Half A Truth Is Often A Great Lie.

USMC Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi drove from his home in Florida to San Diego, seeking care for his thrice-deployed-to-Afghanistan PTSD. The night of his arrival, he took a wrong turn and found himself at the one-way port of entry in Tijuana, unable to turn around.

He's been locked up ever since, because apparently the only way American firearms can get across the border is when the A.T.F. lets them walk. You may be moved to sign a White House petition demanding his release, but in the meantime, the Mexicans should be hailed as heroes for saving him from the V.A.

The American separatist regime found out about their latest scandal by watching the evening news. Again. Let that sink in for a moment: The most powerful office in the cosmos is being apprised of matters by soundbytes between Viagra commercials. It's either the most inept, out-of-touch administration in history, or someone's lying (again):

Fight For What You Believe In #OperationAmericanSpring #OAS

I've had three days to digest Operation American Spring and the heartburn is only getting worse.

It's not the numbers. or lack thereof, it's the reaction. The racist and sexist attacks have been a growing tsunami and no one's safe. The elderly, the infirmed, young, gay, Asian - the onslaught is not witty or ironic or good-natured snark. It's hatred. Pure bashyourfeckingfacein hatred.

And for what? Don't we all have the same Bill of Rights? Everyone's e-mails are being snooped, phones tapped, texts read, speech curtailed, protections infringed, media silenced, due process eroded, bags searched and consciences compromised.

I wish I'd been this engaged during the Bush presidency, because that was surely the sowing: Our government failed us on 9/11 and used it as a pretext for stripping civil liberties. Then they lied to us about a war and sent thousands of men and women into harm's way. Those lucky enough to return were branded domestic terrorists, permitted to die waiting on the V.A, and we were lied to again. Then the kabuki government which failed to protect us decided to fund, arm and train the very same group that attacked us and necessitated all these draconian measures in the first place.

But acknowledging your country's entire raison d'être is just SO gauche, right?

Anonymous is participating. Are they "teabaggers" and traitors, too?  The former insult is a sophomoric softball, but the latter really cofuses me. Separatists actually believe that Citizens standing up in defense of the Republic's rule of law, founding principles and protocols of governance are engaging in sedition. Meanwhile, the lawless apparatus that's subverting all of the same is somehow within due bounds. How can one reason with such blind faith, ignorance and apathy?

Do I agree with every stated goal of OAS? No, but I do appreciate the art of the possible. I will participate again soon, and I don't give a damn if there are 3 people there or 300 million. My founding charter tells me this explicitly:

When a lengthy series of violations are committed (which always have the same result of curtailing my natural abilities), I am empowered and obligated to reject the perpetrators and choose new, lawful representation. Those are Thomas Jefferson's words updated, and each forms the capstone of the Declaration of Independence. If adhering to these "obvious facts" makes me a domestically terrifying traitor, then that I proudly am.

In the meantime, I admire the resolve of those still in Washington and would be happy to post your stories, pictures and any other content related to OAS. I can be reached via e-mail here.

EDIT: How's this for instant validation? Immediately after posting this, I was accused of trying to overthrow the government, execute the President, deport all Muslims, and then lectured on living in the poor, bigoted South. Just as I said, there is no reasoning with madness. 

You Damned Rebels! #OperationAmericanSpring

Today marks the 238th anniversary of free, armed Citizens (i.e., Militia) defying corrupt bullies thousands of miles away. In the intervening 86,927 days, extremists have somehow contorted both logic and law to the point that those same Citizens are now considered domestic terrorists. Rather than trying to decipher this madness, I've decided to just wait for my weapons to arrive. 

Last month I'd subjected you to my first video. Now that I know the Bill of Rights better, I thought a fitting follow-up would be an understanding of exactly how it's being usurped by separatists. Casting a light on their treason is NOT racism, it's vigilance!

I started compiling the infractions, but couldn't even make it through the first amendment without developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The Third Lantern will instead shine on the Truth Seeker for publishing their comprehensive list. 

This matters! It's not stodgy proceedings by some dead guys in powdered wigs - it's YOUR freedom to speak, to worship however you wish, or even not at all. To move about freely, to protect your family, to not have your private correspondences snooped on, to have the final choice about what you do with YOUR OWN BODY. We are a nation of liberty, laws and process, period.

• Used Executive Privilege in regards to Fast & Furious gun running scandal. When Government misconduct is the concern, Executive privilege is negated.
• 23 Executive Orders on gun control - infringement of the 2nd Amendment
• 2 Executive actions mandating private health information on patients be turned over to NICS - Violation of HIPPA law.
• Executive Order bypassing Congress on immigration – Article 1 Section 1, ALL Legislative power held by Congress; Article II Section 3
• Unilaterally issued new exemptions to immigration restrictions law that bars certain asylum-seekers and refugees who provided “limited material support” to t
  errorists. – Article 1 Section 1
• Issued directive instructing ICE to NOT enforce immigration laws in certain cases. Article 1 Section 1, ALL Legislative power held by Congress; “he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” Article II Section 3
• Expanded executive action for amnesty to illegal immigrant relatives of DREAM Act beneficiaries. Article 1 Section 1, ALL Legislative power held by Congress; “he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” Article II Section 3
• Executive action directing DHS that almost all immigration offenses were unenforceable absent a separate criminal conviction. Article 1 Section 1, ALL Legislative power held by Congress; “he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” Article II Section 3
• Information memorandum telling states that they can waive the work requirement for welfare recipients, thereby altering the 1996 welfare reform law. - Article 1 Section 1, ALL Legislative power held by Congress
• NDAA – Section 1021. Due process Rights negated.  Violation of 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Amendments.
• Executive Order 13603 NDRP – Government can seize anything
• Executive Order 13524 – Gives INTERPOL jurisdiction on American soil beyond law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.
• Executive Order 13636 Infrastructure Cybersecurity – Bypassing Congress Article 1 Section 1, ALL Legislative power held by Congress
• Attempt to tax political contributions – 1st Amendment
• DOMA Law – Obama directed DOJ to ignore the Constitution and separation of powers and not enforce the law. ” he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” Article II Section 3
• Dodd-Frank – Due process and separation of powers. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau writing and interpreting law. Article. I. Section. 1
• Drone strikes on American Citizens – 5th Amendment Due process Rights negated
• Bypassed Congress and gave EPA power to advance Cap-n-Trade
• Attempt for Graphic tobacco warnings (under appeal) – 1st Amendment
• Four Exec. appointments – Senate was NOT in recess (Court has ruled unconstitutional yet the appointees still remain)
• Appointing agency czars without the “advice and consent of the Senate.”  Violation of Article II, Section 2
• Obama took Chairmanship of UN Security Council – Violation of Section 9.
• ACA (Obamacare) mandate – SCOTUS rewrote legislation and made it a tax because there is no Constitutional authority for Congress to force Americans to engage in commerce. SCOTUS has no authority to Legislate or lay taxes. Article I Section 1 & 8.
• Contraceptive, abortifacients mandate violation of First Ammendment
• Healthcare waivers – No president has dispensing powers
• Refuses to acknowledge state’s 10th Amendment rights to nullify Obamacare
• Going after states (AZ lawsuit) for upholding Federal law (immigration) -10th Amendment.
• Chrysler Bailout -TARP - violated creditors rights and bankruptcy law, as well as Takings and Due Process Clauses – 5th Amendment (G.W. Bush also illegally used TARP funds for bailouts)
• The Independent Payment Advisory Board (appointees by the president). Any decisions by IPAB will instantly become law starting in 2014 – Separation of Powers, Article 1 Section 1.
• Congress did not approve Obama’s war in Libya. Article I, Section 8, First illegal war U.S. has engaged in. Impeachable under Article II, Section 4; War Powers Act – Article II Section 3.
• Obama falsely claims UN can usurp Congressional war powers.
• Obama has acted outside the constitutional power given him – this in itself is unconstitutional.
• With the approval of Obama, the NSA and the FBI are tapping directly into the servers of 9 internet companies to gain access to emails, video/audio, photos, documents, etc. This program is code named PRISM. NSA also collecting data on all phone calls in U.S. – Violation of 4th Amendment.
• Plans to sign U.N. Firearms treaty – 2nd Amendment.
• The Senate/Obama immigration bill (approved by both) raises revenue – Section 7. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives
• Obama altered law – (A president has no authority to alter law) Delayed upholding the Employer Mandate Law (ACA) until 2015 – Individual Mandate will be enforced. A President does not have that authority – Article. I. Section. 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States; The president “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed” -Article II, Section 3;  Equal Protection Clause -14th Amendment.
• Obama altered law - ACA Medicare cuts delayed until 2015. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Obama altered law – Enforcement of eligibility requirements for ACA delayed until 2015. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Obama wavered ACA Income Verification Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Obama altered law – Delayed ACA caps on out of pocket expenses until 2015. (when implemented premiums will skyrocket) Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Obama ignored judicial order to fulfill legal obligation regarding Yucca Mountain waste. Article II, Section 3
• Waived Federal provision that prevents U.S. From arming terrorist groups – Article I. Section 1; Impeachable under Article III, Section 3.
• Directed State Department HS to ignore law barring entry to U.S. those giving political or charitable aid to known terrorist groups. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• Obama shelves part of the ACA Law for Insurers, extending the life of non-qualifying (according to ACA) plans until Jan. 1, 2015. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3. Violation of the Take Care Clause, Separation of Powers.
• Obama waved ACA individual mandate for those that lost their insurance. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3. Violation of the Take Care Clause, Separation of Powers.
• Obama alters ACA law and exempts companies employing between 50-100 full-time workers from business mandate until 2016. Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3.
• In total, Obama has unilaterally altered ACA 21 times.  Article. I. Section. 1; Article II, Section 3. Violation of the Take Care Clause, Separation of Powers.

One Month To Go #OperationAmericanSpring

Thank you to Senator Richard Burr (R - NC) and his office for sending The Third Lantern a liberty care package. Their responsiveness and generosity are very much appreciated.

The pocket Constitutions will be passed along to fellow Citizens, as will the study guide when I've finished. Fiat lux!  

New England Antiques Trader had a pewter figurine of the Lexington Minuteman, and I knew the perfect spot for him. My revolutionary soil collection is coming along nicely with nine locations, and I hope to complete the following by the end of this year:

Lexington
Brooklyn Heights
Trenton
Princeton
Germantown
Saratoga
Guilford Courthouse
Yorktown

The Third Lantern shines on Eric Parker today. When liberty called in Nevada, he traveled all the way from Idaho. He asserted our unalienable rights with gravitas, safety and restraint, and much to the dismay of extremists, the BLM retreated.  

For now.

Remember the snide "horses and bayonets" remark by Barack Obama, Esq., etc., etc., during the third debate? We The People may have fewer horses, it's true, but we still know how to use them.

UC Berkeley Standing Ovation

Three cheers for Senator Rand Paul! He nails it: Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, black, white, polka dot, straight, gay, bi, young, old, woman, man, transgendered, atheist or believer, you are being equally exploited. Now what?

The Devil You Know

What are "progressives"? There's nothing new under the sun, after all, and their version of true freedom and equality is the same bloody road hoed by The Inquisition, King John and Richard Nixon. When did tyranny of the mind, body and soul become avant-garde? Americans can no longer communicate in confidence, manage their own bodies or freely practice their religion, and this is deemed "progress"?!

When confronted about their chokehold on due process, they channel Fulghum and blame their predecessors. When that doesn't work, they resort to blaming the media and racism. In the midst of The Great Recovery, the number of Americans on food stamps has swelled to 47,000,000. In short, we've never had it so good and it's not their fault.

I use the term "separatists" to describe this ruling apparatus. They are extremists, for sure, as well as traitors, leftists, liars, liberals, Democrats, Republicans, propagandists, fascists, socialists, confederates, communists and a few other choice names. But to distill their perfidy down to its very essence, what else could they possibly be?

These are people who disregard the Constitution and our time-honored protocols of governance. They consider themselves above the very laws they create. They operate, perpetrate and denigrate as though The Enlightenment somehow got it all wrong.

So, they set forth to fundamentally transform the greatest Republic to exist in all of recorded history. We missed the mark, you see. Plato, Cato, Cincinnatus, the English barons at Runnymede, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Knox, Greene, Glover, Paine, Hancock, Rodney, Revere, Dawes and Warren were all misguided. But ever in the bosom of Providence, a community organizer appeared to America and showed us the way, transparently.

He then stood before We The People and decreed that he is no longer bound by his solemn oath. While other Presidents have signed more executive orders, none have declared themselves de facto Emperor. It was perhaps the most blatant usurpation of our tricameral system of government by an elected official, ever. And what did our representatives do?

They applauded. They stood and clapped and huzzahed for the man. Let that sink in for a moment.

If anyone needed one final nudge to compel them towards the American Spring, I hope that was it. I have no idea how it will unfold and I stand to lose a lot, but the devil you know is hardly better than the one you don't. If you're an American of any race, creed, color, orientation, occupation and any other persuasion (besides separatist), I consider it my birthright and duty to stand by your side.