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May 5, 2022 - Health Ranger - Mike Adams
57:28
TEXIT: Daniel Miller of the Texas Nationalist Movement explains the BENEFITS to secession
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Welcome everyone to Brighton Conversations.
I'm Mike Adams, the founder of brighteon.com, the platform for free speech, and today you're going to get a heavy dose of free speech on a topic that people just can't wait to hear about.
We're going to interview Daniel Miller, the president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, which is a pro-Texit organization that advocates Texas returning to its own nation.
It was once the Republic of Texas, and probably it should be again.
Given that at least the coastal states of the country, the blue states, have lost their minds and they've rigged the elections and they've cheated and stolen and violated the Constitution.
All those things that you know are happening and getting worse.
So how do we solve that problem?
Well, secession is one of the conversations that's being very seriously talked about nationwide.
And governors of states like Texas are already working to nullify the unconstitutional executive orders and legislative efforts It's been a hot minute.
Yeah, it's been a while, but you're here again.
Thank you for coming back.
The topic is on the top of everyone's list, so let's hear it.
What's happening with the Texas nationalist movement?
Well, you know, we were Texan before Texan was cool.
So, you know, that's the fact that what we've been working so hard for for so many years is on the cusp of happening.
You know, when you and I first met, you know, many, many years ago, we were engaged in building support among the people, connecting with Texas voters, making the case for Texas independence.
And there have been some significant milestones in between then and now that have led us to being able to take full advantage of the situation politically.
Whether it was getting legislation passed not related to Texas and interacting with the legislature, or whether it was forcing a Texas debate on the floor Of the Republican Party of Texas State Convention back in 2016.
I mean, there have been these significant milestones.
And here we are.
You know, just earlier this month, the bill was filed officially by State Representative Kyle Biederman that would bring this issue to the voters of Texas at the voting booth.
So we're obviously very excited.
Yes, explain.
Now, that's a law to allow a referendum, correct?
So, lay out the timeline.
Would the referendum be in 2022, or what could happen there?
Yeah, I mean, let's set some context first, right?
Because people, a lot of folks out there don't understand the process, but if you look...
Say, in the more recent history, at the Brexit vote or the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, what you see is that the people of Texas are going to have to vote on this issue.
Now, if we lived in a state where we had citizen initiative, where we could go get a certain number of petition signatures and force something on the ballot, this would have already been done.
But the fact of the matter is that here in Texas, we don't have that.
So we've always known since day one that this was going to wind up in the laps of the Texas legislature.
And what we're looking at now is a bill filed that will, if it passes through the legislative session, Texans will be going to the polls and In November of 2021 to essentially express their political will on the issue of independence, but more importantly, really start that next step, which are the committees necessary to form a transitional plan.
Alright, so this could be voted on later this year.
Yeah, and look, it was important for us to do that.
A lot of people say, well, I'll wait.
And the fact of the matter is, first off, this is a process, right?
We have to be very deliberate in it.
But more importantly, it was very pragmatic.
By having the vote at the same time as our normal constitutional amendment elections, it made it revenue neutral.
So, literally, the only cost associated with this vote...
Is the ink on the paper or the pixels on the screen?
Because what we wanted to do is we wanted to take out all of those objections that we know we were going to get and literally make the question on the question be solely about whether or not the elected officials believe that we as Texans should even have the right to vote on it.
So if this law passes and then people would be able to vote on the referendum...
And then if that's approved by the people, then obviously that just begins the process of following that choice by the voters.
And frankly, as we saw with Brexit, the deep state of Europe did everything they could to try to thwart that entire process.
And for the most part, they succeeded and they dragged it out for many years and tried to block it over and over again.
Would the same kind of thing happen with Texas, you think?
Well, you know, they had certain structural and institutional issues related to their relationship with the EU that drug it out.
I mean, they had to invoke Article 50 of the treaty, which then kicked off a two-year process.
And, of course, there was no definite time that they had to invoke Article 50.
But it kicked off that two-year process, and then there were certain things that had to happen.
We're not in that scenario.
area.
We're not under any particular time pressure one way or the other, other than external political circumstances.
And it basically boils down to, you know, how much garbage we want to continue to accept being dumped on us by Washington, D.C.
So literally the people of Texas could go to the polls and vote.
And given circumstances, the committees that have to meet to form the transitional process could come back in two weeks and go, here's your transitional plan, folks.
Let's do this.
Or it could go out...
But there is a backstop.
Let me just say this about that legislation.
There is a backstop in the legislation that prevents them from dragging it out.
So, you know, we wanted to strike a balance.
We wanted to give them flexibility to come in early.
But additionally, we wanted to make sure that they didn't drag it out too long, that they have to produce these answers on a transition in a timely fashion, and let's get it done.
Now, it is, obviously, it's going to be a big battle to get people to vote for this.
However, I think Joe Biden is making that easier for us, frankly.
Every day that he's in office, you know, doing the crazy things that he's doing, that the...
I mean, let's face it.
What was it called?
A radical left-wing trans-activist clown show train is driving Joe Biden.
And that's just making people say, we've got to get out of this thing.
I mean, you might not have to do much marketing at all.
Yeah, I mean, look, we can make the case for Texas, but I'm going to, you know, look, let's just get down to brass tacks.
You know, you've got Joe Biden for the last year plus crisscrossing the country with Texas squarely in his crosshairs, you know, threatening to invoke policies, along with, you know, the cooperation of a radical Congress that are directly targeted at destroying key sectors of the Texas economy and eroding freedoms that we hold dear.
That's right.
It's like when I saw these establishment politicians that are ostensibly from the opposite party congratulating him on the presidency.
I'm thinking, wait a minute.
If a guy just spent a year threatening to burn my house down, I'm not going to congratulate him on getting a can of gas and a pack of matches.
And you want to talk about a sense of urgency.
That's essentially what's happening here.
I mean, they are...
Ready to implement everything that they promised if we just hold them at their word.
Well, and plus, they are trying to turn Texas blue, of course, through mass illegal immigration.
Washington, D.C., the swamp will fight any attempt by Texas to block illegal migration or illegal aliens.
I mean, Texas wants to protect itself, and obviously it can't do that unless it asserts its own sovereignty.
But Texas is in the unique situation that it previously was its own republic.
Does that play a special role in Texas' ability to now secede from the Union?
Yeah, I mean, it plays a role culturally, right?
Independence is ingrained in our spirit, but really from a political standpoint, it doesn't.
And this is what I try to tell as many people as will listen that come to us from outside of Texas wanting to know what the solution is.
And frankly, Texas does not enjoy a unique right among the states to withdraw from the union.
We just don't.
Every state has that right.
Every state has that right.
And look, the real God's honest truth here is that the things that we are talking about that we consider grievances with the federal system apply across the board.
You know, when we talk about how Texans are sick and tired of living under 180,000 pages of federal laws, rules, and regulations administered by 2.5 million unelected bureaucrats, that's not a unique situation to us.
Any state could have that conversation, and they all should be having that conversation.
There is no necessity for us to be bound in an absolute political and economic union where we spend every two to four years watching a ridiculous Punch and Judy show over who's going to get to rule over the states.
Texans can have a government that begins and ends in our border, and other states should begin to explore that option.
Now give us the rundown of the benefits.
So the retail benefits, we might say.
If Texas secedes, how does that benefit people who are in Texas?
Yeah, I mean, look, to understand the benefits, part of what you have to do is understand the grievances, and I just laid some of those out.
But, you know, the fact is that Texas overpays on average anywhere from $103 to $160 billion annually into the federal system.
You know, that's an overpayment.
That's money that goes to Washington, D.C. that we never see again.
Is that in a form of income taxes or also other types of taxes?
All in.
Every bit of money, Texas overpays that $103 to $160 billion.
That money is siphoned out of our economy, never to be seen again.
So, you know, I look at it from the standpoint of the damage that was done during Hurricane Harvey.
And the price tag associated with that.
And what you see is that the federal government, our relationship with the federal system, is like having Hurricane Harvey hit Texas every nine months.
That money is siphoned out, never to be seen again.
So imagine...
For a moment, if that money was back in our economy, what would that do for the creation of new businesses?
What would that do for alleviating things like the property tax, where we can completely eliminate the property tax?
There are so many good reasons, not just economically, but politically.
I mean, why is it that Texans know Nancy Pelosi, but you can't hardly find anyone who knows Dade Phelan, who is our Speaker of the House.
You know, if Texans want good government, it's important for us to eliminate the federal distraction, that sideshow that everyone's focused on, and by eliminating that distraction, people here in Texas can be focused on the government that's closest to us at home, and that always produces good government.
Absolutely.
Well said.
And by the way, if you thought Hurricane Harvey was bad, wait till you see Hurricane Kamala.
That's an approaching tropical storm right there for you.
TexitNow.org is the website where people can learn more information.
Also, TNM.me.
That's Texas Nationalist Movement.
TNM.me.
So, okay.
So you mentioned some of the benefits.
What about, first, I also want to ask you about Texas having its own sound money system and the benefits of that.
And, well, I guess we could just go into that right now because, I mean, imagine if you had a money system that wasn't constantly being looted by the crooks in the swamp.
You know, you could keep what you earned and money would hold its value instead of losing value.
Texas could do that, right?
Right.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, you know, the beautiful part about so many of these issues is that as an independent self-governing nation-state, we can do what other self-governing independent nation-states do.
And, you know, one of the things that would absolutely cause our economy to skyrocket, I mean, we're typically ninth or tenth largest GDP in the world right now, but one of the things that would absolutely do that would be the implementation of our own currency.
Some people say that we, you know, and there are people out there obviously who don't understand the process, but they say, look, we can't pursue independence until we have our own currency, and that's the cart before the horse, right?
There is a transitional path between here and independence that does not involve the immediate implementation of a currency.
But the fact of the matter is, is that when we decide to do that, Immediately, we can start seeing ourselves climb in the rankings of world economies.
Yeah, absolutely.
But, of course, then there's always the risk.
If Texas has its own currency, then how do you make sure that the leaders of the Republic of Texas have fiscal discipline and don't start their own money printing?
Because that can destroy a small nation more quickly than the large nation.
Sure.
Well, look, I think that you can, if you wanted to peek into the mindset of where the Austin guys are, or at least were at one point and probably still are, regardless of some of the other policy disagreements we have with them, I think you need to look no further than the establishment of the Texas Gold Depository.
The fact that the Texas government wanted to bring our gold home and have it on Texas soil and open that depository up for deposits by private citizens.
Now, what's interesting about that legislation that passed a few sessions back that no one talks about is that there was a provision in there to establish an electronic transaction system based on the deposits of gold so that you could essentially trade gold that was in the depository electronically.
And many people just skimmed right over that.
They didn't understand its long-term implications related to independence.
Wait a second.
That's huge.
I wasn't aware of that either.
Is that active?
Is that functioning?
The electronic transaction part?
Yeah, I mean, I know that it's in the legislation, and I know that they've been a little bit slow.
It was a little bit slow getting the depository established, which is in Leander, by the way, if anyone wants to look it up.
But that provision's in there.
I do not know if the technology has been worked out on that, but it is in the bill.
It is in the legislation, and it is law on the books right now.
Well, that's fascinating.
I mean, what Texas needs, and what I'm exploring, by the way, is a blockchain-based, stable cryptocurrency tied to gold.
So the crypto represents gold and you can turn in your crypto for physical gold.
And that way the prices are stable.
It's not all this crazy speculation like Bitcoin.
And then you could use it for commerce because when you're dealing with commerce, you need stability.
You need as a merchant, when you accept money, you need to eliminate price risk volatility that currently exists when you accept Bitcoin.
Like we accept Bitcoin.
We might gain or lose, you know, 10 percent by the end of the day, depending on what happens.
But if Texas rolled out a gold backed cryptocurrency, it would be revolutionary.
I mean, my goodness, people would move to Texas just to use that.
Well, look, I mean, the provisions are in statute right now for this transaction system.
And I can only imagine, and this is speculation only, but I can only imagine the growing awareness role of blockchain in this particular realm will probably factor into whatever system they eventually implement.
Fascinating.
Well, we'll move on to other topics, but let's just agree to revisit that someday because that could be just revolution or talk about a new golden era of economic abundance.
But let's talk about other states.
If Texas, let's say the Texas voters voted for the referendum, voted for Texas, Do you think that other states would attempt to join that effort, such as Arkansas or Louisiana or Oklahoma or whatever, and make a larger group secession?
Yeah, I mean, it's, you know, we've heard that, but it's just not how it works.
I mean, you know, each state, regardless of how federal bureaucrats behave, each state is its own entity, right?
So there is no, let's put Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana independents on the ballot, right?
I mean...
Texas has to make the decision.
Oklahoma has to make the decision.
Louisiana has to make the decision.
And then what happens on the other side of that doesn't have to be some United States version 2.0.
That's not what this is.
We see around the world right now...
Well over 195 self-governing independent nation states that can trade with one another, can travel between one another, can defend one another without having to surrender their sovereignty to some group or body that is not them.
So, you know, what I'm saying is that We're good to go.
Well, absolutely.
And by the way, I see Texas as, frankly, a life raft of survival because I think the swamp DC system is going down.
That's my personal opinion.
I think the dollar is going to collapse.
They're spending it into oblivion.
It's obvious that no one in DC lives in the real world anymore.
I mean, Trump tried to change it.
He made a lot of progress, but even he was thwarted everything he tried to do because the swamp is so deep and so corrupt.
I think that states that don't secede will be dragged down into the collapse of the swamp central system.
And it would be devastating.
So I think I mean, again, it's just my opinion.
But I think even if states don't vote on it, they better have mechanisms in place to get out quickly when the Titanic starts to go down.
Well, I mean, starts to go down immediately.
It's already started.
Yeah, you're right.
The fact of the matter is, is when you have mainstream television networks running specials asking if the United States is teetering on the brink of civil war because the populace is so divided along every line that you can imagine, then that is the sign that the Titanic is already listing at about a 45-degree angle.
And so, you know, what...
Again, I said we were Texan before Texan was cool.
This is exactly what I warned about in my first book.
And I said, look, if we do not embrace states, specifically Texas, withdrawing from the Union, then what happens is the natural progression of this decay, this political decay, this infighting, this poison that's circulating through the political veins of people, what happens is balkanization.
And no one, trust me, no one wants that.
So much like we saw with Sudan, where they had a 30-year civil war, millions were killed, we see that independence is the path to peace.
It's us saying, look...
We don't want you to govern us, but in addition, we don't want to govern you.
Let California do what California does and suffer the consequences or reap the benefits.
Let New York State do what it does and govern itself and reap the benefits or suffer the consequences, but let Texas be Texas.
Well, also, stop looting Texas to pay off the corruption in California or Detroit or Chicago.
But what about, let me hit you with some skeptical questions, some tough questions.
What about the argument that if Texas leaves the union, then Republicans will never win a national election again because they'll lose the electoral votes of Texas?
I'm sure that's come up in conversations.
Look, what happens or does not happen with a private organization is of no consequence to us, right?
I mean, Texas needs to do what Texas does.
And the fact of the matter is, look, I'm sorry that if it upsets your electoral map where Republicans and Democrats are concerned, perhaps your state should consider becoming an independent nation.
Look, Texas has to do what's best for Texas.
That's the whole thing about independence.
And honestly speaking, if you want to look at the electoral map, the Republican future in the United States as a whole on the federal side is going to look a whole lot more like Mitt Romney.
So is that what Republicans want?
Because let us not forget that it was only a few short presidential cycles ago where we were being sold the Bill of Goods that Mitt Romney was the second coming, you know, he was a political messiah.
Right?
And everybody that looked at this guy and said he is a squish, they were trying to persuade people that, hey, he's the guy, he's the guy, he's the guy, and look at him now.
I mean, that guy can't walk through an airport without getting harassed because he's so terrible.
So what we're offering people in Texas is an opportunity to not have to worry about that sideshow.
Look, we've got our own issues here, our own challenges that we can address, and Absent of that circus sideshow, we have the opportunity for the first time ever to be able to have real, legitimate conversations that are based around the concerns and the priorities of Texans.
And that is an opportunity worth taking.
Well, makes perfect sense.
So next question on this, kind of related, just as there's a deep swamp in D.C., in Texas, there's also a little bit of a mini Austin weird swamp going on.
I mean, there's a swampiness among some of the lawmakers and some of the mayors, obviously.
I mean, just look at Austin, right?
Or Houston or Dallas or San Antonio.
There are many examples.
How could Texas navigate all of that when there would be these cities and swamp creatures that absolutely don't want Texas to be its own nation?
They love the federal government telling us what to do.
They love open borders.
You know, all these things.
How do we deal with that even if the voters say, we've got to leave, we've got to be our own country?
Yeah, I mean, really what you're talking about is kind of two parts, right?
Number one, we've got to deal with the Austin issue, aka the state-level political establishment.
And I want to be very clear that this issue, the Texas independence issue, is the one issue that can break the back of the political establishment.
This issue really divides across partisan lines.
I've said for many years that independence is a transpartisan issue.
It really transcends all those normal partisan divides.
That's why you see substantial numbers of people who self-identify as Democrats that support the idea of Texas becoming an independent nation.
So, you know, and especially strong with independent voters, you know, right at a majority of independent voters support Texas becoming an independent nation.
So, you know, when you cut across swaths like that, it begins to help you understand that this is not a right-left issue.
It's not a Republican Democrat issue because, frankly, those words in reality don't have a lot of meaning, right?
Remember Mitt Romney, the conservative, right?
They don't have a lot of meaning.
So, you know, the bottom line is it sets the stage for what the real battle is, which is the people versus the political establishment.
And this issue, more than any other, will break the back of the political establishment.
But to these cities that you mentioned, because I think we have to talk about that, When you look at voter turnout rates in municipal elections here in Texas, they're absolutely pathetic.
And a lot of that reason is the distraction, right?
If people are so distracted by federal politics that they can't pay attention to what's happening in the state politics, I mean, imagine municipal politics, right?
So our contention is that while so many people, the politicians, the pollsters, and the pundits have written off these cities, What we find is our message resonates extraordinarily strong in those cities because the people there have felt disenfranchised for so long.
This is their one time to have a shot at fixing government and having a say in how they're governed.
And they're willing to take it.
Wow, that's really fascinating.
I would like to cover that editorially as you get, let's say, polling information or studies that talk about that.
We'd love to cover that editorially, so let's keep in touch after this.
Let me just tell you this.
I'll follow up with this.
I'll tell you this.
Just one quick stat from our perspective, right?
The Texas nationalist movement, outside of the two major political parties, is the largest advocacy organization in Texas, hands down.
The strongest location per capita of support is in Houston, right?
And the place that everyone is concerned is one of the most blue, one of the most corrupt on the municipal side.
Houston, and we're not talking great, we're talking Houston proper, is the strongest area of support for us per capita.
Now, what does that tell you?
It tells you that our message resonates regardless of, you know, ethnic background or socioeconomic status.
And it is an issue primarily of disenfranchisement, and people have lost hope.
They have dropped out, so that's why you get terrible elected officials in those cities.
But we're bringing those people hope.
You know, that's a really good point because...
Let's say you take a typical African-American living in Houston, and there's a lot of wonderful Texans who are African-American who are in the energy sector, let's say.
They've got jobs on oil rigs or doing things with oil and energy.
And then Biden, in Washington, signs a bunch of orders and basically puts them out of work.
No, they lost their job due to no fault of Texas.
Governor Abbott didn't do it.
Biden did it.
And why should Texans not create energy abundance for America?
Just because, you know, crazies in D.C. want to have a Green New Deal and they want to outlaw combustion engines, which would destroy every economy, by the way, not just Texas.
But I can see what you're saying.
I mean, different ethnic groups, people of different descent groups, Who doesn't want better economic opportunities?
Period.
Regardless of your race or color.
Yeah, well, and look, and that's one of the reasons that our arguments resonate strong.
You know, when we explain to people the fact that the federal government, through over-regulation, what they call regulatory creep, right, what you have is, you have this economic impact that not only makes poor people, but keeps them poor.
You know, there was a study out of George Mason University that dealt with the issue of federal regulatory accumulation.
And what they did was they showed that because the federal government has never met a regulation that they don't like and they layer them on one another, it causes about, on average, an annual compression of GDP of about 2%, which stacks.
So when the study was released out of George Mason University, the average median household income was a little north of $52,000 a year, and they said in the absence of that regulation, that regulatory accumulation, it would have been $330,000, right?
Well, who does that affect the most?
The study also showed that it affects the working poor and the poor because it raises the price of the goods and services that are purchased most By those that are the working poor and under the poverty line, but more importantly, it destroys, it raises the bar so high on becoming an entrepreneur or becoming self-employed that it destroys the traditional bridge from poverty to prosperity.
So, you know, the bottom line is there is a real impact for our continued relationship with the federal government, and it lands right at the doorstep of our urban centers and our rural poor.
Yeah, absolutely.
You make a lot of good points there on the economics of it.
So let me segue right into the national debt question about secession, or as you said earlier, you call it the federal debt.
Right.
So according to, I don't know, articles, pundits, whatever, they say that, oh, well, Texas has a share of the federal debt, and we should pay More to the federal government if Texas leaves the union.
Even though we didn't spend all that money, it's the federal government that did all that crazy spending.
But what do you say to that argument?
Well, look, it's a negotiated issue.
There's no doubt.
I mean, let's be honest with people.
There is no doubt that Texas will have a share of that that we're going to have to pay, which is honestly, you know, that if people want to understand the urgency of this situation, go look at the federal debt clock, right?
But hold on, but Washington's never going to pay their share.
They're never going to pay it off, ever.
Well, you know, one of the funniest comebacks I've heard for that, one of the funniest retorts is, hey, we'll take whatever share you want to give us, we'll just pay it back at the same rate that you do.
Exactly, exactly.
But here's what it boils down to.
Those are typically negotiated issues, okay?
And when you do that, there are about three different mechanisms for calculating what that will be.
There's the per capita.
There's the GDP per cent.
I mean, there's three different methods that typically come into play.
But here's what also comes into play that people typically don't think about.
Number one is we're going to have to get credit for the overpayment into the federal system, right?
The fact that we have consistently annually overpaid that $100 billion plus into the federal system must be accounted for in any national debt share calculation.
In addition, the fact is that workers right now are paying into that Ponzi scheme of Medicare, because Medicare is just as much of a Ponzi scheme as Social Security.
That money is going into the Medicare Trust Fund, and that's money that we will probably not get back.
And so, frankly, we're going to have to, at some point, assume a portion of that so that we can account for that for those people that have paid in all those years.
Wow.
You know, the bottom line is, we're in the catbird seat when it comes to negotiating.
We've got decades of overpayment, right?
We've got the fact that Texas has contributed to GDP when almost every other state for spans of entire years almost...
I mean, think about the Obama years.
There was one year, and more than one year, during the Obama administration...
Where every net job created in the United States came from Texas.
Literally came from Texas.
So the fact of the matter is if we're going to sit down at the table and we're going to talk federal debt, then we're going to lay all the cards on the table.
And I will tell you, we will come out owing either zero or close to zero.
And how that shakes down after that, we'll see.
Okay, so good point.
If we end up owing zero, however, then, as you mentioned, the state of Texas would assume the long-term payouts to recipients of Medicare or Social Security.
Well, Social Security is a different story.
You have to separate Medicare and Social Security out because they're handled two different ways.
Right now, as it stands, if you are a Social Security recipient, And you become an expat, you decide you're going to go live in Spain or Mexico or someplace like that, you can still collect your federal pension benefits.
That goes any federal pension benefit, right?
Straight from the Social Security Administration website.
Well, I'm sorry to interrupt, but wouldn't the federal government argue that people have renounced their U.S. citizenship by remaining as citizens in the sovereign state of Texas, the sovereign nation of Texas?
As it stands right now, the Secretary of State, you can go look right on the Secretary of State's website, they are not jerking people's citizenship for patriating to a different country.
They cannot force you to renounce your citizenship.
And so, you know, there's a whole set of federal policies that are in place that allow people to go, you know, they can expatriate, go to another country, they can live under some status in that other country, and maintain their U.S. citizenship.
Okay, so one more thing, again, sorry to interrupt, but the IRS... The U.S. passport asserts its authority to collect taxes from anyone who holds a U.S. passport, even if you live overseas or in a different country.
They would claim, well, you're still a citizen.
Until you give up your U.S. passport, you have to pay federal taxes.
Which will be fun watching them try to make that argument to senior citizens that are collecting federal pension benefits that they should now be paying income tax on those federal pension benefits.
Then we can turn the tables on them and say, okay, great, now who's wanting grandma to die in a ditch?
But, you know, you've got those issues.
Then you have people that have paid into the Social Security system.
Well, typically how that's handled around the world is through what are called totalization agreements.
I can work in one country and, you know, say I work in the United States and I've earned these work credits, and then all of a sudden I decide to move to another country that has one of those similar type systems.
Well, those totalization agreements basically say you don't lose your credits when you move from country to country.
And the United States has those agreements with, you know, just about every westernized modern country around the world.
So that's not an unusual one.
But Social Security is a different story than Medicare, and there's already policy in place, not just on the federal level, but pretty much how it's handled around the world, you know, that deals with that issue.
Okay.
So the bottom line is, there's going to be some math and some accounting that needs to get done, but that's fine.
We have plenty of accountants in Texas, and people aren't going to lose all their benefits that they've paid into, basically.
They're still going to get their benefits.
Look, Mike, it's Project Fear, right?
I mean, the political establishment, given where we are in this process, are already starting to pound the drums of fear.
We saw it in 2014 in Scotland.
We saw it during the Brexit debate.
Exactly.
They literally want people to think that we're going to send senior citizens to the glue factory and that you and I are going to be fighting each other wearing loincloths in the Thunderdome the day after we make this vote.
The bottom line is it's all fear-mongering.
And here's what people need to understand.
Pull out a globe, spin it, put your finger down on the globe, and understand that you have placed your finger, if you didn't put it in the ocean, you put your finger on a self-governing, independent nation-state that has dealt with all of these issues.
They do these things, right?
They understand how it works.
And if they can do it, then we can do it.
Because if we can't, then who can?
Well, and frankly, the Thunderdome doesn't sound that bad compared to Biden's secret police that are hunting conservatives at this point.
You know what I mean?
It's getting pretty crazy there.
But what about Abbott and A.G. Paxton in Texas?
Has anyone taken their temperature on what they think about the idea of secession?
Look, you know, the last time that we engaged Abbott, he was the Attorney General, directly engaged him.
And it was when David Dewhurst was Lieutenant Governor.
We had meetings with him.
He wanted to pursue filing the legislation then.
And Abbott's office flunked it.
And it's because Abbott was concerned about his run for governor.
So, you know, Abbott has been a fan of Abbott's political career and not so much a fan of Texas independence, which tells you that if he polls it and he believes it sufficient enough, and maybe if he gives up his aspirations to sit in the White House one day, then maybe he'll be on board.
But look, here's the litmus test.
And this is what we told Representative Biederman when we were having discussions about filing this legislation.
When this process is all said and done, every elected official from the statehouse to the schoolhouse is going to be forced to take a stand on it.
I mean, they are going to have to know.
Everyone will know publicly.
And people are going to know where Abbott falls on this issue rather rapidly.
Yeah, and surely Abbott must realize he's never going to sit in the White House as long as the Democrats run the voting machines.
No Republican is going to, ever.
Right.
I mean, it's rigged.
They rigged it, they cheated, they stole, and the media covered for them and big tech censored and so on.
But at least we do see, I think, Abbott working with legislators on some pushback against big tech censorship.
So at least that's something moving in the right direction there to protect the freedoms of Texans.
Well, look, that could have been addressed in the last session.
There was legislation that was flying around during the session that dealt specifically with this issue of censorship.
I've watched the hearings in the Senate over this bill.
So something could have already been done.
Here in Texas, we would not have had to put up with the kind of nonsense that we're dealing with right now and that we've been dealing with over the last two years.
If Abbott had stepped forward and made it a priority, if it was a priority to him, he could have called a special session and made it happen.
Understand that these elected officials, by and large, are all about kicking the can down the road until their constituents pressure them into making this happen.
What we're encouraging everyone in Texas to do right now is to directly connect with their state representative and state senator and effectively demand that they either co-author or sponsor The Texas Independence Referendum Act.
It's filed.
It has a number.
It's HB 1359.
So this is what people need to get done.
Is there a website where Texans can go to easily contact their representatives?
Yeah, you know, again, I would suggest people visit our website at texatnow.org.
We have not just a list there.
We have an entire directory for the Texas legislature.
It's there as a menu item.
There's a button there.
You enter in your address.
We map you to your district, and we tell you who your state rep is, who your state senator is.
We give you their phone numbers, their office, directions to their office.
You know, it's just right now, it's everyone should be...
Burning up those phones, and everyone should be paying visits to their legislators when they are in district.
Because people, they need to understand that their constituents want a vote on Texas independence.
Remember, this debate is not about whether or not Texas is a good thing or a bad thing.
The only debate that we are having right now is whether or not we as a people have a right to vote on it.
Exactly.
It's just a law to create the referendum so that people can vote.
Bottom line, we just want it on the ballot.
We just want to vote.
All right.
Now, let's talk about the Second Amendment, because this is an issue that, of course, is very dear to Texans.
And I've probably asked this question to, you know, 200 people around Central Texas asking them if Biden, you know, bans your AR-15s or bans your gun magazines, are you going to comply?
And I've never heard anyone say yes.
Never.
Mostly it's like, hell no.
Come and take it.
And that's the way Texans feel about that issue.
But they're pushing hard.
In fact, I think it's Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston who's pushing that crazy bill that wants to criminalize all gun ownership, it seems.
If they push that, wouldn't that accelerate the Texan movement dramatically, the gun control?
Oh, yeah.
Look, external circumstances are going to take a lot of people and move them from being neutral on the issue to being pro and going to move some of those that are pro but inactive to active status.
It's been this way.
I equate it to everyone...
On this issue has a moment of clarity, right?
We talk about individually.
Everyone has an individual journey to get to where they are.
I had mine.
My set of circumstances is different than probably anyone else.
But the fact of the matter is, is that at this point, if the federal government does all of the things that they are saying that they are going to do, we will be an independent, self-governing nation-state sooner rather than later.
Yeah, good point.
Because, you know, Biden and, I mean, he's just a puppet, obviously, but the people running him, they want to destroy the oil industry.
Well, gosh, you know, there goes a third of Texas jobs.
I'm exaggerating, but it's a lot.
They want to destroy the Second Amendment.
Well, there goes your freedom in Texas.
They want to keep the border open.
Well, you know, Texas has to bear the cost of all of that.
And then there are agricultural policies and environmental policies.
It's insane.
Everybody's affected by this.
Everybody's suffering under the thumb of bad swamp policy created by people who have no clue how things work in the real world.
Right.
Yeah, look, the bottom line for us is this, Mike, and this is how I tell people.
We got tired of having to be put on the defense all the time on the issue of Texas and have to answer every question.
So we just started asking this.
If, at this very moment, Texas was a free, independent, self-governing nation-state, in every respect, we had our own border policy, we had our own currency, we had our own military, we executed our own trade deals, we created our own laws, you know, if we were, if Texas was an independent nation in every sense of the word, And you were being asked to join the union.
Would you vote to join the union?
No way!
Not a chance.
I've not met a single person who said yes.
And look, I get out, right?
So the question then becomes, if you wouldn't vote to join, why in the world would you ever vote to stay?
Yeah.
Good point.
That's a really powerful, simple argument.
Yeah.
But, of course, they're going to use all kinds of fear campaigns like they did with Brexit.
Sure.
And they're going to make up fake things.
You know, I don't even know what they're going to make up, but it's going to be vicious.
And probably a lot of the controlled media in Texas, because they're affiliates of the New York media, you know, the TV broadcasters, they're going to be all saying, it's bad, it's horrible, you know, we shouldn't vote for this.
It's going to be propaganda.
Well, look, that's where the war is going to be.
You know, people talk about they're afraid the United States will invade militarily, and it's just not a fear.
It's not going to happen.
The attack will come during their propaganda campaign during the vote, because at the end of a vote, If the yes side wins, then they can't justify military action against the people whose only crime is voting the wrong way.
But the flip side of that is that attack will be vicious.
I mean, we're expecting the opposition to probably dig in north of a billion dollars to get the people of Texas to vote against this.
And look, they've already started.
If you go look in mainstream media right now, Anytime this issue comes up, they drag out the same old third-rate adjunct professors from Bug Tussle Community College to declare that this thing is unconstitutional and the Civil War settled it.
You know they're desperate when they're going to memos written by Justice Scalia to a screenwriter.
That's the kind of nonsense.
And you know what's interesting about all those?
Every single one of those articles or stories they run about the constitutionality of it, they state it as though it was a fact, and they never come to us for the flip side or the rebuttal.
So they're going in with a preconceived message that they want to communicate to people, and that's why we have all the rebuttals up on our website.
But hold on.
If their argument is that it's unconstitutional, Well, if they followed the Constitution, we wouldn't even be having this conversation, right?
It's funny how they suddenly find the Constitution on this particular issue, but you can tell they never read it, because when you tell them, they say it's unconstitutional, say, great, pull out a copy of the Constitution, go right to Article 10, to the list of things that states are forbidden from doing, and please point to which clause says that states cannot leave the Union.
I'll wait.
Yeah.
Right.
You know.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
I mean, they shred the Constitution every day with all of their laws and their executive orders and what they expect selectively.
We have to do what they say?
Come on.
I mean, that's not going to fly.
So...
What are you seeing in terms of the shift?
We're almost out of time here.
We've got to wrap this up.
But the shift from, let's say, five years ago or ten years ago, what are you seeing now that people watched the election be stolen?
And Biden installed in the White House in a political coup against America and against Texas.
And then Texas filed the lawsuit with the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court throws it out due to lack of standing.
They won't even hear the merits of the case.
They said Texas has no standing in America.
Didn't they just make the argument that Texas can secede?
Yeah, you know, I've heard that.
You know, the fact of the matter is that Texans haven't felt at home within the union for quite some time.
You know, there's never been a year where the TNM hasn't grown since our inception in 2005.
And obviously, you know, we have spikes, and this is one of those spikes.
But, you know, look, what I attribute it to is the fact that Texans, again, are sick and tired of that 180,000 pages of federal laws, rules, and regulations.
Many of them decided to sort of put it on pause to see what took place, but now they understand.
And the federal system, the federal super state, has been laying bare for everyone to see.
And they're disgusted by it.
And they understand that the things that we have said for so many years are true.
I can understand the attachment that people have had to the federal system in the United States and the sentimentality that goes along with it.
My father fought in the Korean War.
I have a son that serves right now.
I understand that level of sentimentality, but at some point, Sentiment can only get you so far when you're looking at your fundamental way of life being utterly decimated or converted into something that you can't live with.
When you're looking at all of the institutions in the form of government, That you are accustomed to, that you have lived under, that you believe is the right being absolutely usurped and the power being sucked into that, you know, Mordor on the Potomac.
The fact of the matter is that Texans now have a decision to make.
Either you're totally good with what all is happening in Washington, D.C. and are ready for heaping helpings of more of it, or you're going to make the decision to support Texas independence.
There are no in-betweens at this point.
Yeah, right.
And it's not even just economic issues.
It's also morality issues, culture issues.
Before long, I can see Biden and those radical activists there pushing basically child pedophilia grooming in all public schools and universities in Texas as part of federal law.
It's already happening in other states.
They're going to push it in Texas.
And at some point, you have to say, we've got to protect the children from these people.
They're insane.
Look, there are a myriad of reasons why people should support Texas independence, but the bottom line is everyone is going to be forced to choose, whether you choose now and help make it happen or are forced to choose when it winds up on a ballot in the voting booth.
Everyone will be forced to make a choice on this, and it's important for people that may be on the bubble, maybe have not considered it, to start having those deliberations now, but my I guess my passionate plea to those of you out there that feel that Texas independence is the way to go, to quote Benjamin Franklin, you cannot be expected to be transported from tyranny to liberty on a feather bed.
You need to get in the game.
You need to be a part of this.
You need to...
Get in the face of your state rep and your state senator.
Let them know.
Come join the T&M. Work with us.
Volunteer with us.
Help us reach other Texans.
Help us break through these mainstream media roadblocks and social media censorship.
We've got a job to get done, and we've got a finite window to get it done in, so let's go do it.
So maybe you already answered this, but what is the single most effective action that a Texas citizen can take right now to pressure their representatives?
Is it going to a meeting, phone call, letter?
What works?
Absolutely at this moment in time.
What we need everyone doing is contacting their state representative, right?
And when I say contacting, email is the absolute worst way.
Phone call, personal visit.
You're two best, right?
These guys go do town halls.
They come back to the district.
They have district offices.
Go see them.
Because, you know, what we're hearing is some of these establishment guys are even beginning to crack a bit because they're hearing from so many constituents.
I mean, we're pouring hundreds and, in some instances, thousands of constituents in their district at their phones, at their office.
And so they have to understand, they have to understand that this That elected official's position on this legislation is a voting issue and that it will not be forgotten if they stand between Texans and the ability to vote on independence.
Good point.
Good point.
And people can stay informed on your website.
Again, with texatnow.org is one of them and tnm.me.
Any other final thoughts you want to leave with us before we wrap this up?
Mike, Look, I just have to say that I appreciate you tackling this subject and helping us break through the social media censorship and the silence of the mainstream media.
It's going to take more and more conversations like this that are thoughtful.
To engage this issue with people, but my admonition is the same as it was a moment ago.
It's not enough to know the information and to hear the information.
You must actually act on that information.
So, you know, beyond that, it's time for everyone to make that decision to cross that proverbial line in the sand and stand up for Texas.
Well said, and I'll just add, part of the challenge with Texans is that Texans work.
They're not like these Seattle people, these lunatics, the Antifa, Black Lives Matter groups that are out there, you know, firebombing federal buildings.
Those people don't have to work.
They get all the payouts.
Texans work.
Yep.
They're out working in the fields, in the farms, in the construction, on the oil rigs, so they don't have all day to protest.
So they're going to have to really set aside some time to go visit their representatives.
Texas is a working economy, honest, hard-working people who just want to be left alone for the most part.
That's it.
Well, that is the absolute truth.
But look, what you just described is the slice of T&M supporters and Texas supporters.
We're hardworking.
We just want to be able to earn a living without being interfered with and having our money stolen.
Right.
Right now, what I'm saying is that the wolf is not at the door.
The wolf is in the door.
We have an opportunity.
This is about hope and opportunity.
Hey, I love your flag.
We have an opportunity to do something real and to make history right now and to fix that situation.
You've got to take whatever time you've got to take to make it happen.
I'm going to try to get this to display appropriately, but the flag is too large, I guess.
All right, well, anyway, we are here to demand Texas have self-rule.
That's it.
Peacefully and But courageously self-rule for the people of Texas.
So thank you, Daniel Miller, for joining me today.
It's an honor to join you in this conversation.
Let's keep in touch because this is going to be a multi-year political battle and we want to help you achieve victory for all the people of Texas.
Well, Mike, I appreciate that and definitely looking forward to being on this journey with you.
Well, thank you so much.
We'll talk to you again soon.
And thank you for those of you who are watching.
Thank you for watching.
Please share this everywhere you can.
And if you're a Texan, especially, heed the advice here.
And I know a lot of you are considering coming to Texas.
Only do so if you share Texas values, okay?
All right?
Because we want to keep Texas Texas, that's for sure.
So thank you for watching.
I'm Mike Adams, the founder of Brighton.com, also a Texan.
We'll talk to you again soon.
Take care.
Take care.
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