About Citizens for Self-GovernanceCSG has embarked on an ambitious plan to support those warriors fighting against entrenched power in our grassroots. We will amplify and connect these warriors in order to take power away from big government and the big money that influences it…and return the power to its rightful owners, the people. Our platform is a simple one. Just as each branch of government checks and balances the power of others, our Four Pillars of Self-Governance will enable the conservative grassroots to restore our country to a republic with effective self-governance. SIDE with CSG in making these four pillars a reality: * Shared values * Incumbent accountability * Dispersed power * Engaged citizensOur mission and vision are ambitious, but must be fulfilled. In order to do that, the grassroots must be in the town hall, the public square, or the village green to gather Americans who hunger to regain control of their government and their lives. Citizens for Self-Governance is committed to helping the grassroots grow accomplish this mission... We want all Americans to be self-governing people who are "free and mean to remain so." Moreover, we're putting power back into the hands of the citizens so decisions can be made as close to the home as possible. As we seek to restore self-governance back to America, we [will pursue the goals set forth in this StratML rendition]Citizens for Self-GovernanceCSG_5ecddfce-a43e-11e1-a479-81d41a36e22aMark MecklerPresident -- Mark is one of the nation's most effective grassroots activists. After he co-founded and was the national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, he founded Citizens for Self-Governance to revolutionize American government. Founded in February 2012, this grassroots initiative expands and directs the ever-growing, bipartisan self-governance movement. Mark appears regularly on wide variety of television outlets, including MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, Fox Business and the BBC. He is the co-author of "Tea Party Patriots: The Second American Revolution," and writes regularly on Breitbart, the American Spectator, and SelfGovern.com. He also is an attorney who specializes in internet privacy law. Mark and his wife live in Northern California with their two teenage children where they share their love of the outdoors, mountain-biking, soccer and horses.Thomas JeffersonOur nation was created by people who, in Thomas Jefferson's words, were "free and who mean to remain so." They weren’t about to give up their liberties to an overbearing government. After all, they revolted against a king to earn the right to live free. The government was necessary only to protect the citizens' natural rights to life, liberty and property and was to act only in areas where the people intentionally granted authority. In other words, America was designed to be a self-governing society, where decisions are made as close to home as possible. Things have changed since Jefferson put down his quill. The government has encroached into every area of life, so infiltrating our culture that we endlessly debate the policies our so-called leaders have decided for us. However, "who decides" is a much more important question than "what's decided." We're taking back the power the centralized government has unlawfully taken and restoring it to the citizens. Who decides? According to the founders and the constitution, we do. Let's start acting like it.IndividualsWho Decides? In a self-governing society, decisions are made as close to home as possible, optimally by the individual, the family, or the community. Thousands of grassroots organizations across our nation are fighting the battle over "Who Decides".FamiliesCommunitiesA government where our American heritage of self-governance is restored._acb5067c-af6b-11e5-bda2-19c1f14c773bTo elevate awareness and provide resources, advocacy, and education to grassroots organizations and individuals exercising their rights to govern themselves._acb5071c-af6b-11e5-bda2-19c1f14c773bSelf-GovernanceSelf-governance must be restored across America. What is Self-Governance? The United States of America was created by self-governing citizens. The main purpose of government is to protect the citizen's natural rights to Life, Liberty and Property. The federal government should only act where we, the people, have intentionally granted authority. Self-governance ensures that citizens control the selection and accountability of elected officials and governmental administrations. Self-governance is our answer to the most basic question: "Who Decides?"ValuesShared values -- Americans from all political parties still believe in our Republic! * Connect Americans who believe that decisions are best made by the individual, family, or community. * Expose partisan politics when it is used to divide Americans. * Oppose the gridlock, distractions, and exploitations used by the ruling elite to marginalize individuals.AccountabilityIncumbent accountability -- Out with top-down governance, in with self-governance! * Enable citizens to replace legislators at all levels of government when their actions diverge from the will of the people. * Educate citizens on the importance of primary elections. * Reduce the influence of big corporations and union bosses. * Expose officials who abuse their power for their own political or personal gain.DecentralizationDispersed power -- Who should decide? The answer is YOU! * Turn the tide of growing centralization of government through citizen education and action. * Educate citizens on the role of the states and the constitutional limits on the federal government. * Support government transparency. * Disperse budget responsibility to the appropriate level of state or local government.EngagementEngaged citizens -- You can’t decide without engaging! * Provide information, best practices and other resources to help citizens achieve exercise self-governance. * Provide resources to enable private sector citizens to engage effectively in the political process. * Nourish a network of like-minded citizens and organizations that can support and leverage each other’s efforts.Legal DefenseSue the IRS in defense of American citizens unjustly targeted._acb5079e-af6b-11e5-bda2-19c1f14c773b1IRSThe IRS unjustly targeted innocent American citizens. We will defend them by Suing the IRS... The IRS has been caught red-handed. In a stunning show of the Obama Administration's abuse of power, the IRS admitted at the highest levels to targeting, harassing and intimidating tea party, Christian, pro-israel and other conservative groups. Their intimidation has undermined the ability of ordinary Americans to freely participate in the democratic process and must be stopped._9055ab56-af72-11e5-8a0c-5793f14c773bSelf-Governance ProjectsAward grants to groups implementing self-governance projects at the local level._9055ad86-af72-11e5-8a0c-5793f14c773b2Support grassroot citizen activists through the Self-Governance Investment Fund, that awards grants to groups implementing self-governance projects at the local level... The Self-Governance Investment Fund was created to help the grassroots in America grow and be more effective in the coming years. Do you believe in Self-Governance and the power of our Four Pillars of Self-Governance? Are you looking for a way to partner with Citizens for Self-Governance? Do you not have the time or the ability to actually develop a grassroots effort yourself? If the answer to these questions is yes, our Self-Governance Investment Fund provides a means for you to invest in leveraged grassroots initiatives across the country. In return for your donations, we provide vetted grassroots leaders and organizations with expertise, consulting, monetary grants and/or matching funds to help them advance the Four Pillars of Self-Governance. We’re eager for you to help!_9055ae4e-af72-11e5-8a0c-5793f14c773bConvention of StatesEmpower state legislators to call a convention of states to limit the scope and jurisdiction of the federal government and return power to the citizens._9055af2a-af72-11e5-8a0c-5793f14c773b3State LegislatorsThe COS Project seeks to urge and empower state legislators to call a convention of states. The delegates at such a convention would have the power to propose amendments to the Constitution that would curb the abuses of the federal government. Article V of the Constitution gives them this power; the COS Project will give them an avenue through which they can use it.U.S. CitizensSeize the power, scope, and jurisdiction of the federal government and returning them to their rightful owners -- the citizens -- through our Convention of States Project... We see four major abuses perpetrated by the federal government. These abuses are not mere instances of bad policy. They are driving us towards an age of "soft tyranny" in which the government does not shatter men's wills but "softens, bends, and guides" them. If we do nothing to halt these abuses, we run the risk of becoming nothing more than "a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd." (Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1840) 1. The Spending and Debt Crisis -- The $17 trillion national debt is staggering, but it only tells a part of the story. Under standard accounting practices, the federal government owes around $100 trillion more in vested Social Security benefits and other programs. This is why the government cannot tax its way out of debt. Even if it confiscated everything, it would not cover the debt. 2. The Regulatory Crisis -- The federal bureaucracy has placed a regulatory burden upon businesses that is complex, conflicted, and crushing. Little accountability exists when agencies—rather than Congress—enact the real substance of the law. Research from the American Enterprise Institute shows that since 1949, federal regulations have lowered the real GDP growth by 2% and made America 72% poorer. 3. Congressional Attacks on State Sovereignty -- For years, Congress has been using federal grants to keep the states under its control. Combining these grants with federal mandates (which are rarely fully funded), Congress has turned state legislatures into their regional agencies rather than respecting them as truly independent republican governments. A radical social agenda and an invasion of the rights of the people accompany all of this. While significant efforts have been made to combat this social erosion, these trends defy some of the most important principles. 4. Federal Takeover of the Decision-Making Process -- The Founders believed that the structures of a limited government would provide the greatest protection of liberty. Not only were there to be checks and balances between the branches of the federal government, power was to be shared between the states and federal government, with the latter only exercising those powers specifically granted in the Constitution. Collusion among decision-makers in Washington, D.C., has replaced these checks and balances. The federal judiciary supports Congress and the White House in their ever-escalating attack upon the jurisdiction of the fifty states. We need to realize that the structure of decision-making matters. Who decides what the law shall be is as important as what is decided. The protection of liberty requires a strict adherence to the principle that power is limited and delegated. Washington, D.C., does not believe this principle, as evidenced by an unbroken practice of expanding the boundaries of federal power. In a remarkably frank admission, the Supreme Court rebuffed a challenge to the federal spending power despite acknowledging that power had grown far beyond the bounds envisioned by the Founders: This framework has been sufficiently flexible over the past two centuries to allow for enormous changes in the nature of government. The Federal Government undertakes activities today that would have been unimaginable to the Framers in two senses; first, because the Framers would not have conceived that any government would conduct such activities; and second, because the Framers would not have believed that the Federal Government, rather than the States, would assume such responsibilities. Yet the powers conferred upon the Federal Government by the Constitution were phrased in language broad enough to allow for the expansion of the Federal Government’s role. New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144, 157 (1992). What Does this Mean? This is not a partisan issue. Washington, D.C., will never voluntarily relinquish meaningful power -- no matter who is elected. The only rational conclusion is this: unless some political force outside of Washington, D.C., intervenes, the federal government will continue to bankrupt this nation, embezzle the legitimate authority of the states, and destroy the liberty of the people. Rather than securing the blessings of liberty for future generations, Washington, D.C., is on a path that will enslave our children and grandchildren to the debts of the past. The problem is big, but we have a solution. Article V gives us a tool to fix the mess in D.C. Power & JurisdictionLimit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government._9055afca-af72-11e5-8a0c-5793f14c773b3.1U.S. Federal GovernmentThe Convention of States (COS) Project was founded by Citizens for Self Governance for the purpose of stopping the runaway power of the federal government. We believe Washington, D.C., is broken and will not fix itself. The federal government is spending this country into the ground, seizing power from the states and taking liberty from the people.We want to call a convention for a particular subject rather than a particular amendment. Instead of calling a convention for a balanced budget amendment (though we are entirely supportive of such an amendment), we want to call a convention for the following purpose: Limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.Grassroots OperationBuild a political operation in a minimum of 40 states, getting 100 people to volunteer in at least 75% of the state legislative districts._9055b088-af72-11e5-8a0c-5793f14c773b3.2Grassroots VolunteersWe believe the grassroots is the key to calling a successful convention. We would like to build a political operation in a minimum of 40 states, getting 100 people to volunteer in at least 75% of the state legislative districts. Only through the support of the American people will this project have a chance to succeed.2015-12-30https://selfgovern.com/about/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net