Take a Folger’s Moment to help free Bernie-von
by Perry Willis

Bernard von NotHaus (68) faces many years in prison. What was his crime? Von NotHaus dared to compete with the Federal Reserve monopoly to provide people with an alternative form of money based on gold and silver. His customers were happy with his service.

But the federal gangsters were not happy. (If you think I’m wrong to call them gangsters please see my counter-argument below). The feds hate it when their legalized counterfeiting has to compete with money having real value. So…

They arrested von NotHaus and confiscated his CUSTOMERS‘ property. Von NotHaus didn’t victimize anyone. But his customers were victimized by the State. Now, von NotHaus faces years in prison.

Jim Babka wrote a letter to the judge in the Von NotHaus case asking for a new trial. I read Jim’s letter and loved it. I told Jim it deserved a wider audience, and that we should turn the von NotHaus case into a cause of action. Jim agreed to let me proceed.

Before we begin, a word of warning…

Jim’s letter to the Judge is long. I tend to dislike long writing. You will notice, for instance, that the Dispatch has been under 700 words for most of its history, and recently we’ve been striving to keep it under 400 words. By comparison, Jim’s letter to the Judge is 1,723 words. So I must really think the letter is special to endorse asking you to read something of that length. I do think the letter is special.

So here’s what I’m asking you to do:

Read Jim’s letter here.
Then write your own letter to the Judge on behalf of von NotHaus

Bernard von NotHaus has asked that letters be written this way:

Use your own words, though you can quote from Jim’s letter if you want.
Be polite. Bernard says the Judge is a fair and open-minded man.
Ask the Judge to give Mr. Von NotHaus a new trial. That’s what Bernard is seeking.

Mail your letter here:

The Honorable Richard L. Voorhees
US District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina
250 Charles R. Jones Federal Building
401 West Trade Street
Charlotte, NC 28202

Please share your letter with us. We will send some of them on to Bernard. Email it to us at feedback@downsizedc.org

Finally, a word about words:

Are the fed’s really gangsters? If you think politicians and federal agents have some special magic to turn wrong into right then they are not gangsters. But…

If you think agents of the State must abide by the same moral rules you do, then
The words they apply to you for an act must also apply to them.

For instance:

If you printed massive amounts of worthless paper money The State would call you a counterfeiter.
If you used threats of violence to detain and hold a man like Bernard von NotHaus you would be called a kidnapper.
If you confiscated property as the Feds did to Bernard’s customers you would be called a thief.

As they would judge you, you should judge them.

We need to overcome the Stockholm Syndrome in which victims come to identify with their oppressors. This is exactly how most of us relate to the State. That must stop. Using honest words to make honest judgements is a step on the path to a future society based on the ‘Zero Aggression Principle:’ — No one shall initiate force or fraud against others, nor delegate doing so to agents of the State.