This date in history: Virginia convened it's State Convention to consider secession

Gov. Henry A. Wise of Virginia, favored secession

"The hall of Mechanics’ Institute in Richmond, the largest available venue in the city, was jammed. Delegates from around a state that then included Appalachian counties to the west assembled. Public galleries, one for women, one for men. were packed.

There was a hum of excitement, but also an air of dread as, 150 years ago today, delegates to the Virginia State Convention gathered to consider whether or not to break away from the United States of America.

At first, there was every reason to believe they would not. 

... [Governor Wise] and the other radicals called for a vote and on April 4 were soundly whipped. The first secession attempt was defeated 90 to 45.

But that was to change only eight days later. On April 12, Confederate batteries in Charleston opened fire on Fort Sumter, forcing the evacuation of federal forces. Though no one was killed, the country was suddenly at war.

Still desperate for peace, the convention on April 15 sent a three-member delegation to meet with Lincoln. He was curt with them, and no wonder. He was about to call up 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion, including recruits from still-loyal border states.

That did it. White southerners against white southerners? The delegates to the convention – still in session – stampeded to the secessionist side."

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/02/first-virginians-had-been-reluctant-secede

The Old Dominion strikes back at Federal Tyranny!

 Sic Semper Tyrannis, baby! :-))))

Today, the Virginia House of Delegates overwhelmingly passed House Bill 1438 (HB1438), the Intrastate Commerce Act. The bill, “Provides that all goods produced or manufactured within the Commonwealth, when such goods are held, retained, or maintained in the Commonwealth, shall not be subject to federal law, federal regulation, or the constitutional power of the United States Congress to regulate interstate commerce.”

The vote was 65-33.

For decades, using a tortured definition of “interstate commerce,” Congress has claimed the authority to regulate, control, ban, or mandate virtually everything – from wheat grown on one’s own land for personal consumption, to weed grown in an individual’s own home for the same purpose, to guns manufactured, sold and kept in state boundaries, and everything in between. And, unfortunately, the Supreme Court has largely condoned and even encouraged such reprehensible legislative behavior.

Read more and financially support:

http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2011/01/taking-back-the-commerce-clause-in-virginia/

Just to get an idea of how ridiculous tyrannical the Federal Supreme Court can be, think of:

Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942), was a U.S. Supreme Court decision that dramatically increased the power of the federal government to regulate economic activity. A farmer, Roscoe Filburn, was growing wheat to feed his chickens. The U.S. government had imposed limits on wheat production based on acreage owned by a farmer, in order to drive up wheat prices during the Great Depression, and Filburn was growing more than the limits permitted. Filburn was ordered to destroy his crops and pay a fine, even though he was producing the excess wheat for his own use and had no intention of selling it.

Obamacare Unconstitutional!!

Breaking news from Federal Court in Virginia:

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal judge in Virginia has declared the Obama administration's health care reform law unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson is the first judge to rule against the law, which has been upheld by two others in Virginia and Michigan.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli filed the lawsuit challenging the law's requirement that citizens buy health insurance or pay a penalty starting in 2014.
He argues the federal government doesn't have the constitutional authority to impose the requirement.
Other lawsuits are pending, including one filed by 20 states in a Florida court. Virginia is not part of that lawsuit.
The U.S. Justice Department and opponents of the health care law agree that the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final word.

Chalk one up for States' Rights, baby!