Category: Liberty

If thoughts of today fills your mind with happy thoughts of eggs in the lawn decorated with bright pastel colors daring laughing children in their best Easter Sunday outfits to find them – you are marking this day all wrong.

Indeed, today is a day to rejoice – to commemorate and acknowledge the ultimate triumph. The day when Almighty God raised His only begotten son Jesus the Messiah from the dead – three full days after he suffered more than most of us dare to imagine, after he was nailed to a Gentile Roman cross and hung from a tree for all to see his humiliation – his accusation written over his head “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS”.

Little did they realize the innocent blood Jesus shed was payment in full for the sins of man. Before this day many thousands followed him, hung on to his every word. They counted him as a prophet. Some believed him to be Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Some thought John the Baptist had risen from the dead. Some recognized him as the Christ – the promised Messiah. Many hopes were dashed as they witnessed him dying on the cross… seemingly helpless. Where was God? Those who heard Jesus speak of this moment, even those who knew the scriptures, failed to connect the dots. Jesus told them in no uncertain terms what would happen.

Mark 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Jesus died on that cross. He was buried. The Sanhedrin knew of the prophesies. They knew of the things Jesus said. To this end they requested and received a Roman watch to secure his sepulcher night and day for those three days “lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead” [Matthew 27:64]

Despite all precautions, God raised up Jesus from the dead on the third day, according to His promise via the prophets and His only begotten son Jesus himself. By this act Almighty God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated His power and authority for all to see. The story does not end there.

Jesus, the Messiah, died for our sins. God raised Jesus from the dead for our justification.

Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Romans 4:25 Who [Jesus] was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

What does it mean to “be justified”? To be “made righteous”? To be justified is to be made righteous. Righteousness is the ability to stand before our Holy Almighty God without any sense of sin, guilt, or condemnation. This is bit. It is a very good thing.

Over the years I’ve head many people say in many different ways that they didn’t need salvation. They weren’t bad people after all. In fact, every one of them would say they were “a good person”. Every. Single. One. And you know what? Most of them were correct. Maybe they all were. Not one claimed to be perfect and that’s the rub. You see, GOD IS perfect. Jesus was and still is perfect. The rest of us, not so much. Jesus’ blood cleansed us from our sins. God made us to be able to stand righteous before Him.

This is the triumph of Resurrection Day. We have so much to be thankful for. We can even relegate this day to celebrating pagan fertility rites and still stand before our Holy Almighty God without any sense of sin, guilt, or condemnation, not because of Easter eggs or Easter candy or even attending Easter services but because of what Almighty God wrought through His only begotten Son and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

May God bless and keep you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All verses are KJV

What a mess! To be blunt, I very much admire Thomas Massie’s grit. As for this latest bit – Massie holding out on the CR (continuing resolution) vote and Trump’s threat to primary him – I’m siding with Thomas Massie.

Look, I understand the principle of supporting President Trump. However it is one thing to support our President, it is quite another to “rubber stamp”  his every whim. Fact is somebody has to say something about the President’s new clothes.

In the past, Rand Paul was the voice of opposition in the Senate. I expect he will also speak up when the situation warrants it. We NEED reasonable voices speaking up when things aren’t “quite right”. How do you thing we ended up in this quagmire in DC in the first place?

We handed the Poligarchy far too many “blank checks” – look where that got us.

We failed to hold our “representatives” accountable and now we are faced with rooting out the Deep State that has embedded itself into every facet of our lives.

We cannot keep on keeping on with this nonsense.

Near as I can tell, Thomas Massie fine Patriot and a strong conservative voice. We need more like him. He needs our support.

It’s too late to back off from this current CR but let’s DO consider Massie’s objections, such as, this CR continues to fund USAID. What sort of insanity is that?

WATCH: GOP Rep. Thomas Massie Explains Why He Was the Only GOP Holdout on Trump-Backed Continuing Resolution

Rep. Thomas Massie Responds After President Trump Vows to Lead Primary Challenge Against Him for Opposing Trump-Backed Funding Bill

After just over 5 weeks in office, Hurricane Trump has taken DC and the world by storm. Many are still reeling from the fully automatic fire from the Trump Administration. Congress is shaken. World leaders are shaken. The Mainstream Media? Devastated. What about us, We the People?

The words “shock and awe” come to mind. Bluntly put, I don’t think we’ve been able to take it all in much less fully process what is happening. Nor have we had time to come to terms with this new landscape. What’s more, if the early signs are any indication, this is just the beginning. Yet is not too early to step back and reflect on what we are seeing so far.

The most startling thing is how President Donald J. Trump is changing our expectations, not only of the United States Presidency, but of the politics and politicians in general.

This really hit me in the face this morning as a high school classmate announced he is running for the county legislature. While we’d gone to school together since 5^th grade or so, we never really knew each other. Over the past couple of years I’ve come across his posts on FB. They are consistently Christian and conservative. His announcement was more or less “cut and paste” from the standard political playbook – too much taxes, etc. Sorry fella but, ho-hum. We’ve heard all that before again and again. Normally I’d give him a “thumbs up” and wish him well. I don’t live there any more so it’s not like I can vote for him anyway. Even so I realized my attitude towards him and the political process has changed dramatically.

Anyone reading most any of my posts will soon realize I despise politics. If you don’t I’m quick to tell you. I always have. However in the past I’ve fallen for the same tropes spewed out by just about anyone running for office. Not anymore. To this end I challenged this new hopeful. You hate taxes – great. What is your plan to fix the problem. And that, my friends, is at the heart of what Trump as accomplished.

It is not longer good enough to define the problem – real or imagined. (The democRats are particularly adept at imagining problems.) Now we need solutions. We need the fix and the fix had better not be “more government”. In fact, for the time being, the best strategy might well be to jump on the Trump bandwagon and start pointing out ways to get government out of our lives. New York State, where my former classmate lives, offers a target rich environment.

Moreover the “Trump Effect” is changing how we view our representative government. The old view was when we were offered two choices, we chose the “lessor of two evils” and either rejoiced or cringes come election day. Either way, we could forget about it until the next cycle. This is the essence of “set it and forget it” politics. Trump has changed all this.

By his example, President Trump, is raising our expectations. How? For once, our government is being held accountable. Amazingly, he is not just holding the federal government accountable but state governments as well, not to mention the massive ocean of NGOs. He’s also holding foreign governments and international organizations accountable. His reach is immense. He wields power like no leader before him. How does he do this? By acknowledging and utilizing our overwhelming economic might. He knows we hold all the cards and he is not afraid to play them.

Those clinging to the status quo are hanging on for dear life. They are all in a panic, grasping at any rhetoric they can, like a drowning man flailing at handfuls of water trying to stay afloat. Their cries are mostly ignored. Many of those that hear them are beginning to question their so-called logic. Many more are seeing behind their masks for the first time and are revulsed. As desperation sets in, they’ve become more and more outlandish in their statements. Those who stood by them, parroting their diatribe are starting to reconsider it all, especially as those things they’ve insisted were facts are shown for the lies they are. For them, it gets worse.

President Trump, via Elon Musk heading DOGE, has pulled back the curtain to reveal the ugly truth: those “ideals and principles” so highly touted were nothing more than smokescreens obscuring massive embezzlement schemes. Charges abound as more and more taxpayer dollars are traced to the bank accounts of those we were expected to trust implicitly. Sure, many of us have been screaming fraud and theft for years – questioning how lifelong “public servants” can amass multi-million dollar fortunes. Nobody wanted to demand answers as to how such obvious “financial geniuses” couldn’t seem to turn their talents to balance our public budgets. Now the evidence is out for everyone to see. Now competent individuals are positioned to investigate and prosecute bad actors.

The genius of President Trump’s strategy is he has gone after the money first. No longer can his – OUR – enemies tap taxpayer dollars to fund battles against our own nation. As the public trough dries up, so does the resistance. Brilliant. And it’s working. We are winning.

Probably the most stunning revelation of all is the fact that had Trump been awarded the win in 2020, none of this would have happened. In fact, Obama’s moles would have remained in strategic places in government and continued to thwart President Trump’s efforts. Consequently, all the savage attacks on Trump virtually guaranteed a new outlook in 2025. In other words, the globalists’ grand plans backfired on them… bigly.

Now it’s our turn. WE need to take a hard look at how we politic. We can no longer “assume” those we elect to office will, more or less, do the right thing. Instead, EVERY representative needs to be closely monitored, not only to ensure they are making good on their promises but that they are doing good for us constituents. President Trump is pointing us in the right direction but this is not “HIS” nation, it is OUR nation. OUR nation is a nation by the People, of the People, and for the People. From here on out, WE need to hold our government to this principle.

Today, God revealed a bigger picture to what is happening around us. I must credit God for this because my own mind is too small to see this big. I expect many of you to instantly see how these three things – reawakening, reformation, and restoration have or will play out. For the rest of us…

Reawakening – this is not “woke” but rather the opening of our eyes to what is going on around us. This is directly contrary to normalcy bias. I like to think of “normalcy bias” as a “head in the sand” response to circumstances. We ain’t “woke”. What we are is aware. A quick unabashed plug here, my soon-to-be-released book shreds the curtain of deception to not only reveal the plethora of psyops we’ve all been subject to but also the true source of all of these con jobs. (Hint: the source is spiritual in nature.)

Joe Rogan said it best when he said the American People have been the victims of the greatest pysop in history during this last election. Rest assured, it was not just the media. The good news is, by the grace of God Almighty, we rose above the unified snow job of the globalists’ efforts. This, despite the fact they spent billions on this latest con. The Harris campaign alone burned through over $1.5 Billion. They spent over $100 Million just in Texas to unseat Ted Cruz. We may never know how much “dark money” was spread around to finance all sorts of efforts. I posted articles detailing their plans – and those only the ones they openly bragged about. I expect they had at least a few operations even they dared not reveal.

In the end we saw, we spoke, and we acted. We voted Trump in. We handed him a mandate, as well as a majority in the House and Senate. While the action we took was decisive, it was by no means final. RINOs still rampage in both houses and elsewhere. The battle will still be uphill. WE the People need to keep the pressure on – keep reminding these politicians, and yes I am spewing the term out as I would a filthy word, they now work for us. They are now OUR representatives. We cannot allow them to forget nor disregard this poignant fact of life.

Now we are moving into the reformation stage. To “reform” is to reshape – this is the essence of what comes next. Part of this reshaping is as described above – as in making it clear to our representatives who their new boss really is. It is us – WE the People. I cannot reiterate this enough. Our governments also need reforming. Here in Virginia, the Republican party also needs to be reformed – reshaped into the image of the constituency. These past few months, a rogue leadership has demonstrated their incompetence – not only with the fact that we failed reclaim the seat in the U. S. Senate – again, we failed to gain a majority for the commonwealth in the House of Representatives. There there’s their mishandling of the primary fiasco in Lynchburg, as well as their total disregard for our own “party plan”, the rules by which the party is expected to operate, forcing certain dissenting members out. In a just world, they would simply resign.

The reformation does not begin or end there. Let me back up because, likewise, the reawakening did not begin and end in the political arena. As with all things both began with God and His people. In 2023 the Asbury Revival made national news. This was not at all the whole of godly revival or reawakening in this nation. It was part inspiration, part seeding, and part wake-up call to prayer – to seek God. During the 2024 election, many of us advocated prayer. We exhorted our brothers and sisters in Christ to ask God to deliver our nation. And He did.

He also delivered Donald J. Trump from certain death in front of a world audience. Sure, I could ask if “anybody” can doubt God’s intervention in this assassination attempt. You know some will still express doubts despite the incredible, miraculous turn causing that bullet to miss by a fraction of an inch. So be it. I’ll give God the credit with my dying breath. And I will also credit God Almighty for mightily moving the people of this nation – whether it was by dropping the scales from the eyes of so many or simply gently steering masses to vote for Trump and sanity in November. We all dodged a bullet here.

As for reformation, I see this coming in the Body of Christ as well. I’m seeing it happening everywhere already. Many of my brethren in Christ are having their eyes opened to the many false teachings they’ve been receiving – starting with the “Christians should avoid politics” shtick. I expect many to begin to open their bibles, seeking out the scriptures to see whether what their preachers and teachers say are so. It is time for those charged with leading the Body of Christ to be held accountable as well.

Finally, I expect to see restoration in both the secular and the spiritual realms. Restoration entails more than what might first come to mind. At least when I think of the word, I envision restoring something back to what it was when it was pristine. This is not God’s way. Not at all. When our Heavenly Father restores a thing, He makes it better than it was before. Always better – never “just the same” or “as good as”- better. So we cannot just expect a return to American values and our previous prosperity – rather we can expect our prosperity and our values to be enhanced. Ephesians 3:20-21 comes to mind:

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

21 to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.[WEB]

Our governments – federal, state, and local need to be scaled back to better reflect the constitutional limitations designed to hold them in check. As massive as we’ve allowed these institutions to become, I doubt if we will soon make the progress, or more accurately regress, we really need to make. Nor will any of this be as simple or as easy as it should be. So much government spending is ingrained in us. Many will be horrified to think of this agency being dismantled or that program ending. The rule of law needs to be restored. These days there is much talk about vengeance. Such talk should not come from patriots. Justice should once again don the blindfold. Our laws should apply to all without prejudice. Take note of that word “prejudice” – it means to pre-judge, thus the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” should again be our standard. That said, our nation is inundated with far too many laws. This, too, needs to be rectified. God handed down ten commandments. Jesus told us:

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

While an orderly society may need more than this, I contend the many thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of laws on our books are due for an overhaul.

Spiritually, I see the greatest inroads in the coming months, possibly years. I see God moving among us has this world has never seen before. The coming reformation – reshaping will be nothing short of a CGI Morphing from a 400 lb weak and out of shape Body of Christ to a lean, powerful New Man in Christ demonstrating God’s power with signs, miracles, and wonders.

During the past couple of years especially, I’ve seen many observe the world around us declaring we are in the last days. This may well be. However should we indeed be witnessing the last days as prophesied in scripture, I also believe we will not only witness but be an integral part of an outpouring of God’s holy spirit as this earth has never seen before. Jesus said before the end came, the gospel must be first be published among all nations. (Mark 13:10) How did Jesus draw throngs of people during his ministry on earth?

Luke 7:22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

What else did Jesus say? (Okay, let me narrow that down just a bit.)

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

As born again believers, we have Christ in us. We are born again of God’s spirit and thus have the ability to operate the manifestations of the spirit. These are nine in total – speaking in tongues interpretation of tongues, prophesy, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits, faith, miracles, and gifts of healing. Utilizing these manifestations properly the Church, the Body of Christ and will make a huge impact on the world. I see this as a “last days outpouring”. These things and more are detailed in my upcoming book. I believe God has blessed me to help usher in this astounding period when His mighty power will be demonstrated. However I am not the only one God will tap for this. No doubt others will rise – many far above me. None of that matters. What matters is what God has is store for all of us.

For those of you who prayed for our nation – for Donald J. Trump, for J D Vance, for our nation, for deliverance, stay vigilant and diligent in your prayers. These are needed more than ever. For those of you who did not pray I urge you, begin now. Lift your voice up to God Almighty. Pray for the nation. Pray for those in positions of power and authority – yes even, or especially those who work against the cause of God and liberty. We should be praying more for these individuals, praying for godly brethren to speak truth to them or, if they continue to stop their ears – to be replaced by someone who will hear the truth.

We are living in significantly historical times. Praise God and pass the prayer book.

To be cross-posted on my AMHavens.com blog

Update on my new book – Spiritual Warfare (working/descriptive title). For me this is a blockbuster work, encompassing a lifetime of learning and study. I truly believe this is a work inspired by God Almighty. As the first draft is nearly complete, much has happened to convince me this book truly is something God Himself wants me to accomplish.

Lest you start thinking I’m getting full of myself, I’ll remind you of the subject of this post. What humbles me, and though it is easy for me at present, I pray I can keep a deep sense of humility even IF God greatly blesses this work so it blesses many many people, is my past accomplishments. Or should I say my past failures? The latter far exceeds the former.

In fact, I cannot say I have any credentials to speak of to write this book. In a way I envision myself in the place of the fictional Elmer Gantry when he stood before the Christian Elite who demanded he justify his existence ministry to their satisfaction. In the movie by the same name, Elmer Gantry, a struggling part salesman, part flim flam man turned preacher, was never ordained. He had no official education or even a background to justify him. In fact, the movie itself left his true motives up in the air for the audience to wonder.

Further note on the Elmer Gantry reference: I saw this movie many decades ago. The above is how I remember it. Per my habit, I looked it up to check my facts. The first scene from the movie I remember is where Gantry is on the road as a salesman. Turns out in the book he was a former law student who then attended seminary. (I don’t know about the movie) Later (again in the book) he becomes a Methodist minister. Now I’m not sure sure about the whole “credential scene” – at least how accurate my memory about it is.

Side fun fact: This movie, or my memory of it, is also my inspiration for my first, yet unpublished novel – “The Visionary”. The story came to me in a flash as I reflected on the scene of Gantry standing before some group of religious leaders. While the storyline in “The Visionary” vastly differs from the Gantry movie, the scene I envisioned might come close in a general sense – one man standing in front of respected leaders who demand he justify himself.

To be fair to myself, I do have a lifetime of life and study under my belt – closing in on five decades, actually. While some might point out my early “dubious” association with what some call a cult – The Way Ministry – others can say, and rightfully so, I have never been a member of any church, never had any formal training to speak of, or never held any position of responsibility in any Christian organization. While those things are not entirely accurate technically speaking, they are mostly so. Thus I would not argue those points.

So I will publish this book, God willing, intending to let the words speak for themselves, come what may. When the floods come, we shall see of the house still stands. It will have to stand on it’s own without the benefit of my qualifications, or despite the lack of them, to produce it.

All of the above supposes the book will make some sort of impact – that it will get noticed. If it does to any extent, there will surely be detractors. Why? Because I dare challenge some of today’s pillars of Christian beliefs. Sacrilege. Well, maybe to some. Keep in mind, many of Jesus’ teachings were sacrilege to the Jewish leadership of the time – so much so they crucified him. Get this straight – I’m no Jesus. Not even close.

But what if it doesn’t? What if, instead of a Big Splash, my book nary causes a ripple? What if I sell a handful of copies and then… nothing. Again. So be it. Here is where the significance of insignificance comes into play.

Most of us can name a few great individuals. Some could name many. No doubt anyone reading this can name at least one. Go ahead, speak the name of that great person that came to your mind. Now let me ask you this – who influenced that great individual? What was their name? In most cases the name of the person who influenced your great stalwart of history is forgotten, if anyone knows the name at all. If not, then ask yourself – who influenced that person? In most cases it won’t take long before you come to a dead end – some person whose name buried in the annals of history if not entirely forgotten by all. No doubt some were buried in an unmarked grave, the whereabouts of such nobody remembers. One might say such a person was insignificant. Or was he (or she)?

Now spread your wings a bit. Consider the life of that person you had in mind. (I’ll assume a male but only for the sake of convenience.) Are the accomplishments of any one of us a direct result of the influence of just one person? Of course not. It may well be so that a single word from one person at one moment of time caused a ripple that changed our entire world as we know it. If you think about it, no doubt you’ll agree history is chock full of such instances. Each one, standing alone, could be deemed insignificant, while the opposite is true.

Back to my book, it could well never take off, never be well-read, never make the impact I would love it to have. I just don’t know, nor will I unless and until it is published and then… ??? Whatever. The one thing it has going for it is it is loaded with scripture. God says His Word never returns void. As such, I expect the book to profit someone somewhere at some point no matter what else happens. For me that is enough, even if I am never privy to the influence it has on another person.

For this reason alone, I am determined to keep at it, to complete the work, and to publish it. I still have a long road ahead. Please keep me in prayer.

I kid you not. This happened at the pre-election mass meeting of our county’s election officials. He was the first to speak. Judging on how quickly he left afterwards I expect he had better places to be. Okay so down to the nitty-gritty.

First off, he seemed like a decent enough guy. He would be a good choice to play “good cop”. He wasn’t threatening at all. There were a bunch of high-quality printouts on different security-related matters such as recognizing potential trouble, de-escalation procedures, awareness, and so forth. It wasn’t bad, really. Necessary? Not so much, at least not for our area… I think.

Look, I live in a very rural county. We don’t get much of that kind of trouble around here. Many of us have little tolerance for it. Besides that, we are so small we’re not worth the effort. Really. I mean, take the whole election fraud thing. If the globalists could somehow figure out to get away with stealing every vote in the county, it wouldn’t amount to a drop in the bucket. It might turn the tide in the Congressional race, but I doubt it.

So, he came, he spoke, he left. Meh. Okay. One thing he did touch upon I found quite interesting was a scenario where a voter walked in with a gun on his hip. Mind you, Virginia is an open carry state – no government permission required. That said there is a law (at least one) on our books prohibiting carrying firearms, open or concealed, in the polling place. I’ll leave the constitutionality debate for another time. As a practical matter, this HS fellow suggested we just move the person along, let him vote and move out. His perspective is the less s/he is agitated the better off we all are. I tend to agree.

The mostly type of person I see doing this is a strong 2A advocate who wants to challenge the law. Angry? Uhhhhh, well, yeah, I’d say angry – or at least perturbed. Not that I can blame them. Infringement ticks me off a bit too. Someone like this is either simply making a statement or spoiling for a fight – an argument, that is, not a gunfight. As such I think it is best to disappoint the hell out of him and just move him along. Done and done.

The real threat is the one nobody wants to talk about. I brought this one up during our last election officer training meeting when new posters were trotted out “laying out the law” concerning guns in the polling place. I only asked a simple question.

“So if someone comes in with guns blazing, are we supposed to point to the poster and tell them that is a no-no?”

Of course they blathered all around the obvious point. They tried to make light of it. What they could not, would not do is admit all the signs in the world ain’t gonna stop a determined evil doer. Remember the Democratic National Convention just held? They suddenly became very concerned about violent threats and requested additional security. Someone said we ought to send them a batch of “Gun Free Zone” signs and leave it at that.

Oh, one other thing about that Homeland Security guy. Like I said, most of what he was talking about doesn’t seem all that relevant to our county. However he did say other areas have seen some significant disruption in the past, including individuals who did their best to get a reaction out of poll worker (any poll worker but some are easier marks than others). He said when the agitator got a rise out of one, they’d send a bunch more that way to heat things up. He talked about other scenarios as well. He never said as much but at some points he seemed to be alluding to patriots doing this sort of thing. It would be interesting to hear what such folks would have to say in a decidedly blue district. Personally I would be abhorred if I found out someone posing as a patriot was involved in such shenanigans. We need to be above all that crap. That is not us – not who we are. If I am wrong about this than I stand alone because I will not be associated with such individuals, much less groups. What about you?

Here is the original post: https://thelibertycoalition.org/blog/2024/10/17/reply-to-a-fnbook-user/

So what has happened since?

I won’t hold you in suspense nor will I bore you with the gory details.

What I heard yesterday from a trusted source is two of the “offending members” were tossed from the party for refusing to sign the “Oath of Loyalty” or whatever they call it.

I also heard the Politburo, sorry, VA Republican Party leadership was to hold a meeting to dissolve the 5th District – that is MY district, home of soon to be ousted Congressman Bob Good. Also on the chopping block is the Lynchburg unit.

I suppose this last is due to the stink that arouse during the primary where some “hanky panky” was alleged concerning ballot collection and handling. I personally called for a real and transparent investigation, as well as severe treatment of any wrongdoing here. We cannot have ANY question about the integrity of our election officials.

Meanwhile, I’ve had an ongoing email exchange between myself and one “Dennis Free”.  He never divulged his part of any of this nor what his stance is within the party. I finally looked him up to discover he is the Chairman of the 2nd District. I also noted where he has served, I’ll assume honorably as I have not information to the contrary, both in the military and in law enforcement where he apparently rose to the rank of Captain. Personal note to Captain Free – thank you for your service.

Free’s service does not excuse him from what I feel is his stonewalling and insulting behavior per our emails. I will not go into specifics here, unless Dennis Free presses the issue himself. At that point I will publish our exchange in its entirety and allow you, the reader, to decide for yourself whether my assessment is accurate. Rather I’ll summarize the exchange. First, I’ll say I was no angel. I spoke my mind but I did my best to refrain from personal attacks. For the most part I was successful. At worst I did refer to part of his response as whining .  About that.

I kept asking if he would provide some specifics, as in, what part of the “party plan”, specifically, did these members violate? And what were the specific charges against them. He repeatedly insisted I read the “party plan”. I repeatedly maintained it would do no good unless I had some idea of what I was looking for.

To me it was a simple question. Now that I know of his career in law enforcement, the stark stonewalling is even more apparent. Any savvy member of LE knows one must actually state the charges against the person arrested. And yet rather than simply state: they did this and here is where it is wrong, he did not. Why?

In my opinion he didn’t state any specific wrongdoing because there was none. He knows it. I know it and now you know it. They did nothing wrong save for piss off certain members who have usurped authority they did not have.

In his last email to me, sent yesterday and read this morning, essentially dismissed me, while more or less saying it was too bad I was not capable of understanding the issues involved.

Upon further reflection, I wish I’d responded with a better answer.

As a writer (good, bad, or indifferent) I’ve come to realize that if a reader fails to understand what I’m saying the onus is on me, rather than the reader. This same principle applies to the Virginia Republican Party and their “party plan”.

Sorry guys, but I am still reasonably intelligent enough to comprehend simple concepts plainly stated. What if this was not so? What if I struggled to “get it” when it comes to the rules under which the party operates? Should the party require members to be endowed with a certain standard level of intelligence? What level might that be? 80? 100? (Average) or more? Should potential members be rejected if they cannot understand the rules? OR should the rules be stated plainly enough for a majority of members (at least) to easily comprehend?

I contend the latter is more reasonable. No one should have to exhibit a generous or even average IQ to participate in self-governance. Such is not necessary to vote, why should the average, or even the below average citizen struggle to understand h0w things work.

As it is, I actually do understand this document. Strangely enough, while discussing this with my source, he indicated this party plan provides leadership with a wide latitude to do whatever the  hell they want. I disagree.

In fact, the exact opposite is true.

Article One – basically says anyone can ask to join.

SECTION A. Qualifications
1. All legal and qualified voters under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, regardless of race, religion, national
origin or sex, who are in accord with the principles of the Republican Party, and who, if requested, express in open
meeting either orally or in writing as may be required their intent to support all of its nominees for public office in the
ensuing election may participate as members of the Republican Party of Virginia in its mass meetings, party canvasses,
conventions, or primaries encompassing their respective election districts.

This is a continuation of Article One – ostensibly granting the party “powers that be” the authority to demand fealty, er, loyalty. The highlighted portions is where I gleaned the pertinent language from.

2. A voter who, subsequent to making a statement of intent, publicly supports a candidate in opposition to a
Republican nominee shall not be qualified for participation in party actions as defined in Article I for a period of four (4)
years.
3. Paragraphs 4 and 5 shall cease having any effect at such time as the Election Laws of the Commonwealth of
Virginia shall provide for party registration, at which time only those registered as Republicans may be deemed to be in
accord with the principles of the Republican Party, unless otherwise stipulated by the appropriate Official Committee.
4. In addition to the foregoing, to be in accord with the principles of the Republican Party, unless otherwise stipulated
by the appropriate Official Committee, a person otherwise qualified hereunder shall not have participated in Virginia in
the nomination process of a party other than the Republican Party with in the last five years.
5. A single exception to Paragraph 4 shall be approved for a voter that renounces affiliation with any other party in
writing, and who expresses in writing that he/she is in accord with the principles of the Republican Party and intends, at
the time of the writing, to support the nominees of the Republican Party in the future. Any voter that utilizes the
foregoing exception, and thereafter participates in the nomination process of a party other than the Republican Party, shall
not have the benefit of the exception identified in this paragraph thereafter. Within 30 days of receipt, the Official
Committee shall provide a copy of this signed renunciation statement to the Republican Party of Virginia, to be
maintained for a period of 5 years.

Note in part 2 above “supports a candidate in opposition to a
Republican nominee“. As Bob Good was being challenged in a Republican Primary, there was no Republican nominee.

Also note the words in part 5 above “any other party”. Both Bob Good and John McGuire are Republicans as far as anyone knows.

SECTION I. Endorsement of Candidates
An Official committee shall not endorse, nor contribute to from its funds, any candidate who is running for a Republican
nomination for public office unless that candidate is unopposed for that nomination. Nothing in this Section shall be
construed to prevent an Official Committee from endorsing a candidate running for public office where there will be no
Republican nominee, nor to prevent a member or officer of an Official Committee, as an individual, from endorsing a
candidate in a contested nomination.

SECTION C. Removal
Any Chairman, except the State Chairman, or any other member of an Official Committee may be removed from office by
the vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the other members of the Committee, after being furnished with notice that such removal
will be sought, with the charges, in writing, signed by not less than one-third (1/3) of the members of the Committee; and
allowing him thirty (30) days within which to appear and defend himself. A copy of the original signatures or evidence of
the electronic signatures may be furnished in lieu of the original signatures. The State Chairman may be removed by a
two-thirds (2/3) vote of a State Convention or by the three-fourths (3/4) vote of the State Central Committee, the action of
said Convention or Committee being subject to the foregoing as to notice and opportunity for defense.
A member of an Official Committee is held to a higher standard of support for nominees of the Republican Party than an
individual who merely participates in a mass meeting, party canvass, convention or primary. Therefore, a member of an
Official Committee is deemed to have resigned his Committee position if he (a) makes a reportable contribution to and/or
(b) knowingly allows his name to be publicly used by and/or (c) makes a written or other public statement supporting the
election of a candidate in opposition to a Republican nominee in a Virginia General or Special Election, and/or (d)
becomes a member or an officer of or makes a reportable contribution to any other political party. A majority of the
elected officers of an official committee are charged with recognizing when this provision is in effect. For members of
multiple official committees, such recognition by a given official committee applies to all subordinate official committees.
Such member may be re-instated by a majority vote of the other members of the Committee.

Nothing in this section pertains to the question at hand, i.e. the members who signed a letter asking Donald Trump to revoke his endorsement of John McGuire and endorsing sitting Congressman Bob Good instead.

The irony of all this is, this entire episode would have gone unnoticed by 99.99% of most Virginians had it never been addressed.

In an earlier response to Dennis Free, I compared this party plan document to one of Kamala Harris’ “word salads” upon retrospect I retract that statement. While it is indeed rather unwieldy and could well use some simplification, Harris is still the unchallenged champion of the word salad world.

My own conclusion is the central committee acted without authority and entirely against the principles of the Republican party, and against the best interests of all of our members. They should resign immediately

SECTION J. Ethical Conduct
1. Voting members of official committees shall exercise their best efforts to conduct the business of the Party
in good faith, with reasonable care, skill, and diligence. They shall hold as confidential all party
information, documents, and communications clearly designated as confidential of for limited dissemination
or use by adopted policy of the committee. They shall refrain from participating in unethical activity,
diminishing the dignity and credibility of the the Party.

Their conduct here is anything but ethical. Under certain circumstances this party plan calls for offending party officials to resign :

SECTION C. Removal (second paragraph)

A member of an Official Committee is held to a higher standard of support for nominees of the Republican Party than an
individual who merely participates in a mass meeting, party canvass, convention or primary. Therefore, a member of an
Official Committee is deemed to have resigned his Committee position if he (a) makes a reportable contribution to and/or
(b) knowingly allows his name to be publicly used by and/or (c) makes a written or other public statement supporting the
election of a candidate in opposition to a Republican nominee in a Virginia General or Special Election, and/or (d)
becomes a member or an officer of or makes a reportable contribution to any other political party

The above is good enough for an official who commits a “public offence”, i.e. endorsing someone running against a Republican candidate. Why shouldn’t it be good enough for senior party officials who knowingly abuse the party rules for their own intents and purposes?

Again, I say… resign.

First, I’d like to address your comment about implications about violent actions even though it was not directed at me. Too many seem to get a gleam in their eye when talk turns to things like “revolution” or “the blood of patriots” and some such. I abhor the very thought. My stance on this was and always will be we have no need to do any such thing. In fact I feel simple protests should be beneath us as citizens. This does not mean we can or should never make our opinions known. In fact we must be outspoken whenever we feel the need, but “protests”? No. Later on when I discuss the 2A Sanctuary Movement, you’ll see what I mean more clearly. (I hope.)

There seems to be a disconnect on how our constitution lays down the foundation for citizens to govern ourselves. This foundation outlines the manner in which we self-governing citizens select from among ourselves those who represent us and how these representatives are divided according to population (House) and geography (Senate). House representation is further delineated geographically via districts to provide somewhat even representation among the populace.

Our government was intended to be limited in scope and authority. Among those limitations were certain protections of individual citizens’ rights as originally enumerated in collection of amendments known as the Bill of Rights, and later expanded. Our Virginia Constitution boasts a similar concept and construction with some specific differences not discussed here.

Nowhere in either constitution does the word “democracy” appear. The term democracy refers to rule by majority vote. While we do have certain democratic votes in our land, we are not a democracy as our constitution protects us from being ruled by a majority.

Nor does either constitution require 100% vote to pass legislation. This would be unworkable as we all know. Thus there will always be some legislation passed – most legislation in fact – that does not enjoy 100% agreement. In other words – nearly every law, resolution, or other proclamation passed by any authoritative body in this nation will have some dissent. Thus, simply because “I didn’t vote for it” doesn’t make any legislation unconstitutional. Such a concept is ludicrous at best.

Unfortunately we have laws passed that exceed constitutional limitations or attempt to overrule enumerated rights and are inherently unconstitutional. However such laws are not automatically deemed as such. I believe the Supreme Court has ruled legislation passed carries an “assumption of constitutionality” (my wording) or some such. On the face, this makes certain sense, otherwise simply rejecting any law on the basis that “it is unconstitutional” would again be unworkable. However we have no safeguards in place to challenge bad legislation or bad actions by those acting on bad legislation. The first test of the NFA is testimony to this. This law was deemed unconstitutional by a lower court. The ruling was challenged in the Supreme Court. However the defendants had no money to pay for legal representation. The defense lawyers could not or would not travel across more than half the country to D.C. to defend the case and thus only the government’s side was presented. They prevailed as there was no counterargument presented. Nor was any other constitutional issues surrounding this terrible, terrible legislation introduced in court For similar and other reasons, we are saddled with many SCOTUS rulings that are just plain wrong. One of these was recently famously overturned – Roe vs Wade – when our highest court finally ruled the federal government has no constitutional authority here.

Hence, we citizens are saddled with the prospect of living with bad laws, often unconstitutional to boot. As those poor saps who were wrongfully charged with such as well as others who simply do not have the financial means or the will to challenge them in court, or citizens like ourselves who may have a will but lack the means, we are somewhat stuck until somebody comes along who does have the means and the fortitude to endure the long process of challenging such actions.

What can we do? We can first take some time to educate ourselves make a commitment to work together to force some changes. Remember the Second Amendment Sanctuary moment? Here in Virginia the power of us citizens shone through. County after county was more or less forced to pass a resolution declaring that entity a Second Amendment Sanctuary. (It was more than just counties but close enough) This is was in direct response to the actions of the gun control freaks in Richmond who were rabid with their new power. Sure they laughed at our response but it was a very nervous laugh, much like someone whistling their way through a graveyard. Had Covid fever (not the virus but the panic) swept through our nation, we may have seen a far more significant groundswell.

What this movement demonstrated to me was how effective we citizens can be in influencing our elected representatives. While citizens filled legislative chambers during those days, the optics are deceiving as the actual percentage of citizens participating was actually quite small. My point here is, it wouldn’t take massive turnouts to affect change. (I think John McGuire ousted Bob Good by less than 50 primary votes.)

Most legislative sessions are nearly devoid of citizen participation. Only a small percentage of gun owners ever vote. The selection process of those who represent us is abysmal. Ask most anyone “in the know” how to run for a major seat in congress or a state election. They will tell you to run for local office first – school board, town board, etc. and then move up. In other words, the only real qualification to run for a major office is a proven record of getting elected to office.

Currently I am embroiled in issues with Virginia’s Republican Party. It is a ridiculous situation, one I should not have to be involved in. (I involved myself by choice per my sense conscience and duty.) I have been an official “member” of the Republican Party of Virginia for just a few short months. Note here, the local members are good and decent people, it is the upper leadership where I have issues. They, the upper echelons of leadership, have blatantly overstepped their authority while failing to address glaring issues within the party. Along with this, I’ve become aware of what I feel is some gross misdirection. Bluntly put: our local unit is more or less entirely focused on nominating and electing representatives. There is nothing inherently wrong with this but nobody here is holding any of our elected officials accountable to any extent. Even our state delegate who attends every meeting is rarely questioned on what is happening in Richmond.

We need to do better here, and I’m not talking about a “democrat vs republican” thing. I’m talking about citizens taking an interest in the workings of our government with an eye to holding them accountable for their actions and decisions. I’m talking about communication. We need to be aware of what is going on and also be on the lookout for strong citizens who might be willing to serve a term or two in an office rather than nurturing career politicians who inevitably become insulated from those they supposedly represent.

As a solution, for starters, we could begin to get together in small groups. It might be possible to form a subgroup among one or more larger groups already meeting – such as within a church body or a civic group such as a VFW club. Here’s an idea – local group meetings among VCDL members with an eye fomenting our interests. I know VCDL leadership is adamant about focusing on our 2A rights but, personally, I feel losing sight of the larger scope has hurt us in the 2A arena. Better, I’d say to expand to the concept of a simple divide – liberty vs tyranny. In other words EVERY law that limits liberty should be seen as a threat to our 2A rights.

Those things I feel we need to communicate about include budgets (always follow the money), agendas – those things brought before any body, actions of said bodies, how the representative of said group voted or plans to vote and why, upcoming seats and prospects for filling them.

Per this last item, I’ll note that our county will vote on some school board members next year at the very least. Our party has not so much as mentioned this, much less discussed what, if anything, we should be considering. I also know we had a report from a county board supervisor who informed us that most of the county budget is earmarked for the schools. And I know for a fact that MY representative is hell bent to increase the school budget by as much as possible. IMO, it would be better to focus on getting better results from what we are currently spending. I’ve never felt throwing money at a problem constituted an effective solution.

In conclusion I appreciate the opportunity to discuss these things with you. Please understand, I am a nobody. I am simply a common citizen with no greater authority than any other. I do not and can not pretend to be otherwise.