Don’t Leave Home Without Them!

Remember the name Edward Snowden.

If you haven’t heard of him yet, you have either been in a cave or a coma.

The courageous Mr. Snowden is now internationally known as the National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who blew the whistle on the U.S government’s insidious and massive domestic spying operation.

As soon as the U.S. government filed espionage charges against Snowden this week, the State Department revoked his U.S. passport.

But your actions don’t have to be as bold as Mr. Snowden’s to have your passport annulled.

Where will you be if yours is revoked?

In my best-selling tome, The Passport Book, I argue that having a second passport is an imperative for any American who cherishes true liberty.

While the actions against Snowden are certainly political — he dared to expose the unconstitutional surveillance imposed by our so-called “leaders” in the specious name of “national security”— you must realize that your U.S. passport can be revoked for a number of additional reasons. A request for extradition from another country, a federal or state court order detaining a person and issues concerning place of birth or naturalization are all reasons for passport withdrawal.

Luckily, Snowden’s passport revocation did not catch up with him until he had flown from Hong Kong to Moscow, where he appears, as of this writing, to be under the protection of President Putin. It has been reported that the government of Ecuador has given Snowden temporary travel papers that can serve in the absence of his U.S. passport. If he had followed my advice, Snowden would not have had to rely on the good faith efforts of sympathetic authorities in Ecuador, where he is rumored to be planning to live in exile.

It Gets Even Worse…

Like the NSA, the IRS has also been in the news of late for its own scandal: the improper and unlawful targeting of conservative groups.

Well, since 1986, the U.S. State Department has been informing the IRS of all persons who renew their U.S. passports using a foreign address. Since passport renewals require an applicant’s Social Security number, this information is also used by the IRS to see if applicants have filed income tax returns. An IRS official speaking in Zurich said a special effort was being made by the agency to track all U.S. citizens who’ve renewed U.S. passports while living in Switzerland, for reasons related to tracking people with Swiss bank accounts.

So, now we have two out of control U.S. government agencies that have the ability to track your private financial activity and revoke your ability to travel freely through your U.S. passport. There has never been a better time to take action to protect yourself from these tyrannical intrusions.

Don’t Complain, Do Something

Second passports can be obtained as a matter of right, based on your ancestors born in nations such as Ireland, Italy, Poland, Hungary or even the United Kingdom or by marriage to a foreign spouse. If you can afford it, economic citizenship can be obtained at a price from the two countries that still sell these: Dominica and St. Kitts, and Nevis. Austria is a third possibility.

I have been advocating for years that Americans acquire a second passport from a government that does not treat its citizens like so many sheep. As Edward Snowden can now attest, in an unsettled world, acquiring a second citizenship is also a wise decision. You should see both as insurance against a tyrannical government and an investment in your freedom and your future.

And, similar to what the old American Express Travelers Cheques commercial used to advocate: Don’t leave home without them!

Faithfully yours,

Bob Bauman, J.D.
Chairman, Freedom Alliance