The NL pursuit is the result of many years of careful consideration. After refinement it was recently made public in late November 2010 by means of an introductory YouTube video. So we're at the very start of making this opportunity known and gathering interest in it. Hide

Currently the leadership of the NL pursuit comes from Terry Parks. Terry, 62, developed the NL vision and plan over several years, and he is New Liberty Trust's founder and first trustee. He has taken part in interviews and articles, some of which may be accessed on this website.

Terry and others assisting him are now seeking and assembling those who are ready to become the founding citizens of NL. Also sought are committed leaders and volunteers of like mind and spirit who are willing and able to use their skills and resources to help bring NL to life. A trustee council for New Liberty Trust is anticipated to soon increase and broaden the leadership base in order to facilitate NL's establishment as soon as possible. Hide

We of the initial leadership plan to lead the NL pursuit only until NL's homeland has been secured, the NL constitution is adopted, and the first government has been elected by the founding citizens. Hide

No. Only those who are eligible under NL's founding citizenship criteria, and who are also ready and willing to take the bold step to embrace more freedom than they now have, should consider being a part of the NL pursuit. NL is not, and cannot possibly ever be, the answer for everyone seeking true freedom at this time when liberty is being choked out by tyranny. Even when it reaches its full capacity NL will only be able to accommodate a tiny fraction of the freedom-minded people in the world. We're hopeful that NL will become an example, and that it will encourage others to establish many other small, free nations. Hide

Yes, but with clear qualification. Though we know that no person or group has a corner on all wisdom and beneficial ideas, we're obviously people of strong, long-held views and perspectives about the vital principles and important practical components required for true and long-lasting ultra-freedom. We attempt to keep an open mind and a willingness to consider the merits of all sincerely and succinctly presented thoughts, ideas and suggestions that are compatible with the philosophy and principles of NL, but only those meant to refine them and not replace them.

We have no interest in becoming bogged down or sidetracked by long and drawn-out interactions and debates on the various elements of the NL pursuit. It's our view that those who hold fundamentally differing philosophies and approaches from ours should simply go ahead with their own ideas and pursue them in some way, just as we are. One of the great things about exercising freedom is that we don't all have to agree, so we can all pursue our own choices and opportunities as we see fit. The need for many new places of liberty is great, so there's certainly plenty of room to take different paths. Hide

The three essential NL principles, each with a key word starting with “G”, are these:

(1) The GOD principle. Our existence and all of our essential innate human rights, values and responsibilities are provided to us by God, our Creator, who is the Sovereign of the universe, and thus of all nations. He has revealed sufficient truth so that we may all know how to rightly and justly live before Him and with others in ways that are honoring to Him. Nations that honor Him and seek true and enduring liberty will be guided and blessed on their way.

(2) The GOVERNING principle. Under God, an honorable human government of free people derives its authority, responsibility and limits directly from those it serves. Such a government will always protect and defend liberty while being as minimal in its size, scope and impact as its responsibility will permit. It fulfills its God-given role through wise and trustworthy servant leaders who exercise impartial and faithful service to all who are governed, and only for their benefit. It equally protects the rights of each and all by upholding and abiding by the terms of its established covenants. It administers justice in wise, efficient, effective, impartial and merciful ways, as the necessary purposes of true justice require.

(3) The GOLDEN RULE principle. The fundamental and essential God-authored standard for honorable and responsible living before Him and with others is commonly known to us as the golden rule. The golden rule is essentially our responsibility to treat others as we rightfully and reasonably would want and expect to be treated. People who are truly free understand and uphold this basic law of life and liberty, both as individuals and as a nation. Specific laws and regulations emanating from this principle that are deemed by the people to be necessary for sufficient clarity, and all actions and behaviors of each individual, may be justly construed in light of and with accountability to this principle.

Together, these principles constitute what we call “God-honoring, responsible freedom”. Hide

NL won't declare itself to be a Christian nation. We believe that democratic nations shouldn't in any way attempt to become or to be viewed as entities of religious or spiritual authority. The role of a servant government is the essential protection of the life and liberty of each and all citizens.

It's very likely that a majority of NL citizens will self-identify as being Christians, but many others will likely not. People may individually choose to self-indentify religiously or spiritually if they choose, but democratic nations should not.

There will be no question on the citizenship application regarding personal religious or spiritual orientation or affiliation. Furthermore, no religious or spiritual declaration or identification will be required in order to hold any position of public service in NL. Therefore, NL citizens may refer to themselves in any way they may choose, if they choose to do so at all.

Because common agreement with NL principles is a condition of citizenship, NL citizens won't be atheists, agnostics, or even what may be called rational deists. Rational deists generally don't believe in an involved personal God as the absolute source of our rights, values and responsibilities. This is because rational deists don't require any source other than nature and/or human reasoning. Rational deists essentially hold that there is some kind of divine providence existent in the universe, but they do not generally concern themselves with any human accountability to such a distant deity.

Beyond the necessary agreement with NL principles, there will be many and varied personal views among NL citizens with regard to matters of life, religion, spirituality and theology. Differing personal views may and will be freely and openly held and expressed as each citizen may choose, including in association with others. Those who are in public service positions will have the exact same rights of speech, expression and practice with regard to religion or spirituality as all other citizens. However, no one may use their public service position to carry out any personal agenda or impose any personal views and beliefs on others through their position.

No, not in any way. We in current leadership and the vision of NL itself are totally against government-ordered collectivism and all cult-like practices, which are both by their nature anti-freedom. On the contrary, other than the essential NL principles, no other views are necessary to be commonly shared or declared in NL. All NL citizens may live and associate with others if and as they may choose. Hide

No. NL will be a constitutional democracy, with its citizens being openly committed to living according to the NL principles. So-called theocracies commonly claim to make their decisions and receive their collective directions and requirements from their particular deity through their religious leaders, such as divine kings, a pope, bishops, prophets, apostles, priests, clerics, or other living religious authorities and councils. These directions and requirements are then imposed on all of the people under their authority.

All public governing policies and decisions in NL will be in keeping with the known NL principles, governed by the open Public Accountability Covenant Trust (PACT) and the NL constitution. All public policy and decisions will be enacted through direct voting of the citizens themselves. We hold that God is willing and able to guide the individual citizens in their choices and their votes, just as He is willing and able to guide those who serve in public positions of leadership to carry out the determinations of the citizens with wisdom and faithfulness. Hide

We're convinced that the U.S. has already gone far beyond the point of rescue, and that all well-intentioned attempts to restore freedom in America at this stage will ultimately prove to be a mission of futility. Miracles can and do happen, and we aren't claiming to know or proclaim the future. We're only making an obvious and reasoned observation based on the open evidence. Nations all come and go over time. America and many other nations we see today have each had their births, their times of glory and greatness, and are now in one stage or another of their death watch.

There is of course considerable disagreement about these matters among freedom-minded people. We're ready to present our views to all who are interested, but beyond that we won't be attempting to argue with or persuade others who may strongly disagree with our view and our pursuit of NL in light of it.

Even if the U.S. were not a dying nation with growing tyranny, the concept of going for more and longer-lasting liberty in another place would still be a worthy pursuit. America is by no means the freest nation that man could ever have and enjoy. It's been an experiment in a certain type and degree of liberty, but the world has yet to see just how free a nation can be. We hope to make NL a shining example of that. Hide

We think that any attempt to fundamentally change any region or state within the U.S. will suffer the same tyranny along with the rest of the nation. Secession was attempted by many states at one time in U.S. history, and we all know what happened. There's far less will for secession today than there was back then, and federal-state ties and tyranny are stronger now than they've ever been.

Therefore, those of us who are leading the NL pursuit aren't looking to reform or promote the secession of any state or even remain within the U.S. or its territories. We don't want to be here when the anticipated major effects of the coming catastrophe and crushing tyranny are out in the open and their full force is being felt by all. No cabin inside a sinking ship has ever provided a safer harbor for anyone. Hide

The seeds of destruction of liberty that have grown and taken over in the U.S. are also present and having the same effects in virtually all other developed and so-called free countries in the world. It appears that all other countries claiming freedom have adopted many if not most of the same approaches, policies and mind-sets as the U.S., or worse. So they've been infected with the same deadly diseases that are now killing America. The stage, pace and extent of the demise of each country may be different from the U.S., but the results will eventually be generally the same.

A new home of true liberty is what many of us are seeking, not merely going for a form of “liberty lite” in some other sick and dying place in this world. NL is intended to be a place of rich and full liberty, and we want to avoid everything less that would distract us or work against that vision and goal. Hide

No. There's always a time for taking wise actions in light of any jeopardy and danger. It's too easy, and extremely simplistic, to use derogatory phrases such as “bailing out”, “cutting and running” or “rats leaving a sinking ship” about a departure from a serious danger or some lost cause. Deriding others and calling them names often comes from weak or baseless positions. Saying things of this nature to the freedom-minded pilgrims and pioneers who decide to relocate for greater liberty is an example of that.

Even if a decision to relocate and start fresh somewhere else is made for the purpose of improving one's life and situation, there's absolutely no dishonor of any kind in doing that. On the contrary, it can be very wise and responsible. Telling someone who understands the futility of staying in a place and fighting an obviously losing battle that he is somehow “bailing out” or “cutting and running”, is to say that the only wise choice that one can ever make in any crisis of life is to stay and fight on, even if you're virtually sure to be wiped out if you do.

Many are of the view that if you are made of good stuff and you love your heritage you'll just hang in there, put up with whatever comes, and fight on, no matter what the issues are or how futile the cause may be. But when a forest fire is raging and obviously about to completely consume one's home, even if that grand old house has been in the family for hundreds of years and represents a rich heritage, it can still be the wisest and most responsible thing to do to just let it go and leave it, and not stay inside with your family and get torched along with it.

There's everything right and nothing wrong in going where we can preserve the precious life and liberty that we and our families hold dear, or to seek the kind of liberty somewhere else that we no longer realistically have available to us where we are. Staying, suffering, dying and forfeiting liberty for a lost cause isn't necessarily a noble thing to do at all. It can be a very foolish thing. Living for and pursuing a worthy cause such as one's liberty is virtually always noble and wise. Dying for a worthy cause may at times be just as noble and wise. It all depends on what's at stake, and the alternatives that are available to us.

As for “rats leaving a sinking ship”, it wouldn't be right to denigrate rats for perhaps having much more sense than passengers do at times when ships are going down. Were the Titanic's passengers who escaped in lifeboats that fateful night somehow “rats” for abandoning ship? Why would we on one hand applaud millions of immigrants who've honorably come to the U.S. to escape danger, destruction and tyranny in their homeland, leaving behind their homes and rich heritage, and then on the other hand deride those who decide for the very same reasons to leave the U.S. To go to other places for greater freedom?

The brave and noble founders of the U.S. were once themselves loyal English citizens who gave up their citizenship and connection to their heritage to start something new and better. Were they “bailing out”, “cutting and running”, or “rats” for doing that? Freedom, if it means anything, certainly means having the choice to select the place and context where we want to pursue that freedom. No nation has ever had a monopoly on liberty, and that includes America.

Many, if not most who are considering and participating in the NL pursuit have already expended a significant amount of time and effort, working hard and long in their lives over the years to preserve and restore liberty in the U.S. The U.S. is their birthplace, and/or it has been their choice for life and the enjoyment of liberty in the past. Many have even sacrificed greatly by risking their lives serving honorably in the U.S. military, or in other law enforcement and public service capacities. These are not cowards or turncoats. They are perhaps even braver than most Americans.

There's a time and a place in our lives for everything. There's a time to stay and help to try to restore liberty, if that is thought possible and worthwhile, and there's a time to leave an apparently futile effort and lost cause behind in the wise pursuit of life and liberty elsewhere. If staying in some certain region or nation, such as the U.S., or honoring your geographical, family and political heritage by staying where you are is your higher priority, then you'll likely choose to remain and try to preserve it at all costs, whatever that cost may be, even if your liberty and that of your family is lost in the process. But if liberty itself is your higher priority, then you'll likely seek it wherever you can best find it or establish it.

We all have our priorities, and we'll generally reflect them by our actions. So let each one choose. Hide

Likely no more than any other place on earth. And it will probably actually be much less of a target.

Exploiters and enemies of freedom are very often insidious, and they're active everywhere. They can be both inside and outside any country. The NWO (new world order) advocates continue their constant march, and they can create a lot of trouble and put pressure on any nation. Liberty in NL will have to be diligently guarded and defended for sure, just as it must be everywhere in the world where it exists.

But history is a witness to the fact that most nations are overcome and destroyed from within. It also teaches us that nations, including very small ones, that are peaceful, wise and responsible, and that refuse to meddle and interfere in the sovereign affairs of other nations, are the least likely to be targeted and attacked by others, including other larger nations. Countries that are responsible, humble and mind their own business, while carefully guarding their own liberty, are among the most secure and peaceful places on earth.

We can't shrink from pursuing liberty just because there may be threats to it existing in this world. Just as we shouldn't shrink from pursuing life just because the reality of death exists. So we believe it's a wise and worthy thing to take the approach we're taking in pursuing New Liberty. Hide

The many end-time prophecies and speculations vary widely in their content and timing. Even if one may hold the view that there is a coming world-wide political system, or an impending cataclysmic destruction that will bring an end to all nations and all life on earth, such a view still shouldn't stand in our way of meanwhile doing good, responsible and constructive things while there is yet time to do them. Such views don't in the least affect our responsibility and opportunity to always seek liberty, peace and justice in this world, to provide for and protect others, and to attempt to defeat or get out from under tyranny as we may have the occasion to do so.

While there is yet another sunrise and sunset on planet earth, we still have our very same responsibilities, aspirations and values to pursue, and we believe we should. Those who would point to a future total destruction of everything built by man, including nations, as an argument that no wise person should expend any time or energy building anything new or better for themselves or others, wouldn't likely hold to such an argument in any other realm. If they were consistent, then they should hold that since the expected end of the physical body of all human beings is known to be death and decay, then nothing healthy or beneficial for the human body should be futilely pursued in this life by any who are wise.

Without knowing the precise motives of those who hold to views promoting non-action in various realms, it's nevertheless true that passivity and resignation regarding the future, or even an aversion to earthly involvements, responsibilities and opportunities, can at times become a convenient cover and righteous-sounding excuse used by some who are personally unwilling or are afraid to effectively use what God has given them productively.

NL is an effort to be faithful and good stewards before God and on behalf of others, using all that we've been given, however and for as long as we have opportunity. Hide

Any adult 18 or older living anywhere in the world who agrees with the NL principles, has good character, can speak English proficiently, and has adequate skills and/or other financial resources to be self-supporting in NL, is eligible to apply to become an NL founding citizen.

If his application is approved and he is issued an FCR (founding citizenship reservation), then his minor children (under age 18) he has listed, whether by birth, adoption or under recognized guardianship, or any adult mentally disabled children or close relatives being cared for, will each also automatically be issued an FCR without the need to meet any further requirements. Each adult in a family or household, including spouses and other adults living together, must make an individual FCR application if one is desired.

Existing citizens of the transitioning NL homeland nation will be among the first to become NL founding citizens, unless for some reason individuals among them fail to meet special basic qualifications necessary for their NL founding citizenship.

There will be a limit to the number of FCRs that will be ultimately issued, and that number is not yet established. There are also four major advantages to being listed earlier on the FCR list than later, so early FCR application is an important consideration. An equally important consideration is having all adult family or household members apply for an FCR in close proximity of time to one another to be on the final list together with no one missing or unable to claim NL citizenship at or near the same time. Hide

Besides the fact that NL cannot be established for the benefit of any until we first have enough FCRs in place, there are four major advantages available to you if you apply and are added to the FCR list as early as possible.

One advantage is that you'll be assured of your founding citizenship reservation, and that you and your loved ones who hold an FCR won't be later denied because you waited too long to apply and the final FCR limit was reached.

A second advantage is that the order and timing of claiming your NL founding citizenship due to your position on the FCR list may become an extremely important factor as national, world and political events and catastrophes unfold. The sooner one has claimed an NL citizenship the better. Such things as financial disaster, or the enactment of martial law and various restrictions on travel and movement could come into play before some on the FCR list may be able to get to NL, or claim their NL founding citizenship and have approved access to NL.

A third advantage is that the earlier you, your friends and your loved ones appear on the FCR list the better and broader your choice will be from among the limited number of available types, sizes and locations of the NL land leases. This is no small matter. Having an earlier position on the FCR list you'll stand a much better chance of getting just the kind of land lease situation you prefer. And when the available land lease selection is still broad your friends and loved ones can more easily locate near you on the kind of land leases they too prefer.

A fourth advantage has to do with the cost of the land leases. For several reasons NL land lease costs will be lower earlier in the selection process than they will be later. Your earlier position on the FCR list could save you money both initially and over the entire life of your land lease.

For these important reasons we highly recommend that you apply for an FCR as soon as possible, and we also recommend that you encourage your family, friends and others you know to do the same. Hide

No. NL citizens may choose to live in NL or anywhere else at any time. There is no minimum residency time required to be spent in NL to maintain NL citizenship. It should be kept clearly in mind that each adult citizen must be signed onto an NL land lease, and the land lease must be current to maintain NL citizenship. The land lease may be on a very small parcel of land in NL that's totally unimproved, if that's what the NL citizen chooses. Hide

We're not able to state a certain number because that number will depend on several factors that are as yet unknown. Among those factors is the size and infrastructure capacity of NL's homeland. However, though by no means assured, we do anticipate that it's realistic that the required initial number of NL founding citizens will be at least 10,000, and the future full citizenship capacity of NL will hopefully be 50,000 to 100,000 or more. Hide

Yes. There will be no restriction on the number of citizenships an NL citizen may have. Hide

NL citizenship will be conditional, but it can certainly also be lifelong.

Unlike other nations, NL citizens will only be those who in their actions and behavior live responsible lives by upholding the NL principles they've agreed to keep under the terms of the Public Accountability Covenant Trust (PACT). NL citizens who objectively prove themselves to be irresponsible by seriously or chronically violating the NL principles or others' rights, will not be tolerated. Those who live irresponsibly won't be involuntarily placed in rehabilitation programs or punished in prisons. Nor will all of the other responsible NL citizens have to continually live with, put up with, and pay for the costly destructive actions of those who prove to be an impediment to their enjoyment of freedom, security and peace in NL.

If an NL citizenship has been revoked, that individual must then promptly leave NL and go elsewhere, with no allowance made to return to NL. Citizenship revocation may also include the payment of a public fine or restitution to those who were harmed in some way. Some responsible person who is on the NL citizenship waiting list will then have an opportunity to take the place of the one departing. Because of the "God-honoring, responsible freedom" approach to citizenship, NL won't have any prisons, and true freedom will have the best chance of surviving and thriving.

We believe that NL's character as a nation must be wisely and soundly preserved if liberty itself is to be preserved. All living and thriving things on earth, including nations, must be wise and diligent to the degree they're able to rid themselves of serious impediments and threats to their ongoing health and life. NL will do just that to preserve life and liberty for each and all of its responsible citizens and posterity. Hide

After the full justice process has been applied, the essential cause of the loss of NL citizenship will be an obvious lack of commitment to the NL principles. This may or may not involve the commission of one or more offenses, such as abusing or endangering others or their property, being chronically lazy and a needless burden on others, willfully avoiding paying debts, defrauding, stealing, being a public nuisance, promoting open immorality, etc. Depending on seriousness and circumstances, actions and behaviors such as these may be judged by a jury of peers and an appellate judge panel to warrant revocation of NL citizenship. In cases of extremely egregious offenses such as murder, child molestation, forcible rape or treason, the penalty may be capital punishment rather than a loss of citizenship. Hide

Until the limit for FCRs is reached, if you believe you're eligible to hold an FCR you can apply for it. You may submit your FCR application by clicking on the “Citizenship Application” tab on the homepage of this site, completing the application, including with it your $100 (USD) founding citizenship reservation deposit and mailing it to New Liberty Trust. If you're approved you'll soon receive the FCR in writing.

We've tried to make the FCR application as simple and streamlined as possible, yet sufficient for its purpose. You'll note that you won't be asked for any government-issued ID or “social security” numbers to identify yourself. Nor will any credit report of any kind be used in this process.

The FCR application will be promptly processed as soon as we receive it along with the $100 reservation deposit. It's important to remember that each adult (18 and older) desiring to hold an FCR, even if a spouse or in the same family or household with another FCR applicant or holder, must submit an individual FCR application. If the FCR application is not approved for any reason, or if a spouse or other adult in the family is denied and FCR and the family wants to therefore withdraw any or all of their related applications, then the $100 FCR reservation deposit will be fully refunded.

Each refund will be delivered within 20 business days following written notice of the denial, or from the date of a second written denial after an appeal, or from the date that we receive written notice of a decision to withdraw the application as a family member based on the denial of one or more family member applications. FCR denials may be appealed within 10 days following the date that the denial was received by the applicant. Any withdrawal and request for a reservation deposit refund due to another family member's denial must be made in writing within 10 days following receipt of the denial by the denied family member.

Subject to the exception of the family withdrawal provision, once an applicant has been issued an FCR the $100 reservation deposit will immediately become nonrefundable, even if for any reason the FCR is never actually used by the FCR holder to claim NL founding citizenship. This nonrefundable deposit policy includes the instance of an FCR holder for any reason later becoming ineligible to hold the FCR, and therefore it is canceled. Hide

Each and every adult must individually meet the eligibility requirements to be an NL founding citizen, regardless of one's relationship to any other FCR applicants and holders.

Therefore, each adult 18 and older who intends to hold an FCR must fill out his or her own application, even if married or a part of the same family or household. This is also true of spouses, family and household members who will later turn 18 before the end of calendar year 2011. If any individual in a family happens to turn 18 after the FCR list limit has been reached, there is no assurance at that point that such an individual, even if a spouse or within the same family, will be able to then hold an FCR. He or she will at that point be considered for an FCR, if available, on exactly the same basis as every other adult who is making application at that time.

Being a non-disabled adult child or relative of one or more family members who already hold an FCR won't by itself be any advantage with regard to priority in receiving an FCR, unless the FCR application is received at or near the time of the FCR application of the other spouse or family member. Therefore, to protect against such an unfortunate situation, there's a more sure thing for spouses, families and households to do. We strongly recommend that all family and household members who are now 16 or older should each submit an individual adult application at this time for an FCR. Those minors 16 or 17 applying for an FCR will require a parent or guardian's consent signature on the FCR application, unless the applicant is now a legally emancipated person.

By taking this safer approach, any uncertainty about one or more family or household members later becoming adults and missing out on an FCR due to the timing of the application can be a settled issue. Even if such an FCR held by a minor is never used by the family or household member, the $100 nonrefundable FCR deposit can still be a very affordable and wise protection measure against any family or household member not being able to later hold an FCR. No adult 18 or older can become an NL founding citizen and live in NL unless that adult individually holds an FCR and is on the founding citizenship list. Any later acceptance for even a regular NL citizenship can't be assured to anyone. Hide

Once a completed FCR application is submitted with the $100 reservation deposit, the application will be promptly processed in four steps, with a progress and status report periodically emailed to the applicant during processing.

If the applicant is approved for an FCR then a written FCR confirmation will be immediately issued. Otherwise the application will be denied in writing, with the reason for the denial included. Upon denial the FCR deposit will be fully refunded to the applicant within 20 business days, unless the applicant appeals the denial. If an appeal is requested and then is also denied, the FCR deposit with then be fully refunded to the applicant within 20 business days after the appeal denial. Any FCR denial may be appealed within 10 days following receipt of the first written denial.

Of the four steps that will be taken in the processing of each FCR application the first step is to confirm that the applicant is in agreement with the NL principles. This is done by verifying that the applicant has attested in the application itself to both thoroughly reading the NL principles and affirming full agreement with them. If the applicant does not affirm agreement with the NL principles then the applicant will automatically be ineligible for an FCR. If the applicant does not agree with the NL principles then the application shouldn't be submitted.

The second step in the processing will be to verify that the applicant is known to be a person of generally good character. This doesn't mean the applicant is a perfect person. Nobody would ever qualify if perfection was the standard. The good character requirement will be verified by reviewing the applicant's statements on the application plus two credible character references that must be included with the application. In some cases there may be some followup by phoning or contacting in some other way one or both character references, using the contact information voluntarily supplied by each willing character reference. The two character references must be individuals who are not related to the applicant nor to each other. The purpose of the character reference does not have to be revealed by the applicant to the one providing the character reference. Each reference must be reasonably aware of the general life and observable character of the applicant to a significant degree for more than a brief period of time. This usually means knowing the applicant well for at least three years or more. Good character will be assumed if the applicant is clearly reported by the two references to be known to be an honest and responsible person who is not abusive of others or of animals, generally considerate, and not disrespectful of the rights, privacy and property of others.

If at any time one has been convicted of such crimes as child molestation, rape or murder, a conviction will automatically cause that person to be ineligible for an FCR. If within the prior 10 years the applicant has been convicted of some serious crime or has served prison time for a crime, and the crime is of the sort that would be a serious offense in NL, or if the applicant is now serving probation, or is currently being accused of or is on trial for any serious offense, then in that circumstance there will be a reasonable doubt and uncertainty cast upon the good character of the applicant. If any of these are the case, they will cause the applicant to be ineligible at this time to hold an FCR. Any denial may be appealed by the applicant.

If the applicant is currently determined to be ineligible, but later is cleared of charges or acquitted in a trial, or if later the minimum 10 years has elapsed between the time of the conviction or the serving of a prison sentence to the present, and the applicant is otherwise reported by the two references to be of good character, then the FCR application may be resubmitted for reconsideration. IRS and other such government agency or bureaucratic statute compliance convictions, if they don't involve any serious proven abuse of others such as theft, fraud or intentional or negligent damage to others' property, will not by themselves cause ineligibility of the FCR applicant, even if a prison sentence has been served in conjunction with such a conviction.

The third step in the process is a verification that the applicant is reasonably proficient in the English language. If the applicant was U.S. born and has lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years, or the same for any other English speaking nation, then English proficiency will be assumed. If a practical verification of English proficiency is required, it will typically be done by means of a phone call to speak directly with the applicant to verify English proficiency. If the applicant for whatever reason is temporarily or permanently not able to use his voice due to some physical or mental impediment, then a waiver will be granted to that individual and a reasonable ability to read and write English will be verified instead. If the physical or mental condition of the individual prohibits all English communication verification, then the English requirement will be fully waived for that individual.

The final step in the application process will be a general determination of anticipated adequate financial support resources for living in NL. This is an attempt to be reasonably assured that the applicant has the necessary resources and/or abilities needed for self-sufficiency for at least the first few years of NL citizenship. This requirement is not some exact level of financial resources in the form of savings, investments, holdings, passive or active income, etc. All factors voluntarily submitted and represented on the application as a representation of the applicant's financial and earnings ability situation will be reasonably and logically considered overall on its own merits and on a case by case basis. FCRs will not be issued to those who have no resources other than dependency on charity based public assistance, or who would more than likely soon become very dependent on others in NL for their basic living needs. Adults within the same family may be supported by family resources.

NL founding citizens must be ready and able to contribute to the needs and progress of NL, and to provide their own way financially, unless they are now or will be later understandably supported within a family context due to age, relationship or disability. Therefore this self-sufficiency qualification will be evaluated in light of whether the applicant is a single individual or whether he or she is a part of a family or a married couple applying for FCRs. This qualification will be practicably determined by logically reviewing the overall represented financial assets, experience, current status and skill sets of various kinds that have been voluntarily provided by the applicant. The applicant must appear to likely not quickly and easily become a dependent person outside of a family, without sufficient financial and self-supporting resources in NL. There's no desire or readiness on the part of New Liberty Trust to invade anyone's privacy, including financial privacy. Therefore, all information provided with the FCR application must be at the sole discretion of the FCR applicant and voluntarily furnished to the extent, and only to the extent, that the applicant is willing and comfortable providing such information.

There will be a written understanding of strict confidentiality regarding any information furnished by the applicant in the application process.

When all four of these process steps have been completed, then the applicant will be issued an FCR in writing, or otherwise notified of a denial, along with any reasons for ineligibility for an FCR at this time. Ineligibility may then be appealed within 10 days of receiving a denial notice.

An FCR will remain in good standing for as long as there is no known ineligibility of the FCR holder prior to the FCR holder's claim of NL founding citizenship when that time comes. NL founding citizenship may be claimed when the FCR holder is notified of the time frame for claiming it. That notice will be delivered following the announcement to all FCR holders that the NL offer has been accepted by the selected homeland nation and the NL constitution is ratified. At that time NL founding citizenship may be officially claimed by each and every FCR holder in the order of their placement on the FCR list. If for any reason NL citizenship is not claimed in that time frame, which each FCR holder may determine for his or her own reasons at the time, then the FCR will no longer be a founding citizenship reservation. Instead it will terminate as an FCR and will automatically be reissued as a regular NL citizenship reservation, and it will then go to the end of the regular NL citizenship waiting list, to move up on the list over time with all of the other regular NL citizenship reservations. Hide

FCR applications will typically be promptly processed within a matter of weeks at most from the time the application and deposit have been submitted. The processing time will of course depend to a large extent on the volume of FCR applications being handled at any given time. It's anticipated that FCR applications will be initially be fewer than will be the case later as word about NL spreads exponentially over coming months. Applicants will be periodically notified of the progress and status of their application, typically by email. Hide

Yes. Once an FCR has been issued and held by an individual it may be later revoked. It will only be revoked if the FCR holder for some reason is found to have seriously misrepresented the information on the submitted application, or if the FCR holder at some later time fails to remain eligible under the FCR criteria prior to claiming NL citizenship. Hide

No. The FCR is a reservation confirmation only for NL founding citizenship, and there is no obligation for any holder to use an FCR to claim NL founding citizenship when the time comes to do so. Not using it for that purpose will change its terms and conditions. Hide

If an FCR for any reason is not used by its holder to claim NL founding citizenship within 60 days after the holder has received a written notice that founding citizenship may be claimed, the FCR will then cease to be an FCR and it will automatically be reissued to the holder as a regular written reservation for NL citizenship. The regular NL citizenship reservation will then be placed at the end of the regular citizenship waiting list at that time, to work its way up on the waiting list with all other regular NL citizenship reservations. If the regular citizenship reservation is not used, then the reservation will be canceled at that time. Hide

When the time comes for FCR holders to claim NL founding citizenship a written notice will inform the FCR holder that he will have 60 days to claim NL founding citizenship. No FCR holder will be required to physically live in NL to claim NL founding citizenship. Nor does the FCR holder have to be physically present in NL to claim his founding citizenship. However, every FCR holder who claims NL founding citizenship must sign an agreement with the Public Accountability Covenant Trust (PACT) of NL and be signed onto some selected NL land lease, thus holding a controlling interest in at least one portion of land in NL, regardless of how small that portion of land may be. This is true even if the leased land is totally bare, with no improvements or private property on it at any time.

The founding citizen will then be issued a confirmation of founding citizenship and a share of the PACT to hold. Upon claiming NL founding citizenship the FCR deposit will then be directly applied in full to any nominal expenses associated at that time with the actual claim of founding citizenship, including possibly being applied to one or more land lease payments. Any expenses associated with the claim of founding citizenship are not anticipated to be more than a few hundred dollars (USD), unless a sizable land lease is selected by the founding citizen. Hide

The FCR (founding citizenship reservation) list will generally, but not exclusively, be arranged in order by the date that each FCR was issued. The limit on the number of FCRs on the list and the exact order of the list can't yet be determined. NL will be a new start-up nation, so there are many factors that will affect the final number of founding citizens that will be allowed, and the final order of the FCR list.

Since we don't yet know the location of the NL homeland, we don't yet have a known limit for the FCRs. The physical size of the homeland will be a significant factor, as will be the number of the transitioning nation's existing residents already living there who want to become NL founding citizens. In addition, we don't yet know the availability of existing and temporary housing, the amount of build-able land, existing infrastructure and services in place, and which of these may be able to be quickly expanded.

At this point we're broadly estimating that the number of FCRs, not including the homeland's existing residents, will likely be limited to some number between 10,000 and 20,000. We anticipate the eventual NL citizenship total will grow to perhaps 100,000 or more before the practical population limit is reached in the NL homeland.

The actual number of NL founding citizens will first favor the existing residents of the transitioning NL homeland nation. We anticipate those native to the NL homeland will almost certainly make up a minority of the total number of the NL founding citizens. The rest of the capacity for founding citizens will be available only to those who hold FCRs, in the order that each FCR appears on the FCR list at any given time. There will be a few special exceptions to the general first-come, first-served order of the FCR list. Hide

There will be three types of special considerations that will be exceptions to the general first-come first-served order of the FCR list.

The first exception will be made for new additions to the families of those who already hold an FCR, if the additions occur in the interim period between being issued the FCR and the time for actually claiming NL citizenship. This includes births, adoptions, official guardianships, new spouses, newly health-dependent adult children, and/or elderly dependent parents, grandparents or close relatives who because of necessary care will need to be located in NL along with the family.

A second exception will be made for those who step up in some major way to take on extraordinary risks in making a significant level of commitment to the vital start-up needs of NL. This may be substantial personal involvement and assistance, a significant level of financial support or investment made toward the primary establishment needs of NL, or some combination of these.

A third exception will be made for those who have certain critical skills that are not already sufficiently represented among the existing FCR holders, and which are determined to be vital to NL in its early stages as a nation.

Starting this new nation of NL will require a great deal of careful balancing of many important and necessary factors, while at the same time seeking to honor those who have been among the first to step up, apply for and hold an FCR. Hide

In our view the NL principles constituting “God-honoring responsible freedom” are the only sound basis for full and long-lasting liberty for NL. We're not telling anyone what he or she must believe or value. Rather, we're making the unique privilege of NL citizenship available only to those who already agree with these vital principles of life and liberty.

NL will be an opportunity to have and enjoy ultra-freedom because it will be made up only of people who have the kind of character and philosophy of life that allows ultra-freedom to exist, thrive and flourish without all of the elements that would otherwise corrupt, weaken and ultimately destroy freedom and the nation. Unfortunately, those destructive elements have ruined the U.S. because as a nation it failed to embrace and live by its stated God-based honorable principles, and therefore it has paid the price.

NL is intended to be a nation that honors God and the innate rights and value of its people. Because of this we can look forward as a nation to enjoying all of the blessings of liberty that come from God in and through that kind of approach to life and freedom. To throw the door open to any and all individuals who have different values, philosophies and sources of understanding of what true liberty consists of, would be to totally waste this unique opportunity and jeopardize the future of the nation we're attempting to bring about at great cost.

We believe it's a clear pattern in history that those who devalue and ignore the true source of life and liberty, God our Creator, and the rights, values and responsibilities that come to us from Him, will ultimately devalue and forfeit life and liberty itself. We're not willing for that to happen in NL, if we can prevent it. And holding firmly to the NL principles can prevent it. Hide

English is the most widely used common language in the world among democracies. It's also the most commonly used in many contexts for international communication, commerce and cohesion among diverse people. More literature, technologies, media and resources of all kinds are expressed and available in English than any other language. Most who are interested in becoming NL founding citizens will be those whose native language is English. NL will require cohesion, continuity and ease of communication with one another and many others internationally. Therefore NL citizens must be able to reasonably proficiently communicate in English. Hide

Absolutely, yes. All of us associated with NL highly treasure our privacy in every way. We of New Liberty Trust commit to stringently protect the privacy of everyone who communicates with us and who is in any way associated with NL, including all FCR applicants and holders. No information provided to us by anyone will be made available to anyone else other than the immediate New Liberty Trust leadership and its highly trusted processing staff, unless we've first obtained specific written prior permission to communicate about certain information with some other identified party. NL records will all be kept as safe and secure as possible from all curious, wandering or prying eyes. Hide

The nonrefundable FCR deposit policy, subject to the application denial and family denial withdrawal exceptions, is necessary because New Liberty Trust must be very sure that all FCR holders are extremely serious about desiring to become NL founding citizens.

There are significant expenditures of time and money taking place for the NL pursuit, and more will be made by New Liberty Trust based on the representations of FCR holders and the total number of FCRs that are issued at any given time. When the limit of FCRs has been reached, no more FCRs will be issued to those who are applying. Therefore, every FCR issued can have the effect of keeping others from being on the FCR list.

The offer we make to any candidate micronation selected for the NL homeland will be based on the strong indications of serious commitment made by those holding the FCRs. Therefore each FCR deposit must be firm once the FCR has been issued.

Since the NL pursuit is a sincere endeavor and not a guaranteed result, we all need to work and contribute together if NL is to ever become a reality. Submitting the nonrefundable $100 reservation deposit is a part of that endeavor we are making together. We're not looking for mere wishful thinkers. We're looking for committed freedom pioneers who will risk and sacrifice to some degree to help make NL happen. Hide

The $100 FCR deposit is a strong and tangible indication of the FCR holder's serious support of the NL pursuit and intention to apply that deposit to a claim of NL founding citizenship at the proper time.

The FCR deposit must be understood to be a nonrefundable reservation deposit made to New Liberty Trust that will be applied and credited toward the cost of a future claim of NL citizenship by the FCR holder. Because it is a deposit it isn't considered to have yet been paid to anyone or to any entity for any purpose or value at this time. Like all reservation deposits it will become an actual payment for value if and when it is directly credited and applied to costs due at the time that NL founding citizenship is actually claimed. The FCR deposit will be deemed forfeited in the future if for any reason it is never used and applied as intended.

Beyond a strong show of support and intention by the depositor, the $100 FCR deposit is a financial commitment resource that New Liberty Trust may confidently and properly use to offset the immediate significant costs of processing the FCR applications, as well as addressing all of the current and ongoing expenses associated with the efficient and swift pursuit of making NL ready for its future founding citizens. Common expenses in this regard include office services and supplies, communications, administration, modest support needs of a limited number of those who must be heavily focused on NL administration, physical preparations, current information gathering, promotional materials and expenses, travel to meet with various leaders of potential NL homeland candidate nations and with major potential NL financial supporters, as well as various other initial expenses.

No one associated with New Liberty Trust or the NL pursuit may personally benefit from any of the FCR deposit funds, other than as usual and reasonable compensation for time and reimbursement of expenses deemed by New Liberty Trust to be regular and appropriate in accomplishing the many necessary aspects of the NL pursuit.

New Liberty Trust is a private non-profit organization in the form of a trust. It isn't what is known as a 501C3 charitable organization. It's not publicly registered or independently audited, nor are the trust accounts open to outside examination. This private non-profit nature of New Liberty Trust is important and necessary to protect the privacy of all individuals involved with it and NL, including the privacy of all FCR holders. Hide

New Liberty Trust is not in any way representing, promising or guaranteeing that NL will ever be established as a nation. This is because NL is a pursuit at this stage, and there are things beyond the control of New Liberty Trust that could potentially stand in the way of reaching our ultimate goal of establishing the new nation of New Liberty. Therefore, there's a very real risk that all FCR applicants must bear when submitting their nonrefundable $100 reservation deposit.

We can't guarantee the success of the NL pursuit, but we can most assuredly guarantee that without the firm nonrefundable deposits of the FCR holders there can be no NL success. We're doing our best to keep all of our options open in the NL pursuit, so if one alternative for a homeland doesn't succeed then another may be immediately pursued in its place. However, if the NL pursuit for any reason never comes to fruition in any place, then the nonrefundable FCR deposits will all at that time become unused across the board, and thus will all be forfeited reservation deposits.

Therefore, each nonrefundable FCR deposit must be considered by each FCR holder to be a worthwhile risk to take in the reasonable hope and anticipation of the great benefits that may come to the FCR holder if and when NL is ultimately established. If taking such a risk isn't worth it in your view, then you certainly should not submit your application and FCR deposit. Hide

No. Neither the FCR nor the deposit is transferable. Hide

The minimum number of FCRs needed cannot yet be known. That number will likely be 10,000 or more, but that's only our initial broad estimate. The actual minimum number of FCRs needed to make the offer to a selected candidate micronation will depend in great measure on two main factors. One factor is the physical area and the size of the population of the candidate nation to which we make the NL offer. The other main factor is the total amount required to pay off the candidate nation's public debt and other costs involved with transitioning the candidate nation to the NL homeland.

Pursuing NL is a very dynamic process. Potential prospects for the NL homeland are already in view, and those who are interested in becoming NL founding citizens are now contacting us. It won't be possible for at least a matter of a several months into this pursuit to be more specific about the minimum number of FCRs that will be required prior to making the NL offer to one or more of the homeland candidate nations. Since it's extremely important for us to promptly secure a homeland for NL, we want to make the NL opportunity known as quickly and as broadly as possible by every available means. Hide

We're not able to responsibly make that information known at this time. It's easily understood that any public indication of our interest in any given potential NL homeland candidate micronation would immediately produce within that nation a very negative reaction that would more than likely completely ruin our opportunity to ever approach that nation honorably and very discreetly through its proper leadership channels. That nation's leadership would understandably be offended by our lack of proper respect for them and for a responsible,wise and very discreet diplomatic process.

Therefore, we won't be indicating our interest in any given potential candidate NL homeland nation until and unless we've first approached the political leadership of the nation and have received their full blessing and support for making it known that they are interested. By the time any open public information will be available a process will have already been set in place to present the NL offer to the country's people through their existing political system. The leadership of a candidate country will be the source of the initial information about the NL offer made to their own people.

The identity of the candidate countries whose leaders are simply not interested in the NL offer will most likely never be openly known, because our inquiry of them will be kept completely confidential. Once the leadership of a candidate nation has made the NL offer public to their own people, then we will be free to communicate the benefits and dynamics of that candidate nation to all those who are FCR holders as well as prospective FCR applicants. Hide

There are many factors involved in determining potential NL homeland candidate nations. As with most things in life there are usually trade-offs involved. All of the ideal factors that we desire may not be available in one or more of the micronations considered as potential candidates.

The general criteria for the search and selection of potential candidate nations includes the following, which are listed in no particular order:

An existing democratic government with people who have a heritage that's inclined toward the NL principles. Primarily English-speaking. Sufficient political independence to determine their own destiny. Good motivation of the people to be inclined toward approval of the NL offer. A public debt level that can be affordably paid off at the start of NL. A good location for easy travel access, commerce and regional security considerations. Enough land area to support a potential population of 50,000 or more. A favorable year-around climate for comfortable and vibrant living, energy efficiency, productivity, bountiful agriculture and tourism. A varied topography with beauty and views, and sufficient differences in altitude for safety purposes, internal climate variations, multiple ecosystems and ability to support a variety of agriculture. Friendly neighboring nations. Open ocean access. Abundance of fresh water, good soils and other natural resources. Significant infrastructure already in place to a reasonable degree. Minimal and manageable vulnerabilities to natural disasters. Hide

The selection process will be carried out with extreme confidentiality by New Liberty Trust. One or more micronations meeting most if not all of the selection criteria will be initially investigated with respect to adequate suitability as a candidate for the NL homeland. At the same time this process is taking place we'll continue promoting the NL pursuit and assembling those who want to hold FCRs to become NL founding citizens.

When several thousand FCRs have been issued, and the resources represented by them have been sufficiently analyzed, the NL offer will then be put into a concise presentation. The NL offer will first be discreetly presented through private diplomatic discussions with the existing leadership of one or more of the selected candidate nations in the order of our preference as an NL homeland. If and when the leadership of one or more of these candidate nations approves the NL offer to the degree that they are willing to present the NL offer openly to their citizens for consideration and a vote, then both the candidate nation and the timing of the process will be made public to the FCR holders. To become NL's homeland, a candidate nation must approve the NL offer by at least two-thirds of its eligible voters. Hide

All existing citizens and recognized residents of the NL transitioning homeland (homeland natives) will be given the priority opportunity to become NL founding citizens. They will all know this before voting to accept the NL offer. If any of them are ineligible for some reason, or if any simply choose not to become an NL citizen, they'll then be given six months to sell their property and relocate somewhere out of the new NL nation. If they prepare to leave the NL homeland, they may either sell their property themselves or they will be offered a fair market value compensation for it by the PACT (NL's Public Accountability Covenant Trust).

The only causes for ineligibility of homeland natives for NL founding citizenship will be if an individual does not affirm agreement with the NL principles, or if the individual doesn't have sufficiently good character. Insufficient good character must be objectively evidenced by a serious criminal record or otherwise declared by a petition and a jury of credible peers who are in a position to know the person's lack of good character well. If any homeland native either chooses not to become an NL citizen or is judged by peers to be ineligible to become an NL citizen, that person will then be required to leave NL within six months. NL will not be responsible to relocate such a person, but NL may at its sole determination provide transportation for the person to go elsewhere, as may be thought appropriate.

Any property owned by a departing person may be taken with him out of NL, or it may be sold by him within the six-month allowed departure period. All net proceeds from any sale of that property will belong fully to him after any and all mortgages, liens or other debts associated with the property, including assessed fines or restitution to others, have first been paid in full from the proceeds. Any property not sold by him or taken with him when he leaves NL will be fairly compensated to him by the PACT of NL in keeping with its reasonable market value at that time as determined by objective criteria and/or a peer jury. If the compensation offered by the PACT for the property is refused or is not claimed by him, or if any property is deliberately abandoned by him with no contact information provided, then after three months from the time of abandonment of the property, or the refusal or neglect of the financial compensation, the property and/or any proceeds or compensation offered shall automatically become the property of the PACT.

Every effort will be made by the PACT to treat each and every departing homeland native as fairly and justly as possible in keeping with NL principles. There will likely not be many of these departing homeland natives. Hide

At this time it's our intention to pursue as many potential candidate nations as possible in the order of our preference, until at least one of them approves the NL offer. Of course, no acceptance by any nation can be guaranteed.

If it appears to us that no candidate nation is going to ultimately approve the NL offer, then one or more alternate solutions for the NL homeland will immediately be pursued as a priority at that time. It wouldn't be appropriate at this point to openly discuss the possible alternate solutions available to us, because doing so could adversely impact our pursuit of one or more preferred candidate nations, which is our priority, and discussing them would also become a distraction in this process.

However, the good news is we can report that there exists one or more alternatives that are already being considered. For now we'll reserve any further comment about them, and we'll cross that bridge if and when we may happen to need it. You can be assured that a pursuit of NL will not come to a dead end if no candidate nation approves the NL offer. Hide

It's not possible to give a timeframe with any amount of certainty at this time. However, major events and the march of anti-freedom forces in this world are moving steadily ahead, jeopardizing our liberty more each day. So we must move as quickly, efficiently and wisely as possible in this process.

We're confident that with God guiding us and opening the doors ahead of us, which is the only way we want it to be, it's not impossible for us to secure an approval vote for the NL homeland before the end of calendar year 2011 or sometime soon thereafter. Some potential candidate nations are now highly motivated by their current circumstances. So much so that the process could be worked through much sooner than most would think. One key factor in the timing is having enough FCRs in place so we can be reasonably assured of our ready resources available to confidently present the NL offer to one or more of these candidate nations. Therefore the timing for securing a ready NL homeland will be closely tied to the timing of our assembling of several thousand freedom pioneers who hold FCRs. Hide

Yes. Every NL citizen will have and maintain his own private property, except for the ground itself, which will be leased by all NL citizens from the citizen-owned Public Accountability Covenant Trust (PACT).

It will ultimately be up to each NL citizen to hold, maintain and protect his own private property of whatever kind it may be. Other than the ground itself, which will be held and controlled by the citizens who are leasing it, citizens will own their own homes and businesses that are built and developed on the leased land, unless they choose to rent or lease the structures from other citizens who own them.

Citizens will be free to sell, trade, rent or lease their property at any time to other citizens under any terms they may determine, as long as the terms are not inconsistent with the terms of the land lease. The right to the land leases will also be fully negotiable between citizens. They may be bought, sold and traded just like any other thing. Again, all negotiations must be subject to the terms of the land lease. No permits of any kind will be required to build or alter any privately owned structures in NL, because the land leases will contain all of the necessary terms and conditions that will protect all citizens and public interests.

There will be very limited but general public security provisions in NL to broadly protect lives and property, to the degree that the citizens by their vote may determine are needed. But there will be no assurance provided to any citizen that general NL security assistance will be available in any given situation. Each citizen will therefore ultimately be responsible to provide needed protection for his or her own property. Hide

After years of consideration lifetime land leases have been determined to be the best way for NL to protect liberty for every NL citizen and address several other very important things at the same time. Land leases are commonly used in most places in the world, including the U.S.

By making use of land leases for all of the land in NL the citizens can wisely ensure the responsible use of the compact land area of NL for everyone's sake. Land leases will assist in protecting the rights of all, while having the fewest laws, regulations, incidents of abuse and disagreements. Leasing the land also addresses the extremely important issue of the consistent preservation of the natural resources and overall environment.

Land leases allow justice in NL to be enacted more efficiently, swiftly and surely. Having land leases instead of deeded land sales also allows all NL citizens to very affordably control the land that they choose right away, without the need for capital outlay. The capital that would otherwise be required for the purchase of land, which might by itself block many from becoming NL citizens and holding land in NL, can then be used much more beneficially and productively, and much sooner. This preserved capital can be used for such things as building or buying homes, businesses or other structures, improvements, investing in commerce, agriculture, family needs, savings, etc.

Boundary disputes, misuse of water and other vital natural resources, etc. will be greatly minimized in the tiny area of NL due to the benefit of land leases. Furthermore, since every adult NL citizen must be signed on a land lease as a condition of NL citizenship, it ties every NL citizen to the NL homeland and each participates in the support of NL at all times, regardless of where the citizen may be living or traveling in the world.

Additionally, and very importantly, land leasing is the primary sound, steady and ongoing basis for the essential revenue support necessary for the NL government and public service functions, as well as the treasury. This revenue will be sufficient for NL, without ever requiring the imposition of taxes of any kind on any citizen, endeavor, goods or services. Hide

All of the land in NL used for public and private purposes will be owned and governed by the Public Accountability Covenant Trust (PACT). Adult citizens will be the only owners and beneficiaries of the PACT, and every adult citizen will hold one beneficial share of ownership interest in the PACT for as long as his or her citizenship is in force. Minor children in NL will be citizens as well, and each will receive one beneficiary share of the PACT at the time adult citizenship is claimed.

When NL is established the PACT will make an open and orderly offering of a wide variety of lifetime land leases to all adult founding citizens in the order their FCR appears on the FCR list. Because of this it's a real advantage to be on the FCR list earlier than later. The available land leases will be greatest for those who are near the beginning of the FCR list than will be the case for those nearer the end of the list. No citizen may select more than one land lease before all of the founding citizens have had an opportunity to select one for themselves.

Spouses and adult members of the same family or household may sign on the same land lease with any other adult or adults within the family or household, or each may select a separate land lease, up to the total of the number of adults in the household. One or more citizens, whether related or not, may sign on any given land lease, including partners, investors, etc. But each household must be on at least one land lease.

There will be a sufficient number of appropriately sized residential land leases to select from for all adult founding citizens if they choose that kind of property as the one or more of their land leases. In addition to the appropriate residential land leases there will be many more types of land leases that will be well suited for business, larger and broader agricultural, commercial and industrial uses, as well as dense multi-unit residential complexes, etc. A citizen may have one or more residences on any land lease, even if its primarily used for some other purpose. In other words, everyone may have one or more dwellings on their leased land of any type if they choose to. Every parcel of leased land will be clearly staked to identify its boundaries. Setbacks for structures from boundary lines will be specified in the land leases.

All land leases will be commenced upon claiming founding citizenship with the payment of the prorated land lease for the remainder of the current month, plus the prepayment of the last month lease payment. All lease payments will be due on the first day of each calendar month. Being signed on a minimum of one land lease is a condition of citizenship for each adult. The monthly lease payment for each parcel of land will be set by the PACT in relation to the land size, quality, location, improvements, and usefulness of the land as compared with other land in NL.

Each signer on a land lease is fully responsible for the entire lease, though the lease payments may be privately split or shared in any way between or among the signers on any given land lease. A signer's obligation on a land lease may be unilaterally terminated by the signer with respect to his or her signature at any time without incurring any financial penalty for doing so, provided the land lease is paid current at the time of termination. Being paid current includes having paid in full any fines or restitution due that may be a part of the land lease. All on the lease are responsible for all financial obligations regarding the lease, regardless of which of the signers may have caused the fine or restitution to be a part of the lease obligation. Subject to the lease being paid current, there will always be the flexibility for any signer to terminate the obligation on a land lease at any time for any reason with respect to his or her own signature. However, to keep one's citizenship the citizen terminating on a land lease must still be signed on a minimum of one land lease.

Any personal property, such as structures, improvements or other types of personal property on the leased land, may be sold, traded, rented or leased to others by their owner without selling or doing anything with the right to the leased land. Any personal property on leased land may be removed and taken at any time, or traded, rented or leased to the remaining signers on the land lease or to a subsequent land lease signer. If the citizen does not sell, move, take, or make other arrangements for the privately owned property on the leased land before terminating the land lease, leaving no citizen signed on the land lease, then the PACT will inherit the private property on the land and may do with it as the PACT may determine. There will always be the opportunity to first negotiate with the PACT to arrange for the PACT to purchase or lease the privately owned property and pay the private property owner a portion of the private property lease proceeds as they are collected by the PACT. Heirs and those in NL who may manage the estate of a seriously ill or deceased citizen may handle such dispositions on behalf of the citizen. As long as there is at least one NL citizen signed on any land lease the PACT will not do anything by way of disturbing the land lease, unless there is a violation of the terms of the land lease.

The right to the land lease may be sold or traded at any time by one or more signers on the land lease for any mutually agreeable terms, but only to the extent that the signer has a right to the lease. If there are two signers on a land lease and one signer sells his lease right, he may of course only sell the right of his own position, and not a total and exclusive lease right. When land leases are made more valuable due to improvements on them, demand, or any other market dynamics, then the value of the lease right itself may become a very valuable and profitable asset for the land lease signer. When one signer sells his lease right to another citizen, no other signer who may be on the same land lease has to sell his lease right. If a land lease of a signer is terminated for any reason, any other signers who may be on the land lease may continue with the land lease just as before, with one less signer.

All land leases are subject to the terms of the lease, which must be faithfully kept as a condition of the lease. These terms include making lease payments when due, not abusing the land and its natural elements, and not using structures or anything else located on the land in any way that may be contrary to NL principles, infringes on other citizens' rights, or may be clearly prohibited by the terms of the land lease. Hide

NL will be a constitutional democracy operating through a Public Accountability Covenant Trust (PACT). It will be a simple, small and very efficient government. The NL constitution will ensure that the total number of citizens serving in every realm of the government will never be more than one percent of the number of NL citizens at any given time. All government positions of every sort will be citizen-elected positions, not appointments. They will all have one year service terms, and each may be re-elected as many times as the citizens may vote them in.

NL's government will be an executive servant government, rather than a representative government. It will have no legislative functions. No one in NL's government will vote on matters on behalf of or in place of the citizens. NL citizens will vote periodically directly for all leaders, all public positions, public laws, policies, public budgets, etc. Special elections and issue votes held from time to time as needed. Information and communication regarding all issues to be voted on will be open, pervasive and for the most part practically immediate. There will also be recall votes and justice votes as the people may determine they are necessary. Government officials may only act on those matters and in ways that have been clearly authorized by the constitution and the policies citizens have authorized by their votes.

All public services that can effectively be supplied by private enterprise will be provided in that way. The NL government will typically contract for necessary public services with private enterprise under conditional short term performance contracts by competitive bids.

The government will consist of a council of seven trustees. The council will manage all public affairs and all services and functions of the PACT, consistent with the constitution. As with all public service positions, each trustee will be held accountable by the citizens for faithfully managing the public operations as approved by the citizens. The trustee receiving the highest vote count among the seven will be the President of New Liberty for his or her elective term. The President will lead the trustee council and manage the authorized agenda of the PACT and the nation. The trustee with the second highest vote count will be the Vice President for his or her elective term. The VP will assist the President and will serve in place of the President if the President is unable to serve temporarily or for the remainder of the term.

The five service departments of the government will each be overseen and specifically managed by one of the five trustees not serving as the President or VP. All of the actions of all trustees will be subject to majority approval and oversight of the entire trustee council, including the President and VP. The five government departments will be called Justice Services, Treasury Services, Public Services, Security Services and Foreign Services.

All judges and other positions necessary in the five departments will each be elected by vote of the citizens every year, and all positions are subject to recall vote at any time following a petition of at least 20 percent of the voting citizens. The NL budget and all laws, regulations and official policies of NL must first be approved by vote of the citizens, and each approved item is subject to the revocation process at any time. Competing issues or budgets may appear on the same ballot. Citizens may submit any measure for the ballot by obtaining 20 percent of the signatures of voting citizens. The governing council may submit ballot issues by majority vote of the council. When there are two or more candidates or proposals listed on the ballot then voting for them will be by the preference voting method to determine the true will of the people.

There will be modest salaries for all government leaders and workers, and no public pensions or other special benefits will come with public service. The compensation for each government position will be determined by citizen vote through the annual budget. NL will have no secret services, no spies, and no intelligence or investigation agencies other than as a function of NL's regular public Security Services. Ambassadors may represent NL in other countries, and NL may invite ambassadors from other countries to visit and interchange in NL. No embassies will be maintained by NL in nations, nor will foreign embassies be maintained in NL. Hide

The Public Accountability Covenant Trust (PACT) is a vital part of the philosophy of liberty in NL, social cohesion and practical public management.

Trusts of all kinds have been used for thousands of years for many designated purposes. Trusts are even more widely used today. Some trusts are private and narrow in purpose, and others are public, open and broad. In general, a trust is typically a written declaration of the purposes, terms, conditions and benefits of some desired purpose and endeavor, managed by one or more trustees for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. A trust may have one or more trustors that originate the trust by declaring and establishing the trust for the sake of the beneficiaries. The trust, together with its powers and any properties of whatever sort it may hold at any given time, including money, is then administered by one or more trustees for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the trust. In the case of the PACT the trustors, trustees and beneficiaries are the NL citizens.

To become a citizen of NL, and therefore a voting beneficiary of the PACT, the individual will sign onto the public covenant that is declared in the PACT which will bind all NL citizens in common honorable commitment to the purposes and principles of NL. The PACT declares the common responsibilities of each and all NL citizens, and every NL citizen understands and is accountable to the covenant of the PACT. The founding citizens will be the originating trustors who establish the PACT. From that point on all adult citizens will then each be a beneficiary of the PACT, and will each hold one equal trust share of the PACT, including the right to one vote per beneficiary.

The government of NL will be managed by the council of seven public servant trustees of the PACT. The trustees will each serve one-year terms, and they will be re-electable. The two trustees receiving the highest and second highest votes among the seven elected trustees will be the nation's President and Vice President. The other five trustees will each specifically manage and oversee one of the five primary public services of the PACT.

The council of seven trustees will have the duty of faithfully managing the affairs of the PACT on behalf of the citizen-beneficiaries. They may do nothing outside of or beyond what they have been empowered to do by the PACT and the citizen-beneficiaries. Trustees will have no other benefits than their approved salary compensation for their time and as full-time public servants, and the fact that they as citizens themselves also benefit as beneficiaries of the PACT. Each and all other public service positions necessary for the PACT will be elected for one-year terms, and they will be overseen and managed by the PACT trustee council on behalf of the citizens.

The PACT will be a public trust because its declaration and all conditions and contents of the trust will be open for all to see. It, together with the constitution, will define and limit all of the public affairs of NL. The PACT is an accountable covenant trust. This is very important, because the PACT declares the covenant that all citizens enter into with all other citizens. This is a voluntary covenant, or compact, made by and among all founding citizens and all future NL citizens who are the PACT beneficiaries. The covenant is an understanding and commitment by each and all citizen-beneficiaries that they will live their lives and conduct themselves in accord with the NL principles as stated in the PACT, for the purposes that are declared in the PACT.

It is an accountable covenant because each citizen will agree by covenant to be personally accountable to the NL principles. In their accountability the citizens making the covenant also agree that if a violation of the NL principles is committed by them they will be judged by the standard of the NL principles as written in the PACT through the just determinations of a peer jury and the courts. And if they are found to have violated the NL principles in a serious enough way, they agree that their NL citizenship may then be revoked.

The PACT will authorize and enact the NL constitution, which will state all of the rights of NL citizens, as well as the responsibility, good order and limits of the NL government. The PACT is the essential reason why NL can have the expectation and blessings of true liberty along with others of like mind and spirit. In virtually all other countries the citizens have no common commitment to others, and they agree to nothing by way of a covenant of principles and values. The result over time is common and wide-spread selfishness, abuse, irresponsibility, crime, and social and governmental deterioration. Ultimately ending in tyranny. Hide

Democracy means "rule by the people". As a true constitutional democracy NL will have a clear and sound constitution to protect the rights of each and all citizens. Because of NL's small geographical area and population, and educated electorate, and virtually immediate mass communications capability, the citizens of NL will be very able and free to directly elect all of their leaders and public workers, and to approve and establish all necessary laws and regulations, policies, budgets, etc.

The citizens will not need to elect or depend on elite representative leaders and/or legislators and bureaucratic systems to make laws, regulations, policies and budgets for them, to then be imposed on them by those who are above them in authority. There will also be no need for a “checks and balance system” of divided power within the NL government, because the people themselves will be the best ready check and balance with regard to the leaders and functions of the government. All government leaders and workers will be up for election every year, and are recall-able at any time by the people.

Therefore, what is often called a “republic” form of government will not be necessary or used in NL. A "republic", which comes from the Latin “res publica”, meaning “a public affair”, such as was intended for the government of the U.S., has been quite necessary and understandably used in nations that were established in different times. Representative, divided government, such as was incorporated in America, served the people, the government and the nation with a population that was expected to be large, diverse and very spread-out geographically. A republic type of constitutional democracy is needed in nations where there is no mass communication, and where many if not most of the citizens are uneducated and ill-informed. It's needed in nations where the government is heavily legislative, centralized and geographically removed from its citizens. Where voting cannot practicably quickly and easily carried out, counted, reported and applied.

But, of course, the problems and dangers that come with a republic form of government are very real and have been demonstrated all too clearly in the U.S. over time. It's a republic form of government that has brought us to the level of insidious, embedded and institutionalized tyranny that we face today in the U.S.

The people themselves, if they are educated and truly freedom-minded, are the surest safeguard to their own liberty. And if information and communication are relatively practicable and immediate, then there is no reason not to have a simple constitutional democracy in the nation. Therefore, since a simple constitutional democracy is the most direct form of rights-protected governance for a free people, it will be used in NL to make and keep it in very real terms a nation of, by and for the people. If NL goes wrong in its governance and direction, the responsibility will be squarely on the shoulders of the people themselves, and not on the tyranny of its political leaders, laws, regulations, or bureaucratic, unaccountable systems inside and outside of the government. Hide

By using the preference voting method, rather than each voter being allowed to use only one vote to apply among all candidates for each position or among various options appearing on the ballot, the candidates and the ballot options will be voted on by clear weighted indications of each voter's actual preferences among the candidates and the options available.

With the preference voting method, where there are multiple candidates or options the voter's first choice for a position or an option on the ballot may be indicated by placing a “1” beside it, second choice, if any, a “2”, etc. The voter may of course choose to vote for only one candidate or option, and not indicate any other order of preference. A single vote for a candidate or option will count as a “1”. However, if any additional order of preference is indicated by the voter, then the candidate or option will be given the voting credit received as a second or third preference, etc. In this way those candidates and options that show the highest total vote credit count will be the ones that by preference of the voters are the most favored as compared with the others, rather than merely showing a number of the total votes cast.

The single vote method of voting very often distorts the true thinking and preferences of the voters. The preference method of voting not only shows to what degree each candidate and option is favored overall, but it also shows which candidates and options are much less preferred or not preferred at all by the voters. The preference voting method is therefore a much more accurate reflection of the true will of the people than a stark single vote system of voting.

The goal of all voting in NL will be to determine the clearly reflected will of the citizens, and their strength of favor for any candidate or option. The preference voting system serves this goal very well because it's a much more accurate way of demonstrating and quantifying your will if you're a voter.

A simple example of the difference between the two systems of voting may be illustrated in this way:

In a single "vote for one" voting system, Joe, Mary and Pete may all be running for a certain position. Among the three of them you hope Pete wins. But you also like Mary and wouldn't mind if she won if Pete doesn't win. But you don't want Joe to win under any circumstances. But you're worried about voting for Pete because he isn't a well known candidate, and you think perhaps Mary, who is better known than Pete, might have a better chance of winning and thus keeping Joe from winning, even though Pete is your true first preference to win. So with only one vote to cast for one candidate, you may not vote at all for Pete, who is your first choice, because you don't want Joe to get elected by your vote for Pete, which lowers Mary's chance of winning if Pete doesn't win. In other words, in such a situation you have to give your first choice, Pete, the same voting value as the one you don't want at all, namely Joe. And so you end up using your one vote to vote only for your second choice, Mary, and not Pete at all, even though he's your first choice. Such an election wouldn't really reflect your true will at all, only your default will and default strategy. In contrast, with a preference voting system you could honestly reflect your will and give Pete your first preference vote (“1”) and Mary your second preference vote (“2”), and not give Joe any preference vote at all (“0”). You not only would then reflect your true weight of preference in your voting, but you also give Pete and Mary each a better chance of beating Joe. Also, those voting for Joe as their first preference may indicate their second or even third preference for Pete or Mary, thus reflecting the weight of their will as well by their preference vote. When all of the numbers are added up for each candidate, the candidate with the highest average ranking of preference votes is the winner. The will of all of the voters is then quite clear because of using the preference voting method. The same is true of other ballot options, such as multiple alternatives of policy measures, laws, regulations, budgets, etc. It's a much better and more accurate and truthful system for determining the will of the people. And that's what we want to do in NL, not operate by default voting strategies and maneuvering. Hide

No. There will be absolutely no public entitlements of any kind in NL. Nor will there be any government-run retirement or pension plans, no social security or any other social subsidies, poverty-based safety net programs, or medical or other government charitable assistance programs. Every individual and family will be expected to arrange for their own personal needs in every way. Private charity and assistance in various forms for those who require it will be encouraged and will likely be very helpful in NL, but no expenditure of public funds will be allowed for any of these social purposes. Hide

In keeping with NL principles, the government of NL will not be involved in providing any public services that can be provided by private sources and free enterprise. Competition begets choice and excellence. Therefore all educational services and resources thought necessary in NL will be privately provided. Hide

In keeping with NL principles, it's not the proper role of the NL government to regulate whether or not an adoption or a guardianship is appropriate or publicly approved. If a claimed adoption or guardianship is alleged to be in violation of the NL principles or the rights of any citizen, then such a claim may be brought into the courts for a just determination.

In the same way that marriages and divorces will be voluntarily publicly registered, there will be a voluntary public registry that will be maintained and open to all of births, adoptions and guardianships. No citizen may bring an adult who is not an citizen into NL under a guardianship relationship without first receiving citizenship approval for the adult who is to be under guardianship in NL. In the same way, any minor brought into NL as a part of a family or household must first be granted an NL citizenship. Citizenship status for each child born in NL will be determined by the voluntary information provided in the public registry. Adoptions or guardianship of those who are already NL citizens may be declared in the NL registry.

Honesty and integrity in such matters, as in all things affecting others and the public in NL, will be a very serious responsibility of every adult citizen under the NL principles and the PACT. All adults in NL may be held accountable for any injustice, abuse, deceit or misrepresentation of the truth that jeopardizes, causes harm to, or violates the rights of others. Hide

Free enterprise is fully capable of providing all of the medical services needed and demanded in NL. All those providing medical services in NL must be NL citizens. This is true of all services in NL. Because there will be no need for medical licenses or certifications, NL will virtually certainly become a place of abundant state-of-the-art medical services for the NL citizens. Those kinds of medical services will also assuredly be sought by countless tourists and visitors to NL.

High quality medical services will likely be much more available and will probably cost much less in NL. There will be no public assistance of any sort for anyone, including public medical assistance. However, because charity and compassion will be greatly encouraged and widely practiced in NL, those with special medical needs will likely often be generously assisted in various ways by professionals and others of compassion out of their voluntary personal care and concern. All medical services in NL will be subject to the NL principles. There will be full open opportunity in NL to form quality assurance associations and private standards organizations. But those will be voluntary activities of free enterprise. Hide

Adequate revenue to support the limited government and public services of NL, as well as support for the NL treasury, will come from land leases, use fees paid for the voluntary use of public facilities, and interest paid on NL treasury funds. Therefore, no taxes of any kind will be necessary in NL. Hide

There will be no taxes in NL, including import or export duties or excise taxes. Shipping and other trade enterprises that make use of public services and facilities in NL for importing and exporting purposes will pay appropriate use fees, and the use fees will ensure that no taxes will be needed to support anything that is publicly available for voluntary use. Hide

No independent central bank will be allowed at any time in NL. NL will have a public treasury, which is the treasury of the Public Accountability Covenant Trust (PACT), owned equally by all citizen-beneficiaries.

The primary government leadership, consisting of the seven elected trustees of the PACT trustee council, will be in charge of managing and protecting the NL treasury on behalf of the citizens. The treasury may never take on any debt, just as no other part of the government may have any debt at any time. The treasury will hold precious metals, especially gold and silver. Based on those precious metals the treasury will mint and issue currency in keeping with the constitution and the policies of the PACT.

The currency will be called the New Liberty Dollar (NLD). All currency minted and issued by the treasury will be fully backed by the precious metals held by the treasury, and will bear an officially stated relationship of value to the precious metals held by the treasury. That relationship may not be changed without a vote of the NL citizens. No fiat currency may be minted by the treasury.

The treasury will operate a public bank, The Bank of New Liberty, for handling and transferring payments, exchanging currencies, making investments, purchasing or exchanging precious metals and other negotiable values, and receiving deposits. Neither the treasury nor The Bank of New Liberty may encumber the treasury or any of its assets, or create any debt of any kind for the NL nation or the PACT. Hide

Yes. All currencies and representations of value of any kind, including all forms of trading and bartering, will be able to be voluntarily used and accepted in any and all private transactions in NL, so long as the parties to the transaction agree to their usage and their exchange value. Public obligations paid to The Bank of New Liberty, such as land lease payments, use fees, principal and interest, etc, must be paid in the manner and currency allowed by the policies of the PACT, determined and modified only by vote of the citizens. Hide

Other than The Bank of New Liberty, which will be the publicly held and operated bank of the NL treasury, all general banking and financial services will be provided through free enterprise, just as with most other services of all kinds in NL.

There will be no government regulations or licenses required for operating banking or financial services. Fees, interest rates and any other costs will be privately negotiated between the parties involved. The market will determine the value and trustworthiness of any and all such services. Private banking and financial associations and standards may be developed, but none with government regulation or involvement. All banking and financial services will be conducted only by NL citizens, in keeping with NL principles.

No banking or financial services may involve or bind NL in any way to any international agreements or types of information sharing arrangements. If any private information of NL citizens is violated, an offended citizen may allege a claim about such a violation in the NL justice courts in the same way any other violation of NL principles may be alleged.

In keeping with NL treasury policies, as established by the citizens through the PACT, sound banks and financial services in NL may be allowed to borrow and lend out NL treasury funds through The Bank of New Liberty, secured by sufficient assets, as a means of practical NLD currency distribution. If this occurs then the banks and financial services will pay interest to the treasury for the use of the treasury currency. This is a logical possibility, but there is no guarantee that lending of treasury currency to any NL banks and financial services will actually be done. Hide

There will be a small and very limited public security service in NL to serve the nation by generally preserving order and assisting in protecting the peace, safety and property of the citizens. Similar to a sheriff and deputies, those who serve in the small NL security service will all be elected by vote of the citizens. For greater demands of security NL will have a volunteer citizen militia, with periodic training provided to those who are willing to be on call to serve in times of need. Hide

The NL justice courts and judges will be available as needed to deal with all unresolved disputes, claims, crimes and other issues. All judges and officials in the NL justice system will be elected to their position for one year terms by the citizens, and they are subject to recall by vote of the citizens at any time. All peer juries used in the justice courts will be voluntary.

Testimony offered in the courts will be voluntary. Anyone may represent themselves or have any other citizen assist or represent them in court. There will be no license required to assist any citizen with legal matters in NL. If a perceived violation of the NL principles takes place which in the view of one or more citizens is an obvious offense and demonstrates significant irresponsibility toward one or more others, or the NL public in general, then such an alleged claim may be submitted to the courts. Any matter may always be privately resolved at any time.

Except for a capital offense (one that warrants the death penalty), all claims alleged in the NL justice courts against others must first go through the process of an attempted resolution through mediation, led by an elected mediator. If the alleged claim is not resolved through mediation, and the elected mediator determines that the basis and gravity of the alleged claim is worthy of further pursuit in the courts, then the claim may proceed to the appropriate justice court and heard before a peer jury.

Making any unwarranted and irresponsible claim against another citizen may result in an appropriate penalty being assessed against the accuser. In addition to any other penalties, in all cases the party not prevailing must reimburse the party prevailing for the time, costs and inconvenience expended in dealing with the matter. The amount awarded to the prevailing party will be determined by the peer jury.

In a nation such as NL that understands and values the NL principles, and for the most part is populated by responsible citizens, many common offenses in societies will be restrained, and the offenses that are committed will often be privately resolved between or among the involved parties. In many cases offenses will simply be forgiven. Wisdom will be sought and applied in all cases.

If a court decision is not thought by one or more of the parties to be just, the decision may be appealed to a panel of elected judges for a hearing and decision. If after an appeal the citizens believe that justice was not done by the courts in a given matter, twenty percent or more of the citizens may petition for a justice vote, and a majority of citizens may overrule the court decision. Hide

Alleged claims of violations in NL, except for the most serious kinds, will first be attempted to be resolved through mediation. If mediation fails and violations are determined by a peer jury to have occurred, then the jury will also decide any costs, penalties or other remedies to be assessed against the offender. This may include a fine, and/or some form of restitution to be paid to or done on behalf of a victim. As a result of more serious offenses the court may also determine that the citizenship of an offender will be revoked. If so, he will then be given a specific period of time to settle his affairs and leave NL. In cases of an extremely serious offense, such as murder, child molestation, forcible rape or treason, the court may impose capital punishment, to be administered in a humane way by NL Security Services.

All court decisions may be appealed to a judge panel, and all court decisions thought to be unjust are further subject to override by the citizens through a petition process and a majority citizen vote. A reasonable time will be provided to pay any fine or make any restitution assessed, and the amount of represented will become due as part of the payment of the land lease signed by the offending citizen.

If any fine and/or restitution is not satisfied by the offender as required, then it will constitute a default of the land lease and the land lease will be terminated if not paid as required. In such a case the offender will then be ineligible for ongoing NL citizenship and he must leave NL. If the offender has private property he owns on the leased land that may be sold to satisfy the obligations of the offender, that will be done by the court, prior to the offender receiving any proceeds from the sale of his personal property. If the offender leaves NL without resolving his assessed penalty, the court will order the sale or lease of any of his private property and any net proceeds realized, after fines, restitution, debt and costs, will then be given to the offender by the court if adequate contact information has been provided. Hide

Some crimes are of such an egregious nature that an offender is no longer deemed responsible and worthy enough to live any longer on earth among others.

NL will not imprison any offenders as a punishment, nor will it attempt to rehabilitate them. NL will not send an egregious offender such as a murderer, child molester, rapist or treasonous person away to be a threat and abuser of others in some other place. In such cases justice will demand that the life of the offender be taken from him.

Capital punishment has been a reasonable, rational, just and God-provided remedy for those crimes that by their nature are determined by common sensibilities and reason to be justly worthy of the death of the offender. Hide

Standing militaries are very costly and unnecessary for small nations. They also reduce the freedom and productivity of many citizens who serve in them. Such service also disrupts families and business life. Standing militaries also very often invite war in order to justify their existence and exercise their power after such intense training. A ready and well-trained voluntary citizen militia is the best way for a small and unthreatened nation like NL to provide for any necessary defense of the citizens and the nation. Hide

For very good reasons we anticipate that the cost of living in NL will likely be among the lowest to be found anywhere in the world relative to the unusual high quality of life that will be available in NL.

One significant element that should keep general prices and the cost of living down will be the complete absence of any taxation in NL. Another element will be the lack of expensive compliance with countless regulations. There will be lots of competition in NL. NL will have true free enterprise, so the value and cost of all things will be determined by the market. There will also be a great degree of self-sufficiency in NL, making expensive importation of goods and services less of a factor as time goes on.

Energy costs should be very low as well, due to the climate and careful energy efficiency. The only prices in NL that may be officially established by the citizens will be the PACT land leases, uses fees and treasury interest rates that will be set by vote of the citizens. Being a small nation, internal transportation costs in NL will also be very low. Each citizen's cost of living will ultimately be impacted the most by the type of lifestyle that's chosen. Hide

Yes. NL will warmly welcome visitors and tourists for predetermined stays, and most stays will be able to be extended by request, depending on the visitor and tourist waiting list at the time.

No tourist or visitor will be allowed to come to NL who for any reason is considered to be a potential danger to the NL citizens. There will be appropriate prescreening of all those requesting permission to come to NL. While staying in NL all visitors and tourists will pay regular public use fees as they voluntarily decide to make use of any public resources, just as NL citizens will do. These will be paid at point-of-use collection facilities, such as for use of public roads, parks, docking facilities, etc. In this way no visitors or tourists will be subsidized during their stay at any time or in any way by the citizens. Hide

The use of efficiencies of every kind, including energy, waste and agricultural efficiencies, will be openly stated policy with respect to all public services. Efficiency will also be strongly encouraged among the citizens of NL.

Responsible, competitive free enterprise naturally tends toward increasing efficiencies, and NL will be a place of very free and responsible enterprise. NL's goal as a nation of attaining maximum self-sufficiency, independence and lasting protection of its environment and resources, will be a major motivation to make use of the very best and most effective efficiency technologies and practices available. Hide

Free enterprise in NL will be as free as it could ever practicably and responsibly be in any nation on earth. It will be a wonderful place for the business minded, as well as for inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs. Anything that's positive and helpful may be freely done in NL, as long as it's consistent with NL principles and carried out responsibly. No permits or licenses will be required, nor will there be government boards, certifications, or needless and burdensome regulations imposed on any private pursuit or business. There will be no subsidies for any endeavor.

The marketplace will be the sole judge of the economic value and effectiveness of any private enterprise, product, service or practice. There will be no taxation and no required records to be kept, nor any required reporting to the government. Only NL citizens may own and conduct businesses in NL. Visitors and tourists may of course be customers and come briefly and periodically to trade.

All dealings may be conducted as an individual or under the general banner of some type of private corporate structure. There will be no officially recognized corporations or other entities in NL, though any such entities may exist in any chosen form through private agreements. However, all accountability in the NL justice system will be strictly that of individuals, and not of corporate or other entities. All alleged Claims of irresponsible practices and behavior with regard to any enterprise or action that violate NL principles will be handled as usual in the NL justice system through prompt and efficient court procedures.Hide

Personal privacy will be a clearly declared right in the NL constitution, and it will be treasured and protected as a national priority. No individual will be compelled to testify, volunteer information, provide evidence, or provide any records in NL, including within the courts. The right of everyone to remain silent if they choose, and to the degree that they choose, will be guaranteed.

Common public records will be open to the public, but public records will not be used to infringe upon the right of expected and reasonable personal privacy in any way. Nothing of a private nature will be provided by the NL government to anyone, any government, or any entity, without prior written permission. Transactions, private lifestyles and practices that are out of the public eye may be kept private by any citizen as they may choose.

A claim may be brought against anyone in NL who willfully violates anyone's right to privacy. There will be no searches of private property without a fully justifiable court order issued for a specific purpose and limited as clearly stated. No government-issued IDs or other types of personal written identification will be required or used in NL. Travel to and from NL will usually require some form of picture ID, such as a passport, but any travel ID requirements may be avoided if one does not choose to participate. Hide

Responsibility, as expressed through objective observable actions and behaviors in personal living and in public dealings, is absolutely essential and fundamental to freedom, good order, peaceful life and justice. Rights and responsibilities must always go hand in hand if liberty is to be preserved for each and all.

In NL all rights will be vigorously protected, and personal responsibility will always be required of everyone at all times. The standard for responsibility in NL is expressed in the NL principles. In NL we won't be making and enforcing endless laws and regulations that attempt to address right and wrong conduct and prohibitions for every realm of life. Instead, there will be common agreement and understanding concerning our responsibility before God and all others as affirmed in the PACT, to which all NL citizens must subscribe as a condition of citizenship.

As with any standard of responsible conduct and behavior, specific instances and circumstances are always open to disagreement and interpretation with regard to whether or not an offense has actually taken place, and how serious an offense may be. There is also the matter of the appropriate penalty for a given offense. The NL justice courts will deal with all matters deemed serious enough to be handled by them. Resolution concerning offenses will be attempted first by private means, including mediation. Only if mediation fails and the offense is deemed serious enough will the matter proceed to the justice courts.

Irresponsibility resulting in serious offenses in NL may rise to the level as to warrant a revocation of NL citizenship. Capital punishment will be reserved for the most egregious of crimes. Hide

Every individual is meant to bear accountability for himself or herself in life. No NL citizen will avoid personal responsibility and accountability for wrongdoing by claiming legal protection or personal cover provided by some general, corporate or group immunity or broad responsibility. Nor will the NL justice system allow society in general or other individuals to be blamed for the personal offenses of an individual.

Whether it may be in regard to a business, group or family, only those individuals who have personally committed an offense will be held accountable for their own individual wrongdoing. All others who are innocent in matters of offense will not be held accountable for the offenses of other individuals merely because of their association with the offender. Minor children and those with known mental and/or emotional problems will be dealt with wisely and justly with compassion in their own unique context of age, circumstance and family, as it pertains to their own personal responsibility and accountability if offenses are committed by them. Hide

As with everything else in NL, citizens will be completely free to associate formally or informally with others in any way they may choose, in keeping with NL principles. Hide

Yes. Every citizen will be issued an NL passport upon request. The passport will be good for as long the holder is an NL citizen. Hide

As with all businesses within or serving NL, travel will be provided primarily, if not exclusively, by private free enterprise.

NL will have its own government screening requirements that will apply to visitors and tourists coming into NL, but citizens will not be subjected to any screenings by the NL public officials unless there is a reasonable and justifiable cause to do so in specific cases in accordance with a policy approved by the citizens. NL passports provided to the citizens at their request will be recognized for entry into NL.

Other than the official prescreening requirements for visitors and tourists to NL, and whatever private travel enterprises may themselves decide to provide as their own safety and security measures for themselves and those served, and in special cases individual screenings for due cause, all travel to and from NL will be open and available. Hide

The NL constitution will clearly state the right of all citizens to make, deal in, acquire, own and openly carry and use guns and other regular light firearms and weapons of various kinds in NL. No permits, licenses or registration of any firearms or weapons will be required. All rational and capable citizens will be encouraged to learn the proper and safe use of firearms. There will be a voluntary and well-trained militia in NL, but no standing military. Firearms used by the voluntary militia will primarily be those owned by the participating citizens.

Any limited and reasonable regulations determined by the people through the PACT affecting arms usage on private property will be clearly stated in the land leases. Beyond those land lease regulations it will be up to the one owning or controlling the private property to make his or her own determinations about the use of arms on the property. The question of who is and who is not reasonably old enough or responsible enough to own, carry or use firearms in NL, and how such arms will be made reasonably safe around children and others who may be at risk, is a matter of responsibility and accountability of every adult involved, in keeping with the NL principles. NL courts may make some determination with regard to the mental health condition of citizens in specific situations where no personal guardian exists.

NL citizens can rest assured that the reasonable manufacture, acquisition, ownership and use of regular arms will not be ill-affected by land leases. Some ultra-dangerous and heavy or specialized arms such as nukes, tanks, rocket launchers, and other catastrophic arms and materials of mass destruction will not be allowed to be manufactured or located on most of the leased land in NL. Special land leases will be used for all such unusual and extremely dangerous purposes. Claims may be raised against those who don't exercise their common responsibilities regarding arms. Just as will be the case with all other rights and matters of responsible living, the NL principles will prevail. Hide

Marriage in NL will be recognized as a personal public covenant that voluntarily exists between a man and a woman. To ensure that the marriage is recognized in NL, whether it is new or has been long-existing, the marriage may be voluntarily and openly declared by both spouses in writing in a public registry of marriage that will be available for all to view.

The method by which the personal public covenant of marriage has been made by the man and woman, whether privately or in an open ceremony of some type, is a decision to be made strictly by those making the covenant. In the case of a minor or other person who is under the care of a responsible parent or guardian, the public registry must be by consent of the parent or guardian. There will be no marriage licenses issued or required in NL, nor will there be any other government involvement in who may marry.

A divorce, indicating an end to the public covenant of marriage, may also be declared by a written statement of either one or both spouses entered into a public registry of divorce. Such a written entry will be sufficient to indicate to all that a divorce has taken place and that the marriage should no longer be publicly recognized. Divorced spouses may of course marry another person at any time and then declare the new marriage in the public registry of marriages. Divorced spouses may also remarry each other.

Only one marriage at a time may be openly declared and publicly recognized for each NL citizen. One spouse may bring a claim against the other spouse in court, whether or not the matter is related to the marriage or to a divorce. Any alleged claim will go through the same process, starting with mediation, just as all alleged claims will be dealt with in the NL justice courts. No citizen may make a claim for the purpose of preventing a divorce. All matters with regard to divorce is between the individuals, unless one or both may petition the court to assist in any claims with regard to the matter. Hide

No justice court in NL will become involved in any private family matters at any time, including matters pertaining to minor children, unless there is a specific claim brought to the court by one or more citizens alleging some violation of NL principles due to an offense against one or more minor children, the spouse, or some other family member.

In the normal course of things the parents who are separated or divorced will together make a mutually-agreed arrangement for the custody and the ongoing care of their minor children, or any others who may be under the guardianship of one or both of them. If this cannot be accomplished by them, then one or both of the separated or divorced individuals may petition the court to assist in any claims of the matter. Hide

Elective abortion will be clearly illegal in NL because it will be held to be the willful taking of an innocent human life, fully protected by the NL constitution. One of the commitments made by all NL citizens in the Public Accountability Covenant Trust (PACT) of NL will be to honor and respect all human life, and not knowingly abuse, endanger or take an innocent human life for any reason.

If NL citizens should decide to deliberately abort an unborn child, they will most likely first terminate their NL citizenship before leaving NL and going elsewhere to have the abortion. By doing so they'll no longer be NL citizens who are subject to the NL principles, the PACT and the NL constitution. Otherwise, any NL citizens involved in the abortion may be held liable to one degree or another for the willful taking of the life of an innocent human being. Those who involve themselves in an elective abortion will face the severest of penalties. NL citizens of both genders may be held accountable for their roles in planning, assisting, or carrying out an elective abortion. Hide

We're all aware that there are various views regarding the origins and effects of homosexuality and other deviant human orientations, lifestyles and behaviors, as well as their rightness or wrongness. There are also questions of whether or not, or to what degree, they may involve personal choice.

What is indisputable is that homosexuality and other deviant human orientations are real and known propensities that are experienced in one way or another by some individuals, whether or not they may be openly expressed in some way to others. As propensities, they may be realized or experienced by some individuals more or less strongly at certain times in their lives than others. Some act upon their propensities and make them known, and others don't.

There will be no laws or regulations in NL regarding human propensities of any kind. Nothing internal, in including thoughts, feelings, preferences, motivations, opinions and orientations will be regulated in any way in NL. There will be no assertive public probing or action taken with individuals to determine whether or not any propensity of any kind in fact exists and affects any NL citizen. There will be no questions asked on the FCR (founding citizenship reservation) application regarding any personal propensities that the applicant may be aware of, including any homosexual or other deviant propensity. Many propensities of individuals in NL won't be known by others.

However, acting upon any given propensity, as with all outwardly expressed behaviors in NL, will of course have certain implications and effects. As with all propensities of every sort that individuals may experience in life, for good or ill, an individual who is old enough and of sound mind never has to outwardly act upon any given propensity at any time or in any situation. This is the case with all sexual, behavioral and emotional propensities of any and all kinds that we may have and must deal with.

Every individual is always responsible and accountable for any behavior or effect that may result from outwardly acting upon any given propensity at any given time. The exceptions to this full personal accountability may understandably be immature age and severe mental illness, where the ability to discern and deal responsibly in a context of reality and understanding is not fully present at the time. Mental illness of various kinds will be an exception with regard to assertive action, as those who suffer its effects are most often not sufficiently stable and clear minded enough to know what they may need, or to effectively help themselves at the time.

Sexual offenses that are alleged in NL, whether they may be offenses of a heterosexual or homosexual nature, will be dealt with just as all other alleged offenses are dealt with, depending upon their effects and gravity. There will be no prohibitions in NL regarding any private or public opinions being expressed concerning any human behavior, nor association or non-association based on opinions, subject of course to the NL principles.

Homosexual marriage will not be recognized in the NL registry, and no objectively deviant lifestyles or behaviors will be publicly held out to be normal for human beings. There will be no interpersonal nondiscrimination regulations in NL. As with all other matters, the NL principles will be the standard for any and all dealings and the treatment of others. Hide

Personal choice is absolutely fundamental to true freedom. All choices, activities and behaviors in NL will be viewed and dealt with through the application of the NL principles. Offenses seriously affecting others that occur as a result of exercising any given personal choice may be penalized. The citizens themselves, by their social interactions, voting, peer juries, appellate judge panel, and even by means of an override justice vote by the citizens, will ultimately determine if, how and to what degree any of the NL principles may have been violated at any time and in any given circumstance by certain activities or behaviors.

No activity or enterprise in NL will itself be regulated except as the terms of the land leases may restrict their presence and activity. Land leases, established by the PACT, may prohibit the use of the land for certain kinds of activities or business purposes. Any land lease terms under the PACT may be modified at any time by vote of the citizens. Hide

No. The NL government won't be authorized to issue any licenses to drivers, unless the NL citizens at some point vote them into existence in the future. Owners, renters and lessors of vehicles may of course have their own private requirements for drivers of their vehicles. Parents and guardians will of course have their own control of the driving privileges of those who are under their personal responsibility and care.

The operation of a vehicle in NL will be treated like any other action or behavior. Driving is a very serious responsibility, just as most responsibilities in life are. Driving will be subject to NL principles. The responsibility and accountability for driving or any other exercise of rights will always be on the one who is engaging in the action or behavior, as well as on any who are responsible and accountable for that one's care and oversight. Hide

The NL justice courts will have authority to deal with all offenses alleged to have been committed by NL citizens, regardless of where an offense may have taken place. NL justice courts will not hear alleged claims against those who are not NL citizens unless an offense is committed by an individual who is a tourist or visiting NL, and the alleged offense occurred in or on the way to NL.

As a practical matter offenses alleged to have occurred in foreign places (outside of NL) may, due to their location, have an insufficient basis of action, and a lack available evidence to be dealt with by NL justice courts. If, for instance, one NL citizen robs another NL citizen out on a boat in the open ocean, the NL justice courts may have sufficient basis and evidence to deal with the matter.

Normally all offenses are claimed and dealt with by various justice proceedings in the place and jurisdiction where the offense took place. NL will not enter into any treaty with any other country which obligates NL or any other country to assist in the apprehension, extradition or prosecution of any person. If it is objectively established by open evidence in an NL court that an NL citizen has committed an offense in another place outside of NL that would make the NL citizen ineligible for NL citizenship had the same offense been committed in NL, then that individual's NL citizenship may be revoked by the NL justice system. If an NL citizen commits an egregious crime in another place and seeks to avoid justice by living in NL, the egregious crime may be discovered and there is always the possibility that the citizen could face dire consequences from claims made in the NL justice courts. Hide

NL will warmly, wisely and responsibly seek out and be open to conducting mutually-beneficial trade and enjoy other beneficial interchanges with other countries. This may be done without requiring agreement with the government, conduct, policies or laws of any other countries.

NL will only enter into such mutually-beneficial agreements and treaties with other nations that are of an "at will" nature, meaning they may be terminated unilaterally by either party at any time without penalty. No dealings or agreements with other nations will be conducted which in any way violate NL principles or any rights, including privacy rights, of NL citizens.

NL will not participate in any binding treaties, entangling alliances, foreign meddling, interventions, spying, or other such practices. NL foreign policy is generally defined by the NL constitution, and specifics must be approved by vote of the NL citizens, just as will be true of all other important matters affecting NL citizens. NL will not cooperate with any international bodies or federations such as the United Nations, World Court, World Trade Organization, Interpol, IMF or World Bank, Any participation with any other nations or international organizations must be constitutional and be approved by vote of the NL citizens. NL may have ambassadors to other countries if the NL citizens so approve. However, NL will not maintain embassies in those countries nor will NL allow standing foreign embassies to be located in NL. Hide

There are many things that require voluntary assistance from those who want to see NL established. We'll list several of them here, in no particular order of priority. If you can help with any of them, please go ahead with what you can, or email us and let us know of your availability, and specifically how you may be able to help.

A major need we have is simply getting the word out quickly regarding the NL opportunity and pursuit, especially to those of like mind and spirit who may be interested in being freedom pioneers. You can do this by respectfully talking to and emailing others of your family, friends and acquaintances about NL, and asking them to go to the NL website. You may even be able to run some inexpensive ads on various websites or in papers and periodicals which may be somewhat favorable to NL. Discussing NL in appropriate forums or passing on word or articles about it to various blogs can good ways to let others know about NL. If you know of some talk shows or magazines that might be willing to do an interview with Terry, or publish an article about NL, that can be a great way to make NL known to larger audiences.

If you have specific skills in marketing or clerical work, we may be able to use your skills. If you have a relationship with freedom-minded individuals who have substantial financial resources, we have opportunities for them that we'd love to present to them in person. A personal introduction to them would help tremendously.

As we get closer to identifying and establishing the NL homeland there will be many more and varied needs for both volunteer and paid assistance by those with lots of varied experience, skills and abilities. We'll keep you posted on those needs when the time comes. Hide

Those NL citizens with financial resources who are willing to help underwrite the initial costs of establishing NL may do so by entering into a revenue sharing agreement with the PACT. This revenue sharing agreement will include a right of the individual financiers to receive from the PACT some fixed portion of the revenue that comes in monthly from the land leases.

This revenue sharing agreement will have a specified timeframe and/or other limits. The revenue share will not and cannot give any citizen any ownership rights, lien on, or control over any of the NL land. The arrangement will not and cannot be any kind of a public debt. It will merely allow each participating citizen to recover his or her principal and earn a reasonable return on that principal while helping establish NL as a new nation.

There will be no guarantee of any return of the principal funds at risk. nor any guaranteed earnings on the assistance funds. The PACT will simply honor the revenue sharing agreement as it was negotiated. Such revenue sharing agreements with citizens will be negotiated in a way that ensures that the PACT will always have an adequate portion of the land lease and other revenue generated to use for all regular governance and public service operations. Hide