November 14, 2002:  The Day the Government Hid From the People

By Lisa Guliani    (for BabelMagazine.com)

"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."~ Samuel Adams ~

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." ~ Thomas Jefferson ~

"The income tax is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated upon any people in history."~ Bob Schulz ~

On 14 November, 2002 several hundred people converged upon the National Mall directly across from the U.S. Capitol building.  These folks traveled from all corners of America, representing the fifty States of the Union, for a grassroots public event known as "Freedom Drive 2002".    

This great meeting of the People was held beneath a beautiful blue sky smeared with chemtrails by the military as we stood there watching and listening. The sunlight warmed us, however, as we joined together in a show of solidarity with huge banners waving in the breeze of an unseasonably mild November day.  There was music, too, by a wonderful band called Poker Face and the tones fit the mood: melodic, patriotic and bittersweet. 

Everywhere I looked, I saw flags waving, heard horns honking, saw smiles on the faces of strangers.  My fellow Americans, attendees of Freedom Drive 2002 - a celebration of freedom and the Constitution for the United States of America - came from every corner of the land, put their lives on hold for a few days, and stuck their necks out on a limb that day.

To say that I was inspired would be an understatement. It was a clear sign to me that patriotism, true patriotism, is alive and well in America.   There are still some people who care enough to take some initiative, to ACT, to journey across the land for love of freedom and country, to sacrifice in spite of personal inconvenience, loss of wages, or the hardships imposed upon them by factors such as the weather, which was horrible and stormy until the day of the rally.

Victor Thorn and I drove to Washington, D.C. to take part in this celebration.  We wanted to be there in the flesh, to witness and participate in this rally, to hear the words of men and women such as Bob Schulz, organizer of Freedom Drive and founder of We the people Congress; Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU; Sherry Jackson, Joe Bannister, and John Turner (former IRS agents); and Walker Todd, who spoke about the Federal Reserve system.

In addition, we had the opportunity to listen to stirring speeches by Rick Stanley, James Madison and Chuck Houchins of "Founding Quotes"as Patrick Henry, and their words lit fires in the hearts of every American present.  Houchins' powerful and passionate rendition of Patrick Henry's infamous speech literally brought tears to my eyes. As I looked around, I sensed that others around me were swept up in the momentum of those unforgettable words, ending with "As for me, give me Liberty, or give me Death!"

And, there we were, hundreds of us, ordinary citizens of this great land, proudly bearing signs and flags which read: "Live Free or Die".  I had never felt this simple statement so keenly as I did on that afternoon, under chemtrailed D.C. skies. We stood together on that day, We the People, bound together in our common belief.  We waited patiently for our elected governmental representatives to appear before us, after being served with papers regarding the fundamental purpose of this rally: we wanted a response to our petitions for redress of grievances. We got none.

At 2 pm, which Bob Schulz characterized as the "Moment of Truth", the whole lot of us stood on that muddy field and cleared a wide path for our "government", which never showed up.

Our "representatives" refused to appear before us, the People.  This was not a shock to my system, but more like a stinging slap in the face of every person standing there that day.  I doubt very much that anyone present really expected our government to face the People squarely in the sunlight, because our legislators are more comfortable hiding behind the ornate doors of our federal buildings (which they did), rather than coming clean and telling us the truth, which they didn't.

What does this tell us?  I can say with conviction, having stood there myself for many hours, that the government's lack of response to our petitions for redress of grievances, their failure to acknowledge the People who pay their wages (that's US), their absolute indifference to this conspicuous event shows without a doubt where their allegiance lies. And, it doesn't surprise me at all that this allegiance does not lie with the citizenry of this country.  Rather, it lies with the corporate entity known as the UNITED STATES.

Our government chose to HIDE from the People on November 14th, 2002. It chose to ignore us -- again. What were (and are) our grievances?  There are four:

1.      The first has to do with the War Powers Clauses of the Constitution and concerns Iraq.

2.      The second deals with the unconstitutional Patriot Act, an apparent violation of our fundamental rights.

3.      The third weighs in with respect to the Federal Reserve System, which was characterized as about as "federal" as "Federal Express" - and the constitutional clauses which give Congress power to coin money.  The Federal Reserve Act violates provisions of our Constitution.

4.      The fourth deals with the income tax system, of which there is a substantial body of evidence indicating that it is both fraudulent and illegal.

The petitions for redress of grievances were posted online on October 7, 2002 and were signed by thousands of Americans.  Our government has been fully apprised of these petitions.  And, our government is hiding. It has failed to recognize our sovereignty and failed to acknowledge its duty to respond to the People's questions, as has been their consistent pattern of behavior.

Our so-called excuse of a government does not feel it has to answer to the citizens of this nation.  We are the ones who pay the salaries of these "officials".  We are the ones who provide them with their cushy lifestyles, their vacation homes, their fancy cars and fat bellies.  Yet, we do not exist. Pretty ironic coming from an administration that speaks with such bravado when it comes to brandishing its weapons upon other nations and threatening to destroy them. This same administration is AFRAID of its own citizens.  I call that false bravado.  I call that extreme cowardice.

We do not exist to our government because our government fears us.  It does not want to stand in the sunlight and try to defend the indefensible.  It does not want to admit to our faces directly or otherwise, that it has been ripping us off every single year.

So, the path of least resistance is evasion.  We have a government in hiding from the People.  How impressive is that?

Not only did our legislators and our oh-so-great leader, George "Dubbya" NOT show up at this rally, but coincidentally, the mainstream media decided it to be unworthy of coverage as well.  Not surprising, since the government and its media whores are in bed together.  Media coverage of this event would have brought more national attention to the questions raised by the People, and these are hard questions that the powers-that-be will not and cannot answer out of FEAR. They couldn't  (and didn't) let a thing like that happen.  God forbid. They are afraid of the repercussions that would follow media exposure, fearful of the consequences which inevitably follow admissions of GUILT.

Our governmental "leaders" have shown their true color, which is YELLOW.  With all their pomp and circumstance, with all their droning speeches full of empty words, they are nothing but COWARDS.

As James Madison reminded us on that bright afternoon, each of us has a responsibility to our government and to our People.  Our government once again has made it quite clear that it bears no sense of responsibility to uphold our Constitution, and it has no intention of extending to the People the common courtesy and respect we deserve -- as their EMPLOYERS and as human beings.

What is needed now, according to outspoken Freedom Drive organizer Bob Schulz, is for the People to "institutionalize vigilance."   We need to spread the word amongst groups of people other than ourselves, those who are not talking about these issues, who are unaware of what is going on with respect to the patriot Act, the war, our monetary system, and the illegal income tax system.  We need to widen the circle and expand the lines of communication.  We will go around mainstream media, since they are in collusion with the de facto government.

At one point, I walked over to Rick Stanley, (former Libertarian Senatorial candidate for the state of Colorado, who drove to the rally in his green and white Allegro motor-home, with flags flapping and horn blaring as he circled the designated route around the Capitol prior to the speeches) and I asked him to share his impressions of Freedom Drive and the subsequent rally. This is what he had to say:

"Bob Schulz says, obey the Constitution or else.  I agree.  But they keep ignoring 'or else'.  The Million Gun March petition at http://www.stanley2002.org is the final 'or else'.   Bob Schulz has said he is not going to pay taxes anymore and neither am I.  There will probably be many others that follow.  These people in power will not leave by themselves .  When we have the Million Gun March, we will insure that the current U.S. government will comply with the boundaries outlined in the Constitution."

Following the outstanding speeches of the day, "We, the People", on behalf of ourselves and our fellow Americans who were not in attendance, proceeded to show our further indignation and dismay by walking a route that included circling the Capitol building, Supreme Court, and other federal buildings.  As we did so, we wore jackets lettered with the words "Tyranny Response Team" and held our flags and signs high.  We stood before the steps of the Capitol and Supreme Court buildings, directly in front of the police, shouting "Show us the Law!"  and "You work for US!" and "No Answers, no taxes!"  We were not allowed to climb the steps to these buildings, as the police had them blocked off with uniformed personnel.  We made a very loud and undeniable presence as we demonstrated, and I am certain we were heard within the building.

The bottom line of all this is that since our petitions for redress of grievances have been ignored, "We, the People" are well within our rights as American citizens to withhold our monies from said government until our petitions are answered and our questions resolved.  It is the responsibility of this government to respond to the People.  It is our duty as Citizens to hold government's feet to the floor, to shine the light into their faces, to force accountability.  We owe this not only to one another , but also to our children.

By being pro-active, by refusing to buckle to fear and intimidation tactics, and by continued vigilance, we can restore the Republic.  "We, the People" are charged with the responsibility of bringing this government back under the control of the People and the "Rule book". 

Until this happens, we can only expect a worsening of the current conditions in America.  And, I will remember November 14, 2002 as the day I saw my government hide from the American People.   This decision on the part of the de facto thug factory which is the UNITED STATES government will cast a very long shadow, indeed.