The Case for an Article V, Convention of States, Amending Convention

- Part 2 THE SURVEILLANCE STATE

The problem we face is daunting and multifaceted, but, in short, it is: a concentration of power by some
branches of Government and the abdication of authority by others such that we, as individuals, are left
feeling isolated, helpless, and hopeless. Know that none of those things is true, for the ties that bind us
as unique, individual Americans, rooted in Natural Law, can never truly be broken so long as we
continue, as our Founders (and subsequent generations of Americans), to hold that, with the firm
reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we can unleash a power the likes of which Washington,
heretofore, has never seen. The Framers left us with just such power, and it is codified in our
Constitution (Article V - an Amending Convention).

The Sheer Breadth of the Problem (a few intertwined examples --- all hat tips (h/t) are at the very
end):
The Surveillance State:
The power and scope of these Federal Agencies authority is not only astonishing, it is downright
frightening, for they continue, unabated, to seize more (for more read Part 1).
It is now well known that the National Security Agency (NSA) continues to collect not only meta-data,
which is concerning as German politician Malte Spitz shows, but it is also collecting email address books,
buddy lists, texts, phone records, and audio calls of Americans (even burner phones are not safe as
Edward Snowden revealed in his interview with Brian Williams - transcript & audio @3:18). That is most
certainly the tip of the iceberg. The vast amount of data collected and stored by the NSA is estimated to
reach 966 Exabytes (0.966x10^12 Gigabytes or almost 200 times greater than Eric Schmidts, former
Google CEO, estimated sum of all human knowledge up to 2003 - 5 Exabytes) a year by 2015 (RT
interview with NSA whistleblower William Binney, July 2014).
Now, it is incontestable, even at an innate level, that the NSAs (among others) collection of information
of Americans violates our most fundamental rights; and none other than James Otis made a better case
against such arbitrary abuse of power when arguing in defense of merchants in Salam & Boston, MA in
1761 against General Writs of Assistance (General Warrants issued by officers or their deputies) against
the Crown, and in his spirited defense, as notated by John Adams, he states:
I was desired by one of the Court to look into the books, and consider the question now
before them concerning the Writs of AssistanceIt appears to me the worst instrument
of arbitrary power, the most destructive of English liberty and the fundamental principles
of law, that ever was found in an English law book
Your Honours will find in the old books concerning the office of a Justice of the Peace,
precedents of general warrants to search suspected houses. But in more modern books,
you will find only special warrants to search such and such houses, specially named, in
which the complainant has before sworn that he suspects his goods are concealed; and
will find it adjudged that special warrants only are legal. In the same manner I rely on it,

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that the writ prayed for in this petition, being general is illegal. It is a power that places
the liberty of every man in the hands of every petty officer.
I say I admit that special writs of assistance, to search special places, may be granted to
certain persons on oath; but I deny that the writ now prayed for can be granted, for I beg
leave to make some observations on the writ itselfIn the first place, the writ is
universal, being directed 'to all and singular Justices, Sheriffs, Constables, and all other
officers and subjects;' so that, in short, it is directed to every subject in the King's
dominions. Every one with this writ may be a tyrant in a legal manner, also may control,
imprison, or murder any one within the realm. In the next place, it is perpetual, there is
no return. A man is accountable to no person for his doings. Every man may reign
secure in his petty tyranny, and spread terror and desolation around him, until the trump
of the archangel shall excite different emotions in his soul.
In the third place, a person with this writ, in the day time, may enter all houses, shops,
&c. [etc.] at will, and command all to assist him. Fourthly, by this writ, not only deputies,
&c. but even their menial servants, are allowed to lord it over us. What is this but to
have the curse of Canaan with a witness on us; to be the servant of servants, the most
despicable of God's creation?
Now one of the most essential branches of English liberty is the freedom of one's house.
A man's house is his castle; and whilst he is quiet, he is as well guarded as a prince in his
castle. This writ, if it should be declared legal, would totally annihilate this privilege.
Custom-house officers may enter our houses when they please; we are commanded to
permit their entry. Their menial servants may enter, may break locks, bars, and every
thing in their way; and whether they break through malice or revenge, no man, no court,
can inquire. Bare suspicion without oath is sufficient. This wanton exercise of this power
is not a chimerical suggestion of a heated brain. I will mention some facts."
Presently, the NSA is a tyrant in a legal manner, as so sanctioned by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
(FISA) Court. According to NSA whistleblower Russ Tice they are not indiscriminate in the individuals
they target: from high-ranking military officials to members of Congress (especially those on intelligence
or armed services committees), to judges and so forth. A similar organization, the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) revealed, on July 31st, 2014 that it did spy on the Senate Intelligence Committee. It is not
so farfetched to suggest that the NSA would also conduct such surveillance as well and lord it over us.
The surveillance and data collection does not end there:
In May 2013, it was learned that the Department of Justice (DOJ) secretly obtained two
months worth of telephone records of journalists working for the Associated Press. Following
the heels of that story, it was learned that the DOJ also obtained a portfolio of information
about a Fox News correspondent's conversations and visits (DOJ Targets Fox News, Accuses
Reporter of a Crime.., May 2013). And, in October 2013 a journalists home was raided and
agents had taken her private documents documents that were not listed on the search
warrant.
In August 2013, Reuters learned that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Special Operations Division (SOD), which is made up of two dozen partner
agenciesincluding the FBI, CIA, NSA, Internal Revenue Service and the Department of
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Homeland Security, is funneling information from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps,

informants and a massive database of telephone records to authorities across the
nation to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans.
In January 2014, it was revealed that the, relatively, newly created Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB) is conducting a massive, NSA-esque data-mining project
collecting account information on an estimated 991 million American credit card
accounts.*and+ that CFPB officials are working with the Federal Housing Finance
Agency on a second data-mining effort, this one focused on the 53 million residential
mortgages taken out by Americans since 1998.
In August 2014 The Intercept obtained documents showing that the NSA built its own
secret Google called ICREACH. ICREACH has been accessible to more than 1,000
analysts at 23 U.S. government agencies that perform intelligence work, according to a
2010 memo. A planning document from 2007 lists the DEA, FBI, Central Intelligence
Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency as core members. Information shared
through ICREACH can be used to track peoples movements, map out their networks of
associates, help predict future actions, and potentially reveal religious affiliations or
political beliefs.
Couple all of the above with what Edward Snowden pointed out just in relation to innocuous Web
searches and what the information allows an agency to conclude:
Are you doing something, are you someplace you shouldn't be, according to the
government, which is arbitrary, you know are you engaged in any kind of activities
that we disapprove of, even if they aren't technically illegal? And all of these things can
raise your level of scrutiny, even if it seems entirely innocent to you. Even if you have
nothing to hide. Even if you're doing nothing wrong. These activities can be
misconstrued, misinterpreted, and used to harm you as an individual, even without the
government having any intent to do you wrong. The problem is that the capabilities
themselves are unregulated, uncontrolled, and dangerous."
Under such unreasonable surveillance and collection of data, how can an individual ever be secure in
their person, house, papers, and effects? It is impossible to devise a more outrageous and unlimited
instrument of tyranny than this proposed writ: and it cannot be wondered at, that such an alarm should
have been created, when it is considered to what enormous abuses such a process might have led
(Remarks about Otis speech, as published by William Tudor in 1823, James Otiss speech on Writs of
assistance, Parker P. Simmons, 1906, p.16).

The Solution:
As James Otis asserted in his fiery arguments against Writs of Assistance (General Warrants), in 1761,
Every man, merely natural, was an independent sovereign, subject to no law, but the
law written on his heart, and revealed to him by his Maker, in the constitution of his
nature, and the inspiration of his understanding and his conscience. His right to his life,
his liberty, no created being could rightfully contest. Nor was his right to his property less
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incontestible...He asserted that these rights were inherent and inalienable. That they
never could be surrendered or alienated.
However, tyranny abounds, attempting to separate, surrender, and alienate our inherent and
inalienable rights; in the face of so much tyranny what can we do? There is only one legitimate answer
left, and the Framers deliberately gave it to us in Article V - an Amending Convention.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall
propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of
two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments,
which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this
Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or
by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification
may be proposed by the Congress.
Thus, all that is needed is for 34 States to pass an application (resolution) calling for an Amending
Convention. In 2014, three States (GA, AK, & FL) successfully passed an application calling for an
Amending Convention for the sole purpose of limiting the size, scope, and jurisdiction of the Federal
Government.
Now, we have this second mode of amending the Constitution, because two days prior to the end of the
Constitutional Convention George Mason (from James Madisons notes):
"thought the plan of amending the Constitution exceptionable & dangerous. As the
proposing of amendments is in both the modes to depend, in the first immediately, and
in the second, ultimately, on Congress, no amendments of the proper kind would ever be
obtained by the people, if the Government should become oppressive, as he verily
believed would be the case."
And so, the adopted version of Article V included the method of using the State Legislatures to propose
amendments, for a tyrannical government would never restrain its own power.
How many elections must we wait for a resolution? How many must we elect before a solution is
proffered? How many branches of government must be controlled before the solution(s) take hold? Et
cetera.
We need not wait. We are the Sovereigns, the Masters, the Rulers, not the subjects, the servants, or
serfs. There is a solution wrought in our Constitution waiting for us to exercise our authority. Let us
seize it.

Learn more at Convention of States

Sign the petition (it sends an email directly to your State Legislators and it has a very real and powerful
impact)
Join the Glorious Cause

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(Mega H/T: Mark Levin: Men in Black, Ameritopia, & The Liberty Amendments)
(H/T: Drudge Report, The Guardian, TheBlaze, Washington Post, NBC News, The Competitive Enterprise
Institute, Fox News, The Hill, Breitbart, Business Insider, Wired, RT, NY Times, Reuters, Washington
Examiner, The Intercept, The Daily Caller, EAGnews, CNSNews, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, & David
Barton)

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