From: Gary Hunt at the Outpost of Freedom Mice? or Men? May 2, 1997 The Boston Committee of Correspondence met at Faneuil Hall on the evening of June 27, 1774. Samuel Adams was elected moderator, but stood down from his position after a Tory announced that Boston should censure the committee. The British had begun raising their complement in Boston, and the Committee, just a few weeks earlier, had approved sending a delegation to what would become known as the First Continental Congress. "A Grecian philosopher," Adams said, "who was lying asleep upon the grass, was aroused by the bite of some animal upon the palm of his hand. He closed his hand suddenly as he woke and found that he had caught a field mouse. As he was examining the little animal who dared to attack him, it unexpectedly bit him a second time, and made its escape." "Now, fellow citizens," he continued, "what think you was the reflection he made upon this trifling circumstance? It was this: that there is no animal, however weak and contemptible, which cannot defend its own liberty, if it will only fight for it." Adams" story has stuck with me since I first read it, a few years ago. As simple as it may seem, and as quickly most will chime that they, like the field mouse, would fight to retain their freedom, the words mean so little, as proven by the continuation of abuses by the federal authority, and our denial or refusal to act on that which has been taking place for so long. On September 1, of that same year, General Gage seized three hundred pounds of gunpowder at Cambridge. The reaction was a swarm of protests by the local colonists. The story was exaggerated as it spread, so that when it reached Philadelphia, the deaths of six colonists had become a part of it. Three thousand marched to Cambridge in protest, until they arrived and found the story of the deaths not to be true. The British refused to respond to the demands set forth by the colonists. Meanwhile, the first government independent of the British Crown was meeting in Salem. John Hancock, as president, oversaw the meeting which resulted in redirecting the Crown"s tax revenue into the pockets of the colonists; the establishment of elite militia units which would be overseen by the Committees of Safety; and the creation of the Minutemen. Just a few months later, Seventy-seven men, under the command of Captain John Parker, refused to allow the continuation of the British practice of seizure of arms. These seventy-seven "mice" bit so hard that the liberty of an entire nation was assured. Ron Cole, Wally Kennett and Kevin Terry were arrested Friday, May 2, 1997. Their crime? Possession of firearms. Whether these firearms warrant a BATF $200 tax, or not is yet to be seen. You see, the government is being very quiet about what information they will release. It might jeopardize their case. I"ve known Ron since May, 1993. We"ve run into each other a number of times as we traveled the country, these past few years. I remember one gun show in Waco where Ron gave me a bit of an education in firearms. There were situations that have stuck in my mind, since then. First was the Barrett .50 caliber rifle that was on display, and for sale. Many of the "visitors" at the show where the same faces I had seen just a few months before, but, then, they were wearing their black uniforms. And there, on display, was the same gun that they had made appear so evil in the hands of the Davidians. The other was some small plastic packets of adapters. These adapters can be sold, legally, anywhere in the country (except in gun free school zones), and, standing alone, are merely finely machined pieces of metal. Amazingly, these legal pieces of metal, once brought into proximity of Constitutionally protected firearms, become illegal, and make the Constitutionally protected firearm equally so. Samuel Adams was fifty-one years old when he told that story to the hundreds gathered that evening. Coincidentally, I am of that age as I repeat to you, "that there is no animal, however weak and contemptible, which cannot defend its own liberty, if it will only fight for it." We have lost more than three hundred pounds of gun powder. Daily, weekly, monthly — the arsenal of the Minute Man is diminished, yet we stand idly by, "hugging the illusive phantom of Hope." Those who have announced their status as a fighter for freedom, and who have stored materials with which to wage the battle must begin to recognize what dozens have already learned, the hard way. If you have items that might be construed as "illegal", and subject you to arrest, as has happened to so many other outspoken patriots, you must now consider the consequences of your collection. My advise to you would be to dispose of that property as soon as practicable. Remember, however, that it is illegal to dispose of "hazardous" waste through normal channels. Take the lead from the military-industrial complex. A bullet used in battle is no longer hazardous waste. For those that believe that there is a peaceful solution, I"m sure that Ron, Wally and Kevin, and Mike Kemp, the Viper Militia and others who have been charged with crimes contrary to the Constitution, are enjoying peace and solitude where they are. But, if you truly believe that your place is laid out to restore the Constitutional government of the United States of America, remember the little field mouse. Go to The Courage of the Founders? Return to Outpost of Freedom - Today