Title: Volunteer Voice 32nd Edition Original CoS Document (slug): [[https://conventionofstates.com/volunteer-voice-32nd-edition|volunteer-voice-32nd-edition]] Login Required to view? No Created: 2023-02-27 21:12:15 Updated: 2025-02-27 03:00:00 Published: 2023-03-01 01:00:00 Converted: 2025-04-14T21:23:18.832943354 ---- **The Unseen Hand**\\ \\ By Brian Harris\\ \\ Do you wonder why events affecting us are seemingly out of our control? Why don’t politicians listen to us? Why does Congress spend money that we don’t have? Why are we involved in military adventures all over the globe?\\ \\ I subscribe to the phrase, “Those that don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” Our history is extremely important to our present and to our future. Past experience should prepare us to meet current circumstances as individuals and as a nation. What we do today has an impact on tomorrow and beyond.\\ \\ It seems that America fails to learn from its mistakes. Is this by accident or{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65063/65063_original.png?200x123}} by design? A. Ralph Epperson wrote the Unseen Hand in 1985. I am currently about halfway through the book and feel like I am taking a college-level course, in truth! I thought that I was knowledgeable about our history before reading this book, but I am gaining mind-blowing insight.\\ \\ Epperson explores the accidental vs. conspiratorial view of history. The conventional view of history that we are indoctrinated with in the American school system is largely based on the accidental view, which holds that historical events happen by accident for no apparent reason and that rulers are essentially powerless to intervene.\\ \\ Some examples of the accidental view: * The French Revolution resulted from the French masses, tired of being oppressed by King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, rising up in opposition to the monarchy and storming the Bastille prison. * The Russian Revolution of 1917 was started by starving workers who were being oppressed by the tyrant Czar Nicholas II. * Cuba went communist because it was a poverty-stricken country beset with internal problems and corruption that was so intense that the Cuban people were forced to seek a change in their government. * The underlying cause of the American Revolution was “No taxation without representation.” * The Federal Reserve System was needed to prevent abuses of Wall Street bankers, which caused events like the Panic of 1907. * Slavery and states’ rights were the primary causes of the American Civil War. I haven’t even made it to WWI and WWII yet. So we will save those for another day.\\ \\ The conspiratorial view of history holds that historical events occur by design for reasons not generally known to the people. As truth is stranger than fiction, the true causes of world events are much more interesting than what we have been taught. And much more frightening and infuriating! Epperson details the truth behind world events that have shaped our nation and impacted our lives.\\ \\ I encourage you to read this book so that you can know the truth. I will give you a hint, follow the money. If a revolution or war is happening somewhere on this globe, someone is getting very rich, and many are getting very poor.\\ \\ Think about the current War in Ukraine for a minute. Why is the American regime so intent on supplying arms and cash, neither of which we have any to spare, to Ukraine, which is one of the most corrupt countries on the planet? Why are the White House regime and Congress not listening to us on the issue? One could be led to believe that our overlords are intent on destroying the middle class. This couldn’t be by design, could it?\\ \\ If we are to take charge of our affairs, the Founding Fathers gave us a remedy in Article V of the Constitution. A Convention of States is our last hope to course correct before it is literally too late.\\ {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65062/65062_original.jpg?300x36}} {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65068/65068_original.JPG?449x337}} **A Newbie’s Perspective**\\ \\ By Dana Ives  Bear with me here, but by necessity, I have to write a little about me for my first article. If I am allowed to continue working with you, I promise this will be the last time I write about myself. I was raised in Connecticut by relatively conservative parents. At 18, I joined the armed services, was honorably discharged in 1980, and set about establishing a career and family. My wife and I raised two children and were very fortunate to do so on a single income. Thus, Mary Anne was able to devote much of her time to building a firm foundation of morals and principles for our children. As a responsible citizen of our Republic, I thought I was doing all the right{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65070/65070_original.JPG?200x191}} things one should do - adhere to your principles, write your representatives, discuss politics with other people, and vet the candidates. Then vote your conscience. When I ask myself, “And how’d that work out for you?” I’m pretty disappointed with my honest answer. Do you share that sentiment? The past several years have shown that my voice, and that of many other Americans, has not been heard by our “leaders.” The government bureaucracy has expanded, the corruption has become pervasive, and our leaders’ contempt for us has grown. I’m tired of being treated as merely one of the many unwashed, ignorant, Bible-clinging, gun-toting deplorables. I’m tired of being called a racist, a multi-faceted “phobe,” an oppressor. I am, first and foremost, an American. Being an American means that we are all part of this multi-cultural mixing pot we call the United States of America. We are not Catholics, Baptists, Africans, Europeans, Caucasians, Puerto Ricans, Italians, Poles, Swedes, Irish, Gay, Straight, Liberal, or Conservative - We Are Americans. My career led to working in 28 countries, and I have seen many things that reinforce my appreciation for the good fortune of being born an American. For example: * In New Dehli, there was a bawling 3-year-old boy parting the river of humanity surging around him because he was born into a lower caste * A man crawling out of a makeshift tent on a beach in Lagos, Nigeria, takes a shower using a single 2-liter water bottle, reemerging from that primitive home dressed in a clean white shirt, tie, pressed trousers, and polished shoes to head off to his job * the sidewalk in Wuhan where, at first glance, two large mounds of hair occupying a sheet of plastic suddenly turn into human beings grabbing morsels of food from a pile of garbage, oblivious to the people stepping around them {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65071/65071_original.jpg?200x150}}I have many other memories from my travels, many good ones and some not. But, every time my flight touched down at SeaTac, or Pittsburgh, or Atlanta while returning home, I imagined myself jumping out of that glorious piece of modern technology and kissing the ground of my beloved home. Such is our home that is America. This is what we are fighting for by supporting our Convention of States Action. I now have the honor of working with the Convention of States Action as a State Content Writer. Among many reasons, these are prominent: - The imposition of fiscal restraints on the Federal government that squanders our nation’s treasure - Limiting the power and jurisdiction of the Federal government - The limitation of terms for members of Congress and other government officials Article V of our Constitution offers the option for the States and their citizens to exert their strength to amend the Constitution addressing those three issues. The Convention of States Action lays out very specific rules and procedures to prevent a “runaway convention” countering our opponents’ false claims.  I ask that we do all we can to unite our people, grow our grassroots organization and call a Convention of States. We must reassert our God-given rights as citizens of this great nation to direct its journey. Talk with people, especially the naysayers, the younger generations, new citizens, and minorities. Our project should reflect the diversity of our nation and unite us all in our common cause - the preservation of our Republic.\\ \\ {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65069/65069_original.jpg?300x36}} {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65082/65082_original.jpg?473x365}} **Central Bank Digital Currency and Government Overreach**\\ \\ By Dana Ives\\ \\ Let’s face it; no government entity can resist manipulating its fiat currency to bolster the currency’s perceived strength in the world market. China is famous for its manipulations, and sadly, so is the United States. The US Treasury and the Federal Reserve’s cooperation have managed to devalue the dollar to the extent that it now costs $35.33 to purchase what it took a single dollar to buy in 1900. Put another way, a dollar in 1900 is now worth just over 2⅔ cents.\\ \\ Many governments are moving to establish a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). As the name implies, a CBDC is controlled by a central bank or a central governmental authority. Pressure by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has pushed millions of Chinese in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) into using the CBDC Yuan. Thus, purchases made by the user can be monitored by the government, and combined with the so-called “social rating” each citizen is assigned by the government—a huge amount of personal data can be gathered at the expense of one’s privacy. Abusive use of personal data enables the government to closely monitor a citizen’s behavior, purchasing patterns, wealth accumulation, donations to political parties or charities, medical spending, whether or not you’ve taken a mandated “vaccination,” vacations, and all manner of things. Of course, our government wouldn’t abuse those privacy rights here in the United States, would it?\\ \\ In contrast to a CBDC, a decentralized platform, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and many other digital currencies, are not subject to a single entity of control. Instead, each transaction is recorded on an encrypted database and distributed worldwide to thousands of computer servers. As a result, a decentralized platform vastly reduces the possibility of the currency’s manipulation. Simply put, a decentralized currency platform is impervious to government manipulation.\\ \\ According to CBDCTracker.org, 127 countries are either 1) researching, 2) have embraced proof of concept, 3) launched pilot programs, or as a final step, 4) have implemented a CBDC. In addition, many banking industry advocates are pushing for CBDC. All of these proposed programs would implement a centralized CBDC. Again, this means that only one entity within the government would control the CBDC.\\ \\ Here is an example of the insidious nature of a government adopting a CBDC. The Nigerian government’s propensity to debase its fiat currency, called the naira, through terrible monetary policies. Consequently, Nigerians enthusiastically embraced the use of Bitcoin, which has been around since 2009 and enjoys the largest market capitalization of any decentralized digital currency. In late 2021, seeing the popularity of Bitcoin growing, the Nigerian government implemented a CBDC called the ENaira. In order to “urge” their people to adopt the use of the ENaira, Nigerian officials recently have limited weekly withdrawals of the paper naira to approximately $225 and a daily limit of around $45. This is coercion at its finest. Despite that coercion, only an estimated 0.5% of the Nigerian population uses ENaira for their transactions. The majority still use Bitcoin.\\ \\ Do you remember the Canadian Trucker Protest last year? No reasonable person would disagree with the idea that the protesters were exercising their right to free speech. Yet, dozens of protesters saw their bank accounts frozen by the Canadian government—licenses and permits were revoked. Some were arrested, put on no-fly lists, and their passports revoked. All because the Trudeau regime did not want the protesters’ voices to be heard.\\ \\ What makes you think an executive administration is going to restrain itself from the use of force? This “social credit scoring system” will be used by the banking system, DOT, IRS, DOJ, FBI, EPA, Federal Reserve, credit card management, and mainstream and social media. The CBDC, which the US government seeks to adopt, will add to the government's accumulation of power. It’s bad enough that a US dollar CBDC will grant the government more capability to invade your privacy, but worse still, it will further restrict the freedoms articulated in our Constitution.\\ \\ Convention of States Action seeks, in part, to constrain the Federal government’s power through the Constitutional amendment process. Thirty-eight states would have to ratify the proposed amendments before the Constitution could be changed. Join with millions of other Americans who insist on adherence to the Bill of Rights and the United States Constitution. {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65084/65084_original.jpg?300x36}} **An Escalation in Government Overreach** \\ \\ By Dana Ives\\ \\ Yesterday, I read an article whose headline reads “Western World at War with Catholics.” The piece references an article published by a former FBI agent, Kyle Seraphin. Mr. Seraphin describes a recently leaked memorandum from an FBI analyst working out of the Richmond (VA) FBI Field Office. The redacted memo asserted there are “Radical Traditional Catholics (RTCs)” at work within the church that promotes “white supremacy ideology,” anti-transgender sentiments, and other hateful positions as defined by the Southern Poverty Law Center.\\ \\ The Catholic League article cites an instance where Canadian authorities arrested a 16-year-old student of a Catholic school in Canada this week for publicly stating there are two sexes and that men should not use women’s restrooms.\\ \\ The article also described a recent incident in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, where Fr. Sean Gough was standing outside an abortion clinic, silently praying and holding a sign that said “Praying for Freedom of Speech.” For this, he was arrested and charged with “intimidation.”\\ \\ You may consider the two latter incidents as inconsequential to our rights here in the United States. I believe that would be a mistake.\\ \\ The fact that the FBI is willing to initiate investigations into Catholic congregations claiming that the Catholic faith leads congregants to a radical path that may cause violent acts based on what a publicly funded SPLC asserts in a report is absurd. This same process allows investigations that lead to a father, who protests against a school board for actively suppressing reports of the sexual assault of his daughter by a boy identifying as a girl in a girl’s restroom, being placed on a no-fly list and accused of being a “domestic terrorist.”  \\ \\ Progressives and Marxists relentlessly try to convert the world to their way of thinking. This FBI memorandum is a clear example of just how implacable these progressive forces are in that 1) the memo even came to be in the first place, but 2) that the FBI just today retracted the memo saying it “didn’t meet standards.” I would call the actions by the FBI “probing operations” and part of the incessant pressure to usurp our God-given civil rights. The probing actions are akin to war tactics, one of which is constantly probing your enemy’s defenses to find a weakness.\\ \\ Convention of States Action seeks to call a convention to propose Constitutional amendments that would, in part, restrict Federal government overreach such as those above. We must be absolutely relentless, vigilant, and more persistent than the progressives. We must be prepared to counter every argument the opponents throw at us. We have to be reasonable and measured in our discussions and avoid falling into the trap of screeching at our opponents, a routine tactic of the ANTIFA, BLM, Climate Warrior, transgender and abortion radicals. {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65083/65083_original.jpg?300x36}}{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65081/65081_original.jpg?494x382}} **Happy St. Patrick’s Day**\\ \\ By Jim MacDonald\\ \\ St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday commemorating the death of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The holiday is celebrated annually on March 17th.\\ \\ Saint Patrick was born in Great Britain in the 4th century. He was kidnapped at age 16, and taken to Ireland as a slave. After six years of captivity, he escaped but later returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary, spreading Christianity throughout the country. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people.\\ \\ Over time, Saint Patrick became a symbol of Irish identity and culture. St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in Ireland since the early 17th century and was made an official Christian feast day in the early 1600s. The Catholic Church also recognized the holiday in the early 1700s, and it eventually became a secular holiday celebrated by people of all religions and backgrounds.\\ \\ St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with parades, wearing green, drinking beer, and other festivities in Ireland and worldwide.\\ \\ Below are a few St. Patty’s day jokes that I hope will make you smile and add some humor to your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations!\\ \\ Why can’t you borrow money from a leprechaun? Because they’re always a little short.\\ \\ How can you tell if an Irishman is having a good time? He’s Dublin over with laughter!\\ \\ Why don’t you iron a four-leaf clover? Because you don’t want to press your luck!\\ \\ What’s Irish and stays out all night? Paddy O’furniture.\\ \\ Why did the leprechaun cross the road? To get to the pot of gold on the other side.\\ \\ What do you call a fake Irish stone? A sham-rock.\\ \\ How does a leprechaun keep his gold safe? He uses a sham-lock.\\ \\ Why did the leprechaun go to the doctor? He wasn’t feeling Lucky.\\ \\  {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65074/65074_original.jpg?300x36}} **Tennessee on the Move...** {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65075/65075_original.jpg?400x361}}{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65076/65076_original.jpg?400x427}}{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65077/65077_original.jpg?400x223}}{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65078/65078_original.jpg?400x250}} Patriots from Sevierville {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65170/65170_original.jpg?400x271}} Patriots from Shelbyville {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65079/65079_original.jpg?300x36}} **Upcoming meetings and Events** **Dayton, TN.** Thursday, March 9th, 2023, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at Monkey Town Brewery 287 1st Ave., Dayton, TN. 37321 Jay Walling\\ \\ **Decatur, TN.** Saturday, March 25, 2023, from 11:00 to 12:30 p.m. at the Decatur Family diner 17315 SR-58, Decatur, TN. 37322 Meet & Greet with Jay Walling \\ \\ **Gallatin, TN.** Saturday, March 18, 2023, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Gallatin Public Library, 123 East Main St. Gallatin, TN. Contact: Debbie at debbie.macdonald@cosaction.com\\ \\ **Hixson, TN.** Thursday, March 23, 2023, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the Rib & Loin Restaurant, 5435 Hwy 153, Hixson, TN. 37343 - Meet and Greet - Jay Walling \\ \\ **Jamestown, TN.** Saturday, March 11, 2023, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. at Fentress County Courthouse, 101 N. Main St., Jamestown, TN. 38556 Larry Wilke\\ \\ **Loudon, TN.** 1st Wednesday of every month at the Chota Rec Center 145 Awohili Dr., Loudon, TN 37774, Room D from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. - Call Terri Hult for more information: 865-304-6997 \\ \\ **McMinnville, TN.** Saturday, March 11, 2023, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at Magness Library COS Meeting, 118 W. Main St. McMinnville, TN. 37110, Doug Hill & Jay Walling \\ \\ **Powell, TN.** Saturday, March 11, 2023, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. at Shoney’s on Emory Road, Powell, or the second Saturday of each month, Ann Martin and Doug Mobley\\ \\ **Sevierville, TN.** Saturday, March 18, 2023, Patriot Potluck from 10:30 to 2:00 p.m. at the King Family Library, 408 High St. call Christine Solomon at 832-868-3674 for more information\\ \\ **Soddy-Daisy, TN.** Friday, March 31, 2023, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at Rechoboth Baptist Church, 12622 Dayton Pike, 4th Friday of each month, Doris Allen\\ \\ **BattleCry,** Join Mark Meckler for the BattleCry every Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. EST on Facebook and Rumble.  \\ {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/65080/65080_original.jpg?300x36}}\\ \\ \\