The following is a point-for-point open response to Ladar Levison’s letter posted on http://www.lavabit.com addressed to those of us who could not access our email today.
“I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit.”
Excuse me, whom in this country has the authority to force you to do anything? If you are a natural born, or naturalized citizen of the States of America (America for short), no other person, or group of persons, on Earth holds such power.
I have to assume you refer to a government, or a member of a government by the terms “crimes against the American people”. Mr. Levison, American Citizens are endowed by our creator with LIBERTY, which is the right to be free from government interference. Our governments are based upon the very principle of liberty. America’s governments are subject to the people of this country, not the other way around! Our governments recognize that liberty is inalienable, meaning that it cannot be taken away by any force other than the creator.
“After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations.”
Soul searching, to examine the core of ones beliefs in search of righteousness, I presume. The use of the word soul suggests you have a religious core of moral beliefs, which determine your knowledge of good and bad and how you act toward them. Yet, at the pinnacle of such beliefs is a creator. In fact, the very same creator our subject governments acknowledges as endowing us Americans with liberty. How then, could you ever conclude that you must suspend the lavabit “operations”?
Delving more into the theological aspect of the situation by looking at the very cause of good vs. evil, the minimal of which can be summed up as God (the Creator) vs. Satan, we find that God wanted one way of life, while Satan wanted another. No matter what God you accept, to oppose Him is Satanic, by the very definition of the word, and therefore evil.
If to oppose such a creator is Satanic, how could any righteousness seeking person ever conclude that a government standing opposed to the Creator’s will is anything other than Satanic. I implore you to reconsider your decision to shutdown the Lavabit mail servers and stand on the side of righteousness and liberty.
“I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot.”
Why not? Are you not an American as I have been presuming? You do live and work in America, right? If so, then not only are you guaranteed the inalienable right to liberty as shown above, but also, the right to Due Process. We have a special judicial system that no other country has. It specifically guarantees us innocent until proved guilty. That means that no action can be taken against you or business without a warrant, which is a court order that can only be issued as a sentencing by the judge at the conclusion of a trial in which you were convicted, and in which you exercised the right to face your accusers and defend yourself, and where the plaintiff alone holds the burden of proof.
Did that happen? If not, no actions by any government or a person or persons representing any government has any legal affect. They cannot contact you, arrest you, search, seize, or even request information. And, no enforcement at all can be taken by anyone other than whoever is designated at sentencing, which should always be the local sheriff.
“I feel you deserve to know what’s going on–the first amendment is supposed to guarantee me the freedom to speak out in situations like this.”
And here we discover the real issue. Misinformation. Ignorance. Incompetence. I mean you no offense, so please do not choose to be offended. I merely wish to point out that Americans should never rely on what they think about the Bill of Rights. In fact, the manner with which the Bill of Rights is written directly opposes the Constitution of the United States of America. On the one hand, we have the constitution which is a list of powers and authorities the United States (America’s federal government) is expressly granted with powers and authorities not expressly granted forbidden. On the other hand, there is the Bill of Rights, which is written backwards to the constitution insinuating that the United States has no limits except what is expressly written. This very modern-day confusion was predicted by our forefathers and was the exact reason the expressed opposition to the adaption of the Bill of Rights. (Remember that it was the first Congress that ratified the amendments at the behest of the less educated people, not our country’s forefathers who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United Stated after more than eight years of extensive debate and research.)
Anyway, it is the Constitution of the United States that guarantees you the liberty to speak up in situations like this.
“Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise. As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests.”
No they did not. The United States Congress is limited by Article 1 section 8 of the Constitution of the United States of America. They have a total of 18 powers, not one of them is the authority to write statutory code subjecting American Citizens, in fact, all legislative powers granted to the United States Congress is limited to: A-Foreign and international affairs; and B-The legislation overseeing the District of Columbia. The Constitution goes on to forbid the United States from any exercises or legal presence in any of the America’s member states, which are internationally recognized sovereign states where the people retain all rights not expressly granted to the governments.
It should also be explained that what you refer to as “law” is actually just a statute. Statutes are not enforceable law, they are simply legislative acts. In order for a statute to become an enforceable law, it must be tried in court. You read that right, it is the statute that goes on trial, not the defendant. When a defendant is convicted it means that a statute was tried against a situation and proved to apply. There are three jurisdictions the plaintiff must prove when the court tries a statute: 1-Subject matter jurisdiction, meaning the legislative body that wrote the statute has to have authority over the subject matter, ie taxes, immigration, etc.; 2-Geographical jurisdiction, meaning that the legislative body that wrote the statute has to have authority concerning a designated area; 3-Personal jurisdiction, meaning the legislative body that wrote the statute has to have authority to subject the person or entity.
So, unless you are a foreigner lawfully admitted by the United States into the States of America, or the District of Columbia, regardless of how the statute you are referring to is worded, you are not subject to any government, or it’s demands.
“What’s going to happen now? We’ve already started preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. A favorable decision would allow me resurrect Lavabit as an American company.”
Wait a second here! You expect me to believe that you are already into the appeals segment of the judicial process? That could only mean one of two things: 1-You have already been through the trial process and were declared guilty by a jury of your peers, where you faced your accuser and defended yourself, and where the plaintiff proved both guilt and jurisdiction; 2-you are appealing a unlawfull, and nonlegal, decision or judgment made by a government agency that is acting on the assumption you do not know how America’s judicial system works, essentially declaring yourself guilty.
If you did go through Due Process already, then it would be a matter of public record and there is no legal reason you cannot speak out about it. If on the other hand, you did not go through the trial and receive a conviction, then you are merely the subject of government bullying and harassment, which can only work on mis-educated.
Believe it or not, that form of bullying is a common illegal action by our governments. They write “tickets”, send threatening letters demanding compliance, or requesting information, and so on under the assumption the recipient doesn’t know or understand that it is illegal for it to do so. The proper way to handle these letters is to always respond in written refusal and demand for trial in a legal court sent certified mail and return receipt requested. Anything you contest in those letters should be to the point and with the details reserved for trial. And above all always stand on and assert your inalienable rights to liberty and Due Process!
“This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.”
Hopefully, you and other Americans will learn the lesson I’m trying teach. Just because the government or someone representing the government does a thing, does not mean it or they have the authority to do that thing, even when it is common practice. Take the time to be diligence in your research, there is president. The Supreme Court has ruled numerous times that Americans are not subject to congress or government. Examine the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Pain, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and the rest of America’s forefathers.
And, remember, no part of government has the power to grant itself or another branch more power. The forefathers were clear, the powers and authority of government are limited to matters that directly affect all of us, but that cannot be retained by any one of us, hence the list of 18 powers in Article 1 section 8, the four powers in Article 2 sections 2 and 3, and the three powers of Article 3 section 3 of the Constitution of the United States of America. It’s the entire basis of the Republic.
“Defending the constitution is expensive!”
Yeah well, I think defending liberty and the constitution that makes liberty it’s foundation is 100% free. It just takes the right kind of person, a person who will stand upon liberty and use any and every means possible to stand vigil against a bullying government and be willing to tell the American people what atrocities the government is committing against him.
Long live the Republic!
+1 on every point.
I think the real issue with Lavabit is that people calling themselves Government have the physical force available to make threats, which is probably what Ladar is trying to change.
Just as various mafia-like organizations used force, threats, and intimidation, the concentration of force in government has been ripe for abuse. Its nature tends toward abuse, and attracts those who would abuse it far more than those who would hold it safe from abuse.
Indeed! I originally mentioned the same aspect when I first wrote the post, but edited it out for length. Thanks for bringing it up.
Searches and seizures are a type of enforcement and need to have a warrant issued by a judge at the end of a trial in which guilt is proved, just like any other form of law enforcement.
Were I him, I would have kept the servers under lock, key, and guard. I mean how hard is it to find patriots in Texas who would gladly defend the rights of Americans? Hell, I'd have done it for free, or for the privilege of the free email account which I had for nearly 10 years.