This is an addendum to my earlier post. I agree with Socal. The forum belongs to Elias. What he does with it is none of my business.
Jamie, there are two answers to your statement. In one sense, I do own it, but that is only for legal purposes. I'm the guy who stuck his neck out and copyrighted the site long ago, so that the fedgov goonies would come for me if the site ran amuck or "terrorized" the community. It's registered to me, and I hold the copyright on it. But that doesn't mean I own it in other ways, in ways which are very important to me psychologically and emotionally and morally. My ownershp of the site is purely a matter of legality so the site can exist on the World Wide Web.
However, on the other hand, when Claire wanted to sell these forums and I queried her about the price she expected, I was told she wanted fifteen hundred dollars for the site.
Let me be clear here: I did not give Claire Wolfe that fifteen hundred bucks. The members here did. I just helped start the project of raising money to pay her for the place. Lots of folks pitched in. And although it took us a while, we got her paid in full some time later.
During that transition from The Claire Files Forums to The Mental Militia, I met with the other Admins here and voluntarily negated any special consideration to myself for any perceived or imagined reason. I told the Admins that I did not want to control this place, but that instead I felt it would be best if the Admins -- as a group -- controlled it. So I relegated myself voluntarily to the holder of "one vote" on any issue which came before the Administration of the site. Any other Admin has as much weight here as I do, and I asked that it be that way.
So, in that light, I really do not prefer to go about saying I "own" this place. And it is certainly not mine to do with as I wish, because I relinquished that right of my own free will back in 2007 when it became TMM. I did not then, nor do I now, wish to take command of what comes of this site, which is why I've merely asked what the members here think of the idea of letting me promote the site. I went down to the Bundy ranch, and I've assimilated much press regarding Oath Keepers in Ferguson, Missouri. I've been around the block a time or two, including a march at Quartzsite, Arizona and criss-crossing trips between North Carolina and Washington State. I met Claire in 2003 and was fortunate enough to meet her again; and she and I still correspond. We are dear friends, as I consider many of the people here and the Admins here also. I note such things because I think Claire and the Admins here would verify what I've said above, that I am not interested in "taking" this place, and am not interested in running it unless an overwhelming majority of the regulars and Admins here voluntarily grant me that permission.
What I would do is use my experience in the liberty movement over the past fourteen years as a mental balance in introducing ideas which would make this place not only more popular but also more pro-active in the MindWar tyranny now being unleashed upon the American people. I'm on the Board of Directors of the organization which has twice this year fielded American patriots on-scene with loaded firearms in the face of government troops and police. I'm an associate producer of the upcoming movie, MIDNIGHT RIDE, so named after Paul Revere's famous April 18, 1775 midnight ride to alert the people to the fact that General Gage had sent out of Boston a formation of British soldiers to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock, whilst retrieving some, uhm, "liberated" fire power the Colonists had stashed at Concord. This movie is about the four types of "martial law", and is inspired by Dr. Edwin Vieira's newest book, "
By Tyranny Out Of Necessity: The Bastardy of Martial Law". Oath Keepers is helping produce the film, and the film is packed with Oath Keepers officers, including myself I'm proud to say. The knowledge and information contained in this movie is the answer to the coming police state and its "martial law".
My idea for TMM is much bigger than just sending Oath Keepers here to stir up arguments. What some here will be surprised to grok is the fact that I'm the editor for Oath Keepers' national website and I've been for years now sharing libertarian and Voluntaryist philosophy with the cops and soldiers who are in our membership. There are also a lot of retired military and Veterans, and plenty of retired cops, and those folks are ripe for being shown a new light on what the Constitution after all is supposed to protect for we the people, including our privacy, our freedom, and all the things related to those things as listed in the Bill of Rights. The movie MOLON LABE, which came out over a year ago, has in its ending screen credits the name The Mental Militia. As I was an associate producer on that film I proudly inserted this place in the credits because I wanted The Mental Militia to be a part of the record, to be a part in the spreading of the message of the Second Amendment, especially on the first part of that Amendment, the part which talks about a "...well regulated Militia". TMM will also be in the end credits for MIDNIGHT RIDE. The viewers of that film will largely exceed the viewership in Oath Keepers -- it's a really big country out there, and because of Bundy ranch and Ferguson and many other interwoven circumstances and situations, I find myself in a very unique position to spread the word of this place to many more Americans than the membership of Oath Keepers.
More on all this laters. I've got to get back to work here. I hope I have, however, set the record straight about my relationship with The Mental Militia. I'm not going to do one thing with this place without majority approval up front, and without majority approval of the Admins as well. Like I said, I've got other venues available to me. I just would *like* to convert TMM back into what it used to be, and put it to good use in the ongoing fight against tyranny. But that is not my call, just an idea I'm offering here.
Salute!
Elias
Poll
24 (75%)