Tell Bob McDonell to Veto Virginia's Largest Tax Increase In History, so called TRANSPORTATION BILL

CALL BOB MCDONELL AND TELL HIM TO VETO THE TAX HIKE (SO CALLED TRANSPORTATION) BILL: Office: (804) 786-2211

The largest tax increase in the history of Virginia was just passed by our Virginia legislators. Republican Speaker Bill Howell and Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment (R) engineered a six billion tax increase on Virginians, in very tough economic times. The taxes were so outrageous, that the Republican Leadership needed the support of Democrats to pass it, even though Republicans have an overwhelming majority in the House and tied representation in the Senate.

You will see new taxes or increase in taxes on all of the following: sales tax, gas tax, diesel fuel tax, vending machine tax, personal property tax, hotel tax, internet tax, car tax, tangible property sale tax, and more!

Governor Bob McDonnell aggressively pushed and expressed support for this $6 billion tax increase plan. Bob wanted the tax increase so bad that he even made a deal with the Democrats to get the votes he needed by pledging to pave the way to implement Obamacare's Medicaid expansion, which will add an additional 400,000+ people to the Medicaid roles in Virginia.

But it is not too late! The bill is sitting on Governor Bob McDonnell's desk. Join here and tell Bob that you stand with other Virginians who oppose implementing the largest tax increase in the history of Virginia on the hardworking poor and middle class, especially during this bruising recession. Tell Governor Bob McDonnell to veto the largest tax increase in the history of Virginia - HB2313.

VA REPUBLICANS JOINTLY PASS LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN STATE HISTORY

In what may be his George H.W. Bush moment, and much to the chagrin of Virginia's conservatives, Republican Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, along with Republican VA House Speaker William Howell, endorsed the largest tax increase in the history of Virginia on Saturday.

On paper, the General Assembly passed a bill to raise taxes to fund transportation projects that is slated to bring in $880 million more a year in taxes, but the true cost to taxpayers is estimated to be "$1.13 billion per year in tax increases."


Regardless, it is by far the greatest tax increase in the history of the Commonwealth, surpassing the $442 million per year increase in 1986 and $680 million per year increase in 2004.

“This is a historic day in Virginia. We have worked together across party lines to find common ground and pass the first sustainable long-term transportation funding plan in 27 years," McDonnell, who also may have plans to run for president in 2016, said in a statement on Saturday. "There is a ‘Virginia Way’ of cooperation and problem solving, and we saw it work again today in Richmond."

Many conservatives in Virginia saw it as a "historic day" for other reasons. ( read the entire story here )

Tell your legislators to vote NO on Virginia HB 2313 Tax Hike Bill

Virginia has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

The 109-page conference report on HB 2313 wasn't released to legislators until last evening and we are told it's even worse than we originally thought.

  

Delegate Ben Cline called it a "Frankenstein Monster" of a bill.  

HB2313 raises the state sales tax, regional sales tax, vehicle and tangible personal property taxes, vending machine tax, heavy equipment tax, recordation tax on commercial, industrial and residential real property sales, hotel tax, hybrid vehicle tax, and diesel fuel tax.

They call this a transportation bill but not all of the raised revenues will go to roads. Much of it will go to Metro and some to the General Fund.

To make matters worse, the NEW Regional Transportation Funding Authorities, an unelected governing board, in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads will decide how the transportation funding is spent. If they get it wrong, they are not vulnerable to the electorate.

The vote on HB 2313 will be today, despite the fact that few will have been able to read the Conference Report.

Please contact your legislators and tell them to vote "no" to the HB2313 conference report.

Tell them an increase in taxes will further weaken the economy.

Tell them they need to cut spending, not raise taxes.

Please contact your legislators without delay and demand that they vote "NO" to the HB2313 conference report.

Yours in liberty,

Donna Holt

Executive Director

Virginia Campaign for Liberty

Please urge Governor McDonnell to keep his promise and reject any legislation that seeks to accommodate “Obamanocare.”

Message From Bob Marshall To You For Governor Bob McDonnell

Dear Fellow Virginians,

Please urge Governor McDonnell to keep his promise and reject any legislation that seeks to accommodate “Obamanocare.”  The “Affordable Care Act” does not require States to run their own Health Care Exchanges.  At least 26 states have refused to set up exchanges which are website marketplaces of health insurance plans meeting federal criteria. (Google: “Virginia Health Care Exchange.” Several private marketplaces already operate).

If states refuse to set up their own exchanges, it will probably take longer for the federal government to deform healthcare and perhaps postpone enforcement of mandates requiring abortion pills and “medical” inquiries regarding which homes have guns.

In 2010, Governor McDonnell’s Secretary of Health set up a Commission to study health care “reform” with a $1 Million grant.  I asked Secretary Hazel why Virginia was proceeding with government-run health care while we were challenging the law in federal court.  I was told Virginia must be “prepared.”

Governor McDonnell has publicly stated he would not set up a Virginia exchange. Now he appears willing to sign bills which authorize state involvement while purporting to provide state “oversight” of a federal exchange. In reality the bills commit Virginia resources, including personnel from several state agencies, claiming (without guaranty) that Virginia will be reimbursed by the federal government (still our tax money).  If this is not a state insurance exchange then what is it?

Instead of Virginia exercising its right to refuse to set up a state exchange as other states are doing, Virginia will use its authority, resources and personnel to grease the Obamanocare skids and objectionable mandates.

Several bills have already passed the General Assembly. Senate Bill 922, introduced February 11, 2013, passed the House of Delegates.  It states in part:

Section 32.1-16 (b): “The Department shall be compensated for expenses incurred in providing such services. “   Does this mean compensation by state agencies or Washington?  In either case, it involves additional tax money.

Section 38.2-326 (A)(i) states in part: “full funding is available.”  Funding from where?

Section 38.2-326 (A) (ii) states in part:  “technology infrastructure, including integration with federal, state, and other necessary entities, is made available to the commission by or through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources…”  Will funding come from the feds or the state? What are the costs? Understand that “made available,” does not mean “provided free of charge.”  If the feds “provide,” what will they charge Virginia taxpayers?

Section 38.2-326 (B) states in part:  “the Commission may contract with and enter into a memoranda of understanding to carry out its plan management functions with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or any other state or federal agency…”   A MOU with another state agency simply would obligate more Virginia tax money and resources from the other state agency to pay for costs associated with the plan.
 
Section 38.2-326 (C) states in part: “the Commission’s obligation to perform plan management functions described in subsection A is contingent upon receiving federal funding sufficient to pay the operating expenses necessary to carry out the plan management of functions.  The Commission shall seek full reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for such expenses.  “Seeking full reimbursement does not mean obtaining full reimbursement.   Without wording which states, “The SCC shall not perform plan management functions unless all Virginia expenses are paid in full by the Federal government” this section does not assure plan management functions will be paid for by the feds (still our money).   Even if the Commission has no obligation to perform plan management functions, there is no prohibition on their performing plan functions.

Section 32.2-326 (E) states in part that “Technology resources provided by the Commission in carrying out the plan management functions shall be limited to existing commission technology support functions…” How much will this cost Virginia taxpayers?

Section 32.2-326 (F) states in part that “The Commission shall make available to the public on its website a written report on the implementation and performance of its plan management functions during the preceding  fiscal year, including, at a minimum, the manner in which all funds utilized for its plan management functions were expended.”   How much will this cost the State to carry out this function? How many state employees will be needed? Will others need to be hired?

If you do not want Virginia to speed up compliance with “Obamanocare” please call (804) 786-2211 or email the Governor here: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/aboutthegovernor/contactgovernor.cfm

Ask him to veto any legislation that accommodates “Obamanocare.”

Thank you for your help!



P.S. I thank Dr. Mark Berg for his help and insights on this bill.

HJ Res. 590 FULL TEXT - Patron-- Bob Marshall

Read Bob Marshall's Statement on why we need to get our state senators to pass this resolution

FULL TEXT:

13100941D

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 590

Offered January 9, 2013

Prefiled January 3, 2013

Establishing a joint subcommittee to study whether the Commonwealth should adopt an alternate medium of commerce or currency to serve as an alternative to the currency distributed by the Federal Reserve System in the event of a major breakdown of the Federal Reserve System. Report.

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Patron-- Marshall, R.G.

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Referred to Committee on Rules

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WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled in In re Rahrer, 140 U.S. 545, 554 (1891), that "the police power" of a State "is a power originally and always belonging to the states, not surrendered by them to the general government, nor directly restrained by the Constitution of the United States, and essentially exclusive"; and

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled in Beer Company v. Massachusetts, 97 U.S. 25, 33 (1877), that the police power of the states "extend[s] to the protection of the lives, health, and property of the[ir] citizens, and to the preservation of good order"; and

WHEREAS, the protection of the lives, health, and property of Virginia's citizens and the preservation of good order in the Commonwealth depend upon the maintenance of both an adequate system of governmental finance and a sound and robust private economy; and

WHEREAS, an adequate system of governmental finance and a sound and robust private economy cannot be maintained in the absence of a sound currency; and

WHEREAS, from our nation's founding, there has been concern regarding the country's monetary and banking systems and their potential to harm the citizenry; and

WHEREAS, founding father Thomas Jefferson expressed deep concern about the social instability that may ultimately result from bank-issued paper money; in a letter to John Wayles Eppes dated June 24, 1813, Mr. Jefferson stated, "Bank-paper must be suppressed, and the circulating medium must be restored to the nation to whom it belongs"; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Jefferson also cautioned Americans regarding the role that banks play in fostering excessive public borrowing, stating in a letter to John Taylor dated May 28, 1816: "And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale"; and

WHEREAS, this concern has been voiced  through the years by many people and was to a certain extent realized during a series of "bank panics" occurring throughout the country's history culminating in the Great Depression in the 1930s; and

WHEREAS, the closing of American banks during the Great Depression led to the issuance of scrip or emergency currency by both public and private institutions beginning in 1933; and

WHEREAS, efforts to establish strong and stable currency markets also proceeded at the international level; and

WHEREAS, to rebuild an international monetary system shattered by World War II, 44 Allied nations met in July 1944 to establish a system of rules, institutions, and procedures to regulate the international monetary system; and

WHEREAS, the resulting agreement, known as the Breton Woods Agreement, began operation in 1945 and established the International Monetary Fund with a key feature being the requirement for each country to adopt a monetary policy that maintained the exchange rate by tying its currency to the U.S. dollar, thereby making the dollar the reserve currency; and

WHEREAS, recent efforts have been made to remove the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency; and

WHEREAS, the present monetary and banking systems of the United States, centered around the Federal Reserve System, have come under ever-increasing strain during the last several years, and will be exposed to ever-increasing and predictably debilitating strain in the years to come; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Reserve System, in addition to the continuing strain it is under, continues to take actions that are questionable and simply not in the best interests of Virginia citizens, including in October 2011 authorizing the transfer of nearly $76 trillion in credit default swap insurance investment instruments to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) over the FDIC's objection; and

WHEREAS, the legality of the extension of the Federal Reserve System's activities in recent years has been compounded by the role it has taken with respect to the Troubled Asset Relief Protection Program (TARP) and the distribution of federal stimulus funds; and

WHEREAS, officials of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank have indicated to Delegate Robert Marshall of the Virginia House of Delegates that federal officials had significant doubts regarding the legality of the role of the Federal Reserve System with respect to TARP; and

WHEREAS, many widely recognized experts predict the inevitable destruction of the Federal Reserve System's currency through hyperinflation in the foreseeable future; and

WHEREAS, in the event of hyperinflation, depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System, for which the Commonwealth is not prepared, the Commonwealth's governmental finances and the Commonwealth's private economy will be thrown into chaos, with gravely detrimental effects upon the lives, health, and property of Virginia's citizens, and with consequences fatal to the preservation of good order throughout the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Virginia can avoid or at least mitigate many of the economic, social, and political shocks to be expected to arise from hyperinflation, depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System only through the timely adoption of an alternative sound currency that the Commonwealth's government and citizens may employ without delay in the event of the destruction of the Federal Reserve System's currency; and

WHEREAS, "legal tender" denotes a currency that must be accepted in payment of a debt denominated in United States "dollars" if the parties have not stipulated that some alternative currency is to be used as their medium of payment or are not otherwise required to use such alternative currency; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Reserve System's currency has been designated "legal tender" under color of Title 31, United States Code, Section 5103; and

WHEREAS, under Title 12, United States Code, § 411 and Title 31, United States Code, § 5118(b) and (c), the Federal Reserve System's currency is not redeemable in gold or silver coin or the equivalent in bullion; and

WHEREAS, that the Federal Reserve System's currency is not redeemable in gold or silver coin or the equivalent in bullion is being identified by more and more experts as a, if not the, major reason for the ever-increasing instability of the Federal Reserve System; and

WHEREAS, all gold and silver coins of the United States are designated "legal tender" under the aegis of Title 31, United States Code, §§ 5103 and 5112(h) and must be so designated perforce of Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 and Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of and the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, each state must make gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; and

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States in Lane County v. Oregon, 74 U.S. (7 Wallace) 71, 76-78 (1869), and Hagar v. Reclamation District No. 108, 111 U.S. 701, 706 (1884), has ruled that the states may adopt whatever currency they desire for the purposes of performing their sovereign governmental functions, even to the extent of adopting gold and silver coin for those purposes while refusing to employ a currency not redeemable in gold or silver coin that Congress has designated "legal tender"; and

WHEREAS, “the police power” being the primary sovereign governmental function of every state, under Lane County andHagar every state may adopt its own currency, consisting of gold or silver, or both, whenever necessary and proper to facilitate exercises of that power in aid of the general welfare of the state and its citizens; and

WHEREAS, under the aegis of Title 31, United States Code, § 5118(d)(2), and perforce of Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 and Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of, and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to, the Constitution of the United States, Americans may employ whatever currency they choose to stipulate as the medium for payment of their private debts, including gold or silver, or both, to the exclusion of a currency not redeemable in gold or silver that Congress may have designated "legal tender"; and

WHEREAS, under the aegis of Title 31, United States Code, § 5118(d)(2), and perforce of Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 and Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of, and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to, the Constitution of the United States, the citizens of Virginia may choose to employ as the medium for payment of their private debts whatever alternative currency, consisting of gold or silver, or both, that the Commonwealth may adopt in the exercise of "the police power"; and

WHEREAS, in light of the possible instability of the Federal Reserve System, proposals for states and their citizens to adopt an alternative currency consisting of gold or silver, or both, are receiving increasing attention throughout the United States, as evidenced by bills that have been or are being introduced in the legislatures of the other states; and

WHEREAS, various systems of alternative currency employing gold or silver, or both, in the form of coin or its equivalent in bullion have already proved themselves in the free market and could either be employed by the Commonwealth directly or be used as models for a new system created by the Commonwealth to meet Virginia's unique needs; and

WHEREAS, the adoption of an alternative currency consisting of gold or silver, or both, would not destabilize the present monetary and banking systems, the Commonwealth's governmental finances, or Virginia's private economy because it would not compel or commit the Commonwealth or her citizens to employ such alternative currency to the exclusion of the Federal Reserve System's currency immediately, but would merely make the alternative currency available, and enable it to be used in competition with and preference to the Federal Reserve System's currency, to the degree that the need for such use became apparent; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve System have taken and are preparing to take no action to provide the United States with an alternative to the Federal Reserve System's currency, in the likely event that the latter would be destroyed through hyperinflation; and

WHEREAS, because legislators in Virginia know or should know all of these facts; and because the General Assembly has the authority, the ability, and the duty to take timely action to deal with this situation without first seeking the approval of or assistance from Congress or any other state; and because the Constitution of Virginia provides, "That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people, that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them" - for these reasons, the citizens of the Commonwealth will properly conclude that the members of the General Assembly will be primarily responsible if the Commonwealth is found to be without an alternative medium of commerce or currency when the Federal Reserve System's currency collapses in hyperinflation, or some other related economic calamity supervenes; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That a joint subcommittee be established to study whether the Commonwealth should adopt an alternate medium of commerce or currency to serve as an alternative to the currency distributed by the Federal Reserve System in the event of a major breakdown of the Federal Reserve System.

The joint subcommittee shall consist of eight legislative members who shall be appointed as follows: five members of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates and three members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. The joint subcommittee shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership.

In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall call or hear from such witnesses and take such other evidence as it deems appropriate and shall consider recommendations for legislation, with respect to the need, means, and schedule for establishing such an alternative currency.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates. Legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the joint subcommittee shall be provided by the Division of Legislative Services. Technical assistance shall be provided by the Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Bureau of Financial Institutions of the State Corporation Commission. All other agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the joint subcommittee for this study, upon request.

The joint subcommittee shall be limited to six meetings for the 2013 interim, and the direct costs of this study shall not exceed $22,560 without approval as set out in this resolution. Approval for unbudgeted nonmember-related expenses shall require the written authorization of the chairman of the joint subcommittee and the respective Clerk. If a companion joint resolution of the other chamber is agreed to, written authorization of both Clerks shall be required.

No recommendation of the joint subcommittee shall be adopted if a majority of the House members or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the joint subcommittee (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the joint subcommittee.

The joint subcommittee shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2013, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2014 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the joint subcommittee intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document and shall specify the date by which the report shall be submitted. The executive summary and the report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports, and shall be posted on the General Assembly’s website.

Implementation of this resolution is subject to subsequent approval and certification by the Joint Rules Committee. The Committee may approve or disapprove expenditures for this study, extend or delay the period for the conduct of the study, or authorize additional meetings during the 2013 interim.

END FULL TEXT

Source: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?131+ful+HJ590

Read Bob Marshall's Statement on why we need to get our state senators to pass this resolution

HJ Res. 590 - VA GA - Gold and Silver Virginia Alternative Currency - Patron-- Bob Marshall

"Dear Virginians,

My HJ Res. 590 has already passed the full House of Delegates and the Senate Rules Committee.  It sets up a General Assembly study of ways to protect Virginians from cyber security threats and Federal Reserve policies which adversely affect our economy.

The full Senate vote is expected on Monday, February 18.

The Chair of the Senate Rules Committee announced that Forbes Magazine editor, Steve Forbes, wrote in support of my study.  Despite a few critics at the Washington Post, the study is a serious one, necessitated by cyber security breaches and devaluation of the dollar.

CYBER SECURITY BREACHES:

How long would your family “survive” without a working credit or debit card due to banks’ computers being disabled or losing records?  In mid-October, 2012 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta gave a speech in New York in which he recounted serious threats to our computer dependent economy:

“In recent weeks…large U.S. financial institutions were hit by…attacks delayed or disrupted services on customer websites…the scale and speed with which it happened was unprecedented.  But even more alarming is an attack that…infected computers in the Saudi Arabian State Oil Company Aramco…This routine replaced crucial systems files with an image of a burning U.S. flag.  

But it also put additional garbage data that overwrote all the real data on the machine.  More than 30,000 computers … had to be replaced … foreign cyber actors are probing America‘s critical infrastructure networks…chemical, electricity and water plants and those that guide transportation throughout this country…intruders have successfully gained access to these control systems.  

The collective result of these kinds of attacks could be a cyber-Pearl Harbor: an attack that would cause physical destruction and the loss of life.”

FIAT MONEY, DEVALUED DOLLARS AND ECONOMIC INSTABILITY:

Federal Reserve policies have hurt Virginia’s Retirement system and budget and are producing disincentives for families to save as bank accounts now provide near zero interest.  At the same time, the Fed is providing perverse incentives for self-indulgence by Wall Street and runaway spending by Congress.  Congress needs an “intervention” which only a state study by experts can provide."

 ~ Bob Marshall~

Please contact your own State Senator by 3:00 pm on Monday, February 18 and ask him to support HJ Res. 590.  Click here to find out your state senator’s contact information.

Read the entire bill here

Pitchfork Protest Comes to Richmond

Pitchfork Protest Comes to Richmond!

The Boneta Bill, H.B. 1430, will be heard Monday, January 28 at 5 pm by the Virginia House Ag Committee.

We need hundreds of people at the Virginia State Capitol.  We need the original Pitchfork Protest (from August in Warrenton) on steroids!

We will be meeting at 3:30 pm on the corner of N 10^th St and Bank Street. Signs, banners and pitchfork facsimiles are permissible on the public sidewalk and no permit is needed.

Please ready announcements to your lists, on your websites, social media, etc.  Alert your press contacts.

Get people there. 

Stand up to people like Fauquier County zoning Czar Kim Johnson who tell people they are “out of line” and threaten them with $5,000 fines if they refuse to go.

Be ready to sing Happy Birthday to the Fauquier County supervisors who will be there to testify that they need more power to regulate birthday parties for little girls and the sale of organic herbal tea.

Don’t wait for instructions.  “Rush to the sound of the guns!”

***************************************************************

Supporters of HB 1430, the Boneta Bill introduced on January 8^th by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter, will bring the Pitchfork Protest to the State Capitol in Richmond on January 28^th.

Organizers expect to garner significant media attention as well, since this bill has quickly become the most controversial bill of the legislative session, and indeed this legislation is being watched closely by property rights groups all across the nation.

Supporters of HB 1430, the Boneta Bill introduced on January 8^th by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter, will bring the Pitchfork Protest to the State Capitol in Richmond on January 28^th.

Organizers expect to garner significant media attention as well, since this bill has quickly become the most controversial bill of the legislative session, and indeed this legislation is being watched closely by property rights groups all across the nation.

The following announcement has gone out to farmers, property rights supporters, and other organizations Statewide:

Contact these Virginia Delegates to pass the "Virginia's Right to Farm Act"

Dear Defender of Property Rights.

 

Here is an opportunity to promote the cause of property rights and of  farmers - a cause that would benefit us all.

 

For information see the following from Campaign for Liberty (here). Then send an email to these delegates.

Just copy and paste the whole list in your bcc window,  name a subject and add a short message asking them to vote for the Boneta bill, HB 1430.

Not even five minutes of your time is all it would take - but the results could be enormous.

 

 

DelTWright@house.virginia.gov, DelBSherwood@house.virginia.gov, DelLWare@house.virginia.gov, DelEScott@house.virginia.gov, DelBOrrock@house.virginia.gov, DelDMarshall@house.virginia.gov, DelJEdmunds@house.virginia.gov, DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov, DelBPogge@house.virginia.gov, DelBKnight@house.virginia.gov, deltwilt@house.virginia.gov, DelJMorefield@house.virginia.gov, DelMWebert@house.virginia.gov, DelMRansone@house.virginia.gov, DelMFariss@house.virginia.gov, DelKPlum@house.virginia.gov, DelLLewis@house.virginia.gov, DelDBulova@house.virginia.gov, DelMJames@house.virginia.gov, DelMSickles@house.virginia.gov, DelLTorian@house.virginia.gov, DelMKeam@house.virginia.gov

Thank you so much.

Sue Long

Help Pass "Virginia's Right to Farm Act" from Virginia Campaign for Liberty

Dear Patriots,

In November,75% of Virginians voted to amend the Virginia Constitution to put a stop to the abusive use of eminent domain by local governments. 

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to stop their assaults on property rights.

The right to farm and engage in commerce is once again under attack and requires swift action for the passage of HB1430 to strengthen Virginia's Right to Farm Act.

In August of 2012, a  "pitchfork protest"received national attention after Virginia farmer, Martha Boneta, was cited by Fauquier County for daring to host a birthday party for a 10-year old family friend on her farm.

County government officials informed Martha that local ordinances required a permit to be obtained prior to hosting such an event and that she would be fined $5,000 for doing so.

Martha was also charged with two additional violations with fines up to $5,000 each - one for advertising a pumpkin carving and another for operating a small shop on her property that Martha used to sell her fresh produce and handmade crafts.

It's bad enough that Fauquier County prohibits a farmer from selling their produce and the by-products of the things they grow, even with a state issued business license.

But when you can't even host a birthday party without permission from government, the time to act is long overdue.

HB1430, dubbed the "Boneta Bill", would stop Fauquier County's assault  and protect all Virginia farmers against future encroachments by any local government. 

But if we are to be successful in its passage, we must act fast!

The "Boneta Bill" has been referred to the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee and could be heard as soon as Wednesday, January 16th.

Please contact members of the committee today and urge them to vote "yes" to sendHB1430 to the House floor.

Committee Members:

Delegate Beverly J. Sherwood (Chairman)  

Delegate R. Lee Ware, Jr.

Delegate Thomas C. Wright, Jr. 

Delegate Edward T. Scott

Delegate Robert D. Orrock, Sr.

Delegate Daniel W. Marshall, III

Delegate Charles D. Poindexter

Delegate Brenda L. Pogge

Delegate Barry D. Knight

Delegate James E. Edmunds, II

Delegate Tony O. Wilt

Delegate James W. Morefield 

Delegate Michael J. Webert

Delegate Margaret B. Ransone 

Delegate C. Matthew Fariss

Delegate Kenneth R. Plum

Delegate Lynwood W. Lewis, Jr.

Delegate David L. Bulova

Delegate Matthew James

Delegate Mark D. Sickles

Delegate Luke E. Torian

Delegate Mark L. Keam   

For an email blast to all above: DelTWright@house.virginia.gov, DelBSherwood@house.virginia.gov, DelLWare@house.virginia.gov, DelEScott@house.virginia.gov, DelBOrrock@house.virginia.gov, DelDMarshall@house.virginia.gov, DelJEdmunds@house.virginia.gov, DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov, DelBPogge@house.virginia.gov, DelBKnight@house.virginia.gov, deltwilt@house.virginia.gov, DelJMorefield@house.virginia.gov, DelMWebert@house.virginia.gov, DelMRansone@house.virginia.gov, DelMFariss@house.virginia.gov, DelKPlum@house.virginia.gov, DelLLewis@house.virginia.gov, DelDBulova@house.virginia.gov, DelMJames@house.virginia.gov, DelMSickles@house.virginia.gov, DelLTorian@house.virginia.gov, DelMKeam@house.virginia.gov
 

In the three years we have fought to defend property rights in Virginia, not one local elected official or local planner has been able to name a single activity on one's own land that does not require permission from local government.

We must act now if we are to preserve our inherent right to private property!

Please contact members of the House Committee on Agriculture, and Chesapeake and Natural Resources to end this assault on property rights today!

Tell the members of the committee to stop this assault on property rights NOW!   

Tell them to protect your inherent right to own and control the use of your land against abusive land use restrictions imposed by local government.

Tell them to cast a "yes" vote to sendHB1430 to the House floor immediately. 

The 5th Amendment says "No person shall be...deprived of life, liberty, or property,  without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."  

When we lose the right to own and control property, we become property.  

Please act now without delay! 

Yours in liberty,

Donna Holt

Executive Director

Virginia Campaign for Liberty

P.S. You must act now if you are to preserve the inherent right to private property!  

Contact the members of the House Agriculture, and Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee and tell them to vote in favor of HB1430 today!

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Release Brandon Raub Protest Press Release from the Tri-City Liberty Alliance

Give to Brandon's Defense fund:

*Watch the arrest video at the bottom

FROM The Tri-City Liberty Alliance 

TCLA,

As most of you know to day we staged a protest at the John Randolph Medical Center in support of Mr. Brandon Raub who was illegally detained by the FBI and US Secret Service on Friday night. He is being held in the John Randolph Medical Center against his will because he exercised his First Amendment right of free speech and the US Government does not like the he speech used against them. You may or may not agree with Mr. Raub's verbiage, thoughts, beliefs, or opinions, but non of those things matter. What does matter is that he has a Constitutional right to express those views and the government does not have the right to detain him over his free speech.

Click Here for Directions to John Randolph Medical Center

Tomorrow we will again be protesting at John Randolph Medical Center in his support and the support of all Americans right to Free Speech. I will be getting there around 9:00 am. We need you out there with us holding a sign and talking to people. Today we just had three of us there and we stood strong from noon to 7:00 pm. We hope tomorrow we can have every member of the TCLA attend. The more of us who are there will make a bigger impact and spread the message that we will not sit in the dark and allow the government to take our rights from us at their will. We will not go quietly into the night and burry our heads in the sand, but that will will stand up and fight their efforts to destroy our liberties. We will tell the government that we are freedom loving people and we will stand strong in protecting those freedoms. Please Stand with me in the good fight. We have a voice, and we must use it to fight for our freedom as did the patriots that have come before us from the founding fathers and freedom fighter of the Revolutionary War to the battles of today. Our words will be our bullets and our message we spread our bombs. If we stand together we will be heard.

Today a battle was fought for our freedom but the war is far from won. Fellow Patriots, join me tomorrow and make this battle one step closer to winning the war, protecting our liberty, and our beloved way of life. We want to occupy every intersection in the are. Things to know for tomorrow:

1. It will be hot so bring some thing for you to drink.

2. You can not park on John Randolph Medical Center Property.

3. You must stay on the curb and sidewalk. Do not trespass on peoples property or on the John Randolph Medical Center property.

4. I have some White boards and markers that you can make a sign with but I only have a few left. If you go to the Dollar Tree in the Crossing Shopping Center they have white boards for a Dollar each.

5. Bring a umbrella in case it rains.

6. My Phone number if you have questions or suggestions: 804-243-0036.

Please, if you know any freedom loving people not in the group pass them off to them as well, we need all the help and support we can muster.

I hope to see you all there tomorrow.

Brandon Howard

A lover of LIBERTY and our Grate Nation

Donate to Brandon's Legal Defense Fund:

All donations go directly to the Rutherford Institute

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Brandon Raub Legal Defense Fund

And remember to thank them in the comment section as well

Brandon Detainment Video: