These remarks were given July 30th, 2010, at the campaign’s Freedom Concert.  For those unaware, the campaign has been featured on four (4) front pages (see 2 of them here) of both of the district’s key newspapers during the past 6 days due to incumbent demanding that I be barred from debating him and also a character assassination attempt over a band that had volunteered to play at the concert.

Concerning the recent media circus concerning the controversial band that was removed from this concert, I thought it best to say a few words not just about the freedom of expression protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, but also how best we should use these freedoms while moving forward as a campaign.

First of all, the Constitution is often misunderstood.   It’s purpose is NOT to run everyone’s life, but rather the exact opposite – to PROTECT the people from the government.  Our founders recognized that governments are capable of horrific tyrannies.  If we look through history, the examples are all too frequent.  While it is easy to forget the horrors of war while it is not in front of your face – especially on beautiful days like today – the last century of humankind has been extremely bloody.

Almost all of the killing has been done by governments and political groups. During the past 100 years, an estimated 170 million have died at the hands of governments, and of these perhaps up to 70% were civilians.

In my travels abroad, I’ve walked through Nazi concentration camps, the Killing Fields in Cambodia, the site of the Nanjing Massacre in China and places all over Asia where the Japanese committed WW2 atrocities, and these experiences has affected me deeply.

I used to often wondered why these state-sponsored killings occur until I came to the realization that tyranny ends only when we as individuals cease to support our own serfdom.

The politicians whisper “Give us all your liberties, and we will keep you safe.”  The truth is that without the liberty and rule of law guaranteed under the Constitution, there is no safety – from the government.   Those that scream the loudest to give up our essential liberties for temporary safety are all too often chicken-hawks who have never served a day of combat in their lives.

Charlie Dent sits on Homeland Security and has been one of the strongest supporters of the PATRIOT Act.  Remember those Democrats who under Bush used to complain incessantly about it, but once in power, guess what?  In February, the House voted to reauthorize it, 315-97.  In the Senate, the bill passed unanimously, 100-0.

• Section 218 gives a secret court the ability to authorize secret searches, wiretaps of private conversations, and examine any financial transaction of Americans. Previously, under the Fourth Amendment and the rule of law, police forces had to present a warrant and also describe what items they are searching for and why.

• Section 213 of the PATRIOT Act not only authorizes the FBI to secretly break into your home, rummage through it, but does not even inform you that the government has committed this until 18 months have passed, and may suspend this notification indefinitely.

• Sections 505 and 215 authorizes the government to secretly examine your private information provided it is somehow linked to terrorism. This includes searching the third-party holders of your financial, library, travel, video rental, phone, medical, or places of worship without your consent or even knowledge.

• Any financial transaction over $10,000 is reported to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a sub-branch of the Treasury Department, as possible criminal or terrorist activity [per Section 365] before being processed.

• Section 412 enables the government to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely and to suspend habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is the ability of those held to appear before a court and determine why they are being held and challenge whether their detention is lawful.

• The Congress has failed to check the executive branch’s assumption of powers to place “enemy combatants” in secret prisons and torture them.

There was an interview done in Hermann Goering’s cell at the Nuremburg Trials for war crimes before he committed suicide. For those unaware, Goering was one of Hitler’s aides for many years and in charge of the Nazi Air Force, the Luftwaffe during WWII.  The interviewer said he did not think that the common people are very thankful for leaders who bring them war and destruction. Here is Goering’s reply:

HG: Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece?

Interviewer: There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.

HG: Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.

But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.

Isn’t it almost cute how the interviewer replied. “Only Congress can declare wars.” Little did he know that just 4 years later, the United States would start its ‘police action’ war in Korea, and the United States would start wars, many preemptive, without a formal constitutional declaration of war for the next 60 years. All in the name of a greater good, whether the flavor of the day be communism during the Cold War or terrorism today.

If we are to live in a free and open society, dissent should not just be tolerated; it should be ENCOURAGED. We as individuals must have freedom of speech and constantly use it in times like these. This is why I have been very adamant to implement the “Our Open Office” concept that most here are familiar with – because each individual deserves a public voice to instruct THEIR public servant and employee.

What about the freedom of the press? One of the presidents of this country, JFK, said all there is to say about the freedom of the press:

“… that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment — the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution — not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants” — but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion…”

The current media has failed far short of Kennedy’s model. Today’s national media largely persists as a tool of the political elite to help divide and conquer the American public.

And in the grand scheme of things, what is more important? In my case, a poor choice of bands for a concert, or addressing the ENDLESS DEBT and ENDLESS WAR that are ruining our country?

The favorite strategy of the political elite, whether Republican or Democrat, is “Divide-and-Conquer.” They will prey upon our differences in Race, Skin Color, Gender, and religious creeds in attempts to turn us upon ourselves. They will try to set our Citizens Senior against our country’s young people. They will try to set the Rich, the Poor, and the Middle Class at each others’ throats for this is the ONLY way they can stay in power.

There is really only solution, only one way for a campaign like mine to win against the Republocrats, Twiddledee and Twiddledum. Where they preach lies, war, hate, and poverty, we must answer with the truth, peace, love, and prosperity. We must all exercise our freedom of speech and expression as we never have before. In a way, we must become the press.

Many of you during the recent character assassination campaign Dent and Callahan are waging against myself have already done so with Letters to the Editor – over 9 have been published in newspapers so far this week. Many of you have been commenting on online article threads and talking with friends. I appreciate it very much, and in the coming months I will need a much more of your help.

If you use a computer, join up with the campaign over Facebook and other social media and keep sharing articles and ideas I’ve written about.

If you like to write, start up a blog covering the campaign and contrast the opponents. Don’t spare me any criticism either.  Register it with the local newspapers.  The Republocrats already have their attack dogs in place.

Later in the campaign we will have plenty of door-to-door work to do. If you are comfortable talking to strangers, help get out the vote by speaking with them. If not, I need your help to do flyer drops, prepare mailings, and make phone calls.

Thank you all for donating to the campaign and being here tonight.

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The campaign will be holding a Freedom Concert on Friday, July 30th to celebrate the campaign’s progress so far!!   You won’t want to miss this event!!   We will be celebrating filing for ballot access!

The band Poker Face has been removed from the concert and will not play, see here for details.

See the below flyer, which can be downloaded from here.    Facebook invite here. Under 18 can attend for free, adults can give a $10 donation to Towne for Congress, and families are welcome!!!

Time: 7:00 – 11:00 PM

Location: Garfield Hotel and Grille, 1750 Main Street, Northampton 18067  (South of the Roxy)   MAPQUEST

Payment can be made below by credit card or by cash or check at the door to “Towne for Congress.”

A brief update to supporters on the ballot access filing situation. The campaign has collected plenty signatures with plenty of backups to be listed on the November 2 ballot.  These signatures must be filed by August 2, but filing prior to this date simply gives more time for the competition to file a legal challenge, which must be filed by August 9. If no challenge is filed by August 9, the campaign remains on the ballot. If a challenge is filed, the campaign remains on the ballot but then the matter will be settled in court.

To run as an independent for US Congress, I must file nearly 4x the amount of signatures as my Republocrat opponents, and twice the number of signatures required to run for President of the United States.  (Video link, link to Freedom Concert)

Gandhi once said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” This independent campaign has made steady progress since last summer, and I am very pleased to announced we have now moved into the third stage slightly ahead of schedule.

In case anyone doubted, recent events have shown my campaign is a viable threat. Last week incumbent Charlie Dent stated he wanted to bar and silence me from taking part in any debates. A few days later, Dent changed his mind and now just flat-out refuses to participate in any public debate I am invited to due to his objections over one of the five bands invited to the upcoming Freedom Concert to celebrate obtaining ballot access. The campaign has issued a press release on the band here.

Dent stated to the Morning Call that I am “someone enmeshed in ideas of anger, violence, anarchy, and bigotry.” Since my target is unwilling to debate face-to-face on issues civilly, let’s take a look at his mudslinging.

“Anarchy”

Since when does believing in the Constitution and the rule of law qualify as anarchy? From this campaign’s principles (don’t bother searching for my opponents’ principles – they literally do not have any) the United States Constitution was written under the principle of “positive grant.” This means the federal government is authorized to exercise only the powers which are specifically given to it by the Constitution, and nothing more.

Dent and the rest of Congress violate their constitutional oaths on a daily basis. Dent supports three unconstitutional wars abroad. He votes for corporatist bailouts for bankers and mortgage lenders alike. He supports unconstitutional wiretapping without warrants, revoking habeas corpus, torture of “enemy combatants,” and much more by his unflagging support of the PATRIOT Act. He wants to strip American civilians living in foreign countries of their citizenship and murder them without trial or due process.

Here is Dent on an accused terrorist who has been tortured and held without trial for years: ”You see him and you realize he’s an absolute monster of a man who is driven by his hatred and is completely unrepentant. You see him and recognize him for what he is: a cold-blooded killer with warped ideology.” Who has sanctioned Dent to be Judge, Jury, and Executioner? Certainly not the Constitution!

If we lived in country with a rule of law, the accused would have been placed on trial years ago to face all the evidence listed in the 9/11 Commission Report from pages 145-169. All evidence collected by torture would be declared inadmissible.

“Violence and Anger”

I believe the only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression. Under no other situation do I condone violence as I believe individuals have the right to live their own lives in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal rights of others.

In line with these beliefs, I subscribe to the Christian just war doctrine. Besides a formal constitutional declaration of war, the “just war” doctrine specifies that wars cannot be preemptive; that there must be a just cause and innocent life must be in immediate jeopardy; that war must be a last resort after all diplomatic initiatives have failed; and it must be proportional in regards to the damage caused by the aggressor. Needless to say, both the Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan wars are unjust wars.

Dent voraciously supports the violence of these unjust wars and nation-building missions, and their inevitable consequences of death and destruction. The families of the recently deceased service members in Whitehall, Hellertown, Easton and Emmaus have tasted the violence Dent has voted for along with 5,615 other service members.

Our veterans write a blank check to the government for up to and including their lives to defend the country and protect the Constitution, and asking our young men and women to participate in unjust warfare is a moral abyss that we as a country should never leap into. If we aspire to be a just nation ruled by laws we must resolve to never ask our military men and women to engage in unconstitutional warfare and nation-building missions. We must also remember that countless innocent Iraqi, Afghan, and Pakistani civilians have perished as well.

Meanwhile, my proposed solutions are simple and logical. To defeat suicide terrorists one must capture the current generation and prevent the next generation from being created from collateral damage and blowback. Our armies in Iraq and Afghanistan simply create more future terrorists and aggression against our country. Constitutional letters of marque and reprisal would be extremely cost-effective – or we can choose to let the “War on Terror” grind on for another 9 years as our economy crashes. The annual $1+ trillion military spending (all happily approved by Dent) is not economically sustainable.

“Bigotry”

The definition of a bigot is a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own. Dent is using his incumbency to block my ideas on liberty, sound money, accountability, and the rule of law. If his ideas were in fact superior, why hold back from debating? This is an insult to the entire democratic election process, but not a surprise given Dent’s abhorrence and disrespect for the rule of law. The new “Our Open Office” forum I will put in place will empower all individuals to have a voice in their government. (2)

So, Charlie Dent, is that the best you can do?

(2) Let me be clear and state I do not believe either Charlie Dent or John Callahan are racists.  And if they were racists and on the ballot I would crush them in the debates.  Democratic elections and constitutional republics are faded concepts for those in power today.

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“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” – Thomas Paine

Or at least unto a debate.   Today the campaign was splashed on the Saturday front pages of the two main area newspapers.  The first, the Morning Call’s, was about the incumbent, Charlie Dent, attempting to silence and bar me from debating.  The second, in the Express Times, centered on the one of the 5 bands playing at Friday’s Freedom Concert in Northampton (details here) which has been accused by outside groups as anti-Semitic.

The campaign has been indirectly informed by the press that Charlie Dent is now refusing to debate at all with me due to the band selection.   People of the 15th congressional district, this is the true self of your representative in Congress.  Below is a video response and text from today’s press release.

“I am not an anti-Semite, nor have I ever held anti-Semite views. I condemn any and all racial and religious discrimination. A free and open society that staunchly defends individual rights is the only type of society that can eliminate racial bigotry.

“The Constitution makes no reference to hyphenated Americans. Terms like Jewish-American, Arab-American, Italian-American all miss at the truth; we are all individuals. Each individual is fundamentally equal under the law with all other individuals. The rule of law ensures the greatest opportunity for individuals to explore their strengths and surmount obstacles.

“It is said the smallest minority on earth is the individual, and each minority, each individual’s liberties is what I pledge to defend as your next Congressman. I view freedom as an indivisible whole consisting of both personal and economic liberties. It is a sad comment on the state of America that the greatest violations of liberties such as warrant-less wiretapping, torture, corporatist bailouts, and high taxation now come from the federal government, from the very halls of Congress that have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

“Our two-headed, one-party political scene is not the sharp divide the politicians and the media want us to believe. The true difference between the Democrat and Republican politicians in power is no greater than the choice between picking Coke or Pepsi at a supermarket.

“The lesser of two tyrannies is still tyranny. Rather than Coke or Pepsi, what the Republocrats all too often offer the American people is a choice between death by Arsenic or Cyanide.

“For the past six years, Congressman Dent, along with the rest of the Republocrats, has been spending our country into oblivion and leading America on the path to economic ruin. Dent voted for the TARP and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailouts, and favored the $600 billion Republican version of the stimulus plan.

“My other competitor, John Callahan, stated he would have voted for the Banker Bailout and traveled to the capitol to support the $800 billion stimulus plan which has miserably failed. His idea of creating sustainable jobs is erecting (and taxing!) a casino where Bethlehem Steel once stood, and a $1 trillion dollar tax on healthcare that will instead further strengthen the government-sponsored monopolization of the healthcare industry.

(See “Who Supports Bailouts?  Jake Towne, Charlie Dent, or John Callahan?” for more details)

“In contrast to these Establishment career politicians, I have patiently explained why corporate bailouts, stimulus plans, and government laws that discourage employment do not work. Further government spending, taxation, and debt to cure the problems caused by excessive federal spending, taxation, and debt is delusional nonsense. ”

“However, we do need more spending, but it is of a far different sort. Allowing everyone to keep what they earn and spend how they wish is not just the key to economic growth and getting America back to work – it is the path to our prosperity as a society. When the government prints up money with a printing press – whether for the military-industrial complex, Big Oil, Big Pharm, Big Ag, or Wall Street – the losers are each and every American. We need far more spending by individuals, but this is impossible without far less spending and taxation by the federal government.”

The views of any the five bands present at the Freedom Concert are not necessarily the views of Towne for Congress. If any of the bands were believed to be anti-Semites, they would not have been invited to play at the concert.

The newspaper was invited to send a representative to attend the concert on July 30th as my guest last Wednesday, and has not responded to the invitation.

Towne is a chemical engineer who worked in the semiconductor industry prior to running for office as an independent private citizen, including the past 4 years in China. Towne has promised to accept only the median household income and not enlist in the congressional health care or pension plans. The remainder of the $174,000 salary will be donated to local non-profit hospitals. He also champions sound money and a novel-yet-simple form of accountable and transparent government, “Our Open Office” which is explained on his website.

Today a local blog, Lehigh Valley with Love, published an exclusive interview with myself by asking some very non-traditional political questions.   The blogger described the campaign as running under “the ticket of awesome, or something.”  Pardon any sarcasm in my responses, and I encourage everyone to check it out the interview here.

Also, this Sunday the district’s main newspaper, The Morning Call, ran a story on the campaign which can also be read below.  The campaign has been invited to the October debate hosted by the Morning Call.

The campaign will be celebrating being listed on the ballot at a July 30th Freedom Concert, more details here!

Towne has signatures; Gears for Challenge by Scott Kraus of the Morning Call

Jake Towne and his supporters have been working hard to gather the 3,629 signatures needed to get the Nazareth chemical engineer on the ballot in the Lehigh Valley’s 15th Congressional District race.

Now Towne says he’s got them in hand, plus a sizable number of extras. But he says he’s going to keep going in order to pile up a significant margin before he files with the state. He’s anticipating a challenge.

Towne’s campaign, which is popular with some in the conservative Tea Party movement, has a decidedly libertarian flavor. He likes to dismiss both major party organizations as Republicrats. So it’s hard to predict his effect on the race between Republican Charlie Dent and Democrat John Callahan. Towne will tell you he’s in it to win.

It will be interesting to see which campaign, if any, decides to file a challenge. That could indicate which is more worried about losing votes.

In order to compete against the Republocrats, a lot more fundraising is necessary for the campaign to be competitive in the media.  Towne for Congress is one of the top independent or third-party fundraising races in the nation for US House.  Please donate by hitting the below button.  Donations of any size are welcome – the average donation to the campaign is about $35.

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Please check out the below events!  Those with signature petitions needing to be notarized can stop by the Towne Hall this Wednesday or the Fun-Raiser on Monday 7/19.

The campaign is wrapping up collecting of signatures for ballot access and needs your help verifying them!!   Verifying can be done at headquarters, <REDACTED>.   Call 610-392-8156 if you are available or email towneforcongress@gmail.com with your times available.

That Freedom Shall Not Perish.

Jake

Sunday 7/11, Signature Gathering at Easton Heritage Day

Time: 11 AM till late.  Come anytime!
Location: Easton, Center Square and surrounding downtown area.  See http://www.heritageday.org/heritage_day_2010_brochure.pdf

The campaign will have a booth, most likely on Northampton St. east of Center Square in the non-profit section.  A reenactment of the Declaration of Independence is at noon at the Square.  Bands, tours, children’s activities will be ongoing all day and fireworks are at 9:30 PM.   Please RSVP by calling 610-392-8156 or email towneforcongress@gmail.com. If you would like to help setup the tent, stop by around 10 AM!

July 14, Wednesday  “Towne” Hall in Bethlehem

Time: 7-9 PM

Location: 2900 Farmersville Road, Bethlehem, PA 18020  SITE MAPQUEST

Jake will briefly introduce himself and then take questions from the crowd.  A notary will be present to notarize any signatures collected.

July 18, Sunday Interview on “March for Liberty”

Time: 7-8:30 PM EST   Listen Live here!  LINK

Call-in at 347-326-9311.  Please join in the conversation with Gary Wood and myself here!  “Constitutionally focused candidate for Congress, Jake Towne is a force in the march for liberty.  He has appeared on Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano, brought reality to the notion an Independent can take on the major parties.”

July 19th, Monday  Fun-Raiser at Pies On Pizzeria in Catty

Time: 6:00 – 9:00 PM

Location: Pies on Pizzeria at Front and Pine Streets, Catasauqua 18032   MAPQUEST

We will relax with some great pizza, drinks, and entertainment alongside the historic Lehigh River!!  A notary will be present to notarize any signatures collected.  To reserve a spot, you can:

1) Donate $25 here per person online and send an email to towneforcongress@gmail.com to RSVP and make sure we reserve your spot.

2) Mail a $25 check using this form made payable to Towne for Congress, PO Box 22542, Lehigh Valley, PA 18002

3) Pay with cash or check on the day of the event, but please RSVP with towneforcongress@gmail.com with your name(s), phone number and address to reserve your spot.

July 30th, Friday  Freedom Concert at Garfield Hotel and Grille

Time: 7:00 – 11:00 PM

Location: Garfield Hotel and Grille, 1750 Main Street, Northampton 18067  (South of the Roxy)   MAPQUEST

You won’t want to miss this event!!   We will be celebrating filing for ballot access!   A bunch of great liberty-minded bands from several genres will be on hand to rock the town as the campaign shifts from ballot access to the offensive.

Families are welcome at this event, and is free and open to the public.  If you have the means, an optional donation of any size ($10 per person is suggested, children are free) to Towne for Congress is appreciated to help take on the Republocrats!!