Special Oath Keepers Update from Stewart Rhodes
I wanted to give you folks a heads up on several things. First, I have not posted much on this site (or on the old blog) lately because my grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on June 30th and was hospitalized in intensive care. She was given only 3-6 months to live. This was a sudden blow and put my family in a real tailspin. Unfortunately, she passed away this last Sunday, July 19, 2009. This has caused some delay in getting things done here at Oath Keepers.
Her passing serves as a reminder to me and my family of just how short life is, and why it is important to enjoy your loved ones while you can (and not take it for granted that they will be there) and why it is important to get busy doing whatever it is you are here to do, and to do it with abandon and full commitment. We truly are only here for a very short time, and none of us gets out of here alive, so don’t sweat the small stuff, stop worrying about yourself, and get down to your higher purpose in life.
As for Oath Keepers, which is, aside from my family, my great purpose and focus, we are about to take it to the next level. You can rest assured that we will be posting daily from this point on, getting caught up on everything, and we have many exciting developments coming right up. Here is what we are doing:
JULY 4 SUCCESS
We had some 30 Oath Keepers oath ceremonies at July 4 events across the country, including Florida, Oklahoma, Nevada, Montana, Texas, Wyoming (where our national peace officer liaison, Dave Freeman, gave a rousing speech), North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Washington DC, among many others (we are still getting reports in). We will post video from those as it comes in.
MONTANA SPEECHES AND CLASSES -- SOON TO BE ON YOUTUBE
In Montana, we took part in a wonderful July 4 Tea Party in downtown Bozeman, and then had a one day Oath Keepers meeting and seminar on July 5 in Three Forks, MT. Among the speakers and instructors were:
SHERIFF RICHARD MACK
Sheriff Richard Mack spoke about the powers and obligations of the Sheriff. You can bet that Sheriff Mack and Oath Keepers will be working together closely in the future as our missions and goals are very much in line and complimentary.
ACTIVE DUTY NAVY LCDR DAVID GILLIE
LCDR Gillie taught a superb class on the constitutional command structure, explaining the genius of the Founders, who made it a constitutional requirement that all public officials, both civil and military, and both at the federal and state level, have to swear an oath to the Constitution. LCDR Gillie explained how the constitutionally mandated command structure and oath prevents both Caesarism (a president becoming a dictator) and juntaism (the military becoming dictatorial -- which has been the bane of Republics throughout history . The video of that extraordinary class will serve as an invaluable teaching tool.
RETIRED POLICE CAPTAIN CHAUNCEY NORMANDIN
We also had a presentation by retired 27 year police Captain Chauncey Normandin who gave his perspective on what it means to be a police Oath Keeper. That video will be up soon.
And we had presentations by two Montana state legislators who serve as excellent examples of Oath Keeper statesmen:
JOEL BONIEK, MONTANA LEGISLATOR
Joel Boniek, who was with on Lexington Green on April 19, 2009, is a true Oath Keeper legislator.
JOEL BONIEK AT COMMITTEES OF SAFETY/OATH KEEPERS RALLY ON APRIL 19, 2009 AT LEXINGTON GREEN.
Joel was the sponsor of the successful Montana Firearms Freedom Act (the “made in Montana” gun law that declares that all guns made, sold, and kept in Montana are exempt from federal regulation) and has been right there at the tip of the spear in Montana on many historic pieces of legislation, such as Montana’s resolution on sovereignty and also the Montana resolution on the Heller gun case (which made it clear that if the Heller decision had interpreted the Second Amendment as protecting only a “collective” right to bear arms, such an interpretation would have violated the compact by which Montana entered the Union). Joel gave a speech/class on the ins and outs of being a new legislator, and what it means to him to keep his oath -- which he takes very seriously (we will post his speech on this site soon).
We are in discussions with Joel about possibly serving as the Oath Keepers liaison to his fellow state legislators across the country. We can think of no other state legislator who so fully embodies what it means to be an Oath Keeper legislator.
ELIAS ALIAS
Our man in Montana, Elias, also spoke briefly about his plans to jump start the spread of Oath Keepers in every county in the great state of Montana.
MICHAEL “MIKE” MORE, MONTANA LEGISLATOR
Rep. Michael More, R-Gallatin Gateway, was the sponsor of Montana House Resolution 3, Montana’s sovereignty resolution which stated, “any acts of Congress that abridge protected individual freedoms are not law and are void” and “every state has a right to ignore or reject all unwarranted assumptions of power by other entities within its boundaries.” As did Joel, Mike gave us his insights on what it is like to be a new legislator, just learning the ropes, and how he has been able to be both effective and true to his oath (yes, it can be done!).
WHAT’S COMING UP
NATIONAL FORUM AND STATE CHAPTER ORGANIZATIONS
Within the next two days we will launching a new national forum and dedicated state chapter pages, so the membership of each state will have their own dedicated page and even a state level forum for organizing at the local and state level. We will do a special post on that when we launch it, but keep an eye on this site so you can join up on the new national forum and so you can join your state group (which costs nothing). We still encourage you to join Oath Keeepers (see the link at the top of this page) but we also encourage you to join the forum and your state group so you can get involved at the state and local level to spread the Oath Keepers message far and wide.
EVENTUAL GOAL: COUNTY LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN EACH STATE
One of our main goals is to have very active Oath Keepers state chapters in each state, with a squared away, vetted, official and authorized director in each state (or two for big states), state level liaisons to police and military, and then active chapters in each county in the state. It will be up to the state director to vett the folks who will be leaders in each county. Imagine if all the veterans in your county were active Oath Keepers, and that most of the police and fire-fighters (and any military) in your county were also Oath Keepers. And imagine having a large contingent of citizen Oath Keepers to compliment and support the veterans, police, military, and fire-fighters. And imagine that they all got to know each other, forming bonds of friendship, trust, and mutual respect. That could make a huge difference in your county, come what may.
That is one of our principle goals.
OATH KEEPERS CARE PACKAGES FOR ALL CURRENT SERVING TROOPS
We will be working very closely with Opperation Soldier Assist and other troop care package efforts. Our goal is to send every single current serving active duty, reserve, and national guard member an Oath Keepers care package which includes an Oath Keepers patch and tab (with velcro backing), DVD, bumber sticker, and educational/outreach material on the Constitution and on the Oath Keepers mission. Imagine what an impact that will have? It is an ambitious goal, but with your help, we will do it!
OUTREACH MATERIALS
Over the next couple of days, we will be posting free downloadable pdf files of Oath Keepers fliers, brochures, business cards, and “slim jims” (3.5 X 8.5 inch information cards) that you can print up and pass out. Very soon you will also be able to order bulk packages of all of our outreach materials, including bumper stickers, already printed up and ready to pass out, at a great bulk price.
We will post more details on all of the above over the next week and we have many other very exciting announcements to make very soon, so stay tuned!
Thanks for all of your support and participation. Together we can and will change history.
For the Republic,
Stewart Rhodes
Founder of Oath Keepers
I was proud to be able to attend and support the July 4th activities in Bozeman, MT.
How about we get some After Action Reports turned in folks ?
I would really like to read about some of the other events.
For the Republic
I just wanted to express my appreciation and pride in what Oath Keepers is all about. I’m a grandmother in my early 70’s and have been grieving for America for a very long time now, but feel at last there is hope through organizations such as Oath Keepers. A great big thank you to you all and especially its founder, Stewart Rhodes!
God bless you all for your undying commitment and patriotism.
Please allow me to add my condolences at the loss of your grandmother.
Call If I can be of any help.
gooch
Stewart,
Our heartfelt condolences on the passing of your Grandmother. We all remember those whom we have lost, and as humans share in your Family’s mourning.
PDF files, much needed. There are many who wish info and I end up passing out hand written notes with our website and forum addresses. This should speed things up a bit.
Looking foward to Freedom,
Randall Scott Covey
Dear Mr. Rhodes:
Just wanted to send my deepest sympathy and heartfelt prayers to you and your family on the passing of your grandmother. Time cannot steal the treasures that we carry in our hearts, Nor ever dim the shinning thoughts our cherished past imparts. For the memories of the ones we loved still cast a gentle glow. To grace our days and light our paths wherever we may go.
Thank you for all you are doing to defend our constitution and protect our country from tyranny.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kathryn A. Killo
Cheerchck753@aol.com
May the memory of your grandmother give you strength to lead this fight for our nation and future generations. We, here in central Pa. stand with you and share our condolences with you and yours.
Blaise Dornisch
“Not on Our Watch”
My heartfelt sympathy on the passing of your grandmother. Grandmothers are wonderful, I remember mine joyfully, they brought much happiness to our large family.
Thank you for all your many efforts. I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan and would like to get involved in helping form/participate in an Oath Keepers group. I can make phone calls, type, etc. Am good at document preparation. I’m 66-years young, slightly limited with arthritis, etc. I love my country, just not the slezeballs in charge.
Have you been in contact with Sheriff Richard Mack, who put out a pamphlet entitled, “County Sheriff-America’s Last Hope?” I sent for his pamphlets and mailed one to Larry Stelma, our local Sheriff. Richard Mack’s goal is to encite all county sheriffs throughout the U.S. to serve the people. He definitely has a passion for restoring the law of the land. If you are not aware of him, here is his address, should you desire to contact him: Richard Mack, P O Box 971.Pima, Arizona 85543.
Thank you again. I will be sure to visit your website often to keep informed of your progress. May God bless you and all other patriots working to save our country!
My wish for you is strength and peace in your grief after losing your beloved grandmother.
Please inform all your members of the upcoming forced vaccination and the military’s hiring of ‘resettlement and internment’ officers so Oathkeepers can infiltrate their ranks and prevent this horrible violation of our Constitutional rights.
Thank you and hope for your continued success in thwarting human rights violations.
I too am gravely concerned about the forced swine flu vaccination and implications of martial law. Please make efforts to stop this horrible injustice. Thank you so much.
Stewart,
You are 100% correct about our time on this planet. I am truly sorry to hear about your grandmother. We’ve all experienced the loss of a loved one at some point in our lives.
I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you and your organization. My wife and I met Trap in Washington DC at the Tea Party and he is the kind of person this country needs more of. If Trap is indicative of the caliber and integrity of Oath Keepers Leadership, I AM ALL IN.
I walked 800 miles to DC in a “One Man March Against Tyranny” from Illinois and let me say this, the sleeping giant is awakening from her slumber. Americans everywhere understand something is wrong with this government. Unfortunately, I believe “the People” will now be forced to proactively defend their FREEDOMS like our Founders did.
KK
Stewart , I was very sorry to hear of your grandmother’s passing. Rest assuard she is in a better place… Rember , TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS.
I also want to let you know that several OATH KEEPERS here in Louisiana are trying to set up a brain-storming meeting very soon in order to increase membership.
Also we may try to pull together a meeting with several sheriff’s.
If there is ever anything I can do for you in the great BAYOU state please let me know.