Title: Volunteer Voice 53rd Edition Original CoS Document (slug): [[https://conventionofstates.com/volunteer-voice-53rd-edition|volunteer-voice-53rd-edition]] Login Required to view? No Created: 2024-11-28 18:09:30 Updated: 2024-12-03 21:09:33 Published: 2024-12-03 01:00:00 Converted: 2025-04-14T21:34:49.346593377 ---- **The Citizens are the Solution to Lead America Forward** By Jim MacDonald After what feels like years of divisive campaign rhetoric, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief—at least until the cycle starts all over again. But {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92018/92018_original.jpeg?200x200}}does it have to? Do we really have to endure this endless loop of campaign spending and partisan division? Consider this: billions of dollars were spent in this election cycle alone, all to secure positions in government. This staggering amount is more than just a number—it’s a symptom of a deeper problem. At what point will this spending subside to something reasonable? When will we see an end to the division embedded in our campaign structures? Some might say “never,” but I believe it’s possible to change. The answer lies with us—with “We the People.” Only when we decide to say, “Enough is enough,” will things begin to change. Imagine this: we, the citizens, are like the parents who have allowed the two-year-old—the government—to run the household. Now it’s time for the grown-ups to take charge and restore order. [[https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQvYd-1YVN7ki04LFS5ByNpJctEdjwDVsk6xN1tRaid_7c-kd2reIbSDu2i2sXTFHtrfY55gmPzYi5o/pub|{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91990/91990_original.jpg?200x56}}]] **Here’s Freedom for You** By Dana Ives Many people affiliated with our COS Action efforts are very dedicated to the cause. Why? Do they seek control of others? Do they want to set policy {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91995/91995_original.jpg?200x191}}that requires your conformance? No. Every COS Action volunteer I have met values freedom, true freedom - not the “freedom” being offered by the Harris/Walz Flip-Flop Show. But how would you define freedom? While considering that, I would like to provide you with an experience that defined freedom for me. And it was only one of many. I would say, though, this was one of the more profound. What do you see below? Does this inspire a feeling of serenity? Or does it create a sense of conflict upon seeing the storm clouds in the background?  My wife, Beverly, and I were on our catamaran lolling in Key Biscayne Bay, FL one day. We did not consider ourselves “yachtsmen”. We didn’t seek piratical adventures (I thought I made that word up, but it’s truly in the dictionary) on the high seas. Rather, we were just a couple of hillbillies enjoying the fruits of our labor. In fact, we really didn’t pay much attention to the rest of the world for many a day. Just sun, waves (some small, some not), rain, and best of all, no sounds of sirens, shots fired, explosions, etc. Just...serenity. [[https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRJzLRnfcmWAf-MdsQXYwciKtG7GOg15GL2g0zcU0YvR6-kuKvkxSq3BVkkWF1JB9p-xuQEXMqJQ52V/pub|{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91991/91991_original.jpg?200x56}}]] **Our Republic Requires Citizen Involvement, NOT a Silent Majority** By Jim MacDonald In a time when civic engagement seems diminished and principles are often blurred by partisanship, it is critical to recall the foundational values {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92017/92017_original.jpg?200x200}}that once defined the United States. Our Founding Fathers, in their wisdom, understood the inherent dangers of unchecked power and the importance of an informed, active citizenry in safeguarding liberty. To reclaim and restore these guiding principles, we must reengage with the values embedded in our Constitution and actively participate in the stewardship of freedom. Patrick Henry once warned, “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” This powerful reminder illustrates the foundational role of the Constitution as a tool for citizens, not an apparatus to expand government control over them. The core design of the Constitution is to limit federal power and protect the rights and liberties of individuals, an intention often obscured in today’s political discourse. As citizens, it is our duty to remember and reaffirm that the Constitution empowers us to define and check the boundaries of government. Samuel Adams aptly noted, “Nothing is more essential… in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptionable characters.” In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that integrity and accountability among our leaders are paramount. Citizens must demand these qualities from public servants, lest we jeopardize the trust that is the bedrock of democracy. Without character, as Thomas Jefferson warned, “material abundance without character is the surest way to destruction.” We risk eroding not only our principles but the privileges we cherish, leading to a weakened society prone to abuse of power and moral decay. [[https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR1urN7TN3JYBycg7dQlL3wj-kPALZNPRvQBdSn2tZIpLscbZ3uujHZLSJJ5dJCm-mGGEVjNuOtYcqL/pub|{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91993/91993_original.jpg?200x56}}]] **Is the Fight Over?** By Dana Ives At 0130 on November 6th this year, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Finally,” I said to myself, “the fight is won. We the People have finally succeeded in {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92019/92019_original.jpg?195x107}}righting the ship.” After an expenditure of $16 billion (!!!), we now have better people in the House, the Senate, and the White House. I now have a bit more confidence in an electoral system that has, sadly, way too much money washing around. Then today, I read an article written by John Nolte of Breitbart News. A quote from it really struck me: “In the preceding years, Trump had been battered, bruised, and covered in the flaming arrows of the left’s naked corruption and unquenchable thirst for power: two impeachments, 91 indictments, and 34 felony convictions, all at the hands of a federal special prosecutor, two local Democrat prosecutors, and a Democrat state attorney general. The feds raided his home. Lawfare sought to bankrupt his business. He was literally shot in the face. He was almost literally gunned down on a golf course. Backing all of this was a relentless corporate media cacophony of lies, hoaxes, slander, misinformation, disinformation, and desperate distractions. For a decade, we were assured without cessation that Trump was a sleeper Russian agent, a Nazi, an insurrectionist, a racist, a dictator, a fascist, a tyrant, a unique threat to democracy, a lunatic, a crook, and a rapist who must be assassinated for the good of the country.” [[https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRkLP1SiKDMreCjvr0pxReBDxmSYD4bkzx-zznQewll0sEeFYsQaH3NnfJt1kUlxDZRPx3BTByGkD8V/pub|{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91987/91987_original.jpg?200x56}}]] **Bring on the D.O.G.E.!** By Brian Harris Like many of you, I did not go to sleep on election night. I was not going to repeat the nightmare of 2020. Since Trump’s re-election he has wasted no {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92079/92079_original.png?200x200}}time in naming cabinet nominees. They are epic, and they have the left in full panic mode. It feels like we are in a scene from Field of Dreams. “Is this heaven?” It’s not Iowa. It’s MAGA! The people have spoken, and they want their country back. They want the American dream. They want a fair and honest government. They want to make America great again. Possibly the most amazing announcement to come out of Mar-a-Lago is that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head up the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.). Imagine two of the brightest guys on the planet tackling the biggest problem of our time. Their mission is to dismantle the regulatory state and shut down the federal bureaucracy. President-elect Trump identified the D.O.G.E. initiative as potentially the Manhattan Project of our time. With annual spending levels around $6.5 trillion dollars, there is ample opportunity to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. According to Vivek, “America’s 250th anniversary is on July 4, 2026. DOGE will deliver our nation the birthday gift of a government that’s actually accountable to its people, rather than the other way around.” To that, I say Amen! For those of us working for an Article V Convention of States, D.O.G.E. will immediately set about tackling two of the three pillars, fiscal responsibility and limiting government. We wish them Godspeed. {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91986/91986_original.jpg?300x36}} **Making America with a Christmas Move** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M5sYsiVG_Q|Washington's Crossing of the Delaware River: The Revolutionary War in Four Minutes]] {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92016/92016_original.jpg?552x552}} {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91981/91981_original.jpg?300x36}} **Did You Know...** //There is an oft-repeated claim that Congress called the 1787 Constitutional Convention and restricted it to amending the Articles. That claim is erroneous.// //What actually happened was that the 1786 Annapolis Convention issued a resolution somewhat analogous to an Article V application, but addressed to its participating states rather than to Congress. The resolution asked the states to call and attend another, wider convention. Accordingly, Virginia called a federal convention for May of 1787. Neither the Annapolis resolution nor the state calls nor the convention itself proceeded under the Articles of Confederation. Rather, they were exercises of the states’ reserved powers. Nor was the convention restricted to proposing amendments to the Articles. Both the call and the commissions issued by ten of the twelve participating states empowered the convention to recommend any and all expedient changes to the “federal constitution.” (At the time, the word “constitution” referred to the entire political system.)       //–Robert G. Natelson, The Law of Article V {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91980/91980_original.jpg?300x36}} {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91982/91982_original.jpg?622x364}} {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91983/91983_original.jpg?300x36}} **Your Call to Action…** Let’s rally the American spirit! Our nation stands at a pivotal moment, echoing the values our Founders held dear. It’s time for every Patriot to make their voice heard. The Convention of States is a beacon of hope, a platform granted by those visionaries who built this great nation. It’s a chance for every American-loving Patriot to step up and shape the future, safeguarding the liberties we cherish. We are the guardians of freedom, entrusted with the duty to ensure that our nation remains a bastion of liberty, opportunity, and justice. Click the link below, join the movement, and be part of a historic effort to preserve, protect, and defend the very essence of what makes America exceptional. Click: [[https://conventionofstates.com/take_action|Join our Movement.]] We’ve got a country to save! {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92011/92011_original.jpg?300x36}} COSA monthly meeting in **Ashland City, TN**. They discussed the election results and the upcoming Surge Day in January.  {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91973/91973_original.jpg?368x158}}{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91974/91974_original.jpg?284x158}} COSA meeting in **Dayton, TN**. Discussed how COSA can assist his district with political issues in his community.  {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91975/91975_original.jpg?400x281}} COSA monthly meeting in **Gallatin, TN**. They discussed the election results and the upcoming Surge Day in January.  {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91976/91976_original.jpg?355x150}}{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91977/91977_original.jpg?300x150}} COSA meeting in **Sevierville, TN.** They discussed the election results and wrote congratulatory cards to the elected officials.  {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91978/91978_original.jpg?400x445}} COSA volunteers set up a booth at the Tellico Village Community Festival in **Loudon, TN.** {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91979/91979_original.jpg?400x324}} Tennessee and Texas come together to participate in the GOA gun show in **Knoxville, TN.** Nine COSA volunteers combined to collect 300 plus COS resolution signatures over the three-day gun show.  {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91994/91994_original.jpg?375x281}}{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92020/92020_original.jpeg?249x282}}{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92021/92021_original.jpeg?326x293}}{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92022/92022_original.jpeg?300x294}} {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91971/91971_original.jpg?300x36}} **Upcoming Meetings and Events** **Ashland City, TN.** Tuesday, December 10th, 2024, 7:00 p.m. at the Bethlehem Community Center,1506 SR-12 N. Ashland City, 37015, Contact: Debbie MacDonald at debbie.macdonald@cosaction.com  **Dayton, TN.** Sunday, December 8th, 2024, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. at the American Legion Post #100, 1459 Railroad Ave., Dayton, TN. 37322 Contact Bob Patterson, RSVP (423) 779-2332 **Gallatin, TN.** Saturday, December 7th, 2024, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. at the Gallatin Public Library, 123 E. Main St, Gallatin, TN. Contact: Debbie MacDonald at debbie.macdonald@cosaction.com  **Hixson, TN.** Friday, December 13th, 2024, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Clear Creek Church of Christ, 5612 Hixson Pk, Hixson, TN 37343; Contact Jay Walling, RSVP (423) 605-6705 **Loudon, TN.** Tuesday, December 10th, 2024, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Dinner at Little Italy Restaurant 316 Lakeside Plaza, Loudon, TN. 37774. See Teri Hult **Powell, TN.** Saturday, December 14th, 2024, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. at Shoney’s on Emory Rd. Powell, or the second Saturday of each month, Anne Martin and Dan Mobley  **Sevierville, TN.** Saturday, December 21st, 2024, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. King Family Library 408 High St. Sevierville, call Christine Solomon at 832-868-3674 for more information. **Springville, TN.** Saturday, December 7th, 2024, 10:00-11:00 a.m. at  American Legion Post 89, 4326 E. Antioch Rd, Springville, TN. 28256 Bob Kutsy **BattleCry**, Join Mark Meckler for the BattleCry every Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. EST on Facebook and Rumble.  \\ **COS at Home** Join Jonathan Viaud on December 4th, 2024, at 7:00 pm CST. His guest this month is Rick Green with Patriot Academy. \\ For the most up-to-date schedule, go to the calendar on our Tennessee website: [[http://www.conventionofstates.com/tennessee%C2%A0|www.conventionofstates.com/tennessee ]] \\ Follow us on the following social media sites: Facebook: [[https://www.facebook.com/COSProjectTN|https:%%//%%www.facebook.com/COSProjectTN]] Truth Social: [[https://truthsocial.com/@Convention_of_States_Tennessee%C2%A0|https:%%//%%truthsocial.com/@Convention_of_States_Tennessee ]] Instagram: [[https://instagram.com/conventionofstatestn%C2%A0|https:%%//%%instagram.com/conventionofstatestn ]] {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/91972/91972_original.jpg?300x36}}