, in fact, the 39th state to enter the American union. This second state was put into place by Military Order Number 120, issued by a General Canby of the U.S. military. I have access to archive copies of this order, and you can view it, as well as the surrender letter from then-governor Jonathan Worth, here:

http://ncrepublic.org/lib_militaryorder.php

http://ncrepublic.org/lib_surrenderletter.php

Today, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the coerced passing of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (the only coerced Amendment in our history) are all chalked up to issues of slavery and perhaps states rights. What most people do not realize (among other history factoids that have since become revisionist history) is that the original object of the war, as published by the 37th Congress in the Congressional Globe (below) was NOT to interfere with the institutions of the states (slavery). More people died during during the Civil War than in any other war in the history of the world. And yet, most people do not realize that the original object of the war was literally CHANGED after the war was over; in fact, TWO YEARS after peace had been declared:

Object of the War:

http://ncrepublic.org/lib_surrenderletter.php

Why do I say all of this? Well, first off, I have not even nicked the surface of this study. There are weekend-long seminars that I have attended that still only scratch the surface. I'll recommend more sources for study at the end of this email. However, the main reason for my email is because there were several statements I saw in your sermon/article which got my attention. These statements included information about paying income tax, among other things.

Because of this information I listed above (and the detailed study that I cannot put into one email), the government today is a government de facto. In other words, though it receives obedience from the bulk of the community, this is not the LAWFUL government, and has not been since the Reconstruction Acts. Similar to the example you used in this sentence, "Other nations that came in and conquered various areas were usurpers to the legitimate government," the government recognized by most people today is a usurping government.

As a Christian, I believe it is my duty to understand and uphold the law, so long as it does not conflict with God's laws. Our authority in this country is the Constitution, and more specifically, state Constitutions, as they were prior to Reconstruction. In these constitutions, there is no mention of a 14th Amendment created U.S. Citizen. Only state citizens. The government today is a usurper of the law, to which we owe no allegiance, according to the law. Supreme court case Norton v. Shelby County states the following:

"an unconstitutional act is not a law. It confers no rights. It imposes no duties. It affords no protection. It creates no office. It is in legal contemplation as inoperative as though it had never been passed. Therefore an unconstitutional act purporting to create an office gives no validity to the acts of a person acting under color of its authority."

~Norton v. Shelby County, 6 S.Ct. 1121

Because an unconstitutional law is not a law, we have no obligation to it. In this country, something that is unconstitutional is "as inoperative as though it had never been passed." In other words, in law, it never existed!

You also mentioned in your article:

"The "rebellion" was the legitimate authority re-establishing a proper government"

This past year, (again, this may sound crazy) I became a citizen of my lawful state, as was re-established on December 1, 1997. Of necessity, the state was titled the North-Carolina American Republic. I denounced U.S. Citizenship. I also participate regularly in monthly government meetings. Many state citizens like myself frequently go to court with a challenge of jurisdiction. This challenge of jurisdiction is a legal argument which is taken into court to challenge the jurisdiction of the unconstitutional state which was created by Reconstruction. We do not recognize its creation as lawful or constitutional. In law, if sufficiently challenged with evidence, jurisdiction must first be proven by the court (today, this would be the DA or ADA) before a case can continue. If the state charging you does not have the authority to do so, it is up to us to challenge this, and up to the court to prove it. These are safe guards which are in place to determine the "proper" government.

In order to bring the jurisdictional argument up in court, there must first be a controversy. This is simply how courts work. There are drivers' licenses (and other forms of license and permits), property tax, income tax, and many other things which the state or federal government requires of U.S. Citizens. There are quite a few state citizens who do not carry these things, or abide by these laws, because the authority to require these things does not exist, and is therefore not recognized. This brings us into court. If a government does not have lawful jurisdiction, it cannot legally demand something from you.

As I said, it would be difficult to sum up everything in a single email. However, I do hope that you will do some more studying into this matter. There are a lot of people who go to jail, or get fined, or get into "trouble" with this government who do so based upon the belief that what they are doing is lawful and right. I believe it is our responsibility as Christians to be knowledgeable about what is going on around us; to understand the law and what is lawful. For here on earth, and especially in America, this is the foundation of obeying our true authorities. It is difficult to obey an authority if we do not know who or what it is. Coercion does not create a legal obligation.

Considering the current state of affairs in this country, the chances are increasing that you could get someone like myself visiting and interested in attending regularly, your local body of believers. I hope you will keep these things in mind.

Other resources:

http://www.carolinaliberty.com

http://www.ncrepublic.org

http://www.americasremedy.com

Constitutional Town Hall: John Ainsworth (9-part video):

http://triad.ncfreedom.us/2009/10/constitutional-town-hall-john-ainsworth/

Chuck Baldwin; The Church's Role In Preserving Liberty:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/CB-Milford-OH.html

If you would be interested in reading more or learning more about this, feel free to contact me in the future and I can provide you with more resources. Thank you for your time.

The Pulpit IS Responsible

I received an email recently from the group, NC Tea Party, entitled "CHANGE in our churches". The email lists a number of local churches here in North Carolina who are supporting a 'radical left' group called "CHANGE". While I appreciated NC Tea Party's efforts in creating this list, and I highly recommend you review this list to see if your church might be listed, I also had a few issues with the wording of their message. Here was my reply stating my position when it comes to church participation in the political realm:

NC Tea Party Staff,

Thanks so much for sending out your email concerning churches' involvement with the CHANGE group. I am an avid believer in holding churches accountable for supporting liberty, freedom, and the founding principles of our country.

On this premise, I would like to give some constructive criticism about the formatting of your message. In the following paragraph, you state that "there is no room for ANY political group in our churches." You go on to say, "Any church that knowingly gives money to a political group could be in violation of their tax-exempt status..."

Quoted from NC Tea Party email on 11/30/10:

The NC Tea Party believes that many of these churches are supporting this group without a true understanding of its nature and its political activities. There is no room for ANY political group in our churches, even the Tea Party. Any church that knowingly gives money to a political group could be in violation of their tax-exempt status as CHANGE is a political organization.

My wife and I recently looked up and read IRS forms 1023 and 1024, forms which a church would use to obtain its supposed non-profit status. In these documents the IRS states that:

--------

According to IRS Code § 508(c)(1)(A):

Special rules with respect to section 501(c)(3) organizations.

(a) New organizations must notify secretary that they are applying for recognition of section 501(c)(3)

status.

(c) Exceptions.

(1) Mandatory exceptions. Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to—

(A) churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches.

--------

As you can see, the IRS' has a "mandatory exception" rule. So, even the IRS says that it is completely unnecessary for any church to apply for a tax-exempt status. In their own words, a church is "automatically tax-exempt."

Your statement "Any church that knowingly gives..." first assumes that the church in question is held contract to the terms held in the 501(c)3 status. Without the 501c3 status (which is NOT required to be tax-exempt), a church can be involved politically however they like. This is of course assuming that the church body is composed of state citizens, and not subjugated United States citizens created by Reconstruction. However, the point is that churches are not required to have this 'non-profit' (501c3) status; and if they do not have it, they can indeed be involved politically in whatever fashion they choose. They have waived no rights and have contracted with no person or entity.

Over the past two years, I have seen first hand how it is not the churches' INVOLVEMENT in the freedom movement which has been harmful to the restoration of liberty, but indeed its NON-INVOLVEMENT. I have personally witnessed good, Christian groups concerned about liberty and our God-given rights who have met at church buildings, only to have one or two people from a church of hundreds in attendance at such meetings. I have heard about church members throwing away flyers to events or seminars whose aim was to help us get our country back to its Christian origins. There is a huge number of people in this country today who say that those origins are non-existent; when even a simple glance at our original state constitutions will prove otherwise. I also live about five minutes down the road from King, North Carolina, where a Christian flag was removed from a local park, based upon one person's "being offended" and a blatant mis-interpretation of the First Amendment by the ACLU. My wife wrote a blog about the Christian Flag Controversy, here:

http://tinyurl.com/296nevu

We do NOT need to be prohibiting churches from any sort of political involvement, but rather encouraging them to fight for liberty, as did the original Black Regiment preachers:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/read_blackregiment.html

Again, I really appreciated your email; otherwise I probably wouldn't have said anything. But it was the wording of that single paragraph which I really felt I needed to reply to. Churches should have the freedom to preach what they will, just as you and I have our freedom of speech. Without God, Christianity and a moral people to uphold His laws, this country has little hope for recovery.

"If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it."

~ Rev. Charles Finney

These things being said, I will be re-posting your message on Facebook, blogs, etc., but with a personal footnote, clarifying my stance in regards to the 501(c)3 and the political participation of churches.

Sincerely,

Cliff Muncy

Explaining Liberty to A Jehovah's Witness

I had an interesting visit today with a Jehovah's Witness today that I just have to write about. A short Korean looking lady and a tall black man knocked on my door. Believe it or not, we ended up talking for about an hour and half! It was just a very interesting conversation! Oh how I wish I had had a camera rolling. The conversation started out pretty basic -- with a discussion about sin and "whatever happened to it." I listened quietly as she discussed the topic and pointed out various verses in Romans which discussed sin. I mentioned to her that I was indeed a Christian and that my wife and I attend church together. This of course eventually led her to the question, "So where do you two go to church?"

Ahh, the age old question. I then explained to her that we go to various churches but that we haven't settled on one in particular and are not members anywhere at this time. I then explained that it is difficult today to find a church that teaches some of the deeper Biblical truths and philosophies that we seek. She and her partner seemed interested, so I continued. I then explained that we have not, as of late, been very big participants of the modern day "church membership" philosophy.

"Now this may sound a little kooky to you, but the majorities of churches today are actually corporations."

To my surprise she was actually very receptive to this comment and understood where I was coming from and seemed to agree. At this point, I thought I would throw out a little more truth and mention that most churches are also 501(c)3 organizations as well. This caught her a little off-guard, so I started to explain...

"The problem with churches taking on the 501(c)3 (or non-profit) status is that it is allowing the government to exercise an authority which it does not have. It allows the government to come in and dictate what the church can and cannot preach about."

As the conversation went on, we continued to delve deeper into discussion about the modern day church's lack of involvement with local community, government, and helping people to understand their responsibilities in relation to government.

Much to my surprise, the conversation didn't take the turn to Romans 13 (what many church-goers believe is the "obey the government no matter what" chapter), but rather she began discussing verses in the Bible which she believed indicated that Christians should not be involved in government activities. Her reasoning was that because Satan has such a hold on the world and because sin is so powerful, no matter what we do to ensure that we have a government that abides by God's laws, we will always fail in doing so.

To which I replied...

"I agree that sin is at the bottom of all things evil with our society and our government. But wouldn't that be all the more reason for us as Christians to be involved in that area so that we can be a positive influence and bring good wherever we can?" (I'm reminded that we are to be the light of the world.)

As I continued to talk with the Jehovah's Witness lady about how I believed we should all be involved in various aspects of our society, including government, it seemed along the way to be more of a battle of wits than anything else. She was very kind and soft spoken as was I; but the conversation seemed to go in a loop.

She would tell me how Jesus chose to be a minister rather than being involved in government. I would remind her of Romans 13:4, where the Bible says that the government is actually to be a MINISTER of good. She would tell me that we should concentrate on what affects people's lives together, to teach them Biblical principles. I would remind her of how the public school system (controlled by the government) is a giant indoctrination camp with the absence of morality and no Biblical teaching whatsoever. When discussing gun rights, she said that Jesus told Peter to put away his sword. So I asked her if someone came to her door and threatened her family, what is her first obligation?

There were many memorable parts of the conversation, but one that was particularly interesting was when I proposed a hypothetical scenario with her. Now keep in mind while reading our conversation that I only advocate participation in LAWFUL and constitutional government as we had prior to Reconstruction (NCRepublic.org, AmericasRemedy.com), but I think this would have been even MORE over her head. So I continued with my scenario...

"You've stated that you don't believe it is the job of the Christian to get involved in government. Yet, you have also said that you believe we need laws to govern us. Indulge me for a moment in a hypothetical scenario in which your door to door witnessing is so incredibly effective that every person you meet accepts Christ and eventually the entire world is full of Christians. Now we all know that that's probably not going to happen right?" Her partner chuckled a bit and shook his head. "So if the entire world is full of Christians, none of which believe they should be involved in government, does that then mean that all of us Christians would succeed in governing ourselves?"

To this scenario she stuttered a bit and if memory serves me I believe she eventually said "no" or maybe "well yes and no" (she answered this way a few times). I believe at this point she again went back to sin as being the reason that we should not be involved. She kept repeating that because of sin, we can never have a perfect government.

Many of the situations she brought up with government I would rebut by comparing them to other aspects of life. For example, she said that because of sin we can never have a perfect government -- so therefore we shouldn't get involved with it. She also made some comparisons of Bible characters who failed at abiding by the law, proving the sufficiency of God's grace over works.

I would reply, "I agree that God's grace is more than sufficient to cover ALL of our sins. However, does this mean that perhaps as a parent we should say, 'oh well, God's grace is sufficient, my child will raise himself' -- or perhaps, 'me oh me, because of sin I will NEVER be able to raise my child as good as God could raise my child directly, so what's the use of trying?' In essence my illustration was this -- yes, of course sin causes government corruption. But America still started out with a Christian government and Christian values were the cornerstone of this country. Christian involvement in law making and serving in the government was an essential part of America's history and is in fact part of what made us so prosperous.

Believe it or not, the entire conversation was fairly polite and courteous. I rather enjoyed talking to her, but I still just don't think the message got through. Obviously she knew her stuff and I knew mine pretty good as well. We both agreed on many things, but unfortunately I don't think we agreed on the seriousness, necessity and obligation we all have in taking a stand for liberty, truth and right in this morality-depraved country. We did not agree on the church's (and Christians') need to be more involved in government and the assertion of God-given rights.

I told my wife Sara about this conversation and she was amazed that at the end of this conversation, it was actually the Jehovah's Witnesses who said they had to go. Apparently there is some big joke about how hard it is to get a Jehovah's Witness to leave? That was really not my intention. Nevertheless, the car that was with them had pulled in and out of the driveway several times, going to the surrounding houses and neighborhoods. And the man that was there with the lady speaking to me mentioned that the driver needed to use the bathroom.

As they started walking toward the edge of the sidewalk I said, "Hey guys, I appreciate you coming by and I hope I didn't take up too much of your time. But I would really like to give you a few things before you go if you would wait right here for a moment." I went inside and grabbed a pocket version of the Constitution, a John Ainsworth DVD and one of the little Covenant Wedding booklets Sara and I handed out at our wedding. I took them outside, explained what they were and gave them to the lady. She declined the DVD stating that she wouldn't have time to watch it on her computer and so I told her she could actually play it back on the television. "Oh, well I don't watch much television"..."Well that's okay, we don't even have TV reception!," I replied. Obviously she didn't really want the DVD, so I handed her a marriage booklet. She took it, gave it a glance and mentioned to me that I should read Ephesians for some good stuff on marriage. I told her thank you.

I could tell in the end that they were a little frustrated with me and were ready to go. I apologized once more for taking up so much of their time and told them to have a great day. They said thank you as they quickly got in their car and then drove away.

So was it a futile conversation? Perhaps. But I learned a lot. When it comes to liberty and standing up for the freedoms which men have fought and died for, I've learned not to waiver too much. Why? It is because of those very freedoms that people like the Jehovah's Witness can go door to door in the first place. It is because of that God-given liberty that I keep the fruits of my labor and not waste it on a corrupt, immoral government who refuses to be obedient to God's laws. Our law in this country is the Constitution. It was created by Christian men as an attempt to uphold God's laws and to keep greed, selfishness and the love of money and power from taking over our government and civil servants. It is not just our job, but our DUTY to know it and to keep our servants accountable. After all, if Christians aren't involved in upholding morality and law in society, who will be?

"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon him that doeth evil." -Romans 13:4

"To be a Christian in America and believe that only the spreading of the gospel, without challenging or making accountable the existing leadership, whether Christian or not, is the only way for us to have good leadership, you must first altogether denounce the very fashion in which the remaining freedoms you enjoy were first established." -Cliff Muncy

Volunteerism Bill - Socialism or National Enslavement?

Introducing H.R. 2857, a bill called the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education or "GIVE" Act. It's on it's way to the Senate and it's something you really need to know about.

Wednesday the House of Representatives passed a measure that will cost $6 billion over five years as shown below. Basically your government is telling you that you need to volunteer more in your community to help out with our bad economy. Not only do they want you to volunteer, but they want to take more money out of your paycheck to pay for these efforts. That's right. Long gone are the days of liberty and freedom folks. Either we take a stand now, or well...national enslavement here we come!

Don't want to volunteer? That may not be an option in the future as the government is also considering whether "a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people" should be developed.

(Sec. 2401) Authorizes:
(1) $100 million for the VISTA program for FY2008;
(2) $67.5 million for the RSVP for FY2008;
(3) $115 million for the Foster Grandparent Program for FY2008;
(4) $52 million for the Senior Companion program for FY2008;
(5) $500,000 for DVSA demonstration programs for FY2008; and
(6) $35 million for DVSA administration and coordination activities for FY 2008. Authorizes such sums as may be necessary for these programs and activities for FY2009-FY2012.

Sources:

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h2857/show

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/18/house-readies-passage-volunteerism-critics-pricey-forced-service/

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=92288

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Education is Freedom! Join us this Thursday!
We should be AIMING AT THE ROOTS of our problems. As you can clearly see, the current federal government is one of force and coercion. This is called a "de facto" government. Take a stand for your rights and become a citizen of your original state ("de jur"). Get educated at CarolinaLiberty.com and also visit NCRepublic.org.

Apple Tiramisu

Yanni Performing in Acapulco, Mexico

Yep, my favorite artist, Yanni, is performing soon in Acapulco, Mexico. I hope he comes to the U.S. soon though. Chances are, thanks to our weak immigration laws, we probably have about the same number of Mexicans here as they do there now.

Justin's New Job!

After months of filling out applications all over town, and many weekly follow-ups, we now have results!

On August 30th, my good friend Justin and I attended orientation at Walmart on Summit Square Blvd. (off of University Pkwy). After much paperwork, videos, and well, getting 'oriented,' Justin is now officially a Walmart Cart Pusher! Now that Justin has a job he can begin saving up for his next vehicle and for his future!


It's been a long ride. First we got Justin a truck, then insurance and a license. Now he's got a job! Awesome! I'm proud of what Justin has accomplished. It hasn't been easy, but he's hung in there and made it happen.

If you have a chance to go by Walmart this week, be sure to say hello to Justin. His schedule for the upcoming week is as follows:

9/6/07 2pm-11pm
9/8/07 12pm-9pm
9/11/07 12pm-9pm
9/12/07 2pm-11pm
9/14/07 12pm-9pm


Also, if you'd like to send Justin an email of congratulations, his email is jcline@bluebottle.com

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,
Cliff

Is AT&T the Suckiest?

While using Google today, I was curious to see how many websites I could find that told how much AT&T sucks. While I was at it, I went ahead and looked up a few other cell phone carriers. Just who is the suckiest of them all? See the results below!

Congratulations to our winner! Sprint is, according to Google search results, the suckiest cellular carrier! There are apparently over 1 million websites describing the suckiness of Sprint. Wowzers! AT&T comes in a very close second with over 829,000 results (must be all those "fewest dropped calls"..lol). And once again proving correct the plentious positive testimonials I've received their customers, Alltel is perhaps the least sucky cellular provider out there. You go Alltel! This definitely isn't a "head-to-head" competition I would be proud of winning.

What does the winner of this competition get? Well, nothing. We should give these companies' executives a big kick in the pants for being suck slackers. Instead we'll just provide gobs of links to Alltel for being the least sucky. Visit them at Alltel.com.

Hopper Relaxes

My rabbit, Hopper. Look how he relaxes. So content after humping my brother's shoe. Ah, the joys of being a rabbit.

AT&T Realizes World is Wireless

What is the deal with this recent AT&T advertising? AT&T is wireless. Nah, really? Good for you. The rest of us have been wireless for like 10 years or so. What a waste of advertising space. Just another example of a goofy slogan brought forth by the drunken executives at AT&T.

Video: The History of AT&T

A perfect example of how rediculous all the company buyouts have gotten in recent years.

VIEW VIDEO HERE!

Goofy Slogans

Who in the world is writing these things? 'Radio Shack. Do stuff.' Do stuff? Huh? Doesn't that describe pretty much anything? What does it have to do specifically with cell phones and electronics? Does this mean you can wash your car at Radio Shack? Or perhaps you can go skydiving while you're there. Anyway, you get the picture. Fact is that somebody got paid to come up with 'Do stuff'. Unbelievable.

This isn't the only goofy slogan I've seen lately. Look for more soon to come, right here on my blog.

Cliff. Write stuff.

Legs or Fingers?

Alright folks here's a little test to see if you're paying attention. Is this a picture of legs or fingers? Click below to vote. Good luck!

Legs or Fingers?

	Legs
	Fingers

  Show results

Another AT&T Blunder

Well it appears that the infamous AT&T has goofed once again. And to think I was just saying in my last blog how they have sucky service! What a coincidence!

I just checked the mail, and my cellular bill from AT&T (previously Cingular) was a whopping $753.22! As soon as I had opened the envelope my heart started racing. Where in the world did these charges come from? My bill is usually between $40-$60 here lately, so I thought this was really weird.


As you can see in the image above, my bill shows (among the many other roaming calls that I allegedly made) that on 7/16/07 I made calls from the following areas:

in Jackson, MS at 8:15pm
in Atlanta, GA at 8:20pm
in Jackson, MS at 8:22pm
in Atlanta, GA at 8:25pm
in Jackson, MS at 9:06pm
in Atlanta, GA at 9:11pm

What amazing travelling I did huh?! According to my latest AT&T bill, I repeatedly travelled over 380 miles in under 5 minutes! I knew my Ol' Blue was a fast old 89' Ford Ranger, but that's really something!

I've obviously called AT&T and after keeping me on hold for over half an hour they seem just as confused as I am. They'll be calling me tomorrow after they've had some time to figure out how this happened. And yes, the lady assured me that they'll be refunding the additional $633 (plus tax, fees etc) they charged me for these bogus roaming minutes.

I've Touched an iPhone...nah nah nah nah nah!

Well, I finally got to touch an iPhone this weekend. Jenny and I were running around town shopping and looking at various odds and ends, when I got the crazy idea to go by an AT&T store and see about handling an iPhone. Well what-d-ya-know, there's an AT&T store right there in front of us. How convenient.

Well let me say that the iPhone is very very cool. I'm not quite ready to trade in my Treo 650 for this phone yet as I would like to see them add some more features in it first. But it is very nice. Stop by a store and check one out. AT&T still has sucky service -- I haven't renounced that opinion. But the iPhone (an Apple product of course) rocks!

The Girlfriend Cage

Ever wonder how nice it would be to have a sturdy cage to put your woman in whenever she misbehaves? Well wonder no more! Introducing the Girlfriend Cage! Available now at The Habitat ReStore of Winston-Salem. Call 1-800-LOCKRUP today.

Removing a Bolt

We twisted, we sawed.
We hammered and clawed.
But try as we might,
And we put up a fight,
The bolt it just wouldn't come off!

Well its turned out to be another adventurous weekend with my good (and once in a while a pain) friend Justin. Yes sir! Nothing like a good sweat and a little grease to really get the blood racing.

Justin has been wanting a trailer for a while now to haul trash and things behind his truck (which I've appropriately dubbed the Justinmobile). Well a few days ago we saw an old rusty one here in King. I called the number and the the guy said he'd take $75 for the trailer. I told Justin I'd give him $30 for helping me on the Muncy trailer (in a previous blog entry). So a few more bucks from his mom, and Justin had himself a nice little trailer.

Now here's the problem. The ball on Justin's truck is only like two inches from his bumper. Every time we've tried to hook up a trailer, we have a very hard time with it because the lock on the coupler (the thing on the tongue of the trailer that connects to the truck) scrapes the bumper. It makes it very difficult to hook up a trailer. Also, Justin's trailer doesn't even have a coupler on it currently, so he's going to have to have one welded on there.

So today we took a trip to my Grandma's house to look for a solution in her basement. There's a myriad of trailer parts in her basement that belonged to Grandpa. Well we finally found something that would work. The plan was to simply take a part off of Justin's bumper and put on the new part we found. Sounds simple enough right? Yeah right. As you read in the poem above, it was anything but simple. Even now the part still remains on Justin's truck. I asked Justin to wait until a weekday so we could take it to somebody with the proper tools, but he insisted on continuing our efforts. So we ended up working on this little project until about 9pm or so. Yet the bolt remains. Slightly deformed, yet remaining. Happy Saturday.