I have mostly pleasant memories of CHRISTmas past (I have 67 of them so far though some are in “baby fog”). It is special to me though it may be hard for some to which I am compassionate.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).
The true meaning of Christmas is this: God took on the form of a human to die in our place, paying for our sins, so that humans who receive Him might be forgiven and be with Him forever.
You are free to reject that message and the One who delivered it, but what you are not free to do is to redefine or change the message into something that fits your own beliefs and choices.
As the carol says, “Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.”
The world today is a sad place, and those who love freedom sometimes feel we are shoveling against the tide. But for just a moment, at this time of year, we should pause and remember an event that occurred about 2,000 years ago in the Middle East.
The world then was a far worse place, yet a light seared through the darkness. A baby was born in a cave. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. The baby came into the world so that we might have life and live it abundantly. The baby came into the world so that we would be set free from our own sins, free from the temptations of the world and free from the governments that seek to control us.
The baby was the Son of God and the Prince of Peace and the Savior of the world. This week we celebrate His birthday.
Merry CHRISTmas.


I went around with my We The People hat today giving a quiz about our unalienable rights… to my dismay no one got better than an F. Yes, we have lots to do.
December 15th is Bill of Rights Day, the 224th anniversary of the most successful assertion of individual rights and liberties ever written. The date is as obscure as it should be celebrated. If you watched the news this morning, they were more likely highlighting National Cupcake Day. But it’s also one of the most important dates in American history, because without the Bill of Rights the fledgling United States may not have survived.
Barely a decade after 1776, shortcomings in the Articles of Confederation brought about a political crisis among the states, culminating in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The new Constitution was ratified the following year, but that was not the end of the crisis, as a number of states made ratification contingent on a Bill of Rights being swiftly added to it.
With the fate of the Republic at stake, the two dominant political forces of the time – the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists – waged a public contest of ideas. It ended with the drafting by consensus of the first ten amendments to the new Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, which sealed the deal when Virginia became the 11th state to ratify, on this day in 1791.
The history of the document since then has been a stunning success. In a testament to the power of its ideas, the visionary principles embodied in the Bill of Rights that were considered radical by most of the outside world at the time – freedom of expression and belief, the presumption of innocence, due process and equality under the law – are today lauded as universal human rights.
The expanding reach of these principles in our own country has been no less breathtaking. When the Bill of Rights was ratified its provisions only fully applied to 5% of the people living here. They didn’t apply to slaves, native Americans, women, or white men of less than a certain means or property.
But the amendments themselves do not contain a single exclusionary clause. So as our understanding of freedom grew from the experience of it, along with the wrenching tragedy of a civil war, the Bill of Rights remained a clear beacon illuminating the path forward. Today virtually all Americans expect that these rights and freedoms belong to all equally.
There have been setbacks and reversals along the way. President Roosevelt declared the first Bill of Rights Day in 1941. Two months later he issued the executive order interning all Japanese Americans, one of the darker episodes in our history. Today’s headlines remind us just how perpetually fragile the idea of a free, just, and civil society is. As President Reagan pointedly observed “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream.”
The Bill of Rights:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
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.

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
Camp Constitution Wishes all a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving .
History of Veterans Day
World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France.
However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918,… is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”
The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:
Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and
Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and
Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples. (The above is from the Veterans Administration.)
Camp Constitution salutes our nation’s veterans and activy duty military
Recently my English class and I finished reading the story of Beowulf, which was one of the first written to personify good and evil, and because of this the teacher asked the class to have a discussion about good and evil and how to tell the two apart. The class was then broken up into groups where we proceeded to discuss the topics. Soon I engaged in an interesting conversation with another student who struggles with his faith in God. I asked him how he decided what is good and what is evil, and his response was if something hurts people then it is evil; if something does not hurt people then it is good. When I asked him where he got his standard from, he could not give me and answer. This discussion eventually left my discussion group and the entire class started debating the issue and, whenever I asked someone where their standard for good and evil came from, no one could give a straight answer.
Eventually someone asked me where my standard for good and evil came from and I responded that it came from God, and that I believed that what is right and wrong is defined in the Bible and that morality was absolute. The class responded by saying that morality was relative, that I cannot tell anyone else what was right and what was wrong. They told me that morality changed based on the situation. I then asked, if morality is relative then how can you tell a murderer that what he has done is wrong? When they could not give a straight answer I
then said that if morality is relative then everything is permissible. That pretty much ended the discussion.
The reason I am sharing this story with you is so maybe I can help someone realize the value of standing up for their faith. No one in that class converted to Christianity right there and then, but the seeds were sown, and I hope I got them thinking about God and moral absolutes, which is what I was trying to do in the first place, get them to think.
I hope you enjoyed the story and I look forward to witting some more for you. God bless you.
-Dominic Girard has attended Camp Constitution’s annual summer camp and is a student at Manchester Public High School in Manchester, NH
STEALING THE MINDS OF A NATION
IS THE GREATEST CRIME
In 1924, H.L. Mencken’s razor sharp words took public education to task exposing its true goal: “to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality.” Today’s reality exposes these truths. We have journeyed to close to the final goal of the educators: Change Agents in the Obama Administration nationalizing our schools from K-12 with Common Core. This path traveling from freedom to slavery is the inevitable consequence that all other nations have followed when they allowed the state to take control of what children are taught. This long term process has now been in the works for well over a 100 years. Below as I uncover signposts from the past leading to this goal, you will see how precisely this long term agenda fits Mencken’s words like a glove.
In no way does this thesis below condemn all the great teachers who labor under a monopoly of what is taught in their classrooms. Nor, do I attack our students who have for the past hundred years , created a boom in the advancement in technology. But, here, I merely suggest, our students have been denied the moral wisdom that has created the “goose that laid the golden egg”: the freedom that only comes from the Holy Bible. Freedom to be creative.
As a father of four and grandfather of ten, I have for nearly 50 years had a passion for exposing this evil process that popular opinion ignores. For powerful persuasion of the fickle nightly news and main line newsprint have continued to applaud while these truths have been designated as extreme. A constant barrage of telling the people what they want to hear, “good news” ; makes an effective cover, for it shields the people from what they need to know. We must learn from these lessons of history that have deceived generations of our people in order to prevent the complete nationalization of our schools.
In fighting through all the maze of controlled persuasion, remember it is you who must decide what is the good or the evil side. Beware, the warning of the words of William Butler Yeats in his poem, The Second Coming: “The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Siren songs of tyranny have always been sold with quiet gentle words throughout the generations with a “passionate intensity.” Parents must avoid leaving the teaching of their children in the so-called expert hands of the state.
Youth who have a limited understanding because of poor reading have been easy to deceive with perverted history. Because the “core” of learning depends on reading skills: these foundational methods of informing the minds of our youth in our public schools have been the primary target of the “change agents’ in our schools. The crippling impact of impaired reading on our culture has been evident in the kind of leadership we have chosen. I’m sure that most parents are concerned as I am about what is taught in our schools. For isn’t it obvious that what is taught today, if it does not produce a high degree of literacy, the next generation will suffer the consequences?
With children in a captive audience in the classroom: does it not make sense for parents to ask, why these insightful words of the great Senator of Rome, Marcus Tullius Cicero have not been part of their history curriculum: “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.” Just think how rewritten historical lies controls human action. George Orwell reinforces this deficiency with a similar warning: “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”
Should we not as parents ask why evil men lusting for power, have learned from history, while good honorable leaders: especially, in our American Republic, who have been entrusted to safeguard our liberty, seem never to learn from history. in our culture: “evil painted good goes on silently”, while the people slumber in the paradise of liberty, oblivious to the price paid for it by our “forefathers.” Without reading skills our people cannot learn from the past. Does it not make sense that if a method of teaching reading skills is a failure, then the tried and true method of phonics should be restored in our schools?
The thread of history exposing this evil trend to deny our people the lessons of history has deep roots, traveling all the way back in time to May 1st, 1776. Preceding our Declaration of Independence, the Order of the Illuminati, the main branch of this conspiracy of evil was founded with a purpose to destroy all human institutions: the family, biblical Christianity, schools of learning and all governments. Essentially, turning the world upside down to establish their control. The words of the Degree of Regent within the Illuminati stated: “You must gain over the Order the common people. The great plan for succeeding in this is to influence the schools… The Prefect will therefore spare no pains to gain possession of the Schools which lie within his district, and also of their teachers…” Do you see how this intent is the seed of Common Core and how its purpose fits what Mencken’s words so accurately described in 1924?
One of the most powerful agency of this alien philosophy that would limit the student to dependence on the state and divide children from their parents was the Carbonari spawned Young America movement. A second generation agency furthering the Illuminati cause in America to turn all that is decent in the world upside down was led by John O’Sullivan, editor of the Democratic Review. In 1837 this was a major newspaper impacting the Democratic party. His words were a Manifesto of deception: “ All history has to be rewritten; political science and the whole scope of all moral truth have to be considered and illustrated in the light of the democratic principle. All old subject of thought and all new questions arising , connected more or less directly with human existence, have to be taken up again and reexamined….” American’s who care about the future our children will inherit, must ask: Why weren’t we told about this silent generational killer of our beloved nation?
While Threads of darkness were spreading this evil agenda throughout Europe. From Adam Weishaupt to Voltaire, the goal was set to capture controls of education in every country. On this side of the Atlantic, God’s agenda became the beacon of hope for western civilization. “Dr. Lawrence A. Cremin in his study of American education from 1607 to 1789, credits the high quality of American education to the Bible,’ the single most important cultural influence in the lives of Anglo-Americans.” The Providence Foundation reveals the results of education that creates liberty: “At the time of the Declaration of Independence the quality of education had enabled the colonies to achieve a degree of literacy from 70% to virtually 100%.” Children sitting on mothers knee created the greatest generation ever. True education God’s way is not complicated.
But the lure of Free public education for all children in public schools appealed to a small audience of parents seeking an easy way that required less parental involvement. Although contrary to the trend away from the “free education, Common Schools” (the name for public schools then): in 1789, Massachusetts enacted the first state school law. No one then or enough people now seemed to realize the high cost government schools would demand from the taxpayers pocket. Nor the killing effect it would have on a “generational mindset” of our people to perpetuate the “biblical liberty’ that our forefathers bought with their lives, fortunes and sacred honors. Rewritten history hides the glory of this greatest generation that won the war for American Independence.
Perverted history, hides this agenda that Karl Marx listed as the number ten plank of the Communist Manifesto in 1848. its purpose lies hidden: to destroy parental rights that would be taken away by the Nanni-state. Since then “government schools called public schools” have become as American as apple pie. Take heed of Lincoln’s insightful wisdom: The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.”
The control of our public schools has been the first step, acting as a catalyst to perpetuate other revolutionary planks that Marx’s advocated in his Manifesto. Because what our youth have been taught continues to allow the promotion of our nations central planned super-state, generation after generation. Government school graduates do not question the Marxist programs that continue to dominate our national policies And all the masters of the Orwellian Ministry of Truth whose minds are also programmed by the same educational curriculum say: hurrah, hurrah! Education of our youth has traveled from the trusted knee of mom to the present world that threatens the future of our nations survival. Failure in education has deep roots.
Here I would like to define the term , “Educational Establishment” (EE): as the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United States Department of Education with its satellite 50 state agencies, the National Educational Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT) , Teachers Colleges and textbook publishing companies. These are the “Common Core” revolutionaries minds behind what Teachers teach. Students learn what they are told. But passing grades does not measure good education.
Isn’t it fair to assume that these philosophies of the EE have had a major impact on our nations policies that have caused America’s decline from liberty and prosperity? In what other way could our citizens have been so desensitized to all the government policies that have accumulated an 18 trillion dollar plus, national debt? Toleration of such “economic chaos” has no other explanation to the sober minded. Who would guess that the seed our destruction was incubated in the minds of our educators growing from the school room where either the Christian philosophy of liberty or the utopian philosophy of tyranny can be taught? Isn’t it possible that Samuel Blumenfeld’s words describe how we have become victims of this national crime; “It is easier to believe a credible lie than an incredible truth?”
What are the results of the EE monopoly of education? In April 1983 the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued its historic report, stating: “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre education performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves.” After thirty two years and tens of billions of dollars later, who can argue that our money has bought an improvement in education?
it is because our Founders believed in biblical truth, our nation has risen into unparalleled prosperity. Does it not make sense to go back to these basics to solve our nose-diving SAT scores? Instead of pouring more money into programs such as Common Core. According to the book, America’s Providential History there were in 1989, 30 – 40 million American adults who were functional illiterates. Isn’t it obvious that something is radically wrong with our schools when these poor souls are unable to read job applications, a warning sign at work or prescriptions on medicine bottles?
Why have our schools failed to educate? The answer lies within each of us as we look in the mirror. We have allowed the Supreme Court rulings for well over a half-a-century to be our Supreme Board of Theology. Biblical Christianity has been rendered obsolete in their multiple rulings. Why should we be surprised if our nation uses God as a “spare tire” as was demonstrated on 9-11. Afterwards, we put Him back in the trunk. Without the moral anchor of the Ten Commandments, our nation has been in a “moral vacuum” : not standing for something, we have fallen for anything to fill that vacuum. Colossians 2:8 tells us that a worldly philosophy brings captivity: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men , according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” Most folks own a Bible, but not many read it.
Parents: do you really believe that such an elementary failure of so many children to learn to read and write can be blamed on their intelligence? Or is it that we have bought a monopolized education package from the EE with our tax dollars that have purposely failed to teach our children for generations the correct way to read or write? For information on the proper teaching of phonics system, I urge all to contact the Samuel L. Blumenfeld Literacy Foundation at slblf.com. For a sound basis and understanding of this “crisis in education” , I suggest reading the late Mr. Blumenfeld’s books: “IS PUBLIC EDUCATION NECESSARY?; NEA: TROJAN HORSE IN AMERICAN EDUCATION, and his last book co-authored by Alex Newman: CRIMES OF THE EDUCATORS.
As citizens who pay dearly in tax dollars we must ask why for generations, the EE has deleted the only true Common Core of education, the Ten Commandments? This has created a moral vacuum in the minds of our youth, who are now filled with varying degrees of what the holy Bible warns against in the last chapter of Judges: “Every man did what was right in his own eyes.” This is the goal of the master planners, the self appointed gods of the EE. For as Ben Franklin said: the more corrupt a people become the more they have need of a master.” Crime is profitable for would be dictators who lust for power.
Since the mid-twentieth century we have been victimized by what William Penn warned against: “Men who refuse to be ruled by God will be ruled by men.” I have studied decades of government corruption and no matter which party is in control, we continue with essentially the same philosophy: if government policies fail, we just throw more money at it. If the definition of insanity is: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, then looking in the true mirror of our history, we as a people have allowed insanity to rule. If one doubts my contentions here, I suggest you read the Communist Manifesto, thoroughly, and then compare the agenda that Marx recommended to seize control in a nation to how our government policies follow the same path.
It is for shame that the implementation of the above evil agenda quietly strangles our nation, while God’s Manifesto for liberty, the Holy Bible is forgotten. Biblical liberty is so vividly portrayed in 2 Corinthians 3:17 where it says…”Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.” Without this divine restoration, the terminal infection within our culture seeded many generations ago in our schools will cause the “death of our nation.”
Today marks the 228th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. How did most Americans observe this important day in our history? Most didn’t. And that is precisely why Camp Constitution’s mission is so vital. Our nation’s enemies have done an incredible job ensuring that most Americans know little to nothing about this remarkable document.
Since our camp’s founding, we have reached out to hundreds of thousands of people from our Youtube and Vimeo channels, outreach events at parades, door to door distribution, Tea Party rallies, home school shows, and on Camp Constitution Radio.
What have you done to promote the U.S. Constitution? Here are a few recommendations:
1, Start a Camp Constitution Community Club.
2, Host a video series on the Constitution.
3, Purchase and distribute copies of the U.S. Constitution.
4, Make the U.S. Constitution an issue when you communicate with elected and appointed officials.
5, Educate yourself on the U.S. Constitution.
6, Help promote our web site
7, Help promote our week-long family camp by becoming a sponsor.
8, Help start a summer camp in your part of the country.
Here is our 10 question quiz on the U.S. Constitution:
Constitution Quiz:
1, Which amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms?______
2, What is the age requirement for the U.S. Senate?________________
3, Which amendment reads “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs?”__________________________________
4, Lawmaking abilities are vested in which branch of government?____
5, How many amendments does the Constitution have?___________?
6, Which branch of government has the power to regulate education?
____________________________________________________________
7, Where in the Constitution is foreign aid mentioned?_______________
8, How many senators are needed to ratify a treaty?_______________
9, Which branch of Congress initiates the impeachment process?______
Answers:
1, 2nd Amendment.
2, Thirty years. Article One Section 3. Paragraph 3
3, There is no such amendment. This quote is from the “Communist Manifesto.”
4, Congress- Article One, Section One.
5, Twenty-seven
6, None. The U.S. Constitution does not grant any power regarding education in the Constitution.
7, It isn’t mentioned. The Constitution never gave the federal government any power to give taxpayer money to foreign countries. A treaty may include financial arrangements but this wouldn’t be foreign aid.
8, 2/3 of those present (Article II, Section, II, Paragraph II
9, The House of Representatives (Article I, Section II, Paragraph 5
10, Congress (Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 11
Thank you for taking the quiz. We hope that this will challenge you to both learn more, and help others learn about this incredible document. We also hope that you will take an important role in the freedom movement. If you would like more information about Camp Constitution, please visit our web site www.campconstitution.net
Happy Constitution Day. May you help us celebrate many more. We will leave you with a video of Kid Constitution whose knowledge of the U.S. Constitution shames most adults.
The late Sam Blumenfeld was a pioneer in the modern homeschool movement, and an instructor at Camp Constitution. While he passed away June 1, of this year, his legacy lives on with his numerous books, newsletters, and hundreds of speeches, and presentations he did over the years on radio shows, homeschool conventions and public presentations. Thanks to the efforts of Camp Constitution’s web master Eric Conover, and Mark Affleck much of Sam’s work, has been archived on the camp’s web site including his Alpha-Phonics book with instructions in audio for all 100 plus lessons. That’s right. Anyone can learn to read or teach others how to read using Camp Constitution’s web site.
In addition to the Alpha-Phonics, we have uploaded some rare writings available in digital for the first time newsletters from “American Friends of Algeria,” “American Friends of Katanga,” and “The Society of Jewish Americanists.”
Rita Dunaway, staff counsel for the Convention of States Project (COS), wrote an article,
Five Myths about Article Five, which turns the Constitution on its ear. Ironically, her article challenges five premises that are true, while invoking at least 9 myths of her own.
In fact, the very name “convention of states,” is being used by Article V convention advocates to deceive state legislators into thinking an Article V convention can be controlled by state legislatures; it cannot.
Rita’s Myth #1: A “convention of states” is the only “medicine that can cure the disease of federal overreach…”
False: What did our Founders really say we must do when the federal government usurps power? They never said, “When the federal government ignores the Constitution, amend the Constitution.” Instead, in addition to electing faithful representatives, they advised Nullification.
“Where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy.” – Thomas Jefferson; Kentucky Resolutions, 1798
According to the Tenth Amendment Center, “Nullification is any act, or set of actions, that results in a particular law being rendered null, void or even just unenforceable within a particular area.” Nullification applies only to unconstitutional acts of the federal government – to usurpations of powers not delegated.
States, local governments, your County Sheriff or even The People can follow the advice of James Madison and refuse to comply with unconstitutional federal laws right now, without risking our Constitution through a convention. In fact, there were over 200 bills introduced less than one month into the 2015 state legislative season to do just that.
Rita’s Myth #2: The purpose of Article V is to protect The States and The People from an overreaching federal government.
False: Amendments are meant to correct errors, not to protect The People from an overreaching federal government. Alexander Hamilton at the constitutional convention on September 10, 1787 pointed out that amendments remedy defects in the Constitution. And he tells us in Federalist No. 85 (paragraph 13) that useful amendments would address the “organization of the government, not…the mass of its powers.”
You cannot “fix” federal usurpations of undelegated powers by amending the Constitution to say the federal government cannot do what the Constitution never gave it the power to do in the first place.
Rita’s Myth #3: The reason the drafters added the convention method of proposing amendments to Article V was to give the states a way to bypass Congress.
False: If Article V were meant for states to bypass Congress, it would have bypassed Congress! Article V gives Congress the power to “call” a convention; and Article I, Section 8, last Clause gives Congress the power to make whatever laws are “necessary and proper” to carry out the powers vested by the Constitution, e.g. Article V.
It’s true that George Mason wanted states to be able to make amendments without the assent of Congress and in a manner which did not depend on Congress. However Mason lost on this issue and refused to sign the Constitution.
Rita’s Myth #4: A “convention of states” is different than a “constitutional convention” because of the source of authority of each. The former derives its authority from Article V itself and is limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution we have; whereas at the constitutional convention of 1787, The States gathered pursuant to their residual powers as individual sovereigns.
False: The only convention for proposing amendments is one called by Congress. And Congress has total power to organize and set it up. But once the delegates assemble, they are the sovereign representatives of The People, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence (paragraph 2) and have the right to alter or abolish our form of government and institute a new one.
Advocacy groups are using semantics to change the meaning of the term “constitutional convention.” According to Black’s Law Dictionary, a “constitutional convention” is defined as “a duly constituted assembly of delegates or representatives of The People of a state or nation for the purpose of framing, revising, or amending its constitution.”
COS cannot have it both ways. They cannot proclaim the enormous power of an Article V convention to take back our government; and, at the same time, rein in delegates and deny their sovereignty.
Rita’s Myth #5: We know how an Article V convention would operate.
False: Neither COS nor anyone else can guarantee what will happen at an Article V Convention. There are no precedents. With our Constitution at risk, are we to assume 200-year-old “customs” in conventions between a few states would prevail?
Proof that there are no rules for operating an Article V convention is that various organizations of state legislators, including the Assembly of State Legislatures (ASL) and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), are working furiously to hammer out rules. However, any finished product of such groups will have the “force” of a suggestion only.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report issued April 11, 2014[1] confirms that Congress most likely will claim authority over the power to organize and set up an Article V convention. Because of lack of precedent and so many unknowns, the CRS Report suggests on page 27 that they’ll have to call a convention to see what sort of convention they’ll get: general, limited or runaway!
Rita’s Myth #6: The reason we haven’t had an Article V convention yet is because there have never been 34 applications requesting a convention on the same topic.
False: This is speculation. Since Congress is given the power to “call” a convention, Congress decides how to count the applications. The hundreds of applications sent in thus far may not have met Congress’s criteria in terms of wording, timing, or any number of factors; or perhaps Congress has resisted calling a convention for reasons of its own.
Rita’s Myth #7: A limitation on the topic is necessary in order for state legislatures to provide instructions to the delegates.
False: There is nothing in Article V that calls for instructions to delegates. Since delegates can do whatever they want once the convention is convened, delegate instructions serve only as a gimmick to secure legislators’ votes on applications by giving them a false sense of security in thinking they can control what is totally out of their hands.
Judi Caler lives in Nevada City, California and is Article V Issues Director for Eagle Forum of California. She is passionate about holding our public servants accountable to their oaths to support the Constitution we have.
[1] The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress, Thomas H. Neale, April 11, 2014.



Camp Constitution’s 2015 annual family summer camp concluded Sunday at the Toah Nipi Christian Retreat Center in Rindge, NH Attendees came as far as Texas, Florida, and Michigan. Guest instructors included constitutional attorney, and author, Mrs KrisAnne Hall, Mr. Tom DeWeese of the American Policy Center and one of the nation’s leading experts of Agenda 21, Earl Wallace, author of the “Three Dimensional Leader,” Pastor Garrett Lear, the Patriot Pastor, Dan McGonigle, author of “Execute the Laws to Restore the Republic,” and Rev. Steve Craft.
In addition to the excellent instruction, campers and staff alike took a field trip to the Boston Tea Party Museum, and a trip to the Massachusetts State House where they were greeted by State Representative Leah Cole. Other activities included an outreach to the neighboring town of Winchendon, MA were campers distributed copies of the U.S. Constitution to business owners and local elected officials, and a hike up Mt. Monadnock in nearby Jaffrey, NH.
Recreational activities at the camp included wiffle ball, volley ball, basketball, swimming, boating, and even ballroom and line dancing instruction.
The camp published a daily newspaper which contained the results of the daily room inspection. interviews of instructors, and other items. Each year, staffers choose two super campers, one boy and one girl. This year’s winners were Jillian Kalis and Mike Smith.
Plans are already being made for next year’s camp which will run from July 10-17 and be held at the Toah Nipi Retreat Center. For camp pictures, please visit our Facebook page. Videos of camp activities and classes will be posted on the camp’s Youtube Channel