Subject: LP speech Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 From: "Wesley Burnett" The attached text file is the final draft of a speech to be delivered at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 10 at the Libertarian Party of Texas state convention in Corpus Christi. Wesley W. Burnett ---------------------------------------------------------- "..it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.." --Samuel Adams Texas Constitution 2000 - It's About Freedom www.tcrf.comIt's About Freedom Wesley W. Burnett Chairman, Texas Constitution Ratification Committee Address to the Libertarian Party of Texas State Convention June 10, 2000 Corpus Christi, Texas My deepest appreciation and gratitude to Nancy Neal and to the convention committee for this marvelous opportunity to share a few minutes with you about an important, dramatic and historic political event ... the drafting and ratifying of a new Texas constitution. Texas Constitution 2000 is the culmination of a dream that I have had for several years. I wondered aloud and to myself many times ... how do we go about affecting political change so that we may enjoy real freedom and liberty in our lifetimes? That's the main reason I am a libertarian. I believe the principles expressed by the Libertarian Party are precisely what we need, and I applaud each of you for your dedication and persistence toward achieving those libertarian goals. Without you and the Libertarian Party of Texas, there would be no organized opposition to the socialists who call themselves Republicans and Democrats. I dare to say that all of us here today seek the same goal ... real liberty and freedom for all people. Real freedom and liberty ... not the kind of make-believe freedom we see all around us, like the phony so-called patriotic speeches we hear from politicians, all too eager to get elected and find new and more efficient ways to steal our wealth and control our lives. My friends, I'm talking about real freedom and liberty ... the kind of liberty and freedom that none of us have ever experienced, and few have even dared to dream about experiencing. But heck, I'm preaching to the choir here ... you already know that ... you're also keenly aware that there is very little chance in our lifetimes to live freely. In fact, you probably realize that there is mounting evidence that we are entering perilous times for freedom lovers. In the name of saving democracy and making life safe for children, government is slowly but surely suffocating what little individual rights remain in the United States. But there is hope. That's why I'm here today, to share with you a dream of a bright and cheerful future for Texas. This is a message of hope for all Texans, and anyone living in Texas. That hope for a future of freedom and liberty, I believe, rests on our ability to dismantle the incorporated form of government under which we currently suffer. Do I need to explain what I mean by incorporated government? Just look around you, signs of corporate government rules are everywhere. Right here in this room there is a sign that declares the maximum allowed occupancy, as if we did not have the common sense to know how many people can safely fill a room. Your motel room has a sign on the door filled with tiny print no one can read, spelling out a laundry list of rules and regulations, shoved down your throat and the owner of this property by a corporation known as the City of Corpus Christi and the State of Texas. But it doesn't stop there. All government units in the United States have the same corporate power. It's been there since the 1870s, when politicians figured out how to get around constitutional restrictions by simply incorporating government. It started by the official incorporation of the District of Columbia and other territory owned by the United States. Slowly, every so slowly, like a nasty cancer hidden in your body, this incorporated government power spread to states, then to all levels of government. By the middle of the 20th century, a republic form of government had all but disappeared, although few people recognized the change, it happened so slowly. I don't have to tell you intelligent and thoughtful libertarians why this corporate form of government is so dangerous to our liberty, surely you already know that. A few years ago I asked our former city manager in Post why our city government was incorporated He took a few seconds, then with a wide smile on his face replied, "So we could pass ordinances to control people like you?" We were and are good friends, so his comment was partly in jest, but he did hit the nail on the head. Without incorporation, no government could impose unconstitutional restrictions on the people who live within the boundaries of those corporations. Freedom and liberty can not co-exist with a corporate form of government. The founders of this once great freedom-loving nation never envisioned the idea of incorporated government, but they misjudged the evil deeds that can be done in the name of the "good of society." The natural order of greed and love of power ensures the continued expansion of corporate government. Notice if you will that very few, if any, corporate government units are ever disbanded. Once they are formed, they hang around forever, and grow faster than any weed you'll ever see in Texas. Corporate government, like its non-government cousin, only fails when its expenses exceed its revenues and its ability to borrow and tax is exhausted. Can we afford to wait for the inevitable bankruptcy of this form of government? I want you to know that I am approaching 60 years of age, and I don't have that much time left, and I am determined to experience real liberty and freedom in my limited lifetime. Am I alone in this quest? "Oh, Burnett," my detractors say to me, "you're just a crazy dreamer." Yes, I am unequivocally a dreamer... and damn proud of it. I dream of the day when Texas will be the beacon of liberty, shining brightly, surrounded by a sea of socialism and tyranny. I dream of a place where all freedom-loving people will be welcome, knowing that they will be held accountable if they dare to violate the rights of any other person. I dream of living in a Texas free from taxation... with no government welfare and no government control over private or economic matters. I dream of a Texas where the government is founded on the libertarian principles so brilliantly defined by Thomas Jefferson in the American Declaration of Independence. I dream of a Texas where government and its agents are held accountable to the sole purpose of securing the inherent rights of individuals. Those rights, you may have discovered, are well defined in Texas Constitution 2000. Take a look at Article 1, the Declaration of Rights. Article 1. Declaration of Rights Section 1. All political power is inherent in the people, and all governments exist by the will of the people. The people of Texas retain the right of altering, reforming, or abolishing their government in any manner they believe proper, at any time. Section 2. Every individual has the inherent right of life from physical conception to natural death. Section 3. Every individual has the inherent right of liberty, which is the unrestrained exercise of free will, which shall never be infringed provided the exercise thereof does not violate the rights of any other individual. Section 4. Every individual's body, life, labor, ideas, thoughts, and possessions that the individual has lawfully created or acquired are that individual's property. Every individual has the inherent right of the ownership, non-coercive acquisition, and use of property. Section 5. Every individual has the inherent right of defending the life, liberty, or property of any individual using whatever force is necessary, through whatever means available, including the use of deadly force. Section 6. Every individual has the inherent right of owning, using, and carrying arms of any description. Section 7. All rights are retained by each individual and shall never be denied, infringed, or violated in any way except in the sole circumstance of conviction of a crime or tort by due process of law as defined in this constitution, and then only as directed in the particular case. And then there's the simply stated and easily understood definition of the law, which ensures that violators of those rights will be held accountable: Article 3. The Law Section 1. A crime is any action taken by an individual wherein the individual intentionally initiates physical force, fraud, or theft which results in damage to another individual or damage or loss of another individual's property without the consent of that individual; or an action taken by a government official in violation of this constitution. Section 2. Tort is any unintentional action that results in damage to another individual or damage or loss of another individual's property. Section 3. No body of law other than the law defined in this constitution has any force or effect on anyone on or under the soil of Texas, on or in the waters of Texas, or in the airspace of Texas unless all parties to an action have previously knowingly, voluntarily, and intentionally agreed to that body of law by contract. Section 4. The obligations of contracts shall not be impaired provided only that all parties to the contract entered the contract knowingly, willingly, and voluntarily. Section 5. Except in the case of a crime in progress, no individual shall be detained, imprisoned, nor held against his or her will in any manner, unless a lawfully executed warrant specifying the charges has been issued in accordance with this constitution. Any individual so detained will be informed of the reason for detention within one hour of being detained. What happens when a government agent, elected or appointed, violates the rights of an individual? The victim has easy access to the county court where the alleged crime took place. Absolutely no one is exempt from the law. There will be no such thing as "sovereign immunity" when Texas Constitution 2000 is implemented. And the accused will be brought before a randomly selected jury... without the interference of a government approved prosecutor. The judge will maintain decorum and order, but has no authority to instruct or direct the jury in its deliberations. Our friends in the Fully Informed Jury Association are sure to be pleased with Texas Constitution's insistence of jury power. Take a look at the details of this court system in Article 4. Here's the most important aspect of Texas Constitution 2000: Everything written after Article 1 is in direct support of the Declaration of Rights and crafted specifically to enforce those rights. You will find not a single conflict anywhere in this document. Government is instituted to secure our rights, and this is precisely what Texas Constitution 2000 does! Texas Constitution 2000 ... It's About Freedom Radical? You bet it is! It's even more radical than Jefferson's famous declaration. For even that thoughtful genius failed to see the damage to liberty that would come as a result of allowing government the power to tax. That single, solitary piece of constitutional authority has all but destroyed our liberty and ownership of property. Taxation is nothing short of evil. It is destructive and there can be no security of rights as long as government has the power of force to extract wealth from unwilling individuals. Radical? You bet it is! But isn't that what libertarians stand for? Don't we insist that government perform its duties through voluntary funding? Of course we do, there is no other way to effectively control the awesome power of government. When my friend Bob Phipps showed Texas Constitution 2000 to the former Sour Lake city manager, the small-town bureaucrat cried out in dismay, "Of course you don't need any taxes, you don't allow government to do much of anything!" He was partially correct. Texas Constitution 2000 allows government a few specified duties... such as enforcing judgments of the courts and providing for common defense. You'll find a detailed list of national and county functions in Articles 4 and 5, plus a long list of "thou shalt nots" in Article 2. I urge you to read this constitution for yourself. You decide if it's the kind of constitution you can support. I believe you will, because it is based fundamentally on libertarian principles. I am convinced that when Texas Constitution 2000 is ratified by at least 176 Texas counties, Texas will truly be the land of opportunity. Please take just a few seconds right now to think about how great it will be to live in Texas when real freedom and liberty are secured for us. Close your eyes just for a moment. Now think about how much you will gain by living completely tax free. Concentrate on the monetary value alone... how much extra money will you have when taxation is abolished. How much in one year? In 10 years? In 20 years? Now, open your eyes, your hearts and your minds to the power of what can be accomplished if other taxpaying Texans feel the same way as you do. Do you see what I see? Millions of Texans clamoring for a piece of this kind of freedom! And I ask you, how much is it worth to you to live the rest of your life free of taxation? How much is it worth to you to live the rest of your life without interference from the government in your private and economic life? Just think about it for a moment. Now, isn't it worth the effort to make that dream come true? I saw a cornball movie recently, which included a cornball line that went something like this: "You can't do anything without a dream, but you can do it all if you have and believe in your dream. First you see it, then you do it." The famous women and men of history all lived out their dreams, many of them facing tremendous odds against them. We need look no further than our own American ancestors, who had the unmitigated audacity to demand a new form of government better suited to their purposes. They were not heroes in their time, they were radicals, and worse, they were dangerous radicals. After all, they dared to challenge the world's most powerful nation. Pipe dreams? You bet they were... dreams that few had the nerve to even consider. And they had very little public support. Historians estimate that barely 15 percent of the colonial population bothered to participate at all. These radicals were ridiculed, badgered, threatened and ignored by the vast majority of the very people who would benefit the most from their efforts. We are no different today. Libertarians are subjected to the same treatment as were our American revolutionary ancestors. Those of us who are promoting the lawful and peaceful ratification of a new Texas constitution share the same fate. Frankly, I find great comfort in knowing that I am being held in such high esteem. Radical? You bet! And when Texas Constitution 2000 is ratified and implemented, and Texans begin reclaiming their freedom and liberty, I am convinced that the whole world will marvel at these radicals who dared to exercise their inherent right to alter, reform or abolish government as they see fit. Those words, by the way, are to be found in every Texas constitution except the carpetbagger 1868 version. Article 1, Section 2 of the State of Texas constitution guarantees us the right to change the form of government, with or without the approval of the current government. And with the approval of at least 176 Texas counties, that is precisely what we intend to do. I believe that your dream of living in a libertarian state will come true. I believe that, because I strongly believe that God wants us to be free. And when your county ratification convention is held, I believe you will enthusiastically vote to ratify Texas Constitution 2000! When debating how to go about ratification, we chose to emulate our American ancestors by using the same procedure they adopted for ratifying the U.S. constitution. You'll find that in Article 7 of the U.S. constitution. As was the case then, we have chosen to require at least two thirds of county ratification conventions for ratification. And then, the constitution will only be implemented in those counties which have ratified Texas Constitution 2000. With 254 counties, that means we'll need 176 for approval. We are concentrating our efforts in the 200 counties with less than 50,000 population, but conventions will eventually be held in all Texas counties. You're probably asking, "How in the world are you going to get county conventions in 254 counties?" We know this is a very ambitious effort. Make no mistake about it, this is not a short term political effort. However, I can assure you that the men who now serve on the Texas Constitution Ratification Committee are dedicated, inspired and determined to proceed. It's taken more than a year, but we now have what we believe is a very workable plan. We've taken great pains to develop a foundation and well organized system to tackle this awesome task. The organizational structure begins with the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1997. Delegates to that convention formally adopted Texas Constitution 2000 at a special ceremony in December 1998 at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park. At that session, the convention delegated authority for supervising ratification to the Texas Constitution Ratification Fund. That pure contract trust is managed by seated delegates who volunteered to serve as trustees. The trustees have appointed seven of 12 members to the Texas Constitution Ratification Committee. I resigned as a delegate and trustee last November in order to serve on the ratification committee. We all serve at the discretion of the convention and through contracts with the trust. All members of the ratification committee are serving without pay, as is also true for trustees of the trust. The ratification committee has been delegated the responsibility to conduct the lawful and peaceful ratification of Texas Constitution 2000. The first order of business was to develop a comprehensive plan to achieve that goal. The ratification committee is structured with a chairman, vice chairman and secretary. Three standing committees serve as the nerve center for day-to-day operations. Bob Phipps, former vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Texas, serves as a vice chairman of the ratification committee and is chairman of the subcommittee for county ratification. Michael Deardorff of Lubbock serves as chairman of the subcommittee for advertising and publicity. Michael operates an advertising agency and has extensive experience in political campaigns. Rick Rickard of Colorado City serves as chairman of the subcommittee for finance. Rick is a hospital administrator. He is joined on that subcommittee by our committee secretary, Keith Potts of Lubbock, who is a long-time conservative political activist. Keith owns and operates a State Farm Insurance agency. Alex Martinez of Austin also serves on the subcommittee for finance. Each of these subcommittees have individual action plans, and have been delegated authority to carry out those plans, alleviating the need for expensive committee meetings. Our county ratification subcommittee plan calls for the appointment of two zone directors, who are responsible for identifying, appointing, training and supervising five district coordinators in each zone. For the purposes of breaking down this task into manageable units, we have marked out a north zone and a south zone. Each zone has five geographic districts, with approximately 20-21 counties in each district. District coordinators are responsible for the identification, appointment, training and supervising of county ratification committees. Each county committee will be composed of not less than six and not more than 12 respected Texas citizens living within the county. The county committee is responsible for funding its ratification effort. You will find the entire ratification plan on the web site... tcrf.com - it's printed on the front of the constitution handout, we've got plenty on hand for everyone. So, while Bob Phipps is actively recruiting the two zone directors, Rick and Keith are putting together the essentials for finance. Sensitive as we are to potential criticism about funding, we are submitting an application with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for a 501 C 4 designation. We believe in complete openness, and by making a quarterly or annual financial report to the IRS, we are demonstrating that everything we do is lawful and open for inspection. While the other subcommittees are carrying out their work, Michael has outlined the necessary printed, audio and video needs to support each county ratification convention. The ratification committee has a first year budget of $16,500, with the bulk of that set aside for initial printed materials necessary to assist county committees. With very little overhead or administrative expenses, we are able to concentrate our limited resources directly where the funds are needed. County committees will set their own budgets and conduct fund raising efforts in their counties to pay for the extensive advertising campaign that must be conducted. We have established solid requirements for aggressive paid advertising in each county prior to its convention. I encourage you to take a peek at the web site and sift through our ratification plan. I think you'll agree that it is a good plan, and one that can be implemented effectively by volunteers. After the 176th county ratifies Texas Constitution 2000, a detailed and comprehensive transition plan will be implemented by a coalition transition government. Following the first election and appointment of new government agents, Texans will be free to do and say and write and think and go and be whatever and wherever they wish ... without the fear of government interference, as long as they do not violate the rights of any other individual. What better way to begin this new millennium than to usher in a constitution better suited to secure our individual rights? If any of you are inspired to help with this monumental ratification task, please speak with me later. It is my prayer that you will eagerly endorse and enthusiastically support Texas Constitution 2000. It is, after all, the constitution you have been seeking, and it ensures the very principles on which you stand. On behalf of the Texas Constitution Ratification Committee, I thank you very much. Questions? TCRC Chairman Speech 06/07/00