October was a tremendous month! It began and ended with great blessings. Here's a brief synopsis.

October 1 - We were privileged to be at the Ten Commandments rally in Raleigh at the steps of the capitol. Since we gave some details of it in our last newsletter, we'll just mention it and move on. We did learn that we (along with our posters: "Righteousness exalteth a nation" and "Decalogue or Decadence") were on Raleigh TV for all to see.

October 12 - I was contacted by Bernard von NotHaus, architect of the American Liberty Dollar (and currency) distributed by NORFED. He was impressed with an answer I made to an individual taking to task the Libertarians and Constitution Party for exacting a transaction fee for use of the Liberty Dollar. I stated in no uncertain terms that our state party organization has promoted the ALD in the past and continues to do so. We are signed up as a Liberty merchant on their website, and to my knowledge, the only political party to do so. We will accept ALD at face value. Bernard stated that he will be in NC in August of 2004 and would like to be included in some event we have during that time.

October 16 - We were at Ragsdale High School in Guilford County (yes, a government school) to participate in a panel discussion of various parties in the state. The students had done some research on the various parties and posted their findings on party positions on huge paper hangings in the library where we all met. I was impressed with their work on the Constitution Party. They had positions on various issues written out on several 4x6 cards. They had then arranged the cards to form the shape of a cross, and the card at the center had in large letters the name Jesus Christ! What a privilege it was to explain to the students that the foundation of the Constitution Party is not merely the Constitution, but the Bible and Jesus Christ upon whom the founding documents were based.

Also at this meeting were local representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as the state chairman of the Libertarian Party, Sean Haugh, who I met for the first time last year. Just before leaving, I asked Sean what he knew about the demise of H867. More on that in our Legislative section. Sean asked if he could sign our ballot access petition and also said that if he were in a room full of Libertarians he would shame them all into doing the same.

October 20 - We travelled to the Columbia, SC area to hear Judge Roy Moore speak. The judge is impressive for his knowledge of history, and for his ability to memorize and recall numerous and lengthy passages from historical documents, speeches, legal works, and Scripture. The judge also has an excellent grasp of scriptural principles. His speech was better than many sermons I've heard. At this meeting, we got to say hello to Steve Lefemine, a SC congressional candidate for the CP and director of Columbia Christians for Life. We also met a member of the CP from Alabama, author of two books, Buddy Hanson.

November 1 - We travelled to Raleigh intending to host a table at the state fairgrounds, but when we arrived there was no flea market. We then met a couple who were there to sell their wares and were likewise disappointed. Speaking with them a few moments, we learned that they were Libertarians and offered to sign our ballot access petition.

We went from Wal-Mart to K-Mart to Lowes to two more Wal-Marts before we found one that would let us set up a table to collect petition signatures. We stayed until 4pm and gathered many signatures.

In the evening of November 1, we had a meeting in Raleigh with about a dozen interested people who decided to organize an area CP group. Please join me in congratulating and welcoming the Triangle Area Constitution Party to our CPNC family. This is, in fact, the first organization within our state. It encompasses Wake County (Raleigh) and surrounding counties. People in these counties will work together and function as a single unit to increase exposure of the party in the area, seek out candidates and conduct campaigns, engage in local activism and education of its citizens in historical and constitutional matters.

Special thanks to Art for his work and diligence to make it possible for a meeting and an organization to come out of it. And, a big THANK YOU to Pete for graciously hosting the meeting.

If you are in the Triangle Area, you now have a local CP organization to meet with on a regular basis! No driving across the state or feeling disjointed and detatched from everyone else. Now that you have a group in your back yard, take advantage of it -- participate, be active, lend a hand, offer ideas, contribute -- all for the cause of Liberty.

Recently, a gentleman by the name of Chris from Alexander County has contacted us asking to organize a group in his county. This is entirely possible. He believes it can be done, and what's more, he says he is willing to do it. He is proposing an organizational meeting in the next few weeks, perhaps in late November or early December. We are excited about this prospect! We have sent him a packet of information and brochures this week.

As I told Chris, in an organization as young as the CP in our state, opportunities abound. Our most recent example is Art Huckins. We met Art for the first time Sept. 6 when we hosted a table at the state fairgrounds. And on Nov. 1, Art is elected chairman of the newly formed Triangle Area Constitution Party. There's a lot of opportunity for those who would like to get in on the ground-floor and advance quickly.

What about you? Our goal is to have a party organization in each of the 100 counties in our state. You could very well be an office holder in one of those county party organizations. How much do you yearn to see our government brought back within its constitutional bounds? Don't you have a burning desire, as I do, to have candidates on the ballot who are serious adherents to principle and the Constitution? What do we wait for? No one else is going to make it happen for us. The Democrats sure don't want to make it happen. The Republicans are only saying they want it. We must decide we'll do what we can ourselves to make it happen. And it all begins on the local level.

Call, write, or email us. We are here to help you help yourself, help our state, and help our nation.

Many of you have been on our party's mailing and/or email list for some time, and yet have not become members of our state party organization. Membership is a means of contributing to our cause. But it's more than that. Membership identifies you with the Constitution Party. It also means that you are eligible to become an office holder.

For those who become members, we will gladly send to you a packet of materials so that you can begin sharing with others the fact that they have an alternative to politics as usual. The packet contains a supply of our two glossy brochures on the CP platform and frequently asked questions. It also contains copies of our ballot access petition so that you may help us get on the ballot. You'll also receive information on the Institute on the Constitution and a brochure entitled, "Why I Quit Voting the Lesser of Two Evils." Last, but not least, we'll include a bumper sticker for your vehicle.

Membership for one year is just $30, for an individual or a family. Of course, we encourage contributions above the membership, as the Lord would direct. We accept US dollars or NORFED currency (ALD). Checks should be made payable to Constitution Party of North Carolina (or CPNC). Send all correspondence to the P.O. Box address at the head of this newsletter.

Before I was able to send out this newsletter, we received word from the National Coalition to Restore the Constitution about rallies being scheduled at the state capitals of all 50 states. You should have received the actual notice already if you are on our email list. That event is scheduled for Sat., Nov. 22 @ 1:00pm at the steps of the capital in Raleigh.

TACP, here's your chance to shine! Let's pray for nice weather that day and for a good turnout!

Our Ballot Access Drive continues, but we're a long way from our needed 59,000 valid signatures. We gathered many signatures Nov. 1 at a Wal-Mart in Raleigh. And, there are now several people in NC gathering signatures on an individual basis.

But we need help from you. We need volunteers to help gather more signatures. Will you help us? Think what we could accomplish if several more of our people would volunteer to help. Our goal will be within our reach if we will step up to the plate and give it our best effort. How about it?

What are you doing to help with this very important project? How much does America mean to you? Have you signed one of our petition forms? If not, we can arrange it, if you'll contact us. Will you help us gather signatures? Will you help us pray? Our God can give us the victory in this matter, but we will need to bring it before Him daily.

In this new section of our newsletter, we will be giving information on candidates. The 2004 general election will be our first election cycle of activity. We WILL run candidates this cycle, whether or not we achieve ballot access.

Presently, there is a man in Pender County who may run for a U.S. House seat. We have been talking with him about this, but will not be releasing any official information until we know for sure that he is committed to running.

Another man in the Charlotte area is considering running for office and is looking at the Constitution Party for possible affiliation.

From time to time, we are contacted by candidates from other parties asking for our endorsement. Every such request has been politely refused. We believe that candidates must be in agreement with our platform before we can endorse them. Imagine one of our candidates going to the GOP asking for their endorsement. You know it would never happen.

Nevertheless, we are seeking candidates to run for office. There may be some good candidates out there who are running (or considering running) for the wrong party and just need to be steered to the CP. If you would like to run for office, or know someone who does, let us know.

Here are several items of legislation we've been following. Let's pray for the successful passage (or failure) as noted. New items are in bold type; updated items in bold italics.

US: S722 (NO) - To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require that manufacturers of dietary supplements submit to the Food and Drug Administration reports on adverse experiences with dietary supplements, and for other purposes. (One has to wonder what "for other purposes" could mean!) Introduced , this bill, brought to my attention by my good friend, Melvin, who manages a health food store, would begin the wheels turning to eventally bring vitamins, supplements, and herbs under federal control. Imagine having to go to the doctor to get a prescription for vitamins or for your favorite herbal remedy. This bill would basically do for supplements and herbs what previous legislation has done for drugs - encourage waste, limit choices, foster bad medicine, and legitimize higher costs. Mark it down: Anything the federal government gets its hands on will cost more, be less effective, and will waste taxpayer resources. Last action: - read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

The Supreme Branch

By David N. Bass

July 9, 2003

n several of its June rulings, the United States Supreme Court again demonstrated why it no longer deserves its exalted title. By putting its approval on the blatantly unconstitutional practice of affirmative action and by striking down an anti-sodomy law that was the law of the land in two dozen states, this Court has not only spit in the face of history but trumped the Constitution as well.

The Founding Fathers thankfully saw what many today are blind to–the inherent depravity of man–and accordingly divided the rule of our country between three distinct branches of government and established a system of checks and balances between those branches. But in recent decades it seems that our balanced system has been relegated from three branches to one. A new power has arisen that generously passes all the legislation such liberal powerhouses as the American Civil Liberties Union can muster. That power is the Supreme Court.

Our nation has encountered a quandary: how can we still call the nine justices, and more specifically the current six who tend towards queer interpretations of the Constitution, the Supreme Court? In my view, they are now the Supreme Branch. The very branch Alexander Hamilton considered “The weakest of the three departments of power” has become the iron-fisted monarchy of American government.

Hamilton and the Framers understood the dangers of an unbridled Court. During the Constitutional Convention in 1787 the delegates soundly defeated a proposal to expand the power of the judiciary into the legislative policy-making branch. The Maryland delegate Luther Martin went so far as to say that if the Supreme Court ever entered into the legislative sphere, or passed judgments on legislative issues, the people would loose all confidence in their government.

The image of a Supreme Court set free must have sent shivers down the delegates’ collective spines. The members of the Constitutional Congress understood the dire consequences that would result from giving too much power to an un-elected body.

Daniel Webster perhaps put it best when he entreated our nation to, “Hold on to the Constitution of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. What has happened once in six thousand years may never happen again. Hold on to your Constitution, for if the American Constitution shall fall there will be anarchy throughout the world.” John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, similarly stated that, “Every member of the state ought diligently to read and to study the Constitution of his country.”

Today, such basic understanding has been swept away in a tide of politically correct dogma. Little remains of the Supreme Court John Jay once presided over. We need look no further for proof than the words of Sandra Day O’Connor and Stephen G. Breyer when they appeared on the July 6 edition of “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos. Justice Breyer called into question the relevancy of the Constitution in a growing global world, and his colleague Justice O’Connor indicated the Constitution was far from the final word in American government.

My, how times have changed.

Our current Court more closely resembles a wild bull let loose in a crowd of kindergartners than a governmental body formed to uphold Constitutional Law. And what Americans fail to realize is that the bull has been loose for decades–and we’re the kindergartners.

How can we square the fact that the very branch prescribed to keep tabs on the other two branches no longer keeps tabs on itself? Instead of being a bastion of Constitutional reason and law, the Supreme Court is now a playground for liberal legislation. More than Congress or the Presidency, the Court is the clear and present danger to American freedom, conscience, and morality.

And yet too many in our nation appear blind to this fact. We fail to realize that abridgement of freedom in America–unlike Germany in 1933 and Russia in 1917–will come not through violent and sudden usurpations, but by silent encroachment. Our government is the most stable in the world. If those who would oppose American ideals cannot win a war from outside our way of life, they will endeavor to do so from within.

If we continue to allow such blatant judicial activism as was displayed last month, the future of our way of life may be in serious jeopardy. The June rulings were a wake up call–the silent encroachment has arrived, and its time Americad its eyes to the fact.

David N. Bass is a seventeen-year-old home school graduate from Raleigh, North Carolina. He is a contributing editor to several on-line sites, including HSConnexion.com and TolkienMovies.com.

TheInklings