Franklin Sanders - League of the South Board Member

Franklin Sanders is a monetary theorist and writer who has a piece titled Monetary Secession Now in the Vermont Commons issue that was included in Seven Days issue that I mentioned in my first post on this blog. My very short, unschooled summary of Sanders' monetary theory would be:

Silver/Gold - GoodPaper Money/Currency/Federal Reserve - Bad

Like a number of members of Second Vermont Republic's advisory board, Sanders has a long association with the League of the South [1] , a hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. [2] He serves on the LoS Board of Directors. [3]  He spoke at the First North American Secessionist Convention in Burlington that was sponsored last fall by Kirkpatrick Sale's (also an SVR advisory board member) Middlebury Institute [4] and can be seen in this YouTube video:



Given the LoS's many, many verifiable connections to racists and their ilk, both through its membership and its close associations with other hate groups, his assertion that the charge of racism that has been leveled at groups like his is a "totally false" one, is an embarrassingly ridiculous denial.  The stink of racism that he claims unfairly exists is rightfully there because of the documentable statements and actions of the leaders of the LoS, its various chapters and its membership, and like those noted in the second post on this blog on the LoS president Michael Hill.

Sanders maintains a number of websites connected to his monetary enterprises.  At one of his websites he lists his "Ten Commandments For Buying Gold & Silver." [5]

I learned that he had broken his own commandment #10 - "Never Break The Law" - back in the 1980's when he was operating some kind of "gold and silver bank."  He was tried and convicted in Tennessee state courts (conviction upheld on appeal) for having deprived the state of required sales tax revenue.  Sanders failed in his subsequent appeal to the United States Court Of Appeals For The Sixth Circuit, where I found this reference to a document seized by the state that clearly shows that Sanders knew he had sailed into troubled waters and had hoped that he was sufficiently immune from some kind of asset forfeiture:

"George, I realize that Arkansas can register this judgement [sic] in Tennessee and I realize that they may be able to cause me some trouble, but I don't own anything, nothing is in my name, I just have to hope that that is enough protection.  As to the good sales tax people in Tennessee, I am no longer selling anything.  Relying on the definition of Federal Reserve Notes at 12 U.S.C. 411, I am buying "obligations" and paying for them in lawful gold and silver money.  This makes my invoices a bit hard to explain to my customers, but I think it will keep the State of Tennessee at bay." [6]

Sanders eventually served nearly 3 months time and was fined over $70,000 when convicted.

For an ex-con's rationale à la the "the jury didn't mean to convict me" and "what I did really isn't a crime" genre, read Sander's own article on what "really happened" that was titled by him, The Most Dangerous Man in the Mid South. [7]

Around the time that Sanders was mixing it up with the Feds and the Tennessee state revenue authorities, he apparently exorcised some of his demons by writing a fictional account set in the now near future of a Christian Pol Pot-like character who decimated the non-Christian, city folk/population with a neutron bomb/device or some such nonsense.  If you like your action heroes white, preachy and definitely not Jewish then Heiland is for you. Customer reviews at the Amazon link included the mention of "a few good reviews of the book" from two (surprise!) fellow LoS board members, although that fact isn't noted in the customer review.  One is from the racist president of the LoS, Michael Hill:

"Heiland presents a chilling portrait of what could be in store for America should the secular-statist agenda become reality. A death-dealing, anti-Christian Establishment holds sway over a blighted urban landscape, while Christian patriots control the countryside. The epic showdown between the forces of light and darkness is not to be missed."

Dr. Michael Hill
Montgomery, Alabama

The second was from Steve Wilson, a neo-Confederate "historian" who feels that slaves of the pre-Civil War era "lived relatively easygoing lives." [8]:

"Heiland is not only a rollicking read but also a fine exposition of what it means to be a `freeman' in a world of slaves. This is not unnecessary instruction. Truth be told, what passes for `freedom' in our day is merely another term for what our forefathers call `slavery.' Heiland takes us forward into the future so that we might remember what we have lost from the past. It is a most urgent tonic for our sick day."

Rev. Steve Wilkins
Monroe, Louisiana

These kind of mutual back-scratching reviews are a common practice among the various secessionist writers, who usually make no mention of their many close connections and involvement with the subject of their reviews, where these reviews appear.

Ironically, Second Vermont Republic solicits financial support on its website but has no provision for receiving contributions of silver or gold and accepts support from contributors only via PayPal. [9]