[B. A. Conservative]

Thanks for posting the link to the article on nullification. It is an intriguing concept. Most states have been as corrupted, or more properly corrupted by, the federal government through the model cities program and other carrot and stick programs. But there are few that might be candidates. I think this is definitely a topic for more detailed discussion. I hope we will hear more on this from others interested in these threads.

Patrick Henry gave us what maybe the most inspiring words ever uttered by mere mortal man. My eyes water every time I read them.

My thoughts are:

First look for a means of restoring the Constitution and forcing the government to live within it. I frankly think the viability of this approach was lost when the Republicans failed to exercise power after the 1994 elections. And I am not sure that we can recover the momentum lost before the SS and Medicare clocks run out.

Next, find a state to be first for secession. I now think nullification could be a serious alternative to this approach. It is this type of discovery for me that is one of the reasons why I originated these threads.

Armed rebellion will be surpressed. And conventional war with the United States by any other power on earth is unthinkable. But rebellion of the sort put in play by Boris Yeltsin can work. One man resisting in the state capitol of a seceding state is a powerful statement. Would Ashcroft or Bush send in tanks to kill such a man? Maybe. Would the tank commanders? Maybe. Martyrs make powerful statements in the right setting. People listen. Even if they sent the tanks the first time, I think they would listen more carefully to the second man willing to become a martyr. One thing is for sure, I know they would fear him like no other. Our people have not completely forgotten the difference between freedom and tyranny. The image of one man dying for freedom in the face of tyranny is a message unlikely to be dismissed or forgotten. The brave souls who died at the Alamo will live forever in recorded history. God forbid that we should ever be capable of forgetting.

[Rule of Law]

Armed rebellion will be surpressed.

So would secession and attempts at nullification.

There are a couple of other approaches we might try.

One is, I beleive, beyond the pale. That is to get enough states together to call for a constitutional convention. The problem with that approach is that we have no idea what type of Constitution we'd come up with. But with the caliber of today's education and with today's press --in fact, with today's citizenry -- we'd probably end up with something that looked like the Soviet Constitution.

The other is to put together a militia movement. Not a bunch of nut cases (though that is how they would be characterized in the press), but ordinary citizens. Get them drilling in public. In front of courthouses and statehouses and particularly on the Mall in Washington. You could bet we'd get martyrs then. But we might remind the government that we're still here and that they've gone too far.