Thoughts On The Liberty Dollar Debacle
By Brandon Smith
I was in the midst of the Save America Convention in Tampa, Florida when I heard, first, that Libya was under bombardment by the UN (led by U.S. forces), and, that Bernard von NotHaus of Liberty Dollar had been convicted of “counterfeiting”. It was a stressful day, to say the least. For those not familiar with the Liberty Dollar incident, In November of 2007, federal officials raided the group’s headquarters nestled in a strip mall and seized all documents and the gold and silver that backed up the paper certificates and digital currency being distributed through the Liberty Services website. The Justice Department asserted that Von NotHaus was placing gold and silver coins, along with precious metals currency, into circulation with the purpose of mixing them “into the current money of the United States.”
To be clear, NotHaus made some serious mistakes, including pressing his coins to look semi-similar to standard federal currency, and also using language which could be interpreted to insinuate that his currency was “legal tender”. There are many barter networks in the U.S. that use gold and silver that do not have these kinds of problems with the government simply because they are careful not to make the same blunders.
However, it wasn’t the conviction itself that struck me, so much as the language of the prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins, in her post trial statement. Let me reprint my favorite parts for you here:
“Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism,”
“While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country,”
“We are determined to meet these threats through infiltration, disruption and dismantling of organizations which seek to challenge the legitimacy of our democratic form of government.”
Some in the Liberty Movement have interpreted this statement to be a warning to all of us that the Federal Government is declaring open season on alternative currencies. Others see it as a preliminary move towards the confiscation of all privately owned gold and silver. And yet others see the statement as dire prophecy, now cowering behind their 1040’s at the thought of the smallest barter transactions, as if the IRS is the all seeing eye of Sauron waiting to catch them in the act of trading apples for oranges and sending agents to crush them with their slimy orc-like fists of doom.
Perhaps I am the only one, but in contrast, I see the prosecutor’s statement as an expression of blatant fear. I’ll explain, but first, let’s dissect the nonsensical and irrational idiocy behind the saber rattling of Anne Tompkins.
First, U.S. prosecutors prevailed over NotHaus on a conviction of COUNTERFEITING! Unless I am confused, and he was using his silver currency to fashion a McGuyver-esque thermonuclear sound money bomb, it is more than just a stretch to try to equate his actions with domestic terrorism. In fact, the post trial statements of Tompkins are so insane it makes one question her level of paranoia, and perhaps her prescription drug habits. After finding no obvious hint of crazy eyed drool mouth in her photographs, I realized that perhaps she was not a zealot, but simply a messenger.
My feeling (and this is only an intuitive notion) is that Tompkins had little to do with the writing of those statements, or had much “coaching” from the Department of Homeland Security, which has been expanding its absurd definition of terrorism to include almost anyone who does not agree with the philosophies of establishment elites and corporate global banks. Even returning military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been listed as possible domestic terrorist threats. Why not proponents of gold and silver?
What we see here is the not so subtle conditioning of average Americans towards categorizing certain innocuous behaviors as being related to possible criminal or terrorist motives. Owning guns is anti-social, and you are a naughty bad person for liking big boom boom stick. What’s that? A pocket Constitution!? Didn’t McVeigh or one of the 9/11 hijackers carry around something like that? You have a survival garden? Hmm, that sounds fishy. I better call the FDA and make sure everything you’re doing is on the up and up. You want to trade gold and silver? Privately?! That’s obviously “black market” barter, and you are the reason the economy is so unpleasant. I don’t get as many food stamps and free big brother goodies as I used to, and I blame you and your dastardly sense of self sufficiency! The IRS should have your head! And so it goes…
So, I promote private barter networking and precious metals to safeguard communities from impending inflationary crisis, and am therefore a “non-violent domestic terrorist which represents a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country”? How does Tompkins or anyone else, with a straight face, declare alternative markets and sound money as a danger to economic stability, when the U.S. economy has already been annihilated by the derivatives bubble conjured by international banks and the private Federal Reserve? What about the constant fiat injections by our central bank which have created an atmosphere prime for dollar devaluation and hyperinflation? Why in the hell hasn’t the U.S. Attorneys Office or Anne Tompkins placed the terrorist label squarely on the doorstep of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, or the Fed itself? I mean, if we are going to start equating the destabilization of the economy with white Al-Qaeda, then let’s be fair at least. Global banks have had far more to do with our financial downfall than gold or silver trade ever will.
What about the follow up chest beating proclamations of “infiltration and disruption” of any organization which seeks to “challenge the legitimacy of our democratic form of government”?
Wow. Isn’t that comment loaded with bile and stupidity. To begin with, if anyone, including Tompkins, can show me how our current form of government is legitimately “democratic” while both major parties are headed by globalists and corporatists who promote the same exact ideology and support the same exact legislation, while refusing to represent even a minority of Americans beyond the elite, then I welcome them to try. (By the way, Tompkins, I know they didn’t teach you this in public school, and probably not in college either, but America was founded as a REPUBLIC, not a democracy.)
If the IRS or anyone else wants to “infiltrate” barter markets or gold and silver organizations and attempt to record every chicken egg or gallon of milk traded, then I welcome them to try. Please, expend all your precious energies in a futile attempt to chill barter economies or sound money movements. We would like nothing better. Why? Because you cannot stop barter networks from forming. They are inevitable. Every culture in history which has seen a severe economic implosion has reverted to barter, trade, gold, and silver to counter the resulting poverty and lack of mainstream commerce. The need for survival will far outweigh the populace’s fear of government reprisal. That is simply the nature of man. The only difference in respect to the Liberty Movement is that we are working to preempt collapse with supporting networks of commodity trade and community barter. We are not working to “undermine” the current economy, we are simply preparing for its eventual fall, and allowing for the safety of cities and states across the country. Why is this considered devious behavior? Why would the government react with such vitriol, not towards Liberty Dollar, but to the very concept of alternative currencies and economies? Because it is something they cannot control…
Ultimately, what I see hidden in Tompkins statements are the wringing hands of bureaucracy, sweaty and shaking with a fear of the unknown. When people are desperate, and dominated by emotions, they become predictable, and this is exactly the kind of mindset governments like to insert into the collective unconscious. There are only two paths for any society in the midst of a full spectrum crisis; beg for more government and more dependency, even if that government created the crisis in the first place, or, move away from the ailing government, and towards independence. Today, in the face of possibly the greatest economic catastrophe in the history of the world, Americans are beginning to show an aptitude for independence. We are becoming unpredictable, and this frightens government. If our cities and states become fully sovereign, with our own insulated commerce, our own industries, our own food sources, our own defense, and, god forbid, our own currency, then we may then demand a government which actually represents us, and our Constitutional foundations, instead of global banks, for a change. They are moving to call us terrorists, because they truly are terrified of alternative market systems. They have tipped their hand. Which means, we must keep doing exactly what we are already doing.
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March 31st, 2011 at 8:54 am
Convicted of COUNTERFEITING? Are you freaking kidding me? That word means creating a look-alike. There is no way that this guy could have produced a “Ron Paul Dollar” that would have passed as US money with anyone not requiring an attendent to leave the residence. I think he’s got an appeal!
Never mind the assinine accusation of ‘terrorism’. This guy did no more than the Franklin Mint does all the time – produce a coin. Only a moron (e.g. DOJ lawyer?) could interpret this to be an attempt at terrorism.
Here’s the definition of “counterfeiting”, straight from http://www.Dictionary.com. Clearly, he’s not guilty of counterfeiting unless the DOJ is now producing it’s own English Language Dictionary:
coun·ter·feit /ˈkaʊntərˌfɪt/ Show Spelled
[koun-ter-fit] Show IPA
–adjective
1. made in imitation so as to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; not genuine; forged: counterfeit dollar bills.
2. pretended; unreal: counterfeit grief.
–noun
3. an imitation intended to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine; forgery.
4. Archaic . a copy.
5. Archaic . a close likeness; portrait.
6. Obsolete . impostor; pretender.
–verb (used with object)
7. to make a counterfeit of; imitate fraudulently; forge.
8. to resemble.
9. to simulate.
–verb (used without object)
10. to make counterfeits, as of money.
11. to feign; dissemble.
March 31st, 2011 at 8:55 am
Apparently over half the definition of “Counterfeiting” got truncated. Check it out for yourselves. I provided the website above.
March 31st, 2011 at 11:39 am
Brandon,
Excellent article.
In my opinion, Bernard von NotHaus made several mistakes, not out of malice, but out of misguided notions and beliefs that the private minting of gold and silver coin ‘Money’, rather than simple gold and silver coin, trumped any aspiration or restriction imposed by federal government.
In minting Liberty Dollars and in issuing Gold and Silver Certificates he wanted to restore the Gold and Silver standard that is enumerated in our Constitution. Although there are several enumerations of the Constitution that detail the separation of powers and checks and balances with respect to Securities, ‘Money’, coin, gold, silver, commerce, trade, and taxes, I would respectfully suggest that we all should familiarize ourselves with three specific enumerations of the Constitution which impact the legalities of this issue.
Article I – The Legislative Branch, Section 8 – Powers of Congress
- To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
- To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
Article I – The Legislative Branch, Section 10 – Powers prohibited of States
- No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
Bernard von NotHaus’s mistake was in not understanding the lawful verses legal distinctions between gold and silver coin and ‘Money’, and consequently the prosecution of the United States was able to sway the prejudices’ of a Grand Jury to indict and a Trial Jury to convict. But this lack of understanding was not Nothaus’s alone, and the well intended bias of the Juries to faithfully uphold the Law was exploited by governance to manipulate and ensure conviction of a man whose intent was to use gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts as required by the Constitution.
I dare say that this confusion and lack of understanding will be the basis by which our federal government and those whom privately corrupt and monopolize our economy for their own gain will continually seek any excuse to prosecute the States and the People as a means to thwart the restoration of the Constitutional Gold and Silver standard, and although they can not persecute and subjugate us all, it will be the yardarm by which many of us will hang.
Bernard von NotHaus erred by minting gold and silver coins as $ ’Dollars’ that could be mistakenly construed as ‘Money’ officially minted and backed by the authorities of the United States government. During bygone eras in which a wide variety and wealth of gold and silver were traded as privately minted coin, foreign coin, and U.S. coin and were commonly mixed in transactions and exchanges daily, the prosecution of any individual minting or tendering gold and silver as a Counterfeiter would have been absurd and laughable upon the merest mention or inference. However, excepting a minority of states and communities that have retained a proper understanding of gold and silver coin and ‘Money’ versus Fiat Currency, given that the whole of our society has for generations known nothing but Federal Reserve Notes as Legal Tender, our jurisprudence has been swayed to convict those engaging in Constitutional Tender and refusing to participate in the corruptions of Fiat Currencies.
You are astute and most certainly correct in your assessment of “the wringing hands of bureaucracy, sweaty and shaking with a fear of the unknown” in their blatant attempt to corrupt and criminalize the constitutional tender of gold and silver coin as domestic terrorism. Our Union, the States, and the People can not be Sovereign and Free nor can they protect Wealth and Liberty unless we abandon the Fiat Currency and the private corporate interest that have enslaved our governance and our society.
I do not personally know his merits or his sins as a man, but Bernard von NotHaus has been held to task and being made to pay the price for daring to stand as a patriot willing to sacrifice his liberty and his fortune in promotion of our Constitution and the use of gold and silver Coin as a Tender in Payment. We should take note of his trial and tribulations, and ensure that federal governance has no cause or justification to persecute and exploit the confusions of gold and silver coin and coin ’Money’ as a means to enforce tyrannies and corruptions. So long as we avoid repeating those mistakes, there is little that federal governance and private corporate interest can do to prevent the States and the People from using gold and silver, short of confiscating every ounce of precocious metals.
Even in the face of tyranny and corruption it is difficult at best for nefarious ambitions to enslave those individuals and communities whom are self reliant and sufficient. I would encourage everyone to support Auditing and Ending the Fed, and to support the 9th and 10th Amendment Resolutions that are spreading like wildfire and are being introduced and considered by a large number of States to control and regulate their own state banks, their own commerce, and their own use of gold and silver as the best means of ensuring and enforce the Sovereignties and the Independence of the States and the People. And I would most certainly encourage everyone to relearn the most basic and self sufficient skills practiced by our grandparents to assure their own well being in times of economic hardship, such as how to hunt and grow a garden and a basic understanding and proficiency of maintaining and repairing the simple appliances and machines upon which we rely so heavily for our day to day comforts and conveniences and for the exercise of our Liberties.
Brandon, once again thank you for your excellent article. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to meet you during the Save America Convention.
United in Liberty,
Robin W. Tong
March 31st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
The REALLY scary thing about this obsession with labelling everyone a “terrorist” is the implications of that label while that abomination called the “Patriot Act” is still “law.” It’s not enough to merely criminalize dissent, because there’s a good chance that due process and juries (especially “Fully Informed Juries” – lookup FIJA) will protect the dissenter.
But by labelling them “terrorists” then they can use Patriot Act to Gitmo the dissenter indefinitely without habeus corpus, due process, or a speedy trial by a jury of their peers.
I wonder sometimes if people like Thompkins realize just how evil they actually are? Or do they actually BELIEVE the spew that comes out of their skull-holes? That’s an even scarier thought.
April 7th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
LIBERTY DOLLAR ALERT:
Friday April 08. 2011 Judge Napolitano to interview Bernard
Dear Liberty Dollar Supporters!
Judge Napolitano will interview Bernard on Friday, April 8. 2011 on Fox News. Please check for your local channel and time. IMPORTANT: Even if you can’t tune into the live interview, please show your support by just logging on to the Judge Napolitano Show that featured Bernard will help popularize the Liberty Dollar. http://freedomwatchonfox.com/
Liberty Dollar is the top rated article on Yahoo! Please check out the Associated Press article Feds seek $7M in privately made ‘Liberty Dollars’ by Tom Breen for Yahoo at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_liberty_dollars_raid.
Thanks for joining me on the Peter Schiff Show. It was very well attended and he held me over for an additional half hour! WOW! Thanks Peter.
Thank you for confirming that you are an “interested party.”
The Forfeiture Hearing proceeded as expected. We are now awaiting the decision by Judge Voorhees that will impact your property. It is NOT too late to identify yourself as an “Interested Party.” If you have not emailed your confirmation as an “interested party” who owns paper Liberty Dollar certificates, PLEASE email the statement below. Your property is at risk! Please don’t let the gov steal your property!
PLEASE EMAIL THE STATEMENT BELOW to Thomas R. Ascik , the government attorney who is trying to steal your property. And send a CC to me so I can forward your name to the attorney who will represent you as an “interested party” after you sign an attorney/client agreement. Be sure to include your name and address below:
I hereby certify that I am the bearer of Liberty Dollar warehouse receipt(s) and an interested party in any forfeiture action regarding my property. I demand the return of my property or its fair market value in a timely manner and to be informed with sufficient time to reply to any and all actions until my property is returned.
MUST INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS
The Wall Street Journal article: When Private Money Becomes a Felony Offense – The popular revolt against a declining dollar leads to a curious conviction by Seth Lipsky editor of the New York Sun is still very popular at. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704425804576220383673608952.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Thanks again for your support!
Bernard von NotHaus
Monetary Architect
Bernard@LibertyDollar.org
April 13th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
thanks for the info, salute