A declaration of war
By Tom DeWeese
web posted March 21, 2005
I have been an activist for the cause of freedom for 37 years. I have always worked to preserve and defend the ideals of our Founding Fathers, including individual liberty, limited government, and free markets. I have worked both inside and outside of political parties and as an activist in the grassroots. I have suffered defeat and celebrated a few victories. Throughout the battles I have always been the optimist, urging on battle-weary troops, believing that in the end the fight for right will win.
However, in November of last year, I watched with horror while the lame duck session of the 108th Congress passed one assault on liberty after another; bills that we had fought to derail during the regular session.
First, Congress passed a 3,000-page bill, which most Representatives didn’t even read, to implement a national identification card and strengthen the already horrendous Patriot Act. Then Congress passed a mandatory and universal mental health-screening bill that will force our children to take mind-altering psychotropic drugs.
In the heat of the session, we again stopped the “new civics” bill that would indoctrinate our children to accept globalism rather than American ideals. However after we won that fight for the second time, Congress simply changed the name of the bill and passed it anyway. All of these were bills Congress didn’t have the guts to pass until they were safely reelected and covered by the dark of night.
Of course, the lame duck session was only the icing on the cake. We’ve all watched over the past several years as one liberty after another has disappeared. Our once free nation, where individuals were protected as they made their own decisions about how to live life, now finds almost every aspect of American life controlled by government. We have become a nation ruled by food police, smoking police, government medical care, energy czars, education czars, immigration czars, and intelligence czars. Soon, in the name of “election reform,” our system of selecting our local representatives may be controlled by a federal election czar.
We aren’t allowed to close our borders because that wouldn’t be fair to people who want to ignore our laws. We are told that English is just one language spoken in this country. Our religion is no longer permitted on public lands that our tax dollars pay for. Now we are to have a National ID card that we must show to open a bank account, get on a plane, or buy a gun. Government at all levels no longer serves to protect our liberties and property. Rather, government’s only purpose is to rule, regulate, restrict, license, tax, assess, confiscate, and redistribute our possessions to some unnamed stakeholder.
No longer can our nation call itself the beacon of freedom in the world. In fact, the Heritage Foundation has just released its 2005 Index of Economic Freedom, and for the very first time, the United States isn’t even in the top ten free nations. We are tied with Switzerland for 12th place. Clearly, American liberty is dying.
Through it all I have fought, trying to stem the tide and find a way to win. But during the lame duck session, as the outrageous votes came, one after another, I must tell you, something snapped in me. An anger rose in my gut that I simply could not ignore. It became all too clear to me how badly we are outgunned, out-organized, and out-financed by the enemies of freedom.
The other side has massive foundations like Ford, Rockefeller and Pew (to name a very few) that have literally billions of dollars to pour into the fight. Meanwhile, we are a rag tag band of “mom and pop” groups whose members cash their paychecks on Friday night, and head for Kinkos to make copies of materials to hand out in meetings or on street corners on Saturday.
We try to balance the news media’s bias with letters to the editor and we hope our footwork and sweat in campaigns will counter the millions of dollars dumped into elected officials’ pockets. Like Washington’s soldiers at Valley Forge, we are barefoot, poorly armed, and freezing in the cold, facing certain extinction. Clearly, such a situation will never lead to a victory for freedom unless, like Washington, we find a new way to fight. The fact is, it doesn’t have to be this way.
You see, our movement is actually a vast outreach of dedicated, smart, hardworking activists. We are property rights activists; Second Amendment defenders; parentally-controlled-education proponents; free enterprise advocates; tax opponents; family autonomy champions; personal privacy protectors; guardians of American independence and sovereignty; conservatives; libertarians and Christians. There are millions of us, but we are all scattered to the four winds. We need a place to gather together; to share information; to issue action alerts on a massive scale; to carry the freedom message; to bring all of these diverse issues together; and above all, to raise money for the cause. But how? It should be obvious to all of us by now that no rich foundations or big money men are coming to help us. So we have to do it ourselves.
That’s why I have spent the past several months creating a very simple plan; one that will do all of the above, especially raising funds, without anyone in the movement having to spend any more time, or spend any more money than they already do in their everyday lives.
My goal is to bring more than one million freedom fighters together; one million freedom fighters taking action when the alerts are issued; one million freedom fighters sharing information and coming together into one mighty fist. Above all, my plan can put more than $24 million a year directly into the Freedom movement. Here’s how.
I have created a full service Internet provider strictly for the freedom movement. It’s called Freedom21.com. You will get an e-mail address that carries the freedom message every time you correspond on the Internet, (your name @ Freedom21.com). You will get news with your point of view. No longer will you have to suffer through biased news supplied by CNN or the big three networks. Freedom21.com will feature commentaries from leading advocates of freedom. Imagine being able to tell the entire freedom movement of special meetings, conferences, or important activities in local communities through a “Freedom Message Board” and action alerts.
Above all, for the first time, freedom’s activists won’t be putting their Internet access subscription money into the pockets of those who scorn their beliefs and fund their opponents, like Ted Turner and AOL, or Bill Gates at Microsoft. Even more important, Freedom 21.com will donate $2 of every subscription fee, every month, to the freedom organization of the subscriber’s choice. That means your money will be working for your cause even while you are just living your everyday life.
One million subscribers will provide more than $24 million every year to our movement. That money will help pay for campaign training schools; seed money for new organizations; lawsuits; media campaigns; legislative battles; research; all of the tools we need to win the battle for freedom.
A subscription to Freedom21.com is only $15.99 per month for full dial-up service, including a network of thousands of local phone numbers and 24 hour per day technical service. Users of DSL, cable, or those who just want to continue with their current internet provider may pay a simple membership fee of $6.99 per month and still get the Freedom21.com e-mail address, action alerts, commentaries, message board, and of course, $2 of the membership fee will certainly go to the freedom group of their choice.
Keep in mind, no other Internet provider puts money directly into the pockets of groups who support the mission of freedom. Local and national groups, radio talk shows, and Internet news sites are all welcome to become participating partners and receive the $2 from their own members, listeners, and readers who subscribe to Freedom21.com.
Those who carry a passion for the ideals of liberty as described in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution will feel at home on Freedom21.com.
I’m taking this action because I’m tired of being a mere speck that powerful forces can squash at will. I live a good life. I get to travel and speak out on issues I passionately believe in. It’s flattering to speak to friendly audiences, or have folks shake my hand, or praise my work. But it’s not enough. I want to win!
I believe Freedom21.com gives us an opportunity to begin to turn the fight around. New ideas for the movement will spring up, funded by the seeds sown by Freedom21.com. But this is the starting place. This is our gathering place on the Internet. This is our chance to declare a new kind of war against those who threaten our liberties. Finally, we can have the money and the fist we’ve always needed.
To make it all a reality I need one million freedom fighters to join Freedom21.com. Will you join me now and be one of the first to switch to the new fight for freedom? Join my efforts at Freedom21.com and let’s start winning. 
Tom DeWeese is the publisher/editor of The DeWeese Report and president of the American Policy Center. The Center maintains an Internet site at www.americanpolicy.org. Freedom21.com is an independent ISP and not affiliated with the Center. © Tom DeWeese, March 2005
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