Volume 1, Issue 1
The Muster Drum
“IN MEMORY OF OUR GOD, OUR FAMILIES, AND OUR COUNTRY .”
A U T H O R S
O F
L I B E R T Y
“The time is near at
hand which must
determine whether
Americans are to be
free men or slaves.”
— George Washington
“Associate yourself
with men of good qual-
ity if you esteem your
own reputation for ‘tis
better to be alone than
in bad company.”
— George Washington
“A man’s country is not
a certain area of
land...but it is a princi-
ple; and Patriotism is
loyalty to that princi-
ple.”
— George William
Curtis
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
The Muster Drum is
1
Sounding!
Wasting My Vote 1 BY DUSTIN HARRIS
“Give me Liberty or give
2
me Death”
Words of Wisdom 2 tion.”
Contact Us 4 “I feel like I am voting for the lesser of two evils,
T h e m u s t e r d r u m
In times of emergency, it was customary
among our Patriot forefathers to sound the
Muster Drum. It’s beat summoned able-bodied
men to the village green, armed and ready to
serve Liberty’s cause. Let this be our “Muster
Drum”, a call for my brothers to come forth and
assemble together in this perilous
time for our country!
This newsletter represents my
answer to the question, “What can I
do to return America to the Consti-
tutional Republic envisioned by our
Founding Fathers?”. The first step
is to awaken the sleeping giants
who inhabit this land, to the “awful
situation” in which we find ourselves. The bat-
tle that raged once in Heaven, continues here
on Earth! Will we choose Liberty and eternal
life, or fall under the yoke of tyranny and lose
our chance at Celestial Glory?
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil
is for good men to do nothing”. You chose
once before, and now I ask you to affirm that
W a s t i n g
“If you vote for a third party candidate, you are
wasting your vote.”
“Voting for a candidate who is not Republican or
Democrat is like throwing your vote to the opposi-
but what choice do I have? The third party candi-
November 2008
i s s o u n d i n g !
choice! It’s time to push back! It’s time to
stand up and be counted! You don’t have to
be first, but you do have to stand and join your
brethren. “Seek ye diligently!” Heed the warn-
ings of America’s wise forebears, prepare your-
selves for the challenges yet to come.
I hope the articles in this news-
letter will prove educational,
enlightening, inspiring, and at
times, humorous. We will en-
deavor to cover all aspects of what
is means to be a true American
Patriot. A Patriot is a father, a
brother, a husband, a son, and
above all, a man of honor. He is a
man who knows this country was founded by
the best men Heaven could send her, and he
honors their sacrifices.
— Derek Stephens
“Of what benefit are convictions, if
one is not willing to live by them?
—Anonymous
m y v o t e
dates never win anyway.”
These, and similar phrases, have been
taught to me for many years. This is the mantra of
the majority. Not only do I understand these talking
points…I have used them all myself. Not six
months ago I said the following to an online friend
who was convinced that voting third party was like
giving “half a vote to each of the major candidates.”
V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1 P a g e 2

G i v e m e L i b e r t y o r g i v e m e D e a t h !

An excerpt from Patrick Henry’s famous address given in holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as
Richmond to the Congressional delegates from the colony of that which we possess, are invincible by any
Virginia: force which our enemy can send against us.
Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles
“ ...If we wish to be free -- if we mean alone. There is a just God who presides over
to preserve inviolate those inestimable the destinies of nations, and who will raise up
privileges for which we have been so long friends to fight our battles for us.
contending -- if we mean not basely to
abandon the noble struggle in which we
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is
have been so long engaged, and which we
to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides,
have pledged ourselves never to abandon
sir, we have no election. If we were base
until the glorious object of our contest
enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire
shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat
from the contest. There is no retreat but in
it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to
submission and slavery! Our chains
arms and to the God of Hosts is all
are forged! Their clanking may be
that is left us!
heard on the plains of Boston! The war
is inevitable -- and let it come! I repeat
They tell us, sir, that we are weak it, sir, let it come!
-- unable to cope with so formida-
ble an adversary. But when shall
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the mat-
we be stronger? Will it be the next
ter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace!
week, or the next year? Will it be
Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The
when we are totally disarmed, and when
war is actually begun! The next gale that
a British guard shall be stationed in
sweeps from the north will bring to our ears
every house? Shall we gather strength by
the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren
irresolution and inaction? Shall we ac-
are already in the field! Why stand we here
quire the means of effectual resistance,
idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What
by lying supinely on our backs, and hug-
would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so
ging the delusive phantom of hope, until
sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains
our enemies shall have bound us hand
and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know
and foot?
not what course others may take; but as for
me, give me liberty, or give me death!”
Sir, we are not weak, if we make a
proper use of the means which the God
Patrick Henry - March 23, 1775
of nature hath placed in our power.
Three millions of people, armed in the

W o r d s o f W i s d o m

The Lord could, I suppose, have avoided the war in Heaven over
free agency. All He needed to have done was to have compromised
with the Devil—but had he done so he would have ceased to be God.
While it is more difficult to live the truth, such as standing for
free agency, some of us may in the not too distant future be re-
quired to die for the truth. But the best preparation for eternal life
is to be prepared at all times to die—fully prepared by a valiant fight
for the right. “It is infinitely better
Let us act like men, men who are sons of God, men with a sure to have a few good
knowledge that there will be a resurrection—and a final judgment. men, than many
— Ezra Taft Benson indifferent ones.”
V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1 P a g e
“This is where you are wrong, my friend. It is not half a vote
for the Democrats; it is a WHOLE vote for them. Whenever
you choose to not vote for the lesser of two evils, you may feel
better, but your vote (that would have gone to the Republican)
will put the [Demo]crat one step closer to victory. Sorry, I
know I have incited a flame war, but them (sic) are the facts!”
Frankly, I have spent a great deal of my life arguing this, and
related, points. I cannot remember an election where I did not vote. I
also cannot remember an election where I did not cast a ballot for one of
the two major political parties. I have been of the opinion that, in order
to do the better good, I must cast my vote for the best of the two, winna-
ble, candidates. Truthfully, I used to laugh at those who voted for the
other guys.
Just a few weeks ago, I was willing to go to the polls, hold my
nose, and pull the lever for John McCain. I do not like John McCain. I
think he is an abomination to the Republican party. He is a RINO. He is
a left-leaning, moderately pro-open border, anti-freedom of speech, Sec-
ond Amendment sell-out, anti-Constitutional, socialist blight on the
America that I know and believe in. Knowing that, I was still willing to
cast a vote for him.
A vote for John McCain, in my mind, was a vote against
Barack Obama. A vote for John McCain, in my mind, was a vote to
bring our troops home from Iraq in honor, and not in disgrace. This,
above most other matters, was foremost on my list of whys. I am a
strong supporter of the United States Military, and whether or not we
should or should not be in Iraq, we are there. We should finish the job
and come home with honor. That is McCain’s view and it is in opposi-
tion to Obama’s stance. If the war had not been an issue, I may have
come to my conclusion much sooner.
At the time I made this decision, I knew that either John
McCain, or Barack Obama would be elected on November 4. I am no
simpleton. I have also had not changed my mind that a vote for a third
party candidate was a vote that would not go to McCain, and thus, would
only help the other person (he who cannot be named anymore to avoid
too frequent use). Regardless, I had made a decision (three weeks before
the election) to vote for a minority party candidate for the first time in my
life. The following is summary of why:
Idaho is a Republican State
Unlike some of my friends, I do not live in a swing state.
There is a reason that the two major candidates were not spending money
and time in the great State of Idaho. McCain knew he would win it and
Obama knew John would win it. Not since1964 has Idaho gone Democ-
rat in a presidential election. McCain would win Idaho’s four electoral
votes whether or not I vote for him. However, that is not the reason I did
not cast a ballot for him, but it helped me sleep better on that Tuesday
night.
The Lesser of the Two Evils
A talking point often put forth by those who frequently vote
minority party is, “If you vote for the lesser of two evils…you are still
voting for evil.” I have also heard it put this way, “Voting for the lesser
of two evils is like voting for Hitler because he killed less people than
Stalin.” Not that those two dictators ever ran against each other for
county commissioner, but you get the point. My debate in the past with
these points has been, “Okay, good point, but I can actually see myself
voting for Hitler over Stalin in a hypothetical election. In hindsight, I
would save millions of lives by doing so.”
However (as an acquaintance of mine recently pointed out to
me), if you put George W. Bush and Bill Clinton side by side, the make
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believe election is harder. At first glance, it appears to be a no-brainer. Bill
Clinton was a despicable, immoral, and dishonest man. He can hardly be
called presidential material. However, I believe that Bush 43 has done more
to strip us of our freedoms and pull us, as a nation, further away from the
Constitution than Billy Boy did. Based on that assessment, who is the lesser
of two evils?
I believe that politics, by nature, is a beast of compromise. It was
so in the beginning, and will continue to be so in the future. Even the Found-
ing Fathers had to compromise in order to ratify the Constitution. The north-
ern states had to conditionally accept slavery and the larger states had to,
reluctantly, accept the organization of the Senate to name just two. We never
get all we want and we may never have the perfect candidate.
I no longer feel, however, that because the system is imperfect, we
continue to vote for those who have proven to be second only to the worse.
We have compromised ourselves into socialism, and the time has come to
take a stand!
Fire Them!
I run a small business. In addition to my daily lists of “to-do’s,” I
must also watch over and lead seven employees. They are my employees
and I their employer. If they are not doing the job I wish, I educate and cor-
rect them. If they continue to not live up to my expectations, I fire them.
Good business demands it. No viable company can afford to keep employees
who continually run their business into the ground.
The Founding Fathers, wisely, created in our country, not a de-
mocracy, but a representative republic. We elect those who we believe hold
our views and ideals and will likely vote as we would if we were there. As
such, the people (you and I are the employers and those who we elect are our
employees. Elected officials will stand before an authority figure, place their
hands on the Bible, and take the oath of office; “I do solemnly swear (or
affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United
States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States.” Very few follow it up by walking the
walk. Just as a wise boss would send a bad employee packing for the benefit
of the company, we must also give our bad politicians the old pink slip for
the benefit of the country.
Several weeks ago, I wrote my representatives. I asked them not
to vote for a bill which I thought led us further down the path to socialism.
One of them listened to me and two of them did not. I was taking notes. Just
as a parent must enforce a child’s consequences, I will not draw another line
in the sand. This year, my votes backed my language.
The Protest Vote
One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over
expecting a different result. We, the American voter, continue to elect the
same types of politicians and then complain that we continue to get the same,
lack-luster service from them. I guess, given the outcome of the Presidential
election, we are in for four more years of complaining.
I, like many of you, have watched as our elected “leaders” con-
tinue to flush our great democracy down the toilet. For those of us who have
read and studied the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the
Bill of Rights; for those of us who have read the Federalist Papers and know
something of our Founding Fathers and their ideologies; for those of us who
believe this land was given to us as a gift from God, we are fed up! I am
disheartened at best and fighting angry at worst to watch our officials con-
tinue to move us further from a representative republic and capitalism to a
monarchy and socialism. Those who we elect are so far from 1787 that
James Madison is likely hanging his ghostly head and weeping.
I realize I am one person. I realize I have but one vote, but this
year I am sent a message, however meager it was, to the Washington elitist.
V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1 P a g e
“I am sick and tired of losing my freedoms, and I will continue being a
part of putting you there no longer!”
A Call for Others to Join Me
I have heard that government is like a large, aircraft carrier
moving at a swift speed in a wide ocean. If it is headed the wrong way, it
takes a very large, wide, and slow turn to get it corrected. I did not expect
this country to vote for the best candidate on November 4. I was right. I
do not expect them to vote for the best candidate in four more years or
even four years beyond that. I do, however, hope to start turning this ma-
chine around. My vote did not swing the election in 2008, but with the
help of good people, like you, it may in the future.
Abraham Lincoln was a third party candidate. His message was
right for America in 1860. More importantly, America was right for Lin-
coln in 1860. I believe we, as a people, are moving closer to being right
for another minority party candidate.
If we, as the voting public, continue to say, “A third party can-
didate will never win,” we, as the voting public, will continue to be right.
If the old argument that “your vote is important,” and “you can make a
difference,” has teeth, then I believe it is time for me to start making the
right kind of difference. Maybe Americans are beginning to get as fed up
with what is going on in Washington as I am, and we will see a revolution
at the ballot box.
Getting there Faster May Not be Such a Bad Thing
The “lesser of the two” argument is often expanded to, “If our
officials are leading us down the road to destruction, don’t you want to
slow that process as much as possible by not allowing the other guy to get
in?” Again, I was in this boat too…until a few weeks ago.
I believe this world is going to get much worse before it gets
better. Though I am not looking forward to the difficulties that await us
(and I am far from a masochist), I am no longer so sure that a slow road
hell is any better than an expressway. In my mind, John McCain and
Barack Obama are taking this country in the same direction. One is riding
the tortoise of tyranny and the other the rabbit of radical oppression.
Anyway you look at it, we are headed to the same fate. It mat-
ters only the speed in which we get there. Though I would never take this
argument to the extreme and purposefully vote for the candidate who will
bring the signs of the times upon us more rapidly, if my vote does indeed
help the rabbit to win the race, I am no longer disheartened by that end. I
would rather fight the foretold battles than pass the struggles for freedom
to my children to fight. Bring it on, let me fight, that my children might
live in a time of peace and liberty.
Religion and Prayer
I am a religious man. I am a prayerful man. Though, by policy,
my religion does not involve itself in endorsing one candidate or party
over another, they do encourage their patrons to become involved in the
political process and vote. A few weeks ago, my religious leaders asked
me to, “vote for and actively support those you believe will most nearly
carry out your ideas of good government” (bold for emphasis is mine).
Sorry but, for me, that was not John McCain.
My beliefs also tell me that there will come a time when I will meet our
Founding Fathers in the next life. A patriotic friend of mine recently re-
minded me of this. I will have an opportunity to shake the post-mortal
hands of Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. These men paid a heavy
price that I might live in a country of freedom and free of oppression.
When that day comes, I hope I can look them squarely in the eye, thank
them for their sacrifices, and report that I did my part to preserve what
they started.
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I am also a prayerful man. I believe that God gives direction to those who
pray. I believe that prayer can be a deeply personal and private matter be-
tween man and his Maker. As such, I will not share details of mine. Need-
less to say however, this is the first election that I can remember where I
have actively prayed for guidance and confirmation concerning my voting
choices. Though this is not the only reason I voted third party, it helped me
walk with my head high when I left the polling place...regardless of the
final outcome.
I Love America and All it Stands For
This is a decision that I have struggled with for months. It has
not come without much struggle and I have waffled on the issue many
times. In the end, however, I felt grounded and confident in my decision.
Each of the reasons given above are important to me. No reason is more
important, however, than this: I love America and all it stands for!
The past three or more years have been interesting for me. Dur-
ing that time, I have felt a strong desire to read, study, and internalize all
good material I could find on the Founding Fathers and their writings. I do
not know for sure where that pull has come from. My wife and I decided
several years ago to home school our children. It seems that many who
home school also have a desire to know these same truths. The interesting
part is that I have not felt compelled to this individual study because of
home schooling. Rather, I believe the fact that we are teaching our children
privately has actually caused me to push against this desire. I guess I did
not want to be like all the other home-schoolers. However hard I have
fought though, the drive remains and I am compelled to learn from Madi-
son, Henry, Adams, Washington, Jefferson, and others.
I do not feel that I am alone. A revolution in this country is com-
ing. I do not know when and I do not know how. I pray it is with ballots
rather than bullets. I believe the good Lord knows our fate and is putting
into the hearts of patriotic men and women now the seeds of liberty in
preparation for such. My seed is young, but I can no longer continue to vote
for those who do not value the roots of freedom that I love and honor.
Study and education is idle until one puts it to use.
Conclusion
I hold no ill feelings toward those whom this essay does not
persuade. As I have pointed out, I was in your camp until just a few weeks
ago. I only hope that you will grant me the same courtesy.
They say that voting for a minority candidate is a waste of a perfectly good
vote. If this is so, consider my vote wasted.
“Always vote for principle, though
you may vote alone, and you may
cherish the sweetest reflection
that your vote is never lost.”
-John Quincy Adams
W e W a n t t o h e a r
f r o m y o u
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Copyright The Muster Drum Newsletter 2008