Monday, November 19, 2007

FBI Raids Liberty Dollar

We had some of these in Seattle, they were given to us by a friend who supported several things that seemed like a good idea to him. It's not unusual for American business owners to find out about the criminal banking cartel and then look for a way out of the 9 trillion dollar debt crisis. We thought it was good idea too, but we never had any money to invest so we pretty much forgot about it. But I know most of my American middle-class friends work way too hard as it is, many wish their assets were protected. The U.S. dollar is on very shaky ground lately, and I'll bet Liberty Dollars were looking better to a lot of people who initially may have scoffed at the idea. The FBI siezed 20 million from the mint. So far, everyone who invested in Liberty Dollars lost, the founder expects to be arrested and charged, and now only the people who join the coming lawsuit will recover their investments. http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/legal/raid.htm

According to the U.S. Mint, it's a crime to "utter or pass" these coins. No idea what they mean by utter but I think I know what they mean by pass. The bottom line is the "use" is a crime, and that's scary. We had originally planned on accepting them for our book, 2020, and one person even emailed and asked if we accepted them once. I feel so bad for the people who want to do something outside the box and are penalized for being naive enough to try.

From the United States Mint website link off Liberty Dollars links page:

[begin excerpt]

NORFED’s "Liberty Dollars"

Liberty Dollar Obverse Liberty Dollar Reverse
Source: NORFED, Inc.

The National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code (NORFED) is producing and marketing gold and silver medallions that NORFED calls "Liberty Dollars." The United States Mint and the United States Department of Justice have received inquiries regarding the legality of these so-called "Liberty Dollar" medallions. The United States Mint urges consumers who are considering the purchase or use of these items to be aware that they are not genuine United States Mint bullion coins and they are not legal tender. These medallions are privately produced products and are not backed by, nor affiliated in any way with, the United States Government. Moreover, prosecutors with the Department of Justice have determined that the use of these gold and silver NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions as circulating money is a Federal crime.

Consumers may find advertisements for these medallions confusing and should take note of several issues related to them.

First, the advertisements refer to the product as "real money" and "currency." These medallions might look like real money because they—

  • Bear the inscriptions, "Liberty," "Dollars," "Trust in God" (similar to "In God We Trust"), and "USA" (similar to "United States of America"), and an inscription purporting to denote the year of production; and


  • Depict images that are similar to United States coins, such as the torch on the reverses of the current dime coin, 1986 Statute of Liberty commemorative silver dollar and 1993 Bill of Rights commemorative half-dollar, and the Liberty Head designs on the obverses of United States gold coins from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.
However, despite their misleading appearance, NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions are not genuine United States Mint coins and they are not legal tender.

Second, the advertisements confusingly refer to NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions as "legal" and "constitutional." However, under the Constitution ( Article I, section 8, clause 5 ), Congress has the exclusive power to coin money of the United States and to regulate its value. By statute ( 31 U.S.C. § 5112(a) ), Congress specifies the coins that the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to mint and issue and requires the Secretary to carry out these duties at the United States Mint (31 U.S.C. § 5131). Accordingly, the United States Mint is the only entity in the United States with the lawful authority to mint and issue legal tender United States coins.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 486, it is a Federal crime to utter or pass, or attempt to utter or pass, any coins of gold or silver intended for use as current money except as authorized by law. According to the NORFED website, "Liberty merchants" are encouraged to accept NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions and offer them as change in sales transactions of merchandise or services. Further, NORFED tells "Liberty associates" that they can earn money by obtaining NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions at a discount and then can "spend [them] into circulation." Therefore, NORFED’s "Liberty Dollar" medallions are specifically intended to be used as current money in order to limit reliance on, and to compete with the circulating coinage of the United States. Consequently, prosecutors with the United States Department of Justice have concluded that the use of NORFED’s "Liberty Dollar" medallions violates 18 U.S.C. § 486.

[end excerpt]

Over the years I've met so many different kinds of people who come to a point where they can no longer deny there's something very WRONG with our nation. Some start out investigating a health issue they have, oftentimes not for any suspicuous reasons, they just want to know more. One topic leads to another, and then another, and very soon they find themselves looking down a very bleak and dark hole. Others get interested in their children's education and find out what happened to our schools. Still others get caught up in the new Domestic Violence Laws and try to understand where the government got the power to take away their drivers and business licenses. Some people study the tax laws because they're interested protecting their money, others want to know where the government is getting the new power to require us to register our animals, firearms, and building plans, making us comply with directives coming from new agencies that don't respect our constititonal laws.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans get some portion of the communitarian plan to "Reinvent America." But the truth is, they're spread out in small groups across the country, and the ones who are completely alone soon find themselves beating their heads against a brick wall of resistance coming from their unaware family and friends. Often all alone, even groups of aware citizens remain divided, each group fighting only to stop their pet peeve~ NAU, CAFTA, the NAIS, the National ID, the IRS, the WTO, the Patriot Act, the War on Terror/Drugs/Obesity and thousands of other communitarian programs. We strike only at the smallest portions, because that is all we can recognise as tangible and real. The "bigger" picture is just too much.

What if we all suddenly recognised a common legal system that upholds ALL unconstitutional wars, currencies, domestic and foreign polices, re-development programs, and treaties?

I've seen more than one "patriot" profiting from legitimate concerns (which is one reason why we share ALL our ACL research for free and only charge for our hardcopy book). We liked the Liberty Dollar idea because it appeared to be one way people could opt out of the federal reserve system and feel secure doing business. While so many people sell the "truth" these days... it never seems to make any difference at all. And, sometimes even good ideas get people arrested.

1 comment:

Niki Raapana said...

From our friend Pete:

1856 Boviers:

TO UTTER, crim. law. To offer, to publish.

2. To utter and publish a counterfeit note is to
assert and declare, directly or indirectly, by
words or actions, that the note offered is good.
It is not necessary that it should be passed in
order to complete the offence of uttering. 2.
Binn. R. 338, 9. It seems that reading out a
document, although the party refuses to show it,
is a sufficient uttering. Jebb's Ir. Cr. Cas.
282. Vide East, P. C. 179; Leach, 251; 2 Stark.
Ev. 378 1 Moody, C. C. 166; 2 East, P. C. 974
Russ. & Ry. 113; 1 Phil. Ev. Index, h. t.;
Roscoe's Cr. Ev. 301. The merely showing a false
instrument with intent to gain a credit when
there was no intention or attempt made to pass
it, it seems would not amount to an uttering.
Russ. & Ry. 200. Vide Ringing the charge.