Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with and interviewing Lynn Vogel--the owner of the website 20Turns.com. Lynn has a unique outlook on protests and--for those who work for a living and can’t make it to out of town rallies--has a recommendation for protests against the tyranny in Washington D.C. in which almost all can participate.
To offer a bit of perspective on Lynn’s background, he writes: “A child of the 60's, I watched from my father's lap as the riots and protests of the times mingled with Walter Cronkite's war reports. I grew up aware that our great nation and the preservation of our Constitutional Republic would become the duty and obligation of those of us who understood the hard work and sacrifice of others who provided this for us. My father made it very clear that efforts were underway to undermine all that made the United States great and he instilled in me the sense of duty to resist such changes.
“The future was technology so my advanced education began with a degree
in Electronic Technology followed by years of Economics, Business
Administration and Industrial Management. I am an avid amateur historian because to understand the problems of government and societies we must know the mistakes and successes of our past.”
The Interview
Sher: Lynn, thanks so much for your time today. I’m intrigued by the
idea you have for a National call to action via a National Day of Protest that your Group “20turns.com” has planned for 13 March 2011. Rather than telling patriots that they need to march on Washington D.C., your idea allows anyone to protest almost wherever they are. Please tell us how the planned protest developed and how all of us can join in to tell elected federal officials in Washington D.C.--especially the Marxist-Leninist Democrats--that we’ve reached our breaking point in our national bondage, as they’re still not listening to us.
Lynn: This project began with an idea from General Vallely and his group at SUA. (www,standupamericaus.com) The General wanted to launch a National Call to Action campaign designed to combine and focus energies. We were asked to help develop some ideas for the Call to Action and that was the beginning. I wanted something different, something more than an afternoon of being ignored by the major media while standing around holding signs. I believed most patriots are ready to stand and be counted but few have the time or finances for a trip to DC. We have seen over 1 million at the National Mall only to have them brushed off as a few crazy astro-turfers. Coverage of such events is always light and the returns on the effort are minimal.
I wanted a method that any concerned patriot could employ close to home
with minimal investment but, would be impossible to ignore. I wanted
something that could be covered so broadly by local media outlets the
national news groups could not kill the story. I pondered this for awhile
and suddenly woke up at 3 a.m. with the idea complete in my mind. I wrote
down details, shared with SUA the next morning and one day later, we were
promoting it. It just happened.
Sher: Would you give us a bit of background on how 20 Turns developed?
Lynn: Like many groups today, The 20 Turns Project grew out of frustration with the obvious source of our nations ills. Using the elections of 2010 & 2012 to TURN this nation back to control by We the People. It is my sincere belief that most of our troubles can be traced directly back to the career congressmen who are firmly entrenched in DC serving themselves first, their spider webs of donors and lobbyists second and their constituents
when they believe it will help in the next election. We identified 8 criteria for voters to use to vet candidates during the primary process and we asked them to confront candidates with these points to see the heart of the person and their true intent in seeking office. Packaged as the “8 Point Pledge of 20 Turns.” This is that pledge for voters:
The 8 Point Pledge of 20 Turns
1. I Pledge to vote against any politician that fails to protect and defend
the Constitution of the United States.
2. I Pledge to end the Congressional Crisis by voting in 2010 and 2012
to remove every career politician in Congress.
3. I Pledge my vote only to candidates that will promise no new spending programs until failed programs are repaired or eliminated.
4. I Pledge to only support candidates that have experience in a successful private business, not career politicians.
5. I Pledge my vote only to candidates that promise, practice and support permanent Term Limits for Congress and ending Congressional pension programs and retirement benefits.
6. I Pledge my vote only to candidates that will work to end the influence
of professional paid lobbyists and their campaign dollars.
7. I Pledge my vote only to those that will stop the voter fraud and manipulation which is corrupting our election process.
8. I Pledge to abandon any political party whose candidates serve themselves and the party instead of We, the People.
Thousands of copies of this Pledge were downloaded and distributed at
Tea Party and Town Hall events. Many people used them as they spoke
with candidates and they demanded to know if the candidate would back
that pledge. We are proud to say this resulted in exposing questions
about the motives of some real bad apples who did drop out of the
races. We posted a state by state list at our site showing all who
would or would not agree. It got more hits than we had even hoped for.
We also had a companion booklet available for free downloads
illustrating the problems inherent with career Congressman. That
booklet, 20 turns, is still available, free of charge, at our site.
Sher: You’re partnered with Gen. Paul E. Vallely’s (Ret) group Stand Up
America. How did that come about and how has it been beneficial to both
of your organizations?
Lynn: Somehow, the news of our 8 Point Pledge campaign and our state list of candidates responses was discovered by the General's staff. Scott
Winchell is the national director and Managing Editor for SUA and he
contacted me about using some of our work in their site. We have
gradually developed and solid working partnership with them. We are in
absolute agreement about the nature of our ills and the path to restoring
our nation so we have been very happy working together toward our common goals. Both of our groups have a reliable network of very sharp patriots with various skills and areas of expertise. By working together we share info with each others’ memberships and we are able to join efforts for
developing projects like the Call to Action and particularly the 3/13
Nationwide Patriot Protest. We are all stronger and smarter by uniting
and combining our talents and numbers.
Sher: When we talked, you said that there are five more projects that you
have planned throughout the rest of this year. Would you give us an idea as to what they are?
Lynn: I'd rather not give too much detail yet because our opposition has
already moved to counter the 3/13 event and I do not wish to tip our hand
to them. However, I can say that all future projects will share the same
strategy of easy participation coast to coast and in your neighborhood
with little effort. The most complicated event will involve horses and
family-fun but all will be interesting and will provide a forum for
patriots to demonstrate their grievances in a peaceful way.
Sher: One of the most intriguing pages on your site is Project Clean
Sweep. In fact, it’s both revolutionary and brilliant. Can you give us a synopsis?
Lynn: It is interesting to me that people often call it revolutionary. I
prefer to think of it as a definite action to halt the revolution we are
all now witnessing. The problems of corruption, anti- Constitution and
self serving government go much deeper than just the few officials we are
able to vote for every few years. Those that seek to destroy our Republic
have been infiltrating our system--top to bottom--for decades. They are in
many levels of our bureaucracies and even our courts. Some we cannot vote
out because we'd have to vote for a worse choice from another party.
Others never come up for election. I refuse to believe we are simply ‘stuck’
with a government full of brigands that openly violate our Constitution
and often, their sworn oaths of office.
I believe our Founding Fathers made it clear to us that it is our duty
as free citizens to watch for this type of bad behavior and take
whatever steps necessary to correct the situation as circumstances
demand. This is clear in the words of our Declaration of Independence,
the Federalist Papers and the individual writings of these great
Patriots. They did not warn us to be vigilant so we could be spectators
of our own destruction. We were warned to be watchful and demand that
our government be limited to the Constitutional powers our Founders knew
government officials would try to exceed. It is time to identify the
culprits, remove them and replace them through a series of peaceful,
organized special elections. Waiting decades to accomplish this through
a traditional series of corrupt elections they control simply will not
work. I do not believe a true patriot can read Clean Sweep and reach any
other logical conclusion.
Sher: Thank so much, Lynn, and remind us once again what we can do to
assist in gaining OUR country back on 3/13/11.
Lynn: 3/13 can truly become a turning point for the restoration of our
Constitutional Republic. But, only if patriots determine to act for their
own benefit. 3/13 provides a platform for each and every concerned
patriot to make their demands known and to show the true combined
strength of our numbers. We are counting on patriots in Utah and
California to take to the roads at the same time as the patriots in New
Jersey and Maryland to show that we are a truly united group that will
NOT accept the end of our Constitution and our traditions of rights and
freedoms. We have the numbers to easily make 3/13 the largest national
patriot protest in the history of this nation. A national protest of this
size cannot be ignored by the media or the powers in Washington D.C. We
need friends to talk to friends and all to contact their local media and
their party headquarters. Spread the word, it costs nothing to do. Get
your protest signs ready and decide where you will meet your fellow
patriots and on 3/13, meet there and take your protests to the roads
which all of us have paid for. Complete information is available at the
website but there is no one who cannot find a way to help if they are
serious about saving this nation for the future of our children. It is
our time, our duty. This nation must NOT be lost on our watch.
Thank-you Sher, for this opportunity to reach out to all who are sincere
about saving this great nation.
Sher Zieve is a long-time syndicated columnist who generally writes columns of a politically Conservative and Constitutional nature. She also interviews notable people with an interesting and/or newsworthy story to tell. These include politicians, writers, activists and others in the news. Her work has been and continues to be carried by both national and international publications. Sher appears regularly on national talk shows.