Author Archives: Joshua Lyons

The Myth of the “Good” Government

Here’s the real problem, a real frog-in-the-kettle dilemma; most people embrace a belief that the government is good (benevolent) or at worst, innocuous. How far from the truth they are.

Benevolent: benevolence – an inclination to do kind or charitable acts

Innocuous: Harmless; producing no ill effect; innocent; Inoffensive; unprovocative; not exceptional.

Are these the terms we should use when describing the federal government? Certainly our Founding Fathers would not have thought of a centralized government in those terms, but how things change in a short 200 years. We’ve now almost completely lost any apprehension or healthy fear of the federal government and boy are we suffering from it. In fact, most of us look to Washington DC for direction or help in time of need. Call me Pollyannaish, call me gloom and doom, but I cannot ignore the facts that are in front of me. Perhaps others want to bury their heads in the sand and hope everything gets better, but not me. I don’t like getting cold-cocked or sucker punched! No, we’ve got a mess on our hands and it’s tenuous at best to think we can turn it around. And believe me, the worst is yet to come; we’re just in the very early stages of this. Why?
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The Stockholm Syndrome… Are We the People Victims?

Are we, the average citizens that make up the 50 States in America suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome? Is that the reason we seem to be fearful of entertaining “outside the box” thinking when it comes to solving the mess created by Washington DC? Have we possibly become morbidly sympathetic to our “captors” in the halls of Congress and bureaucracies throughout DC and the remainder of the country? I think so!

The Stockholm Syndrome, was coined after the robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28, 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, and even defended them after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. Sounds eerily similar to what We the People have been exposed to from Washington DC; we’ve been held hostage by an extra-constitutional group of lawmakers and robbed of our hard-earned money, property and ultimately our freedom for decades.

Take for instance the current energy crisis Washington DC has led us into the last 40 years or so. Why doesn’t some governor in an oil rich state just issue permits to drill or build nuclear power plants in their state even though it’s in direct contravention of federal policy? Why don’t they? Because we’ve been trained by our captors in DC to believe that unless the States receive permission from Washington DC, they can’t. So, to break the Stockholm hold we’ve been entranced by, why doesn’t some governor just throw down and drill or build a nuclear plant as a way to protect its own citizens. What would Washington DC really do? Slap an extra-constitutional injunction on them which could then be nullified by the State because the federal government has no authority in the Constitution over energy policy? Pass legislation condemning the State for protecting We the People of that State? Send in the US Marshalls to padlock the gates to the oil rig or plant construction site? Ultimately send in the military in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 to attack the rigs and sites? Perhaps they would; my suspicion is they would not. Would they really want to fight that PR battle? Would We the People really stand by and allow the tyrants of DC to run roughshod over the inalienable and God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

If so, then the Stockholm Syndrome may be more entrenched than we even think it is. But could there be a state with the courage to throw caution to the wind and actually defend its own people? Texas? Arizona? Wisconsin? Ohio? Idaho? Utah? Who’s it gonna be?

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A Proposed 28th Amendment that Actually has Teeth!

I’m a regular listener to the Jason Lewis show, broadcast nightly on XM Radio from 6-9 pm. On January 6, 2011 during his second hour, Lewis proposed a radical yet very Constitutional solution to the mess Washington DC has created…a 28th Amendment to the Constitution that simply states; “It is the right of any sovereign State to dissolve its compact with the Union upon the consent of the citizens of that State.”

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Reflecting on 8/28

As I found myself mowing the lawn late Sunday morning listening to an eclectic playlist including songs by Rage Against the Machine, Jack Johnson, and Louis Armstrong, I began reflecting on my experience at yesterday’s event as well as the coverage it received (from both the Main and “Side” Stream Media).

Detractors (on all sides) will focus on the negative aspects of how the event, its organizers, and attendees will affect them or their agenda. I choose to focus on the positive aspects (such as the spotlight on faith and honor) as well as identify bridges that can be built with those who may have a different perspective.

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Do You Think They Care?

Do you think our Federal representatives (or their staffers) care one iota about representing us?

  • How many dozens of letters and emails have you sent your federal representatives in the past year? How many ridiculous form letters (that didn’t even address your concerns) have you received in return and how long did it take? The federal reps don’t care.
  • How many calls have you placed to them just to have a patronizing staffer thank you for your call and say they’ll pass on your opinion to Sen. INSERT THEIR NAME? The federal reps don’t care.
  • How many polls are available where the people are against any recent INSERT EXTRA-CONSTITUTIONAL LEGISLATION? The federal reps don’t care.
  • How many of us told them “no”, “slow down”, “stop”, and “you are out of line” at town hall events this summer to be told that they know better than us little citizens? The federal reps don’t care.
  • How many of us citizens participated in multiple tea parties around the country to try and make our voices heard only to be ridiculed as extremists by those elected to represent us at the federal level? The federal reps don’t care.
  • How many of us citizens sent a message on September 12, 2009 only to be marginalized by our federal representatives and most media outlets? Pssst…The federal reps don’t care.

How many times have you said to yourself, “it’s like they don’t care!”

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