Sheriff Mark Gower, Minute Man, Constitutional Guardian

Profiled on OathKeepers.org, Western States Sheriffs Association member Sheriff Mark Gower is a Minute Man in the true sense of the word. A guardian of American's Constitutional Rights, he calls the Federal Government to account for it's encroachments on Liberty.

Oath Keeper Terry Flink shares his thoughts and experiences with Sheriff Gower. The complete article can be found on www.oathkeepers.org:

I posted the following thread on the forum http://www.oathkeepers.net/forum/showthread.php?p=59728#post59728

First, let me give a little background. Sheriff Gower is a humble man who has quietly protected the rights of the citizens of Iron County since 2003. I first met Sheriff Mark Gower at the Oath Keepers conference in Las Vegas in 2009. He spoke about the challenges he was experiencing as a County Sheriff in southern Utah with the overreach of the federal government into his jurisdiction. Specifically the issue was a battle over an endangered prairie dog and private property rights. He came to the conference to share his experiences and he found a group of very supportive and encouraging citizens that would stand with him.

The second time I met Sheriff Gower was at the Freedom Conference in Cedar City in 2010 where he was one of the speakers and used the opportunity to hold a town hall-style meeting. Again, he was soft spoken, but spoke as a staunch advocate of the Constitutional rights of the people and was obviously respected by the people of Iron County. At the end of the conference, several of us Oath Keepers thanked him for his continued support of the Constitution and voiced our continued support for him as the model of what a County Sheriff should be.

LouRiccio+

The Tenth Amendment Center - Active In Georgia Again

I have accepted the position of State Chapter Coordinator for the Georgia Tenth Amendment Center, rejoining the organization actively after a two year hiatus.

The Tenth Amendment Center has facilitated some fantastic leaps in the cause of Liberty and Freedom, while solidifying understanding among Americans of the power of the Tenth Amendment in countering the abuses and expansions of the Federal government.

Federalism, which was constructed in our Constitution, limits the power Washington can wield over the sovereign states by enumerating the specific powers which it is endowed with to run the country. The Tenth Amendment, the last entry of The Bill of Rights, leaves no question as to the intent of federalism and states "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

TAC, The Tenth Amendment Center, works to educate the people, while at the same time develops and introduces proposals of legislation which would help to restore the power of the individual state, and counteract the steady deterioration of the independent state's influence over the entity which was created in The Constitution to serve it and the people.

I am proud and honored to once again be actively engaged in the work of the Tenth Amendment Center as State Chapter Coordinator.

Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor.

The Sacrifices of the People in Our Revolution for Independence. Lest We Forget!

For Freedom and Liberty - A Call For Statesmen

Thomas Jefferson

With the dawning of a new decade, the American People need to reflect on our past greatness, and the restoration of that greatness in the future. As Thomas Jefferson once stated, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance". The political systems in Washington, the States, and our local governments, are infiltrated with those who would deny the people our country’s greatness and its Beacon of Liberty which  has shone throughout the world since America’s founding.

Our country’s forefathers labored extensively to provide the people a government which would not be under the thumb of a central bureaucracy. Yet, since the turn of the 20th century, the elements of socialism, progressivism and Marxism have worked to undermine our own liberties and freedom, while having us concentrate on being the policeman, and caretaker of the world.

Our country has been stolen from us! The People are no longer in control of their government. Special interest lobbyists pad the pockets of hired gun politicians who were placed there by the dollars generated from purchases by the American people. You buy goods, the mega company makes its money and uses it to find their  ”Golden Boy”  politician. They buy a seat in our “republican” government. 

Senators used to be selected by their State's Legislature before the 17th Amendment put them out on the auction block.The respective state's legislative body would appoint their representatives to go to Washington D.C. and be its voice. After the 17th Amendment, they became another resource which could be supported and funded by the special interest groups and mega-corporations. Now dollars can be funneled into the campaigns of those running for senator. They became the voice of the special interest agenda, not an advocate for the needs of the state. These same politicians, once in the seat of power, lay out, propose, and vote in the agendas being paid for by their special interest financiers. The American people, who this so called “statesman” is supposed to represent, is ignored, even though their cries are heard loudly and visually, even on the steps of the Capital in Washington DC.

It is given to us the right, the duty, to call to account those who would bind us in the chains of tyranny. We are to work to identify the individuals, special interests, and lobbyists who are pushing us to be subjugated under the power of an ever increasing central government.

Our call to action is to unite with those who would fight for the cause of Liberty and Freedom by aligning ourselves with  people working to identify and remove the sickness which has corrupted our political system. Let us support statesmen who will represent the People and restore honor to the office. by electing those who would be willing to stand tall against corruption and paid influence. Those who could raise their right hand and swear an oath to uphold the U. S. Constitution and actually do it. Let us get representatives that actually work to fulfill their oath.

For Freedom and Liberty.

Quoting Jefferson again:

 When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

(This article has been revised from a post I had previously made at Redstate.com)

The Pot Calling The Kettle Black?

Lesley Swann, Tennessee State Chapter Coordinator for the Tenth Amendment Center,  in her article "What Would Zorro Do?" discusses the labeling of those who stand for justice and freedoms as criminals by those who have trespassed upon the liberties of others.

By demonizing the freedom fighters, the trespassers draw attention away from their ills.

An excerpt from the article discusses the recent hacking attacks against the U.S. Senate website and Sony's Playstation network:

Last Wednesday the FBI arrested 16 suspected members of the hacking group Anonymous. Their crime? Along with another hacktivist group, LulzSec, they hacked into the U.S. Senate web site, hacked various gaming websites and took down the Sony Playstation Network.

“We want to send a message that chaos on the Internet is unacceptable, [even if] hackers can be believed to have social causes, it’s entirely unacceptable to break into websites and commit unlawful acts,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Steve Chabinsky said after the arrests.

Anonymous and LulzSec released a response to Mr. Chabinsky.:

Now let us be clear here, Mr. Chabinsky, while we understand that you and your colleagues may find breaking into websites unacceptable, let us tell you what WE find unacceptable:

• Governments lying to their citizens and inducing fear and terror to keep them in control by dismantling their freedom piece by piece.

• Corporations aiding and conspiring with said governments while taking advantage at the same time by collecting billions of funds for federal contracts we all know they can’t fulfil.

• Lobby conglomerates who only follow their agenda to push the profits higher, while at the same time being deeply involved in governments around the world with the only goal to infiltrate and corrupt them enough so the status quo will never change.

These governments and corporations are our enemy. And we will continue to fight them, with all methods we have at our disposal, and that certainly includes breaking into their websites and exposing their lies.

They go on further to say, “You see, most people do not behave like bandits if they have no reason to. We become bandits on the Internet because you have forced our hand.”

My question is : At what point is one who is working for "good" determined to be "bad"? The Pot Calling The Kettle Black?

Many who are working to stand for the freedoms and liberties granted by the US Constitution have been demonized and made out to be the "bad" guys. The fact remains that they have chosen to stand against what they see as corruption in government, business, and the system as a whole, and are not willing to back down.

It is interesting that Anonymous went so far as to label them "enemy" as you would name your adversary during wartime.

As for the current battle against our freedoms, many more need be called to arms for engagement in the information war, getting the word out to the citizen voters that we are being deceived by those we have empowered and that changes need to be made across the board.

Another possible action could be coordinating boycotts of the companies who fuel the engines of deception in our government.