There is no harm in using the ZIP code, if you lawfully identify your State. I found out that no State legislature has met to lawfully change the abbreviation of the State from the old abbreviation to the new. Therefore, if you do not use the lawful abbreviation for your State, but use the shorter new abbreviation, you have to use the ZIP code. Look on page 11 of the ZIP Code Directory and it will tell you that the first digit of your ZIP code is the federal region in which you reside. If you use 'AZ' for Arizona, you cannot use the State Constitution to protect you, because you did not identify your State. You used the ZIP code, which identifies which federal region you live in. And Congress may rule federal regions directly, but it cannot rule the Citizens of any State. Accommodation Party Let's look at how the States have become the accommodation party to the national debt. There are many people I have talked to, including the Governor, who are very concerned about this, and who know that it could happen very soon. If America is declared a bankrupt nation, it will be a national emergency. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will take over, and anyone who opposes the new government of the creditors can be sent to a detention camp in Alaska. We will have no rights whatsoever. They have already set up prison camps with work camps nearby so the people can be used for slave labor. It could be the governors, legislators, and other leaders who would be hauled away to Alaska, while the people now disenfranchised from power would likely be chosen to run the new government. This could all happen very soon, as the national debt is so large as to be unpayable. Even the interest on the debt is virtually unpayable. As I explained, the national debt -- more than three trillion dollars -- is not owed by the continental united States. It is the federal United States that had authority to borrow bank credit. When Congress worked for the continental united States, it could only borrow gold or silver, so the national debt was borrowed in the name of the federal United States. The federal United States has been bankrupt since 1938, but the federal United States had to trap the States into assuming the debt obligation of the federal debt. In the Uniform Commercial Code, we find the term "accommodation party."6 How did the States become the "accommodation party" to the federal debt? The federal government, through our money system, made the States deal in Federal Reserve Notes, which means that everything the States do is "colorable." Under the "colorable" jurisdiction of the Uniform Commercial Code, all of the States are the accommodation party to the federal debt. Now, the concern is to find how we can get out of this situation. I told the Governor that, in the Common Law and the Law of Merchants -- that's the International Law Merchant -- there is a term called no-interest contract. A no-interest contract is void and unenforceable. What is a no-interest contract? No-Interest Contract If I were to insure a house that did not belong to me, that would be a no-interest contract. I would just want the house to burn down. I would pay a small premium, perhaps a few hundred dollars, and insure it for 80,000 dollars against fire. Then, I would be waiting for it to burn so I could trade my small premium for $80,000. Under the Common Law and under international law of the Law Merchant, that is called a no-interest contract, and it is void and unenforceable in any court. Unconscionable Contracts In the Uniform Commercial Code, no-interest contracts are called unconscionable contracts. The section on unconscionable contracts covers more than forty pages in the Anderson Code. The federal United States has involved the States as the accommodation party to the federal debt, and I believe we could prove this to be an unconscionable contract. We should get some litigation into the courts before the government declares a national emergency, claiming that this State has no lawful responsibility for the national debt (of the federal United States), because it became an accommodation party to this debt through an unconscionable contract. If we have this litigation before the courts under International Law when the nation is declared bankrupt, the creditors would have to settle this matter first, and it would delay them. They would want the new government to appear to be legitimate, so they could not just move right in and take over the State, because it would be in an International Court. This is very important at this time. Questions and Review Note: These are some of the questions asked after the main lecture. Some are re-statements of material presented earlier, but they contain very valuable information which is worth repeating. Courtroom Techniques Question: How did you "box in" the Judge? This is easy to do if you don't know too much. I didn't know too much, but I boxed them in. You must play a little dumb. If you are arrested and you go into court, just remember that in a criminal action, you have to understand the law, or it is a reversible error for the court to try you. If you don't understand the law, they can't try you. In any traffic case or tax case, you are called into court and the judge reads the law and then asks, "Do you understand the charges?" Defendant: No, Your Honor. I do not. Judge: Well, what's so difficult about that charge? Either you drove the wrong way on a one-way street or you didn't. You can only go one way on that street, and if you go the other way, it's a fifty dollar fine. What's so difficult about this that you don't understand? D: Well, Your Honor, it's not the letter of the law, but rather the nature of the law that I don't understand. The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution gives me the right to request the court to explain the nature of any action against me, and upon my request, the court has the duty to answer. I have a question about the nature of this action. J: Well, what is that -- what do you want to know? Always ask them some easy questions first, as this establishes that they are answering. You ask: D: Well, Your Honor, is this a Civil or a Criminal Action? J: It is criminal. (If it were a civil action, there could be no fine, so it has to be criminal.) D: Thank you, Your Honor, for telling me that. Then the record will show that this action against [your name] is a criminal action, is that right? J: Yes. D: I would like to ask another question about this criminal action. There are two criminal jurisdictions mentioned in the Constitution: one is under the Common Law, and the other deals with International Maritime Contracts, under an Admiralty Jurisdiction. Equity is civil, and you said this is a Criminal action, so it seems it would have to be under either the Common Law, or Maritime Law. But what puzzles me, Your Honor, is that there is no corpus delecti here that gives this court a jurisdiction over my person and property under the Common Law. Therefore, it doesn't appear to me that this court is moving under the Common Law. J: No, I can assure you this court is not moving under the Common Law. D: Well, thank you, Your Honor, but now you make the charge against me even more difficult to understand. The only other criminal jurisdiction would apply only if there were an International Maritime Contract involved, I was a party to it, it had been breached, and the court was operating in an Admiralty Jurisdiction. I don't believe I have ever been under any International Maritime contract, so I would deny that one exists. I would have to demand that such a contract, if it does exist, be placed into evidence, so that I may contest it. But surely, this court is not operating under an Admiralty Jurisdiction. You just put the words in the judge's mouth. J: No. I can assure you, we're not operating under an Admiralty Jurisdiction. We're not out in the ocean somewhere -- we're right here in the middle of the State of [any State]. No, this is not an Admiralty Jurisdiction. D: Thank you, Your Honor, but now I am more puzzled than ever. If this charge is not under the Common Law, or under Admiralty -- and those are the only two criminal jurisdictions mentioned in the Constitution -- what kind of jurisdiction could this court be operating under? J: It's Statutory Jurisdiction. D: Oh, thank you, Your Honor. I'm glad you told me that. But I have never heard of that jurisdiction. So, if I have to defend under that, I would need to have the Rules of Criminal Procedure for Statutory Jurisdiction. Can you tell me where I might find those rules? There are no rules for Statutory Jurisdiction, so the judge will get very angry at this point and say: J: If you want answers to questions like that, you get yourself a licensed attorney. I'm not allowed to practice law from the bench. D: Oh, Your Honor, I don't think anyone would accuse you of practicing law from the bench if you just answer a few questions to explain to me the nature of this action, so that I may defend myself. J: I told you before, I am not going to answer any more questions. Do you understand that? If you ask any more questions in regards to this, I am going to find you in contempt of court! Now, if you can't afford a licensed attorney, the court will provide you with one. But, if you want those questions answered, you must get yourself a licensed attorney. D: Thank you, Your Honor, but let me just see if I got this straight. Has this court made a legal determination that it has authority to conduct a criminal action against me, the accused, under a secret jurisdiction, the rules of which are known only to this court and licensed attorneys, thereby denying me the right to defend my own person? He has no answer for that. The judge will probably postpone the case and eventually just let it go. In this way, you can be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove, but you must not go into court with a chip on your shoulder and as a wolf in "black sheep" country. Remember Jesus' words, "I send you out as sheep in wolf country. Be as wise as a serpent, and as harmless as a dove." Sheep do not attack wolves directly. Just be an innocent little lamb who just can't understand the charge, and remember -- they can't try you criminally if you don't understand the charge. That would be automatically a reversible error on appeal. The Social Security Problem If I were a young man, 18 or 20 years old and just starting out in my first job, I would not want Social Security. With my signature on the application I would write, "Without Prejudice UCC 1-207," and I would reserve my Common Law rights. But, why wouldn't I want Social Security today? I got into the Social Security system in the 1930's, and I paid into it dollars that had good purchasing power. Now, I'm getting a promised return in Federal Reserve Notes which have considerably less value. For example, in 1940, you could buy a deluxe Chevrolet for 800 dollars. With today's Federal Reserve Notes, that won't buy the rear fenders and trunk on a new Chevrolet. If I were a young man, I would not want to put Federal Reserve Notes into Social Security now, and get back something later like the German mark after World War I -- when it took a billion to buy a loaf of bread. They will give you every Federal Reserve Note back that they promised you, but it might not buy anything. Assurance Under the Uniform Commercial Code, you have the right, in any agreement, to demand a guarantee of performance. So, don't go to them and say, "I want to rescind my Social Security number," or "I refuse to take it." Just take it easy and say, "I would be happy to get a Social Security number and enter into this contract, but I have a little problem. How can I have assurance before I enter into this contract that the purchasing power of the Federal Reserve Notes I get back at the end of the contract will be as good as the ones that I pay in at the beginning? They can't guarantee that, and you have a right under the UCC to assurance of performance under the contract. So, tell them, "Well, I cannot enter this contract unless the government will guarantee to pay me at the end of the contract with the same value Federal Reserve Notes that I'm paying in. Both may be called Federal Reserve Notes, but you know that these Federal Reserve Notes don't hold their value. I want assurance on this contract that the Federal Reserve Notes that I get in my retirement will buy as much as the ones that I'm giving to you now in my working years." They can't make that guarantee. If they won't give you that guarantee, just say, "I'd be glad to sign this, but if you can't guarantee performance under the contract, I'm afraid I cannot enter the contract. Now, did you refuse or did they refuse? You can get the sections of the Uniform Commercial Code which grant the right to have assurance that the contract you have entered will be fulfilled properly -- that the return will equal the investment, and you can reject the contract using the Code. Using their own system of law, you can show that they cannot make you get into a contract of that nature. Just approach them innocently like a lamb. It is very important to be gentle and humble in all dealings with the government and the courts -- never raise your voice or show anger. In the courtroom, always be polite and build the judge up -- call him "Your Honor." Give him all the "honor" he wants. It does no good to be difficult, but rather be cooperative and ask questions in a way that leads the judge to say the things which you need to have in the record. The Court Reporter In many courts, there will be a regular court reporter. He gets his job at the judge's pleasure, so he doesn't want to displease the judge. The court reporter is sworn to give an accurate transcript of every word that is spoken in the courtroom. But, if the judge makes a slip of the tongue, he turns to his court reporter and says, "I think you had better leave that out of the transcript; just say I got a little too far ahead of you, and you couldn't quite get everything in." So, this will be missing from the transcript. In one case, we brought a licensed court reporter with us and the judge got very angry and said, "This court has a licensed court reporter right here, and the record of this court is this court reporter's record. No other court reporter's record means anything to this court." We responded with, "Of course, Your Honor, we're certainly glad to use your regular court reporter. But, you know, Your Honor, sometimes things move so fast that a court reporter gets a little behind, and doesn't quite keep up with it all. Wouldn't it be nice if we had another licensed court reporter in the courtroom, just in case your court reporter got a little behind, so that we could fill in from this other court reporter's data. I'm sure, Your Honor, that you want an accurate transcript. (I like to use the saying: give a bad dog a good name, and he'll live up to it!) The judge went along with it, and from that moment on, he was very careful of what he said. These are little tricks to getting around in court. This is how to be as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove when we enter into a courtroom. There are others using the same information presented here who end up in jail, handcuffed and hit over the head, because they approach the situation with a chip on their shoulder. They try to tell the judge what the law is and that he is a no-good scoundrel and so on. Just be wise and harmless. UCC 1-207 Review It is so important to know and understand the meaning of "Without Prejudice UCC 1-207" in connection with your signature, that we should go over this once more. It is very likely that a judge will ask you what it means. So, please learn and understand this carefully: The use of "Without Prejudice UCC 1-207" in connection with my signature indicates that I have reserved my Common Law right not to be compelled to perform under any contract that I did not enter into knowingly, voluntarily, and intentionally. And, furthermore, I do not accept the liability associated with the compelled benefit of any unrevealed contract or commercial agreement. Once you state that, it is all the judge needs to hear. Under the Common Law, a contract must be entered into knowingly, voluntarily and intentionally by both parties, or it can be declared void and unenforceable. You are claiming the right not to be compelled to perform under any contract that you did not enter into knowingly, voluntarily, and intentionally. And you do not accept the liability associated with the compelled benefit of any unrevealed contract or agreement. The compelled benefit is the privilege to use Federal Reserve Notes to discharge your debts with limited liability, rather than to pay your debts with silver coins. It is a compelled benefit, because there are no silver coins in circulation. You have to eat and you can only buy food with the medium of exchange provided by the government. You are not allowed to print your own money, so you are compelled to use theirs. This is the compelled benefit of an unrevealed commercial agreement. If you have not made a valid, timely and explicit reservation of your rights under UCC 1-207, and you simply exercise this benefit rendered by government, you will be obligated, under an implied agreement7, to obey every statute, ordinance and regulation passed by government at all levels -- federal, State and local. In Conclusion The editor of this transcript has taken great liberties in putting it to paper, in an effort to make it readable and somewhat compact. He wishes to offer his gratitude to Howard Freeman for the opportunity to work with information so absolutely vital to our survival as dignified, unenslaved human beings. He must also ask Mr. Freeman's forgiveness for any errors committed in getting this in print. The purpose of this transcript, as stated in the Foreword, is to make this knowledge and wisdom available to as many people as will take the time and trouble to read it. It is meant to be supplemental to Mr. Freeman's recorded lectures, not a substitute. Indeed, there is no substitute for hearing him present this material in his own words. It is not just the law and the facts that are important here, but the way they are used. His numerous reminders of Jesus' commission to be "... like sheep among wolves ..." cannot be overstated, and is certainly good advice to us in all dealings -- not just in court or with the government. Hearing him explain this in his own words brings to life the practical application and usefulness of being "wise" and "harmless." In fact, after being introduced to this approach, it becomes difficult to imagine that any other way of defending oneself from the government would be effective. It goes without saying that none of this information presented here is in any way, shape or form offered as legal advice. For that, as you know, you must "get yourself a licensed attorney." Having said that, I feel obligated to point out that one of the most difficult aspects of dealing with a licensed attorney -- even a good one -- may be knowing just whose side he is on. (He is, after all, an officer of the court!) So, for those of us who have concluded that having an attorney means that you will soon be chained, gagged and led to the gallows, this information may be indispensable. For the extraordinary challenges of appearing in court in one's own person -- in propria persona -- there are few reliable sources of information. Learning to defend ourselves, that is, being responsible instead of turning over one more area of our lives to "professionals," may be the only way to have any chance of digging ourselves out of this pit of legal tyranny. Perhaps the greatest problem we face in education today is the matter of widespread legal illiteracy. Naturally, there will always be a number of people who just don't care about these issues who either: (1) have a soft life which is supported and maintained by this secret system of law and the institutions which have grown up around it ("I can make a bundle buying these IRS-seized homes cheap and reselling them."), or (2) don't believe that anything can be done about it ("You can't fight city hall."), or (3) simply don't have the energy or inclination to do anything about it ("That's nice, but let's see what's on TV."). For those good "citizens," this whole effort may seem useless, or even threatening. But, it is this writer's view that God did not intend for us to spend our lives in statutory slavery for the benefit of a handful of secret world manipulators, even if the "masters" grant us some token pleasures and diversions. Human dignity requires much more than entertainment. The door is there and the key exists. We must find it and we must use it to return to freedom! Let us discover the mistakes we have made. Let us find truth. Let us apply it with meekness and wisdom, and let us gently but firmly reclaim the precious freedom which we have so foolishly given up. September 22, 1991 For More Information I encourage anyone who is interested enough to read this far to obtain a set of tapes of Howard Freeman and listen to them carefully. A donation of $4.00 per tape would be appropriate. This information was taken from tapes numbered 90-30, 90-31, 90-32 and 90-33, which may be ordered from: America's Promise Ministries c/o P. O. Box 157 Sandpoint, Idaho Postal Zone 83864/TDC (208) 265-5405 The next set of tapes (from 1991) are numbered 1004, 1005 and 1006, and contain vital material not found in this transcript. Footnotes: 1. Colorable. That which is in appearance only, and not in reality, what it purports to be, hence counterfeit, feigned, having the appearance of truth. Black's Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition. 2. Actually, it is better to use a rubber stamp, because this demonstrates that you had previously reserved your rights. The simple fact that it takes several days or a week to order and get a stamp, shows that you had reserved your rights before signing the document. 3. Anderson, Uniform Commercial Code, Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company. 4. It is very important to get it into the record that you do not understand the charges. With that in the record, the court cannot move forward to judge the facts. This will be covered later on page 19. 5. For more about this, see page 18. 6. UCC 3-415. "Accommodation Party." One who signs commercial paper in any capacity for the purpose of lending his name to another party to the instrument. Such a party is a surety." (Surety: "One who undertakes to pay money or to do some other act in the event that his principal fails therein.") 7. See UCC 1-201. General Definitions (3): "Agreement means the bargain of the parties in fact as found in their language or by implication from other circumstances including courses, dealing or usage of trade or course of performance." # # # Return to Table of Contents for Howard Freeman ________________________________________________________________________ Protect your privacy! - Get Freedom 2.0 at http://www.freedom.net