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Guest Post: Thoughts On The Liberty Dollar Debacle
Thoughts On The Liberty Dollar Debacle
By Brandon Smith of Alt-Market.com
I was in the midst of the Save America Convention
in Tampa, Florida when I heard, first, that Libya was under bombardment
by the UN (led by U.S. forces), and, that Bernard von NotHaus of Liberty
Dollar had been convicted of “counterfeiting”. It was a stressful day, to say the least. For
those not familiar with the Liberty Dollar incident, In November of
2007, federal officials raided the group’s headquarters nestled in a
strip mall and seized all documents and the gold and silver that backed
up the paper certificates and digital currency being distributed through
the Liberty Services website. The Justice Department
asserted that Von NotHaus was placing gold and silver coins, along with
precious metals currency, into circulation with the purpose of mixing
them “into the current money of the United States.”
To be clear, NotHaus made some serious mistakes,
including pressing his coins to look semi-similar to standard federal
currency, and also using language which could be interpreted to
insinuate that his currency was “legal tender”. There are
many barter networks in the U.S. that use gold and silver that do not
have these kinds of problems with the government simply because they are
careful not to make the same blunders.
However, it wasn’t the conviction itself that
struck me, so much as the language of the prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Anne
Tompkins, in her post trial statement. Let me reprint my favorite parts for you here:
“Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism,”
“While
these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they
are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to
the economic stability of this country,”
“We are
determined to meet these threats through infiltration, disruption and
dismantling of organizations which seek to challenge the legitimacy of
our democratic form of government.”
Some
in the Liberty Movement have interpreted this statement to be a warning
to all of us that the Federal Government is declaring open season on
alternative currencies. Others see it as a preliminary move towards the confiscation of all privately owned gold and silver. And
yet others see the statement as dire prophecy, now cowering behind
their 1040’s at the thought of the smallest barter transactions, as if
the IRS is the all seeing eye of Sauron waiting to catch them in the act
of trading apples for oranges and sending agents to crush them with
their slimy orc-like fists of doom.
Perhaps I am the only one, but in contrast, I see the prosecutor’s statement as an expression of blatant fear. I’ll explain, but first, let’s dissect the nonsensical and irrational idiocy behind the saber rattling of Anne Tompkins.
First, U.S. prosecutors prevailed over NotHaus on a conviction of COUNTERFEITING! Unless
I am confused, and he was using his silver currency to fashion a
McGuyver-esque thermonuclear sound money bomb, it is more than just a
stretch to try to equate his actions with domestic terrorism. In
fact, the post trial statements of Tompkins are so insane it makes one
question her level of paranoia, and perhaps her prescription drug
habits. After finding no obvious hint of crazy eyed drool
mouth in her photographs, I realized that perhaps she was not a zealot,
but simply a messenger.
My
feeling (and this is only an intuitive notion) is that Tompkins had
little to do with the writing of those statements, or had much
“coaching” from the Department of Homeland Security, which has been
expanding its absurd definition of terrorism to include almost anyone
who does not agree with the philosophies of establishment elites and
corporate global banks. Even returning military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been listed as possible domestic terrorist threats. Why not proponents of gold and silver?
What
we see here is the not so subtle conditioning of average Americans
towards categorizing certain innocuous behaviors as being related to
possible criminal or terrorist motives. Owning guns is anti-social, and you are a naughty bad person for liking big boom boom stick. What’s that? A pocket Constitution!? Didn’t McVeigh or one of the 9/11 hijackers carry around something like that? You have a survival garden? Hmm, that sounds fishy. I better call the FDA and make sure everything you’re doing is on the up and up. You want to trade gold and silver? Privately?! That’s obviously “black market” barter, and you are the reason the economy is so unpleasant. I
don’t get as many food stamps and free big brother goodies as I used
to, and I blame you and your dastardly sense of self sufficiency! The IRS should have your head! And so it goes…
So,
I promote private barter networking and precious metals to safeguard
communities from impending inflationary crisis, and am therefore a
“non-violent domestic terrorist which represents a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country”? How
does Tompkins or anyone else, with a straight face, declare alternative
markets and sound money as a danger to economic stability, when the
U.S. economy has already been annihilated by the derivatives bubble
conjured by international banks and the private Federal Reserve? What
about the constant fiat injections by our central bank which have
created an atmosphere prime for dollar devaluation and hyperinflation? Why
in the hell hasn’t the U.S. Attorneys Office or Anne Tompkins placed
the terrorist label squarely on the doorstep of JP Morgan, Goldman
Sachs, HSBC, or the Fed itself? I mean, if we are going to start equating the destabilization of the economy with white Al-Qaeda, then let’s be fair at least. Global banks have had far more to do with our financial downfall than gold or silver trade ever will.
What about the follow up chest beating
proclamations of “infiltration and disruption” of any organization which
seeks to “challenge the legitimacy of our democratic form of
government”?
Wow. Isn’t that comment loaded with bile and stupidity. To
begin with, if anyone, including Tompkins, can show me how our current
form of government is legitimately “democratic” while both major parties
are headed by globalists and corporatists who promote the same exact
ideology and support the same exact legislation, while refusing to
represent even a minority of Americans beyond the elite, then I welcome
them to try. (By the way, Tompkins, I know they didn’t
teach you this in public school, and probably not in college either, but
America was founded as a REPUBLIC, not a democracy.)
If the IRS or anyone else wants to “infiltrate”
barter markets or gold and silver organizations and attempt to record
every chicken egg or gallon of milk traded, then I welcome them to try. Please, expend all your precious energies in a futile attempt to chill barter economies or sound money movements. We would like nothing better. Why? Because you cannot stop barter networks from forming. They are inevitable. Every
culture in history which has seen a severe economic implosion has
reverted to barter, trade, gold, and silver to counter the resulting
poverty and lack of mainstream commerce. The need for survival will far outweigh the populace’s fear of government reprisal. That is simply the nature of man. The
only difference in respect to the Liberty Movement is that we are
working to preempt collapse with supporting networks of commodity trade
and community barter. We are not working to “undermine” the
current economy, we are simply preparing for its eventual fall, and
allowing for the safety of cities and states across the country. Why is this considered devious behavior? Why
would the government react with such vitriol, not towards Liberty
Dollar, but to the very concept of alternative currencies and economies? Because it is something they cannot control…
Ultimately, what I see hidden in Tompkins
statements are the wringing hands of bureaucracy, sweaty and shaking
with a fear of the unknown. When people are desperate, and
dominated by emotions, they become predictable, and this is exactly the
kind of mindset governments like to insert into the collective
unconscious. There are only two paths for any society in
the midst of a full spectrum crisis; beg for more government and more
dependency, even if that government created the crisis in the first
place, or, move away from the ailing government, and towards
independence. Today, in the face of possibly the greatest
economic catastrophe in the history of the world, Americans are
beginning to show an aptitude for independence. We are becoming unpredictable, and this frightens government. If
our cities and states become fully sovereign, with our own insulated
commerce, our own industries, our own food sources, our own defense,
and, god forbid, our own currency, then we may then demand a government
which actually represents us, and our Constitutional foundations,
instead of global banks, for a change. They are moving to call us terrorists, because they truly are terrified of alternative market systems. They have tipped their hand. Which means, we must keep doing exactly what we are already doing.
We do not live in a country built upon the rule of law anymore. Corrupt leaders have no concern for law as a means of balance, only as a means of dominance. Laws therefore change upon the whims of tyrants to fit whatever goals they happen to hold at the edge of the moment. Unjust laws do not deserve the respect or the compliance of the masses. At bottom, we are human beings. Truth and conscience take precedence over all things. If
a law does not follow the inherent auspices of freedom and integrity,
if it does not serve the true best interests of the people, then it
should not be followed. Period. This goes for
any law, current or pending, which would force Americans to abandon
their ability to personally protect themselves, their families, and
their communities, from financial disaster. I leave you with my final statement given at the Save America Convention to drive the point home:
“Today, we stand at a bottleneck in the flow of
history; a nexus of events which challenge our values, our resolve, and
our better natures. Our deepest social and political
beliefs will be called into question, our sacred principles of
individuality and freedom will face an onslaught of malicious
legislation and misguided cultural doubt. These principles always do in the face of global crisis.
To waver is not an option. To retreat is unimaginable. To compromise our core, in this kind of conflict, is to welcome defeat. At bottom, we live in an age of wills that only the strongest of hearts can endure.
As overwhelming as these kinds of struggle can be,
as frightening as this kind of responsibility sounds, these are also
days of truth and providence. Opportunities to right so many past wrongs in the single breath of an era are rare and precious. Men dream of living in the midst of such moments.
As a people, Americans have been challenged. The test is not only one of might, but one of honor and benevolence. How far are we willing to go to not only save ourselves, but to save each other? What are we really fighting for? Personal survival? The temporary stability and solace of the present? Or something more?
Do we intend to hide away, to merely eek out an
existence at the dawn of economic and political catastrophe, or to stand
steel faced and immovable in the very wake of the storm? To return to our foundations and hold fast. To not only subsist, but to prosper. To leave for the future something truly better than what we now have.
The most powerful position of defiance we can commit to as a movement is to teach average Americans to stand on their own. To become the purveyors of their own destinies. For
me, what we call the Liberty Movement is not only a political entity
but a vital philosophy driven by decentralized action and intensified by
the growing uniqueness of its participants. It is the
anti-thesis of globalization, which aspires only to diminish and
dominate the individual, and replace sovereign thought with weak minds
and absolute tyranny.
Ultimately, the greatest leaders do not actually seek to lead, but to teach. They do not seek power for themselves; they seek to empower the common man. This is an act of real survival, for a country of steadfast individuals is unconquerable. It is a place without fear.”
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I guess I better not be promoting my pure silver minted "round" anymore
http://www.mundogold.com
oooops, did I just type that.
A one sided coin?
A recent announcement by the Federal Bureau of Investigations detailing plans to embark on a $1 billion biometrics project and construct an advanced biometrics facility to be shared with the Pentagon has the American Civil Liberties Union on red alert
Sauron's eye is upon you!
Police state, bitches!
Americans, there are 64 million empty apartments in China. First in first serve. Or you could wait for 'New China' now being constructed by your very own 'protectors'.
Question - will American soldiers shoot Americans when they begin to protest aka Syria, Bahrain, Egypt......
The domestic terrorist here seem to me to be very much U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins by trying to bin the Consitution.
Seems very much like the Judiciary are CIA operatives.
America, your country is fucked in so many ways, your only hope is if the real domestic terrorist crashes everything with his money printing and the reset button pushed. Then the corrupt regulators, judiciary, politicians and so forth get to face a newly appointed judiciary with a mission to punish the corrupt and destroyers of your country.
Or you could immigrate now before the SHTF.
Goddamn that ended on a stirring note -- it has the ring of a dream you can believe in.
I just occured to me that I may be a thought criminal... or what they call terrorist today. Should I turn myself in or just wait for them to get me? I'm very embarrased to find this out and don't know what to do. I think almost everyone I know is a thought criminal too. I had no idea how many terrorists there are walking among us. I hope they can stop us and rehabilitate us before we harm ourselves or subvert the well informed American masses.
Make the call - probably ought to make it directly to DHS ... do it before midnight tonight!
Contact info and phone #'s here: http://www.dhs.gov/xutil/contactus.shtm
I wonder what DHS would do IF they suddenly started receiving Millions of emails/phone calls from US Citizens trying to turn themselves in for being thought criminals -- could it possibly overwhelm their pathetic security efforts? The World wonders.
I have a few of these Liberty Dollars. Nobody in their right mind would confuse them with US coinage. If anyone doubts that, just recall how much trouble our own government has had in trying to get the public to use the Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea coins.
As was written in another opinion piece about this sham conviction, if someone had paid $20 a few years ago for a Liberty Dollar that had only $10 worth of silver in it, or they had bought a brand new $20 Federal Reserve Note, which instrument today would buy more gasoline, or more hamburger?
Our precious government has protected the value of the currency so its value only declined by a factor of 70X since 1913.
Why do you think this was prosecuted by the FBI instead of the Secret Service (which historically had jurisdiction over US Treasury matters included counterfeiting? FBI involvement generally serves at least one of these purposes: publicity for the FBI, coverup or political prosecution. Which one does this look like?
all three
What's the difference in having a Silver ETF and trading paper derivatives? The government is doing a good enough job of undermining its own currency, these people are being punished for trying to save themselves from the corrupt system. There's enough fraudulent paper floating around that goes unpunished.
This is going to result in civil war. The bankers play for keeps and the law is on their side. That leaves only one other option. What happened to MLK or the Black Panthers when they tried to make a stand for themselves? They're all dead.
Fascist oppression more like as the politician-whores violate their oaths and do the bidding of the banksters.
or whoever else is on the "Approved Bidders' List" e.g. the Defense-o-glommeration, the gummint unions, uh...the, uh..... Audobon Society? (hey, all you need is big bucks)
Department of Homeland Security, which has been expanding its absurd definition of terrorism to include almost anyone who does not agree with the philosophies of establishment elites and corporate global banks. Even returning military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been listed as possible domestic terrorist threats. Why not proponents of gold and silver?
***************************************************************
I thought everyone here already knew that the 1st amendment does not apply to us and we are home grown terrorists?
Its not like we are making National maps and putting bulls eyes on multiple Targets that we want to concentrate on.. Like Sarah Palin.
Its not like we told the truth to the IRS about thousands of people ducking thier fair share of Taxes.. then we would be in Jail.
look people... stay on page.. or you will go to jail for some reason and whomever puts you in jail will get a raise for figuring out how to put you in jail.
and please.. no matter what.. dont tell the truth about anything... or you will be in jail so fucking fast.. think Mr. UBS sitting in a Swiss Jail.. Thanks Uncle Sam!! good looking out!! it is not like we need those tax dollars collected right now?!
common sense is out, strike that.. common sense never had a place in a court of law..
you ever notice how it is never a public defender who becomes a Judge just the prosecutors? power trip maniacs!
we are all fucked, becuase truth ='s jail.. and the law is not about common sense and has not been in my life time ever about common sense.. just more and more power trips to be dolled out to the sheepeople.
Here's a link to Annie Tompkins' office. I'm sure she'll be glad to hear from you.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/ncw/attorney/index.html
http://www.justice.gov/usao/ncw/contact/index.html
....
the overall conviction rate in the us state courts, on average, varies year to year between 40 to 60%. The overall conviction rate in the federal courts remains constant at about 98%, on par with Russia, China and Iran. The us has one of the world's largest prison populations. former attorney general edwin meese operates the largest chain of half-way-houses contracting to receive recently released prisoners and pretrial defendents. convicted felon oliver north has a company that manufactures police and prison gear with contracts to the federal prisons. the us federal bureau of prisons is the largest office furniture manufactuer in the us. the bureau of prisons does six road shows a year in all regions promoting the "leasing" of day labor of low security federal inmates to manufacturers and other industries. lots more interesting statistics available on line. the implications are obvious. the criminal justice system in the federal courts appears to be an industry
Interesting information. And we are all so horrified that China uses prisoners essentially as slave labor. Maybe they learned it from us.
definitely an industry, more specifically a corporation. that is the current paradigm. what matters is what corporate wants. look up the courts they are all corporations. so are states and municipalities. why? the commerce it all generates. a friend of mine and myself battle the courts in admiralty and we have discovered they sell the liens we create before the cases are settled. the gall of these persons is incredible!
Brandon, wonderful piece which I agree with. Thank you!
good post. the eilites are afraid of revolution, just like in Egypt, the middle east etc. so they are making sure the security apparatus is in place.
So did she say Ben Bernanke is a terrorist.?
Fucking corrupt system.
And guess who pays for it.?
maybe make silver toilets. the real terrorist name sake
But is anyone surprised that the gov't chose to approach it like this? Really?
They're a bunch of fucking goons.
The biggest mistake they're making right now is thinking that having the media in their pocket makes them immune to simple things like gunfire.... they figure they'll just scream "terrorist!!!1111" if anyone gets uppity back here at home. That only works for so long, and not nearly as well when people are watching food and gas prices ratchet upwards.
In other words, they don't seem to have learned anything from the last 6 months or so worth of revolutions.
Her dilution of the term terrorist adds merit to your thesis. "One man's ceiling is another man's floor."
Hey Brandon, excellent writing, feels good to have you (and all true like-minded patriots) on the winning team.
Hey Tompkins, fuck off.
Seems to me that the fascists have well and truly taken over the US.
How does this differ from a Disney Dollar? Does that make the Magic Kingdom the homeland of terror?
fucken gold and silver coins are counterfeit? he shouda just printed fake $100 notes a lot cheaper to counterfeit than real gold and silver coins.
The only thing Anne is doing is trying to spin all forms of disagreement as domestic terrorism in some seeded attempt to promote fascist government and her own personal gain.
Is there a federal magistrate position opening soon? If so, this Anne bitch will be going for it and the rest get a taste of judicial perversion in her name yet to come. Anne cannot be voted out, or forced in any way by the public either.
This story drips with the stench of a first move, with others being set up for later.
You have to work pretty damn hard to take down this economy. Even after the barrage of central banking (a conspiracy no less, worldwide) it's still puttering along. Even with the most top heavy of ridiculous silly governments and bureaus, it still produces.
Gold, silver and barter aren't threats to the economy. They are threats to the sad sacks who enslave people to make their bread. Pathetic weasels they are and nothing you can say or do will change the fact they suck and blow for a living. MONEY WHORES.
All this reminds me of the discussions and questions about how it was that Germany allowed itself to sink into the horrors of the Third Reich in spite of being such an advanced nation with it's culture and intelligentsia. It really was simple for the darker forces, they just had to foster both fear and denial at the same time. By the time the common man on the street figured out that his denial was a fatal mistake it was too late, then real fear was all that was left, he had come to serve the truly mad. Carrots and sticks, denial and apathy, one day we will wake up and realize that we serve the truly mad too, maybe it will be while a TSA carny is groping your little girl, or maybe it will be when you realize that your net worth really does include a proportionate share of both government (at all levels) and corporate debt, because both governments and corporations expect you to pay it and you will one way or another.
Cu, Ag, Au
infederal treasury
serve US servants
Nehemiah 9:36 (New American Standard Bible)36"Behold, we are slaves today,
And as to the land which You gave to our fathers to eat of its fruit and its bounty,
Behold, we are slaves in it.
Excellent, excellent piece. Thank you.
"some in the Liberty Movement have interpreted this statement to be a warning to all of us that the Federal Government is declaring open season on alternative currencies. "
What you think?
What's the average IQ of this group anyways?
Said it before, TPTB will decide what money is.
Period.
"My feeling (and this is only an intuitive notion...)"
I stopped there.
yea there were some real gems in that letter.
Newbie here. Been lurking around the edges for a while. ZeroHedge is certainly tops for the news. Thank you ZH.
Had a thought shortly after I started on my 12. I write checks on occasion, so do most if not all of us. Those checks are treated as legal tender and so they are legal tender, but........ only FRNs are legal tender. Are all banks then......counterfeiters?
Ought to be easy to shoot holes in this, but it sure is fun to play with the idea. Let the junk fly. Mirth uber alles.
you are correct. checks are promissory notes and promissory notes are security instruments and security instruments are required by UCC law to be "a writing".
if you make a copy of a FRN or a check, you won't be able to cash it. you are counterfeitting. yet, in my own expirience i have seen an alleged lender file a copy of a note into the court as having standing on which to foreclose which is completely untrue.
so far, i have noticed my defense in admiralty as having serious "pull" so to speak since the magistrate has granted 3 of my 4 motions.
it does require time to study, but the law can be learned.
I do agree that we need to bring our fiscal policy in order.
Living within own means makes sense. But I do not understand this "passionate" cries for revolution. What kind of revolution, may I ask? Socialist revolution?
Marxist revolution? French revolution? They all have been tried before?
Anarchist revolution? And then to Mad Max World?
What else you can expect from Anarchists?
Thank you very much. I will rather stick to my Premiere account with HSBC
and good old capitalism.
I cringe when someone equates Anarchy with chaos and feel shame for them.
Do some homework. Define:anarchy.
"The state of a society being without authoritarians or a governing body"
Golf etiquette is anarchy. No central authority enforces the order in which people strike the ball. You can have civil behavior and anarchy, since it's not chaos.
Self organized systems of individuals are much more productive and the law is needed to protect them from the screaming freaking statists that demand the right to exploit them as slaves at gunpoint. Take Libya for example. This is government out of control. We are funding million dollar missiles, 124 of them for what? Because France told us to. Tell me Central Bankers aren't calling the shots.
You are a slave. As long as you wave the flag and shout freedom, demand state monies for whatever your endeavors, you are livestock - and the most pathetic thing I can think of, a money whore.
Your points are good, SW, but calling people "whores" won't help. Some are, but very many are just confused and intimidated. A far better strategey is to improve them, not to slam them.
Yeah, that's a lot harder, but it gets the results you want.
I would prefer good 'ol capitalism as well. But that isn't what HSBC wants.
Silver for the people:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BrotherJohnF?feature=mhum
Bernard Von Nuthaus?
Bernard Est Nut-House.
Hi !
A little off-topic, but...
Let's say someone has silver from Libery Dollar they bought a few years ago, is it still valuable or would they get in trouble for selling/trading it?...TIA
it seems they do quite well on ebay. since the "decision" went down the last auction i watched sold a one-ouncer for $67.00 (plus $5 shipping). silver was at $37 and some change. i have also seem some "graded" ones sell for over $80 in the recent past.
yeah well, Von Nothaus is not the only patriot being "taken care of".. another one who has recently had a run in with Homeland Security orcs is Walter Reddy of Committees of Safety (http://www.committeesofsafety.org/ ). He and Dr. Edwin Veiera actually began the modern tea party movement before Rick Santelli did his rant on national televison. Reddy has been working with state legislators across the country to institute legislation to allow states to use gold and silver as payment (legal tender). Check out how he was raided.. http://www.dailypaul.com/159528/breaking-alert-patriot-raided-by-swat-un...
It was reported that some neighbor of his called the FBI on him. I have heard rumors there are ties to Goldman Sachs who may have even threatened Reddy's life. It is clear that people in the Liberty movement advocating for sound money are being watched very carefully and now being persecuted. You can bet things are going to get a lot worse and pretty dicey.
“Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism,”
That charge fits what Ben bernanke is doing. When is DHS and the Treasury going to indict him for undermining the ligitimate cutrency of this country with the "printing press"?