FROM MOUNTAIN MEDIA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATED SEPT. 12, 1999
THE LIBERTARIAN, By Vin Suprynowicz
Y2K preparations deemed illegal
Norm Olson (normolson@northlink.net) reports from Bois Blanc Island, Michigan -- a 13-mile-long body of land at the east end of the Mackinac Straits, icebound in winter and inhabited by fewer than 60 year-round souls -- that the Northern Michigan Regional Militia "is determined to stand with Michael and Christine Stitt and their six children" against a township board which has ruled the family's Y2K preparations illegal.
Though the deeply religious family was warmly welcomed when they arrived from downstate four years ago, since then "They dared to plant a garden, erect a barn and raise chickens, emus, and goats to survive what they believe is God's coming judgment on America" writes the militia spokesman.
"The majority of neighbors support the Stitt family and find no fault with their garden or animals. In fact, they buy the eggs and homemade bread Chris provides. But the board members have labeled the Stitts as 'too religious and odd,' and ... have refused to grant a variance" to local zoning regulations which apparently don't allow animals or a large garden on the Stitt's 37 acres of near-wilderness.
"Money is also involved," Mr. Olson alleges. "The one-room schoolhous had only the Stitt children as students. When Mike and Chris chose to educate them at home, the island lost $45,000 in school revenue."
Needless to say, the family faces contempt charges, jail time, and a fine of $500 per day should they fail to dispose of the animals, their pens, "and even the manure" by Oct. 7.
All it would take to solve the problem, Olson suggests, is a one-year variance or waiver. "We are at a critical stage in preparing for what may be a great crisis in our land. To force a family off its farm now is a criminal act. ... Is it too much to ask that a frightened family be given one year to ride out Y2K? Is the township board so insensitive that it cannot understand that people are frightened about Y2K and the animals and garden are the means of preparation to survive?"
The question, it seems to me, isn't whether one agrees with the Stitts about the degree of preparation required for Y2K, but whether -- especially once a family has pulled up roots and relocated to about the remotest site it could find -- they have a right, in this once free land, to prepare for the future as they see fit.
Even if that does include emus.
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A number of readers have written in to make sure I and a friend weren't arrested or otherwise damaged after I recently asserted my right (start ital)not(end ital) to have my car searched without a warrant, when a county deputy took it upon himself to make that request upon finding us (legally) target shooting in the empty desert west of Las Vegas.
No, the mountie drove off without giving us any further trouble, after puffing out his chest and delivering his little lecture about "not needing to hear wise-ass answers" like mine.
From Glenn Jones, writing from the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, probably came the most substantive addendum. Citing Knowles vs. Iowa, 1998, Mr. Jones writes:
"This important court decision says you have the right to say no, and if you do, you should be released. The American Drivers Association recommends following that polite refusal with a question, 'Am I free to go?'
"If the officer is going to search your car anyway, the ADA recommends that you ask him to record the search on video tape 'for the protection of both of us,' and to preserve it as evidence.
"Also, it says you should ask the officer for a copy of the probable cause affidavit before he conducts the search and that you also ask him to radio for a supervisor to be there during the search. Always remain respectful and polite, of course. Retaining a small tape recorder in your car wouldn't be a bad idea, either. Never attempt to stop a police officer from conducting a search. This is an important court decision, all the more powerful because it was unanimous. Individual rights are like muscles. They must be flexed. Flex yours.
"I recommend keeping a copy of this either on your person and/or in your vehicle."
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From the fine fellows at the Lawyer's Second Amendment Society in Los Angeles (how can you hate guys who get together to drink whisky, smoke cigars, and talk about firearms rights, and call it their "ATF Evening"?) comes the following welcome announcement:
"Dear armed Americans: Advertising Creative Director Jim Houck (who has done campaigns for such firms as Toyota, Procter & Gamble, and Coca-Cola) has formed a non-profit corporation for the sole purpose of giving all American firearms owners a way to strike back and strike back hard against the Rights Killers. ...
Funds collected will "go into extremely aggressive advertising (TV, print, radio, outdoor and guerilla) ... that will stop American in their tracks and make them THINK about the destination and consequences of the 'gun control' road this country is on. ...
"Now you can take a swing directly at the teeth of people like Chuck Schumer, Diane Feinstein, impeached-President Bill Clinton, (and) Sarah Brady. ... Send your checks immediately to: The Lawyer's Second Amendment Society, Inc., Postal Mail Box 447, 2118 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90403. In the memo section of your check write 'Operation Citizens of America.' "
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The easiest read, for those seeking a good grounding in what really happened in Waco in 1993, is Carol Moore's "The Davidian Massacre." Order an autographed copy at $5, or a carton of 50 books for $48 (not autographed) from Ms. Moore at Box 65518, Washington, D.C. 20035.
Vin Suprynowicz, assistant editorial page editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is author of the new book, "Send in the Waco Killers: Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998," available at 1-800-244-2224.
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Vin Suprynowicz, vin@lvrj.com
"The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it." -- John Hay, 1872
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed -- and thus clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." -- H.L. Mencken
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