Are You Even Free?
Stop waiting for permission to be free
Have you ever taken the time to read all of the Declaration of Independence? It’s beautiful. Look at this part; we hold these truths to be self-evident . . .
That, to secure these rights (of live, liberty and the pursuit of happiness), governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed
That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends,
it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it . . .
The Members of the 13 British Colonies thought it was self evident that people have the right to abolish or alter a destructive government. I wonder how many of us would agree?
All around us Rome burns … and the majority of Americans are playing fiddles.
It seems only a few understand the reality that we are under the same type of government that caused Colonists to declare independence 250+ years ago.
What is it going to take to break the psychological shackles that enslave so many people? What needs to happen before people will walk in their God-given liberty?
As with all things: the answer comes back to self responsibility and self government. Nobody can do it for you. You will only be free when you actually believe you are already free.
STOP ASKING FOR PERMISSION.
Below is a true story to illustrate the point. The story takes place in Manatee County, FL—but it’s a story that’s being duplicated all over the country.
Hopefully, in reading it, something will stir in you, and you will put a stake in the ground. Make 2024 the year you declared your personal independence.
The Madness of Manatee County
On January 1st of 2024, the Chair of the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee (MCREC) sent a letter to all of the committee members, announcing a March 25th meeting.
Please notice:
The meeting leaves two Executive Board seats VACANT for three months during a critical election year
There is NO meeting prior to the presidential primary on March 19—during a critical election year
The “Special Meeting’s” Agenda will “not be limited to” two elections and any motions necessary to accomplish the multiple goals of the meeting. In other words, she is calling a Special Meeting and isn’t letting everyone know what’s going to be covered in the meeting. (This is a direct violation of RPoF rules when calling a Special Meeting)
As you can imagine, committee members were disturbed. So, they did what free people do: they solved the problem. They consulted the Constitution of the Republican Party of Florida, and then followed the rules outlined there to call a Special Meeting:
Art. VII, Sect. 3 -“Special meetings may be called by the Chairman, Vice Chairman or upon signed petition of 40% of the membership of the County Executive Committee, provided there is written notice of ten (10) days given to all members of the County Executive Committee and the subject of the special meeting is announced in the notice. Any petition to call a special meeting must identify the date and subject of the proposed special meeting”
In under 5 days, they collected signatures from over 40% of the floor using software that verifies all signatures (similar to DocuSign). Then they send an email to the Executive Board to ask them to call a meeting in compliance with the RPoF Constitution Article 3, Section 8, Second Paragraph: “The Board shall be subject to the orders of the County Executive Committee, and none of its acts shall conflict with action taken by the County Executive Committee.”
Despite clear rules, the Chair refused to schedule a meeting. Therefore, using the authority granted to him in the RPoF Constitution, the Vice Chair called the meeting, giving 11 days notice. The next morning an email went out on behalf of committee members in support of the Vice Chair, joining him in a call for the Special Meeting.
Gaslighting, Lies, and Tyrannical Leadership
What happened next was a chapter right from an Orwell dystopian novel:
Chair Culbreath immediately emailed the SOE office and illegally removed from membership the committee member who had sent the email announcing the Special Meeting.
The past chair, along with a sitting club President, sent emails declaring the meeting to be invalid (citing no rule or reason).
The Committeeman (Dave Matthews) and Committeewoman (Cindy Spray) began harassing the Vice Chair, claiming he had no authority to call the meeting (as though free people can’t read and understand the RPoF Constitution for themselves). They sounded like Chris Cuomo when he said we need the media to learn what was contained in the WikiLeaks documents.
Here’s the good news: the free men and women of the Manatee County Executive Committee ignored the ramblings of those attempting to sabotage a duly-called meeting and continued moving forward.
As more petitions rolled in, committee members began planning the January MCREC meeting. They had already called the Chair of the Grievance Committee and consulted with an attorney (two attorneys, actually) to make sure they were in compliance. They moved forward on booking a room, getting an updated membership list, etc.
The Chair behaved like a caged animal, rabid in her attempts to sabotage the meeting. She maliciously contacted the hall they had booked and cancelled their reservation. She sent multiple threatening emails to committee members. One claiming the signatures were “verified as invalid.” How do you “verify” it’s “invalid”? Her emails were disjointed, painfully written, and illogical. See for yourself …
This is exactly the same attitude Gretchen Whitmer had when she told the free people of Michigan they could buy alcohol but not seeds.
What authority does the Chair have to make this declaration that there is no meeting? NONE. Members scheduled the meeting and only members could cancel the meeting.
But the Chair knows she is talking to good, honorable people, committee members who value law and order—and so she “bullied up” in the hopes that they would submit. (This is a life-long pattern for this former Sheriff’s Deputy, who has over a dozen pages of disciplinary reports outlining her abuse of the badge.)
Free People Don’t Ask Permission
On the night of the Special Meeting, Fuhrerlein Culbreath, presumably fit to be tied that free people were ignoring her mandates, sent a last-ditch email to members of the committee demanding their obedience. Below is the email, printed with some playful commentary. Do you hear the sound of the Charlie Brown teacher when you’re reading her words?
Side note: this woman is running for a County Commissioner seat! Can you imagine someone with this attitude sitting on the Dias?
This Is What Liberty Looks Like
Despite a lot of foot stomping from the Chair, the members of the committee HELD THE MEETING.
Not only that … they held quorum for the entire evening, where the will of the majority of the membership was determined after vigorous, thoughtful, and respectful debate. The meeting finished 15 minutes early.
Because free people are productive people.
Typically what happens at meetings is that the Executive Board tries to RULE the floor. They do this by ignoring Roberts Rules of Order so that committee members can’t participate. You can probably imagine how free people respond. Meetings disintegrate, members leave, and the meeting is abandoned due to lack of quorum.
Instead, at the committee-driven meeting, presided over by Vice Chair Nathan Knight, two officers were elected for the Board of the MCREC and common sense motions were passed, including:
Motion: adopt Financial Policy and Controls
Motion: all meeting announcements must be accompanied by draft minutes of the prior meeting, and proposed meeting agenda
Motion: to eliminate the prohibition of handouts at the MCREC Meetings
Motion to open all Executive Board Meetings to any MCREC member for observation only, and 24 hours' notice of such meetings to be provided by the Board to all members.
All motions were in compliance with RPoF Rules of Procedure and our County Model Constitution. Robert’s Rules of Order were dutifully followed, and member participation was at an all-time high.
We Are the Government RPoF and We Are Here to Help
At the same time the Chair went through her theatrical public temper tantrums, she and the two State Committee Officers tried valiantly to get Evan Power, the newly elected Chair of the RPoF, and Mark Cross, Chair of the Grievance Committee, to weigh in on the issue. In line with the conservative Republican values they espouse, (*cough, cough*) Board Members requested that the State sweep in, crush dissent, and support their demands to re-interpret the law to force compliance among committee members.
Officially, the State remains silent, presumably because they are trying to weigh the advantage of disregarding and disrespecting 100 Republicans who submitted to the rules simply to satisfy the ego and political aspirations of the county Chair whose political career is in a death spiral.
In an interview with the press, Power is quoted as not weighing in except to say the issue will likely be resolved through the grievance process. He further articulated that he has “100% trust in the people elected,” which presumably includes the 100 committee members who followed the rules, since they are all elected.
Multiple grievances have been filed against the Chair, the Committee man and the Committee woman for their attempts to disrupt the process. But the grievance process is beside the point.
The POINT is that people came together and disrupted the status quo when those in authority tried to use lawfare to force submission against the will of the people.
Where have we seen this lawfare before? Hm. Let’s think … January 6. The witch-hunts against Trump. The DOJ’s assault on parents, Catholics, and MAGA Republicans.
Where else? Oh yes, when the law is used to keep YOU in line, while at the same time the law is ignored as our borders are being invaded. Have you heard that in NYC, veterans were put out on the street and kids were forced to return to online learning so the buildings could be used to house the foreign invaders?
This is the same abuse of power that tells you you’re supposed to submit to the self-serving proclamations of the Chair:
Even though the Chair violated RPoF Rules when she attempted to sabotage a duly-called Special Meeting
Even though the Chair violated RPoF Rules when she “appointed” a secretary and treasurer
Even though the Chair violated RPoF rules when she removed a duly elected committee member without a vote from the floor
Even though the Chair ignores common fiscal responsibility and ordered her own stack of checks so she could reimburse herself without oversight
Even though the Chair refused to collaborate with the Treasurer to ensure expenditures were ethical
Even though the Chair offered to write a committee member a check for $1000 days after the floor REJECTED the motion to give her that much spending authority
Even though the Chair publicly called a sitting Republican a “communist”
Even though the Chair publicly slanders MCREC members on FB, agreeing that they are agitators and part of the Left’s radical “Indivisible” group
Even though the Chair hasn't raised one red cent for the MCREC
Oh … and don’t forget! This is the same Chair who is headed to court because of her involvement with a “submerged iPad.” (The iPad was accidentally left behind at an MCREC meeting. It was taken to MCREC headquarters, but then was surrendered to the Sheriff’s Department having “somehow” been ruined by water submersion.)
And you thought the comparison to Gretchen Whitmer was an exaggeration. It’s not. The Chair believes she is above the law. Worse, she thinks she creates the law.
Manatee County Republicans have a problem, but the solution isn’t for the RPoF to come in and be the arbitrator. The only role the RPoF should take here is to remove this Chair who is destroying the reputation of the Republican Party in Manatee. It’s pretty hard to espouse values of self responsibility and small government when the Chair of the local Party is power-drunk and uses what little authority she has to crush dissent.
No. The solution isn’t for the RPoF to come in as judge and jury. The solution is for free people to break the psychological shackles that enslave them and start living like freemen.
The Chair has declared the actions of the Committee to be invalid. POINT OF INFORMATION: On what authority? Remember: even volunteer Chairs are subject to the law/rules.
The Chair has declared the actions of the meeting to be “of no consequence.” POINT OF INFORMATION: On what authority? Remember: it was a duly called meeting. Committee members DO have the authority to call a meeting, hold quorum, and make decisions.
The Chair has declared there is going to be an election of a Secretary and Treasurer. POINT OF ORDER: There are NO VACANCIES on the Board.
Manatee Is a Microcosm
What’s happening in Manatee County is a microcosm of what’s happening in the larger world around us. (A microcosm is a small system considered as representative of a larger system.)
The systemic abuse of power-hungry, unaccountable leaders is happening all over the country. County Commissioners ignore residents in favor of developers and special interests. The Secretary of State ignores voters calling for election integrity. Legislators in Tallahassee ignore citizens calling for the end to unconstitutional red flag laws. Representatives in Congress ignore the calls to secure the border, reduce the debt, and impeach/jail Biden and Mayorkas for treason.
Everyone is asking: What can we do about it. There’s only one thing TO do: STOP COMPLYING. Stop asking permission to be free.
The Committee Members in Manatee followed the “law,” (the RPoF Constitution) but when the person in charge disregarded the law and demanded obedience to HER instead, Committee Members recognized the rogue and reckless Chair had not authority to make those demands. 100 people said no and went forward with governing themselves.
"When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty." Jefferson
Remember the amazing videos in 2021 of parents shutting down school board meetings and Board members resigning over citizen participation? That represents the response that needs to be duplicated all over the country. A leader can’t lead without followers.
These people—from Congressional legislators to the county Chair—serve by the consent of the governed. The governed need to stop consenting.
You may feel powerless about the border. You may feel powerless about election fraud. You may even feel powerless about County Commissioners on their knees before the Developers.
But you aren’t powerless—and the situation in Manatee proves it. When free people unite, the balance of power tilts in their favor.
How Do You Know a Politician Is Lying? (Their Lips Are Moving)
Despite the Chair’s cry for unity unity unity, Culbreath doesn’t actually want unity. She WANTS fighting so she can keep you distracted while she courts the developers for her county commission seat and tries to advance her political career.
Want me to prove she doesn’t want unity? She had over 55% of the membership—roughly 100 people—show up for a meeting to express the will of the people and she DISREGARDED it. She MOCKED it. She tried to INVALIDATEthe will of the people!
Anyone who wants unity (and, frankly, anyone who understands leadership) would have seized upon that opportunity. She could have listened to the people, accepted their votes, and moved forward in unity with the people. But, like the Left, Culbreath shares our vocabulary, but she uses a different dictionary. She says unity, but she means submission. She says unity, but she means obedience.
So, too, do most of the voices calling for unity.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Only you can decide where we go from here, but the route is crystal clear.
You can make a Right Turn, which puts you on a road where people are committed to the values of law and self-governance. On this road, people refuse to consent when those in “power” use their authority to abuse individuals. When free people unite, they replace tyrants: whether that’s the County Chair, nefarious County Commissioners, unaccountable Legislators, or even the paper president.
Or can make a Left Turn, which puts you on the road to submission. On this road, you submit to authority “to get along,” even when those in positions of power abuse you and disregard the law. On this road, you are powerless, a psychological slave whose “freedom” only comes when the “Master” (a person in power) “gives” you a voice.
That’s not how free people live.
Only you can decide which road you will take, but remember, your options are not two roads that lead to the same destination. The roads take you to two very different location. The choice is not: “The bumpy road of arguing or the smooth road of being nice,” where both end in a political utopia. No. The question is far more fundamental.
This is a question of authority: Personal Authority (self government and sovereignty) vs Institutional/State Control (rules are used to control us, while those in charge are exempt from the law).
Ultimately, you’re answering the question every generation must answer … and what each of us have had to answer every day since the tyrannical takeover of 2020: Are you even free?
Live free, my friends. The only way your liberty is lost is when you surrender it.
Resistance to tyranny is the Christian and social duty of each individual.
John Hancock