Path to Liberty

With some of his sharpest satire and wit, Franklin told the British the top-20 ways their policies would bring their empire over the American colonies to an end. Much of it sounds pretty familiar to what we face today.

86 years and a day before the "shot heard 'round the world" - the people of Boston and surrounding towns rose up and overthrew the royal governor in a dispute that started over tax resistance to arbitrary power.

April 12, 1776 - the first official action by one of the colonies in full support of declaring independence. The Halifax Resolves was also the first example of a colony-wide assembly admitting that reconciliation with the British was no longer an option.

Since 2011 - a combination of state laws and human action has built what is likely the most robust foundation for the advancement of gold and silver as money in the United States.

Supporting one version of an unconstitutional government program over another - because it seems to be the “least offensive” option - is not only what leading founders called a “fatal error,” but it also sets a precedent for more of the same, and worse.

Originally implemented by the IRS - gun-control advocates want to use “Merchant Category Codes” to track purchases of firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition. But the state-level 2nd Amendment Financial Privacy Act has shut those plans down - at least for now.

For more than a decade, starting in 2013, the Utah legislature has incrementally built some of the most robust privacy protections in the country with a step-by-step approach. Over that time, Utah chipped away at the surveillance state, passing at least eight separate laws limiting surveillance.

Responding to the Coercive Acts of 1774 - the “Intolerable Acts” - the old revolutionaries were organized, coordinated - and very strategic in their approach. We’d do well to learn what they considered essential elements for success.

Consolidation - we were warned - would guarantee a destruction of liberty. But many founders seemed to believe they could pull off a “proper” or “partial” consolidation and not get a system of “unremitted despotism.”

In yet another example of the government rejecting founding principles by working to bring businesses under federal control, the DOJ and 16 state attorneys general accused Apple of violating Section 2 of the Sherman Act, a “law” allowing the government to intervene against companies said to be acting "in restraint of trade or commerce."