Molon Labe! (70 page)

Tom's eyes tear up as he says, "Phil Miles has been found dead." "
What?
"

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry. At the National Arboretum, where he went to see the azaleas in bloom. An alleged suicide, but it looks like he was VF'ed. Vince Fostered. Even the
Post
is describing the scene as 'suspicious.'"

Swearing under his breath, Preston stands briskly and leans on his desk. He shakes his head and says, "They finally caught on to him Tom. I told him not to contact us for a while, but they caught on to him and killed him. On the anniversary of Concord and Lexington, as a big
'Fuck You!'
Bastards!"

He sighs deeply and sits back down, deflated. "Tom, the privatization of our schools has just suffered its first battlefield KIA. We
must
see this thing through, for our children. And for Phillip Roland Miles. He believed so much in what we are doing, and" — Preston falters — "and he didn't even
live
here!"

The Governor drops his grieving head in his hands and sobs.

Preston slid into a black funk for nearly two weeks. Only when James, Jr. announced that his girlfriend Katherine had accepted his marriage proposal did Preston snap out of it. Katherine, a concert stage classical guitarist was already so much part of the Preston family that James and Juliette had considered her like a second daughter for nearly a year. Hanna adored her like a big sister. James, Jr.'s engagement was one of the few bright spots in his dad's life for months, until the August election.

Douglas, Wyoming

June 2017

Local Laissez-Faire Party members welcome their newest member, Douglas Bleth, formerly the SAC of the Casper FBI Field Office. Bleth retired early from the Bureau at a drastic cut in pension benefits because he
"could no longer in good conscience remain employed by an organization with such a history of violating not only its own internal policy and guidelines, but the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution."
The obvious murder of Phillip Miles, emblematic of Washington's insane lust for power, had been the last straw for Douglas Bleth.

Governor Preston sends him a warm note of congratulations, commending him for demonstrating
"superb ethics and a deep love of country."

Wyoming Special Election

August 2017

On the ballot are three proposed amendments:

"Constitutional Amendment A: To repeal the following language from Article 21, section 23:

The following article [sections] shall be irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of this state:"

"Constitutional Amendment B: To repeal Article 21, section 28:

The legislature shall make laws for the establishment and maintenance of systems of public schools which shall be open to all children of the state and free from sectarian control."

"and Article 7, section 1:

The legislature shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a complete and uniform system of public instruction, embracing free elementary schools of every needed kind and grade, a university with such technical and professional departments as the public good may require and the means of the state allow, and such other institutions as may be necessary."

"Constitutional Amendment C:

Neither shall the state, nor any county, city or town, assess, levy, impose, or collect any sales or ad valorem tax on any homestead real estate or improvements thereof."

C passes by an 84% majority. B passes by a 57% majority. A passes by a 62% majority. The voters of Wyoming choose to privatize education.

The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.

— John Stuart Mill

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Federal District Court

September 2017

Several organizations, such as the NEA, AFT, and other public school teachers' unions, sued the State of Wyoming. If victorious they would be entitled to, under the
Equal Access to Justice Act
of 1980, recovery of all legal expenses because they allegedly advanced a policy inherent to public interest legislation on behalf of a significant class of persons. Such is known as the
"private attorney general"
concept.

This had been expected by Preston's team.

After outlining the history of private education in America, its unlawful and unconstitutional usurpation by state and federal government, and the manifest failure of government schools to adequately educate the children of America, the Wyoming Solicitor General concludes his oral argument.

"There have been historical problems with irrevocable clauses in constitutions. First of all, such have a history of simply being ignored. The federalists ignored Article XIII, Section 1 of the Articles of Confederation which declared the Union to be perpetual and stipulated that any changes must be ratified by all 13 states. In
The Federalist
#40, Madison argued that it was ridiculous for 12 states to be stymied by Rhode Island's adherence to the Articles, and '
dismiss[ed] it without further observation
.'

"Secondly, the clause does not specify what is '
consent of the United States
' Does it require a simple majority of Congress? A two-thirds majority? Must the President consent? Hence, the clause is void for vagueness.

"Thirdly, the clause refers to the United States, a government which conceivably may not function or even exist in the future. Hence, the clause is prima facie conditionally revocable.

"Lastly, the clause itself is inherently contradictory with other language in the document. If the Wyoming constitution may be, according to Article 20, amended by the people, then the people may amend the entire
constitution, including Article 21. This must be so because the people have the inherent right and power to inaugurate a totally new constitution invalidating the previous one. The US Constitution accomplished precisely this when it invalidated the Articles of Confederation of 1781. Article 21, section 23 violates the ultimately subordinate nature of constitutions to their creators, the people.

"In summary, the State of Wyoming believes, and is supported by a majority of the voters, the clause of Article 21, section 23 to be void and with no force or effect. As a matter of constitutional hygiene, some may believe it preferable to repeal the language outright rather than ignore it. This does not change the fact that although the people may indeed, for the public good, delegate some of their authority and selectively restrain themselves with a constitution, they cannot 'throw away the key' of alteration as future events may prescribe that constitution's revision or abolishment. This is hardly novel legal theory. Such is the history of not only our nation and of the states, but of nations throughout time. Article 1, Section 1 of the Wyoming Constitution is abundantly clear on this point:"

All power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness; for the advancement of these ends they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish the government in such manner they may think proper.

"Last month the people of Wyoming decided the issue. They want a separation of school and state, which had been the original order of things when the United States of America was founded.

"The Article 21 sections following section 23 remain, of course, subject to revision or repeal only through the amendment process described in Article 20."

2017 USA economic news

A full-blown tax revolt has erupted across America. It was first brought on by young workers resisting the doubled FICA to keep the Social Security system afloat for retiring Baby Boomers, and then was picked up by most other workers.

Retirees assert that their benefits cannot be reduced because they had made plans to rely on them (even though this was originally discouraged back in the 1930s). Workers rightly counter that FICA rates are ruinous and that they cannot afford to house and feed their own families.

The Government, caught in the middle by generations of congressional weakness, cannot directly favor either side.

Debts are
always
paid, if not by the borrower, then by the lender. Though the Baby Boomers did not quite understand it at the time, they had "lent" trillions in Social Security from 1962 to 2015 to be "repaid" by their children and grandchildren.

Their progeny, however, increasingly refuse the "debt."

Thus, the "lenders" must pay since the "borrowers" will not.

The Government has only one solution — the same solution governments have
always
resorted to. Inflate the currency into worthless oblivion. It's the only way to force the clueless public lenders into paying off the Social Security debt.

Yes, Baby Boomers will get their SS checks for the "full" amount. Purchasing power, however, will be another story. Not that any of it should come as a surprise. This tragic script was knowable long in advance. Any debt unpayable by the borrower must be, through default, paid by the lender. Sensible Americans back in the 1980s figured this out, and simply refused to join the racket. They were called "tax protesters."

By 2017, millions of workers had turned into Irwin Schiff.

Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.

— George Orwell,
1984

Dumped by foreigners and domestically inflated beyond recognition, this is how the intrinsically worthless Federal Reserve Note finally rushed headlong to its long-overdue demise. Whether or not the FRN would take America with it was yet a question to be answered.

2018

Tuscon, Arizona

March 2018

After months of investigation by the Arizona Attorney General, FBI Special Agent Michael "Feathers" Tipton is arrested for fabricating evidence and witness tampering. The Bureau's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) bitterly complains that Tipton is a victim of a vindictive sting operation brought on by allegations of a citizen's rights advocacy group.

Wyoming

Friday, 1 June 2018

The bells of Wyoming public schools ring for the last time. Come September only private education will exist. The Preston administration did not deign to wait for green lights all the way to the US Supreme Court, but enacted privatization with only a Federal District Court favorable ruling. The matter had been instantly appealed to the 10th Circuit, and the Wyoming AG ignored an injunction to delay privatization until the appellate ruling. The people, legislature, and supreme court of Wyoming had spoken. If a state cherishes its internal prerogatives, then it must exercise them.

The NEA
et al
were furious but could not persuade the Government to step in with force against such solidarity. Officials in Washington discounted the Wyoming school privatization as a sterile fluke which no other state had the interest or temerity in duplicating. It was Wyoming's first real constitutional challenge of federalism. D.C. blinked and the entire country knew it. The public school divestiture went ahead as scheduled back in 2016.

Nearly 20% of the public school teachers had not been rehired. The axe had fallen on those who could not effectively teach, or were universally disliked by students and parents. The purification process of the free-market had begun. It came as a shock to many life-long government employees.

I would like people to understand, "Your rights, you will not need them." Rights do not make you free; only by acting free can you become free....

But to fight for the establishment of rights or for recognition of rights by one's government involves tacit subordination to the state.... Thus, the passage of concealed carry permit laws in the United States is an admission that the right to keep and bear arms no longer exists in this country.

...The fundamental question is not what rights do I have, but why may anyone exercise coercive authority over me in the first place? It is coercion, not freedom, which must be justified. If coercion is not legitimate, there is no need for "rights." Arguing "rights" is arguing from an acknowledged and accepted subordinate — unfree — position. So, your rights, you do not need them! They cannot and will not help you, because no government wishes to recognize them..., and it is fine with the state if you spend your life attempting to compel the state to acknowledge and respect their existence. The question is whether you will act free or how you will use your freedom....