A look back at some of the highlights of the egregious treatment of a population living in a free land

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Another Independence Day has come and gone.   Folks were out celebrating as if nothing was going on, yet this year, like years past, has been an eye-opener, if you're concerned about your freedom!   Once the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, the united States of America has been reduced to a land of tyranny and shame.  

Our people have forgotten what this country is about and that our founding generation put safeguards in our governing documents to protect us from despotic governments.   Documentaries like Blood of Patriots and Don't Tread On Me reach out to remind us what our rights are supposed to be and what made this country the envy of the world.   Yet, we celebrate this Independence Day more oppressed than just a year ago.   Should we truly reflect over this past year, we would see our country is plagued with some of the most ridiculous rulings and considerations, and realize they are neither isolated nor unusual.

What does gardening, raising rabbits, Girl Scout cookies, Enhanced Enterprise Zones, raising chickens, raw milk, soda, The World Trade Organization, Monsanto and Obamacare have in common?   The loss of your freedom to choose, the loss of your right to eat and drink what you want, and the loss of your right to pursue happiness on your own property.   That's right.   What happened to our freedom to pursue our dreams, provide for our families and enjoy privacy on our own property?  

The Bass family of Oak Park, Michigan, Denise Morrison of Tulsa, OK and Karl Tricamo of Ferguson, MO faced similar plights, even after consulting city regulations, about planting gardens in their yards.   First Lady Michelle Obama plants veggie gardens at the White House for crying out loud, but these people, in an effort to save money in our economic nightmare and grow better, more nutritious food for their families, found they were facing trouble in their respective neighborhoods.   The Bass family fought hard, Morrison's gardens were destroyed before the court date and Tricamo faces an uphill battle with the city of Ferguson over his garden.   "The sad fact of the matter is that too many local officials want to be able to control their citizens' lives, even if the citizens' behavior is not harming anyone else," says an article posted by Dave Rolland on The Freedom Center of Missouri's website.  

Underwood, ND farmer Doyle Johannes and farmer friends proposed state legislation halting out-of-state firms from interfering with farming practices in North Dakota after the Humane Society tried to regulate what could and could not happen in there.   About the piece of legislation, Johannes said, "We want to be able to farm in North Dakota, the way we think we should be able to."

Just the possibility of these four incidences happening in our country would have been unthinkable when I was growing up, but they are fast becoming the norm.

John and Judy Dollarhites of Nixa, MO decided to give their children a lesson in earning money, so they rescued a male and female rabbit.   As the rabbits started to breed, they started selling them for a few bucks.   It was a hobby and teaching tool that brought in $4,600 that year.   Fines lobbied against them for selling more than $500 worth of rabbits started at more than $90,000, and could have reached as high as $4 million.   

Girl Scout cookies seem innocuous enough, right?   Not so!   In the city of Hazelwood, MO, Caitlin and Abigail Mills were in court last summer fighting for their right to sell Girl Scout cookies"from their DRIVEWAY!   Yes, their own driveway!   These girls have sold "thousand boxes each every year" helping their troop afford trips and functions.   Last year, a neighbor had issues, and the girls were dragged to court.

Enhanced Enterprise Zones, EEZ's, are another matter.   In an effort to bring big business, and jobs, to their area, cities all over the country are being tricked into creating EEZ's.   David Stokes of the Show Me Institute and Keep Columbia Free's Mitch Richards spoke out against EEZ's at a mid-June Columbia, MO city council meeting.   Stokes said research did not support the use of EEZ's to help the employment situation and Richards said the lack of support from the city's population versus the support of the city council was causing division in our community between those "who hold power and those who do not."   EEZ's generally bring with them the use of Eminent Domain to take property "for the great good of the community," at the same time depriving property owners of what is rightfully theirs"their very homes, farms, their pursuit of the American Dream!

Something very similar caused a Roswell, GA chicken farmer to feel so desperate that he took his own life.   Andrew Wordes won his suit against the city to raise chickens on his property, but that's when the real trouble started for him.   In 2003, a map was published that showed a much more grandiose use for Wordes' property"it lay right in the middle of a planned city park.   After he won his suit, the city started changing ordinances and harassing Wordes.   After a long-fought battle spanning years, on March 26, 2012, Wordes could take no more and ended his life.

Your right to indulge in your drink of choice has been at issue this past year, as well.   Not alcohol (you know, drinks of which, if a person overindulges, can cause impaired judgment), but raw milk and large soda.  

The fight for our right to drink raw milk has been ongoing, to be sure.   According to a Natural News article, the LA and San Diego County authorities requested records of the overnight raw milk delivery accounts of Mark McAfee and Organic Pastures for the purposes of confiscating the raw milk from individuals who knowingly purchased it.   And, the CDC has admitted not a single person has died from consuming raw milk in eleven years.   Where's the problem?   How many people die in car accidents attributed to alcohol abuse each year?

New York City is planning a ban on large sugary drinks.   Yep, again, not alcohol, but sugary drinks!   In an attempt to help New Yorkers slim down, the mayor has decided to ban the drinks in sizes larger than 16 oz.   From the NY Times article, "The measure would not apply to diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy-based drinks like milkshakes, or alcoholic beverages; it would not extend to beverages sold in grocery stores or convenience stores," just to those sold in restaurants, delis movie theaters, street carts and sports arenas.    

Both these issues get at the heart of business people being able to do what they will with their own business, as well as the individual's right to drink what he/she wants.   In a nation that's supposed to be free of entanglements so that people can pursue their happiness, curtailing their business practices, as well as the desire of people to indulge in their drink of choice, and size, is far from constitutional!

The recent World Trade Organization ruling is an attack on the very fabric of our sovereignty.   Apparently, our nation's "country of origin" meat labeling is causing a stir worldwide, and the WTO has decided the practice is unfair towards Mexico and Canada.   And get this, the ruling is "not subject to appeal""   So we have a WORLD body telling our country what it can and cannot do regarding labeling meat.   Isn't this one of the very reasons we fought the Revolutionary war?

Monsanto, the MONSTER company designing franken-seeds, among other nefarious things, is suing countries all over the world for not partaking in their genetically altered products.   In late March, fifty-plus organizations in the US banned together to file a notice of appeal against a district court decision that threw out their suit against Monsanto.   According to the Huffington Post, Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen, president of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, stated, "Farmers are under threat. Our right to farm the way we choose, and to grow pure organic seed and healthy food on our farms for our families and for our customers is under assault."   Since when does one company have this much clout over farmers, world wide?

The recent Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare proves what many "conspiracy theorists" have been saying for years, our checks and balances are completely obliterated.   Our founding generation set up three individual branches in our government to act as protections against the overzealous ideals of the other.   The notion that congress can demand the population purchase something is without a doubt, unconstitutional.   The government, resorting to the lowest of low arguments, made its case that, as a tax, it's legal, and instead of protecting us from our tyrannical government, the Supreme Court ruled in the government's favor, opening the door to MANY more abuses of We-the-People.

These are just a few examples of outright tyranny against our population.   Many will say, even with all these violations, we are still freer than any nation on the planet.   While that is might be true, we have lost so much of the liberty for which our forefathers fought and died.   Liberty fought and paid for with their blood. The very reason this country was founded in the first place.   Once it's lost, it's nearly impossible to get back.   This country was founded to preserve the freedom of its population.  

Let us not forget we have the right to, among other things, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." We have lost our way and forgotten that we, the people, give the authority.   Constitutional Expert Dr Edwin Vieira makes a striking observation in the documentary Don't Tread On Me, "We-the-People do ordain and establish"Public officials didn't do that, judges didn't do that"that is a statement that We-the-People have the authority; we are the ultimate law-givers""   When will we wake up as start acting like the law-givers we are?

Endnotes:

Veggie Garden Gets Michigan Couple Into Trouble
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/07/veggie-garden-gets-michigan-couple-into-trouble/

Woman's Survival Garden Destroyed By Tulsa Authorities
http://govtslaves.info/womans-survival-garden-destroyed-by-tulsa-authorities/

City Officials in Ferguson Attempt to Bulldoze Citizens' Rights, Gardens
http://www.mofreedom.org/2012/07/city-officials-in-ferguson-attempt-to-bulldoze-citizens-rights-gardens/

Photo's of Karl Tricamo's garden can be found here:
http://vegetableyarden.wordpress.com/pictures/

ND farmers push for constitutional right to farm
http://lubbockonline.com/agriculture/2011-11-06/nd-farmers-push-constitutional-right-farm#.T_RzXvXAH7c

Rabbit Raisers Defeat USDA, Won't Pay Any Fines!
http://bobmccarty.com/2011/12/21/rabbit-raisers-defeat-usda-wont-pay-any-fines/

Delay in Hazelwood vs. Girl Scout Cookies Case
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/07/21/delay-in-hazelwood-vs-girl-scout-cookies-case/

EEZ rally draws array of groups
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/jun/19/eez-rally-draws-array-of-groups/

Chicken Man kills himself after long fight with Roswell government officials
http://offgridsurvival.com/chickenmandeadafterfightinggovernment/

California food police gone wild: LA County health enforcers conduct door-to-door raw milk confiscation operations
http://www.naturalnews.com/035895_food_police_raw_milk_confiscation.html#ixzz1zgcDylVG

CDC admits not a single person has died from consuming raw milk products in 11 years
http://www.naturalnews.com/034169_CDC_raw_milk.html#ixzz1zgj2QRYr

New York Plans to Ban Sale of Big Sizes of Sugary Drinks
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/nyregion/bloomberg-plans-a-ban-on-large-sugared-drinks.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

WTO rules against U.S. in meat labeling case
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/29/us-trade-usa-canada-mexico-idUSBRE85S0Y920120629?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29

Monsanto Lawsuit: Organic Farmers Appeal U.S. District Court Decision
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/monsanto-lawsuit-organic-farmers-appeal_n_1385693.html

Supreme Court Of The United States ruling on:
National Federation Of Independent Business Et Al. V. Sebelius
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-393c3a2.pdf

Authors Website: http://www.SecuringLiberty.com

Authors Bio:
Debbie Lewis is a mother, independent researcher, freelance writer and amateur photographer concerned with the obvious lack of representation in our government and the suppression of truth in the mainstream media. A huge departure from her twenty-year professional picture framing career, she does research for William Lewis Films. Lewis has written two feature length documentaries, Blood of Patriots and The Ron Paul Uprising and co-wrote Enemy of the State. Her articles are featured in the international publication Namaste Magazine, the national publication The Sovereign and appear at several locations on the web, including www.TakeBackWashington.com and www.SecuringLiberty.com.