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In this week’s episode of Tenther Radio we’ll talk about Constitution Day. We’ll also tell you about another local government standing up for the Second Amendment. And we’ve got plenty of unconstitutional overreach to tell you about. Plus, we’ll share step one of our plan to stop NSA spying.

Host: Michael Boldin.

Content Production: Mike Maharrey

They’re listening. They’re watching. They’re recording.

Edward Snowden made America aware of NSA spying, but his revelations are certainly just the tip of the iceberg. And it’s been going on for years.

American colonists dealt with similar privacy violations. Armed with open ended warrants called writs of assistance, British officials could enter homes and businesses to search for smugglers on a whim. With this tyranny fresh on their minds, many state ratifiers insisted on a Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution, and among those fundamental rights, they included a provision protecting the people from the arbitrary search and seizure – the Fourth Amendment.

Note that it includes NO exceptions for the kind of blanket warrantless monitoring and data collection that the NSA engages in. Not for catching “terrorists.†Not for super secret intelligence agencies. Not to “keep us safe.†– None.

Yet the NSA spies on Americans incessantly. It digs through emails, collects Internet data and sifts through phone records. No warrants. No specification. No restraint. British tyranny pales in comparison.

So what do we do?

We could wait on Congress. But it has had plenty of chances to shut it down. Our representatives and senators keep rubber stamping it. We could rely on the courts. But when was the last time those black-robed federal employees did anything to limit federal power? They rubber stamp it too. Maybe the president will save the day. But the commission Obama formed to review NSA surveillance was packed with government insiders. More rubber stamps.

No. Washington DC will never limit its own power.

The ‘Father of the Constitution’ gave us a blueprint for stopping federal overreach. In Federalist 46, James Madison argued that action at the state and local level, such as “a refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union,†should be used in response to unconstitutional federal acts. Taking his suggestions, he wrote, would create “serious impediments†for the federal government.  And when several states join together doing the same, Madison said it would “present obstructions which the federal government would hardly be willing to encounter.â€

Well, we’ve taken Madison’s blueprint and developed a plan to stop NSA spying in its tracks. Last week, we unveiled the first step in a state and local strategy to fight back. Essentially, the Fourth Amendment Protection Act will begin to pull the rug out from under the federal spies.  The strategy? Hinder the NSA’s ability to gather information unconstitutionally in the United States by denying them any cooperation from state and local governments, and incentivize others to refuse cooperation as well.

Consider the NSA data collection center in Utah. All of the water required for operation is held by a monopoly which is a political subdivision of the state of Utah.

No water = overheating supercomputers = no data center.

Water, electricity, trash collection, road upkeep and the like – none of these could be provided  to the NSA by any state or local agency.

While there is no silver bullet to stop the NSA, you have an option. Wait for the federal government to give up this power, or resist it in any way possible.

These steps are just the first step of what will likely be a multi-year campaign to resist, refuse to comply, and nullify the unconstitutional NSA programs. Once these first steps are moving forward in a number of states, the next – more aggressive – levels of resistance can take place successfully.

For more information visit http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/4thamendmentprotection