Tag: Michael Peroutka

Institute on the Constitution: Don't Obey MD's Gun Control Law and Arrest Those Who Enforce It

In a column out today, League of the South board member and director of the Institute on the Constitution, Michael Peroutka advises readers not to obey Maryland’s new gun control law which goes into effect today.
He writes:

Therefore, we are calling on all peace officers in Maryland and all those who have taken an oath to the Constitution to resist this lawlessness. 
Specifically, we call on sheriffs and police officers in Maryland to declare their intention to uphold the law by refusing to enforce these measures. Moreover, we ask these same oath takers to keep the oaths they have sworn before God by actively protecting and defending us against those who would violate the law by seeking to enforce these vain enactments.
All those who try to enforce these lawless gun control measures should themselves be arrested and prosecuted for, among other things, conspiring to violate the rights of decent, innocent, law abiding Marylanders.

Peroutka invokes part of the 2nd Amendment as justification for his call to disobey gun control laws. He has been agitating for resistance to these laws from some time. It is hard to tell what will come of his call to lawlessness.

Weekend Roundup – Tanks, Government Lies, Anti-Gay Pride, Christian Persecution, Government Shut Down

These are some items of interest that I either didn’t get to or need no additional noise from me.
David Barton: Tanks A Lot – David Barton told his Wallbuilders audience that private citizens should be allowed to have whatever weapons the government has – tanks, fighter jets, whatever. Just like the founders had.
How Do You Know When The Government Is Lying? – That’s the burning question Michael Peroutka asks on his IOTC website. He claims that the government and the media conspire together ” to endanger you, impoverish you or otherwise to harm you.” I also learned that the media hyped up the dangers of Swine Flu in 2009 to “provide cover” for the government to meddle in health care.
Scott Lively and Bryan Fischer Celebrate Anti-Gay Pride –  At 10:25, Lively calls his indirect influence on Russia’s anti-gay law “one of the proudest achievements of my career.” Guess it is all downhill from there.
Christians are under attack all over the world and the Church seems silent – Kirsten Powers’ thought provoking editorial provoked me. I will return to this issue next week. My initial view is that most Christians in the pew are praying but don’t know what else to do. Our evangelical leaders are consumed with Values Voting and Culture Warring and Taking The Country Back.
Oh, and the government might shut down…

Institute on the Constitution: Notes on Session 10 – War Between the States and Women's Suffrage Dilutes the Franchise

I have been watching the Institute on the Constitution course on the National Religious Broadcasters network on Thursday nights. Last night was session 10 and covered amendments 11 through 27.  I have raised numerous issues with the course over the first nine sessions, and session 10 only added to my negative reaction.
At this point, I am just going to supply some observations about the course from memory. I may do a more detailed follow up next week.
Discussing the 13th Amendment, Peroutka disparaged the Emancipation Proclamation as a political ploy on Lincoln’s part. In his discussion of the 13th Amendment, Peroutka correctly said that the amendment freed the slaves but then added that subsequent actions made us all slaves. He compared the military draft and income tax to the enslavement of blacks. To me, this comparison crudely minimizes the awfulness of slavery.
He had little good to say about the 14th Amendment. Consistent with his status of board member of the League of the South, he make the Confederate case that the amendment was never legally ratified.
Throughout his discussion of the Reconstruction amendments (13-15), Peroutka referred to the Civil War as “The War Between the States.” When David Whitney came forward to discuss his view that the 16th Amendment did not actually authorize a federal income tax, he called the Civil War, “The War for Southern Independence.” These designations are consistent with Peroutka’s view that the wrong side won the Civil War.
Probably the oddest position taken was opposition to the 19th Amendment. Peroutka complained that a woman’s right to vote “dilutes the franchise.” He said he often gets strong reaction to his position (I wonder why) but he explained that a married female voting may cancel out the vote of her husband.  He painted a picture of the family being represented at the voting booth by the husband. If a woman has no husband then she could vote, but otherwise he believes women should be represented by their husbands at the polls.
How about that ladies?
There were other things that raised my eyebrows but I need to do a bit more research before I write about them.
 
 

Wake Up America! Profiting from Politics

Looking for something else, I came across Wake Up America, a method to profit from tea party politics.
Essentially, WUA wants people to buy media kits filled with tea party talking points, and then the new owners of a media kit try to get other like-minded people to buy the kits and start selling them too. The compensation plan is here. The more people selling kits on behalf of the “wakers” (as in those waking up a sleepy nation), the more money the wakers are supposed to make. Sounds all multi-level marketing to me. Some might call it a pyramid scheme. However, I am not qualified to make that assessment, but I suspect they are in compliance with the law.
Wake Up America features some big name conservative experts. Lt. Gen. Boykin is there; Tim Johnson, Frank Gaffney, etc., and then League of the South board member Michael Peroutka on the list as well. I’m not sure what they do but they are there lending their reputation to WUA.  Clearly, IOTC is a player in the tea party world and should be taken seriously.
Apparently, WUA isn’t CEO William Head’s first rodeo. He started a similar plan in 2006 called Purge Congress. Apparently, that effort didn’t work out well.
Over the years, I have been approached by various people to enroll in plans to sell soap, vitamins, and once motivational videos. I never got involved because it seemed like a lot of work for very little payoff, at least since I was getting in way down the downline. In this case,  WUA sells ideology and apparently hopes that lots of people want to buy and sell it too.
 

Texas Church Says Institute on the Constitution Speaker Doesn't "Reflect Their Values"

In a column out today, Bud Kennedy at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram focuses on the Founding Faith conference which Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin backed out of last week. According to Kennedy, the church where the conference was to be held decided against it in part because the views of Institute on the Constitution teacher (and MD chapter of the League of the South chaplain) David Whitney “‘do not reflect the values’ of High Point Church.”
The conference appears to be canceled. The website is password protected and the promoter’s website does not list it as an upcoming event.
Kennedy’s column places an emphasis on the secession aims of the League. I suspect what also rankled the High Point Church folks was the League’s white Southern nationalism.